Deux Jours, Une Nuit (7/10): An interesting sociological study by the Dardenne brothers

“You told people if I wasn’t laid off, they would be.”

Deux Jours, Une Nuit is the first film I’ve seen from the acclaimed Dardenne brothers and I understand now what the fuss is all about. Jean-Pierre and Luc know how to direct authentic movies about real life situations in a very simple manner while at the same time making us think how we would react towards these issues. Deux Jours, Une Nuit is a sociological study we can all relate to during this current economic world crisis. This time the brothers present us a situation where an ill woman is on the edge of losing her job. She has been absent for about four months and on the week she is to start working again her bosses inform her that due to the financial crisis the employees must make the decision of either forfeiting their bonuses or allowing her to be laid off. Only two people voted to save her job, but after discovering that the vote was manipulated by one of the managers, the boss allows for another secret vote to take place after the weekend. This gives Sandra time to visit each of her 16 coworkers and ask them to vote for her, even if it means they lose their bonuses. It is a film focusing on solidarity and what it means to be a good samaritan, and it also plays out as a character study of this depressed woman who is forced to beg for compassion. The film is shot in a very intimate way and at times it can get repetitive because we see Sandra walking on screen a lot and explaining her situation to each one of her coworkers. That repetition might not make for a compelling film, but it succeeds in doing so because we get to experience how tedious and uncomfortable it is for Sandra to ask her coworkers for support. We see the ups and downs she goes through as she receives positive and negative reactions. As an audience we feel that sense of uneasiness as she approaches each individual because we don’t know how each one will react. It is a very uncomfortable film with a strong premise focusing on our humanity and willingness to be helpful towards other even if that means having to sacrifice personal gain. The different reactions of each of the coworkers are completely justified and believable.

The main character in this film is played by the beautiful Marion Cotillard who has slimmed down for her role here. She has been suffering through depression and you can tell by her facial expressions and physical posture. Despite it all she still looks great. The camera follows her around pretty much everywhere wether she is walking to face one of her coworkers or simply going to buy a bottle of water at the market. The film is honest and tries to be as realistic as possible which explains why we go through some of those mundane routines. Cotillard is always compelling to watch nonetheless and despite the repetitive nature of the film we are always uneasy about how each one of her coworkers will respond and how that will affect Cotillard’s character. She gives a powerful performance and deservedly has received a nomination for best female lead performance by the Academy. Her supporting husband is played wonderfully by Fabrizio Rongione who has to always lift her spirits when she feels like giving up. The rest of the supporting players all give believable performances as well, but this is Cotillard’s film and she stands out. The ending is also very powerful and the film leaves you with a lot to think about on our humanity or lack thereof.

My Review: Blood Ties (5/10)

"It'll be your wedding present."

Blood Ties is a 70's crime drama that not only is a remake of a 2008 French film (Les liens du sang), but it also feels familiar to other films in the genre. One that came to mind while watching this film was James Gray's We Own the Night considering it deals with two brothers who are on different sides of the law. Ironically I found out after the film that the screenplay was adapted by director Guillaume Canet with the help of Gray himself. Despite that, I enjoyed this film because I like 70's crime dramas but it really didn't add anything to the genre and it was very predictable. The ensemble cast in Blood Ties is probably the strongest asset of the film, although I have to admit the production design was also pretty strong as it gave the film an authentic 70's vibe. Blood Ties is a great film to look at, and the actors all give strong performances, but the issue I had with this film beside the fact that it was predictable was that every gray character in the film was given a redemptive scene every time something bad was going to happen to them. I felt this was kind of a weak shot to manipulate the audience's feelings and try to engage them emotionally. It really took me out of the movie because it happens throughout the film with various characters. Blood Ties is still worth a shot if you enjoy crime dramas or if you like the talented cast involved. The performances stand out in an otherwise predictable and standard film. 

