AFI Fest 2013: "The Congress"

Director: Ari Folman
Runtime: 122 minutes

Five years after the masterful animated doc Waltz with Bashir, Ari Folman returns with The Congress, an overly ambitious odd duck that gets just enough right to avoid being a failure. Blending sections of live action and animation, Folman's foray into fiction filmmaking once again features dazzling visuals, even as them come trembling under the weight of unwieldy concepts and themes. Robin Wright's central turn is compelling in both physical and animated forms, and has great fun casting the actress as a version of herself.

For all of the bright, downright trippy animation that fills the second half of The Congress, the film's outlook on modern desires and priorities isn't exactly a happy one. Opening in the not too distant future, the film's first shot is a worn down looking Robin Wright listening to a demeaning lecture from her agent Al (Harvey Keitel). There are references to everything from bad career choices to bad choices in men (Wright was once married to Sean Penn), and it feels all too plausible, despite the undercurrent of humor. One wonders, in a system still filled with such an unfortunate amount of sexism and double standards, how many similar conversations have taken place behind closed doors. 

Things for Robin don't exactly improve when she meets with executive Jeff Green (Danny Huston, laying the sleaze on thick) offers her a troubling opportunity. The aging actress will have the chance to receive a steady flow of income if she takes part in a new process that will allow the studio to scan her entire being (mind, body, and soul), thus allowing them to manipulate and control her every move on screen. The other part of the agreement, however, is that the actual Robin Wright, the one not contained on a computer chip, can never act again in any capacity. 

Folman's set up is, despite some iffy acting moments from Keitel and others, quite effective. Though it's none too subtle about the message, there's enough winking humor to offset the heavy-handedness. Even with Wright loosely playing herself, there's a general avoidance of in-jokes about her career, thus allowing this Robin Wright to exist as her own character. 

Only when we first enter the animated section of the film does The Congress fail to fully gel. Folman has a great deal of fun with the visual style, but his handling of the rules of the animated world are fuzzy-headed at best. Robin's presence in the animated zone (an actual, separate place from the live action world) never feels convincing. The character is left to wander around (and occasionally hallucinate), but she lacks true conflict or motivation. The introduction of the mysterious Dylan (Jon Hamm), sadly, fails to ignite much interest as well. All hell breaks loose in the animated zone, yet it's difficult to feel any sense of tension because the zone still feels so overwhelming and vague as a place. 

Thankfully, Folman eventually remembers to give his protagonist a goal, which gives the animated portion a long overdue sense of narrative momentum. The animated zone's dream logic still frustrates, but the amusing imagery finally comes coupled with the sense of a world with a sense of purpose. Despite Wright's valiant efforts, however, The Congress is more of a director's (and animator's) film than an actor's piece. The actress' voice work in the animated section is vulnerable and human, but Robin Wright the character is ultimately not given enough for Robin Wright the actress to work with. 

On the other hand, when Folman's direction clicks, he delivers some truly arresting moments. For all of the uneven execution throughout, Folman does at least deliver when it comes to the ending. Aided by Max Richter's simple, atmospheric score, and a gut-punch of a visual transition, The Congress ends on a sobering, inexplicably emotional note. Even with all of the hazily drawn characters, concepts, and themes, enough of it sticks along the way that the last 15 minutes dazzle in their own quiet way. The Congress may not be the grand slam follow-up to Waltz With Bashir that it could have been, but there's certainly enough going on that makes it worth going way down the rabbit hole into Folman's relentless vision.

Grade: B-

"The Town" - REVIEW

The sophomore slump. Whether one is talking about music, TV, film, the stage, etc..., it's not a phrase that anyone wants to hear about their early work. When Ben Affleck tried his hand at directing with 2007's Gone Baby Gone, even some who praised the film were careful; did Affleck just get lucky? Was this a fluke? Now, three years later, Affleck returns with another Boston-set tale of crime-drama to prove that he actually might have a knack for this directing thing. Affleck's latest, while not as successful as his directorial debut, is solid proof that 'Baby' was no accident.

