Entering the Top 40, it’s getting harder and harder to rank these films. #’s 38, 39 and 40 all should have been ranked higher, except for a few noticeable flaws that pushed them further down that offset the amazing work featured in each of them. For a few of these films there is also an inherent tension of my immediate reaction after seeing the film, and how well they have sit with me as time has passed. I try to capture that immediate feeling, but the longer-term affect a film has on me is important as well. At any rate, here we go with #’s 40 down to 36.
#40 – I’m Your Man, directed by Maria Schrader (Germany) – Reading the premise of this film, which I will try to not to reveal here, you immediately thinks of some hokey, 80’s romantic comedies, that can’t compare to the emotional exploration that I’m Your Man tackles with its main character, and the interesting pathways she must follow. One particularly interesting examination comes when a research project that Alma and her team are working on is upended when another researcher half a world away publishes an article on a similar theme before her work is completed. A character, unfamiliar with human emotions wonders why this occurrence upsets Alma, as the theory she was researching was proven to be true. He wonder why this isn’t a cause for celebration as it validates her work. That competitive drive to be the first is lost on him. It’s an interesting philosophical rumination that is not often tackled in a romantic comedy.
The acting on display also elevates I’m Your Man, with British actor, Dan Stevens (so good, and so different in the television series, Legion) tackling the male lead, Tom, a character that would have been easy to take in a direction to completely derail the film, and making it somehow work. Popular German actress Sandra Hüller, plays a similar supporting character for laughs, and is utterly delightful. Where the film runs slightly off the rails, is the inevitable denouement. Director and adapter Schrader treads lightly where Alma must come to a realization that runs counter to much of what makes her character what it is. Schrader sets this up nicely and leaves it hanging, and for the viewer to decide, which is as best a conclusion that we can ask for. Just who is Alma’s man, is something for us to decide.
#39 – Adrienne, directed by Adrienne Ostroy (USA) – I am a huge admirer of the work of actor/director Adrienne Shelley, so was naturally drawn to this documentary directed by her husband. As a celebration of her life, and career, this film excels. Shelley got her start as an actress in the early films of Hal Hartley, starring in The Unbelievable Truth, and Trust. From there she went on to act in a string of mediocre or bad films throughout the late 80’s and 90’s. She had the waifish look for those films, but she was too smart to do that for long, and she eventually followed her true passion, directing. Her first feature, released in 1996, was Sudden Manhattan, a quirky, low-budget Woody Allen pastiche that showed some promise but didn’t really make much of a splash. Her subsequent short film, Lois Live a Little, received considerable acclaim and led to her next feature, I’ll Take You There, a more accomplished romantic comedy that showed what she was capable of. She was on the cusp of major success, with her third feature, Waitress, when she was tragically murdered in her Manhattan office, but a construction worker who tried to make it look like a suicide.
It’s here where Adrienne stumbles a bit. I understand director Ostroy’s need to explore the event that upended his life and that of his daughter, but at times it borders a little too closely to one of those tabloid news shows. Ultimately finds his closure when he is allowed to visit Shelley’s murderer in prison. The assortment of friends, family, and co-workers who are interviewed for the film paint a beautiful picture of this remarkable woman. From those took on her legacy to create the hit Broadway musical based on Waitress like Sara Bareilles, to Hal Hartley, who helped her get her start.
