Breathe: An extraordinary story, told with grace

Breathe (2017) • View trailer 
Four stars. Rated PG-13, for dramatic intensity and disturbing images
By Derrick Bang

This is — but at the same time, isn’t — what you’re expecting.

The tagline — “With her love, he lived” — implies a poignant drama likely to bring tears, and that’s entirely accurate. But this also is the factual biographical depiction of Robin Cavendish, who was anything but ordinary ... and he sure as hell wasn’t a victim.

An outdoor excursion proves just the ticket for Robin Cavendish (Andrew Garfield,
reclining), much to the delight of his friends and family: from left, Teddy (Hugh
Bonneville, partially obscured), Diana (Claire Foy), young Jonathan (Harry Marcus)
and David (Tom Hollander)

No matter how old I get — no matter how much time is spent in movie theaters — I marvel at directors and writers who keep finding amazing people who’ve thus far escaped the mainstream attention they deserve. In this case, of course, that’s my American ignorance speaking; I’m sure Cavendish remains a household name to this day, in his native England, just as he must’ve been during his incredible life.

Andy Serkis — a longtime stage actor who became best known for “performing” CGI characters such as Gollum (Lord of the Rings), King Kong and Caesar (Planet of the Apes) — makes an impressive directorial debut with Breathe, the thoroughly engaging saga of Cavendish’s life. Although ample credit also belongs to his stunning ensemble cast, there’s no question that Serkis orchestrates the film with heartfelt respect for his subject.

Scripter William Nicholson — Oscar-nominated for 1993’s Shadowlands, and for his collaborative work on 2000’s Gladiator — handles this challenge with intelligence, sensitivity and far more spontaneous humor than one would think possible. Although Cavendish endured what most would consider a tragedy, that descriptor does not characterize this film; it’s astonishing, how often Nicholson evokes gentle laughter.

That must have been one of the key goals, because — more than anything — Cavendish demanded to be accepted and treated like everybody else ... which is to say, like “normal” people.

On top of which, Serkis and Nicholson had the best possible guidance: One of this film’s producers is Jonathan Cavendish, Robin’s son, who with Serkis runs the production company Imaginarium Studios. Bringing his father’s story to the big screen obviously was a labor of love for Jonathan, and — this, too, is a small miracle — his devotion to the material didn’t interfere with what has emerged as a remarkably tender and thoroughly uplifting film.

The story opens in the late 1950s. As introduced during a spirited cricket match, Robin (Andrew Garfield) is every inch the dashing, ex-British Army officer. In a few deftly constructed scenes, Serkis and Nicholson establish the love-at-first-sight speed with which Robin falls for the aristocratic Diana Blacker (Claire Foy, immediately recognized as young Queen Elizabeth II, in TV’s The Crown). She’s equally smitten, and they marry.

The 2013 Oscar Shorts: Great things in small packages

The 2013 Oscar Shorts (2013) • View trailer 
Four stars. Rating: G, PG and R, depending on the film
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 1.31.14

Much as I always enjoy the annual Oscar short subjects, I’ve noticed over time that many of the live-action nominees tend to be ... well ... quite depressing.

So when this year’s entry from Denmark, Helium, opened on a little boy in a hospital bed, I couldn’t blame my Constant Companion for shooting me a decidedly reproachful glance.

At first blush, animation entry Get a Horse! looks and sounds like a late 1920s-era
Mickey Mouse cartoon; the historical "impersonation" is remarkably authentic. But
things take a wonderfully unexpected turn about a minute in, when Mickey
"breaks the fourth wall" quite spectacularly.

In fairness, director Anders Walter’s 23-minute fable is equal parts charming and poignant, despite building to a sad-yet-triumphant conclusion that you’ll anticipate 30 seconds in. And you’ll be right ... but you won’t be prepared for the gut-punch that comes with the quick final scene.

It’s an imaginative film, with Walter drawing expressive performances from young Pelle Falk Krusbaek, as the dying little boy in question; and Casper Crump, as the eccentric hospital janitor who concocts a progressively wild tale about the much more interesting, kid-oriented alternative to heaven that awaits true believers.

Be prepared, though: Walter’s film packs quite an emotional punch.

That’s also true of Spanish director Esteban Crespo’s That Wasn’t Me, which is likely to leave an intense mental scar long after the lights come up. Helium, for all its gentle power, is a work of fiction; Crespo’s film is ripped from today’s grim headlines regarding the cruel indoctrination and subsequent exploitation of child soldiers.

