Tuesday.

A young woman with a terminal disease is about to die

One day death in the form of a shape shifting parrot comes into her room.

So begins the intriguing tale by first time director Daina O. Pusić about death and humanities inability to comprehend and understand this universal phenomenon. Deaths appearance does not particularly upset or perturb Tuesday affectingly played byLola Petticrew. Her only request is that death delay its mission until Zora, her mother played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns from work. 

Her mothers reaction on seeing death and realizing what its presence means for her daughter beginning a mission to try and forestall its inevitable actions. Trying to kill the bird by various means she ends up swallowing the charred remains of the creature. By doing so forestalling its duties reports begin to come in of people and animals not dying from their injuries and roaming the countryside in zombie like states. Swallowing the bird has its own disastrous effects on Zora until her daughter makes her realize her mistake intruding to put off the inevitable.  In doing so she regurgitates the bird allowing it to complete its duties. After her daughters death she becomes demoralized. The bird on a revisit to ‘see how she is doing’ , she asks the bird to continue its mission with her, hoping for an afterlife where she can reunite with her daughter. The bird refuses, saying that the afterlife is a legacy in other peoples memories. How Zora lives her remaining days is her daughters afterlife. On pondering this is is reminded of a conversation she had with her daughter in her final day promising she would continue on trying to live her best life  in her memory. This is a strange and affecting film that with great humanity tackles a subject that is rarely visited with such style.  499.5 stars

 

 

 

  My Brilliant Friend

 
 I did an original review of the first three seasons of the HBO distributed series in  Feb 2023. The fourth and final season (The Story of the Lost Child) released this year has just concluded. The entire series spanning four years of production time.  Carrying on from the previous seasons the story continues the complex and sometimes tortured relationship between Elenor Grecco (Alba Rohrwacher) and Raffaella Cerulla (Irene Maiorino).  Elenor being the narrator and writer of their lives together. It’s a lifetimes story spanning their childhood into their old age. A vast complex detailed telling. The Tv productions being faithful to the original four volume set of books. What prevents this from being a giant soap opera, is the skill and authenticity of the original writing by Ferranti and the wisdom of the directors for following that writing so closely and  the actors for bringing their efforts to the screen with such riveting performances.

488 stars

 

At the end of his tour of Italy James May the British TV presenter gave a summation of his impressions of the country, He goes on to list that in spite of its chaotic political system, it’s unfathomable civil service its almost complete disorganization as a country in the nordic sense. But because of its many other attributes.  The food, wine, breathtaking scenery and history, unparalleled art, warmth of its people and general dolce vita ethos. The fact that the words ‘made in Italy’ add value to almost any modern manufactured item. Even its detractors who sneer and joke about the entire archipelago would secretly like to be Italian. I count myself amongst the people who would like to have come from that odd shaped piece of property sticking into the Mediterranean. Which brings me in a very Italian round about way to the TV police series:

The investigations of Lolita Lobosco

After a long period of work in the North, Deputy prosecutor  Lolita Lobosco returns to  Bari her hometown on the Adriatic coast in southern Italy.  In a world stubbornly ruled by males, Lolita chooses to remain herself without repressing her charm and beauty, indeed she uses these qualities to establish herself and fight prejudices. Freely based on Gabriella Genisi’s books. 

The backbone of the series like the dozens of other programs of this genre if fairly prosaic. A murder an investigation a solution. The thing that sets this series apart is the afore mentioned ‘made in Italy’ component. Shot mostly in the very picturesque seaside town of Bari our heroine Lolita (loli) Played by the striking Louisa Ranieri  and her sidekick Antonio Forte played by  Giovanni Ludeno . For Comic relief there is Esposito played by Jacopo Cullin.  All three with Lobosco in the lead set about solving misdeeds and murders in their town. Where this series differs from the others is the back story a kind of an elaborate rom com involving the whole extensive family, including Lobosco's mother Nunzia played by Lunetta Savino and her erstwhile romantic interest the sometimes bumbling greengrocer Trifoni played by Maurizio Donadoni and other neighborhood characters that most of the other series don’t delve into. The back stories are as engrossing and emotionally personal (often involving our lead actor) as the crime aspect. An ongoing story line is the death of Lobosco’s father early on in the series which forever haunts her, and is intent of finally solving.  Helping the cohesiveness, all the actors seem perfectly cast in their roles. You won’t have heard of any of them, its all there on the screen. Despite the crime aspect its mostly fun and romance, which is what sets this series apart.   322 stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bear.

