Director: Terrence Malick
Writer: Terrence Malick
Stars: August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Maria Simon

Synopsis: The Austrian Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector, refuses to fight for the Nazis in World War II.

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Terrence Malick has returned. There was a time when that phrase was a lot more significant. Not because the relevance or quality of Malick’s films have dropped per se, but because of how frequently he now releases his projects of void-like notions. Since his acclaimed outing of The Tree of Life, it hasn’t been a strange occurrence to see a new outing from him every 2-3 years. And while A Hidden Life is plausibly his most devoted work of art since the former, I don’t think it assumes the role of this grand payoff of artistic integrity that others might perceive it to carry.

There’s no condemning Malick’s eye for imagery. We’ve taken note of this in his previous projects and even so with the most recent string of impromptu contemporary-set films. There are flooring instances of countryside scenery throughout the film. DP Jörg Widmer (who has never worked with Malick prior fascinatingly enough) is an absolute marvel. The elegance of using natural lighting against the depicted Austrian landscape is a challenge in itself. Yet Widmer amply construes every ounce of frame through the entrancing picture-esque terrain that in some ways resembles that of desktop wallpaper (which is more of a compliment than anything). It’s all positioned at the center of this conflict by displaying beauty even at the stigma of affliction, albeit intermittently.

While complaints are evident about the somewhat swift and unorthodox editing style, I think it sits well as an underlying companion for the film. The movie, moreso the first hour, entails a lot of exposition and implementation of the main relationship at hand (as expected) through the lens of these very compiled factions of clips. Comparing it to something episodic has become an over-hashed trope of detail for recent films, but this principle of editing feels more like an exertion of creative power rather than a gimmick – especially since it was Malick who edited it himself. It aides vastly in keeping the audience to the fullest depth of intrigue even with its slow-burning culmination of action.

I reward the film’s diligence and centerpiece of focus in its runtime, as it really does expand itself across the entire 175 minute span. It stays committed through this wobbly way of extrapolating sympathy from the viewer. These sequences of greenery and wildlife that instill you into a state of home, which then eventually switches to a brief dialogue/voiceover of the characters justification or explanation of their actions. It feels overtly acquired yet not earned. It’s actually what induced my loss of early interest that I had for the film. Diehl and Pachner both give very humane performances, despite them being directly subdued under the conscience of the movies themes of decadence that can be bombarding at times. The two of them are both equally integral for the movie’s subtext of conflict and the core testament at heart. Which all in all, is actually no small feat considering this physicality the film has morphed into it.

There’s a lot of interesting sentiments about one’s own belief system and the triviality of behavior relating to the film’s setting, but it’s never in a semblance of cohesion. And even when it rarely is, it’s not enough to galvanize the viewer back in to it’s narrative. Once it’s all said and done, there’s a very drab bookend kind of closure. It feels relatively resolute just due to how grueling the emotional buildup to it is, but universally I just don’t think it’s thorough enough in terms of resonance. If the film had the ability to grip me all throughout it’s exploration of Jägerstätter’s resistance, then it could’ve worked well on its own.

I certainly wish I could’ve taken more from A Hidden Life, especially since his recent projects have been promising despite how little in artistic merit many have called them out for. What all of those had however, was this lingering spirit to them. The elegance of Malick’s presentation of commonality is what was so attractive. They were bombastic and exaggerated, and A Hidden’s Life’s conflict is delineated in such a monumental way. But it’s vacant of a sensibility to spark whoever may be watching it. I’m positive there’s a devout group of Malick fans out there – and even just specific audiences for that matter that are down for the ride of this one.

Overall Grade: C+

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Hear our podcast review on Episode 359:

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Director: Greta Gerwig
Writer: Greta Gerwig, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet

Synopsis: Jo March reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women each determined to live life on their own terms.

