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Carrie (1976)

Directed Brian De Palma.

1976. Rated R, 98 minutes.

Cast:

Sissy Spacek

Piper Laurie

Betty Buckley

William Katt

Amy Irving

John Travolta

Edie McClurg

P.J. Soles

Priscilla Pointer

I saw Carrie on network TV when I was a kid. I think. I'm not even sure I watched the whole thing. I only remembered two parts. First is the obvious one, pig's blood spilling on her at the prom and her going bananas with her telekinesis. The other was a shot of her with her boobs blurred out. I told you it was network TV, didn't I? In the years since, I've heard and read so much about it, and seen that prom clip so often, I feel like I've watched it a dozen times over. Now it was time to put a face to the voice. Time to match the movie with all the articles and reviews I've read. Time to watch Carrie for the first time. Again.

After a decidedly unathletic volleyball game, our story actually starts in the girls lockerroom. It's filmed in slow motion with lots of naked girls frolicing about, steam everywhere, and Carrie White (Spacek) suggestively soaping herself down in the shower. I thought I'd mistakenly slipped in a Playboy video. I almost hit the open/close button on my DVD player to check it out, but we arrived at the point of this scene. Carrie gets her period for the very first time. Somehow, she's totally clueless about what's happening to her and freaks out, to put it mildly. What do all of her sensitive and caring classmates do? They point, laugh, and pelt her with as many tampons as they can yank out of the dispenser on the wall.

At home, things aren't any better. Her mom Margaret (Laurie) is a religious zealot whose never taught her anything about the female body. Mom takes Carrie's period as a sign that the girl is now a sinner. She literally drags Carrie by her hair into a tiny broom closet and locks her in there to pray. By the way, this room contains the creepiest version of the crucifix you'll ever see. Just remember what it looks like. That will be important later. The takeaway from all of this is that the girls in school get in trouble for their actions, and start plotting their revenge against Carrie. Carrie finds out she can indeed move things with her mind and Mom goes all fire and brimstone every time she speaks.

Horror is not a genre known for tremendous acting. More often than not, it's movies are populated by pretty, but not especially talented people. Every now and again, we get one that is wonderfully performed. Carrie is one of those movies. Sissy Spacek is just spot-on as our troubled heroine. From the moment she finds herself bleeding from where she never has, there is an unquestionable innocence about her. As viewers we instantly identify not with her, but with gym teacher Ms. Collins (Buckley) who wants badly to protect Carrie, help her blossom into a well-rounded young lady. Both women are phenomenal in their roles. By the way, Ms. Collins slaps the holy hell out of a student and everyone just rolls with it. My, how times have changed. We also get nice turns from a pre-Grease John Travolta and a very young Nancy Allen as our villains on campus. Oh, and if you remember lots of the women you've seen over the years who have always appeared older and played someone's mom, see if you can spot a young Edie McClurg in a bit part. Nope, I'm not telling who she plays or where you should know her from.

Other than Spacek in the lead, no one in the cast even comes close to the work done by Piper Laurie as Carrie's mom. Her performance is so purposely and perfectly ham-fisted she literally makes the movie. I know, the prom scene doesn't involve her whatsoever and is one of the most iconic moments in the annals of horror. However, that scene only takes care of half Carrie's problem. The other half is waiting for her at home. As the Oscars both Laurie and Spacek were nominated for suggest, they totally sell it.

The bonus for me is that the interactions of mother and daughter, particularly mom's reactions, illuminate the prism through which I see and "get" this picture. I do this differently than most people, but hear me out. General consensus says that Carrie is a classic horror flick, one of the all-time greats. I don't see it that way at all. Don't get me wrong, I actually love this movie. I'm just not so sure it's actually horror. Certainly, there are plenty of horror elements in play, but I'm still not sold. Granted, I'm not a female with terrifying memories of her first period. Still, the movie never really tries to scare the viewer. It goes out of its way to create sympathy for our heroine, but it never puts fear in our hearts. This brings me back to Carrie and her mom. Everything between them is way over the top, in a good way, but still over the top. It seems as if director Brian De Palma is taking great pains to make sure we understand the absurdity of it all. Carrie is innocent, almost to the point of being infantile while Mom is a stark raving lunatic. Then the overall tone is not really dreadful, but sad. The whole thing strikes me as a rather brilliant jet black comedy. It's far more interested in skewering religious fanatics and blasting the high school social class system than frightening us. I certainly laughed at a number of things it seemed were being used as jabs at its targets. It does this throughout whereas the horror portion only includes the last three scenes of the movie.

