Wednesday, November 30, 2011
No easy resolutions, but one spectacular performance
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By Edward Copeland
It's always difficult to comprehend the sick and twisted minds that would sexually abuse, molest or rape children, whether a disgusting Penn State or Catholic Church scandal is in the news or not. In the movie Trust, which came out earlier this year, it attempts to tackle the particularly sleazy world of Internet predators, but does so in a way that challenges a black-and-white approach to the subject — an attempt that sometimes comes perilously close to crossing lines — not so much into inappropriateness but retreats to formula. Fortunately, it avoids most of those traps, thanks mainly to the magnificent work of the teen actress Liana Liberato whose character the movie revolves around.
Trust marks the second feature film directed by actor David Schwimmer (though I haven't seen his first effort, the Simon Pegg comedy Run, Fatboy, Run) and Schwimmer performs adequately at preventing the screenplay by Andy Bellin and Robert Festinger from veering too far into melodrama and ratcheting up plot points from countless other movies by keeping most of the film's focus on its provocative and complicated nature.
The film stars two of my most welcome screen presences in recent years, Clive Owen and Catherine Keener, as Will and Lynn Cameron, suburban Chicago parents of three — two daughters, 14-year-old Annie (Liberato) and little sister Katie (Aislinn DeButch), and oldest brother Peter (Spencer Curnutt), who has left for his first year at college.
There's hardly a dysfunction to be found in the family as British transplant Will earns kudos for his work in the advertising and marketing field and Lynn serves dutifully as a loving earth mother to the clan. Their lives seem to be ideal except for the part of Annie's life that her parents don't know about, a life taking place in another world that exists within the walls of the Camerons' own home.
Annie has a boyfriend, albeit a virtual one at first, named Charlie that she has met online and grown very attached to through their computer chats. Those chats eventually lead to actual phone conversations. It bothers Annie slightly that Charlie's story keeps changing. When they first talk online, he's 16, though he ups it to 20 soon after. Later, he admits he's actually 25. Annie quizzes him about the lies, but every fabrication that Charlie explains, the teen she chooses to buy the reason he gives for having lied. Why? It's not that Annie is a particularly dumb 14-year-old girl, but she's vulnerable, enjoying the attention she gets from the virtual Charlie that the real boys at school don't give her.
Inevitably, Charlie talks her into a face-to-face meeting, claiming that it might be their only chance since he's told her that he lives on the West Coast and might not be in Chicago again soon. Of course, 25 was a lie as well and Annie feels betrayed, but Charlie (Chris Henry Coffey) charms her enough despite being at least in his mid-30s (if not older) to get her to stay and before Annie knows it, Charlie has taken her to a motel and what he views as seduction, anyone else would call forcible rape. The surprise comes that since Annie denies so much of the truth about Charlie, she claims it was consensual as well even though she fought him as it happened. Her personality changes and she all but brags about experience, which is part of what makes Trust more challenging than you'd expect.
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Despite Annie's outward attitude, her best friend Brittany (Zoe Levin) realizes that something bad occurred and she tells school officials, who report it to the police. The film really takes its unusual turn at this point. Her parents, understandably, can't believe this happened without their knowledge. The FBI, in the form of Agent Doug Tate (Jason Clarke), gets in on the case since the assumption is that Charlie, whomever he might be, probably crossed state lines. It's Annie's reaction that proves to be shocking. She feels utterly betrayed — not by Charlie but by Brittany for reporting the incident and getting Charlie in trouble because she's "in love" with him. Then her anger turns on her parents who become overprotective (a bit too late), so she resents them for preventing her from being able to contact him and when she agrees to try with the FBI setting up a trap to try to locate, the cover gets blown and he never calls again. The interference of her ex-friend, her parents and the police have cost her the only person she feels found her special and beautiful.
Liberato, who was 14 when she made the film, gives a phenomenal performance that overpowers everyone else in the film, no minor achievement when the cast not only includes Clive Owen and Catherine Keener but also Viola Davis in the small role as a psychiatrist that Annie is forced to see. The film in no way argues that Charlie and Annie should be allowed to pursue their "love" and eventually Annie gets wise and her breakdown when realizing it is both heartbreaking and harrowing to watch. Liberato truly amazes, giving one of the best performances by an actress that age that I've seen in quite some time.
