My Old Lady

First Hit:  Powerful acting in a dark film about the effect of affairs on family.

This was a very pointed film about how an affair can affect a child’s view of themselves and the world around them.

Mathias Gold (Kevin Kline) has nothing left except an apartment, in Paris, left to him by his estranged father. He travels to Paris to claim his inheritance only to discover that Mathilde Girard (Maggie Smith) and her daughter Chloe Girard (Kristin Scott Thomas) both live in the apartment.

In French law someone can sell their apartment (Girard) to someone else, in this case Mathias Gold’s father, and the new owner pays the old owner a  monthly fee while continuing to live there. This is a way that an apartment can be sold for a bargain and the old owner has a place to stay, some money in hand and an ongoing income.

Mathias discovers that Mathilde was his father’s lover. With this set up, the actors explore the dynamics of how this affects the families of the people having the affair. Paris, the city of love, is highlighted here as shots of the neighborhood where the apartment rests, and the Seine are wonderful.

The dynamic of Chloe and Mathias is pointed, extraordinary, while the emotionally blind Mathilde slowly becomes aware of the impact of her past actions.

Kline was amazing in the range of his pain and charm as expressed when he tells Chloe of his mother’s death and his singing of an aria with a stranger on the Seine. Smith was powerful in her own belief that what she did was OK, and as she begins to see what effect it had on others. Scott Thomas’ transition from arrogance to compassion for both herself and Mathias was a site to behold - sublime. Israel Horovitz wrote and directed this powerful yet dark film.

Overall:  This was a very good film, and it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

The November Man

First Hit:  Albeit an overly complicated plot, it kept me wondering how it would turn out.

There isn’t much about this film that makes it good.

The complicated plot line: Was it about Devereaux (Pierce Brosnan) and Mason (Luke Bracey)? Was it about how the CIA works? Was it about Devereaux and Alice (Olga Kurylenko)? Maybe it was about what being a CIA hit man deals with his/her life? Or was it about age and experience versus youth?

It could have been about Hanley (Bill Smitrovich) the head CIA operative and Devereaux, or was it about Arkady Federov (Lazar Ristovski) the guy trying to win a Russian Presidential election and Alice the girl he raped? There are a couple more I could have mentioned but the point being I never really understood what this film was about.

It is fine to have sub-plots and stories other than the main story, but the main story must be obvious to all – here it wasn’t. One things is for sure, there is a lot of shooting and a lot of bodies are given up for an unknown plot. What was good was Kurylenko’s Alice – she was engaging and created a believable character amongst the film’s lack of clarity.

Brosnan seemed OK but there were too many times that he looked like he was acting a character versus being the character. There was a separation of acting and being that, at times, seemed visible. Kurylenko was good and was fully engaged with her character. Bracey was pretty good as well as the young agent learning  to make choices about his personal and professional life. Smitrovich was very strong as the CIA person only caring about his agenda and what he thinks the US should be doing. Amila Terzimehic was a great unemotional assassin. Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusek wrote a confusing out of focus script. Roger Donaldson directed this with few highlights and mostly just adequate.

Overall:  This will not be a memorable film and needed clarity of plot to work.

The Last of Robin Hood

First Hit:  Interesting and somewhat provocative, yet it didn’t really probe the controversial aspects of Errol’s behavior.

Kevin Kline was a great pick for the Errol Flynn character. He’s got the subtle charm, sly smile, and eye sparkle that would make him a great ladies man which Errol was known to be.

This film begins at the end of Errol’s career. He’s gazing out of the window of a studio’s office and sees Beverly Aadland (Dakota Fanning) walking to a set. He sends his emissary over to find her and invite her to his office. She is 15 years old but passing for 18 and he’s over 50.

His charm has her going to dinner with him and then to his home where he pushes himself on and in her. Afterward, Beverly ignores Errol but he is persistent, tracks her down, and convinces her that he really cares for her. In the background, Beverly’s mother Florence (Susan Sarandon) is pushing her daughter to be a movie star and seems to allow or ignore risking her daughter’s reputation and safety for fame.

