The Favourite

At first glance, The Favourite looks like your typical tight lipped, historically askew, British costume drama. It may look like a fancy Downton Abbey spin off, but your grandma may be too shocked and spit out her tea at times. With it’s sharp wit, intrigue, power struggles and plenty of sex, it becomes something brand new and striking.

The story begins as Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives at the palace. She was once a higher class woman with prospects but now, since her father lost her in a card game, she is nothing and hopes to work as a servant. The queen’s maid, Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) is a distant cousin, who lets her stay. The work is hard, laborious and Abigail sleeps on the floor surrounded by the other servants. Quietly, Abigail means to rise up. Since Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) is often ill, Sarah deals with political affairs and major decisions concerning the war with France. With Sarah so preoccupied, Abigail gains the queen’s attention and affection.Soon the queen asks that Abigail work with her as a maid. The tension already between Abigail and Sarah intensifies as they compete for the queen’s affections. And as Abigail learns Sarah’s darkest secret, she uses her power of seduction to become the queen’s favorite.

The relationship between Abigail, Sarah and Queen Anne is the main event in the story and is works wonderfully between these three brilliant actresses. What may look like a love triangle at times is a brilliant power struggle, heightened by secrecy, jealousy and whispers. Each woman has their motivations; Abigail wants to rise up and become a lady, securing her future. Sarah enjoys her political power by being so close to the queen. And Queen Anne, well I think she enjoys the attention and feeling powerful though her body has failed her so much. I could have watched these three push and pull back and forth all day.

I found Queen Anne to be the most interesting character. Being queen, people must love, revere and respect her, but it is obviously hard for them. She is not very beautiful, inside or out. She hobbles about on a crutch or is carted around in her wheelchair. She often eats things that make her sick, knowing full well the consequences and vomiting into a vase held by a poor servant. Yet she is also a very sad, sympathetic character. She obviously doesn’t have a political mind, yet is bombarded by so many decisions regarding a war we never see, only hear about. She is happiest when Abigail dances with her or on the floor with her many rabbits. And when we learn of the rabbits significance, it’s heartbreaking.

One of my favorite aspects of The Favourite are the unique camera angles and wonderful use of a fisheye lens. Many times, the camera look up at a character at a very sharp angle for wonderful dramatic effect. And throughout the film a fisheye lens is used to make a n oddly curved scene. It works wonders down that long hallway as Abigail goes by, or watching a carriage pass by at night. While this could have easily been another dry, fancy dress, big wig film, the quirky camera work and the unique characters lets it be anything but.

The Favourite is currently nominated for a whopping ten Oscars including original screenplay, cinematography, film editing, production design, costume design, Best Picture. All three leading ladies are nominated, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone for supporting actress and Olivia Colman for lead actress. And Yorgos Lanthrimos earned his first nomination as best director. The Favourite may not being the favorite of the evening, I doubt this film will end the night empty handed.

The Favourite is the sort of film my mom would want to see and then be shocked by the content. Sex is wielded like a weapon throughout the film and we walk inside a whore house at one point. The queen is not regal, but crippled by gout and isn’t above screaming like a raving lunatic through the hallways and crying like a child. And the men, who seem pretty much useless outside of politics in their ridiculous wigs, have their fun by pelting tomatoes at a naked man.

However, in the end I believe The Favourite is about the unique brands of friendship and villainy women can create. With all of Abigail’s flattery, it’s sad how Queen Anne is quick to forget all that she and Sarah have endured together. And every woman knows a true friend will let you know if you look like a badger.

“Because I will not lie! That is love!”

The Shape of Water

Guillermo del Toro is the kind of director that can bring the most strange and implausible scenarios to life with such detail and beauty that we wholeheartedly believe in them. He is the sort of visionary that can manipulate our suspension of disbelief perfectly for his ideas. In The Shape of Water, he has created a story where a mute woman falls in love with an amphibious creature and against all odds, tries to save him from his captors. Saying the premise out loud can sound silly, but seeing it, I fell for it, hook, line and sinker.

Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is a night shift custodian at a government facility in the 1950s. When a new, highly sensitive asset arrives, it fascinates her. It’s endearing watching her spend her lunch break at the edge of the creature’s tank, sharing her hard boiled eggs with him and even bringing her record player to bring him music. He responds with a simple, animalistic charm that grows on us, as it does on Elisa.

However, it is not all picnics and jazz in the creature’s tank room. Some of the men in charge of the creature are cruel, especially the power-bent Strickland (Michael Shannon), who seems to be the embodiment of white, male aggression and arrogance. He becomes a villain we love to hate but can also genuinely fear. He tortures the poor creature repeatedly with a cattle prod, especially after an incident where the creature bit off two of his fingers.

The film quickly turns into a collaboration of underdogs against Strickland and those who want the amphibious man destroyed. We have Elisa, a mute woman desperate to save her new friend. She enlists the help of her friend and neighbor, Giles (Richard Jenkins), a homosexual commercial artist who longs for his youth. Elisa’s friend and witty co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) accidentally gets caught up in the mess. And they also find an unlikely alliance from one of the scientists studying the amphibious man. These likable and diverse characters shape the film perfectly. I especially love how due to the main characters being mute, Zelda and Giles are given a step up to do the majority of the dialogue in a time where they’re voices are more likely to be silenced.

The Shape of Water has racked up an impressive thirteen Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Guillermo del Toro has earned his first nomination for best director, a well overdue in my opinion. Sally Hawkins is nominated for lead actress. Octavia Spencer earned her third nomination for supporting actress. Richard Jenkins has earned his second Oscar nomination, this time for supporting actor. The film is also nominated for original screenplay, cinematography, costume design, sound editing, sound mixing, film editing and production design. I seriously doubt this film will go home empty handed.

I will admit that I saw a few major plot points and surprises coming, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the film. The way del Toro plants hints along the way, like a quick wink of the eye, I don’t think he minds us suspecting a few things if we can pick them up. But I don’t dare spoil anything here.

Overall, The Shape of Water is a wonderful, beautiful and smart film that gladly invites us into del Toro’s fascinating imagination. Visually, it’s lovely and another feat for del Toro and his team. The array of acting talent is superb and matches the great writing. If you’re skeptical if you could ever lose yourself in a love story between a mute woman and something that looks like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, you might just be in for a big surprise.

“Unable to perceive the shape of You, I find You all around me. Your presence fills my eyes with Your love, It humbles my heart, For You are everywhere.”

State Fair

Across the United States, state fairs have become a welcomed institution.  In 1933’s State Fair, based on the novel by Philip Strong, you may find some old and outdated traditions mixed in with the ones that have lasted.  Side shows and trapeze artists have since been traded in for demolition derbies and local talent concerts.  But there are still ribbons ready to be given for the best livestock, produce and cooks.  And the midway is still full of games, thrills and romance.

The story centers around the Frake family from Iowa.  Pa, Able (Will Rogers), is getting their hog, Blue Boy, ready and hoping for a blue ribbon.  Ma, Melissa (Louise Dresser), is preparing her minced meat recipe, fretting over whether or not to add brandy to earn a ribbon herself.  Their son, Walter (Norman Foster) has been practicing since the last fair to win big at the ring toss booth.  And their daughter, Margy (Janet Gaynor), has a suitor who proposes marriage.  She will give him an answer when her family comes back from the fair.

Adventures and romance unfold at the fairgrounds.  Pa spends most of his time at the livestock yard fretting over Blue Boy.  While Walter is busy cleaning out the ring toss booth, he meets a beautiful trapeze performer (Sally Eilers).  And when she is not doing women’s work with Ma at camp, Margy meets a charming newspaper boy, Pat (Lew Ayres) on the roller coaster.  It seems romance blooms easily at the fairgrounds, but will it last when the fair is over?

Without getting caught up in how everything is so outdated, State Fair is quite a fun film.  In fact, some of the old-timey phrases are a riot; what exactly does canoodling mean anyway?  The family works well together and giving each character individual problems keeps all of them interesting.  The mix of teenage fair romance with ma and pa’s wholesome competition is a great balance.  And I certainly did not expect to see the hogs oinking in conversation, much less a hog fight.