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On the downside of Trust, while it makes Annie so complex and interesting, the screenplay doesn't flesh out her parents or any other characters in the same way, especially poor Keener whose gets a terribly underwritten role. Owen comes off better, especially when he gets some quiet moments toward the end of the film. Unfortunately before he gets there, he's stuck with not one but two clichéd reactions: First, he almost turns into a potential vigilante in the mold of a an infinite number of parents (or siblings or friends, etc.) in an infinite number of films (abetted by yet another portrayal of an inept FBI agent who lets Will steal his computer and files on potential pedophile suspects) that threatens to turn Owen into Liam Neeson in that godawful movie Taken. Second, he gets the ideal career so that he can reassess how he makes his living when he sees how his firm's latest ad campaign peddles young teen girls as sex objects. (The script even gives him a lecherous jerk of a co-worker played by Noah Emmerich to represent the evils of the ad industry.)
Those reservations aside, Trust contains enough thought-provoking material and its avoidance of easy and pat resolutions make up for the parts that border on silly and melodramatic. The credit for smoothing those bumps fall almost entirely on Liberato's young shoulders. I look forward to seeing where this young actress's career goes in the future.
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Labels: 10s, Clive Owen, Keener, Liam Neeson, Viola Davis
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Monday, November 28, 2011
Ken Russell (1927-2011)
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As a director, Ken Russell always has been a mixed bag to me. To say that he had a tendency to go over-the-top would be an understatement and I found very few of his films satisfying as a whole though he did produce many fine performances in his films even if the films themselves were so-so.
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Glenda Jackson (who won her first her Oscar), Alan Bates and Oliver Reed in his adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love; Twiggy in the musical The Boy Friend (perhaps his most enjoyable and mainstream outing); the spectacle of Tommy bringing the landmark album by The Who to cinematic life with its eclectic cast including Oscar-nominee Ann-Margret as the deaf-dumb-and-blind boy's mom (covered in beans at one point), a brief bit by Jack Nicholson as The Specialist, Tina Turner's Acid Queen and the band's late drummer Keith Moon as Uncle Ernie, to name but a few; William Hurt's experimentations with mind-altering drugs and isolation chambers to a devolved consciousness in Altered States, based ion the novel by Paddy Chayefsky who wrote the screenplay as well, but hated the film so much that he disowned it and the film credits the script to his given first and middle name, Sidney Aaron; and the loony Crimes of Passion which contains a brave but great Kathleen Turner performance. However, what I remember the most about Russell was one of his many performances as an actor (check out his filmography), particularly his supporting role as Walter in Tom Stoppard's adaptation of John Le Carre's The Russia House starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, an incredibly underrated Fred Schepisi film from 1990. Russell gave an entertaining and compelling turn in his rather small role. For someone whose reputation mainly is that of a director, surprisingly, that might be what I remember about him most. To read the full New York Times obit, click here.
RIP Mr. Russell.
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Labels: Books, Chayefsky, Connery, Fiction, K. Turner, Musicals, Nicholson, Obituary, Oscars, Pfeiffer, Stoppard, William Hurt
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
Boardwalk Empire No. 22: Georgia Peaches
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By Edward Copeland
NOTE TO READERS: This Boardwalk Empire recap will be the final one I'll be able to post as the show finishes airing in the Eastern and Central time zones. Because of fears that spoilers will leak out, HBO isn't sending out advance screeners for the final two episodes of the second season airing Dec. 4 and 11. Because of my physical limitations and the extensive and detailed recaps I do, the recaps for those two episodes won't be completed until at least a day or two after those episodes premiere. Sorry for the inconvenience.
In a way, I'm surprised that they didn't hold back tonight's episode as well because it does have a shocker of an ending. I always put my spoiler warning up top, but I mean it this time. The only hint I'll give you in this introduction is that I've been surprised that we've gone through almost two seasons without a major character being killed (and by that, I mean someone listed in the opening credits). That changes tonight — and I certainly was surprised by who ends up wearing the toe tag, but it definitely promises some big changes for other characters and storylines in the future. Aside from that twist, tonight's episode, with a teleplay by Dave Flebotte, whose previous writing credits have been almost exclusively on comedic series such as Desperate Housewives, Will & Grace, 8 Simple Rules and Ellen as well as one of the weaker episodes of The Sopranos (season 4's "Calling All Cars"), does a great job on his first Boardwalk Empire script, building on the momentum that's been growing in the past two weeks. Though "Georgia Peaches" runs nearly 10 minutes longer than last week's installment, director Jeremy Podeswa moves it along at a pace that makes it seem that it ends even more quickly. Since Podeswa helmed this season's good "The Age of Reason" and last year's "Anastasia," which remains one of the best episodes in the series' history, he may be second only to Tim Van Patten in the show's regular stable of directors that you can depend on turning in a quality effort.