Blood Ties is a remake of a French film that also happened to be based on a French novel written by Michel and Bruno Papet. The screenplay for this film, which was adapted and relocated to New York, was written by Guillaume Canet and James Gray. Canet had previously starred in the original French film as one of the brothers. The film takes place during the 70's and it centers on a rather dysfunctional family. Two siblings, Frank (Billy Crudup) and Marie (Lili Taylor), await for their brother Chris (Clive Owen) to be released from prison. Frank happens to be a promising police officer, and he tries to help Chris stay away from trouble by finding him a job and giving him a fresh start. The first thing they do after they release Chris is visit their father, Leon (James Caan) at the hospital, who has just had one of his lungs removed. Next Frank takes Chris to visit his ex wife, Monica (Marion Cotillard) and their two children, although she doesn't seem to happy about it. Frank allows Chris to stay at his apartment, but eventually Chris's past catches up with him when he falls for the beautiful Natalie (Mila Kunis) whom he wants to provide a better life for. Frank is also trying to reconnect with a former lover, named Vanessa (Zoe Saldana), who has a daughter and is in a relationship with a man who he just put behind bars (Matthias Schoenaerts from Rust and Bone). As Chris reconnects with his criminal life, it puts Frank at an awkward position in his job as the two paths are destined to crash at one point.

Marion Cotillard is terrific once again in this film. There is one scene where she doesn't say anything, but the look in her eyes say it all. She is just a supporting character, but every time she is on screen she steals the show. Billy Crudup is the lead here and he delivers a solid performance. His character is more reserved, but he expresses his inner struggles very well. Clive Owen was on a role between 2004 and 2009 starring in several great films, but I haven't seen much from him since. He gives a solid performance here and easily one of his best over the past 5 years. Mila Kunis isn't given much to work with, but she does her job. Every character in this film seemed to have some important role and the casting was brilliant. Blood Ties is a decent film, the only problem is that the source material has been covered before making the story seem predictable. 

My Review: The Immigrant (6/10)

"Don't give up the faith, don't give up the hope. The American dream is waiting for you."

The Immigrant is Joaquin Phoenix's fourth collaboration with James Gray in the director's chair, although this time the lead role went to the beautiful and talented Marion Cotillard who gives a subtle melodramatic performance without going over the top. She always delivers great work and watching her alongside Joaquin Phoenix was near perfection. The major problem I had with this film was that the story really didn't engage me despite the potential it had. The Immigrant takes the American dream premise and turns it upside down by focusing on characters who were much less fortunate during that time. Despite the great performances I never warmed up to the characters and found the melodrama a bit tedious. I'm on the minority when I say this because critics have fallen in love with Gray's work, whose fan base has been growing over the years. I still prefer his earlier film, We Own the Night, but this is the film he will probably be remembered for from now on. It was a bit disappointing for me, although I did enjoy a couple of scenes (especially Phoenix's revelation near the end) and the talented actors who were cast in this film. The 20's atmosphere created by Gray didn't really impress me either, but there is enough here to give it a mild recommendation. 

The screenplay co-written by Gray and Ric Menello (who also collaborated with Gray in Two Lovers) begins by introducing us to two polish sisters, Ewa (Marion Cotillard) and Magda (Angela Sarafyan), who have just arrived at Ellis Island from Poland. Their dreams of a better life are shattered when the officials take Magda away because they discover she has tuberculosis. Ewa isn't allowed entrance either because the officials claim that the address where they were supposed to stay (their aunt and uncle's home) doesn't exist and that no one from their family is here to account for her. A man named Bruno (Joaquin Phoenix) happens to be there at the right time and offers her an opportunity to stay with him. Having no other option she accepts. Bruno takes advantage of the situation and tricks the innocent Ewa into working for him as a prostitute. Wanting to save her sister, she will do what it takes but Bruno is a deceiving man who has fallen for her. When Bruno's charming and charismatic cousin, Orlando (Jeremy Renner), arrives he teaches her not to lose hope and have faith that she will be able to meet her sister again. But Bruno isn't too happy with Orlando's arrival and sees him as a potential threat so a jealous rivalry ensues and so the plot thickens.

