film reviews

Film Review: THE SOUVENIR (UK 2018) ***

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The Souvenir Poster
Trailer

A young film student in the early 80s becomes romantically involved with a complicated and untrustworthy man.

Director:

Joanna Hogg

Writer:

Joanna Hogg (screenplay)

Stars:

Neil Young, Tosin Cole, Jack McMullen

“What does a student living in a posh London area know about the subject of a little boy living in the coastal town of Sunderland who has an over affection for his ailing mother?”  A faculty member advises student filmmaker Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) on making films on a subject matter that she would be familiar with.  Writer/director Joanna Hogg has taken this piece of advice to heart, as this odd love relationship tale of a young filmmaker runs close to home.  Hogg herself was a filmmaker who had spent time in Sunderland.  The photographs that she took back in the 80’s open the film.  Not only that, but Hogg has Tilda Swinton start in her short film, and now her daughter in the lead for this film.  And as Julie is also advised on filmmaking, the film should be about life experienced not the way it plays out.  THE SOUVENIR is a bit of both.  It is clearly about life, as difficult as it is, experienced by Julie which she controls to prevent it playing out on its own.

Julie (Swinton Byrne) wants to film a working class drama set in the coastal city of Sunderland – even though she gets push back from her faculty advisors et al.  Meanwhile, she meets Anthony (Burke), an art buff who works for the Foreign Office.  He starts asking for money which, in turn, she borrows from her mother (Swinton).  The couple’s passion for each other is undeniable.  But there are awkward moments in the relationship.

“You are not normal.  You are a freak.” Anthony tells Julie at one point in the film.  “It is your fragility.” “Is that good?” she asks to which she gets no reply.  The most awkward moment is the one during a visit to a restaurant where he gives her a really hard time for no apparent reason.  Warning bells are ringing that this man is not the one to live with.  In real life couples stay together for the weirdest of reasons even though common sense says they should stay apart.  The same can be said for this couple.  This is definitely one unstable relationship.  One wonders if Hogg went through such a caustic relationship as well.  Hogg shows with romance also comes trouble and couples are not always perfect.

Hogg’s drama which runs close to two hours is a slow burn.  At times, it seems that nothing is going on.  But the cinematography is great, the atmosphere of Sunderland nostalgic (set in the 80’s), the characters human and interesting and the storytelling is engrossing. The film’s title is from the Jean-Honoré Fragonard painting in The Wallace Collection that Anthony takes Julie to see.  Words also describe the souvenir as a love souvenir.  The film also won the Grand Jury Prize (Dramatic World Cinema) at Sundance 2019.  Plans for Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II with Robert Pattinson are now underway.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhYHBLPBCbQ

Film Review: THE DEAD DON’T DIE (USA 2019) ***

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The Dead Don't Die Poster

Trailer

The peaceful town of Centerville finds itself battling a zombie horde as the dead start rising from their graves.

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch

Stars:

Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Alyssa Maria App

Jim Jarmusch the king of independent American cinema re-invents the zombie movie with THE DEAD DON’T DIE as he did the vampire genre with ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE.  THE DEAD DON’T DIE, however, is more of a comedy, the type Jarmusch is better known for, as demonstrated in his earliest works, STRANGER THAN PARADISE and DOWN BY LAW.  There are two directors best known for deadpan comedy – Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki and Jim Jarmsuch.  The film is arguably Jarmusch’s most ambitious to date, featuring an all-star cast and the film chosen to open the Cannes Film Festival this year in May.

It all starts to happen when the earth tilts out of its axis.  “Something weird is going on,” says Centreville Police Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) to his partner, Officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) after a hilarious encounter with Hermit Bob (Tom Waits).  Ronnie predicts that things do not look good to the very end, a line that the film comes back to several times at different points in the film.  That night in Centreville, 2 zombies (Sara Driver and Iggy Pop) suddenly rise from their graves to kill the workers at the local diner.  The reason for the earth’s off kilter is attributed, according to news lady Rosie Perez on TV, to fracking by the oil companies.  More zombies rise from their graves the following night eating up many of the town’s residents as well as three teens (including Selena Gomez) who meet their death.  Director Jarmusch does not skimp on the gory graphics, the corpses with their innards pulled out from their bodies left by the zombies, enough to make anyone throw up including the third police officer, Mindy (Chloe Sevigny).  “This will not end well,” repeats Officer Ronnie.  “How do you know?” Asks Chief Cliff to which comes perhaps the film’s most unexpected reply.