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We ended last week's episode at an Irish port while a mournful tune in the style of traditional Irish music played. Tonight, we open at the Port of Hoboken and the song "Strut, Miss Lizzie" provides a much jauntier start to the mini-montage that opens the show. The song originally was recorded in 1920 by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, but the version on the show is a cover by David Johansen (and my link goes to a 1930 cover of the song). Netting sets many boxes of Feeney's Irish Oats from Belfast onto the docks. Sleater supervises the arrival and checks his watch. Trucks carry the boxes of oats elsewhere where a man in a tux greets their arrival. Workers haul the crates down basement steps and open them — not surprisingly to find bottles of Irish whiskey. Babette smokes on a cigarette and watches. We begin to hear a preacher quoting from the Bible as the song slips into the background and more boxes of "oats" are wheeled into a tavern. "From The Book of Deuteronomy 24:14, Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers — " The scene switches to the Boardwalk where
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Owen carries his box into the dark, empty kitchen of the Ritz where its manager sits by himself. "Are you the man to see?" he asks. "Unless there's someone else in here with his thumb in his ass?" the kitchen manager replies. Sleater tells the morose man that Nucky Thompson sent him. "Thought they hung him up," the manager says. Owen opens the box and shows the man what it really contains. "Is that real?" the manager asks. "Straight from the old girl's tit," Owen tells him. The manager quickly finishes what remains in his coffee cup and then holds it out for Owen to pour a sample of the whiskey into and starts to sip. "Thirty dollars a case — that's less than half the going rate," Owen tells him as he drinks. "Who's going to serve it?" the manager wonders out loud. "Someday this strike will end sir — and so will this deal on this fine — Irish — whiskey," Sleater tells him, stretching out the words. The manager nods in contemplation before agreeing to buy 400 cases.
Sigrid rocks and feeds Baby Abigail as Van Alden drinks his morning coffee. He compliments her for how natural she seems to be at her job and she tells him that she’s the oldest of seven children. She also shares the story that her mother told her about when Sigrid was 6-years-old and tried to feed her baby sister from her bosom. Nelson puts his cup in the sink and leaves some money for groceries when he spots a letter addressed to him from Rose. “When did this come? Why didn’t I get this?” he asks. “Yesterday. I leave it for you there,” Sigrid replies. Nelson’s aggravation bursts out. “I am to receive all correspondence from Mrs. Van Alden immediately,” he emphasizes as he rips open the envelope. “Ya. I thought you’d see it,” Sigrid says. The envelope contains a Petition for Divorce from the U.S. District Court of New York, Westchester County. Rose Van Alden vs. Nelson Van Alden. Rose also inserted a handwritten note that reads, "Nelson, Please attend to this as soon as your activities allow. Rose."
Dr. Holt exits Emily's room as Margaret. Nucky and Teddy arrive. Margaret asks Holt how Emily is doing. "She's sleeping — a bit of a rough patch, nausea and such," he tells her. "Why did no one ring me? I would've stayed the night," Margaret says. "I know how hard this is for you, but she's in good hands here. She'll need your love and patience later on," Holt assures Margaret. "Later when?" she inquires. The
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The size of the warehouse in which Mickey Doyle mixes and bottles his brew has grown since Jimmy became upwardly mobile in Atlantic City, but even with more breathing room the stacks of crates nearly reach the ceiling. Jimmy marches onto the scene with Capone, Lansky and Luciano. "Hi ya, boys. Checkin' up on your investment?" Mickey greets the quartet. "Yeah — try not to lose this batch," Jimmy tells him. Capone places his arm on one of the crates that reads:
MEDICINAL
ALCOHOL
PROPERTY OF THE
U.S. GOVERNMENT
"Property of the U.S. government," Capone cackles. "Not anymore, it ain't," Luciano declares. Lansky dips a ladle into the vat and spoons up some of the brew. "To George Remus," Meyer says before sipping the sample. Jimmy quizzes Mickey for an estimate on when the product will be ready to ship. "We're half-way done. A week round-the-clock'll take care of the rest," Doyle answers. "That's too long," Jimmy tells him. Mickey points out that he only has 10 guys working for him. "Hire fifty," Jimmy orders.
