Directed by Paul Feig who is best known for comedies, including 2011’s Bridesmaids and 2016’s Ghostbusters, A Simple Favor is a terrifically entertaining film that perfectly blends elements of mystery and comedy and uses its many plot twists to effectively create a fun whodunit. The plot follows a chipper widowed housewife named Stephanie Smothers, played by Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick, who makes a video blog giving tips to mothers and develops a chance friendship with the stylish and beautiful Emily Nelson, played by Blake Lively, who works as a PR director for a well-known fashion designer. They meet each other through their elementary-aged sons, and Stephanie is immediately enchanted by the glamorous yet mysterious Emily who invites her over for drinks during the day at her expensive house in a Connecticut town outside New York City. After Emily asks Stephanie the seemingly simple favor of picking up her son from school, Emily disappears without a trace. The middle part of the film involves Stephanie along with Emily’s husband and English professor Sean, played by Henry Golding best known for his role in 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians, trying to figure out what happened to Emily and if and by whom she was murdered. At the same time, Sean and Stephanie begin to have a romantic relationship as they work closely together. With Stephanie discussing Emily’s disappearance and appealing for help to the followers of her video blog, she begins to unravel the mysteries surrounding her friend and quickly learns that not everything is as it appears and that Emily has several dark secrets from her past that may reveal why she disappeared. All of Stephanie’s detective work leads to the final scenes of the movie that reveal plot twists on top of plot twists, quite effectively shocking and surprising the audience to a thrilling degree. Overall, I found it to be one of those rare movies that makes for a gripping and wonderfully twisty good time; the film very much reminds me of a less dark and more funny version of the brilliant 2014 thriller Gone Girl that was also full of mystery and a surprise ending.
Drama
Searching
Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty, Searching is an excellent thriller with terrific acting performances and a suspenseful script, but its major asset is its innovative use of shooting the entire film from the point-of-view of such modern technological devices as smart phones and computers. The plot follows a devoted father living in San Jose, California named David Kim, played by John Cho best known for his role in the stoner comedy trilogy Harold and Kumar first released in 2004, who tries to always be there for his daughter Margot after his wife Pamela dies from cancer several years before the film takes place. One day, his life falls apart after his beloved sixteen-year-old daughter goes missing after a study group, and he comes to the realization hours later that he must report his daughter as missing to the local police. The case is assigned to Detective Rosemary Vick, played by Emmy winner Debra Messing best known for her role in the popular NBC sitcom Will and Grace, who first treats the disappearance as a runaway but encourages David to look further into Margot’s personal life, including contacting her friends that may know more about what happened. Through his extensive investigations of his daughter’s online presence on Facebook and a video blogging website, he is able to piece together important clues that he gives to the police and leads them to several vital pieces of evidence about where she was last seen and possible motivations behind her vanishing. Towards the movie’s conclusion, David unearths a much more complex set of circumstances surrounding the mystery that leads the audience on a thrilling journey of unexpected plot twists. The filmmaker makes the film extremely relevant to today’s society by telling all of the story through the digital tools that many of us rely on every day and without following the format of a traditional movie with its use of film cameras. Almost all of the visuals are comprised of David’s computer screen as he makes Facetime video calls and goes through social media as it would appear in real life on screen. At first, I thought this rather unusual filmmaking technique would be too much of a gimmick, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it only heightens the suspense and creates a very provocative and gripping experience understandable to the current digital generation. Overall, I found it to be one of the best thrillers that I have seen in the past few years and is cinematically important for developing a brand-new filmmaking style that is truly eye-opening for audiences.
The Bookshop
Based on the novel of the same name written by acclaimed British author Penelope Fitzgerald in 1978, The Bookshop is a rather typical British period drama that is full of terrific acting performances and a beautiful backdrop but ultimately falters as a result of its surprisingly depressing material often dragging out too long. The plot revolves around a middle-aged widow named Florence Green, played by the great British actress Emily Mortimer, who wants to do something for herself following the death of her husband years prior so she embarks on opening a small bookshop in a small fictional English seaside village. However, she encounters extreme resistance from the downright cruel Violet Gamart, played by Oscar-nominated American actress Patricia Clarkson, who is the de facto pillar of the community. The unscrupulous and mean-spirited Violet for no apparent reason despises Florence for deciding to locate her bookshop at an abandoned historical landmark building known as the Old House. Due to her tenacity and perseverance, Florence is finally able to open her beloved bookshop and develops a relationship with an unlikely customer named Edmund Brundish, played by the always wonderful Golden Globe-winning British actor Bill Nighy, who lives a lonely existence as a single elderly gentleman hermit. The bookshop is doing rather well for some time with the help of a precocious young girl until Violet and her sycophant accomplices continue the effort to evict Florence from the Old House in order to supposedly turn it into a local art center. Towards the end of the film, obstacles and tragedy rapidly engulf Florence and her little bookshop that has been a lifelong dream of hers. Overall, I found it to be a much more dark and sad movie than the charming British film that I was expecting; although the acting is top-notch, the sometimes rather dull pacing hampers an otherwise good movie.