The film benefits from a  superb cast, many of which are Jarmusch’s past collaborators.  Adam Driver was in his last film PATERSON, arguably Jarmsuch’s best movie, Tom Waits in DOWN BY LAW and Tilda Swinton who steals the show as a sword yielding mortician of the town, speaking with her strong native Scottish accent.  Drive demonstrates his talent for deadpan comedy here, Jarmsuch giving him the best lines.  Other well known stars in the cast include Steve Buscemi as Farmer Miller, Danny Glover, RZA, Caleb Landry Jones and Carol Kane.

The film drags a bit running close to a n hour and three quarters.  But it is Jarmusch style to let his film play along with long lazy takes that he made famous in STRANGER THAN PARADISE.  Nothing much seems to happen except the zombies but that is the pleasure of a Jarmsuch film.

Do not expect THE DEAD DON’T DIE to be a masterpiece.  After all, it is a zombie movie – the best thing it can achieve is cult status, as in George Romero’s zombie flicks.  But the film is totally amusing aided by solid performances from his all-star cast and some hilarious writing coupled with a bit of parody.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs5ZOcU6Bnw

Film Review: DARK PHOENIX (USA 2019) ***1/2

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Dark Phoenix Poster
Trailer

Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into a Dark Phoenix. Now the X-Men will have to decide if the life of a team member is worth more than all the people living in the world.

Director:

Simon Kinberg

Writers:

John Byrne (story “The Dark Phoenix Saga”), Chris Claremont (story “The Dark Phoenix Saga”) | 4 more credits »

Stars:

James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence

A disclaimer from this reviewer that is to be read before proceeding with this review – I am not a fan of the super action hero film genre, so what is written might not apply to the general public who adore action hero movies.   The 10th of the series of X-MEN films, DARK PHOENIX  has so far been the worst reviewed film of the series.  Critics have complained that the film is boring and the rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing is around 20%. (but the film has a higher 70% approval on imdb).  Personally, DARK PHOENIX is not bad, is entertaining and has a good solid storyline.  The same can be said for the FANTASTIC FOUR films.  But he Fantastic Four films bombed because the filmmakers spent too much emphasis on story and less on action.  Action hero fans DO NOT like that at all.  They want mindless violence and special effects.  DARK PHOENIX falls into the same trap.

DARK PHOENIX concentrates on the life of one X-man or X-woman rather, Grey (Sophie Turner).  There is a lot of story here,  The film opens with her as a child, engineering a car accident that kills her parents making her an orphan to be taken in by Professor Charles Xavier  (James McCoy) in his school of Gifted Youngsters or in other words, School for mutant super heroes.  He mentally blocks the accident from her memories and helps her hone her psychic abilities.

The film shifts to 1992 when the X-Men respond to a distress signal from the space shuttle Endeavour.  The shuttle is critically damaged by a solar flare.  While the X-Men save all of the astronauts, Grey absorbs the solar flare in her body.  Her psychic powers are greatly amplified as a result.  At the same time, the mental block placed by Xavier is destroyed and she travels to Red Hook after discovering that her father is still alive. The X-Men attempt to take Grey home.  Grey meets Vuk, a D’Bari (Jessica Chastain) who explains to her that she possesses the Phoenix Force, which wiped out the D’Baris’ home planet years ago.  Meanwhile, Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), who feels betrayed by Xavier’s manipulation of Grey’s memories, allies with Erik Lehnsherr (Michale Fassbender) and his mutant refugees to bring down Grey in New York City.  Enough said about the plot, though there is much more.  The action amplifies from here, with lots of special effects.

Most of the other X-Men are present like Cyclops, Beast, Storm, Mistique, Quicksilver among others.  They are not given such to do though.  McAvoy and Turner both turn in solid performances bringing in more emotions in the action flick.

The action sequences are well staged, a lot done old school style like exploding real houses instead of CGI (though there is still quite a lot of CGI).  Director Kinberg is fond of using slow motion to allow the audience to appreciate the action.