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An exasperated Ginsburg shakes his head. "I don't know what to tell you, Nucky. I'm extremely disappointed," the lawyer admits. "OK, try that again — only this time leave out the part where you sound like my mother," Nucky growls. "Esther Randolph — she's relentless. The trial will be in Camden. I've made calls," Ginsburg says. "You've made calls. Worth every penny. Daugherty?" an increasingly flustered Thompson asks in reference to the President Harding's attorney general, who selected Randolph as the replacement prosecutor when Nucky's old enemy Sen. Walter Edge blackmailed him into picking someone who would try to nail Nucky's balls to the wall. "He says he did what he could and you two were square," Ginsburg relays Daugherty's words. Eddie enters and informs Nucky that his desk is ready for use. During this meeting, Eddie has been supervising the setup of a makeshift office for Nucky at his Margate estate. "My desk — which
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"Three hundred empty rooms, five hundred peaches darker than the help and a tourist season that's slipping through my fingers — and why? Because no one here can get the colored situation under control," an Atlantic City businessman (Scott Robertson) complains at a crowded meeting at the Commodore's about the strike. Attending are three local businessmen, Jimmy, Eli, interim County Treasurer Neary, Leander, Mayor Bader and the Commodore himself. Probably the most uncomfortable man present is Langston, the Commodore's black butler, who must stand and listen to these assholes badmouth his race in case any of them needs something. Noticeably absent, since the gathering isn't in the grand living room, is the Commodore's still unnamed stuffed bear. This scene probably feels longer than it really is, but no matter how many times I revised it, the whole section ate up a tremendous amount of space. So, for this
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Teddy's bedtime recital of the prayer "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" begins while we still watch Eli contemplating his many problems at the Commodore's. When Teddy reaches the line "If I should die before I wake," we see him in his bed with Margaret at his side as he says the prayer. "You should say a special prayer for Emily," his mother tells him. Teddy looks less than enthused, but closes his eyes, puts his hands together and says, "Will you please make my sister Emily get better?" anyway. Margaret smiles and kisses Teddy on the forehead. "Good
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The striking workers sing "There Is a Balm in Gilead" as picketing continues on the Boardwalk. We join the protesters in the middle of the spiritual. "But then the Holy Spirit/Revives my soul again," they sing. While the chorus raises their voice in song, another group — pissed-off looking white guys — round the corner raising something else — namely bats and pieces of wood. "There is a balm in Gilead/To make the wounded whole/There is a balm in Gilead/To heal the sin-sick soul — " The hymn gets interrupted when Purnsley, spotting the intruders, shouts, "Hold the line!" A melee ensues as the whites beat and punch the strikers, though the strikers get some blows in. The two members of the Sheriff's Department watching the violence with Deputy Halloran quietly slip away, leaving Halloran by himself. Two of the white men strike the deputy from behind and proceed to pummel him without mercy. It almost looks as if Halloran receives a more severe beating than any of the strikers do.
In New York, Nucky (with Teddy tagging along and Arnold Rothstein following behind) enters the office of infamous criminal defense attorney Bill Fallon (David Aaron Baker), the man who helped Rothstein escape charges in the Black Sox scandal. "Mr. Thompson, I've heard only good things," Fallon says as he greets Nucky and shakes his hand. "Not from me, of course," Rothstein jokes. "That certainly narrows down the list of suspects," Nucky replies. Teddy wanders to the corner of Fallon's desk where a baseball sits in prominent display. "You like
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We're in a room we've not been in before and there's a knock at the door. A muffled voice says, "Come in." Eli opens the door and we see lying in bed, looking like hell, Deputy Halloran. Bandages wrap his head from the top of his skull to the bottom of his chin. His right arm dangles in a sling and his jaw appears to be wired. "Fresh peas — from June's garden," Eli tells him as he holds up a paper bag. "What do I do with 'em?" Halloran asks, given that he can barely open his mouth to speak. Eli suggests he have his landlady boil the peas for him. Then the sheriff gets around to asking his deputy how he's feeling, as if the sight of him didn't already answer that question. "How do ya zink?" Halloran says. "What happened out there?" Eli inquires as if he didn't already know the answer. "Two of 'em came up behind me,"
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Father Brennan comes upon Margaret in kneeling in prayer in one of the pews of his otherwise empty church. "Is something wrong?" he asks. "My youngest, Emily, she has polio," she informs the priest. "I'm sorry," Brennan says. "She's frightened, Father. It's killin' me," Margaret admits. Brennan sits in the pew in front of Margaret and leans on its back. "God is with her, my child," he insists. Podewsa films that line of Brennan's in a far shot from the back of the sanctuary, essentially turning Margaret and the priest into specks. He moves back around to the front of two so we can see Margaret, "As he was when he let it happen," Margaret replies with a tone of bitterness toward her deity. Podewsa moves the camera slightly again so we see Michael Cumpsty's face straight on while Kelly MacDonald is in profile. "There are things I tell children, Mrs. Schroeder, because that's all they can grasp. You're an adult and you came here in your need," Brennan tells her. "I've nowhere else to turn," Margaret says, looking straight ahead as if she's in a state of shock or has just gone numb. "You confessed something to me not long ago — about temptation. Is that still a burden?" Brennan inquires. "I'd rather not discuss that," she replies. "Don't you see the problem? You ask of God, but what do you offer in return?" the priest asks. "My devotion," Margaret answers. Father Brennan explains to her that devotion is an act, something you demonstrate. Margaret doesn't understand how she can display that devotion. "That's for you to decide," Father Brennan tells her.