Jeremy Renner was perhaps my favorite character in this film and I enjoyed his performance. Perhaps it helped that he had a likable character and was the less restrained of the actors, but I thought he was the highlight of this film. I really enjoyed Phoenix and Cotillard, but Renner was the one that helped me get engaged with the story. The scene near the end is perhaps my favorite moment and by far Phoenix's best performance in the film. Phoenix is such a talented actor and he has made a lot of great films so this performance might be forgotten over time, but Cotillard does shine in her first English language lead performance. The scene where she is confessing her sins to a priest is the one that audiences will remember her for. It would have been very tempting and easy for her to be more melodramatic in a harsh film like this, but she gives a restrained performance that allowed the story to feel more real and believable. I still think she is better in the roles she gets in foreign films, but this was a great opportunity for her. The Immigrant has a pretty straightforward narrative with melodramatic moments that would have failed tremendously if it wasn't for the cast who managed to pull off believable performances. 

My Review: Rust and Bone (9/10)

¨What have you done with my legs? ¨

Forget about Amour, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, or A Royal Affair; the best foreign films of 2012 came from France. The first was The Intouchables, about a quadriplegic millionaire who hires the help of a young man from the projects, while Rust and Bone centers around another unlikely relationship between a killer whale trainer and a boxer. These two were my favorite foreign films by far, and I especially enjoyed this one because I am a huge fan of director Jacques Audiard who in 2009 directed the Oscar nominated A Prophet. That film was much more suspenseful as it centered on a prisoner who manages to survive inside a corrupted prison system. This time, Audiard focuses on a dramatic romantic story between two tortured souls who truly learn to live after they have suffered severe physical injuries. More than a character study, this film is a soul study as the two lead characters find healing under extremely rare circumstances. We are introduced to these characters in a very realistic manner. These people are afflicted in some way or another; they aren’t your usual likeable lead characters; they are deeply flawed, but we sympathize with them. Like he did in A Prophet, Audiard adapted the screenplay with the assistance of Thomas Bidegain based on the short stories from Canadian author Craig Davidson. Audiard´s film was nominated for the Palm d´Or in last year´s Cannes Film Festival and is really worth checking out. Some people had an issue with the ending because they thought everything fit together a little too neatly, but I thought the final act was probably the best and most satisfying part of this film. Our physical struggles and bonds can end up strengthening our tortured souls and making us better human beings.

A former boxer, Alain (Matthias Schoenaerts from Bullhead), decides to move from Belgium to the south of France where his sister, Louise (Celine Sallette), lives after he is put in charge of his young son, Sam (Armand Verdure). He isn’t very responsible, so he knows his sister can help him raising his son while he finds a job. He finds one as a local bouncer at a disco where he meets Stephanie (Marion Cotillard), a professional killer whale trainer at Marineland, after escorting her back home due to a brawl. They exchange numbers but don´t see each other again. Alain find a job as a security guard at a local store where he meets Martial (Bouli Lanners) who convinces him to begin fighting again. Martial runs an underground kickboxing tournament where he introduces Alain and they begin making some money off it. Meanwhile Stephanie continues her life at the marine land, until she suffers a freak accident and loses both her legs. Heavily depressed she calls Alain and the two begin to form a special bond. She begins to go out more and even joins Alain when he goes off to fight. The two begin to support each other, and despite their brokenness they begin to help each other out.    

Audiard is a master at creating depth and pays close attention to these random characters that end up bonding with each other, but he couldn’t have succeeded if it weren’t for the two terrific lead performances from Matthias Schoenaerts and Marion Cotillard. Cotillard was remarkable and should have received a nomination, and somehow Schoenaerts manages to make his character likeable despite all his flaws. There is something in the way he treats Stephanie that seems to erase all his flaws and make us want him to achieve his personal goals. The actors managed to create a rather unique and authentic relationship and for me it worked really well. Every scene that at first felt unnecessary seems to have a purpose or a symbolism later on, like the way Alain looked at Stephanie´s legs when he was escorting her home. Later he wins a fight he was about to lose when he catches a glimpse of Stephanie´s prosthetic legs. Somehow in the midst of pain, he finds greater strength, and that is what makes this film so appealing. Everything which seemed so random at first seems to come together perfectly at the end. This is one of those films that stay with you long after the credits roll, and it is deeply touching and moving. This is one of those films that is driven by the performances and the overall narrative of the story. The visual effects of Cotillard´s legs (or lack thereof) are also pretty well done. Everything about this film makes it one you will definitely want to check out. It is real, it is raw, and it is touching.