A  low level beef sandwich shop in the River North district of Chicago recently run by his deceased (by suicide) brother Michael.  Inefficient, chaotic, run by a chronically dysfunctional crew barely making a go of it. This is the world that Carmen Berzetto returns to after his years of training and work in Michelin- starred restaurants around the world. Having to deal with the chaos in every area that his brother has left behind. The staff headed by “Ritchie”, deceased Michaels best friend and completely unqualified manager.  Fiercely resisting and resentful of Carmens every move to modernize and upgrade the operation, simply adding to the turmoil. Hiring a young talented chef Sydney Adamu to be sous-chef exacerbates the tensions as a new level of authority is introduced. Trying to conquer these competing demands takes up a good portion of season one. Wearing down the obsessive “Carmy” with repeated fights, screaming matches and swearing, as in any stereotypical Italian family. This gets exhausting to watch after a while. There are many multiple setbacks which fleshes the story out in season two.Carmy persists and despite his own personal demons and private traumas, towards his ultimate goal of opening up a new restaurant. Slowly, painfully carves this iceberg into an elegant sculpture. The episodes get better as the season progresses. Thanks to (once again) The writers; Christopher Storer. Who also created the series.Matty Matheson, Will Guidara, Joanna Callo and Alex Russel.
The tent pole that holds this whole thing up is
Jeremy Allen White  as the bedeviled Carmen
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie the mesmerizing  thorn in Carmens side.
Ayo Edebiri as Sydney the gifted Sous-Chef.
The rest of the substantial supporting cast are all top rate helping round out what ends up being a well worth compelling personality realistically presented study in people under sometimes extreme insane pressure. Proof of the award winning pudding (sorry soufflé) is season three is about too be released and season four is planned.   384 stars
 

 

 

 

 Three Body Problem.

This monster Chinese TV  science fiction tale was released to huge acclaim in China in 2023.  30 episodes in length (all with subtitles) is not for the faint of heart. Taken from an an epic three volume set of novels by Liu Cxin  The recipient of many science fiction awards it was hugely successful in China. The English translation was the first to receive a Hugo and Nebula award by an asian writer. Set against the turbulence of the cultural revolution  Ye Wenjie an astrophysics graduate sees her father a teacher beaten to death by the Red Guard. Sentenced to prison for her protests Ye is recruited by the military to work on a secret project to use high powered radio waves to damage spy satellites a technology far behind  what the USA and USSR are working on. Its real mission turns out to be a clandestine search for extraterrestrial life. Ye discovers that  by using the sun to amplify the outgoing radio waves success is more likely but tells no one.  Eight years later through her contacts she is told  that a message has been received from a planet in Alpha Centuri warning her not to respond or the inhabitants of Trisolaris will be able to calculate the earths location and invade. Ye responds anyway inviting the aliens to come to earth and settle its problems. Murdering her two co workers in order to keep the alien massage secret. The cat is out of the bag. By responding to the aliens message  Ye has set in motion a series of irreversible events which as the news spreads to various factions of humanity is responded to in predictably chaotic uncoordinated manner. This is just a brief historical synopsis of  the plot line It continues. In the present day a nanotechnology professor Wang is asked by the police to help with the investigations of the suicides of several prominent  scientists including Ye’s daughter. A meeting between Wang and Ye reveals people playing a sophisticated Virtual Reality game called Three Body.  The game portrays a planet whose climate randomly flips between Stable and Chaotic Eras. During Chaotic Eras, the weather oscillates unpredictably between extreme cold and extreme heat, sometimes within minutes. This unstable unpredictable atmosphere spells doom for the Trisolarans and their planet.   The game shows them building and launching colony ships to invade Earth, believing that the stable orbit will allow unprecedented prosperity and let them escape the destruction of their home.  Still not the end, which I will not reveal.The intricacies of the books plot are carried unsullied in excruciating detail into the Chinese TV production, hence the thirty episodes. Shot in weird 1960’s color gives the series and appropriately dated look. None of the actors will be recognizable although their performances especially Ye Wen Jie outstandingly played by Chen Jin and Edward Zhang playing Wang Miao and the police officer played byYu He Wei are all solid.
Then of course there is the the American adaptation. From the creators of Game of Thrones. As to be expected it is shorter (eight episodes) slicker, sexier and the effects are way more spectacular than in the Chinese version. Also a huge amount of the story is in the trash bucket. Probably, with good reason Benioff, Weiss and Woo decided that a US audience would not sit still for thirty episodes or anything near it. The casting is odd and inconsistent but dealing with such a truncated plot line took its toll. Rosalind Chao plays the adult Ye Wenjie, Benedict Wong plays the intrepid detective Da Shi.  The lead women actors. Jess Hong, Eiza Gonzales are far too good looking to be taken seriously in they roles. Liam Cunningham as the evil industrialist and Johnathon Price as the crackpot environmentalist are just thrown in for gravitas that neither achieve. As you can tell I think this version was just a money grab. Substituting glam for drama.  Glomming on to the much more authentic and compelling original Chinese tale. It’s not an entire bust though bits of the original story still poke through. My advice is to get a trashcan size tub of popcorn a case of your favorite soda and sit through the 30 episode version.   726 stars