None of this is to suggest Carrie is any less of a movie than it's been hailed. In fact, viewing it as intentionally and subversively humorous, which I believe it is, makes it an even greater achievement than approaching it as something that's supposed to be either scary or disturbing. The parts that are disturbing are so in relation to what it says about the segments of society it holds its mirror up to. Incidentally, the areas covered: a girl's first period, her relationship with an overbearing mother, narrow-minded points of view, and bullying are timeless. Therefore, the movie might look dated because of fashion and hairstyles, but it doesn't feel that way.

Inside Llewyn Davis

Directed by The Coen Brothers.

2013. Rated R, 104 minutes.

Cast:

Oscar Isaac

Carey Mulligan

Justin Timberlake

John Goodman

Ethan Phillips

Robin Bartlett

Max Casella

Jerry Grayson

Jeanine Serralles

Adam Driver

Garrett Hedlund

F. Murray Abraham

It's 1961 in Greenwich Village, New York. Llewyn Davis (Isaac) is a down-on-his-luck folk singer. He has an album out that no one is buying, plays gigs here and there in local dives to make a few bucks, and sleeps on the couch of one friend or another every night. One of those couches belongs to loving couple Jean (Mulligan) and Jim (Timberlake). Jean spews endless streams of vitriol at Llewyn and continuosly declares her undying hatred of him. However, there was at least a short while where she let her guard down because she's just discovered she's pregnant and there is a possibility that the baby is his. In addition to this problem, he's lost the cat belonging to the Gorfeins (Phillips and Bartlett), another couple who lets him crash at their place from time to time. A rather interesting week ensues.

In true Coen Brothers fashion, we follow our hero on a series of misadventures as he continues to make a mess of his life. We get the sense he's been doing this for a good while. The fascinating part for us is trying to figure out whether or not he wants to fix it. Actually, that's not quite right. We're really trying to see how stubborn he is in trying to fix it his way before relenting and doing it the way others urge him. It's all a question of priorities and if Llewyn has them straight. Early on, shortly after Jean has told Llewyn she is pregnant, the two have a conversation discussing both the baby and the missing cat. By the end of it, Llewyn expresses more concern over the cat. Perhaps it's a defense mechanism kicking in after the verbal assault he suffers whenever Jean is within earshot. Maybe he is that far removed from reality that one situation is no more weighty than the other regardless of the consequences. This is what we're always trying to figure out with Llewyn. Eventually, we have to ask similar questions of Jean. As much as she hates Llewyn and proclaims her love for Jim, how is it possible the two ended up in bed together? What gives her the right to think that her decision making is any better than his? Nothing she does is above reproach. Are her tirades merely her own defense mechanism intended to disguise her true feelings?

The beauty of a Coen Brothers movie, and what makes them frustrating for some, is that even though they raise these questions they don't feel the need to explicitly answer them. They give us enough that we can argue about what we think those answers might be, but there really is no definitive right or wrong, just like in real life. In fact, this particular slice-of-life rings truer than most of the Coens' films because the situations Llewyn finds himself in are much more relatable than most of their other protagonists. He's a guy trying to make it as a musician and struggling badly. That's far more common than say, being chased around Texas by a relentless drug dealer wielding an oxygen tank, or a trio of escaped convicts becoming a renowned bluegrass band, or a pot-head trying to get money for a ruined rug from a millionaire he just happens to share the same name with. Don't get me wrong. Those are all great pictures, but not as grounded in reality as Inside Llewyn Davis.