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There have been seven big screen adaptations of Louisa May Acott’s Little Women, the first being released over a century ago in 1917, (it’s worth adding that this adaptation has sadly been lost to time). Over the years we have seen adaptations starring the likes of Katherine Hepburn in 1933 and Winona Ryder in 1994, there’s just something about this story which has a timeless quality to it despite the novel being released in 1868.

However, with the sheer number of adaptations (the last one being in 2018), some were slightly apprehensive when it was announced that Lady Bird’s director and writer Greta Gerwig’s next film was to be her own adaptation of Little Women. How could Gerwig make this Victorian story appealing for a modern-day audience? And could she also stay faithful to the source material? Well, it’s safe to say that Gerwig proves that she is more than capable of adapting this revered piece of literature, and she does a fantastic job of updating the novel for contemporary cinema goers. Little Women is an absolute treat of a film and one that I urge people to seek out.

Little Women starts off in 1868, Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) is a teacher living in New York. She sells stories to an editor called Mr Dashwood (Tracy Letts), stories which she doesn’t put her name to and stories which she doesn’t particularly enjoy writing but does so as they make money. Jo receives news that she must return home to Massachusetts, due to her sister Beth’s (Eliza Scanlen) illness. The film’s narrative is interwoven with events that took place seven years before, where we see the sisters Jo, Beth, Meg (Emma Watson) and Amy (Florence Pugh) come of age. We watch them bicker and fight with each other, fall in love and more importantly create a profound bond together as sisters.

Jo’s main relationship is with Laurie (Timothée Chalamet) the grandson of their neighbor Mr. Laurence (Chris Cooper). The film explodes with Ronan and Chalamet chemistry, and they bounce off each other’s quirkiness in an effortlessly cool fashion. However, Jo has bigger ambitions than marriage unlike her sister Amy who has to soldier the burden of saving her family from financial ruin as her Aunt March (Meryl Streep) continuously reminds her. Jo often seems baffled by Amy’s and Meg’s decision to pursue marriage, begging Meg at one point to run away together so Meg can become an actress. In this beautiful, heartbreaking scene Meg quietly responds back with “Just because my dreams are different from yours doesn’t mean they’re not important.” A powerful message that we should all consider and take away from this film.

The film’s strengths lie with its performances and everyone shines here. Ronan captures the feistiness of Jo, a character who seems larger-than-life but also relatable in so many ways. Pugh manages to capture the inner turmoil of Amy, making her appear more sympathetic rather than simply bratty. The supporting cast are also brilliant with Laura Dern portraying the girls’ mother, a woman who is desperately trying to hold her family together while her husband is away fighting. There is such a heartbreaking tenderness to Dern performance, that we feel for her every time we witness her putting on a brave face for her daughters.

Gerwig’s direction is flawless, and she reestablishes the fact that she has an ear for dialogue. The best scenes are when the sisters are bickering, or are participating in a fast-paced conversation with each other. Gerwig directs these in the style of a Robert Altman picture, full of energy and liveliness. Gerwig doesn’t only have an ear for dialogue, but she has an eye for natural beauty and along with her cinematographer Yorick Le Saux, they manage to recreate an authentic looking New York and Massachuttes. Le Saux’s camera manages to capture the cosy intimacy inside the March home in such an effective manner that we feel like we are there curled up in front of the fire. Other highlights include Alexandre Desplat’s charming score, and Jacqueline Durran’s costume design (yes, each outfit captures the girl’s unique personalities wonderfully).

The only slight issue with the film is with Gerwig’s and editor Nick Houy’s decision to cross-cut between the two timelines, and when it first occurs it can be quite jarring. Some viewers may find this a distraction and struggle slightly to follow the storyline but once you get accustomed to the timelines then you can become swept up in all of the film’s beauty and splendor. Gerwig’s Little Women has all the hallmarks of becoming a beloved Christmas movie, and one that can be enjoyed by not only for little women, but for little men too.