Spanish aid worker Paula (Alejandra Lorente) has naively followed her boyfriend Juanjo (Gustavo Salmerón) into an unspecified African country, hoping to Make A Difference. Based on their larkish demeanor, things have gone well thus far; that changes abruptly at a checkpoint, when a thuggish rebel army general (Babou Cham) decides to use these interlopers as human targets, in order to “blood” his young conscripts.

One of the latter is Kaney (Juan Tojaka), an adolescent with a fondness for soccer.

What follows is grim, graphic, tautly edited and heart-stopping; Crespo doesn’t let up for a moment, and — for a time — we’ve no idea where this 24-minute film is going. The complexity of the filmmaker’s vision becomes clear once we move toward the climactic third act, and the realization that Crespo wants us to understand that these young boys, no matter how bestial, are just as brutalized as the victims they’ve been brainwashed into fighting. Only as the film ends do we understand and appreciate its title.

It’s a thoughtful, harrowing drama: quite possibly the winner in this category.

Not that the competition isn’t stiff. French director Xavier Legrand also does excellent work with Just Before Losing Everything, a drama whose mere title makes us fear the worst (particularly given the reputation of these live-action shorts!). The opening sequence is deceptively bucolic, with young Julien (Miljan Chatelain) heading off for an average school day.

Except that he doesn’t.

The Invisible Woman: What the Dickens?

The Invisible Woman (2013) • View trailer 
Three stars. Rating: R, and quite ludicrously, for mild sexual content
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 1.17.14

Consider the irony: Actor/director Ralph Fiennes’ new film about Charles Dickens, a storytelling craftsman, is undone by a maddeningly clumsy script.

During a late-night social gathering, Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes) entertains the
guests by hypnotizing Frances Ternan (Kristin Scott Thomas, far left), much to the
delight of her daughers, from left, Nelly (Felicity Jones) and Maria (Perdita Weeks).
Nelly, however, is far more captivated by Dickens himself, than by his little party trick.

However authentic the 19th century setting, however lavish the costumes, however fascinating that so many of the English estates and countryside settings seem not to have changed, it remains impossible to become involved with this narrative. Abi Morgan’s screenplay is slow, difficult to follow, and needlessly enigmatic. Essential details are glossed over or rendered so subtly as to be overlooked.

Morgan already has demonstrated an unconventional approach to biographical material; her screenplay for The Iron Lady was less about Margaret Thatcher, and more about the nature of grief, and the cruelty of old age. Viewers wanting to learn something about the career that shaped and defined Thatcher walked away disappointed; folks are likely to do the same after enduring Fiennes’ The Invisible Woman.

The title refers to Ellen (Nelly) Ternan, who in 1857, at the age of 18, came to the attention of Dickens during a Manchester performance of The Frozen Deep, a play that he had co-written with his good friend Wilkie Collins. Nelly and her two older sisters, Maria and Fanny, were at that time following in the acting footsteps of their mother, Frances Ternan, who had achieved modest fame on the London stage.

Dickens, then 45, was married and the father of nine children. He nonetheless fell in love with Nelly, an arrangement that her mother likely “tolerated” both because of the celebrated author’s stature, and because her youngest daughter had scant acting talent. Besides which, Victorian-era actresses generally were regarded as only one short step above prostitutes ... so it could be argued that Nelly didn’t have much of a reputation to protect.

But Dickens did. Despite the very public manner in which he disavowed his wife and mother of their many children — publishing a letter in his own magazine, Household Words, which blamed her for their estrangement — he nonetheless managed to keep his relationship with Nelly below public (and press) radar.

Dickens and Nelly remained lovers and companions until the author’s death in 1870, at which point — and here’s the fascinating part — the 31-year-old Nelly, still looking quite youthful, “re-invented” herself as a much younger woman. While staying with her sister Maria in Oxford, she caught the eye of an undergraduate named George Wharton. They eventually married — he was 24, she a clandestine 36 — and settled in Margate, where they had two children and ran a boys’ school.

When anybody asked about her unusually extensive library of Dickens’ works, she’d claim that the author had been a family friend when she was a little girl.

(One assumes that Nelly eventually confessed at least part of the truth to her husband, when her advancing age became more obvious, and at a point when their relationship could have withstood the revelation.)

About Time: Needs more ripening

About Time (2013) • View trailer 
3.5 stars. Rating: R, and quite stupidly, for fleeting profanity and mild sensuality
By Derrick Bang

At first blush, this fantasy rom-com seems to be about young love, and finding the perfect soul-mate.

Or maybe it’s a cautionary tale about missed opportunities.

