The Eyes of Tammy Faye
This biopic about Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker, televangelists who swindled their followers out of millions of dollars, is anchored by strong performances by Jessica Chastain as the tarantula-lashed Tammy Faye and Andrew Garfield as the soft-spoken Jim.
The film is at its best in the early years of their courtship, when they met at North Central Bible College in Minnesota. Tammy Faye came from an emotionally abusive family where she was treated like a black sheep. She found her (literal and figurative) salvation in the church and in her very real love for God (and for Jim).
The movie really focuses on Tammy Faye, presenting her as a True Believer who really did love God and believe that God loves everyone. Jim, on the other hand, is portrayed as someone who is driven by a desire for money. Who perhaps also was sincere in his faith, but let money, power, and image rot his foundational beliefs.
The fact of the matter is that even if Tammy Faye was a friend to queer people and AIDS patients at a time when the evangelical church was hostile to the same (and still is, frankly), she was still culpable in her role in the fraud she and her husband committed. The film lionizes her just a bit too much for my taste. That said, it's a good--if not great--film with excellent actors portraying the imperfect and complex larger than life televangelists at its center.
Grade: B
***
Unsane
Unsane is a Steve Soderbergh-directed film which was notable when it came out in 2018 for being filmed entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus.
The film stars Claire Foy (slipping into her British accent embarrassingly often) as Sawyer, a woman who moves across the country after a man she meets while volunteering in a hospice begins stalking her. David (Joshua Leonard, who is DEAD ON as a dangerously creepy man) becomes obsessed with Sawyer after the passing of his father, whom Sawyer would read to in the hospice.
After Sawyer confides in a therapist that she is struggling and has even had thoughts of suicide, she is given "boiler plate" forms to sign that actually place her under a 24 hour hold in the behavioral health center in which she met the therapist. She--understandably--freaks out and ends up attacking an orderly who looks like David to her. Due to her erratic behavior, she is kept for another week in the hospital.
There are two parallel stories going on here: one about involuntary commitment to psychiatric wards and one about being stalked. Turns out that David, Sawyer's stalker, has fabricated a backstory about himself in order to get a job as an orderly at the institution in which Sawyer is confined.
The whole premise is ridiculous. Involuntary commitment does happen, but not in the way it's portrayed in the movie. And stalking is, of course, all too common. But what David does in the movie is incredibly unrealistic. For one thing, how did he know that Sawyer was going to see a therapist at that particular behavioral health center and end up signing the forms without reading them? He would have to set his plan in motion long before Sawyer even considered seeing a therapist.
Despite the film's ridiculous plot, it does a good job as a thriller. Joshua Leonard is especially effective at playing the type of man women have nightmares about.
Unsane is one of Soderbergh's weaker films, but if you're looking for a movie to get your heart rate up, you could do worse.
Grade: B-
***
The Last Duel
I was skeptical of Ridley Scott's multi-perspective film about the last officially sanctioned trial by combat in France and the rape the precipitated it. First of all, a movie that centers on whether a rape did or did not happen directed by an old-ass man? Recipe for disaster.
However, I was pleasantly surprised as how compelling and well done the film is. Matt Damon stars a Jean de Carrouges and Adam Driver stars as Jacques Le Gris, two squires in late 1300s France. They both swear loyalty to Count Pierre (Ben Affleck), but Le Gris is especially friendly with the Count, as both he and the Count are the equivalent of medieval fuck boys, whereas de Carrouges is a tiresome stick in the mud.
De Carrouges marries Marguerite de Thibouville (Jodie Comer), but when the Count takes part of Marguerite's dowry--a parcel of land--that was promised to de Carrouges and gives it to Le Gris, de Carrouges' anger and resentment towards Le Gris grows.
When de Carrouges is out of town on business and his mother-in-law takes the servants into town for some errands, Marguerite is left alone at their castle. Le Gris shows up and tricks her into opening the door. He then professes his love to her, chases her upstairs, and rapes her against her screams and sobs of protests. When she tells her husband, he knows he can't go through the courts to get justice because he'd have to go through Count Pierre, who hates him and loves Le Gris. So he challenges Le Gris to a trial by combat, where God decides the winner. The duel is approved by the King and commences in the final section of the film. More is at stake (literally) than just de Carrouges' life...if he loses, Maguerite will be burned alive at the stake.