  

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My Review: The Dark Knight Rises (10/10)

¨ We were in this together, and then you were gone. Now this evil... rises. The Batman has to come back. ¨

The Dark Knight films have made other superhero movies look like a joke. These films have transcended its genre and created a different type of superhero. The film works more as a perfectly crafted thriller than an actual superhero film. For me The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises are way above the rest of superhero movies, but it`s a little unfair to compare them because this seems like a completely different genre, and a much darker one. When I first saw The Dark Knight I was completely in love with it, and it ranked among my favorite all time movies. I had high expectations for The Dark Knight Rises, but I thought there was no way this film could equal the greatness of its predecessor, especially because what I loved the most about the first one was Heath Ledger`s memorable performance as the Joker. Without the Joker I thought it would be impossible for this film to match it, but I was overwhelmed once again by the direction of Christopher Nolan and the great script that he and his brother Jonathan created. The movie is spectacular, highly entertaining, and it`s as good as its predecessor. When the movie ended, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of tremendous satisfaction and joy. It was a perfect ending to what is in my opinion the best film trilogy. Batman Begins was a great movie in itself, but compared to The Dark Knight sequels it falls way behind. This shows how much Christopher Nolan has matured as a director. I think he is without a doubt the best modern day director of big budget blockbusters. It will be hard for any other superhero movie to match the success of this franchise.

Batman (Christian Bale) hasn`t appeared in Gotham City for eight years after he accepted to take the fall for the Harvey Dent incident in the previous film. He is a fugitive from the law and isn’t needed anymore because the city has lived in peace after being inspired by the heroism of Harvey Dent. Under the new Harvey Dent law all the important criminals in Gotham have been arrested. Bruce Wayne has also disappeared from the public eye and is still mourning Rachel`s death. He has given up on life and lives secluded in his mansion without having contact with anyone except his faithful servant, Alfred (Michael Caine). But the peaceful days in Gotham seem to be reaching its end when a new threat arises. A masked man named Bane (Tom Hardy) has been building an army to destroy the city. He`s a former disciple of Ra Al Ghul and a great threat to the city. Meanwhile Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) continues to be on his guard and feels that the truth about Harvey Dent needs to be told. A young police officer named Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) follows a lead about a missing Congressman, who has been kidnapped by Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), an evasive jewelry thief who has dozens of criminal records and is known as the Cat. He follows the lead along with Gordon and together they discover about Bane`s underground army. It is time for the Batman to come out of retirement and defend the city once again. Morgan Freeman reprises his role as Mr. Fox and Marion Cotillard is introduced as Miranda Tate, a philanthropist and possible love interest for Bruce Wayne.  

The three hours the film almost lasts go by so fast that you think only a few minutes have passed by the time the credits begin to role. It is just that good. I`ve asked for my time back in many movies that I felt dragged for such a long time, but for this film I have to admit I wish every hour in my life was as sensational as the three hours I experienced with The Dark Knight Rises. This thriller works more like a Shakespearean tragedy than a traditional superhero movie. It makes the ridiculous premise feel as real and authentic as possible and takes a lot of elements from classical stories such as Dickens` A Tale of Two Cities. I`m not a fan boy, I don’t know anything about the Batman comics, but I was completely hooked and enamored with this franchise. The introduction of several new characters gave the film some freshness and I didn’t think they slowed down the story; on the other hand they made it much more interesting. Bane might not be as memorable a villain as the Joker was, but he is a different kind of threat for an aging Batman. Bane is Batman`s match in terms of physical power. He might not be as great of a schemer as the Joker, but Bane is powerful and presents an even greater threat to Batman. The other actors who had worked with Nolan in Inception all had important roles here; Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were great on screen. Gordon-Levitt is such an underrated actor, but he has proven time after time that he`s a real movie star. There are some truly great performances and in my opinion this is the best film of 2012. I doubt any movie will equal its greatness and Dark Knight fans shouldn’t worry about this movie failing to fulfill expectations because it lives up to its predecessor. There are so many symbolisms in this movie that we could spend hours talking about them.

