Contagion

Too soon?

Steven Soderbergh makes consistently good films and "Contagion" is a solid example. Set up as a thriller we're offered a fast moving and realistic portrayal of a deadly global pandemic. Released in 2011, it accurately includes many of the challenges the world faced during the COVID-19 pandemic a decade later, both on a personal and a logistical level.

The film explores the chaos, fear, and desperation that ensues as governments, scientists, and ordinary citizens struggle to contain the outbreak. The ensemble cast, featuring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Lawrence Fishburne and Jude Law deliver engaging performances, portraying various deferring roles in the unfolding crisis.

This is not a great character drama as the focus of the tale is the rapid development of a severe pandemic. It has the "just the facts" feel of a documentary that includes dramatizations. Perhaps the film's primary strength in fact, is its accuracy. Soderbergh consulted with epidemiologists and other experts to ensure that the portrayal of the virus and its spread was realistic. This attention to detail make the film pretty close to home. "Contagion" has a lot of ground to cover, and it does, including personal trauma, the science, media and misinformation, government reaction and even issues of international relations.

"Contagion" is also interesting for a few things it leaves out. We all unfortunately know so much more about this sort of thing now than we did in 2011.

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Persona

What happens when an actor's role in a film is that of an actor that suddenly because self-aware of their acting? She stops acting.

Elisabeth Vogler, a renowned stage actress, suddenly falls silent during a performance. Frustrating doctors by definitely not being insane, she is diagnosed with a psychosomatic illness, and sent to a secluded beach house to recuperate. She is accompanied by Anna, a young nurse who becomes her caretaker. As the two women spend time together, a strange and intense bond develops, leading to a psychological and emotional interplay that challenges their individual identities.

The relationship between Elisabeth and Anna is further a metaphor for the filmmaker and the audience. Elisabeth represents the enigmatic and inaccessible artist, while Anna represents the curious and receptive spectator. The film is further very much aware of its nature as a film. It does not ask for suspension of disbelief, rather it insists on being taken literally - as a film. "Persona" breaks the fourth wall, directly addressing the audience or acknowledging the artificiality of the cinematic experience. In the film's final brief shot of Elisabeth we can actually see the camera. This all serves to emphasize the constructed nature of reality and the illusion of the screen - literally through a broken film at the opening.

It's our own fault. "Persona" insists the audience become participants in the cinematic experience, rather than passive consumers. And we're all bozos on this bus.

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The Zone of Interest

Part historical drama, part horror, this film centers on the home and professional life of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, and his family.

"Zone of Interest" is mostly set in a residential area adjacent to the camp. Höss and his wife, Hedwig, are proud of the home and gardens, and the "normal" life they have built directly adjacent to the site perhaps most iconic of the horrors of the Holocaust. Höss's job is also presented as that of a bureaucrat, days filled with detailed efficiency reports, construction schedules and budgets. The film sharply contrasts this ordinary life, and idyllic home, with the atrocities the viewer knows are being committed just on the other side of a wall in their backyard.

The film uses long, contemplative shots and minimal dialogue to create an uncanny sense of unease and tension. The sound design is outstanding. The sounds coming from the other side of the camp's walls, gunshots, screams, machinery, the trains, and, yes, the furnaces, are a constant background theme, day and night, to the mundane home life of the family. 

"The Zone of Interest" is a remarkable and disturbing film, without a single direct image or scene of the operation of Auschwitz.

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Ed, Olive and Otto

Manhattan

 

For those that are sure the artist can always be separated from the work, there's the 1979 film "Manhattan". 

The film is about insecurities, petty relationship issues, pretentious intellectualism, imposter syndrome and on-brand smart people making poor decisions for dumb reasons. It's also a love letter to New York City; it's skyline, it's parks, it's arts and it's cultural.

The elephant in the room is a 42 year old man dating a 17 year old high school student. And all his friends seem to think nothing of it. It's a bit on nose... And even more so for the fact that in this film, even more than his others, Woody Allen is effectively playing himself. In fact, from the setting to the music to the various film references, "Manhattan" teeters on autobiographical.

That said, "Manhattan" is an incredibly well made film. It successfully blends humor, drama, an exploration of relationships and urban life. The black and white cinematography is stunning, capturing the iconic cityscape with frenetic energy and a poetic sensibility. The film achieves a timeless quality, emphasizing the intended classic and romantic feel of the story. 

Woody Allen delivers a captivating performance as the flawed and neurotic Isaac. His portrayal is both humorous and poignant, making the character both relatable and frustrating. Diane Keaton shines as Mary, bringing intelligence, wit, and a touch of vulnerability to the role. Mariel Hemingway's portrayal of the young and idealistic Tracy is equally impressive.

There's complex characters, witty dialogue, laughs, jazz and stunning visuals enough to create a lasting impression. At the end of the day though Woody Allen's character maybe as unlikable as Woody Allen. Then again, ironically, this is part of the point of the character after all.

In the final scene, Tracey says "Not everybody gets corrupted. You can have a little faith in people." I guess that's for the viewer to decide. Cut to black. Roll credit.

Vera Cruz

"Vera Cruz" is a seminal Western that stands out for its gritty realism and complex characters, foreshadowing later, more morally ambiguous Spaghetti Westerns. Released in 1954, it stars Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster as two mercenaries who find themselves entangled in the Mexican Revolution. Lancaster doesn't stop grinning, Cooper doesn't stop scowling.

This film is a departure from the traditional cowboy epics of the time. Shot in stunning Technicolor, it immerses the viewer in the dusty, sunbaked landscapes of Mexico. The story's characters are far from heroic. Cooper's stoic Benjamin Trane and Lancaster's charismatic but ruthless Joe Erin are complex anti-heroes out for themselves. "Vera Cruz" is often credited with introducing a darker, more realistic tone to the Western genre, paving the way for films like the classics of of Sergio Leone as well as "The Wild Bunch", "Once Upon a Time in the West" and many others. 

Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster deliver powerhouse performances, their contrasting characters creating a compelling dynamic. In the supporting cast we have Cesar Romero, Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson to name a few. I have long heard this movie was good, but my expectations were exceeded. 

"I don't trust him. He likes people, and you can never count on a man like that"

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Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut joined the army in 1943 and was eventually deployed to Europe. He was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge and was interned in Dresden, where he survived the Allied bombing of the city in a meat locker of a slaughterhouse. 

Vonnegut dealt with depression his entire life. Much of his literary work reflects his efforts to interpret the arc of life through the lens of that depression. Imagine, for example, a man's entire life experience laid out in one moment of time. Imagine a man who could see his entire life, including his own death without the limitations of time passing from future to past. Would this life make any sense? What happens to the present when it becomes the past, and where does it go? Could an entirety of a life experienced as a whole, through its end, redeem the dread of the void and confront the existential impulse of "why?".

Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Slaughterhouse-Five" is a darkly comic exploration of war, trauma, the broad arc of life and the human condition. Through the lens of Billy Pilgrim, a seemingly ordinary man who becomes “unstuck in time,” the film includes experiences of childhood, the pivotal horror of the firebombing of Dresden, family life, and finally aging and death.

The film adaptation of "Slaughterhouse-Five" mirrors the novel's unconventional structure, jumping between different time periods and perspectives. The film captures the essence of Vonnegut's novel, including its surreal humor, unflinching portrayal of destruction, and absurdity of seeking value in the mundane elements of ordinary existence.

In spite of Michael Sacks's compelling performance as Billy Pilgrim, and the effective recreation of the devastation of Dresden "Slaughterhouse-Five" doesn't answer questions for either Vonnegut or the viewer. Maybe it's only a thought experiment that turns out to be fruitless. Or perhaps the absurd humor is the only important thing. Regardless, so it goes...

"I could carve a better man out of a banana."

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Dog Day Afternoon

Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" is about possibly the most incompetent bank robbers ever. It's also masterclass film making, expertly blending crime drama, comedy, and social commentary into one gripping narrative. As unlikely as it seems, the story is based on a real-life New York bank robbery. Sonny Wortzik (a career-defining performance by Al Pacino) umtakes the crime in an attempt to raise money for... Well that would be giving it away...

What starts as a seemingly straightforward plan immediately spirals out of control and eventually into an awkward hostage situation, captivating the attention of the entire city.

What makes the film exceptional is its complex portrayal of characters. Sonny, while initially appearing as a desperate criminal, reveals layers of vulnerability and humanity. His accomplice, Sal (played brilliantly by the late John Cazale), is a sympathetic figure struggling to cope with the situation. The supporting cast, including Charles Durning as the level-headed police negotiator, delivers outstanding performances.

Sonny becomes a sort of folk hero as "Dog Day Afternoon" unfolds. The film reflects the societal mistrust of that time of police, and authority in general. Also, attitudes of sexuality and gender come into play, all in a context of the media's role in shaping public opinion. Lumet's direction is masterful, capturing the tension, the twists and turns, and immense absurdity of the situation.

"Dog Day Afternoon" leaves a lasting impression, highly recommend.

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Stranger Than Paradise

The Lost Weekend

"The Lost Weekend" is a stark and disturbing portrayal of alcoholism from 1945. The film follows writer Don Birnam (brilliantly played by Ray Milland in an Oscar-winning performance) as he navigates a four-day bender. 

What sets *The Lost Weekend* apart is its unflinching realism in it's portrayal of the physical and psychological degradation of alcoholism. It presents a character study that is both sympathetic and terrifying. Milland’s performance is nothing short of mesmerizing, and this can't be overstated, as he captures the desperation, paranoia, and self-loathing of a man trapped in addiction.

Wilder’s direction is masterful, using many cinematic techniques to immerse the viewer in Birnam’s distorted reality. The film's psychological intensity is heightened by the use of shadows, distorted angles, and a haunting (is that a theremin?) score that would be at home in any period sci-fi or horror film. Anyway the monster isn't from outer space in this one.

The film's depiction of alcoholism is bleak, and that's the whole film. "The Lost Weekend" is a groundbreaking and unusual work, daring to tackle a taboo subject with raw honesty.

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