No, there hasn’t been a zombie apocalypse. I just haven’t been as loyal to the blog this year. A hectic time and an underwhelming set of films this year have kept me away from wordpress. I have still letterboxd, but nobody cares about cryptic crossword clues. However, since I went to Switzerland to see football come home, there have been a few good movies which have got the old typers tingling. But before that, in my hiatus, I forgot the ASBOs. So here’s a quick rundown of who would have won:
Actor: Josh O’Conner – La Chimera
Actress: Mzia Arabuli – Crossing
Supporting Actor: Ryuji Kosaka – Evil Does Not Exist
Supporting Actress: Joan Chen – Didi (With a massive honourable mention to Margaret Qualley in the Substance)
Original Screenplay Memoir of a Snail
Adapted Screenplay Nickel Boys
Animation: Transformers One
International Drama Green Border
Best Picture La Chimera
My Oscar calls weren’t met either. Anora dominated, which is nice for Sean Baker. A decent film, but not his magnum opus which in my mind is Florida Project. Despite not being my choice, Flow winning animation was cute, and I’m Still Here winning international was a charming outcome. Aside from Demi losing best actress, it was a fun night.
Anyway, let’s look at some recent film releases.
Savages is a movie by the team behind My Life as a Courgette. A sweet animation about a girl in Borneo who encounters a monkey suffering de-forestation, before meeting her cousin who is part of a tribe. From here she re-connects with her family and has to deal with the threat to her family’s home. It’s a decent enough family movie. It’s pretty soft and just seems a bit tonally all over the place and far too neat for what is a grim reality. There is a much better documentary about pretty much the same thing called The Territory which you can see on disney plus.
That’s not to say it isn’t a nice looking well animated movie. It just feels a bit shallow. Telling not showing the most emotional beats which makes it occasionally feel lazy and not meeting it’s potential. Absolutely fine.
Late Shift has had an impact on Swiss discourse recently, but gone somewhat under the radar in the UK. A story telling a nurse’s shift on an understaffed wing, it’s a strong empathetic piece which is well acted by the lead Leonie Benesch. We meet an interesting set of patients and there is tension as there is always something to concern the doctors.
I think this one maybe was liked and not loved because it’s something we’ve seen before. While there is a suggestion of unloved nurses in Switzerland, in the UK they get a lot more sympathy (except when they ask to be paid a reasonable wage). This is good, but when you’ve seen Casualty or This is going to hurt or even Scrubs, there isn’t much more to do unless you make something truly captivating. This film doesn’t quite reach the best of those mentioned, but it’s a solid 90 minutes of film making nonetheless.
Dying is a German movie of epic proportions. At three hours it’s no easy feat to get through, but it’s certainly worth the patience. Based on the director’s life, it’s split into five parts. Part one is about the matriarch and patriarch of the family mother and father. Mother is terminally ill, but looking after father who has dementia. Seemingly distanced from their kids, their only help is a neighbour. The second part is about their son who is in a relationship with a new mother while also in an affair and conducting his orchestra on a piece called Dying. His story is about the balance and as the focal point, he has to deal with death around him. Part 3 is about his sister daughter, an alcoholic dental assistant who starts a relationship which only seems to work drunk. Parts 4 & 5 see the family interacting more.
As you can tell, it’s pretty heavy. The themes of family splitting apart are rife here and the distance isn’t there to be resolved, but more observed. Each arc in itself is interesting. The lead son is probably the least interesting part. The parents are tragic, however it’s the sister’s story which is the most exciting, injecting so much energy and chaos that I’d happily have watched a 2 hour movie about her instead. There is a particularly out of whack scene in which she is required to do improvised dentistry which is either the best or worst scene I’ve watched this year (excluding the music scene in sinners of course).
With a strong musical theme and a sad inevitability, the film joins other slice of life greats like So Long, My Son and Still Walking where it’s not all about resolution. Each performance is phenomenal. Sister and mother could both be on course for an ASBO and while the script does involve some pretentious arty sorts, it never talks to itself, instead always showing a deeper connection to the audience, playing that fine line. The soundtrack is also fantastic and each relationship both in and out of the family feels organic. A watchable family tragedy.
Friendship is possibly the funniest film of the year. It starts with a married couple Craig (Tim Robinson) and Tami (Kate Mara), who are clearly not okay, as the cancer surviving wife has become tight with Devon, her ex, while husband has no lust for life. His job is to get people addicted to apps and all he wants to sit on his chair and is also excited about the new marvel movie which he hears is pretty insane. Craig seems harmless, but awkward. Craig’s life changes when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves down the street. A beer chugging, cigarette smoking, wild mushroom eating, historic nut weatherman, he’s the man’s man that Craig isn’t. He takes Craig under his wing and they become friends. When they hang out with Austin’s friends, Craig finally feels complete, dreaming of their friendship together. However, following a couple of incidents, Austin tells Craig that maybe they shouldn’t be friends. From this, Craig’s obsession leads to increasingly desperate acts for remorse, replacement and revenge with increasingly funny results.
Gosh, this film is funny, but it’s awkward funny. Craig starts off by trying to befriend his work people instead, which goes badly. He then tries to become Austin, leading his son and wife like a gang. But he’s not Austin. We also learn that Austin isn’t actually that cool. But Craig doesn’t see this. It’s incredibly relatable as when we see people we adore, we only see their best, when in reality they feel the same pressures of life we all do. Whenever Craig seems to have a shot at redemption, he does the wrong thing. It’s difficult to watch. Every consequence is his own fault, and he doesn’t learn. He only becomes more desperate to be friends with Austin.
This film could have either really worked or really not, and for plenty of people it won’t. it’s not wholesome, instead a cynical look at friendships and people not being able to change or develop. There is one key reason it works though, and that is Tim Robinson, the zipline guy. Other than that skit, I wasn’t familiar with him, but he plays the loser so well. Difficult to watch as he hurts himself, but you still root for him enough as Craig, his facial ticks are always so perfect, as is his line delivery. Comedy great Paul Rudd is on his best form since Parks and Rec. However, it’s Robinson who is so fundamentally watchable that feels like a dragged out skit keeps its humour going on for the whole movie.
The script hits the right balance. Tonally consistent, but increasingly ridiculous, there are so many funny lines. The deadpan nature of a lot of it really works. There is a particularly brilliant scene set in the Subway sandwich shop. It all just comes together as a wonderful piece of comedy by professionals who unapologetically leap into the bizarre.
The Film Ramble 