 Baby Reindeer.

In this compellingly gloomy tale  Donny Dunn the lead character played by and starring Richard Gadd adapted from his autobiographical one man show. A terrible but aspiring comedian. Working in a pub as a bartender, to barely finance his life.  One day a distraught Martha, brilliantly played by Jessica Gunning, a former lawyer with a criminal past, walks in sitting at the bar. Offering a cup of tea which she cannot pay for is the beginning of their nightmarish relationship.  She begins coming to the pub daily becoming increasingly obsessed with him and begins to inundate his account with texts and emails as well as attending the few show he’s able to perform. As her obsession spins out of control she harasses Teri, his trans therapist girlfriend, who Donny met online, sometimes violently, as well as any attempt by Donny to end the relationship.There is a segment that is quite telling about the inner workings of Donny's life. During one of his disastrous stand up routines he has a breakdown in front of the stone faced audience and veers off into stunningly sad diatribe about his own life failings and confusions. An audience member records the whole performance, posts it online and in the queen of all ironies Donny becomes a media star boosting his non existent career into visibility he'd never dreamed of. This however only exacerbates the Martha problem.  In the midst of this mayhem Donny meets Darrien O’conner a TV writer who offers him career advice and work opportunities but actually only delivers during drug induced blackouts sexual assault. Donny finally during a moment of clarity leaves. They meet up years later agreeing reluctantly to renew their work collaboration. Finally Donny is able to report Martha to the police, she is arrested, pleads guilty and spends nine months in prison. A musical comedy this is not. The subject matter is desperate and bleak with no real redeeming message other than be careful who you buy a cup of tea for. It is only the acting and authenticity of the story that make a viewer continue watch all the episodes until the end.  478 stars

 

 Hacks.
            Of all the genres available, comedy is the most fraught and difficult. That is why sensible and smart people seldom try and create it and far fewer succeed, those who do become legends and stars. In this new streaming series starring Jean Smart playing a legendary Las Vegas comedian  Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder as her unlikely much younger comedy writer Ava, hired to reinvigorate Vance's career. As always it is the writers Lucia Aniello, Paul Downs, and  Co Creator Jan Statsky that have made this gem possible. But it would be all for naught if it were not for the brilliant Jean Smart, as Vance. Not known for her comedy chops throughout her long acting career she comes across as a consummate natural. It is Smart injecting the deadly combination of steely unrepentant professionalism barely covering a core of vulnerability and hurt in the brassy fun loving take no prisoners Vance that makes this series so watchable . Her exploitative relationship with her protoge/mentor is fraught and sometimes hostile hiding the mutual respect and affection the two have for each other. Now in its third and best season so far it shows what can happen when truly gifted people come together with the goal of making the rest of us laugh.   526 stars

