Welcome to WeeklyWilson.com, where author/film critic Connie (Corcoran) Wilson avoids totally losing her marbles in semi-retirement by writing about film (see the Chicago Film Festival reviews and SXSW), politics and books----her own books and those of other people. You'll also find her diverging frequently to share humorous (or not-so-humorous) anecdotes and concerns. Try it! You'll like it!
Joe Biden in Independence, Iowa, on the 4th of July.
The New Hampshire primary election results are in, and the political choice between revolution and evolution continues. I liked Chris Matthews characterization of the race as this: “Americans are looking for a designated driver. They just want someone to safely drive the car so they can say, ‘You got this’ and go do anything else.” (loosely paraphrased) Matthews went on to say that he was afraid that voters had lost confidence in Joe Biden as a good designated driver for our careening country. And so it goes.
Millennials, having officially eclipsed Baby Boomers as the most populous group in the United States, love the messages of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and have since 2016. David Axelrod said the candidate race, this year, is a choice between revolution and evolution.
The younger generation, saddled with onerous debt from their college loans and eager to make the 1% pay their fair share of taxes, are tired of living in their parents’ basements because they are unable to find affordable housing. Bernie’s message resonates. (Warren’s did, for a while, until her spat with Bernie onstage.)
When I am told I am too “middle-of-the-road” and that my gut instinct that Bernie Sanders is not the best candidate to successfully head up the Democratic ticket in a national race, I am either shouted down with “OK, Boomer” or told (by a millennial Facebook crowd) that “Joe Biden is just a desiccated corpse looking for a grave to fall into.”
Not only is that maligning Joe Biden, it’s wrong in my own case. (I’m the Silent Generation, I think—although I get them mixed up.)
It’s looking like the “best” ticket to potentially win nationally for Democrats, at this point, might be Bloomberg/Klobuchar, but, again, cries of “OK Boomer” tell me that I know nothing about politics, and Bernie is the revolution that millennials want, with free college and all the rest of it.
As a one-time Berkeley (Ca) college student and activist during CORE and SNCC and the Vietnam War, I’d just like to remind the Millennials celebrating the Sanders surge, that middle-of-the-road Democrats are not the enemy. Nor are we indifferent to the causes that dominate the news cycles now. Here are the lyrics of a Quicksilver Messenger song “What About Me.” (The band formed in 1965, 55 years ago.)
You poisoned my sweet water. You cut down my green trees. The food you fed my children Was the cause of their disease.
My world is slowly fallin’ down And the air’s not good to breathe. And those of us who care enough, We have to do something…….
[Chorus] Oh… oh What you gonna do about me? Oh… oh What you gonna do about me?
Your newspapers, They just put you on. They never tell you The whole story.
They just put your Young ideas down. I was wonderin’ could this be the end Of your pride and glory?
[Chorus]
I work in your factory. I study in your schools. I fill your penitentiaries. And your military too!
And I feel the future trembling, As the word is passed around. “If you stand up for what you do believe, Be prepared to be shot down.”
[Chorus]
And I feel like a stranger In the land where I was born And I live like an outlaw. An’ I’m always on the run…
An I’m always getting busted And I got to take a stand…. I believe the revolution Must be mighty close at hand…
“1917” film’s cast and director Sam Mendes in Chicago at the AMC Theater on December 10, 2019.
My favorite picture of the year, if anyone cares, for sheer enjoyment, was “Ford v. Ferrari.” It doesn’t have a chance for anything but the sound editing and potentially some visual effects.
So, here are my picks, based on having seen almost all of the films. (I do admit that I have not seen “Little Women” or Antonio Banderas’ nominated role in “Power and Glory.” Let’s see how these come out: Supporting Actor – Brad Pitt MakeUp and Hairstyling: Bombshell Costume Design: Little Women Documentary Feature: For Sama (the favorite is said to be “American Factory,” which I saw last night. I think that the life-and-death nature of “For Sama,” filmed behind ennemy lines in Syria, was so riveting that, despite its technical issues, I voted for it. Sound Editing: Ford v. Ferrari. Here are my current picks: Brad Pitt for Actor in a Supporting Role Maeup and Hairstyling; Bombshell (for transforming Charlize Theron into Megyn Kelly) Costume Design: Little Women Documentary Feature: For Sama (I know that American Factory is the favorite, but For Sama was so powerful in its depiction of medicine in Syria behind enemy lines.) Sound Editing: Ford v. Ferrari Sound Mixing: Ford v. Ferrari Production Design: 1917 International Feature: Parasite (could be the Best Picture for a big upset) Actress in a Supporting Role: Laura Dern Amimated Short Film: Hair Love Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 4 Visual Effects: 1917 Film Editing: Ford v. Ferrari Documentary Short Subject: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If you’re a girl) Live Action Short Film: The Neighbors’ Window Adapted Screenplay: Little Women Original Screenplay: Marriage Story Cinematography: 1917 Original Score: 1917 Original Song: “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” Director: Sam Mendes Actor in a Leading Role: Joaquin Phoemix Actress in a Leading Role: Renee Zellweger Best Picture: 1917 (* Well aware that “Parasite” may knock it off)
Joe Biden in Independence, Iowa, on the Fourth of July, 2019.
