Movie Review: "Winter's Bone"

Winter's Bone

Directed by: Debra Granik
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes
Rated: R for drug material, language, and violent content

With unforgiving honesty, the film Winter's Bone gives the typical missing-persons thriller a unique twist, placing it in the back-woods south, a setting as devoid of goodness, beauty, and color as any inner city. The film follows 17 year old Ree (Jennifer Lawrence) who is tracking her father to ensure the family home, which he had placed as his bond money, is not lost by him not showing for court. A web of drug trails and corrupt families turns the film into as tense and dramatic of thriller as one can find. Jennifer Lawrence plays the role of Ree with conviction well beyond her years, giving us a sympathetic hero who is motivated by raising her two younger siblings to undergo this incredibly dangerous journey. The film, which delves into a world of sin without showing it in detail, is a cross between No Country For Old Men and That Evening Sun. It's also as good as either.

Movie Review: "The Fighter"

The Fighter

Directed by: David O. Russell
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
Rated: R for language throughout, drug content, some violence and sexuality.
Originally published on the website Cinexcellence

David O. Russell’s new boxing film The Fighter opens with the character of Dicky Ecklund (Christian Bale), a shrunken, twitchy boxer who seems to talk excessively about his past accomplishments and preeminent return to greatness. He’s the pride of his hometown, and they all seem to show up whenever Dicky is out and about. Dicky’s mother (Melissa Leo), who also acts as his manager, has nothing but praise for her son, and HBO has chosen to document his remarkable comeback. Dicky is even training his younger brother, Micky (Mark Wahlberg) to follow in his footsteps as a boxer. The story seems to be set around an interesting character that would follow the typical boxing plot line, charting Dicky’s comeback and ending it with a climactic championship fight. But that’s where The Fighter breaks ranks from its genre.

The film is hardly about boxing, and it sure isn’t about Dicky. He’s plagued by abusive drug use, and is often too high to train Micky properly or form any chance at a comeback. His mother is too selfish and proud to realize Dicky’s problems, her apathy toward Micky’s career, and her unfounded disapproval of Micky’s equally brash girlfriend (Amy Adams). Even the HBO crew isn’t exactly what they seem; they’re certainly not interested in Dicky’s comeback. The beautiful backdrop suddenly becomes a harsh and unkind reality. Yet, in that setting, we find solace in the story’s real hero, Dicky’s younger brother, Micky Ward. In a film where everyone is vocal and brash, Walhberg’s Micky is a relief; he’s tough as nails, yet a shy and quiet person. He’s a talented fighter, yet has a history of being a disappointment. He will fight any man, yet is intimidated by his family. The contrast is not only interesting, it’s quite endearing; we love Micky for it. We pull for him to win his fights. We cheer for him to stand up to his family. And, while Micky learns how to take a stand and fight against the life problems he is facing, he becomes the catalyst of redemption for his family, pushing them to look beyond themselves and fight against their own issues. The title is not referencing his boxing, it’s referencing his life.

The movie, which is based on a true story, has been a project Mark Wahlberg has been personally pushing for years. As a friend of the real Micky Ward, he was the one who got the story rolling, and even got David O. Russell involved. Wahlberg even said he’s been preparing for the role for four years. Most would find this surprising; since Micky is so low-key, many will forget Wahlberg’s performance all together. After all, The Fighter is a solid movie under David O. Russell’s direction, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo are contending against each other in the best supporting actress category, and Christian Bale may wind up with an Oscar thanks to his incredible performance as the strung-out Dicky Ecklund. However, in the end, it’s Wahlberg’s quiet and likeable Micky that connects with the audience, and ultimately makes The Fighter one of the biggest successes of the year.

Archive Analysis: "There Will Be Blood"

There Will Be Blood

Directed by: P.T. Anderson
Starring: Daniel Day Lewis , Paul Dano, Cirian Hinds
Rated: R for some violence

"I have a competition in me. I want no one to succeed," Daniel Plainview confesses in There Will Be Blood, the film from artist P.T. Anderson, and nothing would sum up the film any better. Plainview's character is the film, his rational behavior overcome by his greed and hatred for humanity. The role, played by the magnificent Daniel Day-Lewis, is without exageration, the best performance I have ever seen. Many scenes in the film focus on Plainview's face even when another character is talking, because it is telling the story far better than the character speaking. Add that to the brilliant direction of P.T. Anderson and wonderful cinematography of Robert Elswitt, and There Will Be Blood becomes one of the finest films of it's decade. It's also a chilling reminder that, if your life is built on existential goals, whether a successful oil business or religious power, your life will end in loneliness and dissatisfaction.