Adapted from Chuck Hogan's novel "Prince of Thieves," The Town is the story of Doug McCray (Affleck), a bank robber born and raised in Boston's Charlestown area who, along with right-hand-man Jem (Jeremy Renner) go after banks and trucks, usually on orders from their cryptic boss "the florist" (Pete Postlethwaite). After robbing one bank and taking one of its managers, Claire (Rebecca Hall), hostage (she is promptly released unharmed), they discover that she lives very close nearby. Doug follows Claire and starts to befriend her, which of course, will lead to some tensions later on. Meanwhile, an FBI agent (Jon Hamm) comes in to investigate Claire's kidnapping in an effort to finally pin down McCray and his cohorts. As the third major "one-last-job" movie this year (after Inception and The American), The Town is certainly the most conventional of the trio, but that doesn't stop it from being very well made and enjoyable.

Though the film's first third or so, including the opening heist, doesn't quite register, the film really ramps up the quality starting with a heist involving the gang dressed in the creepiest old-nun masks I've ever seen. Affleck, with help from DP Robert Elswit, proves adept at staging a good-old-fashioned car chase/shoot-out both here and at the end, and its these fire fights that help liven up the routine elements of the story. The direction here is tough, straightforward, and effective. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of Affleck's involvement as an actor or co-writer. There seem to be visible signs in Affleck's scenes that he is somewhat uncomfortable being in front of the camera under his own direction. One scene in particular of him simply sitting in a car waiting looks like it could have been behind-the-scenes footage of Affleck relaxing on set. The rest of the cast fare much better though (save for Postlethwaite), especially Hall (the second time she's been an MVP in an ensemble this year) and Blake Lively as the film's two female characters. Jeremy Renner does solid work as well as Jem, but he brings us to the other big issue with the film. Part of what hinders The Town and keeps it from achieving greater impact, aside from the too-tidy last scenes, is the writing, or rather, lack-thereof. These characters feel like types, and rather empty types for that matter. Jem's past and the 9 years he spent in prison feel more like a casually thrown in detail than a fully explored angle for the character, while poor Jon Hamm is stuck simply being authoritative and angry until he gets to share one of the film's best acting scenes with Lively. This lack of stronger, richer characterization (two men are there simply to be bodies for later on) is what keeps the film from being more compelling until the nun-mask-robbery, and unfortunately this carries over to the end; the film starts to lean towards being inconsequential.

Still, for its faults, The Town remains a compelling, albeit routine, film that is executed well for the most part. It may not be up there with the likes of Heat or The Departed, but it should more than satisfy one's fix for a gritty, well-told crime story.

Grade: B

"The Town" gets off to a good start

For those of you wondering whether Ben Affleck's second stab at directing would either be a disappointment or, worse, prove that Gone Baby Gone was a fluke, TotalFilm's Jamie Graham begs to differ. In his 4 star review, Graham has few negative things to say, to the point where he barely bothers to elaborate on them. He gives particularly strong praise to the cast (without pointing fingers at a weak link), especially Affleck, Renner, Hall, and even Gossip Girl's Blake Lively. The sections of the review that most caught my eye, though, were these:

Gravel-toned, pragmatic, it’s the voice of Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), the brains of the brawny crew who hit a bank. The commentary won’t appear again until the closing scenes. It doesn’t need to, its job is done: we’re 20 seconds into Affleck’s sophomore directing effort and we already know this is a hardboiled crime drama, a modern-day noir. And while The Town glories in genre tropes it also dumps any overt stylings or clipped, staccato dialogue, instead keeping the action alive and lithe. Keeping it real. The plot is conventional, clichéd even, MacRay trying to find that one last job, get out, “put this whole fuckin’ town in my rear-view mirror.” No one will let him.

Obviously, this is a great first "official" review for the film as both its theatrical and festival premieres approach. Gone Baby Gone received plenty of praise, but only managed a nomination for Amy Ryan, so if this allegedly conventional-yet-really-well-done film takes off, Affleck could have a major Oscar contender on his hands in everything from Picture, Director, and the acting categories, down to sound design. Obviously it's still too early to make hardcore "I'll-bet-my-house-it'll happen" Oscar predictions, but if other critics follow suit, you might want to start bumping The Town up a few notches on your list of contenders.

Only one more month...