57th LFF Review: Parkland

Director/ Writer: Peter Landesman

Starring: Paul Giamatti, James Badge Dale, Zac Efron, Ron Livingston, Marcia Gay Harden, David Harbour, Billy Bob Thorton, Jacki Weaver, Tom Welling, Mark Duplass, Gil Bellows, Colin Hanks

Synopsis: Following the immediate aftermath of Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Texas and subsequent days after it. Focusing on the doctors of the Parkland hospital, Abraham Zapruder (Giamatti), who shot the infamous video footage; James Hosty (Livingston), an FBI agent; and Robert Oswald (Dale), Lee Harvey Oswald’s brother.

Behold the cast of Parkland! It’s really quite extraordinary to see so many huge names all in the same billing. Still, you can look at Movie 43 and say the same, and that didn’t turn out quite right. Parkland is by no means as awful as Movie 43 though it’s another example of “all that glitters ain’t gold.” The cast aren’t terrible, and if you are to pick holes in the film, acting is not something you can bash. The main culprit of the film’s second-rate nature is writer/director Peter Landesman who has made a mess of an already chaotic chain of events.

The first 40 minutes of Parkland is a gripping recap of November 22^nd 1963 with attention on people you may not have known about. Paul Giamatti’s Abraham Zapruder is one such person who has his place in history, but perhaps unknown by name and profession. Zapruder was the man who captured that horrific assassination on film; at the right place at the wrong time, away from his desk at a clothing manufacturer to “see the President”. As the film makes a point of not showing the two shots that killed the 35^th President of the United States, we see Zapruder watch in horror as a humble homevideo turns into homicide evidence right before his eyes. Giamatti is an exceptional, naturalistic actor, who plays the scene authentically. There’s no melodramatic screams or tears, just a look of unadulterated fear.

The film then takes us to the eponymous Parkland hospital where a young, yet practiced resident in general surgery, Dr. Charles “Jim” Carrico (Efron), looks on in disbelief at the body wheeled in for operating. Efron, despite seemingly pivotal to the film, has little to do. Jim’s vehement drive to keep Kennedy alive is both noble and ridiculous, affecting at points, comedic too. The operating scene is very intense, an idea that may have seemed powerful on paper, yet over the top on screen. The squishing sounds of blood silences most other sound, emphasising the blood-soaked hospital room to a nauseating, tasteless degree. Efron ends the scene pushing hard on the dead President’s chest, desperate to bring him back to life. Lasting what feels like several minutes, it starts as a heartbreaking parade of patriotism, quickly turning objectionable.

Out of the three main arcs, James Badge Dale’s portrayal of Robert Oswald, the composed brother of one of the most hated figures in American history, is the best. Dale moves from film to film with supporting roles, endlessly making a fine impression. His turn in Parkland is his most noteworthy yet, bringing such humanism to a person we would only believe to be crushed and confused by his relationship to Lee Harvey. He shares a lot of his screen time with Jacki Weaver, playing their mother. Dale brings a maturity to the film, above and beyond any of the other scenes, overshadowed at times by Weaver’s terribly written Marguerite. Whether or not these two people said and acted as they do in reality as they do in the script can be answered by your own research. It feels, however, that Landesman attempted to add humour to the film (to shake things up?) by having Marguerite as the most ignorant, dedicated mother in the United States. Her belief that Lee should be buried alongside the president is a laugh-out-loud idea, but handled awkwardly in the film – are we meant to think that’s funny, or tragically serious?

Strangely altering in tone in the latter half, Parkland is a haphazard, episodic retelling of that fateful day. There are stories in there that warrant a lot of attention (Robert Oswald should have been given his own film, arguably), and many that don’t (there’s not much to take from Zapruder racing around town to try and get his film developed, or seeing Kennedy’s coffin get clumsily transported onboard Air Force One). Landesman may have begun and ended his directing career with a whimper.

***

Also posted on LiveForFilms

57th LFF Review: Drinking Buddies

Director/ Writer: Joe Swanberg

Starring: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston, Jason Sudeikis

Synopsis: Kate (Wilde) and Luke (Johnson) work together at a small brewery, drinking together most nights after work. One weekend the colleagues and their significant others enjoy a weekend away where deeper feelings begin to surface.