#38 – Mass, directed by Fran Kranz (USA) – Right from the very beginning there’s something vaguely stilted and manipulative about MASS. Maybe it’s the way they try to build up so much tension using extraneous characters just to make the film more than just four people in a room. It’s a meeting of two couples, one pair of whom lost their son in a school shooting, and the other pair whose son was the shooter. I’m not sure how you write a 110 minute film on that kind of meeting and not make it a little manipulative and stilted. What you do to make it all work, is hire some really strong actors who can carry the audience through the awkwardness and the emotional manipulation on the convincing power of their acting. These actors do not shy away from the intensity — they embrace it. The emotions these characters are feeling are so complex, so tangled, and the four powerhouse performers convey all of that. I was expecting a lot from the women. Martha Plimpton isn’t used enough, and she’s like a secret weapon when she’s given a good part. She brings it home beautifully here, and for her performance alone, i would have thoroughly enjoyed this film, but Ann Dowd has proven over the past 5 – 10 years that she is a force to be reckoned with, and she does so again here as the mother of the shooter — the most openly emotional and shattered in many ways. The men surprised me. Jason Isaacs has the showy role. He’s one of the guys, and he’s the one who veers toward anger, all the while strangling on the emotions he can barely restrain. Isaacs does a pretty good job reigning things in to a simmering, but powerful level, and only succumbs to showiness briefly. Reed Birney, often stealing attention as a character actor in the Beth Grant way, is the surprise for me in MASS. His tightly wound, restrained delivery can come across as cold, but look at his eyes, and the haunted, haggard look he’s sharing with the audience. This is a man who’s broken inside.
“It’s an interesting tale for a first time feature writer/director to tackle, and Kanz gets away with it largely because he is first and foremost, an actor, with dozens of TV and movie credits on his resume. He clearly knows what an actor needs to work in a film like this, and he gives it to his cast. If it is a few of the choices he makes in the writing and direction that you want to quibble with, so be it. My only real problem with the films comes right at the end, where there is some spirituality forced into play for little reason. Kanz, for the most part, stays out of the way, and allows his actors to take us on an intense journey for nearly two hours, and i must say I was with them all the way.
#37 – Two Of Us, directed by Filippo Meneghetti (France/Luxembourg/Belgium) – I saw this film over two years ago, an the fact that it has stayed with me for so long is a testament to the skill and power it has to tell it story. Two older, retired women who have been romantically involved for the past twenty years live in neighboring apartments. They plan to move to Italy to live out the remainder of their lives together now that Madeleine has become a widow. The problem is, she hasn’t told her adult son and daughter yet, and she’s having trouble with it. When a change in circumstance threatens to tear them apart, both defy incredible odds to be together. Powerful script, great direction and wonderful acting. Much praise has been lauded justifiably upon Barbara Sukowa, but I was particularly impressed by Martine Chevallier, in a very challenging role, who had to convey so much without speaking. Like Twilight’s Kiss, it’s nice to see a film about gay older adults.
#36 – The Outside Story, directed by Casimir Nozkowski (USA) – Charles is a Brooklyn video editor who creates memorial videos about people who have the potential to die soon, for TMC. He’s also stuck. He just found out his girlfriend, Isha, cheated on him with a woman, he’s asked her to move out, and he hasn’t really left the house in a while. When he accidentally locks himself out of his 2nd story apartment in his socks, he realizes that he has to interact with the people in his neighborhood to navigate the rest of the day until he is able to get a key dropped off by the landlord. Naturally the people that make up his community are quirky, but they are also generally good people. Whether it’s the pre-teen girl who lives above him, or the police officer handing out parking tickets up and down his street. He gets reluctant help from his catty, third-floor neighbor for whom Charles interrupts a threesome with a visiting Swedish couple, and he in turn helps out the 70-year-old recent widow who lives next door to sign up on a dating app. Ultimately, he learns form his community and moves onto a hopefully better life.
It’s a simple story, and honestly, sometimes the simplest stories are the best stories. This is a film that I really wanted to be higher on my list, but it’s just that good a year for films. Bryan Tyree Henry is a lovely Charles. Known for his comedic work, which he excels at here as well, he’s also a great dramatic actor, and able to shed a tear when needed. He’s slightly irritating, but in an amusing way that makes him fun to spend time with. His beautiful, soon-to-be-ex, Isha, is played calmly, and beautifully by Star Trek: Discovery’s Shonequa Martin-Green, who builds on her great television work to great effect. Other strong performers include Sunita Mani’s Officer Slater, Olivia Edwards’ upstairs neighbor Elena, and Michael Cyril Creighton. First time feature director Casimir Nozkowski has written an effective character study that is funny and rings true He really hits all the right notes. And Brooklyn looks gorgeous… warm and inviting like any good community should.