What the Mainstream Can Learn From 2015’s Queer Indie Cinema (Flavorwire)

Shane Barnes over at Flavorwire discusses lessons Hollywood can learn from 2015’s Queer Indie Cinema. From Flavorwire,

This summer, something predictable happened: the Internet’s collective outrage targeted the trailer for a gay movie. The why behind the anger was less predictable, though: the characters were not queer enough, were too whitewashed, and misrepresented the real, varied players in the major historical event the movie purported to recreate. That film was Roland Emmerich’s Stonewall, which happened to tank at the box office — though its gayness had nothing to do with that, I’m sure. The film itself, while bad, is not significant. Emmerich’s public comments about the film, which he made in response to the whitewashing, are:

You have to understand one thing: I didn’t make this movie only for gay people, I made it also for straight people. I kind of found out, in the testing process, that actually, for straight people, [white lead character Danny] is a very easy in. Danny’s very straight-acting. He gets mistreated because of that. [Straight audiences] can feel for him.

The idea here is that the mainstream is always going to present the least polarizing version of any given thing in order to appeal to the most people and make the most money. That’s what Emmerich should have said, only he didn’t want to say that trans people or queer people of color were polarizing.

While I disagree with Barnes dismissal of HBO’s Looking as “mainstream gay banality,” the the article deserves to be digested and discussed at length.

Barnes concludes with,

So, while it’s nice and important to tell the tragic story of a lesbian couple, or the beginning of the gay rights movement, it must be done in a way that doesn’t pander to the Academy Awards. It must be done in a way that tells these characters’ stories, rather than makes their mere existence the story.

My only issue with this statement is that I believe that’s already being done through indie films. The real nature of Hollywood is making money, not making art. I don’t think we will ever see films being greenlit which aren’t considered pandering or re-written in order to appease the masses. Yes we will soon see a black James Bond and we will see a queer action hero, but they will be just as sanitized as their hetero predecessors.

What’s  your take on all this?
Read the entire article at Flavorwire.

Spotlight

Tom McCarthy‘s (The Station Agent, The Visitor) Spotlight is not only an excellent film, it is an important one. Assembling an outstanding ensemble cast, McCarthy tells the true story of the Boston Globe’s investigation into Catholic Church sex abuse scandal which resulted in a massive amount of Boston priests being implicated as pedophiles, garnered the writers of the story a Pulitzer Prize and forced Cardinal Law to step down, a request which came from a petition signed by 50 priests, something unprecedented in the American Catholic Church. McCarthy’s story focuses on the small team of journalists in the Spotlight department known for their investigative prowess. Layers upon layers of cover-ups, dead-ends, illicit favors, and looking the other way finally come to an end when the team amasses Church documents previously removed (literally) from court records. Spotlight is tight, exciting and draws a lot of power from its cast including Liev Schreiber, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, and Mark Ruffalo. I’ve loved nearly all of McCarthy’s earlier works (minus The Cobbler) so I’m not surprised he hit it out of the park with Spotlight.  But this time he created a film on a whole different level. My entire body felt this film afterwards – a sort of tingling from the suspense and the reminder of the pain and abuse the Catholic Church continues to cause some of its most loyal and innocent followers. Spotlight isn’t sensational, exploitative, graphic or tawdry. It tells a horrific story through the eyes of a dedicated team of journalists. Spotlight is a must-see. 5 out of 5.

Guidance

Watched about 2/3’s of the film, Guidance written, directed, and starring former Canadian child actor Pat Mills. Loosely autobiographical, I thought Guidance was a black comedy and it certainly was dark and macabre, but had other elements that made it sad. I get that it’s walking this line between absurdity and reality – sort of a dark John Waters film with fluff and realism thrown in. For me it was just too much. I didn’t laugh enough. Comedy is subjective so understand you may want to give this a whirl. I believe Guidance takes a certain sense of humor. I just didn’t laugh much. 2 out of 5. Next.

Clouds of Sils Maria

Finally caught the beautiful and insightful Clouds of Sils Maria starring Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart. Written and directed by Olivier Assayas (Summer Hours, Irma Vep), the English language Clouds of Sils Maria takes place in Switzerland following the life of a famous French actress – Bincoche’s Maria who began her career at age 18 in a two-character play where she is now being courted for the revival to play the older role. The only misstep in this film is the time span. The character is supposed to be 20 years older, but in reality it would have played better to have her be 30 years older. The trauma over middle age didn’t make sense for someone being 38. No worries, it took me most of the film to realize Juliette Binoche was playing Maria at 38 instead of 48. I was captivated by the friendship between Maria and her personal assistant Valentine played by Kristen Stewart. Instead of Assayas portraying the drama between Binoche’s Maria and Moretz’ Jo-Ann as they rehearse the play, the real conflict and bulk of the film takes place in a remote mountain home and between Maria and Valentine as they rehearse lines in anticipation of the actual play rehearsal. A fascinating choice mixing up an otherwise straight-forward story. In the end, Moritz barges in on the peace and her celebrity invades every aspect of their world. Suddenly it’s no longer about the play, but about Jo-Ann’s real-life boyfriend’s wife who tries to commit suicide. And then it is about Jo-Ann taking over the play. In the end, Bincoche learns some hard but essential life lessons about youth and importance. The final moments of the film are a bit too pat for my taste. But that aside, Clouds of Sils Maria is an important film about women, friendship, work boundaries, and celebrity. Well worth the time spent absorbing excellent performances from Binoche, Stewart, and Moritz. 3.75 out of 5 for Clouds of Sils Maria.