Iowa drops the ball on caucus night, February 3. We still don’t know the results of the Iowa caucuses of Monday night, and it’s Tuesday afternoon.
Donald J. Trump will, no doubt, say something along the lines of, “Look at the Democrats. They can’t even hold an election. How can they run a country?” when he makes his State of the Union address tonight. I’d like to see the Iowa Democratic Party delay releasing the tardy results until the exact moment that the Orange One begins talking. That would be poetic justice.
I’ve actually been to the Iowa caucuses, in 2008. I wasn’t voting, but observing. What I observed in Des Moines was orchestrated chaos that was very home-spun and folksy, but not that efficient. There were all sorts of journalists from all over the globe snaking through the lunch room of the elementary school where my college roommate and I went so that she could caucus.
One thing that remained constant from 2008 to 2020 is that Joe Biden was among those one could vote for at both times. So was John Edwards back then, and I was an early Edwards supporter, while friend Pam caucused for Joe.
I’ve been watching the results (or non-results) of the caucus last night “live” on television since last night. I watched Precinct 38 in Des Moines weigh in, with 2 delegates going for Warren, 2 for Mayor Pete, and 1 to Sanders. Then, the talking heads switched to Cedar Rapids where 437 caucus goers had gathered. There were 2 ruined ballots, we were told, but Mayor Pete got 26.5%, Warren 19.8%, Amy 18.4%, Sanders 18.4% and Joe Biden 16.8%.
The talking heads today are saying, “Old School was faster.” The back-up of paper ballots is what the Iowa Democratic party is now falling back on to laboriously count them by hand in 1700 caucus locations. “It’s beyond Old School. It’s really rudimentary,” says CNN’s Dana Bash.
During the evening, we viewers were also taken inside Drake University’s Field House (gymnasium) where 400 people had turned out. Sixty-six people would make a “viable” candidate.
In North Liberty, Iowa, just outside Iowa City, bigger numbers were expected than appeared. 591 showed up. Eighty-nine caucus goers meant that one’s candidate was “viable.”
In Cedar Rapids, 900 voters were expected, but 437 showed up. It appeared that Pete, Warren and Sanders prevailed with Biden in 4th and Klobuchar down there in the standings with the former VP. In another Des Moines precinct, 356 people showed up and we were told that fifty-six people would make for a viable candidate. Pete, Sanders and Warren were prevailing. Would the more rural districts weighing in change all this? Don’t know; can’t tell you. Just like the Iowa Democratic Party.
One group, forming 16%, refused to be categorized. They were originally Cory Booker delegates, but there were not enough bodies for Cory to prevail without throwing in with others, and that is what happened, with Biden and Klobuchar people forming an “uncomittted” group. It was weird.
“State of the Union” tonight.
By midnight, nobody knew anything, although, in Grinnell, large screens were lowered from the ceiling that showed the images of Warren, Biden and Pete, at one precinct in this college town.
Overall, it was complete confusion and the much-vaunted “app” seems to have been part of the reason why. One wonders if older volunteers who had done this “the old-fashioned way” for over 20 years were quick to pick up on “the app.” I was reminded of me trying to teach my mom how to program her VCR.
When all was said and done, it appears that Mayor Pete and Elizabeth Warren and Bernie seem to have done well, while Biden is in trouble, both monetarily and in terms of live bodies that showed up. It is now 12:15 p.m., the afternoon of the day AFTER the caucus, and there are still no definitive results known. There are 41 delegates at stake, which is not that many, but the real fall-out is going to be for Iowa.
If Iowa loses its “First in the nation” designation, the millions spent on television and radio spots go away. The economic boom for housing and feeding all of the campaign workers who come from afar goes away. The idea that Iowa can give candidates a boost, as it did for Obama in ’08, goes away. Iowa’s position as national “influencers” goes away.