Regardless of critics approval, DARK PHOENIX should do well at the box-office grossing an expected $50 million for the opening weekend.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azvR__GRQic

Film Review: WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY (USA 2018)

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Wild Nights with Emily Poster
Trailer

Dramatization of the little known side of the writer Emily Dickinson’s life, in particular, her relationship with another woman.

Director:

Madeleine Olnek

Writer:

Madeleine Olnek

Stars:

Molly Shannon, Susan Ziegler, Amy Seimetz

The first thing one notices about this biopic on American poet and writer Emily Dickinson is the casting of Saturday Night Live’s Molly Shannon in the time role of the adult Emily Dickinson.  Dickinson was a serious poet and even more serious a person, avoiding contact with the outside world for the most offer life.  The opening scene where Emily (Shannon) and Susan embrace falling on the floor as a result an over-compassionate kiss is obviously played for laughs.  The biopic of poet and author Emily Dickson is thus treated with some biting humour.  It is ambitious and challenging for the filmmakers to make a deadpan comedy on the life of serious Emily Dickinson. 

The film is part bio as re-enacted by the actors as directed, but the bio pic should be taken with a grain of salt.

The film begins with Emily in her teens, played by not Molly but by someone younger, Dana Melanie, in love with Susan Gilbert.  The two met during a recitation of the Amherst’s Shakespeare Society, and during a scene in which they play lovers, a romance blossoms.  On a stroll afterwards, they kiss. Emily’s family leaves for a month long trip, and Susan stays with Emily for the duration. They continue to spend time together, concealing the romantic aspect of their relationship from others.

Susan gets a teaching job out west, and they write countless love letters to each others while she is away. When she returns, Emily is surprised to learn that Susan has been betrothed to Emily’s brother Austin, which Susan had kept secret from her. Susan apologizes to Emily and explains that it’s all part of a greater scheme: Susan cannot financially support herself without getting married, and by marrying Austin they can build a house right next door to Emily and no one will suspect their romance.

The dead pan comedy ends up irrelevant at times and sometimes a bit funny and at other times not.  One has a possible publisher and his wife slurping tea loudly when served by Emily.  Another has Emily saying that she would listen to what a speaker would say, and the scene moves to this person mumbling under his breath all the way.  The most irrelevant has Emily and Susan engaged in a discussion in bed  just before Emily says’ “I have a desire for a strawberry”, before reaching out for one and eating it.

Odd too is the ending with Emily talking to another corpse in the adjoining room.  They have a discussion with the dead balks man asking her Why’d you die?”  The she replies ‘For beauty!”, he replies “him for truth.”  The meaning of what is occurring will escape many.  Or perhaps that is the purpose.

Weird does not automatically translate to smart or deadpan funny as evident in this biopic that ends up more like WEIRD NIGHTS WITH EMILY.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u36bKgONkfI

Film Review: MOUTHPIECE (Canada 2018)

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Mouthpiece Poster
Trailer

Cassandra, who is portrayed by the two women, expresses the opposing voices that exist inside the modern woman’s head, during a 48-hour period as she tries to organize the affairs for her mother’s funeral.

Director:

Patricia Rozema

Writers:

Amy Nostbakken, Patricia Rozema | 1 more credit »

Stars:

Taylor Belle Puterman, Carlos Albornoz, Maev Beaty

Based on the theatrical play by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava, MOUTHPIECE (premiered at TIFF) centres on Cassandra, a woman who is making the arrangements for her mother’s funeral, who is played by both Nostbakken and Sadava as a dramatization of her inner conflict.

Canadian writer/director Patricia Rozema shot to fame with her quirky features, most notably I SAW THE MERMAIDS SINGING (and a more stable MANSFIELD PARK) which also propelled its star Sheila McCarthy to stardom.  The film was at the time the darling of the Toronto International Film Festival and Rozema’s films have frequented TIFF ever since.  This gives her the chance to be more daring.  MOUTHPIECE, based on the play by its two leads is as daring as daring can be.