The next scene begins with a man's hand lifting his suit jacket to give him quicker access to the gun sticking out of his pants. The camera goes wide and we realize that the gun belongs to Jimmy who is meeting with Chalky inside the same church where Chalky held his community meeting following his release from jail. Jimmy has brought Richard along with him, Chalky's backup is Dunn Purnsley. Two other black men stand quietly in separate corners. "Mr. White," Jimmy greets Chalky, "Young James," Chalky replies as the two shake hands. "How's that new set of shoes be fittin' these days?" Chalky asks Jimmy. "A little tighter than I expected," Jimmy admits. "Needs some breakin' in, that all," Chalky tells him. "So what can I do for y'all?" Chalky asks as he and Jimmy sit. "The strike — it needs to end. I came here to work somethin' out," Jimmy says. "Oh — now y'all come. What ya think about that, Mr. Purnsley?" Chalky asks Dunn who stands behind him. "I think that ball team he sent around swingin' those bats struck out," Purnsley declares. "That wasn't my idea, Chalky," Jimmy tells him. "Klan boys shootin' up my warehouse," Chalky reminds him. "Wasn't my idea either," Jimmy adds. "Jesus boy — ain't you got any notion at all?" Chalky quizzes Jimmy. "Yeah," Jimmy says, leaning forward on his chair. "I plan to make your murder charge go away," Chalky lets out a little cough and looks to the side. "How you gonna do that?" Chalky wants to know. Jimmy announces his plan to talk with Gov. Edwards. Chalky spins in his chair to look at Purnsley, then turns back to Jimmy. "What else you got?" he asks. "What else you want?" Jimmy inquires. "Justice," Chalky replies, which when he elaborates breaks down to $3,000 to each of the families of the men killed in the Klan raid. "OK," Jimmy agrees. "And those three hooded crackers who did the shootin' — I want them delivered to me personally," Chalky demands, Jimmy shakes his head and looks at Richard. "It's not gonna happen, Chalky," Darmody tells him. Chalky smirks, then stands. "Well buck, that's the deal. There'll always be next tourist season," Chalky says with a wink as he and Purnsley leave.
In the Manhattan hotel room with Nucky, Teddy talks to his mom on the phone. We only hear his side of the conversation which consists of many promises to do things and the news about the signed baseball, though Margaret has no idea who Ty Cobb is. "OK champ, time to say goodnight," Nucky tells him. Teddy does what he's told and hands the phone off to Nucky who says they'll see her tomorrow and explains that Cobb is "a very famous ball player." "Your mom sounded in good spirits, eh," Nucky declares, but Teddy just shrugs. Nucky sits down on his bed with a drink. "You know, I had a kid sister. Her name was Susan. She was sick too — consumption — and my mother,
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The young would-be bootleggers have gathered together at the warehouse again — and the trio of out-of state partner aren't happy with what they're finding. "How'd you do?" Lucky asks Al when he comes in. "I couldn't sell a drop. The whole city's fucking drenched," Capone reports. "Irish whiskey," Luciano says. "But they're cheaper than what we're selling," Mickey adds. "Way cheaper," Lucky complains. "Who's behind it then? Al wants to know. "Nucky," Jimmy declares. "You know that?" Meyer asks. "In my bones," Jimmy replies. "So much for
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The camera begins the next scene tight on the face of Nelson Van Alden in the middle of a sentence. "…at which point Enoch Thompson left the premises with Mr. White," Van Alden says. "Albert White, known as Chalky," we hear Esther Randolph's voice clarify off screen. "That's correct," Nelson confirms. "Please tell the jury what happened next," Randolph's voice instructs. "Presumably, they completed the deal for the alcohol — " "Objection," this time it's Lathrop's voice we hear doing the interrupting and the shot widens so we see that they're rehearsing Van Alden's future trial testimony in their office. "Your presumptions, scintillating though they be, do not help us. You're testifying as to direct knowledge of Thompson's bootlegging," Esther tells him. Nelson apologizes and Lathrop advises him to stick to what he knows. "Agent Van Alden, what can you tell us about a Hans Schroeder?" Randolph asks. "I beg your pardon," Nelson replies. "Hans Schroeder — his name is mentioned in your file quite extensively as is his widow's," Randolph repeats. From the look on Van Alden's face, you might forget that he's testifying for the prosecution. "Are you baiting me, Miss Randolph?" Van Alden accuses. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean. In your file, it says that Nucky Thompson ordered Schroeder murdered," she responds as he crosses in front of him. "I have no direct proof of that," Van Alden admits. "Well you certainly spent enough time on it," Esther comments. "It was a theory. I was told by my supervisor to focus on alcohol as you've directed yourself in regard to my testimony," he tells her. Randolph sidles up to Nelson. "Off the record? Do you think he did it? Thompson — order Schroeder's murder," she queries. "I have no doubt whatsoever," Van Alden declares. Randolph suggest that they break for lunch and Nelson walks briskly out of the office. "What do you think? Have we got enough?" Lathrop asks Randolph. "Let's bring him in," she says. Lathrop and Halsey grab their hats and head off.