Overall Grade: A

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Hear our podcast review on Episode 356:

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Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Writer: Chinonye Chukwu
Stars: Alfre Woodard, Aldis Hodge, Wendell Pierce

Synopsis: Years of carrying out death row executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine Williams. As she prepares to execute another inmate, Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill.
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Most of us trudge through our day job, counting the minutes (or seconds) until we can clock out and live our real life. But some have more than a job, more than a career, but instead a calling. We may preach the separation of work life and home life, but how do you leave a calling behind at 5pm? In Clemency, directed by Chinonye Chukwu, that question is asked, but there are no easy answers. These callings can be rewarding for a time, but at what cost? What is left in its destructive wake?

The film follows a possible execution of Anthony Woods (Aldis Hodge), overseen by Warden Bernadine Williams (Alfre Woodard). Clemency is difficult to watch, as it opens with a nearly botched execution that sets in motion our lead’s rumination on her calling. As she says later in a powerful moment, “You can’t understand. That’s the problem. I don’t know how to fix it. I am alone, and nobody can fix it.”

Let’s not mince words, this is Woodard’s best performance in a long and storied career. In a dramatic story like this, a showy performance may be expected, after all, a man’s life is on the line. But Woodard’s choices, to play each scene close to the vest, nearly regardless of setting, make for a much greater impact. Despite Bernadine’s best efforts, that contained sorrow, despair, and even rage finds ways to leak out.

In the face of such a reserved character, one who holds space for her inmates instead of lashing out with words or violence, it becomes necessary to follow her outside of the bars of her prison. In some moments, particularly those fueled by alcohol, she is an absolute delight and it is clear that she desperately desires a release that she will never truly allow herself. The career, the calling, trumps all of her needs. In others, she sees the world as an unfixable, untenable place, in which something is always needed of her. In expertly blocked and acted scenes with her husband, Jonathan (Wendell Pierce), we are allowed to see her pain, even if Bernadine will never get close enough for honest healing.

Aldis Hodge, whether onscreen with Woodard, or by himself, holds his own with a difficult role. Clemency challenges the audience by never giving us a clear picture of his past. This focuses our empathy in the here and now and shows us just how terrifying his lack of freedom can be. When our choices are stripped from us, what is truly left for us to do? Woodard asking him about his last meal and where he wants to be buried is soul crushing because these questions cease to matter, as does any amount of male pride. Hodge picks his moments and lets that emotion fly, sometimes in guttural, primal release.

One of the few areas to find fault with the film is that, if anything, it tries to do too much with its runtime. Obviously, most of the plot focuses on Bernadine and her mostly interior struggles. Additionally, we have not only Anthony’s solo struggle, but also a few scenes with his lawyer and his ex-girlfriend. These segments are fine, but they aren’t given enough time to breathe. His lawyer, Henry, played by Richard Schiff, who has made a career of playing angry liberals, does much the same here. It is by no means a poor performance, but feels both too much and not enough. He is given some emotional dialogue, but there is a desire for more background between these two, who have clearly become friends. Danielle Brooks, on the other hand, portraying Anthony’s ex-girlfriend Evette is an absolute powerhouse. This, sadly, is relegated to one scene, and although the reasons why are obvious, it still feels like a wasted opportunity.

But, of course, when you boil it all down, this is about Chukwu’s direction and Alfre Woodard’s face. Chukwu shows supreme confidence in not only the subtle movements of her camera but in her lead actor, as well. Nearly every important visual and emotional moment is focused for lengthy periods on Woodard and the film is the better for it. There is a supreme balance met between the character of Bernadine Williams showing nothing but strength to the people in her life and Alfre Woodard allowing the audience in to see the veneer cracking ever so slightly.

Clemency is technically about the death penalty, but it manages to not guide the audience to an answer. Bernadine is in an impossible position. Anthony is, likewise, trapped without choices. And truly, no one can help either one of them. The two characters are in such different positions, and yet, they both carry a heavy burden. Clemency is the kind of film we don’t get in the theaters very often anymore, and we should take advantage of it. Chukwu and Woodard together certainly do not tell an easily digestible story, but they do tell an absolutely necessary story of our humanity, pressed to its limits.