MOUTHPIECE opens with a 30-year old writer riding home a bicycle during Christmas with another girl.  They sleep on the same bed.  The immediate question is whether they are lovers.  But it turns out that they may be sisters and they react similarly to the revelation of the death of ones mother.  It turns out that these two women are manifestations of the same character both portrayed by two different  actresses. These two actresses also wrote the script and the play which director Rozema based her film on.  But the audience is not told of the fact that these two persons are one of the same.  The result is a confusing and very annoying beginning.

The two leads Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava fare well, playing against each other, being one and then being different,  considering that they should since they write the original material (the play) together.

Is MOUTHPIECE a dark comedy?  For one, it is not funny.  As an experimental piece, the novelty of the experiment wears off quite fast.  Worse of all, the experiment is never explained and it takes a while to figure what is going on.  Nothing makes much sense as well, so there is no point trying to figure what is going on  why, when or what.   The sex scene in which one personality is watching the other copulating is one of the more inventive segments – weird as it is.

The film contains other quirky scenes like the one where the two lie in the coffin Cassandra has picked up for her recently passed mother.  The funeral parlour director can only say that people feel differently for they losses.  

The film shot in Toronto, apparently during the festive season is a pleasant diversion to look at.  Cinematography, quite stunning especially in the one scene with the multitude of birds in the sky, is by d.p. Catherine Lutes.  Most of them film’s crew are feminine which is a welcome change from the norm.

There are  a few reasons, primarily its novelty for watching MOUTHPIECE.  Unfortunately, there are even more reasons particularly the exasperating result (try watching the film in its entirety in one sitting) for not seeing this pretentious artistic exercise.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILvNjYJo-G0

Film Review: THE TOMORROW MAN (USA 2018) ***1/2

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Trailer

Ed Hemsler spends his life preparing for a disaster that may never come. Ronnie Meisner spends her life shopping for things she may never use. In a small. These two people will try to find love.

Director:

Noble Jones (as Noble Lincoln Jones)

Writer:

Noble Jones

Stars:

John Lithgow, Blythe Danner, Derek Cecil

Romantic Comedies are not part of my favourite film genre.  And least of all romantic comedies where the subjects are old folks.  So, what can I say about THE TOMORROW MAN?  – a romantic comedy about two seniors who fall in love.  It is a charming and winning film, full of surprises that works because of a heartfelt script and two amazing leads – Blythe Danner and John Lithgow.

THE TOMORROW MAN is Ed Hemsler (Lithgow).  Ed spends his life preparing for a disaster that may never come. Ronnie Meisner (Danner) spends her life shopping for things she may never use.  In a small town somewhere in America, these two people will try to find love while trying not to get lost in each other’s stuff.

Just as Ed surprises Ronnie every time they meet (the first time suddenly appearing at the supermarket, one time when his face appears as she closes her car’s hood) the script is also full of surprises.  When Ed drives Ronnie home after the first date, when he turns on the car radio, Ronnie starts singing.  Out of the blue he screeches the car to a stop and runs out screaming.  What happens next is unexpected, surprise and totally charming.   And enough to knock the audience off their seats – the couple’s first embrace.  This is is makes he film work – a script that is so engaging, funny and unexpected.  Another scene has Ed going on and on talking non-stop about himself and his family and then suddenly stopping to say that he is saying too much.  Ronnie then surprises with her candid revelation about herself and her family.  Other examples, in fact too many to mention follow – a really good thing.

Both characters are eccentric.  Ed imagines that the news lady on TV speaks to him.  “There has been a third power outage.  But Ed Hemsler has a backup generator.  Because Ed Hemsler thinks of everything.  Because Ed Hamster thinks of everything.”  Ronnie is more forward about the relationship than is believed at the start.  A few wise words from the couple also offers advice to the audience, just as Ed tells his son on the telephone at the film’s start: “What matters is what you do now.”

Lithgow and Danner make the perfect believable senior couple.  They do not come across as condescending.  They do not relive their old younger glory days but acknowledge their age (I retired at the wrong side of 60, says Ed at one point in the film) and limitations.

The film has been described by Jimmy Fallon as an old age version of SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.  Yes and no.  THE TOMORROW MAN is a film about eccentrics, too but it is not a sensationalized romance like PLAYBOOK.  Both are well-made, entertaining films and THE TOMORROW MAN excels in its own weird way.  The film shows that there is life after 60 and that a romantic comedy about seniors can still have appeal and zest.

Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8769848/videoplayer/vi1054063641?ref_=tt_pv_vi_aiv_1

Film Review: LATE NIGHT (USA 2019) ***

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Late Night Poster
Trailer

A late-night talk-show host suspects that she may soon lose her long-running show.

Director:

Nisha Ganatra

Writer:

Mindy Kaling (screenplay by)

Stars:

Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, John Lithgow

The timely talk-show host comedy LATE NIGHT earns a double boost from being selected to headline the Toronto Inside Out Gay and Lesbian Film Festival’s Closing Night Gala as well as having the fortune to have Academy Award British actress Emma Thompson star as the legendary talk-show host Katherine Newbury.

The script has been widely publicized as being written by Indian comedian Mindy Kaling, one fo the most well known and respected TV and film personalities.  In her script, she gets to offer her take on feminine and minority issues.  Though her script is by no means perfect, it has good moments, is earnest and also occasionally quite funny.

The film centres on American talk-show host, British born Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson), a pioneer in her field.  The only woman ever to have a long-running program on late night, she keeps her writers’ room on a short leash ― and all male, and all white male at that.  But when her ratings plummet and she finally realizes that she but not her show is going to be axed, she starts taking notice and action, and oddly enough, inappropriate action.  She is accused of being a “woman who hates women,” Katherine puts gender equality on her to-do list and impulsively hires Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling herself), a chemical plant efficiency expert from suburban Pennsylvania, as the first and only female on her writing staff.

The film swings into Molly’s character.  Molly is the underdog with lots of criticism but with few solutions.  When Katherine fingers her out to express her views, she is upset that a newbie can find fault her but offer little in terms of answers,

When rumours begin swirling that Katherine is being replaced by a younger, hipper male host, Daniel Tennant (Ike Barinholtz), she demands that the writers make her funny and relevant again. This is when Molly makes her mark while running at the same times, loggerheads with Katherine.  The film plays like a romantic comedy between Katherine and Molly, the two fighting and then respecting each other.

At its best, the script shows the strength of diversity and women at the work place.  The success of Katherine in what is normally a male occupation says a lot.  Most of the real late night talk show hosts at present are men – so networks should take notice.  The Katherine character is fashioned a bit around the Ellen Degeneres personality and similarities (like Katherine’s remarks) exist.  The restraint of putting a lid on a romantic subplot pays off too.  There is a little romance brewing but just enough to make Molly a vulnerable character.  The script shows  the female crying a well.  (Molly cries behind her desk in one scene after being humiliated by Katherine).  

On the negative side, all the males are depicted as second class idiots.  All of Katherine’s white males writers are bumbling no-brainers.  The role of Katherine’s husband (John Lithgow) is over-written and over sympathetic.  The males also cannot keep a decent relationship going.

Kaling’s script also seems over eager to please.  It is clear enough that LATE NIGHT is supposed to be a feel-good movie but at times, when the music comes crescendo-ing over the dialogue to steer how the audience to feel, it all seems a bit too much.

Thompson delivers a winning performance, regardless and Kaling tries hard in her role which basically her film of her own.

LATE NIGHT is still entertaining despite its over eagerness to please, the film aided by Thompson’s and Kaling’s otherwise working chemistry.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxefiCjQirw

Film Review: SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS (Canada 2019) ***

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s9WRPy9s.jpg
When a new dad (Justin Bartha) has to return home to bury his estranged father, things take a turn for the complicated when the dead man’s final wish is to have his ashes scattered on the field of his favorite professional sports team.

Director:

Collin Friesen

Writer:

Collin Friesen

Stars:

Justin Bartha, Bruce Greenwood, Inbar Lavi

SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS is an acclaimaed small Canadian film that makes its debut this week and can be seen in Toronto.

When the SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS begins and rolls on, it takes a while for the audiences to establish that the film being watched is Canadian.  Everything looks American at first sight, including the familiar face of the main actor, Justin Martha who has been seen in THE HANGOVER.  Suddenly, as his character takes a plane to attend his father’s funeral, song with the lyrics “I hate Winnipeg” is heard on the soundtrack.

