NYFF: "Carnage"

Though critics screenings have been well under way for some time, tonight is the official opening night of the New York Film Festival. The kick off film is Roman Polanski's Carnage, about which we should undoubtedly say a few words. And then scream them, as we lose our composure.

Moviegoers who have seen Yasmina Reza's hit play "God of Carnage" in any of its many stage productions, had just cause to fear a film version; it's very much a work of the stage. What if they cast the two young boys whose stick-wielding playground tussle prompts all the (psychological) carnage between their parents, who meet to discuss the fight? What if the movie leaves the apartment where the entire play takes place? What if the actors can't handle the tricky satirical tone that has to be rooted in internal drama but stylized enough to extract external laughs?

The first two fears involve the dread "open it up" problem that hover like dark storm clouds over so many stage-to-screen adaptations. If you don't "open it up" you run the risk of your movie feeling weirdly hemmed in and even cheap. If you do "open it up" you run the risk of arbitrary and awkward resizing that feels more like nervous approval-seeking then an attempt to serve the material. With Roman Polanski, an expert at claustrophic storytelling, guiding the tight-quarters squabbling perhaps we shouldn't have worried.

The trouble-making sons of Penelope and Michael Longstreet (Jodie Foster and John C Reilly) and Nancy and Allen Cowan (Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz) do appear in the film but in a wonderfully smart and ambiguously played framing device. This change from the play stays magically true to the spirit of the source material but is also entirely new and right for the change in medium (which is EXACTLY what adaptations should strive for). So the first thing Roman Polanski does right is that even though we do technically leave the confines of a realistically sized New York apartment (i.e. small) both visually and physically (the apartment building's hallway), we never once feel as though we've escaped the crowded private hell of two married couples. For a smartly succinct 80 minutes (it happens in real time) you are trapped with the parental quartet and their justifiable concern: what to do about a violent encounter between their children. The comedy and drama of the play-turned-movie are the ways in which said real and justifiable but basic-sized problem morphs, twists, pivots, wiggles, shrinks and expands -- it just can't hold its shape -- until it's a series of problems both microcosmically petty (home cooking, name calling, cel phones) and gargantuan unsolvable (Genocide! Corporate Greed! Marriage!).   

For the most part the actors all do solid work. Christoph Waltz, in the film's best and most nimble performance, ably suggests that Alan is a bit of a sadist and the only one who is actually enjoying all the squabbling and suffering (until he isn't). John C Reilly has the biggest about face, appearing to be the most accomodating character (and the dullest actor) until alcohol and aggravating phone calls from his mother loosen him up. Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster, two of the screen's most formidable actresses are both good. Kate is best with Nancy's comedic outbursts  (her weak stomach and quick inebriation, just as in the play, provides some of the most memorable moments) but one wishes for more character detail in the inbetween when she isn't the focus of the scene. Foster has the most difficult role. Penelope is an extremely uptight and self-righteous Africa-obsessed mother and she's the one character that's simultaneously the worst at keeping it together and the one most concerned with keeping it together. Though Foster has fine moments her comedy is the wobbliest; one ends up pitying Penelope more than laughing with or at her which is a strange place to end up inside of a viciously dark comedy. Still, there's a certain go-for-broke original bravura in Foster's vein-popping despair (hers is the performance least like the original play's), that one has to admire it even while one mentally recasts. 

As Carnage winds down... Stop. Winds down? Yes, though Polanski often comes up with clever angles by which to watch the four characters interact, the film does run into some trouble with momentum which the play didn't have. The hallway scenes offer new and funny ways of thinking about the fact that the couples can't seem to end their evening even while their hatred for each other grows, but they strain credulity as well. If you're that close to leaving... There are strange lulls just as things are reaching fever pitch, and the ending itself is one of those and weirdly sedate.

Despite Polanski's very smart and controlled approach to the material, one almost wishes he'd taken a page from Jodie's book and just gone jugular. He employs so many different techniques to keep you visually stimulated: depth of focus, variety of shot lengths, staging, camera stability (things get a bit shakier in time with the copious alcohol) that one almost wants to scream at him to commit to one of them, embrace it feverishly and "DO IT UP REAL BIG LIKE!!!" Take your cues from Winslet's ugly vomiting, Foster's whiny-screaming or Christoph Waltz's man-pouting and let your hair down a little. Lose your composure. Risk bloodying yourself up but good.

