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thedullwoodexperiment

~ Viewing movies in a different light

thedullwoodexperiment

Tag Archives: John Curran

Chappaquiddick (2017)

30 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by dullwood68 in Movies

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Tags

Accident, Drama, Ed Helms, Jason Clarke, John Curran, Kate Mara, Mary Jo Kopechne, Politics, Review, Ted Kennedy, True story

aka The Senator

D: John Curran / 107m

Cast: Jason Clarke, Kate Mara, Ed Helms, Jim Gaffigan, Clancy Brown, Taylor Nichols, Bruce Dern, Olivia Thirlby, Lexie Roth, John Fiore

It’s July 18 1969, and while Apollo 11 speeds its way to the Moon, Massachusetts’ senator Edward ‘Ted’ Kennedy (Clarke) has travelled to Chappaquiddick Island to take part in a sail race with his cousin, Joe Gargan (Helms), and US Attorney for Massachusetts, Paul Markham (Gaffigan). That evening, Kennedy, Gargan, and Markham attend a party at a beach house for the Boiler Room Girls, women who were campaign workers for his brother Robert. One of them is Mary Jo Kopechne (Mara). Late on, she and Kennedy go for a drive. Kennedy loses control of the car, and it crashes off a bridge and into a pond. With the car upside down in the water, Kennedy manages to get clear but Mary Jo isn’t so lucky; she drowns. Kennedy returns to the beach house where he tells Joe and Paul what’s happened, but even though they return to the pond, they’re unable to do anything. One thing that both Joe and Paul are certain of is that Kennedy should report the accident as soon as possible. He agrees with them, but his subsequent actions show that doing the right thing is at odds with political expediency…

If you take anything away from Chappaquiddick, it’s that Ted Kennedy was very much in thrall to his family’s political ambitions, and this caused him to behave very erratically in the days following the accident that derailed his chances of ever becoming president. Somewhere behind the experienced political manipulator was a man with a conscience who knew what he had to do – the right thing – but who also didn’t want his political life to be ruined in the process. The tug-of-war between these two ideas is the focus of a movie that tries to be fair to Kennedy and the situation he found himself in, but when you have a character (from real life or not) who tries to manipulate the details of someone’s death for their own personal advantage, and who does so almost as soon as possible, then it’s hard to look at them so objectively. Two moments stand out: Kennedy deciding to say Mary Jo was driving, and later, at her funeral, deciding to wear a neck brace to back up the fabrication that he was suffering from concussion. The movie tries, but it’s hard to sympathise with someone who defaults to manipulation so easily.

As Kennedy, Clarke gives a terrific performance, presenting Kennedy as a weak man clutching at any and all options to keep his political career alive, but with little understanding of how this makes him seem, both to his advisors and the public – and ultimately, without the necessary self-respect that would allow him to see the difference. Mara has what amounts to a supporting role as Mary Jo, while Helms has a rare dramatic role as the increasingly disillusioned Gargan, a man adopted into the Kennedy family but having to come to terms with the fact that Ted isn’t in the same league as his older brothers. The movie keeps an even, methodical pace, but given the subject matter, lacks the energy and passion needed to reinforce just how much of an impact these events had on Kennedy and his future career. Curran directs with a firm eye on the performances, while visually the movie has a dour, melancholy feel to it that matches the subject matter. As an exercise in shining a light on a story that hasn’t been dramatised before, it’s a welcome look at a turbulent moment in late Sixties US history, and as a cautionary tale it’s more than effective.

Rating: 7/10 – with a potent central performance from Clarke, Chappaquiddick is a tale of political hubris that doesn’t pull its punches when exposing just how far someone will go to protect their public position; with a matter-of-fact approach to the material, and a straightforward narrative, it’s certainly a no frills movie, but in many ways it’s all the better for being so.

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Monthly Roundup – January 2016

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by dullwood68 in Movies

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Tags

Acting, Affair, Antonia Scalari, BP, China, Cholera, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Drugs, Edward Norton, Floodtide, Freebasing, Giulio Marchetti, Giuseppina, Gordon Jackson, Historical drama, Italy, Jack Lambert, James Hill, John Curran, John Laurie, Literary adaptation, Marina Zenovich, Naomi Watts, Oscar winner, Petrol station, Richard Pryor, Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic, Romance, Rona Anderson, Ship design, Shipyard, Short movie, Stand up comedy, The Clyde, W. Somerset Maugham

Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic (2013) / D: Marina Zenovich / 83m

With: Richard Pryor, Jennifer Lee, Rashon Khan, Thom Mount, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Patricia von Heitman, David Banks, Skip Brittenham, Paul Schrader, Stan Shaw, Robin Williams, David Steinberg, Rocco Urbisci, Lily Tomlin

Richard Pryor Omit the Logic

Rating: 6/10 – a look back over the life and career of Richard Pryor featuring comments from the people who lived and worked with him; if you’re familiar with Pryor and his work then Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic won’t provide you with anything new, but its concise, straightforward approach is effective enough, even if there’s an accompanying lack of depth to the way the material has been assembled.