Overall Grade: B+

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Director: Todd Haynes
Writers: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Mario Correa, Nathaniel Rich
Stars: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Camp

Synopsis: A corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution. Based on a true story

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Dark Waters tells the story of lawyer Rob Bilott and the town of Parkersburg, WV. A local farmer Wilbur Tennant (a friend of Bilott’s grandmother) tracks down the attorney at work (a large legal firm where he defends chemical companies) and begs for help. His cattle are going crazy and dying, his land doesn’t feel right, and people are sick. Tennant convinces Bilott to investigate the landfill owned by chemical giant DuPont, located next to Tennant’s farm. What he discovers is a history of pollution and negligence going back over 50 years. Bilott makes the choice to help the farmer and the town of Parkersburg and take on one of the largest and influential chemical companies in the world.

Dark Waters is an expertly crafted whistleblower drama. Mark Ruffalo shines as attorney Rob Bilott and is obviously passionate about the role and the cause he’s fighting for. The film is inspired by true events and a 2016 New York Times article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” by Nathanial Rich. I have almost no negative comments about the film. Director Todd Haynes managed to make a film filled with complicated subjects- chemistry, corporate law, medical studies, EPA regulations, etc – and made it easy to watch and comprehend. That is something I consider absolutely crucial in a “true events” movie, especially about events still going on today. The film was dramatic and filled with suspense and tension even though there wasn’t a lot of “action” happening on screen. The last time a movie made its viewers this uncomfortable with water was in 1975 with the debut of Jaws. I would bet money on the opening scene of Dark Waters being an homage to Jaws. The sense of dread and foreboding they achieved was amazing given there were no monsters or real violence in the film.  Everyone involved was great; cast and crew.  Anne Hathaway doesn’t have a ton of screen time but managed to make an impact, Bill Camp is phenomenal as farmer Wilbur Tennant, and Bill Pullman gave one of my favorite supporting performances as feisty lawyer Harry Dietzler.

The most frustrating thing about the film is that it is almost entirely accurate. How could something so terrible happen less than three hours from me and I knew nothing about it? This court case and exposure of DuPont’s negligence has been public knowledge, covered by national news, since the late 1990s. Even today, after several major legal settlements and EPA fines, there is almost zero information online. If you go to the town of Parkersburg’s wiki page there is only one sentence on the pollution that has given tens of thousands of it’s residences chronic and terminal illnesses. “High levels of PFOA appearing to originate in landfills used by the DuPont chemical company have been noted in Parkersburg drinking water.” Rob Billot has not worked himself half to death for the world to ignore what’s going on with water contamination and pollution. He is still working today, trying to help every single person affected by DuPont’s (and other large corporations) carelessness.

I was lucky enough to see this with a Q&A with director Todd Haynes, Mark Ruffalo, and subject of the film Rob Bilott. All three men were very passionate about the project. Ruffalo was sent the New York Times article by several friends who knew he was active in similar political causes. Ruffalo then took the idea to Haynes and had the movie made in less than a year. Billot was involved the entire time, many people had cameos or appeared as extras in the film, and much of the movie was filmed at the real locations. They stated a few times that the goal of the movie was to educate audiences on a complex subject, a “50-year crime no one knew about” and make it watchable. I think they absolutely succeeded.

Overall, Dark Waters is a film that is hard to watch, it made me angry and depressed, but it also left me hopeful because it showed me people like Rob Bilott exist. It’s a great movie that I think was released at the right time. People need movies like this, especially when you feel powerless or hopeless about current events, because it will spark something to get you motivated to take on the world. I saw the movie a month ago and I am still riled up about it. Please go see it if you have the chance, support the film, and read the original article, get involved.

