Ferrari (2023) * *

 

Directed by:  Michael Mann

Starring:  Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Patrick Dempsey, Gabriel Leone, Jack O' Connell, Sarah Gadon

Ferrari isn't a traditional biopic of the legendary Enzo Ferrari, who along with his wife founded the famed sports car company in post-World War II Italy.  Instead, the movie takes a snapshot of a small period in which Enzo's personal and professional lives were at a crossroads with potential disaster lurking around each corner.  

Yet, Ferrari never generates enough power or speed to hum on all cylinders like one of Enzo's racing machines.  Despite the unnecessary Italian accent Driver employs (more on that later), he provides Ferrari with a powerful presence of a beloved Italian icon facing mounting pressures on all fronts.  The movie picks up in 1957 following a brief newsreel prologue showing Ferrari in his racing days.   He is followed by media and paparazzi like a famed singer or actor would.   He is estranged from his wife Laura (Cruz), who is aware of his extramarital affairs, but begs him to at least be home for breakfast.  Laura is unaware of the extent of Enzo's love for Lina (Woodley), with whom he shares a child Laura does not know about and whom Lina wants him to declare publicly.   Enzo and Laura's five-year-old son died within the past year from muscular dystrophy, with both visiting his grave separately.  

Professionally, Ferrari's company is losing money to the point he may have seek financing from competitors, which his accountant advises but Enzo will not do.  He is urged to produce more cars, but Enzo balks at this.  The accountant also asks Enzo to convince Laura to give up her shares in order to strengthen the company's negotiating position, which she does with conditions.  In trying to reclaim the world's land speed record recently usurped by Maserati, the Ferrari driver dies in a horrible track accident.   Enzo's reaction to this is cold and business-driven.   He simply hires another driver for his team.  Business as usual.  Ferrari hopes his team can win the Millie Miglia, a 1,000 mile race across Italy, which will boost his standing and retake past glory.   While the race is being run, one of his cars crashes and kills eleven spectators plus his driver.   Ferrari may be charged with manslaughter if the vehicle is found to be defective.  (This subplot payoff is handled in the epilogue in which he was found not guilty).  

Throughout it all, Ferrari maintains calm unlike anyone I've ever seen.  Because Sandler plays the role with such iciness, which may have been how the real Enzo handled his business, we never feel the mounting tension like we should.   I think of Uncut Gems (2019), which was wrought with pressure you could feel in the main character's bones.  Ferrari never reaches that point, and it all lacks urgency.  Director Michael Mann stages the race scenes well and the movie maintains a sense of its period.  The performances work, especially Cruz's as the wife who is heartbroken and angry due to her husband's affairs and the recent passing of their son.  You can sense she still loves her husband in the scenes where she negotiates with him over her shares.  

However, the movie itself doesn't lift off.  It seems like it wants to, but never finds a way to do it.  And now let's get to the accents.  Aside from Cruz, who speaks with an accent anyway and can be forgiven, the actors speak in distracting Italian accents a la House of Gucci, which also starred Driver.  We know the people are Italian, and there is no need to saddle them with accents.  Milos Forman made Amadeus with most of the characters, many of whom were played by American actors, without accents.  He felt they would detract from the material and he was right.  F. Murray Abraham played an Italian, while Mozart was Austrian, yet neither was forced to regale us with an Italian and German accent.  And many of the important scenes in Ferrari were shot in mostly darkness, making it difficult to see the action.  I assume this is supposed to be artsy, but it mostly makes us strain our eyes. 

Poor Things (2023) * 1/2

Directed by:  Yorgos Lanthimos

Starring:  Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Mark Ruffalo, Jerrod Carmichael

The last teaming of Emma Stone and writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos was the lackluster The Favourite (2018), which earned Olivia Colman a Best Actress Oscar.  In 2023, we have Poor Things, which aspires to be lackluster.  This is an odd duck with rich performances at the service of a movie in love with its oddness.  The style overshadows everything else and the story may be one you've seen before.  And then the movie really takes a wrong turn.  

