It seems that I've gotten way behind on my movie reviewing and so here is a Reader's Digest Condensed version of my takes on a few movies I've watched over the past couple weeks.
Pariah
Pariah, directed by former Nashvillian Dee Rees, is a coming of age tale from a unique perspective: a black, middle-class lesbian teen. Although Alike (wonderfully played by Adepero Oduye) is black, Pariah could have just as easily been about a white teenager. The focus of the film is on Alike's sexuality and familial/friend/romantic relationships--not her race. Some have called Pariah "the gay Precious", referring to Lee Daniel's devastating film about a poor, black girl who is illiterate, abused by her mom, and pregnant (a second time) with her father's baby. Honestly? I find the comparison confusing at best and racist at worst. The only thing the two films have in common is that the lead characters are both black teen girls. But Alike in Pariah is downright privileged compared to Precious. She lives in a comfortable, middle-class home. Dad is very distant, but clearly loves Alike and her sister, Sharonda. Mom is religious and strict, but mostly just confused and concerned about her older daughter's secretive ways and fondness for unfeminine clothing. Alike is surrounded by a loving support system: her sister knows she's gay and accepts her; her English teacher encourages her writing (Alike is a talented poet); her best friend Laura introduces her to a women-only strip club and tries to get her a girlfriend.
Pariah is not so much a movie about oppression and unending suffering as it is about figuring out who you are--authentically--despite external pressures to behave in a certain way. Even when Alike's mom freaks out when she finds out the truth about Alike (a truth she probably already knew, but refused to admit to herself), there is still love, hope, and a better future for Alike. Pariah is a very modern and refreshing take on coming out of the closet as a gay teen. Being gay today does not automatically mean you will be a hated outcast. Although Alike faces difficult challenges in her quest to understand her sexuality, she is the embodiment of the popular gay rights slogan "It gets better".
4 out of 5 stars
***
A Separation
This year, A Separation was honored with the Best Foreign Film award at the Oscars, and man was it deserving of the prize! A Separation is easily one of the best films I've seen in 2012 so far. One reason I found it so appealing is that, despite its subject matter, A Separation does not wallow in melodrama. It's subtle, humorous, and captures the small choices that impact our lives in big ways.
A Separation follows an modern Iranian family. Simin wants to move abroad so that her 11-year-old daughter, Termeh, will have more opportunities in life. Simin's husband, Nader, doesn't want to move because his elderly father is suffering from Alzheimer's. From the get-go we sympathize with both Nader and Simin--both have selfless reasons for wanting to stay or move. Simin asks Nader for a divorce, which he refuses to grant. Instead, she moves to her mother's house, forcing Nader to hire a devoutly religious woman, Razieh, to clean and take care of his father while Nader is at work. Because of Razieh's religious beliefs, she finds it morally difficult to tend to Nader's father without another man present. Also, Razieh is hiding a secret that interferes with her work at Nader's home, and her neglect of her duties leads to a string of unintended consequences that affect everyone involved.
The previews of A Separation made the film look like a big, dramatic bummer; so I was pleasantly surprised at the levity director Ashgar Farhadi injects into the movie. Even during tense moments, a character usually rolls his or her eyes or says something darkly comic that relieves a bit of the tension. And even though all the characters (some more than others) have negative personality quirks and behaviors (for example, Nader has a tendency to emotionally manipulate his daughter), no one is a villain or a monster. Everyone in the movie is trying to do what they think is best under a certain set of constraining circumstances.A Separation is worth watching twice (at least): once for the plot twists and a second time for the wonderful acting. It's an excellent film about the drama of everyday life.
5 out of 5 stars
***
Wanderlust
From the minds of David Wain and Ken Marino--two comedians known for their work on the short-lived sketch comedy series The State, as well as cult films Wet Hot American Summer and The Ten--comes Wanderlust, a pretty good comedy about a couple of over-worked Mahattanites, George and Linda (Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston), who in the wake of an unexpected job loss move to George's brother's home in Atlanta. Along the way, the couple spends the night at a bed and breakfast in Elysium--a hippie commune in rural Georgia--and have their minds blown by the free love/no personal property/tons of pot and alcohol way of living there. After George has a fight with his alphahole brother, the two decide to stay at Elysium for a few weeks and see if they want to to move there permanently. During their stay, control freak Linda begins to love the forcibly low stress way of living at the commune, whereas open-minded George begins to resent the ladies man leader of Elysium, Seth (Justin Theroux, excellent at portraying an alpha male in a supposedly hierarchy-less community). George and Linda's trip down the hippie rabbit hole threatens to tear their relationship apart.
Wanderlust is one of those movies--similar to Crazy, Stupid, Love--that I enjoyed a lot but didn't think was particularly earth-shattering. Rudd and Aniston are a great comedic team: they're both "straight men" who slip easily into silly, absurdist comedy (see Aniston's hilarious drug freakout in this movie). Wanderlust is also blessed with a funny and competent supporting cast, including Alan Alda as the elderly man who founded Elysium (along with a handful of fellow hippies he is compelled to list every time the subject comes up) and Malin Akerman, Kathryn Hahn, and Kerri Kenney as the women of the commune whose personalities range from horny to irate to flighty.
Many of the jokes in Wanderlust try too hard or go on a bit too long to the point where they aren't that funny anymore. Take Ken Marino's portrayal of George's asshole brother, Rick. Marino plays Rick so intensely, that he comes off an abusive psychopath instead of just a raging dude-bro jerk. In a movie that's not explicitly absurdist and weird (as Wet Hot American Summer was), Marino's performance seems out of place.
But other than a few jokes that fall flat, Wanderlust is a goofy, entertaining film that is refreshingly feel good (the hippies would approve).
3.75 out of 5 stars
***
It
If you enjoyed The Artist and are intrigued by the silent film era, I highly recommend checking out the 1927 comedy It (no, not that movie where Tim Curry plays the scary clown...) starring Clara Bow. Based on the concept of "It"--a mix of charm, sex appeal, and a sense of glamour and fun--created by writer Elinor Glyn, It follows the trials and tribulations of one Betty Lou Spence (Bow), a shopgirl who is hot for her new boss. Betty Lou schemes her way into her boss's heart by using other men to get to him, lying, and playing coy. Sounds like a catch, right? But you have to forgive the girl--she's just so bursting with "It" that she cannot contain her mischievous and naughty ways! I described Betty Lou as the Zooey Deschanel of the 1920's--especially during a scene where she and her roommate take scissors to her dowdy work dress to create a sexy cocktail dress she wears on a date. So quirky! So cute! So charmingly daft! By god, she's got IT (as the intertitles and actors inform us numerous times).
Despite It being a light little trifle, the film is pretty funny and enjoyable. Whether you are a lover of silent cinema, or a newb who wants to learn more about silent movies, It is worth checking out.
3.75 out of 5 stars
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