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My Review: Contagion (8/10)

¨It`s figuring us out faster than we`re figuring it out.¨

The first thing I wanted to do after the movie was over was to wash my hands and get disinfected. Contagion is a great thriller about an epidemic that is spreading around the world and taking millions of lives while at the same time spreading panic and fear everywhere. The film is a great case study on human behavior and it felt very authentic (especially after the Swine-flu scare that spread over the globe a couple of years ago). Some may complain due to the pace of the film or the multiple stories that are going on that don`t let you focus on any of the characters, but I really enjoyed it and thought Steven Soderbergh made the right decision by focusing on the virus and letting it be the true central character as we see it spread throughout different parts of the world and affect almost everyone in the same way. The virus and the fear combined together produced sufficient thrills for me despite the slow pace of the film, and I really enjoyed the script from Scott Z. Burns who had previously collaborated with Soderbergh and Matt Damon in the 2009 comedy The Informant. It`s very difficult to typecast director Soderbergh since he makes a wide variety of films and it`s almost impossible to compare his works due to the variety of his projects, but I would have to say Contagion is the most similar to his Oscar winning film Traffic due to all the multilayered plots that were going on. In Traffic the main character was the drugs, while in Contagion it`s the virus. Out of Sight remains my favorite Soderbergh film however.

The movie begins with Day 2 of the virus where we see a sick woman named Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) who is travelling from Chicago to Minneapolis. She had been on a business trip to Hong Kong but spent a few hours in Chicago. Once she arrives home, her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) finds her really ill and decides to take her to the hospital after she suffers a convulsion. Apparently some guy in Hong Kong died from similar symptoms, and so did someone in London, Japan, and Chicago. The virus seemed to have started somewhere in Hong Kong, but it is spreading all over the world. Some doctors in the U.S. Center for Disease Control decide to investigate what could have caused the deaths. Dr. Ellis Cheever (Lawrence Fishburne) is in charge of the investigation, and he sends Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) to Minneapolis in order to try to pick up as much information as she can and see how Beth`s death could be related to the one in Chicago and across the globe. Erin has an interview with Mitch who seems to be immune, but he won`t take chances with his daughter Jory (Anna Jacoby-Heron) and overprotects her. Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle), who also works for the Center, is in charge of trying to find a vaccine or a cure. Meanwhile the World Health Organization decides to send one of their own to Hong Kong to try to point out where the virus could have begun. Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) arrives to the populated city and begins her investigation with the help of a local named Sun Feng (Chin Han). Everyone is working against the clock as the virus continues to spread over the world at an alarming rate, and conspiracy theory-blog writer Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) doesn’t help control the chaos as he complains about the government working alongside pharmaceutical companies to make a profit.

There are so many different stories going on that it can be hard to track what is going on if you aren´t paying attention. Everything happens so fast, and the urgency has to do with how quick the virus begins to act and kill people. Many characters or stories get sidelined at times, but that is ok because the main character is the virus itself and it is everywhere. Soderbergh makes sure we get this point across by filming a lot of close up shots of people shaking hands or touching objects that someone else later picks up. The threat is eminent and everywhere. In a way Contagion is a disaster movie, but it is different from most films which usually tend to take an all-action approach or that focus on a few characters. In Contagion there are so many characters and stories going on that some don`t even get a resolution, but it is ok because we find a resolution to the main character: the virus. I know some might find this difficult to deal with and would have wished for the story to have focused on one character, but that isn`t the way Soderbergh works. The only downside to this is that some great actors such as John Hawkes, Marion Cotillard, Elliott Gould, and Bryan Cranston don`t get enough screen time and their talents seem underused. It really doesn’t matter because Contagion is a smart and entertaining thriller well worth a watch. 