Stone plays Bella Baxter, a woman who committed suicide reanimated by Dr. Godwin Baxter (Dafoe), a disfigured, but kindly Dr. Frankenstein-type who put a child's brain into Bella's adult body.  It takes time for Bella to develop motor skills, language, and social graces, but once she does she is taken to Lisbon by caddish suitor Duncan Wedderbern (Ruffalo) in the name of adventure.   Once Bella's sexuality awakens, she is insatiable to the point that even Duncan tells her he needs a rest.   Their journey takes them to Alexandria, then Paris, then back to London where Bella's true identity is discovered.   Bella not only discovers sex, but prostitutes herself in a sordid, extended sequence which grows depressing, and then finds herself wanting to become a doctor like her father figure "God" Baxter.  

Poor Things is not hard to follow, but we find ourselves wondering why we would want to follow it.  It's a Frankenstein knockoff with a female creature instead of a male one.  I've frequently stated I'd watch Emma Stone in anything.   Poor Things puts that belief to the extreme test, even though I occasionally found Bella likable mostly because Stone is able to find the humanity in her.   Ruffalo is having a ball as the proper Duncan who finds Bella is more than he bargained for.   But, I found my attention drifting as the cast speaks strange dialogue in front of obvious movie sets.  

I'm not sure what the title Poor Things is referring to:  The characters or the audience being subjected to it. 

The Boys in the Boat (2023) * * *

Directed by: George Clooney

Starring:  Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner, Hadley Robinson, Courtney Henggeler, Peter Guinness, Chris Diamantopolous

Based on a true story, there isn't much about The Boys in the Boat you can't predict and that's just the way we like it.   It's an underdog sports story about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that won the gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.  Wait, you didn't think a movie would be made about an American team which won the bronze, do you?  Maybe there will be one, but not this one. 

What made the Washington rowers special is that they were a JV team and not varsity, a risky move which could have cost coach Al Ulbrickson (Edgerton) his job.   But Coach believed in this team of scrappy kids who came from working class families hardest hit by the Depression.  One of the rowers, Joe Rantz (Turner) lived in his car and attended school but joined the rowing team in order to secure a room, meals, and a job.  This is the edge Ulbrickson was counting on to defeat his rival California-Berkeley but also the Ivy Leaguers, who come from generations of wealth, in the national Olympic qualifiers. 

Director Clooney has a fondness for stories set in decades gone by.  Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) was set amidst the 1950's McCarthyism era, Leatherheads (2008) in the early days of 1920's pro football, The Monuments Men (2014) during World War II, and now The Boys in the Boat, which like the previous films vividly captures time and place while providing us stirring moments we can see a mile down the road.  The races are shot with style and skill, so we don't lose track of what's happening.   Other obstacles are thrown the Washington rowers' way, including the possibility of not going to Berlin at all unless they can raise $5,000 because the Olympic Committee suddenly and mysteriously ran out of money. 

With the exception of Rantz, the rest of the team is presented as interchangeable pieces of a puzzle with little depth given to the characters.   No matter.   Clooney is still able to give us a solid story that is skillfully woven and told.  

Maestro (2023) * *

Directed by:  Bradley Cooper

Starring:  Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Sarah Silverman, Matt Bomer

Maestro's whole is not greater than the sum of its parts.  It is technically marvelous while it suffers as a biopic of Leonard Bernstein, played by Cooper in an energetic performance in which his passion for Bernstein doesn't translate to a successful movie.   Bernstein was gay and married to actress Felicia Montealegre (Mulligan), who understood he was homosexual but loved him anyway.  Leonard loved Felicia as a companion and as the mother to his two children, but he was unable to suppress his desires for men even when Felicia chided him for not being discreet because homosexuality may ruin his career.  

Felicia seemed tolerant of Leonard's indiscretions until she wasn't.  By then, Bernstein had co-written West Side Story and became a world-famous conductor and composer.   Maestro is filmed in black and white in the early days of Leonard and Felicia's courtship, then becoming color as the decades wore on.  Cooper uses creative editing sweeps to suggest the passing of time as Leonard's relationship evolved.   However, many scenes drag on far too long with too much dialogue that grows tiresome.  And then there's the smoking.  Leonard and Felicia, if they aren't actively smoking a cigarette, are about to light one up.   This is so noticeable that it becomes distracting.   It is a relief to witness a rare scene in which the characters aren't smoking or even holding a cigarette.   Bernstein died in 1990 at age 72 due to complications from lung cancer.  It's a wonder he lived that long, based on the smoking in this movie. 