Carnage (2011) is maybe the best film version one could hope for given the absolute stageyness of the source material but it's good enough that it leaves you wanting one that you didn't dare hope for. B/B-*

Previously on NYFF
Miss Bala wins the "must-see crown" from judge Michael.
Tahrir drops Michael right down in the titular Square.
A Dangerous Method excites Kurt... not in that way, perv!
The Loneliest Planet brushes against Nathaniel's skin.
Melancholia shows Michael the end of von Trier's world. 

* Carnage is unique enough that the grade probably doesn't suggest how "see worthy!" it actually is. It's also the kind of property one might conceivably feel differently about on a second pass. For those of you wondering Carnage's best bet Oscar-wise is an Adapted Screenplay nomination. Since no consensus seems to have formed about "best in show" acting traction will be hard to come by for a shared movie.

Venice: "Killer Joe", Last Days & Critical "Carnage" Consensus

[Editor's Note: Manolis has been reporting for The Film Experience and the Greek site Cinema News. We thank him for that. You can read all the Venice reports here. - Nathaniel R]

Emile Hirsch worshipping at Venice's red carpet

This is my last report from Venice which I'm writing from Athens. During my last two festival days I caught five films ranging from great surprises to total mediocrities.  

Quando La Notte
This little Italian romantic drama about a troubled young mother and a mountaineer would have benefited immensely by trimming 15 minutes from its running time. The last reel or so of the film is totally unnecessary and unfortunately shows of Cristina Comencini’s weaknesses as both screenwriter and director. The two stars, Filippo Timi and Claudia Pandolfi give very good performances, but they weren't enough to save the film from the Italian critics who just massacred it. Interesting subject matter, mediocre film.

The Exchange
The Israeli film within the Competition section started off nicely. Eran Kolirin's follow up to the much praised The Band's Visit watches an everyman watching his life from the outside; he can't figure how he ended up living the life he lives. He starts to view his life from a different perspective. What begins as a somewhat original premise soon becomes repetitive and by the film's end the story seems to have gone nowhere. But for the most part it's entertaining and Rotem Keinan gives a nice turn in the lead role. 

Faust
This was much anticipated in Venice and many thought that it would turn up to be the eventual winner. I am not so sure. Faust is clearly the work of a master director and I adored Aleksandr Sokurov's previous efforts like Mother and Son, Russian Ark and Elegy but this 140 minute film felt closer to 280. Great imagery and cinematography do not guarantee a great film.  There is too much dialogue in “Faust” about difficult and philosophical matters but not enough time to “digest” all that's being said. The actors were not impressive or to be fair, I was not impressed by the way Sokurov directed them. The movie split the audience with several walkouts and others loving it. Faust is not an easy film and though it is difficult to deny its artistic merits, this is not Sokurov's finest hour.

Killer Joe
The best late surprise of the festival. William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) is back on form with a film that reminded me somewhat of movies from Tarantino and the Coen brothers. Nobody expected this to do as well as it did, but the press reactions were very encouraging. This black comedy based on the play by the acclaimed Tracy Letts (August Osage County, Bug) has several fine performances: Juno Temple is superb, Thomas Hayden Church and Gina Gershon are hilariously pathetic and Matthew McConnaughey gets what may well be his finest screen role.  I would add the phrase “Best Supporting Acting category contenders”, but the film is clearly not the Academy’s regular cup of tea. I can imagine the voters walking out of the screenings at a particularly campy moment (which involves a chicken leg) but I would be very surprised (and delighted) if it does win Oscar traction.

Eva
Another nice surprise. This Spanish sci-fi film from director Kike Maíllo has great production values and a screenplay about a shy man designing robot software which manages to hold the audience’s attention consistently. One of its great successes is that, despite its genre, we never think “imagine what they could do if they had a Hollywood style budget”.

The visual effects may not be many and spectacular, but they are exactly of the quality and quantity that such a film needs. Eva stars the always watchable German/Spanish star Daniel Brühl and the 12 year old Claudia Vega who is a revelation.

Critical Consensus
During the Festival, a special version of Variety magazine is published in Venice (half of it in English and half in Italian). In a special chart critics from major publications (Times, Screen, Le Monde, Indiewire, Herald Tribune, La Republica and others) provide their star ratings. It is interesting to see the critical consensus about the In Competition films; English language films dominate with both Roman Polanski's Carnage and Todd Solondz Dark Horse faring much better than expected. Please note that the films competing in the last 2 days of the Festival are not yet included in this chart and this chart will not necessarily reflect the opinions of Darren Aronofsky's festival jury.

The rankings go like so.