I would posit the idea that this is a very bad day for Iowa and Iowans. The state looks like it doesn’t know how to conduct a caucus, and they’ve had many, many years to get the process down. Now the talking heads are all saying they want to see the caucuses “go away.” That means no more visits from national candidates to the Hawkeye state, and it is the state itself that will be hurt the most.
The delay in reporting results may work to the benefit of such old soldiers as Joe Biden, who did not seem to be doing well early in the evening. It seems that the new kid on the block, Pete Buttigieg, and Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders were the ones who came on strong, from what little we know. It remains to be seen if the money is going to be sufficient for candidates like Klobuchar and Biden, whose coffers are becoming increasingly bare.
It makes one wonder if Mike Bloomberg of the bottomless pockets had thought this through and decided to go all in on being there as an alternative candidate when former Vice President Biden collapsed. Did the “smear” in the Senate (the Ukraine thing) take its toll? These are points that will be debated for years.
I’ve been offering some titles for sale (on Kindle) for $1.99 this month, and it seems like a good time to mention which ones are (still) going to be reduced in price for the rest of January and February.
Taken during a McCain rally at the Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport during the 2008 presidential campaign. Cover of Volume II of “Obama’s Odyssey: The 2008 Race for the White House.” (Available on Amazon in paperback and e-book).
January 26, “Obama’s Odyssey: The 2008 Race for the White House,” Vol. 2, will be on sale for $1.99.
February 1, (Sat.), the second volume of “Obama’s Odyssey” will remain on sale for this one day only for $1.99.
February 8 (Sat), 2020: “The Color of Evil,” Book #1 of the 3-book series. This book is currently priced at something like $7.95 in e-book and will be $1.99 for one day.
February 15 (Sat.), 2020: “Red Is for Rage,” Second book in THE COLOR OF EVIL series.
February 22 (Sat), 2020: “Khaki = Killer”, Third book in THE COLOR OF EVIL series.
I’ll be starting a radio show entitled WEEKLY WILSON on Bold Brave Media, discussing movies, politics, books and whatever else interests me. Expect me to start off with politics; my newest book is BEE GONE: A POLITICAL PARABLE. Call in format at 866-451-1451.
“1917” film’s cast and director Sam Mendes in Chicago at the AMC Theater on December 10, 2019.
First, let’s mention the potential Best Actor nominees to be awarded in 2020 for the films of 2019.
BEST ACTOR: Joaquin Phoenix, who will probably win, if nominated, for “The Joker.” Christian Bale for “Ford v. Ferrari” Taron Egerton as Elton John in “Rocketman” Either or both of Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt for “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” Any of the principal actors from “The Irishman,” which includes Al Pacino (most likely), Robert DeNiro and/or Joe Pesci. Adam Driver for “Marriage Story.” Possibly Jonathan Pryce or Anthony Hopkins from “The Two Popes.” These are the actors who have been getting the most buzz to date. The actual nominees will be named tomorrow.
Noah Jupe appears in Honeyboy by Alma Har’el, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Natasha Braier
BEST PICTURE:
My expectation(s) for Best Picture are: “The Irishman,” “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood,” “Marriage Story,” “1917,” “Parasite,” and, after that, to make up the field of 10 that the Academy has nominated in recent years, the best bets are: “Us,” “Portrait of a Woman on Fire,” “Honeyboy,” “Joker,” “JoJo Rabbit,” and possibly “Judy” or “The Two Popes.” I would also love to see “Ford vFerrari” earn a nomination.
BEST ACTRESS:
Renee Zelwegger in “Judy” is going to be hard to beat for Best Actress. Others who might be nominated (for Best Actress) include Scarlett Johansson in “Marriage Story” (she was also in “JoJo Rabbit”); Charlize Theron for “Bombshell;” possibly either of the other two stars of “Bombshell” (Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie).
Those that aren’t nominated for Best Actress or Best Actor might well be nominated for Best Supporting performances. For example, if DiCaprio gets the nod for Best Actor, then Brad Pitt would get the nod for Best Support, and vice versa. This is also true for the women of “Bombshell.” although Charlize Theron’s performance as Megyn Kelly seems the most outstanding, due to her uncanny resemblance to the real Megyn Kelly and her ability to mimic her vocal patterns.
These are all thoughts for Sunday, January 12th, with the answer(s) to WHO WILL BE NOMINATED FOR THIS YEAR’S OSCARS to be announced tomorrow.
Dr. Jill Biden and Eric VanLanken in Clinton (IA) on Thursday, January 2, 2020, at Biden Headquarters on 2nd Street.