In all, I was glad to find State Fair, and very happy that TCM premiered it during their 31 Days of Oscar.  For me, TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar is like Christmas time, only with better TV programing to tune into.  Throughout this month of celebrating Academy recognized movies, there will be plenty of films that I have reviewed here, as well as some that I have been searching for (like this one), and some wonderful gems that I plan to see and write about.  Time to enjoy!

“Don’t tell me you’ve been using my hairbrush on that hog!”

The Artist

The fact that The Artist is a black and white silent film makes all the difference.  It was a unique kind of film experience.  Our eyes soaked up the perfect shades of grey and understood the first language we ever learned; body language.  Our ears were more relaxed, not searching words to decipher for meaning, but instead had music that perfectly lead us to the correct emotional state of each scene.  Without booming voices and today’s typical loud things that happen in movies (explosions, gunfire, screaming, Michael Bay-style annoyances), the entire theater experience was quieter than expected and I could hear laughter from rows away.  It was easy to see ourselves in the shots of audiences watching movies.

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent film star in 1927 who loves the attention it brings him.  He is a bit conceited, giving his dog more credit than his costar and wife.  When a fan bumps into him with photographers all around, George plays along, sparking the question, “Who’s that girl?”  With her picture in the paper next to a star, she has more confidence and becomes an extra at Kinograph studios, under the name Peppy Miller (Supporting Actress nominated, Bérénice Bejo).  Little did she know she would be working with George and that he would help her find the one thing that can make her stand out from the other girls.  There is an obvious attraction between the two.

Problems arise for George, when he refuses to move on to talkies.  At first, he laughs, thinking a talking film is ridiculous.  When he understands the threat it presents to his work, he tries to fight it, by making his own silent film and making arguments against talkies in the papers.  Soon, he realizes it is too late.  We understand him to be a man stuck in one place as the rest of the world, including rising star Peppy, moves on without him.  That staircase scene helped illustrate that idea perfectly, no words needed.

With his Clark Gable style looks and Fred Astaire moves, Best Actor nominated Jean Dujardin feels perfectly natural in this silent era role as George.  All his “mugging at the camera” does not feel like mugging, but a perfect portrayal of emotions that can range so far across his face and movement.  When he smiles, it’s joyous.  His lowest moments can break our hearts.  Even when George’s guard is up, Dujardin has a way of showing how George truly feels.  This sort of silent acting is not miming, but a true art that has to reach deeper than superficial words, and Dujardin proves that he is a master.

I believe that music is much more important in a silent film.  It sets the tone and can replace the voices some may miss.  In one scene, you will see how orchestras used to play live at the front of the theater, providing live music to accompany the film.  Ah, how I would love to experience a silent film the old fashioned way.  The music composed for this film spans a wide range of depth, from toe-tapping jazzy to sweepingly dramatic.  And it all keeps true to the era portrayed.  If these points are taken into consideration, there is no competition against The Artist for Best Original Score.

Besides Best Picture, Original Score and the two acting nominations, The Artist was also nominated for Cinematography, Original Screenplay, Art Direction, Film Editing, Costume Design and Michel Hazanavicius for Best Director.  That is a big 10 nominations for a film that seems so out of the ordinary.   Only one other film has more nominations this year, Hugo with 11.

What surprised me the most about The Artist, is that even though there are some themes that hearken back to Singin’ in the Rain and Sunset Boulevard, it feels very original.  I was not able -nor distracted enough to try- to guess what would happen next.  The plot was driven by the characters, and they felt so real and compelling that the whole audience celebrated their triumphs and mourned beside them; even the dog.

The Artist gives me hope for the next generation of film making.  Taking a step back and remembering exactly why we love film, what originally made it so great, is one of the best ways to improve upon this art.  This is an amazing homage to an important era in film history that keeps the visuals and ideas simple.  But most importantly, it puts story and character first.

If The Academy is looking to award the most unconditional film that celebrates why people have always loved the movies, The Artist will win the Oscar for Best Picture.