If you came into Maestro not knowing who Leonard Bernstein was or why he was famous, the movie wouldn't be illuminating.  Maestro is more interested in Bernstein's personal life than his professional one, although Cooper throws his all into a six-minute conducting performance in which he gyrates and perspires to the point of nearly passing out.  Cooper has stated in interviews he learned about conducting and did his own in the movie.  I will accept on faith that Maestro knows what it's talking about when it comes to the conducting aspect.  It sure looks convincing.  

Maestro's strengths are the Cooper performance enveloped in superior cinematography, editing, and production values.  The movie is so well-made that I wish the story were as absorbing as how it's presented.  There was plenty of unwarranted controversy surrounding Cooper's use of a fake nose which more accurately resembled Bernstein's, but the movie's makeup, which shows us Bernstein's aging convincingly, is likely to win awards.   Cooper's use of an enhanced proboscis is hardly what's wrong about Maestro.  Felicia in real life was Chilean, but Mulligan is not.  Wait until the casting police get a hold of that tidbit of information.  

The Iron Claw (2023) * * *

Directed by: Sean Durkin

Starring: Zac Efron, Lily James, Harris Dickinson, Holt McCallany, Maura Tierney, Jeremy Allen White, Stanley Simons

The Iron Claw tells the sad story of the legendary Von Erich wrestling family in which four of the five sons of Fritz and Doris Von Erich died within a ten-year period (three of which by suicide).   The youngest son, Chris, is not even mentioned in The Iron Claw, but he was dead in his early 20's nonetheless.   Why did this happen?  The movie suggests Fritz's demands that his sons follow him into the wrestling business became too much for David (Dickinson), Kerry (White), and Mike (Simons), all of whom battled health and/or drug and alcohol issues before their untimely passing.   And then there's Jack Jr. who died when he was five. 

Those going in to The Iron Claw cold will not be able to pick out the chronological discrepancies on display or the fact that Jeremy Allen White is a half-foot shorter than Kerry was.   The oldest living brother Kevin (Efron) looks like The Hulk sans green makeup.   If you're coming to The Iron Claw for factual accuracy, you won't get it.   But The Iron Claw still vibrates with effective performances and moments of raw power which work and make it worthwhile. 

Fritz (McCallany) is an upper mid-carder in the 1960's National Wrestling Alliance who never quite breaks into the top tier of wrestling megastars.   He founded World Class Championship Wrestling in his home state of Texas and by the early 1980's Kevin and David are budding stars in the territory.  Kevin has the look and the skill, but his microphone work needs help, while David has the gift of gab which makes him next of line for an NWA world title shot.  Kevin loves hanging with his brothers, including younger Mike who would rather be a musician than a wrestler, but after David's passing in Japan in 1984, Mike is pushed into the business with tragic results. 

Fritz is the Little-League dad gone berserk.  He wants the NWA world title in his territory so badly he is willing to wreck his sons' lives to do it.   Part of his relentless pushing of his children is due to his own career shortcomings.   Kevin believes since he was the most loyal to his father that he should be the Von Erich to finally bring home the gold.  Instead, Kerry is given the shot and ultimately defeats Ric Flair for the belt at the first David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions.   According to the movie, Kerry takes the ill-fated motorcycle ride which resulted in an accident that cost him his right foot on the very day he won the NWA World Championship.  In reality, this occurred two years after he quickly lost the title back to Flair weeks after winning it, mostly because Kerry was already deemed an unreliable champion due to his drug addiction which had already taken hold long before losing his foot.

Kevin finds a possibility of a life outside of wrestling when he meets Pam (James), a fan with whom he falls in love and marries.   Pam provides the support Kevin needs especially in dealing with his brothers' deaths.  Fritz tells his sons not to cry, which causes further distress within the surviving family members.   I don't know for sure if Fritz was the monster in which The Iron Claw portrays him, but McCallany's performance is so effectively scary not because Fritz is necessarily physically abusive, but because he has the potential to be.   He sure was emotionally abusive and manipulative, with Doris not having the heart to get involved. 

The Iron Claw may not be factually accurate, but the moments of power pull it through because it's difficult not to feel pity for Kevin, the only brother who is still living and in some ways has thrived despite losing most of his family.   "I used to be a brother and now I'm not a brother anymore," he tells his children, and one can't help but sympathize.   These are the scenes in which The Iron Claw makes its mark.

