Friday, February 27, 2009

The Secret Life of Bees




Set in the 1960s, "The Secret Life of Bees" is a fairly faithful adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel of the same name. Growing up motherless and dominated by a harsh, cold father, 13-year-old Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) has no one who cares for her except her black nanny, Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson.) When Rosaleen pours snuff juice on the shoes of a couple of racists who harass her, she is beaten and hospitalized, and Lily springs her out. They head for Tiberon, South Carolina, a town written on on of Lily's few mother's possessions. They hitch a ride there, and go to a house occupied by the Boatwrights, a group of beekeeping sisters Lily has reason to believe knew her mother.

Lily concocts a story about her father dying, afraid that the Boatwrights will contact him if she tells the truth. The eldest of the sisters, August (Queen Latifah,) welcomes the two with open arms into her and her sister's home. Lily does not ask April right away about her mother, but spends some time getting acquainted with her new surroundings. The Boatwrights are an eccentric trio.

May (Sophie Okonedo) the most unstable sister, is consumed in everyone else's suffering. She spends hours by her 'wailing wall,' writing things that depress her onto slides of paper and sticking them in between the stones. June (Alicia Keys,) who is the least accepting of Lily's arrival, refuses to marry her love interest Neil, but cannot seem to leave him either.

April teaches Lily the tricks of beekeeping, and she and Rosaleen fit comfortably in their new life. Lily even becomes secretly involved with Zach, a black boy her age. Slowly, and with the Boatwright's help, she begins to heal. One fateful night, however, her father tracks her down, and she must fight for everything she fought so hard to obtain.

Having read the book on which this film is based on, I will most likely compare the two. I try not to be a the-novel-was-so-much-better critic, as books and movies are vastly different. The film, actually, is very true to the original. I do, however, have some complaints to point out. First of all, it is not 'racist,' as Owen Gleiberman claimed, but August seems a bit unrealistically understanding. She is the least developed of the sisters. Although Queen Latifah does a good job portraying her, August is so incredibly kind and nurturing, and seems to have little thought for her interests, that she seems one-dimensional. I can, however, keep a suspension of disbelief, being that by caring for a mentally ill sister she could have learned to put her own feelings aside.

The other aspect I disliked actually compares it to the book, which I tried not to do. Lily's conversation with her father at the end of the movie has been changed, in a and in a way that I feel undermines much of the effectiveness. I will not spoil it for you, but I thought the scene in the book was one of the most moving, and during the movie I found myself wishing it had not been trifled with.

That aside, for the most part I liked it. The acting was very good and the screenplay remained true to the characters. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the novel. Although some aspects annoyed me, all in all I felt it was a fine film. (Rated PG-13)















Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amelie)



Don't be put off by the picture of the creepy-looking girl in pale makeup on the cover of "Amelie," or get the impression that it's a bizarre horror movie. It's actually a quirky French comedy/drama, with traces of magical realism to add to the tone.

It starts with the a random chain of events one of which results in the birth of a little girl named Amelie. She grows up lonely, living in a household with a cold father and neurotic mother. I will not list all the misfortunes that befall her, but suffice to say that she has enough heartbreak and misery to last her a lifetime. In the midst of her problems, she retreats into her imagination, and grows up into a good-hearted but shy young woman (played by Audrey Tatou) who has difficulty with social relationships, let alone a love life.

When she moves out of her father's house (her mother is dead,) she gets a small apartment and a job at a small cafe, surrounded by local eccentrics. Among these are a mentally unstable, bitter man stalking his ex-girlfriend, a hypochondriac who spends her time complaining about her ailments, and a mean-tempered grocer who verbally abuses and publicly humiliates his quiet employee, among others. There is one man, who spends his time in a train stations collecting photographs from under a photo booth, who Amelie has known since childhood and is secretly enamored with, but the doesn't get up the courage to talk to him.

The story really begins when Amelie discovers a small tin box hidden in her bathroom wall. Upon further inspection, she finds out in it is a collection of small items hidden by a little boy many years ago. That night, she decides that she will seek out the owner of the box, and if he is touched, she'll become a regular do-gooder. She proceeds to ask her neighbors if they know who the items belong to. They;don't, but from the stories they tell her; she realizes that she isn't the only lonely person around.