After working for over twenty years as a director of research at a wall street investment management company, Amor Towles turned his considerable talents to writing. His second effort, a startlingly effective tale. A Gentleman in Moscow, now turned into a streaming series starring Ewan McGregor. Set against the real events of the Bolshevik revolution, this fictional tale tells the story of a Count Rostov spared the death sentence by the new regime but condemned to live the rest of his days inside the luxurious Metropol Hotel (a real Moscow hotel where the story is set).  The penalty for leaving the building being death.  Making the most of his sentence gives the resourceful McGregor plenty of room for his satisfyingly effective performance, and the tale its body. The gloomily romantic visual style helps the authentic look of the series, and given the historical background of the story indicates that things will not end well. With a solid supporting cast, this tale while not as sharp as the book is well worth the time spent watching.  389 stars

Ripley

 

 

Ripley

It is not the riveting Andrew Scott who plays the lead in this latest adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s ‘The talented Mr Ripley’. Neither is it the smoldering Dakota Fanning playing Marge Sherwood the love interest of Dickie Greenleaf played with amusing disinterest by Johnny Flynn, the absent heir to his fathers shipping business. Who are the stars of this engrossing thriller
A mid level New York huckster, Ripley seizes the offer by his father to to go to Italy and bring back his wayward trust fueled son to the fold. The assignment many levels above what he is used to he soon adapts to the idle luxurious lifestyle. All the while hatching a scheme where he can make this new world his.
No. The stars are the endlessly mesmerizing editing and design of almost every scene.  Set in the early nineteen sixties, shot mostly in Italy Director Steven Zaillian  and cinematographer  Robert Elswit have raised the gorgeous black and white ethos to or even beyond that of the master Italian directors of that era.
The plot intricate and gripping, the acting, especially by the chameleon like hypnotic Scott keep your eyes looking in one direction. It’s rare that a streaming production attains this level of artistry, but this one has.  575 stars

 

In his visually dizzying assault on the senses director
Yorgos Lanthimos has created a film that may draw on its distant ancestry the tale of Frankenstein. There is the doctor and his reanimated creation, from that point on they have little in common. In the intervening 92 years since the original dramatic film, many have had a crack at this story. But nothing compares to this latest iteration, peppered as is with several truly hilarious scenes. The doctor, Godwin Baxter expertly played by a scarred up Willem Dafoe and his creation, Bella Baxter in a bravura performance by Emma Stone who really carries the entire film on her daunting shoulders, her trust in the director evident in her performance.
Her name rivaled only Daisy Domergue (Hateful 8)
It’s the tale of her emancipation through a bewildering world she has little understanding of and has through her rapid development has to learn the ropes VERY fast in order to survive. Surrounded by conniving opportunists, in particular a wealthy lawyer Duncan Wedderburn played by Mark Ruffalo who initially enamored with Bella tires of her unpredictable rebellious ways. When she predictably leaves, his life collapses. Bella immune to human emotional frailties soldiers on to her next adventure, hardly aware of his absence. There are other passing dalliances, a stint as a prostitute in Paris run by a kindly empathetic madame, which have little impact on Bella’s adventures, absorbing her experiences into the file of her consciousness. The only relationship she seems to respond to is that of her creator, who she calls god and towards the end of the film after all of her experiences she returns to his dying bedside. The sets dozens of them each more jaw droppingly ornate and fantastical in their detail come at you faster than your brain can process the images. Same with his use of lenses, what used to be called fisheye wide angle, each shot style different and yet related to the last.  The eerie unique soundtrack adding to the sensory overload. I got the sense that this director got his vision onto the screen pretty much in tact with not much interference from the producers (unlikely)  or regard for what the audience might think of his visual style or presentation. 633 stars

 

 

Oppenheimer .

Given the two possible options presented to me this weekend I decided on the gloomy retelling of the Robert Oppenheimer story. Given that Pink is my least favorite color. This also marks after a several year hiatus my return to an actual movie theater.
Presented by accomplished and talented director Christopher Nolan. This epic historical retelling of the famed nuclear scientists brilliantly gifted, complicated and contradictory life runs for just over three hours. Nolan leaves few stones unturned in his portrayal of the man, the times and turmoil scientific and political that he lived in.  Rivetingly played by Cillian Murphy.  Robert Downey Jr also spellbinding as political snake Lewis Strauss. Matt Damon as the military chief Leslie Groves is quietly memorable. Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s sometimes fiery wife. Florence Pugh’s impact is outweighed by her brief appearances as Oppenheimer's sometimes moral conscience and lover. The political lynching that he endured towards the end of his career while important and dramatic to the story seemed overly drawn out. Overall it is a credit to Nolan and his crew that he pulled of this daunting project with such accomplished finesse and care.
A technical point I was struck by the dull flat digital (the new norm) projection on the screen. It’s a shame that after all the trouble that Nolan went to shooting this epic on 65mm film, that  what we are presented with is these lifeless images on the screen in the in the name of economic expedience.