The Queen (2006) * * * *

 

Directed by:  Stephen Frears

Starring:  Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Alex Jennings, Helen McCrory, Sylvia Sims, Roger Allam

The sudden death of Princess Diana in August 1997 posed a grave challenge to the British royal family unlike anything prior.   Diana was beloved throughout the world, dubbed "The People's Princess" by newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (Sheen), and Queen Elizabeth II (Mirren) wanted to conduct her life as it were business as usual.   The longer Elizabeth did not make a statement or fly the flag at Buckingham Palace at half-staff (even though she was vacationing at Balmoral), the more public opinion turned against her.   The Queen is about a week in the life of Queen Elizabeth in which traditions were forced to bend to public will.  

Diana, divorced from Prince Charles at the time of her death, was no longer an HRH (Her Royal Highness) and thus didn't qualify for a royal funeral.  Blair senses the national mood more clearly, and urges Elizabeth (with support from Prince Charles), to hold a public funeral and to make a statement.  Prince Charles stresses that the monarchy must evolve into more modern thinking in order to avoid ceasing in relevance, but Queen Elizabeth stands firmly in her resolve.  Not because she's queen, but because this is how such matters have always been handled, and who is anyone to break with past practices?

Helen Mirren won an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance, and it is a masterclass in internal conflict while maintaining an opposite public face for her subjects.  She is part of the "stiff upper lip" generation, however, the movie written by Peter Morgan provides nice human touches.  Queen Elizabeth not only drives along the Scottish highlands, but she's a decent mechanic when one breaks down.  We learn she worked as a mechanic in her teens during World War II.  But, she is struggling with how to handle this unprecedented situation with Diana's funeral while trying to control the public's perception. 

Michael Sheen has played Tony Blair numerous times in various productions, and here plays a fresh, wide-eyed, newly elected prime minister who underestimates Queen Elizabeth's resolve.   He is not anti-monarchy, per se, but he agrees with Prince Charles that a modernization is in order.   This is until he watches Queen Elizabeth's public statement on television delivered with poise, grace, and intelligence.  At that moment, he is converted to a Queen Elizabeth supporter.  "She's a survivor," he marvels as his wife Cherie, a staunch anti-monarchist, (McCrory) rolls her eyes.  

The Queen remains gripping throughout, not only as a historical document of a landmark week in history, but how the people involved change and evolve before our eyes.   I feel after watching The Queen that I've gained a more intimate understanding of the royal family, which is saying a lot about The Queen's effectiveness. 

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) * *

 

Directed by:  Jeremiah S. Chechik

Starring:  Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Johnny Galecki, Juliette Lewis, Brian Doyle-Murray, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Randolph, Diane Ladd, Randy Quaid, Miriam Floyd, William Hickey, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation has become a holiday favorite.  Some may say classic.  The movie's overuse of slapstick, pratfalls, and chain reaction sight gags does not work for me.   There are wonderful comic actors in the cast and they are forced to take a back seat to the physical comedy.   Of the original Chevy Chase-led Vacation films, the first one (1983) is still the best with European Vacation (1985) being a decent sequel.  However, Christmas Vacation is the one with enduring popularity.  It does have irrepressible Christmas cheer and it tries hard, maybe too hard, for a laugh, but you can't fault the effort. 

Chevy Chase returns as Clark Griswold, whose only mission in life is to spend quality time with his family and show them a good time.  This is the only Vacation film to date in which Clark and his family stay home, but that doesn't mean Clark is at peace.  Just setting up the lights presents a challenge, and the result of all those lights provides a famous moment in the film.  Then, both his and wife Ellen's (D'Angelo) parents show up and soon the movie feels like a traffic jam with various characters fighting for screen time.  We also see Clark at work, as he endures a cantankerous Scrooge of a boss (Doyle-Murray) who is dangling a Christmas bonus in front of his employees.  Clark thinks he will be able to finance a new backyard pool with it.   Hint:  He won't.

Poor Clark trips, falls, and goes boom more than the would-be thieves in the Home Alone movies.  Chase and the cast are game for the pratfalls, but soon enough the movie grows tiresome with the conclusion of Clark snapping and kidnapping his boss feeling like retread of the original Vacation ending.   The question isn't whether Clark can handle another setback, it's whether we can.