Our star Oscar Isaac makes the whole thing work. That he's a guy determined to continue down the path he's on despite repeated failure is wholly believable. He sells us on the idea that no matter what, he knows better than you. He's going to do things his way and whatever happens happens. Because things aren't going so well with this method, there is an underlying anger to him that is consistently present. He only once berates someone. However, through Isaac's entire performance we get the sense that this is an angry, depressed little man. It seems his only joy comes from being on stage, but he can't get on enough of them to either satisfy his emotional need of them or to be able to afford a place to live. It also helps that he carries the musical performance aspect of his role really well.

Isaac isn't alone in giving us wonderful work, either. Mulligan is terrific speaking forcefully with every word exits her mouth. More than the words she says, the blunt look on her face while she does is what makes the character. The Gorfeins were played perfectly by Ethan Phillips and Robin Bartlett. Garrett Hedlund gives one of those performances that is quirky and great, but bound to be forgotten. Justin Timberlake gives a hard to judge performance. I don't hate him as an actor. In fact, I think he's usually not bad. Here, I didn't really like him most of the time. When he was performing music, it was a whole different story. Even here, you can see why he's become a pop music superstar. He has that little something extra that makes it impossible to take your eyes off him when he's working a song. Despite all of the stellar acting going on here, John Goodman steals the show as disabled, hard sleeping jazz musician Roland Turner. He is a vile person, often saying vile things, but he says them so eloquently it would be hard not to listen to him. It would be equally hard not to be pissed off at him. That's the magic of his character and Goodman pulls it off with ease.

When I first watched Inside Llewyn Davis, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. I mean I liked it, but I didn't know how much. I was a bit perturbed that the whole thing seemed to be just a set up for a cheap timeline trick which I won't spoil. I also had some thinking to be about that ending. I did the only logical thing I could and started writing this review. This helped me work through it, and recognize all the exquisite things going on, here. Coen Brothers films often have this effect on me. I see them and like them okay, but don't quite appreciate them until I spend some time putting some serious thought into what I just saw. Unlike most movies, theirs get better under scrutiny. This is no exception. Taken at face value, it's a movie you can easily forget. Once you start digging though, you start to unearth a bunch of treasures.

The Bling Ring

Directed by Sofia Coppola.

2013. Rated R, 90 minutes.

Cast:

Katie Chang

Israel Broussard

Emma Watson

Taissa Farmiga

Claire Julien

Leslie Mann

Georgia Rock

Gavin Rossdale

Carlos Miranda

High school student Rebecca (Chang) comes from an affluent family, doesn't have a realistic need for anything material, nor does she have a care in the world. The problem is her hobby. She gets a thrill out of breaking into people's houses. At first, it's just people in the area who happen to leave their door open. That escalates quickly into breaking into the houses of young, rich, and famous whenever she can surmise that they won't be home. Marc (Broussard) is her spineless accomplices. He often does the research needed. Soon enough, Rebecca also recruits a few of her other friends: Nicki (Watson), Sam (Farmiga), and Chloe (Julien). Together, they hit up the homes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Megan Fox, among others. When their crime spree makes national headlines, the media dubs our band of outlaws "The Bling Ring." Peer pressure and bullying resulting in thievery ensues. All of it is based on a true story.

We quickly figure out that Rebecca is not just some random kleptomaniac. She is obsessed with the people she's robbing and the things they have. She is manipulative, superficial, and vapid. Unfortunately, these are all things that describe the movie as a whole. It wants to make some deep observation about our celebrity obsessed culture, but doesn't. Instead, it just shows this girl repeatedly brow beating Marc until he goes along with whatever cockamamie idea she's come up with. To help give us the feeling that something important is going on, we get a few reality-TV style confessionals from various characters. It's a technique I've long been over, especially since they add precious little to our understanding of the people on screen. Instead of giving us brief asides we can sink our teeth into, we get a disjointed group of scenes that would not alter our feeling about the movie by their exclusion.