 Asteroid city.

In the immortal words of Nigel Tufnel the rocker from Spinal Tap. Referring to the volume knob on his guitar amp         “These go to Eleven”
Which is what Wes Anderson has dialed up on the weirdness scale in his  new film Asteroid City.                                       Anderson perhaps the newest  addition to the list of modern American director’s who’s cinematic work can be readily identified with them. He has not so much carved out his own niche as created his own particular visual world. Asteroid city adds to and continues his explorations into his peculiar universe. Working with what has become in. Certain cases his repertory group of actors in including ,Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton,  Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Steve Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie.
In this multi layered fantasy set in the 1950’s Anderson has constructed a play, shot in black and white set on a stage is purposely one dimensional, hosted by a serious commentator. This then morphs into a film set in desert town of 87 complete with crater left behind by an asteroid.  A gifted stylist Anderson has managed to make the movie part of the film mesmerizingly strange with its bleached pastel colors, (apart from Scarlett Johanssons lips) startling dolly shots and meticulous production design.
The child actors cast are all perfect and brilliant.                      
The star studded cast are….star studded, in their goofy magnetic Anderson way. It seems that the director is increasingly comfortable with the unusual worlds he creates. We are all in some way the beneficiaries.

 

 

 Three Thousand Years of Longing.


It was Tilda Swnton that drew me as she has many times before to the various intriguing projects that she has been involved in in her acting career, to this mystical tale.  As Alithea Binnie a narratologist (someone who studies narrative structure and its influence on society). who discovers a strange bottle while doing research in Istanbul. While cleaning the bottle, Alithea comes to find out that it contains a Djinn, a mystical spirit engrossingly played by (Idris Elba).  Accidentally releasing it in the middle of her hotel room. The Djinn grants three wishes to Alithea, insisting that he is under the control of whomever frees him until they make their wishes. While Alithea is hesitant, acknowledging that many Djinn stories are cautionary tales, the Djinn attempts to convince Alithea that he will truly grant whatever her heart desires by telling her stories of how he was imprisoned three different times. Directed by George Miller of the Mad Max Franchise and The Witches of Eastwick among others.   Based on a A. S. Byatt's short story.  Even in this lushly produced fantastical tale of magic, illusion and dreams. Along with the fine supporting cast, it is Swinton’s presence and acting skills as with all of her appearances holds your attention. I stayed up much longer than intended to see the romantic end of this engrossing film.

                                                    
 

 

  Secretary

 

It was because of my reading of her new work of fiction in current New Yorker that caused me to revisit this 2002 film. Her story called Minority Report was in itself an expanded revisit by her of her original story in her book of 1988 Bad Behavior.  The film itself is a slick tidied up version, of  the original story that has not, unlike Ms Gaitskill herself aged well. This is not to diminish the performances of its two lead characters. Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee Holloway who is undoubtedly the star of the film and James Spader as her boss, Mr Grey in his weirdly decorated office  giving a compellingly repressed performance. Her mother, played by Leslie Ann Warren trying her best to be compulsively normal in her decidedly dysfunctional family adds to the strained off kilter tone of the film. In the midst of the current  #MeToo movement the film seems trite and titilating, glamorizing sexist behavior. The corny happy ending ruins whatever pertinent social lessons might have been gleaned from this imperfect but worthy film.

 

 

 

Living.


