Film Reviews by PS

I loved the fact that the plot of this film relies on a series of events that can't/could not have happened and the meaning of which are not spelled out. But the main point of the film is not really the plot but the relationship between the two main characters. The setting is perfect, and like the film marries the banal with the extraordinary. You can feel the heat

This film presents a new moral dilemma as warfare becomes more "remote" with drone strikes. What I loved about it was that it chooses one small fictional situation and explores all the implications of this one situation. The economy of the plot reminded me of Greek tragedy, so I looked up "unity of action" which is one of the principles on which Greek tragedy used.

"The Unity of Action limits the supposed action to a single set of incidents which are related as cause and effect, "having a beginning, middle, and an end." No scene is to be included that does not advance the plot directly. No subplots, no characters who do not advance the action." Apologies if you already knew this. I feel this applies perfectly to this film. The tension builds up inexorably, as there is a time pressure on the crucial decision to be made. The dancing girl is a wonderfully played character who, together with the man at the end of the chain of command, who has to pull the trigger, give a real emotional weight to what otherwise would be abstract. Great cast, with Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman and Aaron Paul and all the acting is superb.

This is essentially a road movie with chapters. It's construction is really beautiful. It all takes place over a single day. As we travel through the day with Lily Tomlin's eccentric and irascible grandma figure, ("i don't have an anger problem, I have a problem with assholes") and her grandaughter, we gradually learn more about her and her history, and explore her relationship to her grandaughter and to her daughter. What I love about this movie is that none of the three main characters are static, they and their relationship change as the movie progresses. At one point the mother says to Elle, "you were a terrible mother" and she answers "I'll try to be a better grandma" and we see this happening. As a grandma myself, I love this Idea of the grandparent relationship being an opportunity to "do it different next time". Lily Tomlin won a golden globe, and other awards for her performance. Her comic timing, as always, is superb and she also manages to give depth and dignity to her character. The chemistry between her and Julia Garner, who plays Sage, her granddaughter is excellent. It's a very funny movie that also has some depth.

I basically agree with the critic's review. I found the film hard to watch, as the two main characters are male authors who are obsessed with their work, their success (or not) , other people's view of them and their sense of their own importance. It is very well acted and Elizabeth Moss (the only human character in the film) gives a wonderful performance as Ashley. There is a great moment where the camera shows a long close up of her face as she fights between grief, self-pity and triumph. The other thing I liked was the original soundtrack by DEwitt. Long bluesy trumpet solos - blowing one's own trumpet?

A beautiful film. Other reviewers have pointed out it is a little too long and the subtitles are poor (too small to read without your nose pressed up to the screen). In fact, it borrows from the Hindi romance genre, and these are often long. The structure is boy meets girl, fall in love, difficulty and (hopefully good) final outcome. The film plays with this convention by interspersing the story with what would in a hindi movie be song and dance routines, but the joke is that the heroine cannot sing and the hero cannot dance. There are what would have been duets in beautiful scenic backgrounds, chorus song and dance scenes, but they are integrated into the film in a natural way so that you hardly notice them.

What is different about this film is firstly that the hero has Asperger's syndrome. The first half of the film is like a light, tender comedy based on this, and the second half is what happens to him after 9/11 because he is also a muslim, which is altogether darker. The second part of the film takes the form of a quest, which the hero undertakes to win his lady's love back. It is like a road movie in which he meets various characters in different places and does what he can to change their view of him as a muslim. Even in the darker second part, the film never loses its sense of humour and never quite totally falls into sentimentality. I felt that the rigorous scene - chorus - scene structure broke up a lengthy film so that it doesn't feel too long. I absolutely loved the layering of these more serious themes onto the structure of a simple fantasy romance.

This film is full of parallels. Juliette Binoche plays a mature actor, like herself, who reluctantly agrees to play the part of the older woman in a play in which she made her name as the young lead years ago. She plays out scenes from the play with her assistant, so that their relationship also parallels her relationship with the younger actress and her younger self. The stunning scenery and the "snake" mist formation in the valley where she stays, preparing for the film, forms another layer, as it twists and winds towards the mountain. The question the film poses is how can she be fully vulnerable as she plays this ageing actor, thus showing her maturity as an artist, without somehow losing herself in longing for her younger, more carefree and more daring self? It is a slowish film, but it is worth being patient with it as it inexorably draws to its subtle and poignant end.