White Boy Rick
Based on an incredibly true story, White Boy Rick is a well-done crime drama that vividly explores the underbelly of 1980s Detroit through the eyes of the street hustler and drug dealer Rick Wershe Jr. who became the youngest FBI informant in history, as well as his very troubled father. Played by the mesmerizing Oscar winner Matthew McConaughay in yet another gritty performance, the older Wershe tries to be a supporting father to his son and drug-addicted daughter but constantly struggles to make ends meet in the economically depressed city of Detroit and resorts to selling illegal guns. In order to get his father out of legal trouble and financially help his dysfunctional family that also includes his rather profane grandfather played by Oscar nominee Bruce Dern, the fifteen-year-old Rick Jr., played by the terrific new coming actor Richie Merritt, decides to work with the FBI, including two undercover agents played by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Brian Tyree Henry. To help further the FBI’s sting operation targeting the crack epidemic, he is recruited to become a smalltime drug dealer selling to his criminal friends and others in exchange for partial immunity for him and his father. However, Rick Jr. becomes enamored by the flashy lifestyle and decides to become more of a self-made drug kingpin selling much more crack cocaine beyond what the FBI approves. Towards the climax and end of the movie, things get increasingly precarious for the now sixteen-year-old hustler and drug dealer, and he even gets shot in a turf war between rival gangs. Furthermore, the protection that the FBI promised him begins to fall apart and Rick Jr. is faced with long imprisonment for selling narcotics over a certain threshold. At that point, the film evolves into something very different from what the audience was expecting as a simple crime drama; the story delves into the problems of the criminal justice system in such a crime-ridden city as Detroit and the rather unfair mandatory minimums for drug offenses. Overall, although there were several flaws that made the film a missed opportunity, I found it to stand out as a result of the terrific performances and its fascinating depiction of a rather unbelievable and mostly unheard-of true story.
The Wife
Based on the novel of the same name written by American novelist Meg Wolitzer in 2003, The Wife is a brilliant drama portraying the complicated relationship between a renowned author and a simply dutiful wife and is a truly special film as a result of the tour de force acting performances, especially Glenn Close at the pinnacle of her illustrious career. The plot revolves around the fictional critically-acclaimed and self-absorbed American author Joe Castleman, played by the terrific Tony winner Jonathan Pryce, receiving the coveted Nobel Prize in Literature. Much of the film takes place during the lavish festivities associated with the Nobel in Stockholm in which Joe clearly enjoys the spotlight and seems dismissive of his underappreciated wife Joan Castleman, played by Glenn Close who has been nominated multiple times for the Academy Award. At the beginning of the movie, it is obvious there is something secretive underlying their supposedly loving long-time marriage, and the audience becomes more aware of their issues through a series of flashbacks to when they first met and fell in love in the 1950s when Joan was a gifted writer and student and Joe, played by the charming British actor Harry Lloyd, was a beloved professor at Smith College. Glenn Close in a Oscar-worthy performance depicts her character as a patiently submissive partner to a lauded writer who is finally about to reach a breaking point as her husband receives perhaps undeserved accolades that only feed his already immense ego. Through Christian Slater’s character who desperately wants to write Castleman’s biography, we learn more about the couple’s complicated relationship and past and the real possibility that Joan is more than just the writer’s wife. Overall, I found it to be one of the best dramatic films that explores the sometimes complex nature of marriage, especially one involving a famous spouse, and the truly outstanding acting performances are worth every penny of admission and will definitely garner Oscar buzz.
