Dan in Real Life

“Dan in Real Life” surprised me. I wasn’t expecting much and I ended up really liking this “small” film. It’s well written, directed and acted and has a message about family that we could all use being reminded about.

It’s written and directed by Peter Hedges so it shouldn’t have surprised me. He also wrote “Pieces of April,” “About a Boy,” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” — all “small” films with great drama and wonderful stories. If you haven’t seen these three films please do — they are all great (Hedges received a screenwriting Oscar for “About a Boy”). All of his films are tender dramas about family and the struggles that come with being in a family.

“Dan in Real Life” is no different. It’s the story of a single dad raising three girls who also happens to write a syndicated self-help column. The problem is he can’t seem to help himself when it comes to getting over the death of his wife. The story takes place over one weekend at his parents house for a family holiday and touches on subjects like finding love, letting go, forgiveness and coming of age.

John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest are great as Dan’s parents and Juliette Binoche is amazing as the love interest. Dan is played by Steve Carell in a semi-serious role that reminds me of Robin Williams’ first dramatic role in “Dead Poets Society” and Jim Carrey in “The Truman Show”. Carell is good and at times wonderful. He is at his best when he adds that slight touch of humor to the dramatic scene and the shower scene is something you won’t forget.

The story is rushed a bit in the film and some all too convenient plot devices are used to keep things going, otherwise I would be raving even more about this film. If you want a great, romantic film for date night or a touching drama for the family to watch “Dan in Real Life” won’t disappoint. If you are one of those dads who only has daughters this is a must see!!

Rating:

Film’s website: http://video.movies.go.com/daninreallife

Feast of Love

What happened with this movie? How can a film with such great acting (I’ll watch Morgan Freeman do anything!) be so disappointing? Maybe this is one of those films that tried too hard to adapt a book that just wasn’t going to make a good film (see Stephen King’s “It”) or director Robert Benton lost his way in the editing room. Either way, this is a frustrating film to watch.

The first third of the film tests your best puzzle-solving skills as you never know where you are in the film’s timeline. People are meeting, sleeping together, getting married, and getting divorced so quickly you never know how much time has passed. It’s even confusing watching the sex scenes because it’s not clear, at first, who is sleeping with whom. I know one of the themes of this movie is about finding one’s sole mate, but when you confuse the audience to the point of laughter (that’s what happened in my house) it just doesn’t work.

Once the film settles down and all the characters meet their sole mates, the story is actually good. Why? Because the assemble cast delivers a great performance. Freeman is great but so is Greg Kinner as a hapless romantic, Radha Mitchell as a cold adulteress and Toby Hemmingway as a doomed lover. Two performances of note here are given by Alexa Davalos and Jane Alexander who play strong women struggling to overcome loss. Both are subtle, yet powerful performances.

If not for the great acting and strong ending in this film I wouldn’t give it a single projector, but on a slow day with nothing else to do, it might make an ok rental.

Rating: 1/2

Film’s Website: http://www.feastoflovefilm.com/

Away from Her

Ok, Tilda Swinton must have been absolutely amazing in Michael Clayton (I haven’t see it yet) because to win the Oscar over Julie Christie in Away from Her is a feat I didn’t think could happen. That’s how brilliant Christie is in this film. She is so brilliant that nobody is talking about the incredible performance of Gordon Pinsent as her loving, yet remorseful, husband and the delicate directing and writing job of Sarah Polley. This is just a phenomenal film. My wife starting crying about 10 minutes into the film and didn’t stop until the final credits. It connects with you that strongly.

What I loved most about this film was the sublime acting by everyone in this film and the director’s willingness to let it carry the narrative. There is nothing fancy about this film; the cinematography, editing, art direction and music are all invisible — it is truly an actor’s script and an actor’s film. The director gets out of the way and lets two amazing talents take us on a journey of love, devotion and sacrifice that I haven’t seen since Million Dollar Baby.

While this film could have easily become an Alzheimer’s film, Polley deftly keeps the narrative focused on the love story between Christie and Pinsent and in the end we realize the power of love, forgiveness and selflessness rather than just the tragedy of a terrible disease. It’s a film that will resonate with anyone who has had to deal with a loved one that is sick. Make sure to bring a box of tissues because anybody that doesn’t cry in this film isn’t human. It’s that powerful.

Rating:

Film Website: http://www.memory-catcher.net/

Atonement

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I was expecting a traditional melodramatic, love story and instead got a unique, modern melodrama about lost loved, regret and sibling rivalry. Director Joe Wright takes us on a journey with surprises around every corner, but never straying too far from the heart of Christopher Hampton’s wonderful screenplay. Wright’s willingness to confuse the audience every so often kept me wondering where the story was heading, but not in a bad way. There were just enough clues to keep me engaged, but enough questions to make me think, “what’s going on?” That’s a fine line for a director to walk and Wright does it masterfully. Seamus McGarvey’s cinematography is superb and both the costume and set design are beautiful. Neither overpowers the film (so common in period pieces) but all three add to the overall mystic quality of the film. The best part of the film, however, is the quality acting. While Keira Knightley and James McAvoy are wonderfully subtle in their lead performances, the young actress Saoirse Ronan who plays Knightley’s younger sister and the narrator of the film is beyond good — she plays a heartfelt, dreamer of a young girl who let’s her jealously and imagination get the better of her and ultimately causes the worst kind of pain one can imagine. Her Oscar nomination is well-deserved. I had a great time watching this film and couldn’t recommend it more.  

Rating:     
Film Website: http://www.filminfocus.com/focus-movies/atonement/movie-splash.php