Harriet

Harriet                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               January 28, 2020

If you do not know who Harriet Tubman is, see this movie. She is a giant among feminists before there were feminists and she had a gun. Information about Tubman is limited to 19^th technology: photos, diaries, newspapers and oral history. Cynthia Erivo’s and the director flesh out Tubman as brave, passionate and fiercely committed to liberating slaves. Tubman’s passion and bravery are rooted in her grief from being separated from family and denied freedom. Erivo’s Tubman is complex with  fierce resolve and commitment to her mission…freedom. When told by other abolitionists to stop and not go back south she ignored them and made numerous journeys. In her first escape she walked 100 miles from Maryland to Philadelphia on foot.

Erivo’s plays Tubman as a messianic figure. Tubman believed  God spoke to her and pointed her and her charges in the direction to freedom. The runaway slaves believed in ability to talk to God and escaped with her. These visions may have been due from a blow to her head from an overseer; she was plagued by terrible headaches the rest of her life.

The physical brutality of slavery was not a main focus of the film. With the exception of brief shots of whip scared backs there was nothing like what was shown in “12 years a slave”. The emphasis here was escape not capture.

The film does not have a big named supporting cast, so Erivo basically carries the movie. This is one reason the movie only cost $17m. In the biz this is called  “a specialty box office”. All that said Erivo is nominated for an  Oscar for best actress and nominated for original song for Stand Up. In this movie she only sings a bit, but if you want to hear her voice catch “Bad Times at the El Royale.”

 She has just a good a chance of winning best actress as the rest.

Some facts about Tubman:

She was a conductor on the Underground Railroad (Flushing Queens was a stop). She freed 70 slaves.

She is the only women to have commanded a regiment of black soldiers during the civil war and freed 700 slaves.

She had brain surgery without anesthesia; she bit a bullet.

She died at 91

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Jo Jo Rabbit

Jo Jo Rabbit                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  January 23, 2020

When I was a kid I watched the Rocky and Bullwinkle show and  there was a segment called “Fractured Fairy Tales”. Jo Jo Rabbit reminded me of those cartoons. The film abounds in Nazi symbols and propaganda but they are twisted and satirized. Jo Jo is a member of the Hitler youth (more like Ariyan day care). He truly wants to be a good Nazi and wears a pint size uniform with the sacred knife but his skills do not match his ardor. The other baby goose steppers make fun of him and torment him. Jo Jo is egged on by his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler. He is Jo Jo’s friend, cheerleader and nemesis. The actor who plays Hitler, Taika Waititi, is also the director, cool.

This is a dark satirical film. This version of Nazism is not a well oiled machine. Instead of one big Heil Hitler there are little HH’s which everyone gives in turn. The Gestapo is menacing, but inept. The Gestapo officer is played by lanky Stephen Merchant in search of Jews. Even though, this is a satire the anti-Semitism and atrocities are cringe worthy.

Jo Jo Rabbit is played by Roman Griffin Davis, who is eleven and started auditioning for this film when he was nine. His performance is amazing. He has comic timing, poise and can hit the emotional mark like a seasoned actor. Scarlett Johansson is Jo Jo’s single mother who lovingly protects him and encourages him even with the gloom  of war. Johansson’s performance in this movie is diametrically opposed to her performance in a Marriage Story and is a testament to her versatility.

Sam Rockwell is a treasure. There is something signature about him. Whatever character he plays you find a bit of Rockwell. Either with  his smile, twinkle in his eye or  soft shoe. He is the “nice Nazi” captain who runs the youth camp. Rebel Wilson is a brutish camp instructor. Her performance is brief but has her trademark irreverence and sly insults delight.

Tying shoelaces is a metaphor in the movie. My interpretation is this symbolizes love and caring. I remember the first time my son tied my shoelaces and it is one of my most tender memories.

Jo Jo Rabbit is nominated for best picture. It is a long shot, but if wins it deserves it unequivocally.

1917

1917                                                                                                                                                       

January 13, 2020

This movie is like the Brits, slow excitement. The movie does reach a crescendo, but early notes are muted. This is a story of a heroic journey akin to the race to Marathon. A soldier is tasked to deliver an urgent message across enemy lines to avert the slaughter of hundreds British troops from an ambush laid by the Huns (stop the spoiler hate mail, this plot point was in the coming attractions) . 

The journey is fraught with perils and with every advancement the tempo picks up. Sometimes heroic movies are uncomplicated, it is overcoming the obstacles along the way that make them interesting.

The lead actor is George MacKay who almost carries the entire film. He displays steely determination to complete his mission overcoming daunting obstacles and life threatening situations. The battlefield is littered with dead bodies, dead horses and poodle sized rats. MacKay’s physicality is an essential part of his acting. He never stops, he is never deterred. He forges rivered littered with dead bodies and out runs a crashing biplane.

To American audiences MacKay may not be well known (speaking for myself). However, there are big named stars in the movie: Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch and Mark Strong. Regrettably each actor was given less than a few minutes screen time.

The cinematography was impressive giving full force to sweeping action scenes. Much is made of the so called one continuous shot, which actually was computer manipulated. This technique heightened the sense of urgency for MacKay to complete his mission.  The war torn landscape rendered by CG gave a palpable sense of death and carnage.

This film is a noble addition to the catalogue of war movies.