Marking Collin Friesen’s directorial debut, this heartfelt comedy follows exhausted new dad Ken (Justin Bartha) as he heads home to bury his own estranged father.  Ken leaves his wife and baby behind to attend the funeral.  Ken is talked into fulfilling his father’s dying wish, in order to claim his inheritance  – to have his ashes scattered on the playing field of the local pro football team. It is a task that proves tougher and funnier than it should be but with the help of his lonely, hippy mother (Lolita Davidovich, best known for BLAZE) and his father’s old golf buddy, Jeff (Bruce Greenwood, who gets star billing for the role), Ken learns a little about himself, his marriage, and most important, that there is nothing about dying that makes you a saint.  The father’s last words on video makes one fo the film’s funniest parts.  The script sneaks a few messages about life as well.

The film takes a few cheap racial shots – at the Koreans and China.  Have to admit that these are quite funny, not that I or the scriptwriters are racist or anything.  And as such as the script goes, the film cracks quite a few black humoured jokes at death, funerals and dying wishes, which are again hilarious.  If these are not laugh-out loud (as it would seem in bad taste to laugh too hard at these), they are at least good for an audible chuckle.  Jokes are original to say the least.  To the scriptwriter’s credit, there has never been so much humour generated from unfunny jokes, as evident in the funeral service segment.

The trouble starts when director Friesen attempts at getting serious.  After Ken has spent some time away, he gets into a bit of trouble and the wife gets visibly upset, especially after having to look after their baby all by herself.  The tension rises and Ken, who is no saint has started hanging around with a divorcee next door nieghbour who convinces him to  quit his job over the telephone.  This is when the film starts treading on predictable territory.  After a few laughs, the audience is in no mood to get serious.

The film is nominated for three Canadian Comedy Awards, including Best Feature Film, Best Writing and Best Performance in a Feature.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=wLlf_Z8wji4

Film Review: ROCKETMAN (UK/USA 2019) ****

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Rocketman Poster
A musical fantasy about the fantastical human story of Elton John‘s breakthrough years.

Director:

Dexter Fletcher

Writer:

Lee Hall (screenplay)

Stars:

Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden

You got to love it when a subject executively produces his own biopic.  And even more when the subject is Sir Elton John.

Elton John is world famous and known for his outrageous performances, flashy costumes an controversial remarks.  His biopic, directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall who wrote BILLY ELLIOT) opens with him in bright orange gear, entering a bright light, which the audience assumes is going to be a grand stage, but turns out hilariously to be the room for an Alcoholics Anonymous gathering.  As the orange clad figures discusses his life, the biopic relates the story of one of the world’s best signer/songwriter from little boy to the present.

The film’s next scene has Elton as a little boy in a song and dance number that is immediately reminiscent of Ken Russell’s THE WHO musical TOMMY where little Tommy is inserted in a number called “Bernie’s holiday camp”.   Russell’s TOMMY has important significance to Elton John as he had a cameo role in the film as the pinball wizard, with the popular song later performed in its full entirety by John in the biopic.

By inevitable comparison to the recent BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (Director Fletcher was named the replacement director for BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY and helped finish that film though only Bryan Singer received director’s credit) which won 4 Oscars including the Best Actor prize for Rami, ROCKETMAN is more enjoyable to this reviewer for 2 reasons.  This reviewer is a true Elton John and not a Queen fan, and so every song crooned in ROCKETMAN brings both nostalgia and joy.  The film is also splashy and more daring (the sex scene that was left intact in the film, according to the Daily Mail article, compared to RHAPSODY where there were no sex scenes).  The sex seen in ROCKETMAN, with John and his lover doing the nasties both butt naked in bed is sufficiently eye-opening though no intercourse is actually on display.

Both Tagor Egerton as Elton John and Jamie Bell (BILLY ELLIOT and THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN) as his lyricist and friend, Bernie Turpin are close to perfect in their roles.   Elton John has himself praised Egerton’s performance in the film.  What could be a better complement?  Egerton also gets the Elton John mannerisms down pat to a ‘t’.