Full disclosure: I’m a long time fan of Bill Nighy’s acting. So it was with great anticipation that I was looking forward to his latest film. In which he plays a leading role. Indeed the film was created with him in mind. With a screenplay by prizewinning writer Kazuo Ishiguro (Remains of the Day, Klara and the Sun).  A faithful indeed rigorous adaptation of the 1952 film Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa. Like that film it tells the tale of a downtrodden civil service bureaucrat who after spending most of his life in meaningless work, becomes aware only after a diagnosis of terminal cancer what a waste his life has been. This revelatory jolt ignites a desire to at last do something meaningful with his remaining days. At first unable to imagine what or how that might be accomplished. He enlists the help of a young girl (played by Amy Lou Wood)  who works in his office, not yet smothered the bureaucratic quicksand that all the other employees have sunk into and is about to leave. Her very existence unsullied by what he has allowed to happen to him, spurs him into a final burst of action achieving at least a small victory against a governmental tsunami that has overwhelmed him his whole life, up until the death sentence he has just been handed. So with such an inspiring story gifted writing talented directing (Oliver Hermanus) arresting authentic visuals and Nighy at the helm of a solid cast why was I so disappointed? So much so that I went back for a second look to the 70 year old Kurosawa’s film for a clue. At the end of the nearly 2 1/2 hour film I had my answer. What was missing from the new version was emotion. All the tragedy, joy, revelation, sadness, regret and quiet triumph has been squashed out of the new version, under the guise of 1950’s British stiff upper lippedness, which I’m sure was an accurate portrayal of the times and demeanor of these bureaucrats. These vital elements on easy view in the Kurosawa version is what I missed. This is not to take away anything from the new film. The fact that they made a worthy update shows bravery, courage and talent of all those involved.  And my fandom of Mr Nighy has not been dented one bit.

  

 

 

Women Talking.

Based on actual events in a Mennonite community, the film is a recreation directed by Sarah Polley adapted from the novel by Miriam Toews.  With actors Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Rooney Mara giving powerful performances in leading roles.
Given the subject matter of sexual abuse by men in a patriarchal organisation, its not surprising that these oppressed women rebel. Their microcosm displays the chinese puzzle that they find themselves in when caught between their faith and the moral path they must take in deciding their future. This is where the talking occurs. The romantic sequences of the children's lives seem out of place too, given the tone of the story, maybe to contrast whats in store for them. The other thing I found odd is that the men who committed these crimes are given no screen time, perhaps to make them more terrifying, faceless demons. The film was shot in desaturated color adding to the gloomy look of this fraught drama.
I am not going to attempt any deeper analysis of the film or subject. If you are interested in an expert opinion by a brilliant writer who’s insights and intellectual rigor I simply do not possess. Click the link below. It was only after reading her post I decided to see the film at all.

https://marygaitskill.substack.com/p/women-talking

 

 

 My Brilliant Friend.

From the pen of  Elena Ferranti  This adapted epic TV series  with three seasons of eight episodes each running almost an hour this series is a marathon, but one worth running.
It follows in great detail the friendship of two young girls growing up in an impoverished neighborhood in Naples just after the second world war. Their mean meagre and sometimes brutal upbringing in which children were often treated as burdens produced by unwanted sex by men who considered their wives as property and servants, is the harsh deprived backdrop that these two young girls were brought up in and were drawn together for protection as much as anything else. As girls their future was mapped out for them at an early age, to follow their mothers miserable lives as producers of offspring and to stand by as their philandering  husbands. Any aspirations for self betterment or education of any kind was scorned on and stamped out by parents and society as whole. The only way forward being the continuation of their existing lives. The two protagonists, Lila a firebrand from the start and Elena the more introverted of the two. Both outstanding scholars in elementary school. It’s only Elena who is eventually allowed to capitalize on her intellect through an understanding father. Much to her mothers disgust. Lila equally bright has her ambitions crushed from the start by her brutish family. Her only way forwards is through a possible eventual union with the gangs and loan sharks that control m much of the ‘neighborhood’ in which they both live. This is a character driven drama, there are no ‘stars’ as such and most of the characters are memorable, their performances stark and riveting. The production is top rate the attention to detail mind boggling the locales are authentic. This is an entirely Italian enterprise and it shows, in the best sense. The two lead protagonists, Lila and Elena are played by three sets of actors following their childhood lives into adulthood.  
Elisa Del Genio plays the adult Elena  Ludovica Nasti plays the adult Lila.   An enormous supporting cast turns this series into an engrossing adventure.   
468 stars.  HBO

                                                         

 The Lost Daughter.