Without a script – running off a vague plotline – the actors of Drinking Buddies have proved how easy it is to underestimate some talent. Whereas Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston have found themselves in many esteemed films, Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson have (arguably) not. Johnson is recognised more for his turn in New Girl, a not-so-terrific sitcom, now hopefully forgotten with this gem.

It’s hard to sense the improvisation, which becomes the film’s greatest asset – an unnoticeable sheen on the performance. Not that the film requires much technique for a series of a scenes drinking, laughing and romancing. Each actor knows the atmosphere and activity well – as would most 20-40 year-olds – clearly delving into the project with ease. Wilde, as the lead, is the only one who initially seems out of place (as stunning as she is to be believed as a worker in a brewery), quickly denouncing that thought with a rough-and-ready quality that appears innate.

Johnson as her closest friend in the film brings a charm and wit so perfectly fitting to the tone of the film, and to the chemistry, that this will surely bring him a mass of new scripts. Caught between the love of a friend, and a possible lust for said friend, he develops his acting chops to constantly leave the audience and remaining characters guessing about his true feelings. It adds tremendous drama and tenderness to the film, with his cool bravado keeping the film on its toes.

Director Joe Swanberg has a filmography of relatively unknown work, capable of making great films. His style is subtle and distant – you can tell he’s letting things run their course with his finger merely on the record button. However, it’s his control of the narrative that highlights his potential as a great director. He leaves some moments untreated and awkward, and others overdone and unremitting. As you watch it you feel uncomfortable or cheated (in relation to how Hollywood usually treats these stories), reviewing it at the end to see it as a carefully structured film with the aim to get you pontificating.

The comedy is beyond genuine (thanks to the improv), leaving a gigantic smile on your face when you feel it. The drama can occasionally fall flat, as it’s expectedly harder to pull off without a script. Nevertheless, on the whole Drinking Buddies is another independent comedy/drama that will earn its stripes each passing year.

****

Also posted on LiveForFilms

Sundance London 2013: Touchy Feely Review

 

Director/Writer: Lynn Shelton

Starring: Rosemarie DeWitt, Ellen Page, Josh Pais, Scoot McNairy, Alison Janney, Ron Livingston

Synopsis: When a massage therapist suddenly finds herself repulsed by human skin, she finds her romantic relationship and work-life in ruins. Meanwhile, her brother, a dentist, undergoes a life-altering bout of success in his practice. Crossing back and forth between the stories, Touchy Feely explores the subjects of interaction and progression.

Lynn Shelton’s canny ability to write and visualise awkward human interaction has given her a string of critical successes. Humpday and Your Sister’s Sister were excellent character-pieces, lovingly crafted with humour and heart; it then becomes a disappointment to find her latest, Touchy Feely, plain dull.

Scratch beneath the surface of Touchy Feely and there is a rich set of themes (humanity’s obsession with contact, desire and repulsion, and the idea of spirituality or intuition). Sadly, these are ideas too profound to explore in an 80 minute comedy/drama and Shelton’s attempt to investigate drains the film of life.

It’s a film packed with too many characters, motifs and story arcs – having a damning effect on the wonderful cast. All graciously at ease with their minor characters, it appears none of the fine character actors employed for the film saw an issue with screen-time. Contemporary favourites such as Alison Janney, Ron Livingston and Scoot McNairy have all-too brief moments (especially Livingston) but fail to make an impression. If you see any of the other cast in different films, you (usually) walk away adamant to seek out more of their work. McNairy is fast becoming a star (or at least should be) but it’s doubtful that this film will have cinemagoers intent on finding out his filmography, as he’s barely written in efficiently.

In the lead as Abby, Rosemarie DeWitt is allowed a decent amount of screen-time, as well as her on-screen brother played by Josh Pais. As DeWitt has continually found herself part of smart, funny indie films you look toward the lesser-known Pais. He plays the nervous, withdrawn type well enough to get him typecast, with perhaps the only laugh out loud moment where he attempts to relax for the first time. It’s his arc that happens to have the better material, leaving the likes of Ellen Page (as his daughter) and newcomer Tomo Nakayama (“cured” by Pais’ dentist and encouraging a wealth of new clients for the practice) in the shadow of the only appealing plotline.

An ensemble of some of the best actors around given little to do with material that feels so very flat after Shelton’s last two films. Call it a lack of artistic vigour but one should hope that this isn’t the beginning of a downward spiral for the writer/director.
**
By Piers McCarthy. Also posted on LiveForFilms