Dr. Jill Biden came to Clinton, Iowa’s Biden headquarters at 415 South 2nd Street and spoke to a crowd of approximately 30 faithful Democratic supporters who agree with former Vice President Joseph Biden’s wife that, “Anyone can tell you what they want to do, but Joe Biden can tell you what he’s done.”
Dr. Jill Biden in Cinton, Iowa, on January 2, 2020.
Dr. Jill Biden, wife of VP Joe Biden, in Clinton, Iowa on January 2, 2020.
Most of us also agree with her assessment that Biden is the one candidate in the field with the national reputation and experience to defeat Trump in 2020.
A career educator (over three decades teaching at high school and community college levels), Jill Biden holds two Master’s degrees in English, education and reading, as well as PhD degrees, and continued to teach full-time throughout Vice President Biden’s time in office. She is thought to be the first wife of a Vice President to continue her full-time job while her husband was in office.
The granddaughter of Italian immigrant signalman Dominicki Giacoppa, the family anglicized the name to Jacobs and Jill Biden’s maiden name was Jill Tracy Jacobs. Her father, Donald C. Jacobs (1927-1999) became President of a Savings and Loan in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia.
The attractive blonde was due in Clinton at 4:00 p.m., but, with 3 previous stops on Thursday, she arrived about 5 p.m. and was introduced by Eric VanLanker, Commissioner of Elections and County Auditor.
Dr. Biden talked about such initiatives as education, alternative energy (wind and solar), the Affordable Care Act and promised that there would be “no late-night tweet storms” if Biden were elected. With only 32 days until the Iowa caucuses, the push was on to secure Iowa voters who would commit to caucus for Biden on February 3rd and to find others to volunteer in various capacities.
No Tweet storms at 3 a.m.! Yeah!
In the most amusing malapropism of the early evening, Dr. Biden noted (to her amusement and that of theassembled crowd), “We can’t stand 4 more years of a Donald J. Trump pregnancy.” Quickly correcting pregnancy to presidency, the personable blonde posed post remarks with each and every person willing to line up for a selfie.
With packing for warmer climes on my mind, I was forced to depart immediately after her remarks, leaving three books in the care of a staffer to deliver to Dr. Biden, including “Obama’s Odyssey: The 2008 Race for the White House,” Volumes 1 and 2, and BEE GONE: A POLITICAL PARABLE.
Finnegan Biden, granddaughter of VP Joseph Biden, son of Hunter Biden, in 2008.
I hope she enjoys the books, including the picture of Joe Biden’s granddaughter Finnegan Biden in “Obama’s Odyssey,” Volume I, taken in 2008, when I interviewed her at the annual Jefferson/Jackson dinner in Davenport, Iowa. Hunter Biden’s daughter, the lovely 10-year-old, is now twelve years older and, no doubt, just as lovely a young lady.
With Oscar Isaac at the premiere of “Inside Llewyn Davis” at the Chicago International Film Festival in 2013.
Two writers (Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr) from the Associated Press recently penned an article entitled “A Look at the Decade’s Best Big-Screen Releases.” The list, according to these two, was as follows:
“Tree of Life”
“Phantom Thread”
“Margaret”
“Lady Bird”
“Moonlight”
“Somewhere”
“Cold War”
“Certified Copy”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel
I would like to comment on their list.
First of all, yes, “Lady Bird” was a great coming-of-age film, especially since it was a directorial debut for actress Greta Gerwig, but the rest of the films on this list lacked audience appeal Big Time. This is a horrible list of the “best” of the decade. I question whether anyone except these two even saw half the films on it, most notably “Somewhere,” “Phantom Thread” (did not crossthe million-dollar threshold in tickets bought), “Cold War” and “Certified Copy.”
I nearly walked out of “Tree of Life” and watched as many others did exactly that. Ultimately, I chose to write a review that you can read here: http://www.weeklywilson.com/terrence-malicks-new-film-the-tree-of-life-wins-at-cannes-but-will-they-get-it-in-the-heartland/ It was not a film that I enjoyed, nor did most of the audience. It was a Terence Malick film. He’s made some wonderful films. This wasn’t one of them. He’s been off his game for the past few years, and I’ve been reviewing non-stop since 1970. Opening night of the 2017 SXSW Film Festival in Austin was a semi-disaster, to hear the audience coming out of Malick’s film, muttering and shaking their heads. Despite a star-studded cast, wonderful cinematography alone cannot “save” a film. “Tree of Life” falls into that category.
