by Sam Juliano
I was so thrilled to receive the completed first-stage editing manuscript of Irish Jesus in Fairview from Rob Bignell over two weeks early this past Tuesday. I wasn’t expecting to see it until the second or third week in February, but as a result of this early return I have now committed much of time incorporating the changes/corrections. This has also given me the opportunity to make some minor changes on my own as I work my way through the manuscript. Of course, this means a pause on Roses for Saoirse, until everything with the second novel is sorted out. But as I say, what a wonderful surprise!
In the meantime, Lucille and I (and a few of our kids) saw several more films this past week, two of them in the theater. Here are my Facebook reports, along with the ratings of the films watched:
Belgian coming-of-age drama “Close” is an irrefutable masterwork!
Lukas Dhont’s wrenching follow-up to his acclaimed “Girl” nearly won the Palme d’Or this past spring. Though the prize ultimately went to “Triangle of Sadness,” Dhont’s film copped the Grand Prix and received nothing less than spectacular reviews. A tiny minority derided the film, calling it “gay child poverty porn” but these detractors seemed to have missed the whole point of the film. “Close” is about lost innocence, the suppression of grief, (I immediately thought of a largely forgotten 1984 film titled “The Stone Boy” by Christopher Cain which examined this acute aspect of the internalization of mourning, the devastating consequences of homophobia, and how one surrenders their deepest sensibilities). A French made-for-television film called “Hidden Kisses” also comes to mind, though in that case redemption defined the script. Close’s central protagonist, the guilt-ridden, wide-eyed Leo, (Eden Dambrine) fails to externalize his demons until the film’s climax, where Emilie Dequenne of “Rosetta” fame serves as the boy’s confessor. Both Dambrine and the boy who plays the mutual object of his affections -Remi (Gustav Waele) are repeatedly shown in close-up, and with the piercing accompaniment of an unforgettable classical-tingued score by Valentin Hadjadj, Dhont scores maximum emotional impact from his framing, though kudos are deserved for Dutch cinematographer Frank van den Eeden, whose pastoral tapestries enhance the film’s artful visual scheme. Dhont, who co-wrote the script realizes the power of “less is more,” and both young teenagers, Dambrine and De Waele deliver powerful performances that will move one to the core of their being. “Close” contends for fim of the year honors for me. 5/5.
Highest rating for urgent, intimate, incisive and existential “Women Talking”
Fueled by a bevy of extraordinary performances, claustrophobic, blue-grey tinted lensing, an enveloping score and a brilliant screenplay, the Canadian-made “Women Talking” must surely rate as one of the best films of 2022. Though I applaud its Best Picture and Best Screenplay nominations, I thought acting nods by any of the cast – Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Francis McDormand, Sheila McCatrthy and/or Ben Whishaw were warranted, and nods to Islandic composer Hildur Guonadottir (love the integration of the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer!”) and cinematographer Luc Montpellier could hardly be questioned. And then, there’s the film’s director Sarah Polley, whose best film this is. Polley’s script is an avalanche of words, and though the general tone is austere, some pointed humor is present, and the film, set in an Amish-like (note the horse and buggies and sparce interior amenities) Mennonite colony where men have sexually abused women, and said women are left uneducated, and the women come to terms with the horror they experienced. The film, which at times is otherworldy, is unremitting in its trenchant focus, and cast a deeply-emotional spell. (5/5)
Lucille and I watched “To Leslie” last night on Amazon Prime after hearing earlier in the day that its star, Andrea Riseborough had received a surprising Best Actress nomination. Well, I thought she was electrifying and transcended all the “Hey, I am acting” trademarks of those who take on the role of alcoholism on the screen. Everything in her work was spontaneous and natural, and the film too was quite a pleasant surprise. I would even dare to say now that Ms. Riseborough deserves to win the Oscar over her four fellow nominees, and I don’t think I am suffering from next-day overreacting.
Nothing about the psychological drama “Causeway” is terribly original or revelatory, and the narrative is largely predictable. Still, this slow-burning exploration of trauma and grief is a fairly solid work, containing two excellent performances, one by the Oscar nominated Brian Tyree Henry and the other by Jennifer Lawrence. The latter plays “Lynsey,” who suffered a brain injury during her tour of Afghanistan, and returns home to get her life together in New Orleans. Her mother is angered to learn that Lynsey is looking forward to being redeployed, and the young soldier’s doctor feels that her physical condition is bringing on depression. The title’s of this Lila Neugebauer-directed film is nicely metaphorical, and the budding friendship between Lynsey and James is touchingly transcribed. Lucille and I watched the film last night on Apple TV, mainly because we desired to see Henry’s performance.
Click on names for archives
Writers/Founders
Wonders in the Dark 
Cindy Williams excelled in an ensemble role in one of the best American films of the 1970s, “American Graffiti,” which spun off into “Happy Days,” which begat “Laverne and Shirley.” Goodbye to her.
Mark, yes indeed, my friend. I posted on her sad passing on FB yesterday. Also, Lisa Loring (Wednesday on the Addams Family) A terrible week.
Andrea Riseborough’s performances are always A+ events. TO LESLIE only proves that the Academy needs to stop patting itself on the back and start recognizing actors who venture outside its hermetically sealed domain. I also recommended her and the film HERE BEFORE, which showed up here earlier in 2022 and vanished unfairly from view. I’ve heard people criticize her nomination as taking a place away from Black actors Viola Davis (who already has an Oscar) and Danielle Deadwyler. I say what Riseborough, who has been working at the top of her game for 20 years without acknowledgment and then get back to me about what’s fair.
Marilyn, my friend, as far as I’m concerned, your commentary here is spot-on. I really can’t agree with you more in every sense! Sadly, though, I still have not seen HERE BEFORE, and need to get to it. Though I still lament the omission of Danielle Deadwyler – who I believe should have landed in the five – I do not think it should have been at the expense of Riseborough, who is my #1 choice now. i am still debating which actress I would have left off, but for me, Riseborough and Deadwyler are the top choices. You are right to note that David has altready won.
Plan to see “To Leslie” and “Corsage” this weekend on the big screen. Color me stoked.
Perusing the S&S top 250 in stunned disbelief at the absence of films directed by Josef von Sternberg. Zero, none, nada, no no nanette.
Are his Hollywood films considered too camp? Susan Sontag: “Camp is the outrageous aestheticism of Sternberg’s six American movies, all six, but especially the last, “The Devil Is a Woman…” I must say, amid all the outré exaggerations of “The Scarlet Empress,” Dietrich playing the sexually voracious Catherine as a Prussian Mae West certainly stands apart.
Still and all, that leaves us with “Underworld,” “The Docks of New York,” and “The Blue Angel,” and none of them made the S&S list.