Venice Review Round-Up: "Miral"

Day 2 of Venice brings the first reviews of Julian Schnabel's (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Israel/Palestine orphanage/liberation movement drama Miral. Schnabel's previous film was a big hit with critics and landed a number of major Oscar nominations (including Best Director). Unfortunately, if the first batch of reviews are any indication, his next Oscar hopeful (which the Weinsteins have reportedly made their #1 Oscar priority) isn't getting off to the best start:

Incontention's Guy Lodge specifically takes Schnabel's direction to task, and writes that he "awkwardly welds his pet visual and sonic tics onto a narrative that struggles to support them," and that "his approach feels both shoe-horned and fairly disingenuous in this context." Lodge also refrains from giving praise or criticism to the performances, though he suggests that Hiam Abbass is wasted in an old lady wig. ThompsonOnHollywood's Anne Thompson is slightly more positive, and writes, "while Miral packs an emotional punch, [Schnabel] tells the wrong story," and goes on to say that the film's bookend sections which focus on "the great Hiam Abbass" had her in tears.

Unfortunately, she's less kind to the sections that focus on Freida Pinto's titular Miral. Thompson writes, "[Miral's] story remains expositional and flat," and says that Pinto is "not an expressive actress." Derek Malcom of The London Evening Standard awards the film 3 out of 5 stars, and amidst a review that is mostly description/plot summary (boooo) says that the cast play their roles "with an emotional skill that points up the story convincingly."

Additional Reviews:

Variety: "Schnabel's style feels misapplied..."

The Hollywood Reporter: "Although too schematic and unfocused to garner much critical support, it has the kind of direct simplicity that could reach out to historically challenged audiences and politically minded festival juries."

The Independent (UK): "Miral is plodding at times, choppily edited and unevenly performed"/"At its most leaden, this is more like a school lecture on in Middle East history than it is a piece of drama." (***/*****)

Empire: "...simply dreadful...It's a film so obsessed with being about Big Important Stuff that it forgets all the important little stuff - er, like characters and good writing - and, as a result, it's a chore to sit through."

Venice Verdict: Schnabel misfires with a film that mishandles its subject matter, characters, and story, with performances that are hit and miss.

Bad timing...

So apparently the past two and a half weeks were simply overloaded with cinema related goodness, all of which I had to wait until now to figure out about (I'm sure there's still some significant new casting news/trailer/etc... I haven't seen yet), because trying to translate those articles in German was giving me a headache. Since there's too much to cover in individual posts since it would be old news anyway), I'll just throw in a few quick thoughts about the most eye-catching things that appeared while I was in Germany:

The Miral trailer: A bit uneven (it should be shorter), but very interesting, though I'm going to have a hard time adjusting to see Hiam Abbass in that haircut. Schnabel's background as a painter is still evident in the color scheme (the shades of blue are beautiful), albeit in a more subdued way than in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and it will be interesting to see how he handles this more-or-less two-part story (the first half of which would be oriented around Abbass, the second around Freida Pinto's titular character). The film will also offer a chance to see if the stunning Pinto can really act, or if she should stick to modeling.

The complete line-up for the Venice Film Festival: Black Swan and Machete are confirmed for a double-bill opening (appropriate considering Machete's origins in the Tarantino/Rodriguez collaboration Grindhouse), and Julie Taymor's The Tempest will finally see the light of day as the closing screening. Not making it to the festival? Tree of Life (oh, come ON already), and Rabbit Hole, which will thankfully make it into Toronto. I'd hope there aren't behind-the-scenes troubles; Abel Korzeniowski has been replaced as the film's score composer, which I'm assuming means whatever he came up with didn't fit with Mitchell's vision. Let's just hope the delay doesn't have to do with overall quality, though. A certain tall, Australian actress could really use a widely-acclaimed film on her resume right about now...

The trailer for Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch: is friggin' insane. Snyder's current film, the gorgeous-looking The Legend of the Guardians, hasn't even hit theaters yet, but that hasn't stopped the flashy director of 300 from working on another project. The action looks, well, extreme, which could either be really cool or headache-inducing. However, I love the idea of Abbie Cornish as an ass-kicking (supporting) heroine. She should have plenty of built-up rage after that Bright Star Best Actress snub.

The first round of confirmed films at the Toronto Film Festival: In addition to lots of big names (including big Cannes titles like Biutiful), this year's TIFF will also launch Guillaume Canet's Little White Lies starring Marion Cotillard along with Robert Redford's Lincoln assassination (sort of) flick The Conspirator and John Madden's The Debt. Festival circuit ubiquity Blue Valentine will also appear, along with a slew of foreign films, with a handful of more commercial titles, like Emma Stone vehicle Easy A.

