Helmed by a powerful lead performance by Elizabeth Olsen, Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene dribbles right on the edge of thriller and suspense without coming off gimmicky. Olsen evokes and drowns herself in her character keeping the questions right on the surface and not losing sight. Though the film’s narrative never fully develops and fails to explore the deepest parts of this cautionary tale, the full commitment from the directing style and its performers transform a seemingly A-typical story to something new and dynamic. Co-star John Hawkes shines once again in a new villainous and demented turn which remains one of the great supporting male works this year. A notation for Hugh Dancy is worth mentioning in a presumably vacant character but effective and taunting performance.
“Perhaps he has reached the stage where obedience is more important to him than originality.” This pointed criticism from the Russian psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) is made in response to her therapist and lover Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) announcing his intellectual break from his professional mentor/rival Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen), and I couldn’t help but crack a smile upon hearing it, as I would accuse David Cronenberg and Christopher Hampton’s treatment of the intriguing but flawed A Dangerous Method of similar constricting reverence towards the same figure, recreating the dense ideas of their main characters without really pushing them far enough to leave a lasting impression. Based on Hampton’s play The Talking Cure, which was in turn based on John Kerr’s book A Most Dangerous Method, which (almost there!) was based on actual letters exchanged between Freud, Jung, and Spielrein, the film focuses mainly on Jung and how his eventual split with Freud and the torrid relationship he had with Spielrein shaped psychoanalysis in ways that are inquired and debated about to this day. Read more on A Dangerous Method (**½)…
There’s always been a bit of Billy Wilder in Cameron Crowe’s films, but this year with ‘We Bought a Zoo’ marks the first time he’s gone in the direction of Frank Capra. The result is a very effective, if lightweight film that works to make you laugh and make you cry. This isn’t an “important” movie, but it’s an entertaining dramedy and has the right balance of elements to fulfill an audience member. In terms of previous Crowe works, it has a bit of ‘Jerry Maguire’ to it, but perhaps more similarities to ‘Elizabethtown’ than many might prefer (not me though, I love that flick and consider it one of the more underrated films in some time). This is Crowe making a family movie, and while he hasn’t lost any of his keen observation powers, he manages to make a film for a wide range of people. Of course the soundtrack is excellent, but that’s no surprise. What’s more noteworthy is the strong acting by the cast (including Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Elle Fanning, and Thomas Haden Church), all of whom do slightly different work than we’re used to seeing from them. I suspect a number of people will find this movie, based on Benjamin Mee’s nonfiction book of his experiences, to be too cute for their liking, but for me it was a borderline delight. I don’t know if the Oscars will have any use for it, but the Golden Globes have just the category for this…
Perhaps you’ve heard of a little film called ‘The Dark Knight’. It came out a few years ago and did pretty well. As such, a sequel called ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is hitting theaters next year, and will be debuting it’s opening sequence as a sort of expanded trailer, just like the last film did. The Playlist confirms the date of this tease:
In all the excitment last week over Empire‘s debut of two new looks at Batman and Bane on the cover of their latest issue, a small morsel of important info from “The Dark Knight Rises” seemed to be overlooked. Just as they did in the run up for “The Dark Knight,” Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. are planning to give audiences a healthy, early taste of the final installment of the trilogy. If you go to a select IMAX cinema starting December 21st, you’ll get a look at the first six or seven minutes of the upcoming movie.
Martha Marcy May Marlene (***)