The film shows the events through Jean's perspective, then Jacques', and then Marguerite's. Jodie Comer and Adam Driver do especially great work in the rape scene, which is shown twice. To our modern eyes, ears, and sensibilities, it is clear in both scenes that this is rape, and Marguerite is not consenting. However, Comer does a terrific acting job in making her tone of voice, body language, and even the pitch of her cries just ambiguous enough in the Le Gris' perspective to show how Le Gris deluded himself into thinking she "wanted it". In Marguerite's perspective, there is no ambiguity at all. She is sobbing from fear and pain.
The Last Duel is about how the petty vanity of men makes life hell not only for the women in their lives, but for the men themselves. This was true in 1386 and, though things have obviously improved, is still true today. Toxic masculinity, like anything toxic, poisons all it comes in contact with. Ridley Scott's medieval take on #MeToo may be a little on the nose at times, but I found The Last Duel to simply be an excellent movie starring excellent actors.
Grade: A
***
Fresh
Released on Hulu a week ago, Fresh is a horror-comedy starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan. Directed by Mimi Cave, Fresh is about how modern dating is a meat market. LITERALLY. Edgar-Jones plays Noa, who is trying to meet guys but has the same experiences we all have while kissing our frogs. She meets Steve (Sebastian Stan) in a supermarket and, after some light joking around, he asks for her number.
The two start dating and it seems too good to be true. Steve is a plastic surgeon who also seems gentlemanly and funny. He invites Noa on a trip and when she agrees and the two go to his home to spend the night so they can get up early to catch their flight the next day...well, lets just say the fairytale ends very abruptly for Noa.
(SPOILERS KINDA)
Steve drugs Noa's drink and she wakes up chained in an admittedly pretty nice basement. Turns out that Steve harvests young women's flesh and sells it to wealthy clients. He keeps the women alive for as long as possible so the meat is fresher and also gives them some comforts of home (i.e. a nice cell with magazines to read and really delicious meals) since reducing stress means the meat will taste better.
The fact is, the metaphors in the movie are so obvious that they're a punch in the face. Women are treated like MEAT, amirite ladies!? The fact that Steve is a plastic surgeon and also a straight up misogynist who tells women to smile more and wear pink and stuff is not lost on me. Fresh is fun and funny, but it's not exactly subtle.
The gore in this movie is kept within a reasonable limit, so Fresh is safe for folks who like horror, but don't like excessive bloody gore. I mean, your mileage may vary and my shock-o-meter is destroyed from years of increasingly violent horror movies, but I think this one is safe for the "average" horror fan. So if you're looking for a funny, stylish horror movie without a TON of substance, look no further.
Grade: B
***
Encanto
I generally don't watch "kid's movies", but I could not escape the pull of Encanto. Now, to be fair, I watched Encanto at my friend's house with her 2 year old and husband as she (the friend, not the toddler) made dinner and we were all talking constantly throughout the movie as one does, so my attention was not strictly on the film 100% of the time. But what I saw and absorbed, I liked.
Between the original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the incredible animation, and the strong message about family and how special gifts can be their own kind of curse, Encanto is a clear winner. I don't need to say much more.
The basic plot is that the Madrigal family lives in an encanto--a "magical realm bordered by mountains" (thanks, Wikipedia). Within this encanto they live in a magical house, casita, and each member of the Madrigal family has a special power. For example, Julieta can cure all ailments with her food, Pepa's mood controls the weather, and Bruno....well, we don't talk about him (he can see the future and that was too scary for the Madrigals so they shunned him and he disappeared).
However, young Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) is the only member of the family who was not granted a special power on her 5th birthday, like all the other Madrigals were (um, except Abuela...but she like, gave birth to the first generation of magical people, so I guess that's her power?). Despite not having a power, Mirabel loves her magical family...and when she suspects that something is happening within the house to diminish the family's powers, she starts snooping around and asking about Tio Bruno, since she suspects he knows something about what is going on...and how to fix it.
Encanto is a delight, whether you're a child or an adult. And I really need to watch more "kid's movies"!
Grade: A
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