1. CARNAGE - 3.95/5 average (four 5 star reviews)
2. SHAME - 3.45/5 average (three 5 star reviews)
3. IDES OF MARCH - 3.45 (two 5 star reviews)
4. DARK HORSE -3.23 (three 5 star reviews)
5. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY -3.14 average
6. A DANGEROUS METHOD -3.11
7. A SIMPLE LIFE -3.02
8. POULET AUX PRUNES (CHICKEN WITH PLUMS) -2.95
9. WUTHERING HEIGHTS -2.95 
10. TERRAFERMA -2.83
11. ALPS -2.69 (two 5 star reviews)
12. THE EXCHANGE - 2.68 (two 5 star reviews)
13. 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH -2.65 (one 5 star review)
14. PEOPLE MOUNTAIN, PEOPLE SEE -2.52 (two 5 star reviews)
15. HIMIZU -2.34 (two 5 star reviews)
16. UN ETE BRULANT -1.80
17. SAIDEKE BALAI -1.68
18. QUANDO LA NOTTE -1.58

I personally support SHAME, ALPS, and CARNAGE.

Closing my series of reports from Venice, I would like to thank Nathaniel for the hospitality as well as the Greek site Cinema News, and you, the Film Experience readers.  I hope you've enjoyed the brief reports. Ciao,

-Manolis

Venice: Angry Filmmakers, Smoking Lights, Disappointing Films

[Editor's Note: Manolis, our correspondent from Greece, is wrapping up his time in Venice. But hopefully he'll go out on a higher note that this day, which disappointed him.  -Nathaniel R]

The last two days were bad days for me at the festival. Films I had high hopes for proved to be less that satisfying and smaller films that I hoped would surprise me didn't.

People Mountain, People Sea
This was the ‘surprise film’ of the Competition section of the festival announced just a few minutes before its first press screening. But this was not the only surprise for the press attending. Halfway through the film smoke started coming out of a headlight in the screening room and many journalists started running towards the exits panicked. The screening was interrupted, the firemen came and fixed the problem that could have resulted in a fire. After 25 minutes the screening resumed and the remaining critics watched the rest of the story. The movie is about a man Lao Tie in a small province of China who realizes that the local police force are unable to catch his younger brother’s killer, so he decides to do it himself. He embarks a journey that not only brings him face to face with the killer but also brings out all the fears and anger hiding inside him for many years. Unfortunately the fire incident was far more interesting than the film. I would say that this was the worst film I saw in the festival thus far, if it wasn’t for...

4:44 Last Day on Earth
In a large New York penthouse a couple of lovers (William Dafoe & Shanyn Leigh) are spending their last night talking and making love. Tomorrow at 4:44 pm the world will come to an end. Director Abel Ferarra's (Bad Lieutenant, Dangerous Game, Mary) new film, which describes the way this couple faces the impending collapse of the world it thematically interesting (Don McKellar made a fine film on the topic with “Last Night” in 1998) but the potential is never fulfilled. What Ferrara has to offer is ideological deliriums and a cheap morality lessons. 

[SPOILERS] The movie goes like this: the couple make love, they watch an Al Gore interview about global warming, they make love, they meditate, they make love, they watch a Dalai Lama speech about human nature, they quarrel, the clock shows 4:44 and they die. The audience should only hope that the world ends at 3:20 so that they won't have to endure the 84 minutes of this movie. A few of the reporters left during the screening and some of those who chose to remain till the end, did not hesitate to boo.

And More...
Both Dark Horse by Todd Solondz and Himizu from Sono Sion were also nothing to write home about.  The former started off promising but soon fell into the same category as nearly all of Todd Solondz's films: not exactly a failure but nowhere near the quality of his masterful Happiness (1998). The latter film, from Japan, was advertised here in Venice as one of the first films to deal with the Fukushima catastrophy but its use of the shots of the tsunami's aftermath played more like a marketing device than an essential or important part of the story. The average acting didn’t help either. 

Wuthering Heights
The biggest disappointment for me was Andrea Arnold's newest film. I've been a fan since Red Road and especially loved Fish Tank so I expected that her new film would be absolute festival highlight, rather than just a good film with intriguing elements. She gambled on unknown and teenage actors in the leading roles which was gutsy but doesn't always pay off. The story is told from Heathcliff’s point of view, but unfortunately we never understand his very complicated relationship with Catherine. Worse Catherine comes off as a very unlikable and it's hard to understand how two men both become so obsessed with her. The cinematography is the standout element in the film, with Robbie Ryan (who lensed both Red Road and Fish Tank) delivering truly exceptional work. Arnold reveals a strange obsession with mud and with hanged puppies and though her angry filmmaking is fascinating it doesn’t suit this kind of film. It’s not that her black teenage ex-slave Heathcliff is the problem but it feels rather strange when he says, in the true Bronte fashion, “F*ck you, you c*nt”. It’s an original approach for sure but, for me, an experiment that could lead to future greatness but doesn't do so here.