Someone knocks on the door to Manny Horvitz's home. Manny must be playing it safe after the attempt on his life because he treads carefully inside, dressed in only a T-shirt and suspenders, using a handgun to part the curtains to look outside. He sees that it's Mickey Doyle on his doorstep, so Horvitz feels secure enough to let him inside (but not enough to do so without giving Mickey a patdown for
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The camera pans slowly from the hall of jail cells to look through the bars of a particular cell where we see Eli sitting on the lower bunk smoking a cigarette. Esther Randolph comes walking by and stops to say, "Sheriff Thompson, good morning." Eli's gaze could burn holes through Randolph. "I asked for a lawyer," he tells her. "I am a lawyer — just not yours," she replies. Randolph introduces and identifies herself to Eli. "At my house, you come arrest me," Eli growls in disbelief. "Sorry Sheriff but my professional courtesy does not extend to murder suspects," Randolph explains with a "that's-the-breaks" nod of her head. Again, this show makes me conflicted over the vast expansion of its cast this season. It ends up slighting some of its regulars and some additions prove needless, but then you get someone such as Julianne Nicholson playing Esther Randolph and you're grateful almost every time you get to see her at work. "You're graspin' at straws, lady," Eli declares. "Actually, I think I've got one. Your deputy — Raymond Halloran. He's got a lot to say about you and a man named Hans Schroeder. If you have anything to say — about your brother, for instance — please have your lawyer get in touch. I'm sure he'll be along any minute," Randolph smiles, nods and walks away. What I love about this show — which I've mentioned many times — its long-term memory. When this season started, we knew that a coup was planned and in the first episode, it seemed to revolve around Nucky's election chicanery. Who could have predicted then that the tangled legal mess eventually would ensnare some of the coup plotters themselves and lead back to the murder of Margaret's husband in the very first episode of the series?
As Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" plays on the soundtrack, Margaret removes all the contents of her jewelry box — the jewels as well as the envelope of cash hidden in the secret compartment. She places all of it in her handbag and leaves. At Father Brennan's residence, the priest relaxes, listening to that same piece of music on his phonograph player. His housekeeper (Connie Watkins) knocks and enters. "Sorry to bother you, Father. A Mrs. Schroeder is here to see you," she tells him. "What does she want?" Brennan asks. "She didn't say. Should I let her in?" the housekeeper inquires. Brennan hides his glass of wine, adjusts his collar and says to show her in. He turns off the record as Margaret comes in. "I'm disturbing you," Margaret says as she sees Brennan place the record back on the shelf. "Not at all. They can very easily get out of order and there's no finding them," Brennan explains. "How is your little one?" he asks. "The doctor's reluctant to make any prediction," Margaret replies. "He doesn't wish to give you false hope," the priest says. "Would that be so bad? It would at least be something for now," Margaret admits. "Wouldn't you rather believe in something real?" Brennan challenges her. Believe in something real — what kind of talk is that coming from a priest? "I want to believe she'll recover," Margaret declares. "Are you looking for a miracle?" he inquires. "Yes, I am. I want my daughter to be made whole. I want her to live and grow. I want her to run in the grass and swim in the sea and not suffer for this — for no reason," Margaret comes close to blaming her indiscretion with Owen as the reason for Emily's polio, but she stops herself. "Do you recall what we discussed earlier?" Brennan asks. "An act of devotion," Margaret answers as she reaches into her purse and places the money and jewelry upon the table. "What is this?" he questions. "For the church — a donation," she replies. "I'm not usually handed cash directly, let alone jewels," Father Brennan admits. "Then tell me the proper method," Margaret requests. "Why are you doing this, Mrs. Schroeder?" he asks. "There's a weight on me, Father, on my soul. I want to be free of it and show that I'm willing." Father Brennan picks up the envelopes and looks at the pile of bills. "Shall we pray?"
