"My Old Lady" Movie Review

My review of "My Old Lady" starring Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith.

"My Old Lady"

Posted on Sept. 19, 2014  on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

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Photo courtesy of Cohen Media 

“My Old Lady” (2014)

Mathias (Kevin Kline) is a 57-year-old New Yorker, who has barely enough money in his bank account to buy a ticket to Paris. He thinks his ship has finally come in, having inherited a large apartment near the “Left Bank” from his estranged father. He arrives at the apartment and meets Mathilde (Maggie Smith), a 94-year-old woman who has lived in the apartment since her 20’s. To his shock and horror, Mathias discovers that while he technically owns the apartment, he cannot sell it. It seems that his father bought the apartment under what the French call a viager equity, a system where you put a downpayment on the building and then pay a monthly stipend to the resident. This payment system goes on until the resident dies or willfully moves out.

Photo courtesy of Cohen Media

Complicating things even more is the daughter of Mathilde, Chloe (Kristin Scott Thomas) who takes an instant dislike for Mathias. Rightly so, Chloe is convinced that Mathias is hell bent on selling the apartment by any means necessary. In fact, Mathias has already lined up a buyer for the apartment, a businessman who wants to turn the whole apartment complex into a hotel. Can Mathias figure a way to get Mathilde to agree to the sale or will he have to go back to America without his windfall?

The cast of this film is outstanding with Kevin Kline leading the way as the troubled, alcoholic Mathias. Kline gives the role his all. He has to make some very long winded speeches; several are when he is drunk. It is to Kline’s credit and vast talent that he is able to portray someone who isn’t nice and very self absorbed and still make them likable. Under someone with less skill and charisma, the part of Mathias would be the villain. Instead, Kline brings to the screen; a flawed, hurt individual that just might come out of this experience as a better person. Maggie Smith, who as Mathilde, is her usual brilliant self, slowly allowing the hard shell of her character to melt away as the film reveals more and more about her past life. As Chloe, Kristin Scott Thomas plays the sparring partner of Kline’s character Mathias, trying at every turn to stop him from selling the apartment. Thomas is flawless as the equally hurt and messed up Chloe, who sees Mathias as someone who could bring her world to a screeching halt. Thomas plays off Kline with a feistiness that makes us root for Chloe from the start. We see her as someone that will stand up for herself and her mother but lets us know that there is a vulnerability to her, something that she doesn’t want anybody to see.

As great as the cast is they are let down by a script that is too rooted in it’s play-like structure and deliverance. Israel Horovitz, the writer / director of the film, which is based on his stage play of the same name. Horovitz is a writer of over 70 plays but this is his first screenplay, and it looks/sounds like it. His characters go on lengthy speeches, some of which feel very unnatural. Instead of letting the camera tell the story, he uses too many words, making the film seem slow and a little tedious. I was very aware of the 107 minute length of the film, wanting to see the expansion of the characters faster than they did. To Horovitz credit, he does let his characters explore the streets of Paris, using the Cinematography of Michel Anathieu to great effect, making you want to go explore the streets along with the characters. I was also impressed with the set decoration by Daphne Deboaisne, who filled Mathilde’s apartment with nicknacks in almost every conceivable place, just like some who has lived in one place for a very long time would do.

“My Old Lady” is a film full of wonderful, smart performances by a cast that is let down by its script. It’s a movie that could have used a re-write or two, making it a film where the characters talk to each other instead of the audience.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee

My movie rating system from Best to Worst: 1). I Would Pay to See it Again 2). Full Price 3). Bargain Matinee 4). Cable 5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

“My Old Lady Website

Playing now at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema , Lefont Sandy Springs and AMC Mansell Crossing 14

"The Invisible Woman" Movie Review

My review of "The Invisible Woman" starring Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas.

"The Invisible Woman"

Posted on Jan. 24, 2014 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

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Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

“The Invisible Woman” (2014)

The film starts out in 1883, where Nelly (Felicity Jones) is teaching at a grade school on the coast.  She is mounting a production of Charles  Dickens play.  This brings her back to the memories of when she first met Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes), appearing in a production of one of his plays with her mother (Kristen Scott Thomas) and her sister (Perdita Weeks).  Instantly there is a spark between Dickens, who is in his forties and the teenager Nelly. Dickens becomes instantly enchanted with her beauty and charm.

Charles Dickens, during his time, was the most famous person in the world. His books were best sellers, and his book tours sold out every time making him one of the most famous people on the planet.  He is married to a woman who rarely speaks, the rather dowdy Catherine (Joanna Scanlan).  Their life together seems one of convenience where they don’t even share a bedroom, though at some point,  they did have ten children together.  Dickens seems to be drawn to Nelly because of her youth but also because she can keep up with him, both physically and verbally. She adores his work and the attention that he gives her.  And so, the incredible slow dance of courting in Victorian times begins with Dickens as the pursuer and Nelly the object of his affection but he must proceed with caution so that his marriage stays intact.