The trailer for The Town: Ben Affleck's second directorial effort after the excellent Gone Baby Gone (2007) is set in the heart of Boston's criminal district, and though it seems plenty gritty, this first glimpse at the film does showcase a more "commercial" looking film, with gunshots, car chases, and exploding cars. The real hook here for me, however, is the cast, led by Jon Hamm, Affleck, and burgeoning talents Jeremy Renner and Rebecca Hall, both of whom are starting to appear more regularly in more prominent film roles (if you can see Please Give in theaters, do so, if only for the lovely work from Hall and her co-stars), which is a very good thing.

Everything I missed: Here I don't mean news, I mean the reason for this blog in the first place: movies. I'm nearly three weeks late to the Inception debate, and I need to run out and see Cyrus and The Kids Are All Right and hope that they don't randomly vanish from the art house/indie theaters in Houston soon (reassuringly, Cyrus was given a slot at at the mainstream theater near my house, which is a good sign). The much delayed and painfully released Agora is also near(ish) me, and only in one theater, so I'll need to catch that one soon as well. I'm also behind on TV, and have missed at least two episodes of True Blood, Entourage, and of all things, the impressively reviewed start to Mad Men's fourth season (and apparently Dexter season 5 has a trailer out somewhere...GAH).

Lastly: The first images from Aronofsky's ballet mystery Black Swan emerged. You can see the rest of them here (love that full-body shot of Portman in costume), but the image that caught my eye was the one below. Frankly, I hope Mr. Rachel Weisz f-ing loses his mind with this project, involving a ballerina and her (imaginary?) rival.

Cannes 2010 Line Up: UPDATE

I'm kind of saddened to learn that both Black Swan and Rabbit Hole might not be totally ready; I was really eager to hear something about those two. Still, there are plenty of likely candidates which I'm more than a little interested in, especially Miral, Biutiful, The Fighter, and now Little White Lies, which I've only heard about just now, but the title and presence of Marion Cotillard have my interest piqued.

Source: IndieWire

Which other films are most likely to debut at the May fest? Sight unseen, I rank each of the indieWIRE 40 from 1 (least likely) to four (most likely) stars to wind up in the Cannes official selection. We will soon know.

Mike Leigh’s Another Year is a likely UK competition title. ****

Oren Peli’s follow-up to Paranormal Activity, Area 51, seems outside the Cannes sight lines to me, unless it fits into a midnight show or Director’s Fortnight. It’s hard to imagine it in competition. *

Aurora, directed by Cristi Puiu (The Death of Mr. Lazarescu a must-see) is a likely Romanian competition title. ****

The Beaver is not a far-fetched idea, because the Cannes programmers would want director Jodie Foster and star Mel Gibson on the red carpet, adding star lustre to their line-up—out of competition though. Summit will decide whether it serves their purposes to launch the film in Cannes: they won’t spend unless they believe the cash will come back. **

Biutiful from director Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu (now separated from Babel, Amores Perros and 28 Gramswriter Guillermo Arriaga, Inarritu wrote this with Armando Bo), is a natural for inclusion in the competition. I can’t wait. This is Focus International, not domestic. So Cannes makes sense as a strong launch pad for a North American distributor. And the fest will want Javier Bardem on the steps. ****

Darren Aronofsky’s $18-million Black Swan started shooting in December in Manhattan for Fox Searchlight and is nowhere close to ready, my sources say.*

French director Olivier Assayas (the fab Summer Hours) is a Cannes regular, so expectCarlos—a series of three 90-minute features—to be in the competition. IFC acquired the films at the AFM. ****

While it’s true that Cannes has played Sylvester Stallone movies in the past—I’ll never forget following Stallone up the Palais red carpet steps as he ascended to meet Elizabeth Taylor at the top, white dog in her arms, for Renny Harlin’s Cliffhanger—I highly doubt that his comeback bid The Expendables, which also stars Jason Statham and Jet Li, is on their must-see list. While I could imagine Lionsgate and all the foreign distributors wanting to make a market/press splash by showing some footage, the movie isn’t due to break worldwide until August. *

Is Doug Liman a Cannes auteur? Well, this political indie effort might fit the bill, and the fest might want to get Fair Game stars Penn and Naomi Watts for the Palais steps. Participant and River Road could use Cannes to find a distributor willing to pay for the film, although Bill Pohlad’s Apparition could do the honors. **

David O. Russell’s Flirting With Disaster did play Cannes in 2007 1996 in Un Certain Regard, so the fest could smile on Paramount’s The Fighter** (Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams). Long-delayed Nailed* (Jake Gyllenhaal-Jessica Biel), which lacks a distributor, could be tied up in bankruptcy court.