Operation Finale
Directed by Chris Weitz who is best known as the cowriter of 2002’s About a Boy and 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the director of 2007’s The Golden Compass and 2009’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Operation Finale is based on the true life story of the hunt for and capture of one of the most notorious Nazi officers Adolf Eichmann, played by the always terrific Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley. Although the film does not fully live up to its expectations and can be at times slow, its greatest appeal is its fascinatingly real life story that may not be widely known. The story takes place in 1960 and follows a group of agents and officers in the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and security agency Shin Bet as they travel to Argentina after learning that Eichmann who is credited with being the architect of the Holocaust is living in a suburb of Buenos Aires undercover. At the behest of the upper echelon of the Israeli government, the Mossad agent Peter Malkin, played by Golden Globe winner Oscar Isaac, is recruited to form a team that will track the whereabouts of Eichmann and come up with a plan to bring him back to Israel to stand trial for his crimes against the Jewish people during World War II. His team includes several secret operatives, including an anesthesiologist named Hanna, played by Mélanie Laurent best known for her role in 2009’s Inglourious Basterds, and fellow agent Rossi, played by comedian Nick Kroll. The movie presents a sometimes gripping account of the operatives following Eichmann’s every move and eventually decide to capture him at nighttime very near his home that he shares with his wife and two sons. When several issues arise, Eichmann must remain captive in the Israeli safe house in Argentina until the occasion arises when they can safely transport him out of the country. Throughout his detainment, Eichmann begins to develop somewhat of a rapport with Peter, and they both discuss their personal lives and their experiences during World War II. Eventually, after a internationally televised trial in Israel, Eichmann is finally executed in June 1962 for his horrific crimes against humanity and participation in the killing of over 6 million Jews. Overall, I found it to be an intriguing film highlighting the lengths in which Mossad and other intelligence agencies went to in order to capture Nazis who had escaped to South America; however, I thought it was not tightly executed and the action could have been intensified.
Juliet, Naked
Based on the novel of the same name written by acclaimed British author Nick Hornby best known for the novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, which were both made into feature films in 2000 and 2009, respectively, Juliet, Naked is a charming and fairly typical romantic comedy that is elevated by the acting performances that make for genuine chemistry between the protagonists. The plot follows a museum director in a small English seaside town named Annie, played by the talented British actress Rose Byrne known for her role in 2012’s Bridesmaids and 2015’s Neighbors, and her longtime boyfriend Duncan, played by the ever-charming British comedic actor Chris O’Dowd also known for his role in 2012’s Bridesmaids, who is a professor of television at a small college. Clearly unhappy by their unchanging romantic relationship, Annie tires of Duncan’s eccentric behaviors and especially his obsession over a little-known American alternative rock musician from the 90s who has disappeared from the public named Tucker Crowe, played by twice Academy Award-nominated actor Ethan Hawke. As their relationship quickly fades, Annie upsets Duncan by her writing a negative review on the Tucker Crowe fansite run by Duncan about a demo that Duncan receives of Tucker’s only popular album Juliet from 25 years ago. Through happenstance, Annie begins a correspondence with the actual Tucker who is living a rather unglamorous life in the United States and has several estranged children from several different mothers. Like a stereotypical romantic comedy, the two begin to develop much more affectionate feelings towards other, especially after he visits London with his youngest son for the birth of his grandchild and ends up staying with Annie in her quaint seaside town after suffering a setback. Duncan is flabbergasted and angry at Annie for not telling him about her acquaintance with his idol who ends up not being the man that Duncan has been expecting for so many years. Overall, I found it to be a wonderfully charming romantic comedy full of heartfelt and charismatic performances from the three extremely talented lead actors; therefore, I would recommend it to even those who are not particularly keen of romantic comedies but are simply looking for a heartwarming movie.
