Sometimes we go to the movies and have a good time. And then sometimes we go to the movies and end up feeling like we've had our insides ripped out and stomped on by mutant gorillas. The latter description applies to my experience while watching Lynne Ramsay's YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE.
This dark, brooding, visceral film is like a fever dream with a linear story that weaves its way into your consciousness alongside relentlessly ugly, violent imagery. Joaquin Phoenix, in a powerful performance, plays a guy named Joe, a veteran with PTSD, who lives with and cares for his elderly mother. Joe is also a former FBI agent who works for a clandestine organization that rescues young girls who have been abducted into the world of sex trafficking. When he's called to do a job involving a politician who's trying to get his daughter back, Joe finds himself caught up in a conspiracy that threatens his life and the lives of those he cares about.
For those who have an aversion to violence and bloodletting, this film can be difficult to watch in some places. Be forewarned. However, the subject matter and the presence of Phoenix make it worthwhile. To be honest, the film could be much more violent than it is. But the director shoots many scenes in such a way that confrontations occur mostly off screen or are seen through a remote security camera. My sincere gratitude to Ms. Ramsay!
Trivial tidbit: Judith Roberts, the actress who plays Joe's mother, is the same woman who played the beautiful, mysterious prostitute living across the hall from Henry (Jack Nance) in David Lynch's ERASERHEAD (1977).
This fourth version of the venerable rags-to-riches-to-heartache-and-ending-in-outright-tragedy showbiz saga accomplishes what the title promises by successfully turning flamboyant entertainer Lady Gaga into a movie star. The fact that the whole force of the Hollywood glamour machine is deployed to deglamorize the outrageous Gaga image only adds to the fun of watching her and seeing what a good actress she is. As for Bradley Cooper, he's a major star already, and no glamour treatment is needed for him to deliver yet another heartfelt performance demonstrating his talent and versatility. He also makes a commendable debut as a director.
The first one-third of the film is pure magic as working class, aspiring singer Ally Campano and damaged rock star Jackson Maine meet, fall in love, and begin working together. The story seems to lose its way a little as Ally becomes famous overnight and soon begins to morph into something resembling a Jennifer Lopez blow-up fetish doll while Jackson declines almost too rapidly with each successive scene. But the film finds its way back toward the end and once again grabs the viewer's heart.
The music as performed by both of the stars is very impressive. The Oscar nominated song "Shallow" is a dramatic standout. Before I saw the movie, I watched Cooper and Gaga sing this song on the Oscar broadcast and I didn't find it to be at all moving or interesting. But when performed within the context of the story, it works beautifully.
Miss Gaga, having added the title of Screen Goddess to her list of professional conquests, will no doubt go on to make other movies. After all, once a star has been born she usually likes to keep her face in front of the cameras. But she may never be able to find a showcase role quite like this one.
The final shot of the film, a closeup of Ally's face, filled with emotion, connects this updated version of the story to its three predecessors. In the end, they're all about the same thing: a one man woman looking for the man that got away.
Forget CITIZEN KANE. This is the movie magic you're really hungering for.
Shot in only eight days for $70,000, this enduring epic tells the story of giant mutant leeches causing mayhem in the Florida Everglades when they get over aggressive and start dragging innocent people into their underwater cave in order to suck their blood. One of the hapless victims is sleazy tart Liz Walker (Yvette Vickers), who is cheating on her sleazy husband, Dave (Bruno VeSota) with one of his sleazy friends, Cal Moulton (Michael Emmett). Stalwart game warden Steve Benton (Ken Clark) is called upon to find a way to defeat the slimy leech critters so as to make the Everglades safe once again for all manner of sleazy activiy. The handsome Clark's primary acting duties consist of posing with his shirt off and being generally heroic. His girlfriend, Nan Grayson, is portrayed by Jan Shepherd. Her function is to nag Steve incessantly and pour coffee for various cast members.
The leeches are portrayed by humans in badly fitted rubber suits (Or are they just trash bags? Hard to tell.) with suction cups attached. Fortunately for the costume designers' reputations, the slimy looking monsters are only partially visible at any given time. The film was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski. Produced by Roger and Gene Corman. Screenplay by Leo Gordon.
Yvette Vickers had appeared in another science fiction classic the year before, ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN, in which she also played a sleazy tart. Miss Vickers was always better than the material she was usually given and deserved much more of a chance in films. She is the main reason this low budget gem is remembered.
This interesting entry into the vampire genre used to show up on television quite frequently during the 1960's and 1970's and was always great fun to watch. In spite of its low budget and brief running time (77 minutes) it takes the subject matter very seriously and has many effective sequences.
The story, set in 1958, has Count Dracula emigrating from Eastern Europe to the United States in search of fresh blood. He does away with, and assumes the identity of, a fellow countryman named Belak who was coming to California to live with relatives. He moves in with Belak's cousin, a widow with a young son and a teenage daughter, Rachel. Dracula somehow manages to hide his coffin in a nearby cave and gets busy sampling the local feminine blood supply, while casting a cold, hungry eye on the nubile Rachel.
Dracula is portrayed by Francis Lederer, a Czech actor with a long film career going all the way back to the silent era. One of his notable roles was opposite Louise Brooks in the 1929 German classic PANDORA'S BOX. Lederer's dark features, expressive eyes and thick accent give him a commanding Lugosi-esque presence that makes his interpretation of the Count very impressive and mysterious. He wisely underplays the role, forgoing dramatic gestures and relying on a steady gaze and a quiet, controlled voice inflection.