Overall Grade: A

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Director: J.J Abrams
Writers: J.J Abrams and Chris Terrio
Stars: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels and Kelly Marie Tran

Synopsis: The Resistance faces the First Order once more in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga.

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***This will be a spoiler-free review. For a full spoiler discussion, catch our Bonus Content episode coming soon. ***

From the moment you become a writer, you’re taught to cut the word “I” from your writing. With this word extermination, you have to come up with some way of making a voice shine throughout the piece you are writing. But many believe there are exceptions to the rule, especially when talking about a subject personally attached to the writer. So, when I was assigned this review of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” caution was thrown to the wind, and I knew it would be something that I had to use. It’s because Star Wars is one of the most personal franchises in all of cinema, binding generations of people together to love something magical and profound. It’s the first film franchise I can remember falling in love with, with the rich worlds, in-depth characters, and enough memorable moments to keep me coming back for more.

But, throughout the last couple of years, the words Star and Wars have become as toxic of a topic as one can find. A fan base divided amongst themselves, throwing unobtainable expectations out left and right, seeming to be displeased with every choice made by the filmmakers. It makes for frustrating conversations, leading many, including myself, to feel like the magic of this franchise is dying. But while this may be the case, these movies are about hope, and how we should reflect hope into our world. We need optimistic films like this in the world, something where it brings joy back into our lives. So, when the credits began to roll, and the lights came up, I realized director J.J Abrams had given us the Star Wars movie we need right now.

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” picks up a year after the events of “The Last Jedi,” with Kylo Ren running The First Order, destroying any threating standing in his way. While he is doing this, our heroes, Rey, Finn, and Poe, are preparing for the final showdown with Kylo and his army. At the same time, both Rey and Kylo discover an old enemy is rising from the shadows, with plans for the two advisories and the entire galaxy. Mixed with exciting new characters and old favorites, our heroes must stop Kylo, The First Order, as well as the new lingering threat, to bring peace to the galaxy.

Though this movie packs many action set pieces, its character moments are what shines the most. With Rey and Kylo, we find comfort in the conclusion of their relationship, with both growing massively from when we first met them. For Rey, she discovers who she needs to be, confronting all her fears and wrapping them into a real personal transformation. By the end, we realized she is the hero we have always needed and the hero of our generation. With Kylo, he plays as the ultimate bookend to the entire Skywalker family, with an arc to rival his ancestors. Through this, we see the story of two come together as one with effortless performance and moving writing.

Along with these two, Finn, Poe, BB-8, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and many more have enough moments to leave you content with where they land. But “The Rise of Skywalker” highlights the most crucial character to conclude, General Leia Organa. Even though Carrie Fisher passed away a couple of years ago, she has a vital role, making her conclusion the real heart of the film next to Rey and Kylo. By bringing her back, “The Rise of Skywalker” delivers her a tribute she would be proud of, one fit for a princess.

I love the way “The Rise of Skywalker” leaves the saga, leading to the most stable position the franchise has been since “Return of the Jedi.” You make the case the movie did its job by getting to a “safe place” to end. But the film is more important than just a checklist to make sure everything runs to a good ending. It continues what the other entries accomplished, restoring my hope and faith in the Star Wars universe. The final shot could be considered an eye roll, but its the essence of this episodic storyline. We are always looking to the horizon, searching for answers to our problems. Star Wars has always been a place for wonder and optimism, putting us in a place to we can discover what is necessary to make a difference in our world. It’s why I cried throughout because “The Rise of Skywalker” is trying to earnestly unite us, not divide.

“The Rise of Skywalker” is a beautiful capper to not only just this new trilogy but the entire Skywalker saga. It is an action-adventure with tons of emotional pathos, leading the audience to a satisfying conclusion for all to love and enjoy. If this is the future for Star Wars films, I’d be happy and we should be so lucky.

Overall Grade: A

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