Tim (Domhnall Gleeson, left) can't begin to grasp what his father (Bill Nighy) has just
confessed: that the men in their family have the ability to travel backwards in time.
Very soon, though, Tim will realize that he does indeed share this incredible talent ...
and he'll have plenty of fun — and not a little heartbreak — trying to get a handle
on what he can and cannot do.

No, wait, it might be a parable on the importance of embracing every single moment of life’s precious gift.

In the final analysis, though, writer/director Richard Curtis’ deeply personal film focuses on the indestructible — and loving — bond between fathers and sons. And alla that other stuff mentioned above.

One can’t help feeling that this is a valentine to Curtis’ own father: either a celebration of a happy relationship with the elder Curtis (who recently died), or a heartfelt wish that they could have enjoyed the affectionate bond that links this story’s Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) and his father (Bill Nighy).

Which is interesting, since this bittersweet film is being marketed as a sweet, whimsical love story between Tim and Mary (Rachel McAdams). One gets the sense that Universal Pictures is approaching this publicity campaign very warily, not quite certain whether this creature is fish or fowl.

About Time is about all the elements cited above, of course, which is both its greatest virtue and underlying curse. As often is the case with a filmmaker’s long-gestating pet project, Curtis can’t quite get a handle on how best to articulate this unusual saga; as a result, his film wanders a bit, even stumbles at times.

This slightly unfocused approach is surprising — and disappointing — given that Curtis so unerringly kept a few dozen infatuated characters spinning quite successfully in his 2003 masterpiece, Love, Actually. This new film, in contrast, offers dozens of sparkling little moments, all charming in their own right, which wind up being greater than the sum of their parts.

And once we reach the climax, complete with a moral delivered with all the formality of a fable from Aesop, Curtis doesn’t know how to conclude; he stutters his way through a lengthy, didactic epilogue that dilutes much of what came before. We’re clearly intended to be left with a sense of radiant joy over life’s endless possibilities, but instead — at best — we part with Shakespeare’s sweet sorrow.

At worst, with deep regret over our own missed opportunities. Probably not the mood Curtis intended.

Valkyrie: Oh, so close...

Valkyrie (2008) • View trailer for Valkyrie
3.5 stars (out of five). Rating: PG-13, for violence
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 12.26.08
Buy DVD: Valkyrie • Buy Blu-Ray: Valkyrie [Blu-ray]

After numerous delays, amid speculation that the picture was snake-bit, and with his artistic credibility on the line — not to mention the fate of his still-fresh ownership of United Artists — Tom Cruise finally has gotten Valkyrie into theaters.

Soon after recovering from injuries sustained in North Africa, and because he
has made no secret of his distaste for the direction Hitler's war has taken, Col.
Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise, standing left) is approached by Maj. Gen.
Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh, standing right) and asked to join
an ambitious plot to assassinate Der Fuehrer.

The good news is that the film is a crackling drama, its fascinating depiction of dissension within Hitler's elite a reassuring reminder that numerous high-ranking German politicians and military officers were quite unhappy with the madman leading their country.

The bad news — for Cruise, anyway — is that he's completely miscast in this project, his all-American good looks and blatantly American accent at odds with the German officer he's playing. More critically, he's blown off the screen by a veritable wealth of supporting players, many of them British, all of them vastly superior actors.

Despite being the center of these events, Cruise's Col. Claus von Stauffenberg is the least interesting — and most shallowly realized — character in the film.

All stories of this nature, where suspense must be built from actual historical events with known outcomes, succeed or fail on the basis of how deeply involved we get with either the characters or the situation. Despite knowing (for example) that the astronauts of Apollo 13 made it back safely, we nonetheless were at the edge of our chairs during director Ron Howard's absorbing film.

In terms of political thrillers, the benchmark was set with 1973's Day of the Jackal, director Fred Zinnemann's brilliant adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's dynamite best-seller, which detailed a plot to assassinate Charles De Gaulle. Notwithstanding the obvious fact that De Gaulle never was assassinated, we actually began to worry, as professional killer Edward Fox went through all his meticulous preparations, that we might have misremembered history.

The scheme, it appeared, couldn't possibly go wrong!

Valkyrie takes a somewhat different approach in its depiction of the so-called "July 20th Plot" to kill Hitler and replace the entire Nazi government. As this screenplay — credited to Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander — begins in 1943 and builds to its climax during the summer of 1944, it's almost immediately obvious that well-laid plans will go awry, and that these dedicated and well-meaning conspirators will be caught; the only questions are when, and how.

This almost inevitable failure is even referenced by one particularly mordant line of dialogue: "It's a military operation. Of course something will go wrong."