The film moves back and forth, mostly spent in the past as the romance between Dickens and Nelly blossoms.  The scenes set in 1883 are mostly ones of Nelly, walking about on the beach in what look to be mourning clothing.  Even though she has married a young man and has a child, it seems as if she will never get over her affair with Dickens.

Felicity Jones gives a fine performance and the young and sometime naïve Nelly.  Jones is quite beautiful and carries herself with the pride and the sometimes naivety of her character.  She really stands out, even in a crowd of beautiful actresses preparing for a play.

The problem with the film is Fiennes.  Charles Dickens was the rock star of his time, mesmerizing audiences with his readings of his books and appearing larger than life at any event he attended.  Fiennes never shows the charisma that Dickens must have had.  There is also no chemistry between Fiennes and Jones as their love scenes seem to played out more as two actors playing parts than to irresistible lovers that were meant for each other.

Besides starring in the film, Fiennes also directed the film, and he uses slow pushes into the settings, letting the scenery dominate the actors.  The set design and also the costumes do a great job of setting the tone of the film, with Cinematographer Tom Hardy creating scenes that seem to be always filled with a little smoke, even when the sun is shining.

It’s an interesting film but doesn’t quite have the passion that it should have for the romance between two strong individuals.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

“The Invisible Woman” is at UA Tara Cinemas 4 and Lefont Sandy Springs

"Only God Forgives" Movie Review

       My review of "Only God Forgives" starring Ryan Gosling,            Kristin Scott Thomas, and Vithaya Pansringarm.
"Only God Forgives"

   Published on July 26, 2013 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

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Photo courtesy of Radius / TWC

"Only God Forgives"  (2013)

Julian (Ryan Gosling) owns a Thai boxing club in Bangkok, but we learn very early on that things in Bangkok aren’t always as they seem. When Julian’s brother Billy (Tom Burke) is murdered, the boy’s mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas), shows up in town wanting revenge. It turns out that Julian and his brother are in the drugs trafficking business for their drug lord mother. Police investigating the murder are led by a ruthless detective named Chang (Yithaya Pansringarm), who sees himself as the judge, jury and executioner. Now Julian, his mother and the detective are on a path that may get them all killed.

This is writer/director Nicolas Winding Refn’s follow up to his 2011 sleeper hit “Drive,” which also stars Ryan Gosling.  However, this movie is sadly disappointing film. The great thing about “Drive” was it had a definite feel to it. The music, the cinematography and Gosling’s reserve acting all created an atmosphere in the film that had the audience believing his character could explode at any minute. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t have any overriding style. It seems that it can’t decide what type of movie it wants to be. The film has been influenced by the Asian exploitation cinema of the past decade and seems to want to mirror that type of style. At the same time, it seems to want to be the pulp-fiction kind of Hollywood crime drama that director Refn’s “Drive” executed so well. While not succeeding at either genre, the film does goes overboard with the Asian influence, with not one but two karaoke scenes, more red lantern bars than San Francisco’s Chinatown and a sword wielding character that likes to cut off peoples hands.

The film fails to find any sort of narrative structure, with flashbacks that make no sense. The film is filled with characters that are either extremely boring, like Gosling’s, or so over the top, like Scott Thomas’s character, that the film borders on  absurd comedy. Scott Thomas chews up the scenery like her life depends on it as her character is both insulting and boorish, and verbally abusive to her son. Her character sees Julian as the weaker of her two sons, a pretty boy that never was an equal to his older brother. With all that going on, you can see why Gosling’s character might have a few issues to work out with women.

Gosling’s character, on the other hand, like in “Drive,” barely delivers a line. The difference in the two films is that in “Drive” there was a purpose to his character, whereas in this film Julian seems to be just sleepwalking through life. There are shot after shot of Gosling just starring into space with an unexpressive look on his face, lost in a performance that is so soulless it will make fans of Gosling and “Drive” sorely disappointed. The only time he shows any emotion is in a pointless scene where he gets angry at his girlfriend/prostitute after the two of them have dinner with his vile mom. That scene, like many others in the movie, feels pointless and misplaced.

The film drags, making it seem far longer than 90 minutes. I have never seen so many characters walk so slowly for so long in any film. It’s as if we have a zombie film without all the fun. The film tries to be shocking at times, with scenes of torture and killing, but it never really hits the mark. In fact, there is a major scene in the film where detective Chang is torturing a criminal to get information out of him, that goes on so long, it makes the scene feel ridiculous, rather than revolting.

This is a film that wants desperately to be cool and shocking, but ends up being nothing more than boring and incomprehensible. My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See It Again

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

“Only God Forgives” is playing at the Plaza Theatre. Check out their Facebook page.