Jimmy drinks a cup of coffee and looks at his home's magnificent view, noting one particular sunbather, an overweight man of indeterminate age with his back to the ocean. "What's so fascinating?" Angela asks as she comes in and sees her husband gazing. "That fella," Jimmy replies and his wife joins him at the window. "Not a care in the world," he says. "Certainly doesn't care what he looks like," Angela comments. In a way, Jimmy is dressed here like Manny was earlier — wearing a T-shirt with suspenders over them holding up his
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When Nucky and Margaret meet with Dr. Holt to hear the latest test results, the report isn't promising. "Unfortunately, we didn't get the results we'd hoped for. It's spinal polio. The virus invades nerve cells causing damage to the muscles and the limbs. The cells are completely destroyed and, as in Emily's case, the paralysis will most likely be permanent. You understand what I'm saying?" Holt asks Margaret who just stares into space. Nucky takes her hand and calls her name. "Did your daughter pray?" Margaret inquires of Holt. "I'm sorry," he replies. "Last night, you said she prays for all the rest of us," Margaret says. "I'm sure she did," Holt tells her. "Then bless her soul," Margaret declares. "What do we know?" Nucky asks. "Measure Emily for braces. You'll take her home. When she's ready, we'll try therapy and hope for the best," Holt explains. "I'd say that's good advice," Nucky concurs. Margaret turns to Nucky and looks helpless. Kelly Macdonald, as always, is great, but I wonder if Margaret is sliding off the rails into cuckoo land. Will this be particularly bad timing should Esther Randolph bring anyone, let alone Nucky, up on murder charges in Hans' death?
Back at the Margate Estate that the Schroeders share with Nucky, Teddy sits on the floor by the foot of his bed going through a box. In it, he finds an old photo of Hans and Margaret when he was younger and Emily was a baby. He looks closely at his dead father's face for a moment before putting the photo back in the box and adding the Ty Cobb-autographed baseball to its contents.
You can hear the waves at the Darmody beachhouse as Angela sleeps. A shadow wearing a hat passes by the curtains of her bedroom. Manny Horvitz opens the front door, his gun already drawn, dressed in suit and tie. Honestly, if you're sneaking into someone's house at night to kill them, why on earth would you get dressed up for the occasion? Was there a dress code for murder in the 1920s?
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As Manny stalks around the house, he finally finds the bedroom where Angela sleeps and hears the shower running in the adjacent bathroom. Horvitz goes to the bed and places his hand over Angela's mouth. She wakes up and tries to scream, but can't. Manny drags her to her feet, holding her up with one hand still over her mouth and the other still holding the gun waiting for the shower to end.
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The knob squeaks as the water stops inside the bathroom. Angela keeps trying to make a noise loud enough to serve as a warning. Manny sees a person's shape in the distorted glass on the bathroom door, aims and fires as soon as it opens. Both Louise and the towel covering her nakedness fall to the floor. "What the fuck?" Manny says as a naked woman's body falls dead to the floor instead of that of his anticipated victim, James Darmody.
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The surprise shocks Horvitz enough that Angela escapes his grasp and runs to Louise, who already is dead. Angela cries over her body as Manny approaches, gun still drawn. "Where's Darmody?" he asks. "He isn't here," Angela sobs. "You're his wife?" Manny seeks confirmation.
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"Please. I have a child. Please. Do you want money? He can get it. Lots of it. I can make him," Angela pleads through her tears. "The most important thing in life, darling — your health. Your husband did this to you," Manny tells Angela before shooting her in the head.