The same incredulity about the entertainment factor applies to “Phantom Thread,” despite its Oscar nominations. Daniel Day-Lewis as a dressmaker in post 1950s London. Poison. Fetishes. Not a crowd pleaser. One of the reviews at the time referenced a pervading sense of melancholy.
“Moonlight” was well done and beat “La La Land” as Best Picture in the infamous mis-read Oscar telecast ballot screw-up. The best thing to come out of “Moonlight,” however, was a higher profile for Mahershala Ali, who went on to star in “The Green Book,” which would have been a better film to include on this list. The films selected by Coyle and Bahr were well done, yes. But enjoyable? Check out what the audiences had to say on Rotten Tomatoes.
While I loved meeting Oscar Isaac in Chicago at the premiere of “Inside Llewyn Davis” back in 2013 at the Chicago International Film Festival, the film was not that entertaining.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wes Anderson’s entry on the list, did get more Oscar nominations than his much more enjoyable film “Moonlight Kingdom,” but it was not nearly as enjoyable by the audience.
As for “Margaret,” “Certified Copy,” “Somewhere” and “Cold War”: what? The list above is horrible and, furthermore, reducing all of the great movies from 2000 through 2019 to 10 is ludicrous. I narrowed my list down to this:
Sam Mendes, director of such classic films as “American Beauty,” “Road to Perdition.” “Skyfall” (one-time husband of actress Kate Winslet—7 years, ending in 2010) visited Chicago with the two leads from “1917.” His co-writer on the film, Krysty Wilson-Caerns and stars George McKay and Dean-Charles Chapman were also in attendance.
“1917, plotwise, is a bit like “Saving Private Ryan.” Two young British soldiers must go behind enemy lines to reach Benedict Cumberbatch, the Commander of 1600 men poised to attack at dawn. New intelligence shows that they will be walking into a trap the morning of April 6, 1917.
Director Sam Mendes, flanked by screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Caerns, Dean-Charles Chapman and George McKay.
Mendes is one of only six people to win a Best Director Oscar for his first film, 1999’s “American Beauty.” He has spent most of his career directing theater productions and told the audience in Chicago, following the showing of his Golden Globe-nominated film “1917” that, because of his heavy-duty theater background, he is used to “judging the audience.”
“I couldn’t take out anything. It is not ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’ It’s an instinct. To me, it’s part of my theater judging of ‘Yeah, that’s what I want.’” He added, “I was encouraging them (the actors) to live it as much as act it.”
In the Q&A following the showing of the film Mendes told the audience that the film was an homage to his grandfather, who, at the age of seventeen, served in World War I as a messenger. “It’s not about my grandfather because of my grandfather. It was the spirit that I really remembered from his stories. The two leads are two of two million, but representative of those who fought in the war. The sense of a collection of individuals was very special…It’s 110 minutes in someone else’s life.”
Director of “1917” Sam Mendes (“American Beauty,” “Skyfall,” “Road to Perdition”) and screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Caerns in Chicago at the AMC Theater on December 10, 2019.
The actors were rehearsed for a period of six months. The sets were built to support scenes that sometimes ran, uninterruptedly, for eight or nine minutes. The cinematography is gorgeous. In many cases, the scene had to be achieved in one take. Reciting those principles that good writers have often cited (Show, don’t tell.) Mendes said, “For me, exposition is the death of storytelling,”
Mendes pointed out that the audience is not told the lead’s name or about Lance Corporal Schofield’s family until the end of the film. “You need a good actor is what you need,” said Mendes. He added, “You want the happy accidents that occur.” One such “happy accident” was a scene where George McKay is knocked over (twice) by cast members whom Mendes described as “over-eager extras.” “The crew and I, 92 people watching, were muttering, ‘Get up, George. Get up, George.”
Of the journey of the two soldiers behind enemy lines Mendes said, “The ways the characters react to the space is not unlike the way the audience reacts.” George’s character of Lance Corporal Schofield, the more seasoned soldier of the two, has seen more combat, and tries not to look at the corpses and dead horses along the way, but Dean-Charles’ character, Blake, a novice, (like the audience), looks at everything. “Blake looks at it. He sees a generation gone.”
“1917” film’s cast and director Sam Mendes in Chicago at the AMC Theater on December 10, 2019.
This European attitude towards the ravages of both World Wars is distinctly European and British. The wars were fought on the continent; the blitzkrieg targeted England. There is, as Mendes said, “a sense of time passing and bodies piling up.”