Leave No Trace
Directed by Debra Granik who is best known for the 2010 Oscar-nominated film Winter’s Bone that helped bring Jennifer Lawrence to stardom, Leave No Trace is a somber and beautiful movie that encapsulates the bond between father and daughter and is marked by top-notch acting performances. The story follows a veteran suffering from PTSD named Will, played by the terrific Ben Foster, who lives off-the-grid in the forested wilderness outside Portland, Oregon with his young teenage daughter Tom, played by the captivating New Zealand actress Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie. After years of living a peaceful existence with bare necessities and very little human contact, they are eventually discovered by local authorities who place them in social services since it is illegal to live on public land and Tom has not been attending school. The separation between the extremely close father and daughter becomes almost unbearable because they have become dependent on one another living on their own in the wild. When they are given an opportunity to live a more normal lifestyle on a tree farm in rural Oregon, Will struggles and over time decides that they need to return to the wilderness despite Tom’s increasingly strong desire to remain a normal teenager living among her peers. She mostly goes along with her father because she knows that he is suffering from his traumatic experiences while he served in the military. He is unable to cope with being around a lot of seemingly normal people who do not understand his experiences, and he simply wants to shut off reality. Heightening the emotional impact of such a heartwarming yet heartbreaking story, the filmmaker makes the excellent choice to portray the narrative in a slow burn fashion in which the unusual premise has room to grow and not become over-dramatized. Furthermore, it enhanced the feeling of being surrounded by the quiet and magnificent wilderness that leads to a slow pace of life. Overall, I found it to be one of the more powerful films I have seen in recent memory because it contains such a thought-provoking and simple story of father-daughter love and is very much an actor’s movie in which the two lead actors give brilliantly nuanced performances.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
The sequel to the critically acclaimed 2015 movie Sicario directed by Oscar nominee Denis Villeneuve, Sicario: Day of the Soldado is a compelling action thriller with great cinematography, music, and acting performances that all combine to create an especially gritty atmosphere conducive to the dark world of the increasingly violent drug war. After a stint in Africa and the Middle East hunting down terrorists, the covert American government operative Matt Graver, played by Oscar nominee Josh Brolin, returns to the US Mexico border to reprise his vicious role as in the first movie to do whatever it takes to take down the powerful Mexican drug cartels. He is recruited by the Secretary of Defense, played by Golden Globe nominee Matthew Modine, and another government official, played by Oscar nominee Catherine Keener, to foment a war between several Mexican cartels by kidnapping the 16-year-old daughter of a particularly influential cartel leader. The ruthless Graver, who is authorized to employ his dirty tactics, assembles a secret contingent of soldiers that also includes the amoral sicario, or hit man, Alejandro who is played by the brilliantly creepy Oscar winner Benicio del Toro. After several intense and warlike gun battles, the covert American forces and loyal members of the drug cartels who also work for the Mexican police, things begin to go awry and Graver’s mission is put into jeopardy by the high-ranking United States officials who authorized the operation. The movie also weaves in another narrative about a Mexican-American teenager living in the border town of McAllen, Texas who is lured by the drug cartels to help smuggle migrants across the border. His story provides insight into why and how young men become involved in drug and human trafficking for such ruthlessly violent cartels and gangs. The most intriguing scenes involve Alejandro who lost his family at the hands of a drug cartel and is now set on a path of brutal vengeance; he is a morally complicated character brought to life by Benicio del Toro’s performance who wants to bring good but does it through clearly bad means. Overall, I found it to be yet another gripping account of the horrific actions of the drug cartels and the secret war against them perpetrated by the American government; however, the movie fell short of the original’s innovative twist on the action thriller genre that explores a complicated subject in a thoughtful way.
Hearts Beat Loud
Co-written and directed by Brett Haley best known for 2015’s I’ll See You in My Dreams and 2017’s The Hero both starring Sam Elliott, Hearts Beat Loud is a wonderful independent film that is very heartfelt and musically well-versed with terrific performances from the two lead actors. The plot follows Frank, played by the terrifically lovable Nick Offerman, who is the owner of an independent record store in Brooklyn that is about to close and his relationship with his daughter Sam, played by the radiant newcomer Kiersey Clemons, who is about to head off to college in California. As an aging hipster who has a profound love for music, Frank always had the dream of starting a band, especially with his talented daughter who also loves indie music. One day, Frank and Sam decide to record a rock song together, and Frank uploads the song to Spotify without her permission and soon discovers that the song has become popular online. With the unexpected success, he encourages his reluctant daughter to form a band together and possibly miss her first year of college to produce music and tour. The cast is rounded out by a trio of extremely talented actors: Golden Globe winner Ted Danson plays Frank’s best friend Dave who runs a dive bar, Emmy winner Blythe Danner plays Frank’s mother Marianne who is suffering from a mild case of dementia, and Oscar nominee Toni Collette plays Frank’s landlady Leslie who becomes quite close to Frank. The movie is a sweet depiction of a father-daughter relationship that at times can be tenuous but is overall very loving, with Frank trying to pursue his mutual passion for music with his daughter. It has been difficult for Frank because he has had to raise Sam by himself after the tragic death of his wife and her mother years ago and now must face the painful reality about his failing financial situation. Sam also has to deal with her own issues, including going to college so far away and falling in love with a girl named Rose, played by Sasha Lane. Overall, I found it to be a powerfully heartfelt film about a father-daughter relationship filled with excellent performances and truly beautiful original music; I highly recommend it to anybody looking for a feel-good story or simply loves music.
KEITH on Reels 