The Bling Ring has often been compared to Spring Breakers. Both movies position themselves as dark comedies and focus on some unsavory aspects of youth culture. The problem is this movie doesn't really have much to say about it and isn't willing to go the extra mile to say it like Spring Breakers. That movie immerses us in a dream-like reality right from the beginning and uses that as an effective story-telling tool. This one gives us characters who speak in a valley-girl meets hip hop vernacular and barrels toward its inevitable conclusion. The most intriguing aspect of it, the relationship between Marc and Rebecca isn't handled sufficiently. Another potentially fascinating story line, regarding Marc's sexuality, is reduced to a couple of sight gags.

The movie attempts to use its ridiculously shallow characters to create a deep social commentary. However, it never makes us care about those people. We bop along with them on their misadventures, but aren't invested in them. As viewers, we remain apart from them. We watch them and silently, or not so silently, admonish their behavior. By the time the film ends, however, what we're supposed to take from our time with this bunch of spoiled rich kids is unclear. Since this is the case, the whole thing harmlessly floats by us and becomes less than memorable.

Spring Breakers

Directed by Harmony Korine.

2013. Rated R, 94 minutes.

Cast:

James Franco

Selena Gomez

Vanessa Hudgens

Ashley Benson

Rachel Korine

Gucci Mane

Heather Morris

Ash Lendzion

Emma Holzer

Four gal-pals are all pumped for spring break. Unfortunately, they realize they don’t have enough money to get down to St. Petersburg. Apparently, that’s where all the action is going down. One of the girls is the heavy-handedly named Faith (Gomez), a goody two-shoes who spends lots of time in church. Unbeknownst to her, the other three come up with a plan to get the rest of the cash they need in a hurry. They don ski masks and burst into the local diner while brandishing a sledgehammer and some water guns. The heist goes well. They take money from the register, rob the patrons and gleefully flee to the dorms. Very shortly, the three of them plus the clueless Faith do indeed get down to St. Pete’s. By the way, the felonious three are Candy (Hudgens), Cotty (Korine), and Brit (Benson).

Anyhoo, our crew does what lots of other college kids do and have a little too much fun in the sun, indulging in drugs and destroying hotel rooms. For this, they find themselves in jail with no way of bailing themselves out. Riding to rescue is Alien (Franco), a local drug dealer and aspiring rapper. He happens to be in the courtroom to spring one of his buddies when he spots our bikini clad foursome being sent away for a few more days unless they can come up with the money to pay the fine they’ve incurred. Alien takes it upon himself to pay it for them, and is waiting for them as they get released. Before you know it, they find themselves immersed in a completely different world than what they bargained for.

For some, the veneer of Spring Breakers will be difficult to penetrate. It’s easy to think you’re watching an R-rated music video. There is seemingly an endless succession of naked and/or gyrating bodies. Large quantities of alcohol are not only drank, but flung about in celebratory fashion, splashing everything in sight except for the various parts of the anatomy that cocaine is snorted off. Finally, the music blares while much of this happens in slow-motion. That there is actually a story is efficiently hidden for a large chunk of the movie. On top of this, the way the plot moves forward is slightly different than what many people are used to. We expect long stretches of dialogue during which information is delineated for us to follow. Here, we get short bursts of conversation intertwined with cutaways to its results. There is also lots of echo assisted voice-over and shots of one or another of the characters alone, either smiling or deep in thought. It gives the whole movie a dreamy, Terrence Malick inspired feel and does nothing to dispel the notion of this being a music video. That is, until we notice how slyly things have progressed. It becomes a warped love story with potentially dire consequences for all involved.

Where the movie flounders is in its depiction of the individual characters. The girls are quite literally handled as Faith and “the other three.” She is the only one clearly distinguishable from the rest. Her personality, beliefs, and innocence make her stand out. The others are interchangeable, for the most part. This includes Vanessa Hudgens whom I was surprised didn’t get a meatier role, if for no other reason, she’s the most famous of the remaing trio. Alien is a bit problematic, as well. Franco does very well here, but his appearance makes us unsure how to take him for quite a while. Is he merely a stereotype, or a walking mockery of hip hop culture, particulary of whites within that culture? In other words, is he a joke, or not? Eventually, we settle on an answer, but it takes longer than it should. An even bigger issue is the film’s de facto villain Archie, played by real life rapper Gucci Mane. Yes, he is definitely a stereotype, but that’s not my biggest beef with him. More germaine to the movie than what type of character he appears to be is that it mishandles him. He tells us point blank what he must do in the scene that drives home the point that he is definitely the bad guy. However, when he gets the chance to do it, he doesn’t, which is of no benefit to him whatsoever. Even worse, he does something at that same juncture that we know will be detrimental to his cause. It’s not that he couldn’t take this course of action, but why he would is not clear. If it’s there, Gucci’s blank facial expressions don’t sell it. Whatever you think of his music, you’ll probably agree his acting is terrible.

