Review: "Jackie"

Director: Pablo Larrain
Runtime: 99 minutes

Though it features only the briefest moments of blood and gore, there is something so deeply immersive and unsettling about Jackie that made me queasy. The lives, legacies, and tragedies of the Kennedy clan have been in the public consciousness for decades. Movies, miniseries, plays, novels, and conspiracy theories about the Kennedys have congealed into their own industry, and that industry has taken hold as its own sub-genre of American culture (Kennedy Kitsch? Kennedy Camp?). Yet none have pierced through shield of the Kennedy mythos quite like director Pablo Larrain. A native of Chile, Mr. Larrain's English language debut, despite centering on American royalty, feels as fresh and urgent as his film's directly tied to his homeland's socio-political conscious.

Even though Jackie opens with a familiar framing device (the subject is being interviewed, with length flashbacks filling in the gaps), Larrain is quick to distance himself from decades' worth of mythologizing and hagiography. Before Jackie O (Natalie Portman, astounding) even appears on screen, the viewer is jolted by the otherworldly strains of the score. There are no patriotic tunes of either the upbeat or mournful variety. Instead, avant garde composer Mica Levi (who also wrote the haunting music for Under the Skin) floods the soundscape with a swirl of alien notes and tones. The score, which seeps out like a frozen, enveloping embrace, is disorienting to brilliant effect. 

The Kennedy brothers (Jack is Caspar Phillipson, Bobby is Peter Sarsgaard) make their appearances throughout Jackie, but Larrain and screenwriter Noah Oppenheim keep the focus on the titular First Lady of Camelot. With whole life thrown into chaos, Jackie finds herself being unravelled at all angles, and Levi's music does an overwhelmingly powerful job of communicating her emotional discord. There are no elaborate swooping camera moves in Jackie, but Levi's music and Stephane Fontaine's images mix like vodka and Xanax. It's off-putting, then hypnotic, and climaxes with a sense of dissociation that leaves your nerves exhausted, your mind numb, and your innards hollow and tumultuous.

Jackie sustains its limited premise through its craftsmanship, but it's thanks to Portman that it transcends. It's a brilliant example that proves finding the right actor to play a historical figure goes beyond (and can even exclude) exact likeness. Portman's features have some glaring differences, and there appears to have been no use of padding or prosthetics to bridge the gap between artist and subject. Yet the instant those rounded words glide out of Portman's mouth, all doubt vanishes: it's her. 

Of course, vocal inflections and the right hair do not a rounded performance make, and Portman and Larrain are well aware of this. Oppenheim's screenplay, aided by Sebastian Sepulveda's editing, positions the various flashbacks like an orchestra of mirrors. They reflect and refract, with Portman functioning as the story's anchor more so than the scenes involving the journalist (Billy Crudup). Even if everything had been handled with an emphasis on linearity, it would do nothing to diminish Portman's work, which takes Jackie O through so much complex emotional territory and distills it into a character both deeply empathetic and not quite of this world (often at the same time). In short, it makes Portman's Oscar-winning performance in Black Swan look like amateur hour. 

The driving thesis of Jackie, which is pointed out early on, concerns reality's relationship with historical narratives and fairy tales. Portman, Larrain, and Oppenheim repeat the idea a few times (perhaps one too-many), but consistently find new ways to play it out in scenarios that feel possible and plausible, even if some liberties are taken in the name of drama. Did Jackie O ever try on a bunch of her clothes, sashay through the White House in a drug-and-booze addled stupor with the soundtrack to Camelot blasting out of the record player? I'm perfectly content never knowing the answer. Reality and history make strange bedfellows, and that discomfort lies at the heart of what makes Jackie sing so beautifully as a film. Larrain, whose dramas sometimes squander great set-ups on drawn-out, overwrought execution, could not have been a more inspired choice. 