When “Road to Perdition” was mentioned (another superb Mendes film, which was shot in Chicago), Mendes—who is listed as having only 10 director credits on IMDB (but many producing and TV credits), said, “I loved being here, absolutely loved it.” He went on to relate an anecdote that occurred during shooting in Geneva, Illinois.
“I was walking down the street in Geneva with Tom Hanks on one side of me and Paul Newman on the other. A local woman was coming toward us, walking down the road carrying a Starbucks coffee. As she got closer and could make out the famous faces coming towards her, she passed out. Imagine when she woke up and who was looking her in the eyes but Paul Newman with those blue eyes saying, ‘How you doin’? You okay?”
“1917,” which is garnering awards nominations in many “best of” categories, opens in select theaters on Christmas Day and will be playing wide on January 19th.
Director Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale”) directs Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in a movie about a marriage coming apart at the seams and its effects on the couple, their 9-year-old son, their friends, and everyone else involved. It’s a darkly comic, yet serious, film that offers opportunities for Driver and Johansson to really show their acting chops. There is Oscar buzz.
First, some background. Baumbach seems to make very personal films that often reflect his own childhood or adulthood. His film “The Squid and the Whale” had a lot to do with the divorce that he lived through as a child. Baumbach was married to actress Jennifer Jason Leigh (whom he lived with for4 years before marriage) and she gave birth to the couple’s son at 48 years of age (Baumbach is 7 years younger). Baumbach began working with Greta Gerwig as his leading lady and he and Leigh subsequently divorced shortly after the birth of their son Rohmer Emmanuel Baumbach on March 17, 2010. Much like the fictional couple of “A Marriage,” the wife was arguably the bigger star of the two when the marriage began, but, over time, her theatrical director husband saw his star rise, to the point of even winning a MacArthur Grant for his work in the field of drama.
Now linked, professionally and romantically, with his frequent leading lady Greta Gerwig, (who moved into directing herself with the acclaimed film “Ladybug,”) Baumbach told interviewer Eric Kohn of “IndieWire” (7/24/2019), “Divorce is like death in a way. When it happens to you, people can speak about it, but no one really wants to speak about it who’s not in it. I just felt like there was a way to make a movie that was very much about this subject and also totally transcends it.”
Enter Baumbach’s great and good friend Adam Driver, who plays Charlie Barber in the film. He is married to Nicole (Scarlett Johansson), who was the more successful of the two theater people when they married and she began starring in his New York City off-Broadway plays. One dynamic that you can almost see at work in the film is the situtaion chronicled so many times in “A Star Is Born,” where one partner in a marriage is established and then the partners change place in terms of fame and it destroys the relationship.
THE GOOD
There are some great lines in the film and some equally great performances. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver do the honors as the doomed married couple and the script is unprepared to make either one out to be a villain. Both are honorable people and never badmouth one another intentionally. The principals—with one exception—are almost always reasonable. Until they’re not.
The scene where the two attempt to work out the details of their divorce themselves, which quickly disintegrates into a name-calling scene, is horrific, as lines like the one where the husband mourns the loss of his twenties to their marriage, saying, “Life with you was joyless.” The wife says, “I was your wife. You should have considered my happiness.”
The script should be an Oscar contender, regardless of any other facet of the film. A couple of examples:Nicole: “I realized I never really came alive for myself. I was just feeding his aliveness…I got smaller.”
I didn’t even know what my taste was any more. He just put me off. He didn’t see me as something separate from himself.” (She adds that he also slept with the stage manager of his theater company. Ahem.)
Charlie says, “I feel like I’m in a dream.”
Then the lawyers get involved. Laura Dern, Ray Liotta and Alan Alda add a great deal to the plot with convincing portrayals of representatives of the legal profession. Laura, playing the shrewd Nora Fanshon, tells her client (Nicole) in a throwaway line that is a reference to a Tom Petty song, “Waiting is the hardest part.” Dern and Liotta are terrific as cut-throat shark-like attorneys, while Alan Alda is the soft-hearted divorce attorney who has been through the mill himself numerous times, and understands where the rapids are in the river.
Dern adds, gleefully, to her client, “I represented Tom Petty’s wife in the divorce. I got her one-half of that song.” Nicole says, to Charlie, that they might become friends with Nora, [her lawyer].
He responds, “Why do I feel like THAT will never happen?”