Certain songs in the film add a certain resonance not realized by many.  One prime example are the lyrics of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” crooned by both Bernie Turpin and Elton John.  ‘….going back to the howling old owl in the woods, hunting the horny black toad, I’m going back where my future lies, beyond the Yellow Brick Road”.  This segment is not only the most moving but most powerful part of the film which effectively forms the climatic moment of the film.

ROCEKTMAN which clocks just over the two hour mark reveals both the genius and demons of this talented individual.  Owing to the nature of the subject, the downward spiralling of John is still glamorously displayed and neither dismal looking nor dull.  One prime example is his diving in the pool fantasy sequence where John meets his boy-self at the bottom playing ROCKETMAN on is toy piano.

A few facts on his life are missing on the screen most notably his spat with Madonna and his knighthood.  These would have added even more spice to the otherwise heavily layered dessert.

ROCKETMAN has been chosen as the Opening Night film for Toronto’s 2019 LGBT Inside Out Film Festival.  This weekend the film goes head-to-head competition with two other blockbusters, GODZILLA 2 (Ugh!) and MA.  Elton John fans around the film should (their numbers alone) make ROCKETMAN the number 1 at the box-office.  ROCEKTMAN deserves to be, anyway.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3vO8E2e6G0

Film Review: PHOTOGRAPH (India/Germany 2018) ***

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Photograph Poster
Trailer

A struggling street photographer in Mumbai, pressured to marry by his grandmother, convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develop a connection that transforms them in ways they could not expect.

Director:

Ritesh Batra

Writer:

Ritesh Batra

Stars:

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Sachin Khedekar

Writer/director Batra has risen to fame with his Mumbai hit THE LUNCHBOX which allowed him to direct two English language films (OUR SOULS AT NIGHT and THE SENSE OF AN ENDING).  Batra is back to his Mumbai roots with his new modest film, a sort of Indian romantic comedy of manners or Indian manners rather, entitled PHOTOGRAPH.

As the title PHOTOGRAPH implies, a love affair begins with a photograph, in this case, the photograph taken of a pretty girl at the Gateway of India.  And the romance begins from there.  For those unfamiliar with India or Mumbai for that matter, PHOTOGRAPH delivers an insightful look of the city and the continent.  Mumbais smoke ‘bidi’ too, their slang word for joints.  The Gateway of India is no less than Mumbai, so called because it is a beautiful city by the waters and a tourist spot for both foreign and local tourists was well.  Mumbai is not only the busy overcrowded city as depicted in other films like Danny Boyle’s SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.  In PHOTOGRAPH, director Batra shows both the beauty and bustiness of the Indian city.

PHOTOGRAPH is a light romance, so there is not much that the audience needs to concentrate on or figure out or meditate on.  But there are lot of Indian cultures and mores built into the story.  India is known for its caste system.  In the story the male and female come from different classes.  The girl Didi or Miloni (Sanya Malhotra) is Muslim with a maid (who she can confide with) and a stricter mother who has arranged Miloni’s mirage with another Indian who is about to get his MBA from the United States.  The running joke is that the man has been fat and has lost weight and now thin and the fear is that he might get fat again.  When Didi meets him for the first time, he offered her cake and refrains from having any himself saying that he is watching his weight.

The love which blossoms between Didi and Rafi (Bollywood icon Nawazuddin Siddiqui) takes its time to unfold.  The affair is sped up by the arrival of Rafi’s grandmother, Dadi
(Farrukh Jaffar), a fiesta old woman who is not afraid to make her thoughts known.  She also puts in a bit of bite into the story.  Director Batra is in no rush to have them kiss or have them do the nasties in the bedroom.  Which is a good thing.  But romantic comedies are romantic comedies and one big flaw of rom coms are that they are predictable and are filled with cliches.

Director Batra overcomes the predictable clichéd romantic comedy by parody, lifting the film a few notches.  This he does in the movie theatre where Rafi takes Didi to see a movie for the second time.  Didi leaves the auditorium at one point, the reason given being a scurrying mouse beneath her feet.  When Rafi goes out to get her later on, they discuss the predictability of romantic comedies.

If one does not expect too much, PHOTOGRAPH is a satisfactory romantic comedy with a Mumbai touch that enlivens the action.  

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwOGIlpPqek