mark-67214-52993 Reviews

Wicked Little Letters (2023)

If PBS Used Showtime's Censors

[6/10 · 20 May 2024]

I would pay the price of a movie ticket to watch Jessie Buckley ("Women Talking," "I'm Thinking of Ending Things") and Olivia Colman (Best Actress Oscar for "The Favourite") take turns reading the phone book. At a few points in "Wicked Little Letters," the phone book might have provided a more interesting, less predictable narrative.

Edith Swan (Colman) and Rose Gooding (Buckley) are next door neighbors in Littlehampton, an English coastal town, in 1920. Edith is a pious, repressed spinster who lives with her parents. Rose is a hard-drinking, hard-swearing recent immigrant from Ireland who has a young daughter, no husband and a live-in boyfriend. Early on, Edith begins to receive poison pen letters filled with wildly creative profanity. Edith's status in the community is elevated because of her "Christian forbearance." Soon enough, Edith points the finger at Rose. Rose is jailed and eventually convicted of "criminal libel" despite a complete lack of, you know, evidence. Gladys Moss, who is required by her superiors to introduce herself as "Woman Police Officer," isn't having it. Sleuthing ensues.

The twist here is that the story is based on real events. In fact, after the opening credits we're informed that "this is more true than you'd think." Edith Swan, Rose Gooding and Gladys Moss were real people.

There are two important through lines in this story. First, events take place just after the end of WW I. The men have returned from The Great War to reclaim all the important jobs and expel most women from the work force. Second, there's prejudice and antipathy between the English and the Irish. The Easter Uprising (an armed revolt against British rule) occurred in April, 1916, unrest would eventually led to Irish independence in 1922. While these two themes are enlightening, it's unfortunate that they sometimes overwhelm other, equally interesting, subplots.

Buckley and Colman are mesmerizing. Buckley's Rose is an exuberant free spirit with a magnetic, captivating energy and a plucky optimism that's sometimes justified. Colman is phenomenal. At key points, she conveys a sense of delight, wonder and exhilaration simply by rearranging her facial features. Seeing these two together is worth a trip to the movies.

What doesn't work here is the script. It relies a bit too heavily on recitation of the poison pen letters. After a while, it begins to feel like school kids discovering bad words for the first time. And because Writer Jonny Sweet (in his feature film debut) most often writes comedy bits, the story too often settles for a one-liner when more interesting ideas and more nuanced conversations were readily available.

"Wicked Little Letters" is cautiously recommended. It's a piece of history that, like its characters, merits belated examination. After all, Sussex, UK dedicated a plaque to honor the meritorious service of Woman Police Officer Gladys Moss... in November, 2015.

Civil War (2024)

Shocking, Provocative, Excellent - With a Marvelous Kristen Dunst

[8/10 · 11 May 2024]

Good art sometimes intends to provoke, to shock, to invoke personal reflection, to inspire public debate. "Civil War" is good art.

In this work of speculative fiction, the setting could not be more provocative: a civil war on American soil in the near-distant future. But in the hands of Writer/Director Alex Garland ("Ex Machina," "Annihilation," "Men"), this film is anything but a traditional war movie, even though there are a few graphic battle scenes.

One of Garland's obvious goals is to emphasize the important role of war correspondents. Early on, Lee Miller (an excellent Kirsten Dunst) says, "Every time I survived a war zone, I thought I was sending a warning home: 'Don't do this.' But here we are." The lead character's name is an homage to mid-twentieth century photojournalist Lee Miller, who is recognized as one of the greatest war correspondents. After a career as a fashion model, she worked as a war correspondent at "Vogue," creating some of the iconic images of WW II while covering the London blitz, the liberation of Paris and the freeing of prisoners at the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps.

In interviews, Garland has stated that one of his goals was to offer a counterbalance to the current trend of demonizing the press. His script underlines the essential role of journalism in neutrally reporting facts and offering illustrative photographs. In his view, making meaning of these words and images is the responsibility of the reader/viewer. By implication, he offers an indirect critique of news organizations that increasingly seem to be drifting into the opinion business.

"Civil War" has been acclaimed by many but eviscerated by an equal number, primarily because the screenplay intentionally assigns no political labels to the two warring sides. In interviews, Garland has stated that he never intended to comment on domestic politics in the US. His emphasis is on global trends - particularly that fascism arises to confront the excesses of liberal democracy, a trend as apparent in Europe and the UK as it is in the US. As an Englishman, he sets this film here because, he says, America is the best current example of democracy. Simply put, if civil war can happen in the US, it can happen anywhere. "Civil War" is notable for its lack of exposition, lecturing or sermonizing. As with the war journalists he admires, Garland seeks to chronicle events as they occur, while respecting the moviegoer's ability to ascribe appropriate meaning to it all.

In "Civil War," the script drops the audience into the middle of the action, with no foreshadowing. We eventually create context and learn the backstory only as the narrative unfolds. With intention, this review offers no plot summary, in order to give the reader an equal chance to experience this immersive experience without any preconceived notions.

The cast here is excellent. The central characters are Lee (Dunst) and Joel (Wagner Moura - "Narcos"), who work for Reuters; Jessie (Cailee Spaeny - "Priscilla"), a novice photographer who tags along; and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson - "Dune"), who represents "what's left of the 'New York Times.'" While the performances throughout this film are consistently strong, the best acting involves Dunst conveying the world-weariness of an experienced war correspondent who's seen it all and has been changed by what she's seen.

The casual violence here may shock or offend you. Some of the striking visual images are likely to stay with you for a while. Hopefully, you will walk away reinforced in the notion that war, particularly on American soil, is unthinkable. That's good art.

Challengers (2024)

A Double Fault

[4/10 · 7 May 2024]

I went in with high expectations for "Challengers" because it's garnered a landslide of positive reviews from critics. For my money, it's a double fault.

Art (Mike Faist - Riff in "West Side Story") and Patrick (Josh O'Connor - Prince Charles in "The Crown") have been friends since they were twelve. At a junior tennis tournament, they both swoon over Tashi (Zendaya), a tennis prodigy who's drop-dead gorgeous. Throughout the film, the lives of these three are entwined, particularly in a now well-known bedroom scene where both guys begin to kiss Tashi and eventually each other, as Tashi sits back, observing her handiwork with obvious satisfaction. After their junior careers, their lives diverge. Patrick starts his career as a professional tennis player, while Tashi and Art go to Stanford. In Act Three, they meet again.

Moviegoers should be forewarned that the film is non-linear, with frequent (I say "excessive") flashbacks and flash-forwards that paradoxically slow the action while also adding an unnecessary layer of confusion. By the time we get to the inevitable climactic tennis match where Art and Patrick are opponents, the script has gone totally off the rails.

The tennis scenes are credible. Brad Gilbert, a former player and current coach and TV commentator, lent his expertise to the project. (He also has a brief cameo as Art's coach.) Neither the actors nor Director Luca Guadagnino ("Suspira," "Bones and All") had a strong tennis background. The creative team eventually decided to film the players swinging racket handles on the court without rackets (less wind resistance), then used CGI to create the rackets and tennis balls in post-production. In interviews, Zendaya has described her "tennis" as a series of choreographed movements.

The filming of the tennis scenes is innovative. There are shots from below the court, by drone above the court. But by the time we see the action from the perspective of the tennis ball careening across the court, the cinematography has gone from interesting to annoying.

This is not a great movie, but, to quote a movie title, the fault is not in our stars. Zendaya, Faist and O'Connor are compelling and interesting, alone and in various combinations.

Director Guadagnino is known for his sensitive exploration of emotional complexity, particularly in the coming of age story in "Call Me by Your Name." But in "Challengers," they key role of Tashi doesn't receive a similar level of thoughtfulness. Initially, she's presented as a young woman who feels attraction for both Patrick and Art. We learn that her career ended because of a knee injury and that she's living out her goals vicariously through Art's successful career. But later, she and Art have been married for years and she's still nurturing Patrick's attention. What's the motivation? Is this a simple case of star-crossed lovers? Is her "relationship" with Patrick a way of hedging her bets, aligning herself with the player with the best future? Does she simply enjoy manipulating the people around her? From the outset, who Tashi is and what motivates her remain a mystery. Because her motivations are so opaque, the emotional storyline here feels like a jumbled mess, a sensation that's exacerbated by the film's enigmatic final scene. The fault is in our script.

The Beast (2023)

Not for the Faint of Heart

[8/10 · 3 May 2024]

Director Bertrand Bonello's "The Beast" is not for the faint of heart. It's daring, divergent, disorienting, occasionally bombastic and frustrating - in short, very French. Voila, mes amis!

The film is based, loosely, on Henry James' 1903 novella "The Beast in the Jungle." In this eighty-page short story, James suggests that the beast represents our own fear. James believed that personal fear causes an overwhelming sense of dread about the future accompanied by a sense of impending personal catastrophe, sensations that annihilate the possibility of fulfilling love with another.

In the opening scene, Gabriella (Léa Seydoux) is standing in front of a green screen receiving instructions from Bonello. It's the first clue that this film will be unconventional and surprising. Fair warning.

The film takes place at three different times. The story begins in Paris in 1910. Louis (a tremendous George MacKay - "1917") is in the process of wooing Gabrielle away from her attentive but uninteresting husband. There are also scenes in 2014 in Los Angeles. Gabrielle is a housesitting struggling actor/model. Lou is an incel psychopath who stalks her while spouting ominously about seeking "retribution." Finally, again in Paris, action takes place in 2044. In this dystopian future, AI has taken over the world, people must wear airtight masks to go outside and humans are strongly encouraged to engage in "purification," a process of purging DNA of past traumas and permanently deadening emotions. Bonello flashes forward and backward regularly. If you're feeling overwhelmed right now, it's probably because you're accurately processing how this story unfolds. To further complicate matters, Bonello shifts tone and content throughout the film - from period piece (1910) to thriller/horror film (2014) to dystopian sci-fi film (2044).

Bonello uses these three palettes, each shot in a distinctive cinematic style, to throw out some really weighty issues: that our sense of dread may be an accurate foreshadowing of the collapse of civilization, that deadening ourselves emotionally may be the most adaptive way to cope with the atrocities that occur around us continuously. For good measure, he plays with the juxtaposition of loneliness and love and scrutinizes the role of fate. If you crave a straightforward narrative or have low tolerance for ambiguity, now is a good time to run away screaming.

For you brave souls who accept the challenge, you'll be rewarded with a mesmerizing performance by Léa Seydoux, a close-up of hand-holding that's more sensual than most sex scenes plus images and ideas that will haunt you for days after the experience.

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Scorsese's Self-Indulgence

[7/10 · 28 April 2024]

In "Killers of the Flower Moon," Co-writer/Director Martin Scorsese has a lot to say. With the movie clocking in at three hours twenty-six minutes, he has plenty of time to say it.

By the 1920's, a mammoth oil deposit had been discovered on the land of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. Because the tribe had the foresight to explicitly retain the mineral rights to its property, the Osage became the wealthiest people per capita in the country. One of the people who plotted to separate the Osage from their money was William King Hale. He was eventually linked to twenty-four murders of Osage people with headright claims (which entitled them to shares of the proceeds from the oil produced). Enmeshed in the plot was Hale's nephew, Ernest Burkhart. After he returned from World War I in 1919, Burkhart became part of Hale's plans to gain access to the oil claims by marrying Mollie Kyle. Over the next few years, Mollie's sister Minnie and their mother died from "wasting disease," later proven to be poisoning. Another sister, Anna, was shot to death. Her remaining sister, Reta, was killed when her home was dynamited. Eventually, Mollie went to Washington, DC, and met with President Coolidge to ask for help from the federal government. The federal initiative to track down the killers was the birth of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. This film is based on the non-fiction book by the same name, authored by David Grann.

Scorsese relies on familiar and new faces to carry the story along. As "King" Hale, Robert De Niro almost makes us forget "The War with Grandpa," "Dirty Grandpa," and "Meet the Fockers." Almost. As Ernest Burkhart, Leonardo DiCaprio helps the audience engage with a generally loathsome character. The revelation in this film is Lily Gladstone (TV's "Billions," the films "First Cow" and "Certain Women"). Her Mollie Kyle is wise, funny, strong and altogether appealing.

For those familiar with Scorsese's themes, the film's emphasis on corruption, graphic violence and evil will be unsurprising. To demonstrate further how these themes appear repeatedly in American history, he introduces film clips from the Tulsa massacre and has the KKK marching in a local parade without hoods over their faces, demonstrating that the Klan was a fully embedded part of local culture. Scorsese also suggests strongly that the genesis of wealth inequality is the subjugation of the powerless. In his view, for a few to have more, many have to become "less than."

Despite its many positive attributes, the film is not flawless. The first two acts are slow and uneven, at times feeling bloated and self-indulgent. It's only when the Bureau of Investigation arrives halfway through that the film maintains consistent pacing. Scorsese's focus on Ernest and Mollie also is questionable. Ernest is either corruptly manipulative himself or so unintelligent that he's easily bent to his uncle's machinations. Either way, he's an unappealing character. And while Mollie is feisty, smart, fascinating and well worth our attention, her poor health throughout most of the film (poisoning can do that) makes her character less than it could have been.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" is a cautionary tale well-told. But one wishes it had shown a little more self-discipline (editing, anyone?) along the way.

The Holdovers (2023)

Alexander Payne's Powerful Trip Back to the 70s

[8/10 · 28 April 2024]

Alexander Payne's films have always had a 1970s sensibility. "The Holdovers" is no exception. But like the '70s cigarette of choice, he's come a long way, baby.

"The Holdovers" is set in 1970. Five students at the Barton Academy prep school have nowhere to go for Christmas. The headmaster forces the resident faculty curmudgeon, Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti - TV's "Billions," films "Sideways," "American Splendor"), to remain on campus to supervise. When a parent arrives by helicopter and whisks away four of the students, only Hunham, cafeteria supervisor Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) and one forlorn student, Angus (Dominic Sessa - feature film debut), remain. It's at this point that the film really finds its footing. Mayhem, kindness and insights about the human condition ensue.

One of the strengths of this film is its embrace of the '70s time frame. The film opens with the old MPAA ratings card, accompanied by a scratchy soundtrack and opening credits that look at least 50 years old. The film is shot on 35mm film by Danish cinematographer Eigil Bryld ("In Bruges," "The Last King of Scotland") who is so skillful he is almost able to persuade moviegoers that corduroy sport coats were once a very solid fashion alternative.

Giamatti, Randolph and Sessa are all excellent. Randolph is grieving the loss of her son in the Vietnam War. She conveys a world-weariness that's both exhausting and endearing. Sessa is outstanding as a discarded adolescent whose mother has moved on with her life and chosen to leave him behind. Giamatti, as usual, is mesmerizing. He's a perpetually irate teacher who at one point gets a student's attention by screaming, "Listen, you hormonal vulgarian!" But there's also a wistfulness about his isolation and alienation. Midway through the film, he confides to Angus, "I find the world a bitter and complicated place. And it seems to feel the same about me."

But what ultimately elevates this film is the evolution of Director Payne's world view. In his earliest films, "Citizen Ruth" (1996) and "Election" (1999), there is abundant comedy, but it's often at the expense of the characters, who are consistently unappealing and always kept at emotional arm's length. And there's a strong vein of cynicism running through the storylines. With films like "About Schmidt" (2002) and "Sideways" (2004), Payne took a more balanced view of humanity. With "The Holdovers," he uses an excellent script by David Hemingson (TV writer for "Don't Shoot Me," "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23") to make his peace with the ideas that humans are complicated, that relationships are worth nurturing and that being truly known by another person may be worth the risks of humiliation and rejection. It's a nuanced perspective that pays emotional dividends because it encourages the viewer to invest in these characters.

Alexander Payne has indeed come a long way, baby. Against all odds, it seems that Payne may be a romantic at heart.

Saltburn (2023)

Class Warfare That's Not a Fair Fight

[5/10 · 28 April 2024]

"Saltburn" is a remake of 1999's "The Talented Mr. Ripley." In Writer/Director Emerald Fennell's retelling, the "hero" of her film is a truly nasty piece of work.

Oliver Quick is a scholarship student at Oxford in 2006, not a Dickens character. He yearns to be noticed by the popular students, particularly Felix Catton, a young aristocrat. After Oliver contrives to meet Felix, the two strike up a friendship of sorts, based primarily on Felix's pity for Oliver's situation in life. When Oliver confides to Felix that his father has recently died, Felix insists that Oliver spend the summer at Saltburn, the family estate. Snide observations, assaults on class privilege and the occasional murder ensue.

The cast is first-rate. As Oliver, Barry Keoshan ("Dunkirk," "The Banshees of Inisherin") is compellingly creepy. Jacobi Elordi ("Euphoria"), in the role of Felix, is so sexy that he seems destined to cause heart palpitations among males, females and probably several species of marine mammals. As Lady Elspeth, Rosamund Pike ("Gone Girl") explores new depths of superficiality, at one point observing, "I've never wanted to know anything." Alison Oliver ("Conversations with Friends") is riveting in a small but crucial role. Unfortunately, Richard E. Grant ("The Lesson") has nothing substantial to do as lord of the manor. In fairness, he does wear armor to a dinner party.

A crackling script further recommends this film. I was so enthralled by the quips and rapid-fire dialogue that I tracked down a copy of the script online. It's even better than I thought - quick, stylish, smart.

What offsets these strengths, and ultimately sinks this film, is the lack of substance in what Fennell has created. For a film that's intended to be a takedown of wealth and privilege, the rich people in "Saltburn" are the easiest of targets. Fennell seems to think the upper class distinguishes itself by being more vacuous, more disconnected from the world around them and less self-aware than regular folk. Once the class warfare begins, it's not even a fair fight.

I came to resent the tone of self-satisfaction that permeates this piece. Fennell seems to believe she is an avant garde provocateur who has crafted a film both shocking and profound. But in the final analysis, there's really nothing new here. If you want a dissection of class and privilege, go see Bong Joon Ho's "Parasite" or TV's "The White Lotus" (either season). Here, Fennell seems to have confused showy for shocking and self-indulgent for cutting-edge. The summary of events at the end of the film is redundant and unnecessary, apparently designed to underline Fennell's genius and the assumption that her audience hasn't been paying attention.

This film is not nearly as clever as it thinks. Living up to its name, "Saltburn" is just a minor skin irritant.

Eileen (2023)

A Character Study, But Little Character Development

[5/10 · 28 April 2024]

Director William Oldroyd has a real gift for spotlighting talented female actors. His feature film debut, 2016's "Lady Macbeth," introduced us to Florence Pugh. "Eileen" continues this trend, offering well-observed characters for New Zealand's Thomasin McKenzie ("Last Night in Soho," "Jojo Rabbit") and for Anne Hathaway, who has been around since 2001's "The Princess Diaries."

In 1964, Eileen (McKenzie) is living a dreary, drab existence working in a menial position in a boys' prison. She lives in a dreary, drab undisclosed town in Massachusetts. Eileen cares for her alcoholic father (an excellent Shea Whigham), who vacillates between gun-waving belligerence and disinterested stupor. Into this tedium waltzes Rebecca (Hathaway), the new Harvard-educated prison counselor, who wears form-fitting suits, smokes extravagantly, goes toe to toe with boorish men and exudes a worldliness that makes Eileen swoon. When Rebecca turns her attention on Eileen, she feels truly seen for the first time in her life. Eileen also seems to serve as a mirror when Rebecca wants to stare at her own reflection.

While Rebecca is the more vibrant personality, Eileen is the star of this show. What's refreshing about Eileen as a character is that none of the usual tropes apply. As the film progresses, Eileen has no life-changing moments. She is never suddenly filled with self-awareness. There are no major epiphanies. She doesn't try to break free of the shackles of the deadening society of which she is a part. Unfortunately, this is just a kind way of indicating that, while the moviegoer sees more facets of Eileen as the film progresses, nothing in the story changes her in any palpable way.

Two factors sink this show. While there are startling story developments, these plot twists don't lead anywhere. There's no moral. There's no larger point to be made. There's no synthesizing principle. No metaphors in play. Second, the plot twists - and there are some whoppers - are completely unearned. There's no foreshadowing. Nothing about what we know about these characters suggests any possibility of the events that transpire in Act Three. While some may be exhilarated by a huge leap or two, others (like me) just see it as lazy writing.

The screenplay is written by Ottessa Moshfegh and her husband, Luke Goebel, based on Moshfegh's 2015 novel. While the novel elegantly describes Eileen's interior world, none of that inner richness makes it onto the screen.

At the end of the day, "Eileen" is an interesting portrait of two very different women whose lives become intertwined. But it's a character study where there's no actual character development.

Poor Things (2023)

Not a Great Film, But Passionate and Visually Spectacular

[9/10 · 28 April 2024]

"Poor Things" is not the best picture of the year. But it's definitely one of the weirdest, one of the most visually spectacular and one of the most fascinating.

It's difficult to discuss the storyline of this film without offering too many spoilers. Suffice it to say that the film is a unique retelling of the Frankenstein story. As the film opens, a reanimated Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) has the body of a woman and the mind and emotional temperament of a child. She even moves like a toddler who has just begun to experiment with walking upright. Early on, Bella leaves the safe confines of her home and goes out to experience the world. She discovers sex (she calls it "furious jumping"), which leads her to inquire, "Why do people not just do this all the time?" Self-discipline and self-control are not strong points. Describing her accelerating self-discovery, Bella says, "I am a changingable feast, as are all of we." Throughout, Tony McNamara's script sizzles, offering the moviegoer a feast of mangled malapropisms. The dialogue alone is worth the price of admission. But in this case, there's none of the mean spiritedness found in "The Favorite," McNamara's previous collaboration with Director Yorgos Lanthimos.

Lanthimos has garnered several international awards since he began doing English-language films in 2015. "The Lobster" (Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay), "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" (Palme d'Or at Cannes) and "The Favourite" (10 Oscar nominations) have all incorporated a pessimistic world view while offering compelling character development. This film is no exception.

The world Bella begins to experience is colorful and vibrant. The story is set in a futuristic Victorian era that's more than a little surreal. Robbie Ryan (Cinematography) and Zsuzsa Mihalek (Set Decoration), along with Shona Heath and James Price (Production Design), have worked with Lanthimos to create a world that dazzles. As Bella develops and matures, the film shifts from black and white to lush colors. Several scenes are shot using fisheye lenses and peepholes, offering a perspective that is as off-kilter as the other elements of the film. One of the more bizarre elements is the "mad scientist" animal creations developed by Simon Hughes and the visual effects team. They include a goose/bulldog ("gooseWillis"), a bulldog/goose ("barkWahlberg") and a pig/chicken ("davidEggham"). Madness.

But dynamically developing characters is ultimately what Lanthimos is about. Emma Stone should be in the Best Actress conversation because of the range she demonstrates during Bella's maturation. As Bella becomes more experienced in the world, her use of language improves, her gait becomes less hesitant and her confidence grows. Willem Dafoe (Dr. Godwin Baxter), Mark Ruffalo (the scoundrel Duncan Wedderburn) and comedian Ramy Yossef (Dr. Baxter's assistant) all contribute significantly.

As the story progresses, Lanthimos' themes become more pointed. We see unforgettable examples of the uncaring cruelty in the world. He takes particular time to dwell on the way men consistently seek to control women through financial manipulation, emotional abuse or simple physical coercion.

"Poor Things" is an innovative film well worth your time. It's a retro-futuristic period piece with a steampunk sensibility that makes Barbie World look conventional.

Maestro (2023)

Imperfect Film About Imperfect Man

[7/10 · 28 April 2024]

"Maestro" is a fascinating, but flawed, biopic about the life and work of composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein. In developing this project, Director/Co-Writer Bradley Cooper has created a film that's even more ambitious than "A Star is Born," his 2018 feature film debut that received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

The arc of the story is a standard narrative format, broken up by a couple of flashbacks. After opening with a scene near the end of his life, the film goes back to November, 1943, and Bernstein's conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic. The film then dutifully depicts many of the key events in Bernstein's career: writing songs for the musicals "Candide" and "West Side Story;" conducting the New York Philharmonic and leading a performance of Mahler's "Resurrection" in England's Ely Cathedral in 1973; writing his "Mass" and other works; tutoring young musicians at Tanglewood. In documenting Bernstein's professional life, it's a paint-by-numbers, straightforward chronicling of events.

But ultimately, this is a film about Bernstein's relationship with Felicia Montealegre, who was a young actress when they met in 1946. They married in 1951 and eventually had three children together. Bernstein and Felicia were fierce supporters of each other in their professional pursuits and intimate confidants out of the public eye. Played in perfect pitch by Carey Mulligan ("Saltburn," "She Said," TV's "Collateral"), Felicia is sympathetically portrayed as passionate, clear-eyed and intelligent. Despite being Bernstein's equal in many ways, she gave up many of her professional ambitions to be the stable center of their family and to support Bernstein's artistic pursuits. While theirs was much more than a marriage of convenience, what was clearly problematic was Bernstein's sexual relationships with men before and during their marriage and after Felicia's death from breast cancer in 1978.

Cooper's preparation for this film was meticulous. He was in regular contact with Bernstein's three children, who approved all the key elements of the film, including Cooper's use of a prosthetic nose to create a striking facial similarity. Cooper also spent six years training with Yannick Nézet-Séguin in the art of conducting.

The actual filming was equally well thought-out. For the three different time periods addressed during the film, Cooper uses the dominant filming technique of that day, changing from black and white (1940s) to color (1970s and late 1980s) while also modifying the aspect ratio (the size and shape of the image on the screen) to precisely fit the cinematic technique of that time period. Cooper also engagingly employs passages from several of Bernstein's compositions to introduce key scenes.

Two factors make "Maestro" less than it could have been. First, while the film is rigorous in its depiction of key events, the action takes place with no critical evaluation of Bernstein as a man. Second, Bernstein and his work are unnecessarily idealized in this script. The film implies that all of Bernstein's compositions were well-received. However, "Candide" closed on Broadway after 72 performances. The New York Times described his "Mass" as "bloated, bombastic, cloying, quaint and smug." Further, while there's passing reference to his regular use of alcohol and drugs, the film offers no consideration of their impact on his life, personal or professional. Most significantly, other than a couple of scenes where Bernstein appears coldly detached, there's no attempt to reconcile Bernstein's ongoing relationships with men and his ongoing commitment to Felicia and their family. Finally, there's not a syllable critiquing the fact that Bernstein's conquests were consistently with younger men whose careers he could make or break.

"Maestro" the film closely parallels its subject - passionate, sometimes compelling, consistently creative but clearly imperfect.

Ferrari (2023)

Oscar-Worthy Performances by Driver and Cruz

[8/10 · 28 April 2024]

Director Michael Mann is apparently taking a break from making films about cops and robbers and the tortured psyches that inhabit them both. This time, he shifts gears to craft a biopic about the tortured psyche of one of the most iconic names in auto racing.

"Ferrari" centers on the summer of 1957. Enzo Ferrari has a business that's teetering on the edge of bankruptcy because his passion is racing, not selling the expensive cars that might underwrite that passion. Ferrari's marriage, already bankrupt, is disintegrating as Enzo and his wife grieve the loss of their son to muscular dystrophy the previous year. Things are complicated by Ferrari's affair with another woman, with whom he has a young son. For Enzo, everything hinges on the results of the Mille Miglia, a one-thousand-mile race across Italy, in which he has entered five race cars. The last thirty minutes of this film include riveting footage from the race, including the harshly-lit nighttime scenes that are a hallmark of Mann's directorial style.

What this movie does best is convey the complexities of the life of Enzo Ferrari, a very public man trying to keep his private life from falling apart. In a special mass, the priest compares Enzo to Jesus. For many, the performance of the Ferrari racing team was a proxy for Italian national pride. Other than that, no pressure.

Many components of this film are excellent. Mann's direction, along with the script (Troy Kennedy Martin), the cinematography (Eric Messerschmidt) and the score (Daniel Pemberton) collude to create a palpable sense of dread that permeates almost everything. This tone makes even mundane domestic scenes feel all-important. The racing sequences are nearly unbearable.

But it's the performances by Adam Driver (as Enzo) and Penélope Cruz (as his wife, Laura) that are the centerpieces of this film. Driver pairs his imposing physical stature with a personality and style that make his character almost superhuman. His efforts to temper his ruthlessness in business as he strives for a sense of personal humanity make for fascinating viewing. Cruz offers a tour de force as the abandoned wife who is also the brains behind her husband's business. Despite the best efforts of the costume and make-up artists, transforming Cruz into the frumpy discarded wife turns out to be impossible. Cruz' mixture of grief, rage, sorrow and ruthless calculation creates the most mesmerizing scenes in the film. Both Driver and Cruz are certain to receive Oscar attention. Unfortunately, Shailene Woodley, as the mistress, is allowed to do little more than offer a calm counterpoint to Cruz' pyrotechnics.

"Ferrari" explores the complexities and contradictions of human nature. It's a thoughtful story that shifts gears effortlessly. It deserves to be in the Best Picture conversation.

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

First-Rate Acting, Second-Rate Script

[6/10 · 28 April 2024]

Leave it to the French. Only they would decide to give their top award (the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival) to a French film that takes two and a half hours to suggest that families and relationships can be confusing and ambiguous. Sacré bleu.

In the film, Sandra (Sandra Hüller - "Toni Erdmann") is a successful writer who often draws inspiration from real-life events. Her husband Samuel is a wannabe novelist. Samuel is a part-time home restorer, part-time teacher and full-time complainer. Early on, he topples to his death from the top window of their chalet in the French Alps. Was it suicide? Was he pushed? Eventually, the authorities charge Sandra based on the "suspicious circumstances" of his death.

Act One is a real grind, although it serviceably introduces us to Sandra and her eleven-year-old son Daniel (an excellent Milo Machado Graner) who became visually impaired after being hit by a motorcycle (plenty of parental recriminations to go around on that one). Samuel, the husband, is a distant cipher. Halfway through the film, a flashback brings the relationship between Sandra and Samuel into focus while also providing much-needed momentum for the story. The final act centers on Sandra's trial.

The acting here is uniformly first-rate. Hüller is Oscar-worthy, as she compellingly depicts the ups and downs of the relationship with her husband while simultaneously displaying unalloyed love for her son. Machado Graner embodies the confusion and the terror of a child caught between warring parents. Swann Arlaud is excellent as Sandra's lawyer, occasionally serving as a one-man Greek chorus interpreting key events.

Director Justine Triet, who co-wrote the script with her partner Arthur Harari, has suggested in interviews that true-crime movies and TV series were a source of inspiration. However, Triet has studiously veered away from the habit of the true-crime genre to shape the narrative in order to persuade the viewer to a particular point of view. In truth, "Anatomy" is frustratingly non-committal, apparently finding it sufficient to demonstrate that as humans, we're all a complicated mixture of positive attributes, personal failings and blind spots. In Sandra's case there's some arrogance and hubris thrown in for good measure.

Given Triet's observant, meticulous approach to character development, it's curious that she's much less attentive to generating momentum for the main story. For some reason, the creative team chooses to rely repeatedly on feints and misdirection to keep the audience engaged. Ultimately, "Anatomy of a Fall" is an excellent character study, but the story incorporates enough red herrings to start a fish farm.

Anyone But You (2023)

A Plausible Story? Nuance? Subtlety? Nope

[4/10 · 27 April 2024]

"Anyone But You" is a tortured adaptation of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." If there were truth in advertising, they'd have kept the original title.

In this tale, Bea (Sydney Sweeney) meets Ben (Glen Powell) in a coffee shop. After an intense, but chaste, day and night together, each misinterprets the situation and assumes the other isn't interested. Recriminations ensue. But wait! Bea's sister is marrying Ben's close friend. So they are thrown together at a destination wedding in Sydney. Banter, confusion and obligatory shots of the Sydney Opera House ensue.

Why did Sony make this picture? If you're looking for snide comments from a bickering lead couple, a destination wedding, lush scenery at an exotic destination, frolicking in the ocean and a clichéd ending, check out 2022's "Ticket to Paradise" with Julia Roberts and George Clooney. In comparison to "Anyone But You," it's Shakespearean.

Despite a script that would have to be reworked and improved to be considered vapid, this could be a breakout role for Sydney Sweeney. After coming to prominence for playing a sullen teenager in Season One of "The White Lotus" and a young woman who makes consistently terrible decisions about men in "Euphoria," she's given a lot more to work with in this film. There are even opportunities to display some surprising skills at physical comedy. Glen Powell contributes a brooding manliness, washboard abs and an opportunity to demonstrate conclusively that he has no tan lines whatsoever.

Then there's the regular disrobing. The creative team describes their effort as "bawdy" and "sexy." Kinda. I'll go with "ludicrous." What's the solution to discovering a large spider on Ben? Have him remove all his clothes and throw them off a cliff. And when a wedding centerpiece is hit by exploding fireworks and catches fire? Of course you have an Australian model strip down to her underwear and beat the flames to death with her cocktail dress. Plausibility, nuance and subtlety are not descriptors that leap to mind.

If you decide to attend this movie, despite my best efforts, make sure to stay for the closing credits. Apparently, the cast sang lyrics from Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" at the end of each day's filming. The resulting montage at the end of the film is the most spontaneous, enthusiastic, fun and interesting segment of the film.

In Director Will Gluck's initial foray into rom-com territory, he introduced us to Emma Stone in a smart, well-acted film called "Easy A." The film, based on "The Scarlet Letter'" was a thoughtfully crafted send-up of high school culture. Here, he's regressed. "Anyone But You" just doesn't make the grade.

The Beekeeper (2024)

Statham Fans Will Swarm to Theaters

[5/10 · 27 April 2024]

The new action film "The Beekeeper" is certainly a B movie. Even so, I'm sure it will have Jason Statham fans swarming to the theaters. (I know! Sometimes, these reviews just write themselves.)

In this film, Statham's character, Adam Clay, is an unassuming beekeeper who carefully manages his hives and delivers honey to the neighbors. He rents a barn from Eloise (Phylicia Rashad), an older woman who is "the only person who's ever taken care of me." Eloise is bilked out of all her money, including over $2 million from a charity she runs, when hackers install malware on her computer. She becomes so distraught that she commits suicide. But wait! Clay is actually a former Beekeeper, a member of a clandestine, off-the-books government organization that exists to "protect the hive" (as we are reminded, repeatedly) when the government and the justice system fail. Clay initially shows his displeasure by blowing up the scammers' building. Things escalate after that.

The baddies in this endeavor are excellent at being jerks we love to hate. Wallace Westwyld (Jeremy Irons) is odious as an officious former director of the CIA who now protects the interests of these internet scammers. (Why a director of the CIA speaks with a British accent and wears elegant suits from Savile Row is never explained.) The leader of the operation is Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson), who rides a skateboard in the office, orders his beverages with "oat milk, of course" and richly deserves to be punched in the face or worse. In his campaign of revenge, Adam Clay opts for worse. And so it goes.

What really doesn't work in this film is the indiscriminate nature of the mayhem and violence. Once Clay feels aggrieved, he's just as likely to kill an FBI or Secret Service agent as one of the bad guys. The fact that the script requires Clay to wax philosophical on multiple occasions about "protecting the hive" - presumably as a moral justification for his amorality - just makes things worse.

At the end of the day, this is another workmanlike Jason Statham movie. So you are guaranteed a full portion of brooding manliness, skilled and realistic action sequences and delivery of dialogue with a British accent that makes it all seem a little more sophisticated. (In this case, he deserves a lifetime achievement award for delivering some truly appalling lines with a straight face.)

Statham's successful formula has spawned a long list of action series - The Mechanic, Transporter, The Expendables, The Meg - as well as a couple of very good films. If you haven't seen 2015's "Spy," you should. Statham's comic timing with Melissa McCarthy is just excellent.

But back to the matter at hand. According to "Rotten Tomatoes," "The Beekeeper" is #8 in its ranking of 44 Jason Statham films. But let's not confuse it with a good film. In fact, let's hope this beekeeper idea doesn't cross-pollinate and create sequels. It's a concept that's already lost its sting.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

"Oppenheimer" Was a Warm-Up Act

[9/10 · 27 April 2024]

At the 2022 Oscars, "Dune: Part One" received awards in six technical categories: Sound, Visual Effects, Production Design, Original Score, Film Editing and Cinematography. Director Denis Villeneuve ("Blade Runner 2049" and "Arrival," as well as the first Dune installment) has gotten the old band back together. And the technical achievements in "Dune: Part Two" easily surpass those of the first installment. It's the best reason currently available for seeing a movie on a really big screen.

The script for "Part Two" feels very different from its predecessor. The first film burned a lot of time establishing key premises - a future world run by the Great Houses, the importance of "spice" in that culture, the role of the Bene Gesserit. "Part Two" cuts to the chase. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet - "Wonka," "Call Me by Your Name") is the surviving heir to the House of Atreides. He bands with the desert-dwelling, nomadic Fremen to plot revenge against the House of Harkonnan, whose army killed almost all of the Atreides family and destroyed their world in "Part One." Over time, Paul accepts the culture of the Fremen, many of whom see him as the Mahdi, a messianic figure sent to bring justice to the universe. Paul falls in love with Chani (Zendaya - "Euphoria," "The Greatest Showman"), a Fremen. As the film progresses, he's at war with himself over whether to pursue personal happiness or to fulfill his obligation to, you know, save the universe.

I've read the original book and I saw "Dune: Part One" when it opened in 2022. So this is probably a good point to insert a disclaimer: I have no idea whether this story will make sense to the uninitiated. On the other hand, if you were willing to slog through "Game of Thrones," I suspect you're good to go.

Because of the relatively streamlined story, Villeneuve and co-writer John Spaihts ("Dune: Part One") have time to explore a lot of other themes. The most explicit is their warning about the risks of blind zealotry based on religious fundamentalism. The writers also consider whether cruelty and harshness are central to the human condition. They propose that a world's inhabitants should adjust to its climate rather than trying to subjugate the world around them. They wonder whether responsible living always involves painful pragmatism.

The cast is an embarrassment of riches. In addition to Chalamet and Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård and Charlotte Rampling reprise their original roles. Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, Florence Pugh and Leá Seydoux appear for the first time. The best of this supporting cast is Javier Bardem ("Skyfall," "No Country for Old Men"), whose character Stilgar embodies the religious fervor that becomes the backbone of Paul's power.

What's problematic, here and in Frank Herbert's original novel, is the scenario of a white savior arriving to lead and redeem the dark-skinned, Arab-appearing Fremen. Significantly, this white messiah scenario has made the Dune book series favorite texts for the Proud Boys and other alt-right groups.

"Dune: Part Two" is the most visually striking film to arrive so far this year. Think of "Oppenheimer" as a warm-up act.

Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

An Exciting New Noir

[9/10 · 27 April 2024]

Exploring the boundaries of film noir, "Love Lies Bleeding" is a grimy, bloody, hot, sweaty, pulse-pounding, sexy, gory mess. You should go see it immediately.

In 1989, Lou (Kristen Stewart - "Twilight" series, "Spencer") is marking time managing a run-down gym in rural New Mexico. The first time we see her, she's unclogging a toilet. Into her gym and her life walks Jackie (Katy O'Brian), a buff, seemingly confident woman on her way to a body-building competition in Las Vegas. When a guy at the gym hits on Jackie, she punches him in the face, hard. Lou is in love. It's all an intriguing variation on the femme fatale and the macho stereotypes that typically populate this genre. ("Of all the gym joints in all the towns in the world, she walks into mine.") Lou, it turns out, is the daughter of the local gangster (an excellent Ed Harris), who skirts the law, sells guns on the black market and generally runs the town with a pitiless, self-serving efficiency. Perhaps Jackie is Lou's ticket out of this soul-crushing existence.

The intentions, the execution and the action throughout this film are all first-rate. Director/Co-Writer Rose Glass ("Saint Maud") dabbles in plenty of the tropes associated with film noir. But she also offers a refreshing new take in several areas. One of the powerful themes here is the overlapping nature of addiction, obsession and love. Lou offers Jackie her passion (and anabolic steroids). There's also a clear intimation, particularly in the film's final scene, that the only way to get what you really want is by being remorselessly ruthless. The script, co-written by Polish writer/director Weronika Tofilska, offers scenes that rival the Coen Brothers' feature film debut "Blood Simple." The score by Clint Mansell and cinematography from Ben Fodesman (a "Saint Maud" alum) add texture and atmosphere to the proceedings.

While O'Brian is a powerful presence physically and emotionally, this is Kristen Stewart's film. She conveys an edgy wariness and a pervasive skepticism that are heart-breaking. Her lingering glances at Jackie offer a window into her soul, while her skittish manner suggests a dog that's been kicked one too many times. She's mesmerizing.

What doesn't work for me is the surrealism Director Glass inserts in the final act. While she foreshadows these leaps into fantasy and her intentions are admirable, these scenes just don't work. It's a trifling criticism, important only because this leap into surrealism is a notable departure from the brash self-assurance that propels the film most of the time.

This is not a film for the faint of heart. It's a brutally unblinking assessment of human nature that is simultaneously exhilarating and profoundly depressing. It's a cautionary tale about the price to be paid when seizing personal power.

Problemista (2023)

First-Time Director Finding His Voice

[6/10 · 27 April 2024]

Writer/Director/Star Julio Torres' "Problemista" is a concoction that's equal parts surrealism, magical realism and outright whimsy.

Born in El Salvador, Torres moved to New York City to attend The New School. He was a writer on "Saturday Night Live" from 2016-2019 and Creator/Writer/Star of HBO's "Los Espookys" (2018-2022). Several members of the "Los Espookys" supporting cast appear in this film.

Many elements of "Problemista" are autobiographical. Torres stars as Alejandro, a young man who has recently arrived in New York City from El Salvador. Alejandro aspires to work at Hasbro to create new, odd versions of Barbie and the Cabbage Patch Kids. While trying to secure his work visa, Alejandro is fired from his job at FreezeCorp, where he was overseeing the remains of the freeze-dried, err, cryogenically maintained, artist Bobby. Bobby's widow Elizabeth takes on Alejandro as an unpaid assistant. Elizabeth will sponsor his visa application, so long as Alejandro helps her curate an exhibition of Bobby's paintings. As the ever-present narrator, Isabella Rossellini ("Marcel the Shell with Shoes On") provides the calm, thoughtful exposition that helps the moviegoer navigate this maze of odd events.

Torres uses his platform to point out the insanity of the immigration system he endured. For example, Alejandro is required to submit a $6000 filing fee with his visa application even though it's against the law for him to work in the US without, wait for it, acquiring a visa. Torres uses sand flowing through hourglasses to depict the plight of immigrants enmeshed in this Kafkaesque waiting process. When an hourglass runs out, it - and presumably the visa applicant - simply disappears. Throughout the film, Alejandro shuffles around on tiptoes, presumably terrified of doing anything to upset the delicately balanced craziness of his visa application or the surreal world he inhabits.

There's also some time spent sympathetically depicting what it's like to be a gig worker trying to survive in NYC. Along the way, the New York art community takes a couple of well-deserved broadsides.

In the role of Elizabeth, Tilda Swinton is likely to induce PTSD in any moviegoer who's ever had an unreasonable boss. Elizabeth rails about service in restaurants and about service from Apple. For no apparent reason, she spends a lot of time obsessing about the virtues of Filemaker Pro (it's a real thing), which Elizabeth believes is essential to properly organizing and curating her deceased husband's paintings. Eggs are the subject all of Bobby's paintings. His entire collection includes thirteen works. Elizabeth is labelled "the hydra" because she creates two additional problems every time she addresses an issue. She's a total maniac, but she also believes in Alejandro, in her own demented way, and suggests he should take up for himself a little more.

This is hardly a perfect film. The connections among the various scenes in the film can sometimes be tenuous. At points, Swinton's character feels like fingernails on a blackboard. The surrealism regularly injected into the story will be off-putting for many (include me in that group). Even so, "Problemista" is an ambitious feature film debut for a writer/director well on his way to fully finding his voice.

Monkey Man (2024)

Violence with some Context

[7/10 · 27 April 2024]

"Monkey Man" is London-born Director/Co-writer/Star Dev Patel's homage to his Indian heritage. It's an earnest and thought-provoking, though uneven, directorial debut.

The script centers on the mythic Hindu figure Hanuman, who embodies courage, strength and self-discipline. Patel's character, simply known as the Kid, is the contemporary embodiment of these traits. The Kid is raised in an idyllic wooded area in India. But when the power elite decide they want this land for their own purposes, they send soldiers to burn down the village, killing the Kid's mother in the process. After being forced into the slums of the city, the Kid makes money by wearing a rubber monkey mask to participate in bouts at an underground fight club. He makes more money when he bleeds. Eventually, the Kid manipulates his way into an upscale club frequented by the city's elite. (The club is called "Kings," just in case we missed the point.) What follows is the Kid's meticulously thought-out, remorseless revenge. Think Liam Neeson, only young, ethnic, interesting and with fewer wrinkles.