The Grand Master would be a natural competition title if Wong Kar-Wai is finished, but it’s slated for 2011 release in Hong Kong. **

Here, directed by documentarian-turned-feature-helmer Braden King and starring The Messenger’s Ben Foster, sounds like a strong candidate for Director’s Fortnight or Un Certain Regard. **

Clint Eastwood likes to bring his films to Cannes, so Hereafter could join Changelingand Mystic River there. And the Cannes brass would also be eager for Matt Damon to show. ***

Is Gregg Araki ready to make the transition to the Cannes competition (Smiley Faceshowed in Director’s Fortnight in 2007)? Kaboom could be it—or wind up back in the Fortnight. ***

Guillaume Canet’s Little White Lies starring Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard seems like a competition shoo-in. ****

While Director’s Fortnight discovered Xavier Dolan (Canadian Oscar submission I Killed My Mother), it’s hard to imagine the festival bumping him up with his follow-up, Love Imagined. It would help if he had notable cast. (It’s all about those Palais steps!) **

Robert Rodriguez was in Cannes competition with Sin City, but the fest wanted Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof without Rodriguez’s gorey Grindhouse contribution, Planet Terror. So Machete would seem to be in that vein and thus not a likely Cannes entry—except for one mitigating factor: Robert DeNiro. That could bring the movie into midnight contention. **

Meek’s Cutoff director Kelly Reichardt is just the sort of global critics’ darling that Cannes could bump from Un Certain Regard (Wendy and Lucy) to main competition. She’s due. ****

Julian Schnabel is already in the auteur club. If he’s finished with Jerusalem-set Miral, he’s in. ****

I loved Anh Hung Tran’s The Scent of Green Papaya. I agree with Brian Brooks:Norwegian Wood, starring Rinko Kikuchi, looks like a shoo-in for a competition slot.****

Francois Ozon’s Potiche looks likely too. ****

Word is that neither John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole* nor Bruce Robinson’s Rum Diary* will be done in time.

Danish director Susanne Bier should be a Cannes auteur; she was on the jury in 2008, but has never been in the competition. It’s time to redress that omission: she’ll be back in her native language with The Revenge. ***

Spain’s Julio Medem (the excellent Sex and Lucia) has also never been in the Cannes competition, but Room in Rome could change that, too. UPDATE: Word is this one won’t make it.*

If Cam Archer’s Shit Year, starring Ellen Barkin, ends up in the Cannes selection, it would probably be in Director’s Fortnight. *

In France, what Jean Luc Godard wants, he gets, so if he wants Socialisme, starring Patti Smith in this year’s fest, he’ll be in. ***

Somewhere starring Stephen Dorff, is directed by Cannes favorite Sofia Coppola, but she is due to give birth in late May, so Focus may debut this semi-autobiographical L.A. film at Venice and Telluride instead. *

Stephen Frears’ Tamara Drewe starring Gemma Arterton, would seem a natural (he’s had two films in competition), but the UK director would need to finish it in time. *

Julie Taymor may be ready to make her Cannes debut at long last with her latest Shakespeare film, The Tempest, starring Helen Mirren as Prospera. But Disney/Miramax is the distributor, which could be a problem. **

Three, from Germany’s Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run) seems a likely competition entry, as it wasn’t finished in time for Berlin. ****

Showing animated features like last year’s opener Up out-of-competition is an honorable tradition at Cannes, and Pixar’s 3-D Toy Story 3 easily fits that niche. UPDATE: But it looks like it’s not happening.*

Assuming Terrence Malick feels ready to show The Tree of Life in May, it should be in the competition, with Pitt and Penn lending starry support. ***

Bela Tarr screened a rough cut of The Turin Horse in Budapest before Berlin, so signs look promising for a Cannes competition berth. ****

Gus Van Sant is always welcome on the Croisette, so assuming he’s done with his latest untitled film starring Mia Wasikowska, he’s a likely returning regular. ***

La Vida Util, from Federico Veiroj, would mark the Uruguayan director’s second Cannes entry, so signs looks good. ***

Oliver Stone’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps starring Michael Douglas and Carey Mulligan is in; Fox wants it out of competition. Too bad, Stone should be in with the auteurs with his first Cannes entry.****

Peter Weir marks his first film since Master & Commander with the 40s war prisoner-escape film The Way Back, starring Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris and Saoirse Ronan. Produced by Scott Rudin and National Geographic Films (now led by ex-Miramax chief Daniel Battsek), it is not clear who is distributing the film. The decision on Cannes has not yet been made. But it could be a strong launch for an eventual awards contender. UPDATE: Distribution uncertainty is undermining Cannes showing.*

Milk screenplay Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black makes his directorial debut withWhat’s Wrong with Virginia? That makes him a new kid on the block at Cannes—ripe for adoption and mentorship if the film is right. Ed Harris stars. ***

Word is, Woody Allen’s romantic comedy You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger starring Josh Brolin and Naomi Watts is definitely in. Allen usually screens out of competition.