I'm Linking As Fast As I Can

The Hairpin has a huge piece on Ava Gardner's career, femme fatale posing, and storied romantic life. I always always forget she was married to Mickey Rooney because it just seems so wrong.
My New Plaid Pants Thursdays Ways Not To Die... Fashion Faux- Pwned (Serial Mom)
The Critical Condition looks at three (unfortunate) differences between "The Help" as a book and The Help as a movie. 

 

Movie|Line first pics from Bel Ami --not an historical epic about the gay porn studio -- wherein Robert Pattison sexes up various actresses we like: Uma Thurman (pictured below), Christina Ricci and Kristin Scott Thomas
The Wow Report congratulations Carrie Fisher on her new look. Jenny Craig worked wonders! 
Cinema Blend Universal keeps dropping film projects. What's going on? 
Grantland predicts the Worst Supporting Actress for this year's Razzies. Agreed that Blake Lively's got at least a nomination sewn up for Green Lantern.
Socialite Life Michael Ian Black recalls his sex scene with Bradley Cooper in Wet Hot American Summer. (Cooper is the only holdout so far on a sequel.) 
IndieWire Jim Carrey's video love letter to Emma Stone. So random.

Finally, did you hear about the big Scarface reunion party to celebrate a special edition BluRay release? Scarface himself Al Pacino, Oscar winner F Murray Abraham, 80s character actor Robert Loggia and 80s hunk Steven Bauer were on hand. But without Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (what, was she too busy?) and especially without Elvira herself, Michelle Pfeiffer, what is even the point? I'm assuming Pfeiffer wasn't there because she's filming Tim Burton's Dark Shadows in London at the moment. But if The Avengers cast can leave Cleveland for a 10 minute walk on at that Disney convention last week, shouldn't they have flown La Pfeiffer cross the Atlantic to class up that party a little? 

"The Runelords", "Game of Thrones" and the Problem of Endings

Longtime readers know that Nathaniel has a wee problem with addiction to fantasy literature. This proclivity is more masochistic curse than pleasureable blessing since fantasy literature is allergic to endings and there are few things Nathaniel likes more in storytelling than a brilliant finale. 

So last night I finished the first book of the The Runelords series "The Sum of All Men" by David Farland. I had heard that it would eventually be a movie so when my brother suggested I read it last month on my vacation, I gladly grabbed it for the airplane time. [Note: turns out the movie option ran out last year and Farland has the rights again.] The book concerns the young naive prince Gaborn whose quest to win the heart of a neighboring kingdom's progressive idealistic princess Iome is interrupted by an invading army of the Runelord Raj Athan who seeks to become "The Sum of All Men".

The conceit of The Runelords world is that, through magic rituals, people can gift their best attributes to others creating a stratified world where those in power are granted more and more of it as people sell their most economically viable asset to them be that beauty, strength, vision, intelligence, stamina (and everything else). It's sort of like the vampire economy that the USA is dealing with now as the rich and powerful decimate the weaker middle class in order to gain more and more and more (to infinity and beyond) for themselves to feed their insatiable greed and misplaced sense of entitlement. Never mind that once a Runelord has the strength of 1000 men, it hardly makes a difference to him if he has the strength of 1001... but it sure as hell matters to the weakling 1,001st man he's left behind in his greedy conquest. 

But let's not get into the ever-miserable discussion of the downward spiral of the actual world we live in. We're talking books and movies, the fake world we prefer to dream of!

Gandalf the Grey... no, WHITE. Most of the major characters in the book are those who have received "endowments" from others so they're all amazingly beautiful or super strong or what not; superheroes in medieval frocks and cloaks if you will. If they're not runelords they're wizards. The major wizard Binneman is basically Gandalf since he's very powerful, very wise, very old and his hair and wardrobe changes colors once he moves to the next stage of his power. But then, what wizard isn't Gandalf? He casts a long long shadow on fantasy literature.

More on Game of Thrones (with one major spoiler that's actually the absence of a plot development rather than a plot point) and The Runelords and franchise filmmaking after the jump.

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