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My Review: Midnight in Paris (9/10)

¨That Paris exists and anyone could choose to live anywhere else in the world will always be a mystery to me.¨

Woody Allen has directed more than 40 films in over four decades and I can honestly say that his last film is one of my favorites. If you think otherwise then you are just probably living in nostalgia and trying to remember the past as being much better than the present. Like Micheal Sheen`s character would say: ¨Nostalgia is denial - denial of the painful present…the name for this denial is Golden Age thinking – the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one ones living in.¨ Woody Allen has directed numerous great films and this is one of them that will be remembered nostalgically in years to come. It is not a romantic film as we are used to seeing, it is more of a nostalgic film; the true romance isn`t between Wilson and McAdams, but between Wilson and Paris, between Wilson and art. The romance is in the city, in the art, in the past. The central theme of this film is clear: nostalgia. Woody Allen manages to deal with these issues in a very comedic way and the dialogue and story is just great. Midnight in Paris is a very funny and nostalgic film. The city of Paris may have never looked as great as it does in this movie. The characters are memorable and it is interesting how Allen intertwines the present with the past and makes fun of some of the stereotypes these artists have. I had a great time with Midnight in Paris; Woody Allen has done it again!

Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) are an American engaged couple who are visiting Paris with Inez`s parents, John (Kurt Fuller) and Helen (Mimi Kennedy). Gil instantly falls in love with the city and the rich story it has to tell, while Inez on the other hand doesn’t like Paris that much. Gil insists they should move to Paris once they get married, but Inez would rather stay in Beverly Hills where Gil has had success writing scripts for Hollywood films. Gil is unhappy with his Hollywood life and has decided to try his luck on writing a novel. Inez insists he should stick to what he does best. In Paris, Inez runs into some friends: Paul (Michael Sheen) and Carol (Nina Arianda). Paul is a very pedantic sort of guy who always has an opinion on everything and is showing off his great knowledge. Gil can`t stand him, but Inez insists on hanging out with him and his wife Carol, and asks Paul to critique Gil`s novel for him. One night the couples decide to go out and dance, but Gil says he`s too tired and decides to head back to the hotel on his own. While wondering the streets of Paris the clock strikes midnight and a group of French partygoers invite Gil to a party. In this party, Gil runs into Zelda (Alison Pill) and Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), and Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll). Gil realizes that somehow he has travelled to 1920 and is meeting all these artists who he`s admired all his life; he`s in the decade he considers as being the Golden Age. Ernest tells Gil that he can get Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) to proofread his novel for him; but when Gil goes to get his novel he is back in 2010. Gil realizes that he can only travel back in time when the clock strikes midnight, so the adventure begins every night where he meets interesting people like Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo) and his mistress Adriana (Marion Cotillard) who he falls for, and other great artists such as Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody) and Luis Buñuel (Adrien de Van), among others.

The true heart of the film relies on Owen Wilson`s performance. He is great in this movie and reminded me a lot of the younger Woody Allen who used to star in his own movies. The funniest moments of the film have to do with these stereotypes that these great artists of the past have been given. Adrien Brody is great as Salvador Dali, and the rhinoceros scene is extremely funny; Corey Stoll is equally great playing the courageous Ernest Hemingway. His dialogue with Wilson`s character about love and death is powerful and funny at the same time. Marion Cotillard and Owen Wilson also had great chemistry together and it was fun to watch them on screen. McAdams is one of my favorite actresses, and this time she plays sort of the villain, instead of the sweet role she is used to playing. This is a much different role from the one Wilson and McAdams played in Wedding Crashers. Midnight in Paris is just a terrific movie, with a lot of heart, and Woody Allen proves once again that he is a great director and writer. I absolutely recommend this movie as one of the best the year has had to offer.

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