Larrain's perspective is a thrilling compliment to the American iconography on display, and he guides Jackie's journey with masterful control of timing and tone (Oppenheim's script includes some welcome moments of mordant and mournful wit). Few scenes this year will merge great writing, acting, and directing the way Jackie does when the First Lady appears to break the news of JFK's death to her children. It is mesmerizing, stomach-churning, white-knuckle intense, and ultimately shattering. Larrain's guiding hand, Portman's face, and Oppenheim's words (and silences) take two horrendous moments (one personal, one political) and blow them up to operatic proportions: The President is dead...My husband is dead...My husband the President is dead. Those unspoken statements hang there through all of Jackie, and their weight only increases with time. When Crudup's journalist asks Jackie if she has any advice, she replies, "Don't marry the President." After spending just over 90 minutes in Jackie's head, you'll understand why.

Grade: A

Review: "Thor"

It's not an easy thing to convincingly portray one of Norse mythology's most important figures. In spite of this obstacle, relative newcomer Chris Hemsworth does an admirable and thoroughly convincing job as the Marvel-ized version of the haughty God of Thunder. It's a good thing too, because he's one of the few aspects of Thor, the latest set-up film for 2012's The Avengers, that comes close to godliness.

Opening with prologue that feels straight out of The Lord of the Rings, Kenneth Branagh's adaptation sets up the film's multiverse efficiently. Years ago, the terrifying Frost Giants threatened to plunge Earth into an eternal ice age, only to be stopped by Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and his army of gods (demi gods? super beings?). Now, in the present, Odin's son Thor (Hemsworth), in an act of foolhardy bravery slyly suggested by his trickster brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), has torn apart the centuries-old truce. When Odin learns of his son's actions, he strips Thor of his power (including the ability to wield his mighty hammer) and banishes him to Earth. It's here when he - quite literally - runs into a trio of scientists, played by Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, and Kat Dennings.

And it's here, in the Earth-bound section of the story, that everything that's best about Thor comes together, even if the end result feels a bit slight. Whereas the opening is filled with portentous shouting matches, the Earth scenes introduce a vital sense of humor that very clearly lets us know that Branagh and crew aren't taking the whole thing too seriously. Thor's fish-out-of-water angle is executed with surprisingly fun results, thanks in large part to Hemsworth's completely convincing portrayal of a god completely out of his element. Along with Tom Hiddleston as the scheming Loki, Hemsworth's work is what makes the film the lightweight fun that it is.

Other performances aren't quite so entertaining. Natalie Portman gives minimal effort as scientist Jane Foster, while Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings make for charming, yet inconsistent comic relief. A handful of minor characters from Thor's realm are played with nice effort, but feel like afterthoughts. Action sequences are iffy as well. While they aren't incomprehensibly edited, Branagh shoots them in close-up, resulting in fights that are loud, but somewhat hard to decipher, and rarely engaging. Credit should go, however, to the marvelous (albeit campy) costume and set design; Thor's home realm of Asgard is rich and fully realized. Yet unlike, say, the first Iron Man, Thor never reaches a point where it completely immerses you in its mythos. Despite a good-hearted nature, and some charming, earnest work from its cast, the whole effort feels minor, rather than godly.

Grade: C+/C

"Black Swan" - REVIEW

Sometimes the biggest obstacle standing in the way of a film is its trailer. Trailers can over-or-underemphasize aspects of a film. And even though they shouldn't, they can even have an impact on our initial reactions. That's not the case with Darren Aronofsky's latest, the New York ballet thriller Black Swan. Every ounce of intensity, every hint at madness hinted at in the trailer is shown in full force, making Black Swan the perfect trippy pyscho freak-out for the holidays.

Aronofsky repeatedly described this project as a companion piece to his critically acclaimed 2008 film, The Wrestler. In fact, The Wrestler was originally supposed to center around the relationship between a wrestler and a ballerina: performance forms on opposite ends of the "art spectrum," yet both require equal amounts of painful dedication. And in the opening portions, those traces of The Wrestler still remain. We see Nina (Natalie Portman) wrapping her toes, preparing her slippers, etc. The first time we see ballet, after the fabulous prologue sequence, is in a room full of dancers practicing in tights and sweat pants. In using one art form to look at another, Aronofsky and his writers manage to take a look at the pain and dedication that ballet requires, without feeling like a documentary; the practice scenes are mixed in perfectly with the story and its ever-increasing strangeness.