In which a middle aged professor Leda,  (Olivia Coleman) goes on what she thinks and hopes is a quiet holiday only to be disappointed on many levels. As was I. Despite her formidable acting prowess, I think Coleman is completely miscast in this role. Her dour English manner (which might be intentional in casting a pall over the narrative) The contrast she displays is too stark, overpowering and unsubtle,  completely out of step with the rest of the cast members.  Her hope for a quiet restful environment is shattered with the arrival of several family groups with small children at the same location, along with an invading group of noisy disruptive teenagers. It is the temporary disappearance of one of the children (Who she finds). Along with the child’s beloved doll that also mysteriously ends up in her possession but does not immidiately return, causing the child unending hysterical misery. Finally returning the doll to the astounded mother, causing her justifiable outrage. This general upheaval rekindles her own memories of a compromised marriage and the temporary  abandonment of her daughters. The film comes to a sad limp unresolved ending.  This film had many obstacles to overcome. I think being a American adaptation, having recognized stars in leading roles, (both doing good work). Ed Harris and Peter Sarsgaard. The editing works against the film every step of the way, the cuts never letting the scenes deliver their full impact. Directing her first feature the talented actor Maggie Gyllenhaal has missed the mark. Even when the mark was written by Elena Ferranti.       Netflix

                                               

The Lying Life of Adults.

 

Italians are not like us. Their world view and sensibilities are different. This is one of the main reasons this new six part television series so engrossing to watch. It follows the life of an emerging teenager Giovanna magnetically played by Giordana Marengo.  As the surrounding comfortable life she has been living with her middle class Neapolitan  family begins to come into an increasingly unpleasant focus. Moody and irritable she appears to have no focus of her own. The catalyst for the beginning of her new awareness coming when she eavesdrops on a conversation her parents are having about her, Mainly centering on her failures in school and her unappealing nature. Hearing the alarming realization by the father she adores that he thinks she might be taking on not only the physical  but mental characterization, his is estranged and despised sister Vittorio, a woman she has never met, Wonderfully played by Valeria Golino.  Upset by what she feels is her parents real unfiltered opinion of her is  she retreats to her friends with this revelation of ask if they think it is valid. After a series of machinations her father in an effort to rekindle his daughters trust agrees to take her to see his reviled sister. Despite a hostile initial meeting Giovanna eventually warms up to her on subsequent visits and her free spirited amorous world view, mainly because of its contrast to the one her parents have created and are living in. This tale is lengthy and sometimes looses its way with side stories especially in episodes 4 &5, but never its mission of Giovanna's passage.  The final episode regaining its footing. 
It’s worth mentioning that the 3 1/2  minute opening sequence in episode 4 with its reverse action clips is startling in its own right.  Even if this is not an original subject. It  a great story told in a engrossing way, a terrific cast lead by the aforementioned Giordana Marengo and deftly directed by Edoardo De Angelis  from a story by the gifted celebrated writer Elenor Ferranti  

 500 stars.          Netflix

 

 

 

 

                                      

 

The Banshees of Inisherin

On the face of it I wouldn’t have thought the Irish have much in common with the Swedes. But the first 30 minutes of this bleakly morose tale could have been directed by the master of gloom   Ingmar Bergman.
The story revolves around two men living in a tiny village on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland in the 1920’s.
The two protagonists are superbly played by Brendon Gleeson (Colm) and Colin Farrell(Pádraic).   
Colm the elder of the two decides to break off their friendship
he has found to become stifling, to the unending mystification of the younger Pádraic, who cannot see the reasons for the rift due to the limitations of the world he inhabits, even after its is explained to him numerous times by various people in the community. This is at the crux of this tale.
Colm finally resorting to drastic means in order to convince Padraic he wants to be left alone does nothing to deter him.
Being Irish men in the early 1920’s with no twitter, facebook or video games, only a landline and Guinness to lubricate their communication, it’s no wonder that even with brutal tactics from them both  there is no solution to their dilemma .
On the plus side it is a tribute to the acting skills of the two leads as well as the direction by Martin McDonagh spare and powerful it is, that this film of nearly two hours can hold you attention until the end without any modern trickery. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful at every turn, even the interiors.
This is an old school film in which actual on screen talent carries the entire project aloft.  
A musical comedy this is not, but you knew that.    198 stars     HBO MAX