Character Drama

A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (1974)

May 24, 2021

(Criterion/HBO MAX/VOD) In A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, Peter Falk is Nick Longhetti, a construction foreman married to Mabel (Gena Rowlands, who was married to Cassavettes until he died in 1989) and they have three young children as well as a litany of family and friends that constantly drop by, barely giving Nick or Mabel a moment of peace. While this would be difficult for any couple, it’s complicated by the fact that Rowlands is incredibly intense woman, and often interacts with people in socially unacceptable ways. Nick describes her as “unusual, not crazy”.

What unfolds is a story of the two of them trying to cope with Mabel’s behavior, Nick’s detachment and frustration, and eventually Mabel’s breakdown. It’s a stunning depiction of a couple, one enriched by Rowlands’ absolutely astounding performance. She completely inhabits the role, bringing to life a character unlike one I’ve ever seen. It’s a nervy, nuanced take on a character that could otherwise come across as cartoonish. Rowlands was nominated for a Best Actress award for her role, but lost to Ellen Burstyn for the also-exceptional ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE. (I do prefer Rowlands’ performance, but they’re both great.)

It’s worth noting that Cassavettes never meant for Mabel to be considered ‘crazy’ — his words, not mine — but that she’s “frustrated beyond belief. More than being crazy, I think she’s just socially inept.” He also pulled from his own personal experience and his relationships, which seems obvious given how close everyone involved in this project are. To callback to my write-up regarding PLEASE STAND BY, this is the difference between writing a puzzle box story about someone with a neurological disorder, and writing an intimate tale about coping with people’s very human and divergent idiosyncrasies.

Just one more thing: COLUMBO fans will almost certainly be surprised to hear Falk whistling ‘This Old Man’, which was a tune that Falk turned into a Columbo affectation with the iconic episode -Any Old Port in a Storm-, which pre-dates A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE. Falk just always liked to hum or whistle it.

“You want spaghetti?!”

KAJILLIONAIRE (2020)

May 14, 2021

(HBO MAX/VOD) I’ve previously typed about how I love films about hucksters and con-artists, but this is a bit different. Miranda July’s film is all about a daughter named Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood) endlessly trying to win the affections of her parents (Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger) by participating in their endless grifter schemes, and they keep using and using her until she breaks. She finally finds some sort of solace in a potential mark named Melanie (Gina Rodriguez) who has always wanted to take part in OCEANS 11-ish hijinks, but quickly realizes it’s not quite the lark she thought it might be.

While Jenkins is brilliant as always, and Rodriguez can visually snap from cheerful to heartbroken in the blink of an eye, the film’s held together by Wood’s performance. I love her forced baritone voice and loose-fitting, masculine clothes — inferring that they wanted a son, not a daughter — and how that same voice warbles near the end of the film. Wood’s posture and physicality is also especially noteworthy, facets Old Dolio thought up to try to ingratiate herself on her unloving parents.

There’s a turn near the end of the film that you’ll see coming, but it’s still devastating, and that’s what makes it a remarkable work.

“Me, I prefer to just skim.”

“So do I!”

CLEAN, SHAVEN (1993)

February 26, 2021

(Criterion/VOD) A character profile of a man suffering from schizophrenia by writer/director Lodge Kerrigan (also the co-creator of Starz’s adaptation of Soderbergh’s THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE). Immaculate sound design, a strained, soulful performance from Peter Greene (PULP FICTION’s Zed) and a dearth of dialogue really make this film shine but, despite all of that, I’ll never forget it because of one scene featuring fingernails.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aInRjIwjpU

THE KID DETECTIVE (2020)

January 29, 2021

(Starz/VOD) I have a hard time believing this film wasn’t pitched as ‘gritty adult Encyclopedia Brown’ (and then whomever was being pitched probably replied ‘Encyclo-what?’) but even if it wasn’t, it works as a pretty succinct summary.

As I grew up reading ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN and TWO-MINUTE MYSTERIES, and love Chandler-esque detective fiction in general, I was already on this film’s side. While it’s much more subdued, quiet, and cynical than I thought it’d be, debut feature writer/director Evan Morgan clearly loves the genre and is surprisingly unwilling to poke fun at it, or even to modernize it. (For a film that takes place in modern day, it’s surprisingly reliant on landline phones.)

While some may be turned off by the dourness of the film — there are cutting remarks and laughs to be had, but the film is soaked in melancholy — it’s a welcome surprise to see a neo-noir that isn’t peppered with flippancy.

IZZY GETS THE FUCK ACROSS TOWN (2018)

January 27, 2021

(hoopla/peacock/tubi/VOD/Vudu) I don’t know how many favors debut writer/director Christian Papierniak asked to nab this amazing cast, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s now indebted to 80% of LA. I’d watch any film that featured just -one- of the following performers:

Mackenzie Davis
Carrie Coon
Dolly Wells
LaKeith Stanfield
Kyle Kinane
Alia Shawkat
Rob Huebel
Annie Potts

Somehow he managed to wrangle all of ‘em for this chaotic ‘one fuckup’s last gasp at attaining an old flame’ film. I’ll grant that it’s overworked — did we really need inter-titles for every scene? — and if Mackenzie Davis wasn’t the lead the film probably wouldn’t work, but she is and ultimately it does. Also, Mackenzie and Carrie Coon ‘reunite’ and play a HEAVENS TO BETSY cover that features -many- layers and that scene alone is worth the price of admission. (I’ll save you the search.)

“I’m not going to wish you good luck.” “No, no one in their right mind would.”

THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION (2020)

January 14, 2021

(Netflix) Radha, a black woman living in NYC is on the verge of turning forty, re-evaluating her life as a struggling playwright, and contemplating revisiting her teen rapping aspirations.

I love a film that draws a full portrait of the protagonist immediately out of the gate and damn, the opening of this film deserves to be framed. Thankfully, the rest of the film spends its time spooling out everything that brought her to her current state, then explores how she’s trying to move forward.

Deftly shot, utilizing numerous inventive, but not gimmicky, techniques, it’s a visually sumptuous black-and-white film, but it’s the script that really shines. While the story beats are familiar, they’re very welcome, and Radha (Radha Blank, who also wrote/directed/produced VERSION) is exceptional at undercutting a scene, at penning rhymes, at acerbic comments, at maintaining a joke rate that you’d expect from a sitcom, and also finely timing the scenes. To say she’s the writerly equivalent of a triple-threat would do her on-screen performance and direction a disservice.