Killers of the Flower Moon

 Killers of the Flower Moon

This is a true story and I recommend searching Wikipedia as background. This is a harsh and brutal story. The Osage Indians are  murdered and victimized by white residents jealous of their wealth  from oil revenue. This story does not have the full weight oi history it deserves. It took place in Fairfax Oklahoma a few years before the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1923. Both incidents involved white animus against minorities of wealth.

The first half of the movie is slow. Character relationships are established and a number of murders are committed without being investigated. Some scenes are graphic and gruesome. In the latter half of the film, after about an hour and a half, it becomes more interesting when the Bureau of Investigation (forerunners of the FBI) come to investigate the murders. Jesse Plemons is the lead investigator. He is  laconic and unflappable.

Leo Di Caprio plays against type. His character Ernest Burkhart is a spineless weasel manipulated by his uncle William King Hale played by Robert Di Nero. Di Caparo’s character is complex. He freely commits crimes against the Osage  but he has genuine affection for his wife and children. He says more than once in the film, he loves money. Whatever soul he had; he sacrifices it for greed.

For most of the movie Di Nero looked like he is sucking on a lemon. He has a sour puss looking down from rounded rimmed glasses. Di Nero has played tough guy roles so playing King Hale was not a stretch. He was duplicitous  pretending to be a benefactor while masterminding murders to attain wealth.

Lily Gladstone is Mollie Burkhart, Ernest’s wife. Her facial expression for most of the film was consistent. Her emotional highs and lows were narrow. She shows more range when she gets sick. The film features native Indians as actors.

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film 92%, so please do not be dissuaded by this review. This film is a bladder buster at more than three and half hours so sit next to the aisle.

The film cost about $250m with advertising. It has to clear $500m to break even. In the first weekend it made $30m. Apple produced the film so it should be streaming on Apple + at some point. 

 

The Irishman

The Irishman                                                                                                             November 29, 2019

This movie is a masterwork. Of all his accolades this film will be at the top of Scorsese’s oeuvre. The performances were brilliant and the script was rich and complex. The film is multi layered: it is a mob movie, a docudrama and a Shakespearean  tragedy. The movie shows the rise of the main protagonist Frank Sheeran from a truck driver to  union boss and entanglements  with the mod and teamster’s union boss Jimmy Hoffa. This was a time when unions and the mob had a symbiotic relationship.

The three main actors are Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, all brilliant. If the Academy could give three Oscars in 2019 for best actor that would solve of the dilemma of choosing. What separates great performances is nuance. With De Niro and Pacino, we have seen shades of their characters in other films. Pesci is almost Zen like. In contract to his role in Casino as the hyperbolic Nicky Santora, Pesci plays  Russell Bufalino as a sublime but a ruthless mob boss. Pesci’s dramatic silences frame his character and vale the banality of his evil.  

Di Nero plays the Irishman as a man without a soul. He does what he has to do no matter the affect on friends, family or himself. He is stoic and remorseless; killing friends and wrecking family. Pacino is manic and neurotic as Jimmy Hoffa. He is so consumed  by his image as a power broker he cannot negotiate with other mob chieftains.  Two other roles of note are Ray Romano as Bill Rufalino, teamster lawyer, and Bobby Cannavale as a local mobster Skinny Razor. Romano with his halting distinctive voice and Cannavale’s sleepy eyes, both hit their marks. Harvey Keitel has a walk on role; looking good.

This movie is cut like a diamond. The editing was intelligent and  effective. Flash backs were selectively done to narrate the movie and historical footage was used to jog the memory. There is fact and fiction regarding the Kennedy’s. One thing for sure, the mod and Jimmy Hoffa hated Bobby Kennedy.

If you look up Jimmy Hoffa, instead of deceased it will stay “disappeared”. Hoffa’s body was never found and where he was buried became like a parlor game. He was declared legally dead in 1982.

Yeah, the movie is three and a half hours long. Get over it.

Silence

Silence

This is an epic movie. It is a clash of religions and cultures and the horrible consequences of ensuing conflict. It also has an epic run time of about three hours; this is a two-bathroom movie.

The film takes place in feudal Japan in the 16^th hundreds. The two main protagonists played by Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield are Jesuit priests on a mission to Japan to find a renowned priest, Fr. Ferreira, played by Liam Neeson. They encounter hostile resistance from the Japanese feudal lords. The two Jesuits are in peril from the day they arrive in Japan. As in Roman times the Japanese Christens conceal their faith fearing retribution. When discovered they are subjected to horrible torture reminiscent to the martyrdom of the saints. To escape punishment, they are forced to apostatize their faith.