To give an air of proper propriety, Errol devises a plan for Florence and Beverly to go with him everywhere, but it’s when they go to New York that Florence faces the intimate relationship Beverly and Errol are having. The rest of the film is more about what happens to them as a twosome and threesome.  Errol’s has been burning the candle at both ends and this lifestyle brings about his early demise.

The 1950’s was very well represented in both clothing and outdoor scenes in LA and NYC. The automobiles were beautiful and seeing the John Wayne movie marquee was great. What this film was missing was more about Errol’s previous issues which were only talked about and delved into once with a stern talk between Errol and his lawyer.

Kline was really good as Errol and it was a pleasure to watch him be in this character. I think the script let him down. Fanning was incredible, she was able to be the various ages her character was pretending to be allowing her experience to give her the air of being much older than she was. Sarandon was wonderful as the mother choosing blinders when she needed them, yet opportunistic as all get out. Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland both wrote and directed this film. It lacked some of deeper more controversial aspects of Errol’s behavior but what it did was bring light to the man who has long since passed.

Overall:  I admired Fanning’s portrayal of Beverley and liked Kline’s version of Flynn.

Life of Crime

First Hit:  Pretty much a waste of time.

This film was lifeless from the beginning. Mos Def playing Ordell Robbie (as Yasiin Bey) has a smile and attitude that belie his role, kidnapper.

Yes it was supposed to be a comedy but it wasn’t funny and his sly grin didn’t make it so. Mickey Dawson (Jennifer Aniston) was the person Ordell and Louis (John Hawkes) were going to kidnap. Why her? Her husband Frank (Tim Robbins) was stealing money from the city of Detroit and putting it in an offshore account. They believed he loved his wife and by kidnapping her they could extract the money from him.

What they didn’t know was that Frank was in the process of divorcing Mickey so he didn’t care that she was kidnapped. Frank was also having an affair with Melanie (Isla Fisher) with whom he wanted to marry just as soon as his divorce was settled. With a few mishaps; like a double cross, some misgivings, and newly found freedom, the audience was expected to be engaged with the characters I found it hard to care about any of them, let alone the story.

Aniston is a good actress, however her entire performance here seemed pained and phoned it. It was like she didn’t want to be there. Def was fun to watch but he seemed miscast or the film forgot it was supposed to funny as well. Hawkes was OK but again, when a film doesn’t work it is hard for actors to perform well. Robbins was OK but seemed to carry a level of aloofness throughout. Fisher was the best part of the film. She was really trying to make something of her character. Daniel Schechter wrote and directed this and it appears he’s got work to do to make a film that works because this one didn’t.

Overall:  This film just never clicked and didn’t work.

Love is Strange

First Hit:  Outstanding acting, powerful subject, and Love is expressed in this film.

Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) are aging gay men who’ve had an ongoing committed relationship for over 30 years.

They decide the time is right for them to be married. When they do the Catholic School where George works as a music teacher, fires him because it is against a behavior agreement he signed when he was hired although the church knew he was gay and was living with his partner. Ben and George have lots of friends and some family who admire and love them.

When they have to move from their apartment, they move in with separate families. George with two gay policemen, Ben with his nephew and family. These changes create intense scenes of how they have to accommodate and be accommodated by the people who take them in. The stories therein are heartfelt and poignant.

The direction of this film was outstanding in a number of ways:  The scenes were beautifully shot and full of character. Scenes were left to play out in their entirety; a song on a piano, long scenes of dialog or wistfulness, and a music recital.

Lithgow was supremely wonderful. His soft tenderness and dancing eyes brought incredible life and spirit to his character. Molina was simply exquisite. His interaction with both Lithgow and the other characters in the film was divine. Charlie Tahan as the son of the couple Ben stayed with was amazing. He embodied a young boy trying to make sense of the world and to find his place in the family while growing up. Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias wrote a beautiful script that was allowed breathe. Sachs was mostly spot-on in his direction of the script, scenes and characters.

Overall:  This film will stay with me for days in its tenderness and portrayal of a gay couples’ love and struggle to be able to live their love.