The cinematography is in black & white. But there is a brief, rather shocking, moment in color when a vampire girl in a white shroud (Don't they always wear white shrouds?) geta a stake driven into her heart with blood spurting all over the place. The film is lacking in special photographic effects, but it does make good use of mist whenever Dracula makes a nocturnal entrance.
Rachel is played by a young, beautiful actress named Norma Eberhardt, who only made a handful of film and television appearances (notably LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG, also in 1958) before leaving show business. A real shame, too, as she was talented and distinctive. Also featuring Ray Striklyn, Virginia Vincent and Jimmie Baird. Directed by Paul Landers.
Add this one to your list of Halloween cinematic treats.
If you're in a good mood when you decide to pop PLAY IT AS IT LAYS into the old DVD player and give it a watch, then prepare to be depressed when it's over. If you happen to be depressed to begin with, then get ready to go right over the edge into the pit of existential despair. Directed by Frank Perry, this is one of those early 1970's films that glory in showing us the emptiness and pointlessness of American life. And this particular story takes place in Hollywood/Los Angeles, which means emptiness is enthroned as a form of art. As if all of this weren't downbeat enough, the second most important location is Las Vegas. Need another Zoloft yet?
Tuesday Weld stars as Maria Wyeth, a B-Movie actress whose life has taken a dark turn. Her marriage to self-absorbed director Carter Lang (Adam Roarke) is crumbling. Their young daughter is mentally disturbed and institutionalized. Maria becomes pregnant from an adulterous affair, has an abortion, and gets a divorce. As her life spins out of control in a series of one night stands and increasingly erratic behavior, her only mainstay is her unhappy gay friend BZ Mendenhall (Anthony Perkins). BZ finally decides to kill himself and invites Maria to join him. She refuses, but does nothing to stop her friend from carrying out his suicide. After BZ's death, Maria is confined to a mental hospital.
The screenplay by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne is based on Didion's novel of the same name. While the film is largely an endless talk fest populated by cliched, one dimensional characters, it does have many effective moments. Perry's directing style consists of jump cuts and very brief scenes that seem to reflect the disjointed mindsets of the characters, especially Maria. The film opens with Maria telling her story as she walks the grounds of the hospital. Everything we see depicted in the film is her point of view, the story as she remembers it. While the story is indeed dark, the relentless California sunshine provides a bizarre visual contrast, Maria spends much of her time driving her gorgeous yellow Corvette. The film is devoid of music, except for what we hear occasionally on her car radio.
Anthony Perkins is excellent as the tragic BZ. He and Miss Weld had worked together two years previously in a low budget gem entitled PRETTY POISON and the two have marvelous chemistry between them. Also featured are Tammy Grimes, Ruth Ford, Eddie Firestone and Diana Ewing. Tyne Daly has a few lines as a journalist. And handsome, tough guy actor Tony Young appears as handsome, tough guy actor Johnny Waters, who has a fling with Maria.
The primary reason to appreciate this movie is its beautiful star. For those of us who revere Tuesday Weld not only as the most enigmatic of screen goddesses, but also a truly gifted actress, PLAY IT AS IT LAYS is almost the ultimate Weld experience. She is in practically every scene, with one lovely close-up after another allowing us to gaze at her expressive face. She gives a very good performance as the troubled movie star. It's tempting to believe that Miss Weld is acting out scenes from her own life. After all, she was pushed into a modelling career by her mother at the age of three and had a nervous breakdown when she was nine. She started in films when she was barely in her teens and lived a somewhat troubled life. And yet, she survived. My DVD edition of PLAY IT AS IT LAYS includes an interview Miss Weld did on The Dick Cavett Show in 1971. She speaks with honesty about her early life and the difficulties she experienced. She also exudes the same warmth and sincerity that she brought to so many of her performances. Tuesday Weld hasn't made a film since the early 2000's. I hope she has found peace in her life. And I hope she knows how many of us still love her.
This admittedly energetic adaptation of the now all too familiar Dracula story is filled with both artistic flourish and a bounty of blood. It also contains the obligatory amounts of sex and violence necessary to get a modern horror film released in the first place. Added to these attributes are lots of color, atmosphere, and the expected use of Christian symbolism (both Catholic and Orthodox) dramatically displayed as mere fetish objects to a contemporary audience that no longer believes in such things unless they appear in horror films.
What it lacks, besides Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee, is any real sense of Gothic mystery. But then, it's difficult to establish mystery when everything that should be seen in the dark is instead shown in blazing light and shoved right into the viewer's face. And, really, Gothic mystery is superfluous in a slasher flick, which is essentially what Francis Ford Coppola has made here.
Gary Oldman works hard in another presto change-o type of performance that has finally won him an Oscar for THE DARKEST HOUR. I would imagine the bulk of the movie's budget was used for his various costumes, wigs and facial makeup. Winona Ryder has feverishly entered the scream queen zone and manages to emote with great effort. Keanu Reeves, attempting to speak BBC British, appears to be auditioning for a dinner theater production of Shakespeare, while Anthony Hopkins provides some much needed cynical flair as Van Helsing, vampire hunter. The acting honors, in my opinion, belong to Tom Waits as Renfield. Waits finally has a chance to play full tilt crazy, and he runs with it.
For some reason I was unable to take any of this seriously and found myself wondering what Roger Corman or Mario Bava might have done with this project.
