Crisp Criticism - "Manchester by the Sea", "Patriots Day", "Rules Don't Apply", "Gold"

by

Julien Faddoul

Manchester by the Sea **

After his older brother passes away, a janitor is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.

The third and least so far of Lonergan’s films, relying on some contrived dramaturgy and some amiss workmanlike compositions. His wit and percipience remain intact however, buoyed by some excellent performances.

wd – Kenneth Lonergan

ph – Jody Lee Lipes

pd – Ruth De Jong

m – Lesley Barber

ed – Jennifer Lame

cos – Melissa Toth

p – Lauren Beck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore, Kimberly Steward, Kevin J. Walsh

Cast: Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Gretchen Mol, Matthew Broderick, Tate Donovan, Kara Hayward, Anna Baryshnikov, Heather Burns, CJ Wilson, Josh Hamilton, Erica McDermott, Tom Kemp

Patriots Day

An account of the events leading up to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorists behind it.

Pointless, crass kaleidoscope of a tragic event utilizing the fluttery aesthetic made popular by United 93 (2006). Berg doesn’t even come close to Greengrass’ intrinsic empathy.

d – Peter Berg

w – Peter Berg, Matt Cook, Joshua Zetumer, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson

ph – Tobias A. Schliessler

pd – Tom Duffield

m – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

ed – Gabriel Fleming, Colby Parker Jr

cos – Virginia Johnson

p – Stephen Levinson, Hutch Parker, Michael Radutzky, Dorothy Aufiero, Dylan Clark, Mark Wahlberg, Scott Stuber

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, JK Simmons, Kevin Bacon, Michelle Monaghan, Melissa Benoist, Michael Beach, Alex Wolff, Rachel Brosnahan, Jake Picking, Lana Condor

Rules Don’t Apply

A love story of an aspiring actress, her determined driver, and the eccentric billionaire who they work for.

Pretty disastrous attempt at a comeback from Beatty with a great deal of glamour and an all-star cast. The story is uninteresting, the pacing tone-deaf and the centre hollow.

d – Warren Beatty

w – Warren Beatty, Bo Goldman

ph – Caleb Deschanel

pd – Jeannine Oppewall

ed – Robin Gonsalves, Leslie Jones, F. Brian Scofield, Billy Weber

cos – Albert Wolsky

p – Warren Beatty, Brett Ratner, Steve Bing, Molly Conners

Cast: Lily Collins, Alden Ehrenreich, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Matthew Broderick, Alec Baldwin, Haley Bennett, Candice Bergen, Dabney Coleman, Steve Coogan, Ed Harris, Megan Hilty, Oliver Platt, Martin Sheen, Paul Sorvino, Taissa Farmiga, Amy Madigan, Paul Schneider, Chace Crawford, Eileen Ryan, Patrick Fischler, Ron Perkins, Peter MacKenzie, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Evan O’Toole, Joshua Malina, Hart Bochner, Michael Badalucco, Ashley Hamilton, Caitlin Carver

Gold

A prospector desperate for a lucky break teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on a journey to find gold in the uncharted jungles of Indonesia.

Dull and bogus retelling of an infamous mining scandal that spends 2 hours just running in circles. The points it makes on economic morality are fairly arid.

d – Stephen Gaghan

w – Patrick Massett, John Zinman

ph – Robert Elswit

pd – Maria Djurkovic

m – Daniel Pemberton

ed – Douglas Crise, Rick Grayson

cos – Danny Glicker

p – Patrick Massett, Matthew McConaughey, Michael Nozik, Teddy Schwarzman, John Zinman

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Bryce Dallas Howard, Edgar Ramírez, Timothy Simons, Michael Landes, Stacy Keach, Rachael Taylor, Bruce Greenwood, Corey Stoll, Toby Kebbell, Macon Blair, Bill Camp, Lora Martinez-Cunningham