by
Julien Faddoul
Fences *
In 1950s
Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints
of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to raise a family.
Well-acted
but frustratingly stagey adaptation of a great play. Wilson, in adapting his
own play, makes no attempt to translate his cadenced and rather expositional dialogue
for a medium that can convey more with less. Washington’s direction doesn’t
help either, as his obvious priority is loyalty to the source material. The
result plays less like a grand piece of symbolism on family and responsibility
and more like a television soap opera.
d – Denzel Washington
w – August
Wilson (Based on the Play by August
Wilson)
ph – Charlotte Bruus Christensen
pd – David Gropman
m – Marcelo
Zarvos
ed – Hughes
Winbourne
cos – Sharen
Davis
p – Scott Rudin, Todd Black, Denzel Washington
Cast: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis,
Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson
Fifty
Shades Darker
While Christian
wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of
the women who came before her.
Hilariously stupid
sequel with no discernible goal outside of compiling as many shots as possible
of actors fluttering their eyes.
d – James Foley
w – Niall
Leonard (Based on the Novel by E.L.
James)
ph – John Schwartzman
pd – Nelson Coates
m – Danny
Elfman
ed – Richard
Francis-Bruce
cos – Shay
Cunliffe
p – Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, E.L. James,
Marcus Viscidi
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger,
Luke Grimes, Eloise Mumford, Eric Johnson, Bella Heathcote, Marcia Gay Harden,
Max Martini, Rita Ora, Victor Rasuk
20th
Century Women ***
Three women explore
love and freedom in Southern California during the late 1970s, as seen through
the eyes of a 15-year-old boy.
Witty,
rhythmic coming-of-age comedy with a great deal of ruminative thought. Superbly
written and acted, it captures its laissez-faire age and its disaffected inhabitants
with a kind of liberating humanity.
wd – Mike
Mills
ph – Sean Porter
pd – Chris Jones
m – Roger Neill
ed – Leslie
Jones
cos – Jennifer
Johnson
p – Megan Ellison, Anne Carey, Youree Henley
Cast: Annette
Bening, Billy Crudup, Elle Fanning,
Greta Gerwig, Lucas Jade Zumann, Alia Shawkat, Thea Gill, Alison Elliott
Cameraperson ****
Kirsten
Johnson, a memoir. As the opening card explains: “For the past 25 years I’ve
worked as a documentary cinematographer. I originally shot the following
footage for other films, but here I ask you to see it as my memoir. These are
the images that have marked me and leave me wondering still”.
Sheer
beauty: Johnson, in juxtaposing so many different kinds of pieces of footage,
clinches together two forms of non-fiction cinema that are rarely seen within
such proximity – the advocacy doc and the cinematographic diary. The result is
breathtaking, not only because every piece is either moving or hilarious or
provocative in itself, but also because everything is about context, and
experiencing it through the cinema’s guidance changes all meaning. One gets the
sense of such a rich life, and perhaps a distressing one. And although much of
the film depicts the destructive acts many people are capable of, its lasting
sensation is one of compassion. Or, to paraphrase Jean-Luc Godard, it is a
great lie that reveals the great truth. But as a film, it is one of the purist pieces
of cinema one could witness.
d
– Kirsten Johnson
ph – Kirsten Johnson
ed –
Nels Bangerter
p – Kirsten Johnson, Marilyn Ness
Cast:
Kirsten Johnson
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