By Robin E. Simmons
LONE SURVIVOR
Brutal and intense, writer-director Peter Berg’s superb combat film, based on the vivid New York Times bestselling tale of heroism, takes a look at the 19 American deaths – and lone survivor – of an ill-fated incident in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan.
Bloody and poetic, the incredible true story follows four Navy SEALS on a secret mission to kill a Taliban leader when they are ambushed by the enemy after the SEALS decide to release, and not kill, a trio of goat herders they stumble across in the rugged mountains. That act of mercy is rewarded by a relentless firestorm from at least forty Taliban fighters who quickly surround the four.
Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg), Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch) and Michael Murphy (Taylor Kitsch) are the brave SEALS. Ben Foster and Eric Bana also star. And they do justice to the real men they play – and honor. Berg’s smooth direction captures every horrific moment whether it’s a bullet’s impact or a treacherous fall. We always have a sense of where we are and the camera movement is not frantic but wide-eyed – it’s shot in the same way we remember frightening real-life moments. The editing is tight and the performances never seem anything but real. But in the end, it’s the big moral questions that linger. This moral ambiguity gives heft to this fine film and raises it to a level of meaningful contemporary art, especially with the ironic and satisfying ending that bookends the act of mercy the men showed to the goat herders. Over the end credits, there are photos of the real soldiers who sacrificed their lives for what they believed to be a worthy cause. I wept.
INTO THE FURNACE
Scott Cooper’s moody, sophomore effort is a dark foray into the burned out soul of a Pennsylvania steel town and the Appalachian madness that surrounds it. A mostly fine cast wallows in the unpleasant material that is so studied in it’s execution for the screen that it calls way too much attention to craft at the expense of story and pacing. Especially pacing. The effect is often heavy-handed and pretentious.
It’s hard for me to believe Casey Affleck as Rodney, a rootless, disturbed, ex-GI street fighter — maybe it his physicality. Christian Bale is Russell, Rodney’s more responsible brother. He’s properly determined and intense in his quest to seek answers, justice and perhaps revenge. There’s never a false note in Bale’s increasingly focused concerns.
The feeling of place in this film is specific and detailed. We are in an American region that is dying and decaying. Times are hard for those who remain. People who have jobs cling to them. The isolation of this sad world is in every scene. Woody Harrelson is terrific as an evil back woods crime lord. Harrelson said when he was offered the film, his wife read the screenplay and said she felt like she needed to take a shower. Harrelson’s character is a sadist who sells drugs, manages fixed underground fights and runs his empire with fear. He’s the very bad guy that Bale must confront. And does. But it sure takes a long time to get to the showdown and aftermath. There’s no real sustained suspense, just the waiting and the artful cinematography. Yawn. This film is a perfect companion piece to the similarly pretentious, lengthy, arty, pointless and depressing THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES.
BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL!
Mark Mori’s fast moving and fascinating documentary is a surprisingly intimate portrait of a mysterious, iconic and nearly ubiquitous sex symbol. Bettie Page passed away in 2008, but she is resurrected via recorded interviews from the 70s and a vast array of vintage film clips and photos. What makes this film so fascinating is Bettie’s unfiltered honesty as she reflects with warmth and wit on her unusual life in an unexpectedly mellow, laconic southern drawl. In the 50s, Bettie was a familiar face inside and on the covers of pulpy “men’s magazines” like Titter. She was available to pose for “private camera clubs” and her pin-up pics, bondage films could also be had by mail order. She became a factor in a government investigation crackdown on pornography and “mail order smut.” She got married and divorced several times. Did a stretch in jail. Was confined to a mental institution and more. Bettie speaks of all this as well as admitting she was molested as a child by her drunken father. (Bettie’s dad would give her a dime if she let him feel her through her clothes.) But here’s the most astonishing thing of all, while Bettie’s image became a potent image in pop culture, she herself was oblivious to this while working with the Billy Graham organization. In 20012, Forbes ranked Bettie as one of the top ten posthumous celebrity earners. What mesmerized me most about Bettie Page’s story was the power of innocence that prevailed in her troubled life. You can see it in her photos and hear it in her voice.
NEW FOR THE HOME THEATER:
DRINKING BUDDIES
A totally improvised look at two couples and their working and personal relationships as part of a small brewery. It’s not a raunchy romantic comedy as the title kind of suggests, but a terrific slice of contemporary life that rings true on many levels. Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston are terrific.
MAN OF TAI CHI
Keanu Reeves’ directorial debut. Reeves also costars in the engaging story about a student of a peaceful spiritual discipline who turns lethal in an underground fight club. The brilliantly staged and photographed martial arts confrontations (designed by MATRIX choreographer Yuen Wo Ping) make this worth finding.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR:
As part of Cinemas Palme d’Or’s 10th anniversary celebration, Bryan Cranston will moderate a live, in-person conversation with NEBRASKA director Alexander Payne and actor Will Forte after the Friday, December 20, 6:30 screening.
Comments? RobinESimmons@aol.com