When she finally meets the owner of the box, it not only moves him greatly, it also makes him feel compelled to seek out his estranged daughter before he dies. Keeping with her promise, Amelie begins a journey to help the people around her using any means possible. Aiding her neighbors to find love and happiness, she also follows her own type of justice, punishing the nasty grocer with practical jokes. As the lives of others begin to improve, she comes to realize there is one person she isn't helping achieve her dreams- herself.

This film keeps you interested from the beginning, starting with a unique narration a Amelie's young life by an omnipotent narrator. It manages to get you involved with Amelie and her troubles. Although the narrator's voice disappears after a while, the interest in the story and characters prevails.

Unfortunately, it gets a bit confusing around the middle, and it took me three tries to get all the way through it. However, I continued to try to finish the movie, which is saying something. After it was done, I was pleased that I saw the whole thing, and I would recommend it to someone, especially one with a interest in foreign cinema. This is one of the best efforts to capture a character through filmmaking I have seen, and although it is along trip, it's well worth it. (Rated R)












Trailer Not Available

Sunday, February 15, 2009

A Good As It Gets



Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) is the kind of man most people wouldn't want to meet. A bigoted, obnoxious writer with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, he spends his life avoiding cracks in the sidewalk and verbally abusing everybody around him, including his soft-spoken gay neighbor, Simon (Greg Kinnear.) The only person he will tolerate is Carol (Helen Hunt,) a stressed-out waitress struggling to support a chronically sick son. Carol, unsurprisingly, despises Melvin.

One day, Simon is robbed and badly beaten by a couple of thugs, and is unable to care for Verdell, his beloved dog. His partner, Frank (Cuba Gooding Jr.) decides to coerce Melvin into caring for the animal, as payment for his relentless bullying of the couple. Simon is understandably worried for Verdell's safety (Melvin once threw him down a garbage disposal,) but goes along with the plan. Luckily, Frank is the only person who really intimidates Melvin, and Verdell remains in one piece.

As the film progresses, Melvin begins to become a better person. At first for selfish reasons, he starts helping Carol and Simon, but eventually he becomes less self-centered and cares somewhat for others. He even forms an attachment for Verdell, Simon's ugly-but-almost-cute dog, who has an almost uncanny resemblance to an ewok.

The problem is, I'm making this movie sound like a tacky tearjerker, and it's actually quite good. This isn't the kind of epiphany story where Melvin suddenly learns to love humanity and turns from horrible jerk to lovely person (a la' "Rain Man.") Nor is it a testament to the Christian faith, like the totally forgettable "The Ultimate Gift." It is a nicely constructed story that provides no easy answers, no escape routes to morality. Also, some of the lines, especially Melvin's ("People who speak in metaphors ought to shampoo my crotch") are very funny and great to quote.

This is a very good movie, despite it's overlength (running at 139 minutes.) For you movie buffs, Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won best actor and actress at the 1997 Academy Awards.













Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Savages




Wendy and Jon Savage grew up together, and both suffered abuse and neglect at the hands of their father, Lenny; but they're not exactly what you'd call close. Both are wrapped up in their own lives- Wendy (Laura Linney) is aspiring to publish her semi-autobiographical play, and is carrying on a dysfunctional relationship with a married man. Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman,) on the other hand, is working as an English professor and is coping with his girlfriend's impending move to Poland, her home country. They are forced to come together, however, when they are called by Lenny's girlfriend's parents. Not only has the elderly woman died, Lenny also has senile dementia. This was discovered when his caretaker found him writing an obscenity in his own excrement.

Wendy and Jon are told they have to decide on a nursing home to put Lenny in. Wendy hopes to find a home where her father can be more independent, but Jon thinks that it's hopeless to try and put a senile man in a 'rehabilitation center.' This film records the siblings attempt to come to terms with both their dad's illness and their own relationship.

This is a movie I didn't like much until the second time I watched it. It's very slow, and neither of the main characters are totally likable. During the first viewing, I was bored by it and found the leisurely pace exasperating. The second time, however, I thought it was quite interesting and thought the acting was excellent. I didn't think the humorous parts very funny, though. I suppose they would appeal more to older people.

I thought this was a good film, although it was sad and moved slowly. You could sympathize with the main characters' father, Lenny, even though you certainly didn't want him as a dad. I wished I could have learned more about Jon and Wendy's lives, but the information they provided was eloquently placed and sufficient. I recommend this to the kind of people who like serious films that take their time. (Rated R)