But Black Swan is also a film of extremes and opposites. The story revolves around director Thomas Leroy's (Vincent Cassel) new, stripped down, "more visceral" interpretation of "Swan Lake." This new version requires the lead ballerina to play both the innocent, virginal white swan, as well as her rival, the black, seductive swan queen. The polarity is present on nearly all levels of the film, starting most obviously with the art direction. Black and white are the two most prominent colors throughout, and even though these symbols made not be understated, they serve a purpose and are effective. For the performances, the polarity comes down to Natalie Portman's bravura performance as Nina, chronicling her shift from timid and tame (and a perfectionist), to wild and sensual (and a liiiiiiittle bit crazy). And of course, the story does it as well. The elements of the supernatural/weird start fairly early, but they're rather subdued, to the point where you might miss or dismiss them. And then, as it charges forward, it goes further down the rabbit hole into insanity, all while never flying off of the rails.

But perhaps what Black Swan does best, is firmly plant us inside of its protagonist's head. If the other characters potentially feel one note, it's because of the amount of effort that has gone into making the film about the struggle Nina goes through, first with her new role, and then with reality. But that's not to say that the other performances are worth dismissing. Cassel is appropriately sleazy and compelling, Kunis is seductive and light as Nina's (alleged) competition, and Barbara Hershey is flat-out creepy as Nina's smothering mother. But this is Portman's show, and she grabs the role entirely by the reins, both physically and emotionally. In a movie where so much of the execution is flashy and dramatic, Portman lends the role a surprising amount of subtlety, which I suppose will reveal more on subsequent viewings when you aren't being dazzled by the construction and style of it all.

Because above all, Black Swan is truly a director's film. Aronofsky perfectly builds the tension, complete with some surprisingly sexual side ventures that lend the first half or so a few touches of pseudo-camp. And if some of the dialogue is slightly expositional or on-the-nose, the film solidifies its status of greatness with the final 20 minutes, which depict the performance of "Swan Lake" on opening night. Dialogue takes a severe back seat, and in its place we get one of the most thrilling performance sequences put on film in recent memory. And with the original score for "Swan Lake" already so magnificent, as the performers dance and Matthew Libatique's swooping cinematography sweeps you off of your feet, Clint Mansell's variations on the score blast from the speakers, and the result is electrifying and rapturous. There are two times in the film when thunderous applause can be heard in the background, and both times, I wanted to join that on-screen audience, because that's just how big of an achievement this film is, both in looking at another art form and in good old fashioned story-telling.

Grade: A-/A

Trailer Triple Threat: "Green Lantern," "Your Highness," and "Red Riding Hood"

As is common practice, Tuesday brought us the latest batch of major trailers, and this week offered up three very interesting projects, two of which I was aware of, and the third of which has come completely out of nowhere.

First is the trailer for Martin Campbell's The Green Lantern (2011). After the slightly junky looking Entertainment Tonight clip, this is definitely more satisfying. Granted, the visual effects still have a ways to go, but that's expected (plenty of effects were incomplete when the first Watchmen trailer debuted). I can see Reynolds as the character well enough. Unfortunately, Blake Lively is distracting, and I just can't buy her as a hot-shot pilot. Granted, I don't have an immediate suggestion regarding who should have been cast as the romantic foil, but I can't help but be worried that Lively will be to this film what Denise Richards was to The World is Not Enough. I can't help but get a slight Fantastic 4 vibe from certain scenes as well, and that's not a good thing. Still, it does look better than the other green film, The Green Hornet, and I have a solid amount of faith in Campbell, who directed Daniel Craig's excellent first outing as 007, Casino Royale.