Earlier, I mentioned Terrence Malick. I’m not at all a fan. Despite all the critical acclaim it received, I hate Malik’s The Tree of Life. Still, the best parts of it were mostly in the second act where the narrative is propelled by small pockets of interactions by the family involved and lots of quick cuts to flesh things out. As I have already noted, director Harmony Korine, who wrote Kids and Gummo (also directing the latter), employs similar tactics here, with great success. Combined with all the chaotic imagery, they give the movie a wonderfully surreal feel. He and his editor, Douglas Crise, are the real stars of Spring Breakers. They have put together a story that is twisted, manic, and disturbing with a current of very dark humor running through it. Its sights and sounds bombard our senses, but doesn’t dull them. It is part odd and Shakespearean romance, part skin flick, and part sociological satire; all with art-house aspirations.

Dark Shadows

Directed Tim Burton.

2012. Rated PG-13, 113 minutes.
Cast:
Johnny Depp
Michelle Pfeiffer
Eva Green
Helena Bonham Carter
Bella Heathcote
Chloë Grace Moretz
Jackie Earle Haley
Jonny Lee Miller
Christopher Lee
Alice Cooper

In 1972, the Collinses live in a gigantic secluded mansion in Maine that their ancestors built over 200 years earlier. Once extremely wealthy, they now barely manage to pay the bills since the family business isn’t doing so well. Luckily for them, they’re about to get some help. Thought long dead since he lived in the house when it was first built, Barnabus Collins (Depp) rises from his grave. Having been turned into a vampire by Angelique Bouchard (Green), a jilted witch, he has a score to settle. For you young whipper-snappers, this is based on the late 60s/early 70s soap opera of the same name.

We proceed with the normal jokes that follow people reemerging in a time much different than their own. Some are funny, some are not. More consistently humorous, but not overwhelmingly so, is Michelle Pfeiffer’s sarcasm and the (sorta) functional drunkenness of Burton regular Helena Bonham Carter. Both women are superb as is Eva Green in all her cackling witch glory. Chloë Grace Moretz gives a performance that comes across as bizarre. However, I don’t blame her as much as I do the screenplay which doesn’t properly flesh out her character. The one actor I do blame for their lackluster work is the star, Johnny Depp. This is hard for me because I’m pretty much a Depp apologist, but he doesn’t seem to have his heart in this one.

Still, our hero isn't the most noticeable problem with Dark Shadows. More of an issue is how insecure director Tim Burton is in his storytelling. The movie never seems sure of what it wants to be. It takes turns at parody (including of self), family drama, and straight forward horror without the proper meshing of the genres. The seams are clearly visible. As a result, we feel like we’re switching back and forth between several different movies involving the same characters. Any of them could be good but none are allowed to gather enough steam. We never get into the right frame of mind to enjoy it because as soon as we start to settle in there’s an abrupt change in tone and we have to start all over. Other problems include prematurely discarding subplots, especially those of the children, and a werewolf inexplicably popping up out of nowhere.

The magic of the Depp/Burton connection seems to be waning. As mentioned, Depp’s performance is somewhat less than thrilling and the typically goth-chic visuals of Tim Burton feel peculiarly restrained and his narrative is all over the map. Even the star in his trademark white face paint and funny hairdo is now cliché. The last truly excellent effort produced by the pair is 2007’s morbid musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I like their following picture, 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, but that’s a polarizing film. This seems to be likewise.