This is Martin Scorsese’s latest film which was ten years in the making. Scorsese had considered attending the seminary and if had this film would have been his dissertation. The Japanese see Catholicism as a threat to their society and will crush it. In Japan, the Emperor is a deity and deities do not like competition.  

Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield are the new breed of stars. Driver has had a range of roles from the narcissistic lover in the HBO series Girls to Kylo Ren in Rogue One. Here he is a tormented priest agonizing between keeping his faith and saving local Christians from gruesome torture.  He delivers a complex performance of terror and devotion.

Andrew Garfield’s character plays the pivotal role. He is Driver’s companion and is subjected to the same trials and torments. His conundrum is if he does not apostatize his devoted flock would be tortured to death or if he gives up his fate he will be dammed. The later part of the film give him full range of emotions. He is most compelling in these moments.

Liam Neeson comes in at the end of the movie. His character is the catalyst for the two Jesuits’ journey. His role is important and he delivers what is needed.

One wonderful things about this movie is the Japanese cast.  Although I am not familiar with them their acting was superb. One character, Kichijiro, unintentionally provided comic relief by asking for confession for sins he keeps repeating.   He thinks confession is his get out of jail card (I certainly hope so!). The Inquisitor is played by a grandfatherly type character who dispassionately dispenses torture like someone ordering tea. His banality portends future barbarity.  

The costumes and cinematography are outstanding. Scorsese uses an effective overhead shot.  An interviewer asked him what inspired him. Scorsese said when he lived in a tenement on the Lower East Side, he looked out the window that is how he saw the city. Yeah, been there.

This movie weights heavy on your shoulders. Jesuits are God’s storm troops and are the harbingers of colonialism. The movie is a feast for the eyes and all-round the acting is superb. But it is not a date movie.

Wolf of Wall Street

Wolf of Wall Street

This picture exceeded my expectations. The movie trailers give the impression that the financial crisis is trivialized by a bunch of self centered unethical egotists. These guys are in the movie, but the film is more than mere shallowness and greed. It is a story of self destruction and stupidly of ambitious people. Martin Scorsese directed a great ensemble of actors for this entertaining movie. 

Leonardo DiCaprio is outstanding. Wolf’s character is a rollercoaster of emotion. He is the consummate salesman searching for next hustle and his next high. He is a cocaine addict, an alcoholic and an indiscriminate fornicator. Animal House has nothing on the Wolf. The level of debauchery depicted in this movie would make an Etruscan blush. DiCaprio’s characterization of Wolf is the polar opposite of his performance of the Great Gatsby. This is the mark of a great actor.

The company he started is basically a boiler room with high pressure salesmen churning commissions.  He is the leader of this frat house where morality is checked at the door. The manic highs eventually give way to crushing lows and paranoia when the good times cease. DiCaprio plays the bad equally well with the good. There are some scenes played unintentionally funny. If you re offended by sex scenes you will be very offended.

Margot Robbie is wife number two. Her stunning beauty is complemented by a delightful Brooklyn accent that some men find sexy (not bad for an Aussie). Their marriage tumbles from hot sex to bellicose fights. Her beauty belies tenacity and toughness to the chagrin of Wolf.

Jonah Hill basically disappoints. He is the co-founder of the company run by DiCaprio. He does not do much until the end of the movie. Hill plays the same character in all his movies. He plays the winey chubby under achiever who gets trounced reaching for an uncertain goals. Jonah Hill did not leave a mark on this movie.

It was a treat  seeing Rob Reiner in an acting role. He is now a famous director, but in the day he was the lovable Meat Head from the sit com All in the Family. His comic talents have not diminished.  Eventhough his role was brief he provided some laughs as the Wolf’s father. 

Jean Dujardin (silent film The Artist) played the role of a sleazy Swiss Banker (French Swiss). He was very funny and funnier when he spoke only French. If he continues appearing in American movies he can be our modern Maurice Chevalier.

Is The Wolf of Wall Street a microcosm of the financial crisis of 2007? Maybe. Wolf’s people are the bottom of a crowded scum barrel.  They eviscerated customers for the commission. Would it be nice to say in the end Wolf got what he deserved? See the movie and find out.

p.s.- Bathroom alert, the movie is one minute short of three hours.