Review: Stoker

If you have never heard of Chan-wook Park, then you should do a Google search and take a look at his filmography.  The South Korean director is a master of suspense in the way everyone mistakenly thought that M. Night Shyamalan would become on the heels of the Sixth Sense, only Park has a strong sense of visual flair and a disciplined directorial approach that makes even the most mundane act explode with life onscreen.  He’s that good.  The film Stoker represents his first foray into “mainstream” Hollywood (though one would hardly dub “Stoker” mainstream) and the result is a suspenseful highly stylized narrative that feels slice of life but proves to be something else altogether.

The narrative tells the story of India (played by Mia Wasikowska), a young woman who is mourning the passing of her father.  When her uncle Charlie – a man she has never heard of before, comes to live with her and her mother (Nicole Kidman), it unlocks a bevy of conflicting feelings for India against the backdrop of violence and sexual innuendo that ultimately leads to the revelation of a dark family secret.

As you watch the plot of the movie unfold, you realize that visually you are watching a master at work.  The attention to detail, the subtlety, the sound, the framing of the shot, it becomes apparent that all these elements are coming together to tell the story; that each piece is contributing to the tension as much as the dialogue and grandiose action undertaken by the actors.  At times it feels the attention to visual detail and to the minutiae are bringing the plot to a plodding place, but as the scenes unfold you realize Park is slow playing his hand – suffocating you in the way the reality of the film suffocates the protagonists.  If I were critiquing this film based on directorial efforts alone, it would be an unmitigated A.

Unfortunately, the film falls apart for me in the third act.  Without spoiling the plot, it’s hard not to feel that the climax and subsequent reveal fall short of this masterful taut narrative that Park has brought to a boil.  The blame for this has to fall on writer Wentworth Miller as his script proves to be more a house of cards than a sound taut thriller, tumbling under its own weight.  At the precise moment that the film should explode with large reveals and some sort of cathartic release, it goes out with the whimper that is predictability.  Sadly, that makes Park’s directorial clinic seem largely for naught.

Mia Wasikowska (as India) turns in a solid lead performance.  It’s a character that falls right into her comfort zone; one who is offbeat and troubled.  It’s not easy to sell a story that is set in this sort of timeless world with no signature to define its context in the past or present, but Wasikowska does admirably to that end.  As for Nicole Kidman, she continues this run of playing women whose moral compass points south and though I don’t always appreciate her performances I always give her credit for really going for it.  While I don’t think this performance was particularly game changing, I do think that she was credible as the detached matriarch of the house.

As for Matthew Goode, I have always found his work hit or miss.  For a while I felt Goode was on the verge of breaking out as a star, but that one great role and/or performance always seemed to elude him.  Having watched his uneven turn in this film, it seems that he will forever be just another British actor who is capable playing the type of character played in Match Point, and shaky when forced outside that comfort zone.  Never is that more apparent than in this film where on the one hand he must be the charismatic gentleman, and on the other hand he must portray a highly troubled individual.

The net result here is a movie that has great directing and mostly solid acting, but fails to deliver a worthy a payoff.  That doesn’t completely dismiss it as a worthy way to spend ninety-minutes of your life, but it keeps the movie from achieving the heights that it could have.  If you are one who can appreciate the merits of filmmaking even while walking away from the movie feeling unrequited then this would be a decent way to pass the time; but for you if it’s all about the ending,, then you may find Stoker far less appetizing.  For those who are more the former than the latter, I suggest viewing this one on a night when you’re in a particularly odd mood as there’s very little that is warm and fuzzy about this one. 

Standout Performance:  Mia Wasikowska.  I don’t think it was by any means a signature performance, but she is best in show.

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Review: Big Miracle

When people sit down to watch an action movie, they tend to have a certain set of expectations – fighting, chase scenes, pretty women, and gunplay.   Likewise, those who go the romantic comedy route probably expect to see weeping and/or laughter inducing elements involving Katherine Heigl, Dermott Mulroney, or a combination of the two.  And when it comes to movies like Big Miracle, the viewer can expect one thing and one thing only – a warm and fuzzy feel good ending.  No matter how the plot unfolds or how ominous the musical score may turn, by credits end the emotional equivalent of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day will be experienced by all.  Telegraphed as its ending may be, Big Miracle does not fail to deliver in this regard.

Based on Operation Breakthrough as described by Tom Rose in his novel, Freeing the Whales, Big Miracle chronicles an international effort to free three whales who are trapped by frozen ice in and around the Northern Alaskan shore.  The movie tracks the media’s coverage of the endeavor, the influence of Greenpeace, various political and economic machinations, and the role of the indigenous population, yet somehow manages to keep the plot light and fluffy in a way that would make even the execs at ABC Family feel proud. 

To me, the biggest miracle (pun totally intended) about this movie is that not only did it get greenlighted but also that it received a theatrical release.  It’s not that there is anything egregiously bad about this movie, but more that there is nothing especially good about it.  Despite the presence of some recognizable names, the acting and production value seem more suited for a Lifetime Network movie, which makes a lot of sense when you realize the bulk of director Ken Kwapis’ work is in television.  The way the shots are framed lacks the vision and majesty one expects from the big screen treatment.

The cast is comprised of a fairly long ensemble featuring a plethora of bit players circling around the action, which is primarily driven by John Krasinski’s Adam and Drew Barrymore’s Rachel.  Krasinski has in the past failed to successfully make the leap to the big screen (Leatherheads) and nothing happens in this movie to alter his track record.  Drab and understated, his performance as an aspiring television reporter lacks the gusto to be the focal point of this film.  As for Barrymore, one could easily get the impression that she is trying to be unlikable as acting forlorn and whiney is no way to win over an audience.  Collectively, the chemistry that Krasinski and Barrymore share is dreadful and make some key plot elements feel forced.

The supporting cast does not fare much better.  Everyone from Dermott Mulroney to Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, and Vinessa Shaw all seem to be sleep walking through this film delivering their lines with little-to-no conviction.  The only time the faintest hint of a pulse registers from anyone in the cast is when lines are unintentionally spoken with tongues firmly planted in cheek, leaving one to question whether the actors cast in this movie  actually want to appear in it. 

So what you have in Big Miracle is a movie of made-for-telelvision quality featuring a cast that for the most part is mailing it in.  Oh, and by the way, the plot is about three trapped whales in the arctic; which with all due respect to the fine people at Greenpeace is not the most commercially viable premise.  It is a one trick pony of a film that is lazily put together and ultimately relies on its heart warming climax to make you forget everything that is wrong with the entire production.  I wouldn't go so far as to say it is a crime against cinematography or that it is abusive to the senses, but I would suggest you take a pass on this one.  There’s just not much of anything to latch onto in this film.

Standout Performance: None.

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Review: The Grey

If you haven’t noticed, Liam Neeson has carved himself a nice niche as an action star.  In a genre where chiseled jaws and artificially augmented biceps inflict most of the damage, Neeson (Taken, A-Team, and Unknown) is showing that grey beards can still kick butt on screen and at the box office.   His latest flick - The Grey - is two hours of mental and physical warfare expertly captured on screen by Joe Carnahan.

The plot places a spiritually broken Ottway (played by Neeson) stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with a battered group of rough necks after a plane crash.  Stranded and lost, the band of misfits must overcome brutal weather conditions, deep physical injuries, and packs of vicious wolves to ensure their survival.  It’s the mental and physical fight to live that defines the plot and makes this film not only about the men themselves, but also about the loved-ones they’ve left behind.  You never see them onscreen in the present, but their presence in the stricken psyches of those men is strongly felt.

Liam Neeson does a fantastic job of playing a damaged man teetering on the edge.  You can almost see the baggage he is carrying embedded within the creases of his weathered face.  As for the rest of the cast, Dallas Roberts, Dermott Mulroney, Nonso Anozie, Frank Grillo and Joe Anderson serve as Neeson’s fellow plane crash survivors.  Each do an admirable job infusing distinct personas into characters that could have easily become faceless mechanisms for plot advancement.  Grillo as Diaz particularly stands out for taking his character through the full spectrum of emotions associated with death. 

From top to bottom, The Grey is a well-made movie.  The challenge of the elements and the ever-present sense of danger are palpable – so much so that the film feels like a visual form of punishment.  By time the credits rolled, I felt fatigued and a bit of despair.  Whatever a feel-good-movie is to you, this film is the exact opposite.  So if you are wondering if this is a quality movie, then the answer is a resounding yes.  As for whether it is an entertaining one - that is best left to be decided by the individual and his/her preferences.

Standout Performance: Kudos to Dermott Mulroney for starring in a movie that does not have the word “Wedding” in the title.

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