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Horvitz puts an extra bullet in each of the women, just for good measure, then leaves the scene, actually looking sad. In fact, in an odd way, his facial expression reminds me of the clown Emmett Kelly. Meanwhile, unaware that he has just become a widower, Jimmy drives
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Labels: Boardwalk Empire, Buscemi, HBO, Shakespeare, The Sopranos, TV Recap
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Coppola's Vietnam
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"My film is not a movie. My film is not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam. It's what it was really like. It was crazy. We were in the jungle, there were too many of us, we had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane." — Francis Ford Coppola
By Damian Arlyn
Apocalypse Now is one of my all-time favorite movies. In adapting Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness for the big screen, but setting it in Cambodia during the Vietnam War, director Francis Ford Coppola created one of the most ambitious, absorbing and awe-inspiring examples of what I refer to as "immersive" (and sometimes "meditative") cinema I've ever seen. Some call it the greatest war film ever made but I think, like all masterpieces, it transcends the genre in which it resides and becomes something wholly other: something deeper, more profound. It is about a man surrounded by madness, trying to hold onto his sanity as he goes to kill another man who has lost his. The protagonist's journey into the depths of the jungle actually is a journey into the darker regions of his own soul. Coppola's film was a landmark in motion picture history (winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes and receiving multiple Oscar and Golden Globe nominations) and his achievement is all the more impressive when one learns of what really was involved to make it. Although newspapers reported many of the difficulties encountered in shooting Apocalypse Now in the latter half of the '70s, it wasn't until 1991, when the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, was released, that the full story behind Coppola's Vietnam film became known. I actually watched the doc before I ever saw Apocalypse Now and it gave me an appreciation for the film that I doubt I would have had otherwise. To this day no other documentary (besides perhaps Burden of Dreams) more compellingly chronicles the aspirations, obsessions, insecurities and ultimate triumph of a young filmmaker tackling his biggest and most challenging project.
Hearts of Darkness was directed by George Hickenlooper (who died late last year) and Fax Bahr, but the majority of its footage was shot by Coppola's wife Eleanor during the filming of Apocalypse Now. As the director's wife, Eleanor had access to the troubled filmmaker that few other documentarians would. In addition to recording candid interviews with her husband as well as on-set interactions between him and his crew and actors, Eleanor recorded talks that they had alone in which Coppola revealed his fears about the project as well as his own career. After Eleanor turned her footage over to Bahr and Hickenlooper, they shot new interviews with Coppola, Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, writer John Milius and even George Lucas. They then enlisted Eleanor to provide the film's narration (except for some passages from Conrad's novella Orson Welles read on an old radio broadcast) and premiered it at Cannes to great critical acclaim. In the U.S., it premiered on Showtime before being released theatrically 20 years ago today.
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The film depicts Apocalypse Now's tumultuous shoot in a very honest and forthright manner. It didn't escape Coppola's notice, as he said in the now famous quote shown above this post, how much the story being filmed mirrored his own experience trying to tell it. Originally, Harvey Keitel was cast in the lead role of Capt. Ben Willard, but after seeing the dailies, Coppola was dissatisfied and replaced him with Martin Sheen. During the shooting of the now iconic "Ride of the Valkyries" helicopter scene, several copters suddenly were pulled away by the Philippines government to battle rebels. At one point, Martin Sheen had a heart attack and needed to be flown out of the country in order to have surgery. Marlon Brando, who was being paid the astronomical sum of a million dollars a week, showed up severely overweight and not having read the Conrad novella as Coppola had requested. Dennis Hopper's brain was so fried from drugs that he couldn't remember his lines. Eventually, Coppola was forced to abandon the script and make up a lot of it (including the ending) as he went along. What initially was slated as a five-month shoot lasted more than two years and the budget ballooned from $14 million to more than $30 million. In some very revealing audio tracks, Coppola confesses to his wife that he's certain the film is awful, will fail, that he'll become a laughingstock, etc. It is somewhat ironic that Coppola was correct that his career has fallen way short of its early promise while his contemporaries (Spielberg, Lucas and Scorsese) have, for the most part, continued to create films that are financially and/or critical successes. It did not, however, have anything to do with Apocalypse Now which, in spite of the incredible trials and tribulations faced during its production, was (and still is) considered one of his great accomplishments.
In an era where "making-of" documentaries are common features on DVDs (the best ones usually made by Laurent Bouzerau), it's difficult to appreciate what a rare glimpse behind the curtain Hearts of Darkness provided. Even today, most "behind-the-scenes" specials are puff pieces where the actors all are "thrilled" to be on the project, the director "couldn't be happier" with the work being done and the producer "loves everyone involved." Occasionally you get one like the Dangerous Days doc on the Blade Runner DVD/Blu-ray that has the courage to admit that the director wasn't easy to work with, that the studio was making things much harder than it had to be and the overall shoot was a bitch. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse put all of that out there. Although the film's place in cinematic history is secure, one almost wouldn't be surprised to see Coppola characterizing his experience working on the film by uttering the immortal last words of Kurtz as he lay dying, in both Coppola's film and Conrad's novella:
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Labels: 90s, Awards, Brando, Coppola, Documentary, Duvall, Fiction, Fishburne, Hopper, Keitel, Lucas, M. Sheen, Movie Tributes, Scorsese, Spielberg, Welles
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