This film is clearly a passion project for Patel, who burst onto the scene when he starred in 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire" and has had several major roles since ("The Green Knight," "The Personal History of David Copperfield"). It's a project that almost didn't happen. Shooting was supposed to start just before COVID. After it was finally completed in 2021, the film was sold to Netflix, where it languished because of ongoing disputes about world-wide distribution rights. Eventually, Producer Jordan Peele ("Get Out," "Nope") bought the film and has released it in theaters around the country.

Patel has used Indian actors in almost all the key roles throughout the film. The cast is excellent. It's refreshing to see consistently powerful portrayals by actors many American audiences haven't seen before.

Although it's fair to classify "Monkey Man" as an action flick, there are actually only two extended fight sequences in the film. Because of his slender physique, Patel is hardly the stereotypical action figure. As a result, Cinematographer Sharone Meir ("Whiplash") relies on close-ups, quick cuts and frantic edits for the major violent encounters. While this technique makes some of the action look staged, the good news is that you won't confuse this with a Jason Statham film: there's no time wasted on manly brooding.

What gives this film its emotional heft is the detailed context for the revenge-fueled violence at its core. The story takes great pains to demonstrate how the underclass is often invisible in Indian society. When the Kid explodes in violence, it's because his is releasing a lifetime of humiliation and oppression. At times, you may feel like you've walked into an installment of John Wick or one of the more over-the-top scenes from "Kill Bill." But here, the stakes feel higher.

This leads, however, to the film's problematic take on violence. In this story, there's no ambivalence about beating out of the bad guys (and much worse). The clear implication is that violence is sometimes justified and even inevitable. It's unsettling, intentionally so.

"Monkey Man" is not for the faint of heart. It's a film that revels in its bare-knuckled intensity - both physical and emotional.

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (2024)

Uh, no

[4/10 · 27 April 2024]

Wade Allain-Marcus has directed the reboot of 1991's "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead." It's unclear why he bothered.

In the update, Tanya (Simone Joy Jones - fresh from "Bel Air," another retread) is seventeen and the oldest of four siblings. After a meltdown at work, their mom is sent to a resort for some mandatory R&R. Sure. Happens all the time. The kids are left in the "care" of an elderly, pistol-wielding maniac who promptly passes away. Right. Rather than bothering their mom, the kids decide to dispose of the body and fend for themselves. Of course they do. With the help of her siblings, Tanya lies about her age, gins up a fake résumé and gets a job at a company specializing in fast fashion. Uh huh. Desultory observations about adulthood, responsibility and getting by financially dribble out after that.

In the original film, the lead role was played by Christina Applegate, an actual teenager, who was in the middle of an eleven-year run on "Married... With Children." Her interactions with Joanna Cassidy, who played the owner of the fashion company, were the most redemptive elements of a film that was panned by the critics. A high-water mark was a critic labelling the film "amusing fluff." (It got a 35 score on Metacritic.) Inexplicably, the reboot hews closely to this marginal original story. The only novel element in any of this is that the family at the center of the story is Black.

The casting here is uneven. Jones, who plays Tanya, is twenty-five years old. She struggles to be convincing as a seventeen-year-old. However, her charm and effervescence give the film what little energy it's able to generate. As the two youngest siblings, Ayaami Sledge and Carter Young are cute, cuddly, chatty and clever. On the other hand, portraying the role of the lead fashionista is Nicole Richie, who has made a career out of being the daughter of singer Lionel Richie and the sidekick of Paris Hilton. With practice, diligence and hard work, her acting could someday rise to abysmal. Today is not that day. She and some of the other cast members say their lines and then pause a beat, apparently hoping for a sitcom laugh track to bail them out. Help does not arrive.

This is a film with limited aspirations that are underachieved.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Great Guy Ritchie Insanity

[7/10 · 27 April 2024]

Guy Ritchie's "Ungentlemanly Warfare" is based, kinda, on the true exploits of Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. Unsurprisingly, given Ritchie's involvement, liberties have been taken with the story.

The SOE existed to operate behind enemy lines, committing sabotage and various other acts considered ungentlemanly by the upper crust officers who ran the conventional army. In 1942, England was starving and its army could not be resupplied because German U-boats owned the seas. With the blessing of Winston Churchill, the commander of the SOE sent a team to destroy the Duchessa d'Aosta, a supply ship that supplied all the carbon dioxide filters for the U-boats. These filters permitted these submarines to remain submerged for prolonged periods. By disabling the supply ship, the U-boat fleet would be effectively sidelined. The mission was labelled Operation Postmaster. It took place in January, 1942. This story centers on the real characters - Gus March-Phillips (Henry Cavill), Anders Larssen (Alan Ritchson) and Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer) - who were sent to complete this mission. In this film, some totally fictitious characters and other amalgamations of real-life participants also tagged along.

"Ungentlemanly Warfare" contains all the satisfying flourishes of a film by Guy Ritchie ("Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," "Sherlock Holmes," "The Gentlemen"). This film is cool and stylish. It's filled with swaggering characters spouting cheeky dialogue. There are flashbacks to keep the moviegoer off-balance. There are first-rate set pieces/action scenes. Oh, and there's violence - lots and lots of violence, most of it gratuitous. Did I mention the violence? The entire package is delivered with a manic gleefulness that's contagious.

While the story is "based on true events," reality is just a jumping off point. This film suggests that a major role of the operation was to persuade an officially neutral US to enter the war and begin helping Britain. Pearl Harbor occurred the month before, so the US was already fully engaged. The film also suggests that by disabling the supply ship, the SOE's mission could change the course of the war. While the events depicted in "Ungentlemanly Warfare" were not unimportant, a bigger factor was the development of RDX, an explosive powerful enough to sink the U-boats in the open sea.

The film offers an interesting side note. One of the staffers for the SOE depicted in the film is a young officer named Ian Fleming (Freddie Fox). Yep, that Ian Fleming. His boss was known as M. In his James Bond novels, Fleming incorporates the character of M. Fleming has noted several times that the character of James Bond was based on Gus March-Phillips.

To summarize, the cast here is charming and appealing, in no small part because they appear to be reveling in their madcap roles. Some of the location shots (much of the movie was filmed in Antalya, Turkey) make the film as worthwhile as a NatGeo documentary. The "true story" is a muddled mess. And there's the violence, lots and lots of violence. (Historical note: no one was actually killed during Operation Postmaster, although one Nazi soldier fainted at the sight of the intruders.) Guy Ritchie's energy and enthusiasm, which permeate this piece, will win over a lot of the folks in the seats.