There are plenty of remarks that reflect Nicole’s unhappiness with the status quo of their ten-year marriage. She says, “The dead part wasn’t dead. It was just in a coma” in announcing that an offer from L.A. to shoot a pilot for a television show was like a lifeline thrown to her. She seems to make up her mind rather quickly that she wants a divorce, although Charlie does not seem to realize that she is quite so determined to end their relationship for good. He seems to think she is going to return to New York City, where they have been living, once the pilot is either picked up or dropped. To me, that was not very clear, but many details of what propelled the two towards the exit is unclear.
Nicole, instead, goes to her mother’s home (well played by Julie Hagerty of “Airplane” fame) and begins rebuilding her life. When Charlie is to arrive to visit their son, she tells her younger sister Cassie (Merritt Weaver of “Nurse Jackie”) that she is to serve Charlie the divorce papers by handing them to him in an envelope. This leads to some fairly amusing scenes where Cassie is nervous and upset at the prospect of acting as an official “server” of divorce papers, and Nicole is coaching her on the right time and place to hand over the paperwork and say, “You’ve been served.”
Charlie must find a Los Angeles lawyer, as his wife and child are now California residents, the minor child is enrolled in school in California, and his wife was born and grew up there. (Charlie is an Indiana-born boy who has become “more a New Yorker than most New Yorkers.”) Charlie first falls into the hands of a rapacious type, played by Ray Liotta, who quickly outlines his salary demands: $950 an hour and a $25,000 retainer.
Charlie leaves Ray the shark. With the help of Nicole’s mother, he finds a much more modestly priced attorney named Bert Spitz, well-played by Alan Alda. Spitz breaks the news to Charlie that “Most people in my business make up the truth so they can get where they want to go.” Alda’s character adds that he has been through 4 marriages, himself, and says, “You remind me of myself on my second divorce.” Bert’s salary demands are much more reasonable, and, for a while, it looks as though Bert and Nora will work together amicably to settle the issue of who gets what and who will get custody of young Henry (Azhy Robertson).
Unfortunately, things deteriorate further. Or, as Yeats put it, “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” Charlie shows up in court with the barracuda barrister played by Ray Liotta, and things begin to get nasty
Acting and script are top-notch. Cinematography by Robbie Ryan is great, with lots of close-ups, which Baumbach felt worked best. The music by Randy Newman is good. The script has some wonderful sardonic humor, including a humorous encounter with a social service agency representative which ends with Charlie accidentally slitting his wrist in front of her and then trying to pass it off as “no big deal” while bleeding profusely.
At one point, when the vicious lawyer is asking whether Nicole has ever had a drinking or drug problem, Charlie shares that she had an addiction to Tums for a while. “She was up to a roll a day.” This does not seem to be what the attorney wanted to hear.
THE BAD
Since this is roughly autobiographical, the husband of the piece—(who did cheat with his stage manager during the couple’s 10 years of marriage)—defends his misstep, saying, “I didn’t do that until you quit having sex with me and I was sleeping on the couch.” Charlie is painted as being just a little bit TOO nice in all respects. Nicole, too, is wonderful. They each write out lists of all the wonderful things about one another, and one of the more touching scenes in the movie is when Charlie reads aloud the list that Nicole has written about him, because son Henry has found it and is trying to read it on his own with some difficulty.
You get the distinct feeling (especially late in the film, when Charlie does accept some work that will keep him in California for at least part of the time) that these two people should have been able to work out the kinks in their marriage, unless you ascribe to the point of view that a marriage is like a flower and has a cycle during which it grows, blooms and then dies.
The ending is probably considered “positive,” since the two principals are not actively name-calling or being horrible to one another, but it just makes someone like me (married 52 years) wonder why they didn’t give a good marriage counselor a try. The entire “We’re getting divorced” movement seems to have been rushed and premature, as even Nicole’s mother suggests.
The reason for the divorce?
Apparently the best reason given for an actual divorce without any sign of marriage therapy or even a trial separation, is “It doesn’t make sense any more.”
After the trauma that Baumbach knows his own parents’ divorce visited upon him as a child, you’d think he’d be a bit more savvy about how much damage personal instability can wreak on the children of the divorcing couple.
We learn that Adam Driver can sing when he gets up in a nightclub (where he is hanging out with his theater family) and delivers a Stephen Sondheim song:
Someone to hold me too close. Someone to hurt me too deep. Someone to sit in my chair, And ruin my sleep, And make me aware, Of being alive. Being alive.
Somebody need me too much. Somebody know me too well. Somebody pull me up short, And put me through hell, And give me support, For being alive. Make me alive. Make me alive.
Make me confused. Mock me with praise. Let me be used. Vary my days.
