Starch, Schmaltz and ‘The Imitation Game’
“The Imitation Game” may be released by The Weinstein Company but it feels pure Miramax, Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s first production company. This is not a condemnation of the film. Rather, it is (mostly) a commendation: In their 1990s Miramax glory days, the Weinstein Brothers – though so reportedly controlling that Harvey earned the nickname “Scissorhands” – produced a steady stream of high-caliber, relatively high-grossing projects that, with unapologetic gloss and just enough edge, recalled the golden era of mid-twentieth century Hollywood. (That is, if movies from that era had focused upon heroin addicts, slackers, gangsters, and various emissaries of the queer community).
Certainly this account of Alan Turing, the cryptologist who helped win World II only to commit suicide after being persecuted for homosexuality, has all the makings of a prestige biopic. It’s about a lone wolf defeating seemingly insurmountable odds with a series of heart-rending victories and defeats. It boasts expertly paced, lavish direction by Norwegian hotshot Morten Tyldum. Benedict Cumberbatch, that nerdy hunk known for portraying smart-alecky problem solvers (Julian Assange, Sherlock Holmes), stars as Turing. Keira Knightley, the thinking man (and woman)’s dream girl, plays Turing’s fiancé, Joan, whose big brains are overlooked because of her gender. And, despite the complex subject matter, it is not so cerebral that we don’t laugh and cry. If I sound, oh, a tad cynical, rest assured that it’s only a tad. Continue Reading →
The DIY Feminism of ‘The Babadook’
If science fiction shows us what we fear about our future, horror films show us what we demonize now. Take last year’s “Mama” and “The Conjuring.” Though quite good, both channeled our culture’s feminist backlash by indicting women who defy their “natural” maternal instincts. “The Babadook,” the debut feature from Aussie writer-director Jennifer Kent (expanded from her award-winning short “Monster”), may press that same bad-mommy button, but it does so with a great deal more insight and compassion – not to mention a crafty girl aesthetic. Imagine a movie hand-stitched by an Etsy queen or, better yet, a Bust Magazine editor, and we have some sense of what “The Babadook” brings to the table.
Amelia (Essie Davis) is a struggling single mother. With her salary as an eldercare nurse, she barely makes ends meet, and she’s still mourning her husband, who was killed en route to deliver their son, Sam (Noah Wiseman), now six years old. It doesn’t help that the kid is a handful. With his penchant for shrill tirades and handmade weapons, the hyperactive boy has been pulled out of school and alienated everyone in Amelia’s life. Even before a real monster descends upon their household, then, life is a nightmare – an effect captured in a recurring series of quick, rhythmically intercut shots that recall the drug montages of “All That Jazz” and “Requiem for a Dream.” (A clever association.) Click: child yanks mother from a deep sleep. Click: they peer under bed for monsters. Click: they peer in wardrobe for monsters. Click: mother reads child another bedtime story. This repetition of the mother-and-child routine is a soul-chilling metronome–one that’s especially unsettling because Amelia drones on in an exaggerated version of the impatient singsong every parent uses with a kid who just won’t go the f–k to sleep. Continue Reading →