Idris Elba on Fatherhood and Hollywood Stereotypes (New York Times)

Your weekend dose of Idris Elba courtesy of The New York Times and Cara Buckley,

It was a fantastic year for Idris Elba, and not just because he sailed through a dust-up regarding his suitability to play James Bond — a role he has yet to be cast in — with aplomb.

He was also nominated for Golden Globes for his lead performance in the BBC series “Luther” and his portrayal of an African warlord in the Netflix feature “Beasts of No Nation.” The winners will be announced Sunday.

Mr. Elba spoke with The New York Times’ Carpetbagger, Cara Buckley, about his extreme discomfort with aspects of his “Beasts” character, and his dismay at Hollywood’s racial stereotypes.

Watch the video.
You’re welcome.

In Defense of Food

PBS produced a doc series version of Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food. Most of us know the tools he’s describing to live a healthier life. But I for one always need reminding and tweaking. From PBS,

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” With that seven-word maxim, US-based journalist Michael Pollan distills a career’s worth of reporting into a prescription for reversing the damage being done to people’s health by today’s industrially driven Western diet. In Defense of Food debunks the daily media barrage of conflicting claims about nutrition. Traveling the globe and the supermarket aisles to illustrate the principles of his bestselling “eater’s manifesto,” Pollan offers a clear answer to one of the most confounding and urgent questions of our time: What should I eat to be healthy?

Unclear whether there will be more episodes. I assume there will be. But this first two hours is essential viewing for anyone who wants to be healthy and do it in the simplest of ways. Bravo to Pollan for getting the word out. 5 out of 5.

PBS is currently streaming In Defense of Food on their website.

Best-selling author Michael Pollan takes viewers on a fascinating journey to find out what we should eat to be healthy in the upcoming documentary film, “In Defense of Food.” The film is based on Pollan’s book, “In Defense of Food,” and premieres on PBS on Dec. 30, 2015. (Vincento Franco/Kikim Media via AP)

My Favorite Wife

I’ve had My Favorite Wife – the 1940 Irene Dunne/Cary Grant screwball comedy in my queue for some time. I love both these actors so much. And was looking forward to seeing Grant and off-screen lover Randolph Scott together in a film. Unfortunately My Favorite Wife just wasn’t that funny. I respectfully watched 45 minutes of it before I gave up. I didn’t even see Scott. Too bad. So many good things about it in theory. 2 out of 5. Next.

En la gama de los grises (In the Grayscale)

Spoiler alert: Watched the Chilean import, En la gama de los grises (In the Grayscale) tonight on DVD from Netflix. The story is simple. A man Bruno married to a woman Soledad with a young son Dani decides to go live for a while on his grandfather’s property. He’s working on a big architectural commission and needs the space to think. He’s also not sure he wants to stay married to his wife of eleven years. During the course of his investigation, Bruno meets Fer a history teacher who acts as his tour guide through Santiago. Soon Bruno and Fer begin an affair. Eventually Soledad and their son find out. The interesting point about Bruno’s fluid or bisexuality is the realization that it isn’t the problem. He’s certainly not comfortable with his emerging sexuality. But no one else seems to care. The real problem becomes Bruno’s inability to commit to anyone. He wanted his cake and wanted to eat it too, which isn’t a problem if everyone’s in agreement, but Fer wanted more and Soledad wanted more and Dani wanted his parents back and Bruno just didn’t know. There’s been talk that In the Grayscale stole too many moments from Andrew Haigh’s Weekend. I didn’t notice that. Perhaps they did. What struck me was the indecision of the Bruno character wrapped in sexual confusion, career indecision and ultimately relationship aversion. In the end, In the Grayscale is a decent if not great film. 3 out of 5.

‘Carol’ Scribe Phyllis Nagy On The Movie’s Long Journey, LGBT “Trends” & ‘The Trap’ (Deadline)

Interview on Deadline with Carol screenwriter Phyllis Nagy. From Deadline,

Screenwriter and playwright Phyllis Nagy wrote the original screenplay for Carol back in 1997, adapting her friend Patricia Highsmith’s novel, The Price Of Salt at the prolific author’s encouragement. Nagy then ran into anyone’s idea of “development hell,” waiting almost 20 years for the film to get made. And now Carol has become one of the most talked about awards contenders of the year across a range of categories.To see an exclusive featurette about Nagy , who recently won the New York Film Critics award for Best Screenplay , just click on the video link above. And here, Nagy discusses her decades-long journey with Carol, her early conversations with director Todd Haynes, her skepticism of LGBT trends and her upcoming work on Tristar’s The Trap.

Read the entire interview.
Check out Reel Charlie’s review of Carol.

Les Revenants (The Returned): S1

So happy Netflix populates original programming from other countries. We get to see some interesting and occasionally amazing television series. Les Revenants (The Returned) based on the 2004 French film They Came Back (Les Revenants) is a 2-season French television series that creeped me out – in a very good way. Very little gore. More Hitchcock suspense – less violence, less showing, more implying. Outstanding cast including the child actors Yara Pilartz and Swann Nambotin as Camille and Victor.  In 2015, A&E created an American series based on the original French television show. I love being able to go back to the source. Les Revenants (The Returned) never gave away all of its secrets, even in the final moments of the season finale cliffhanger. And there’s a nice matter-of-fact lesbian sub-plot that feels as natural as the rest of the character development. Looking forward to Netflix purchasing Season 2. Meanwhile, 4.5 out of 5 for the goose-bump supernatural scare-fest first season.

Hat tip to my worker bud Adrienne for telling me about Les Revenants (The Returned).