But alone, Is alone, Not alive.…
Up until the point that Adam Driver as Charlie takes to the stage, grabbing the microphone, there was no indication that this was meant to be a musical. It seemed—-strange—no matter how well the lyrics fit the situation. It reminded me of the ill-fated attempt by the “Hill Street Blues” creator to put a series on television (involving police) where all the lines were sung. There was a film like that at the Chicago International Film Festival with Anna Kendrick. It didn’t work well then, either. Adam Driver does a respectable job of carrying a tune but it struck me as odd. Use the excellent Sondheim lyrics, but maybe work them into the film in a more logical way?
There is also a use of the children’s story “Stuart Little,” specifically this passage: “The way seemed long, but the road was bright and he felt like he was headed in the right direction.”
That is the way marriage works in today’s world, Folks. Easy in, somewhat easy out— but with some bumps along the road. Everybody lives happily ever after with their fourth wife, (a la the Bert Spitz character.) Change the marital vows from “till death do us part” to “until it doesn’t work any more.”
I feel like the character that Seth Meyer plays on his late-night talk show, who puts on his sweater and begins with the phrase, “Back in my day….” So, let me say, “Back in my day, we worked very hard to smooth out any rough patches in that long andwinding marital road.” The reward was having shared history with one spouse who knew you way back when and knew your parents (before they, as parents do, died). The marital road today is shorter and more diverse with more stops along the way. Maybe that’s why young people often just don’t bother to get married at all any more, but simply co-habit until “this doesn’t work any more.”
It’s just a thought, and not an accepted one in Los Angeles—or, probably, anywhere else in the land of Trump.
Andy Warhol exhibit at the Art Institute in Chicago.
We took in the Andy Warhol exhibit in Chicago this past week. We selected a weekday, because the exhibit has been well-received and we thought it would be very crowded on the weekend.
Elvis.
As an advertisement illustrator in the 1950s, Warhol used assistants to increase his productivity. Collaboration would remain a defining (and controversial) aspect of his working methods throughout his career; this was particularly true in the 1960s. One of the most important collaborators during this period was Gerard Malanga. Malanga assisted the artist with the production of silkscreens, films, sculpture, and other works at “The Factory“, Warhol’s aluminum foil-and-silver-paint-lined studio on 47th Street (later moved to Broadway).
Early illustrations of shoes (the subjects of one of his very first exhibits) showed that Warhol had a thing for gold. Many of the pieces in the display reflect this, including the large painting below.
Gold painting.
Warhol began as a magazine illustrator in the fifties and continued into the sixties, establishing a studio in New York City called The Factory. Within the exhibit are some pieces of film taken within the Factory, whose walls were said to be lined with silver foil.
The Art Institute of Chicago Andy Warhol exhibit.
Warhol was an admitted homosexual, at a time when being gay in America was not accepted. Although his image was that of a libidinous lifestyle, he told an interviewer as late as 1980, when he was 52, that he was still a virgin (born in 1928).
Biographer Bob Colacello provides some details on Andy’s “piss paintings”:
Victor … was Andy’s ghost pisser on the Oxidations. He would come to the Factory to urinate on canvases that had already been primed with copper-based paint by Andy or Ronnie Cutrone, a second ghost pisser much appreciated by Andy, who said that the vitamin B that Ronnie took made a prettier color when the acid in the urine turned the copper green. Did Andy ever use his own urine? My diary shows that when he first began the series, in December 1977, he did, and there were many others: boys who’d come to lunch and drink too much wine, and find it funny or even flattering to be asked to help Andy ‘paint’. Andy always had a little extra bounce in his walk as he led them to his studio.[73]
Attempted murder (1968)
On June 3, 1968, radical feminist writer Valerie Solanas shot Warhol and Mario Amaya, art critic and curator, at Warhol’s studio.[42] Before the shooting, Solanas had been a marginal figure in the Factory scene. She authored in 1967 the S.C.U.M. Manifesto,[43] a separatist feminist tract that advocated the elimination of men; and appeared in the 1968 Warhol film I, a Man. Earlier on the day of the attack, Solanas had been turned away from the Factory after asking for the return of a script she had given to Warhol. The script had apparently been misplaced. Some of the skull paintings that are shown in the exhibit are said to reflect Warhol’s subsequent musing on life, death and mortality.
One interesting painting in the display looked exactly like Melania Trump and, of course, there were the famous Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, and Marlon Brando pictures.
Marilyn Monroe.
Marlon Brando.
Des Moines businessman immortalized by Andy Warhol.
Actor in a Leading Role: Joaquin Phoemix