Next comes David Gordon Green's Your Highness, starring James Franco, Natalie Portman, Danny McBride, and Zooey Deschanel. You don't see many live-action-period-action-comedies, and even though I wasn't a big fan of Pineapple Express, I can't deny that this rather long trailer did make me laugh. I'm not on the Danny McBride bandwagon, but even he managed to make me laugh, and it looks like he and Franco have good comedic chemistry.

Finally we come to Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood. As much as I like the idea, the cast, and some of the visuals, this looks extremely iffy to me. There's one too many shades of Twilight in the story, especially with that whole "I'm no good for you" "I don't care!" bit with Seyfried and whoever the blandly attractive guy was. Still, Seyfried does really rock the red hood and cape, though I have to wonder if the sheer length of that thing is going to give her any trouble when she has to run from the wolf...

Awards Season notables: Kings, co-leads, and James Franco [updated]

A significant amount of info has recently been released regarding the oh-god-it's-almost-time awards season mania about to descend upon us. First up, and somewhat late on my part, is news of The King's Speech's triumph in Toronto. Tom Hooper's film about the stuttering King George VI took the People's Choice Award at the now-concluded film festival. In recent years, winners of this award have gone on to rather strong success, including a little film called Slumdog Millionaire. And speaking of that film, Danny Boyle's current leading man James Franco led the way in the festival's critics poll over stiff competition from the likes of 'King's's Colin Firth. As of now, the Best Actor race really is down to these exceptionally well-received performances. Not to worry for The King's Speech; it also took home the award for Best Supporting Actor for leading Oscar contender (for now) Geoffrey Rush.

Also notable in the results from TIFF's poll is the placement of Kelly Reichardt's Meek's Cutoff, starring Michelle Williams (who has her own Oscar hopeful in the form of Blue Valentine) as the best liked narrative feature, beating out tough competition like Black Swan. Another Year, and Palme D'Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Williams landed in 5th in the Lead Performance poll for Meek's Cutoff, right above Rabbit Hole's Nicole Kidman, who tied for sixth. Surprisingly high-ranked is Matt Reeves Let Me In, the American remake/re-adaptation of 2008's critically acclaimed Let the Right One In.

Meanwhile, in campaign news, Best Actress just became a little more crowded. People have been speculating for a while as to which one of the The Kids Are All Right ladies would be relegated to supporting. As it turns out, neither will be. The decision from Focus Features is that both Julianne Moore and Annette Bening will be campaigned as lead. Should they both score nominations in late January, they'll be only the sixth pair to do so, and the first since the 1991 Oscar race:

Thelma and Louise (1991): Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon

Terms of Endearment (1983): Shirley Maclaine (winner) and Debra Winger
The Turning Point (1977): Anne Bancroft and Shirley Maclaine
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959): Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor
All About Eve (1950): Anne Baxter and Bette Davis

"Black Swan" trailer

Well, in short, this looks...DAMN. Portman is one of those actresses who rarely grabs me, but this could be a really stunning turn for her. The whole thing looks like one dark, hypnotic, creepy fever dream. And that final shot, of Portman pulling out a small feather from her skin, makes me wonder how off-the-walls crazy Aronofsky has gone with his latest project. The film will open the Venice Film Festival, but let's hope that it will earn a reviews more like those given to The Wrestler than The Fountain.

Behind the scenes of "Thor"

Okay, so the interview itself is kind of a joke ("How was the chemistry between you two?" "There was, uh, chemistry"), but Portman and Hemsworth are hilarious together. Portman especially seems so charming, it's a wonder she sometimes struggles to project charisma as an actress. Here's hoping Black Swan and Thor change that. That aside, I couldn't help but be distracted by Mr. Hemsworth (Kirk's dad in the opening of 09's Star Trek). We've all heard of stars bulking up for action roles, but JESUS CHRIST he looks friggin' HUGE; this makes fellow Aussie Hugh Jackman as Wolverine look puny. I think his biceps are larger than Portman's head.