Floodtide (1949) / D: Frederick Wilson / 90m

Cast: Gordon Jackson, Rona Anderson, John Laurie, Jack Lambert, James Logan, Janet Brown, Elizabeth Sellars, Gordon McLeod, Ian McLean, Archie Duncan

Floodtide

Rating: 7/10 – an eager to succeed shipyard worker (Jackson) earns both the respect of the shipyard owner (Lambert) and the love of his daughter (Anderson, who Jackson married in real life), as he climbs the ladder from metal worker to ship designer; the kind of cottage industry movie that Britain made in abundance in the late Forties/early Fifties, Floodtide has a great deal of charm, and an easygoing approach to its slightly fairytale narrative.

Giuseppina (1960) / D: James Hill / 32m

Cast: Antonia Scalari, Giulio Marchetti

Giuseppina

Rating: 9/10 – on a slow, sunny day at an Italian roadside garage, young Giuseppina (Scalari) finds that life isn’t quite as boring as she thinks; an Oscar-winning short, Giuseppina is a total delight, with minimal dialogue, some beautifully observed caricatures for customers, and a simple, unaffected approach that pays enormous dividends, and makes for an entirely rewarding experience.

The Painted Veil (2006) / D: John Curran / 125m

Cast: Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones, Diana Rigg, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong

The Painted Veil

Rating: 7/10 – bacteriologist Walter Fane (Norton) takes his wife Kitty (Watts) to China as punishment for an affair, but in combatting an outbreak of cholera, discovers that she has qualities he has overlooked; previously made in 1934 with Greta Garbo, The Painted Veil (adapted from the novel by W. Somerset Maugham) is a moderately absorbing, moderately effective romantic drama that never quite takes off, but does feature some beautiful location photography courtesy of Stuart Dryburgh.

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Mini-Review: Tracks (2013)

02 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by dullwood68 in Movies

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

1700 Miles, Aboriginal lands, Adam Driver, Australia, Camels, Emma Booth, John Curran, Mia Wasikowska, Outback, Review, Robyn Davidson, True story

Tracks

D: John Curran / 110m

Cast: Mia Wasikowski, Adam Driver, Emma Booth, Jessica Tovey, Rainer Bock, Robert Coleby, Roly Mintuma

An adaptation of Robyn Davidson’s account of her 1977 trek across 1700 miles of Australian countryside, from the interior to the Indian ocean, accompanied by four camels and her faithful dog, John Curran’s film is a beautiful, life-affirming odyssey that shows the highs and the lows of Davidson’s trip, and doesn’t shrink from showing her as naive, stubborn and arrogant alongside being focused, resourceful and kind-hearted. Helped by sponsorship from National Geographic magazine and “assisted” by NG photographer Rick Smolan (Driver), Davidson (Wasikowska) sets off on a journey that few people think she will finish. Along the way she meets and receives help from a variety of sources, including Mr Eddie (Mintuma), who helps guide her across sacred Aboriginal land. She faces hardship and heartbreak, and retains a dogged determination throughout.

Tracks - scene

By the journey’s end, you’re almost as pleased to see the ocean as she is. Wasikowska – who wasn’t even born when this project was first mooted – captures Davidson’s spirit and tenacity perfectly, and convinces in a number of subtly demanding scenes. Her fresh-faced appearance suits the role, and she is ably supported by Driver and the rest of the cast. Curran’s direction is unfussy and the journey unfolds at a measured pace that matches the time it took Davidson to travel those 1700 miles. As you’d expect, the scenery is stunning, and Mandy Walker’s cinematography shows off every vista and open landscape to beautiful effect. If there is anything that lets down the movie it’s the relative lack of incident – over 1700 miles there are only two events that, after viewing the film, will stay in the memory. Still, Tracks is an absorbing, impressive feature, and as you might expect, the camels steal every scene they’re in.

Rating: 8/10 – a true-life adventure given a respectful but intelligent approach; with vast swathes of the Australian outback on view, this is also breathtaking to watch.

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