Wild (2014)

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée 

Written by Nick Hornby (screenplay) and Cheryl Strayed (memoir "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail")

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern and Gaby Hoffmann

     Wild is a rare film about self-discovery and taking a "journey" to "find yourself" that is not a disappointment. I may be a bit bias since I was a huge fan of the memoir that this movie is based upon- "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail." However, that is not to take away from the overall greatness of this movie. This movie is based on the real events in Chery Strayed's life that led up to her ultimately deciding to hike 1,000 miles on the PCT from the Mexico border to Canada. 

     The movie opens with a gruesome and raw scene of Cheryl Strayed (portrayed by Reese Witherspoon) sitting on top of a mountain on the trail, ripping off a toe nail and subsequently accidentally knocking her shoe off the side of the cliff. If this intense opening scene doesn't immediately drag you into the following storyline, than I don't know what will. Cheryl enters this extremely strenuous hike in which she is neither physically or mentally prepared for- following the death of her beloved mother, Bobbi (Laura Dern). The film follows Cheryl's journey across the trail, and every obstacle that she overcomes- with reoccurring flashbacks. Flashbacks show us Cheryl and her brother (the real life Cheryl also has a sister who was not given a character in the film) growing up poor, but rich in love. Their mother is constantly shown as a beaming ray of hope and optimism. She loves her children more than her arms can stretch out, she goes to college with Cheryl, all while maintaining her super mom persona. Things take a depressing turn as we see flashbacks of Bobbi finding out she has terminal cancer. After her death, Cheryl becomes involved with drugs and begins sleeping around with anyone who will ask. Finally, she decides to "put herself in the way of beauty" and hike herself to who her mother always thought she was, and would be. 

     Hornby did a brilliant job at transforming the heartbreaking and inspiring story from Cheryl's memoir- into an equals as awe-inspiring film. Cheryl is forced to overcome unbearable grief following the death of her mother. The method she chooses to conquer that grief, and become who she was always supposed to be is nothing less of impressive. This movie is all about perseverance and as corny as it sounds, finding your true best self and holding on to it. One of my favorite parts about the film was how it often used Simon & Garfunkel's song, "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" as a bridge between obstacles Cheryl was facing on the trail to things from her past. 

     As far as acting goes, Reese Witherspoon nailed it. This was such a fresh, new role for her. She normally plays very fluffy, sweet characters- but Cheryl is rough around the edges. Witherspoon does an amazing job of portraying this real life character who has gone through such devastation loosing her mother. She has many intense scenes with raw emotion that left me with goosebumps. Lara Dern had a heartwarming supporting role. Her character's intense optimism never died down even after the news of her imminent death. Witherspoon and Dern both earned Academy Award nominations for their performances. 

     I love Wild for many reasons. It met my expectations after reading the memoir and then seeing the movie. The story itself is so inspiring. The acting is incredible. You would think after seeing the intense physical and emotional pain Cheryl goes through on this hike, that you would never want to hike again- but this movie just makes me want to go on a similar intense hike. Overall great movie. 

I give Wild a...

9/10

Walk The Line (2005)

Directed by James Mangold

Written by James Mangold, Gill Dennis and Johnny Cash (novel)

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin and Robert Patrick 

     Johnny Cash fans will audibly rejoice for this film, and non Johnny Cash fans will become fans after this musical triumph based on the life of legendary singer, John R. Cash. I went into this movie knowing a few notable songs by him, and being a minor fan. After seeing Mangold and Joaquin Phoenix revive this musical legend- I can now say I am a much bigger fan. Walk The Line tells Cash's sometimes dark story of his rise to stardom in an honest way which doesn't make you praise him- it makes you see where he came from and how he became successful, and thus respect his to fame. 

     The film opens in the early 1940's with a young Johnny Cash growing up in Arkansas, under the discipline of his hard-ass father, Ray Cash (Robert Patrick). This sets as a preview to where Cash firs became interested in music- as he is often seen singing with his mother, or listening to the radio with his older brother. Fast-forward many years and we see Johnny living in Memphis with his wife, Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin) and his daughter. Now in the mid 1950's, he is in a band called, Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Twos. He auditions for a record label with his band, and thus begins his journey to fame. Johnny finds himself on tour with a young Jerry Lee Lewis and June Carter (Reese Witherspoon).  While the number of shows played tallies up and his fame grows, we start to see Cash's addiction to pills and alcoholism take affect. His unique, deep voice continues to rocket him to stardom while his alcoholism and pill addiction drags his relationship with June down. The film progresses to scenes from the 1960's where his relationship with Vivian has ended and he does a concert in the Folsom prison. 

     Mangold takes a very interesting approach in how he portrays Cash. He is shown often as a flawed man who gets by with his immense musical talent. This movie wasn't made as a shrine of heroism to the great Johnny Cash. If anything, this was very much a love story. Through his drug addiction and alcoholism we see June's persistence in being there for him. She remains a friend to Cash even through his worst times. They have a very unconventional love story as they met on tour, and had a very rocky relationship considering his drug abuse. This movie includes many of Cash's songs, often from start to finish- and that is what I enjoyed about this movie. The music plays a very important part in this movie which is equally balanced with the love story between him and June. 

     The acting performances by the two lead roles was amazing to watch. Witherspoon and Phoenix both did all the singing and playing of instruments themselves and I was extremely impressed. Phoenix's ability to accurately imitate Johnny Cash's speaking and singing voice was highly impressive. Witherspoon gives one of her best performances of the sweet southern bell, June - earning her an Oscar win. 

     This film is great for anybody- Johnny Cash fans or just people who recognize the name. The singing is great, the acting is superb and the storyline is interesting. I was unaware of a lot of the dark things that aided in Johnny Cash's early life and this film served as a lesson to me. 

I give Walk The Line a...

7/10

Lion (2016)

Directed by Garth Davis 

Written by Luke Davies (screenplay) and Saroo Brierley (adapted from his book "A Long Way Home")

Starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara and Sunny Pawar

     A breathtaking story about a young Indian boy who gets lost in the overly populated Calcutta, India- nearly a thousand miles away from his home- and his journey to find home after 20 years of living with his new family in Tasmania. Lion is adapted from the real life story of Saroo Brierley- a story in which he wrote about in his book: "A Long Way Home."

     The journey starts with 5-year old Saroo (played by Sunny Pawar) living his impoverished life in the shadow of his older brother, Guddu. The two complete chores together to help their mother, Kamla (Pryanka Bose) put food on the table. One day, Guddu informs his younger brother of his impending trip to a distant city via train, to look for work. Being a stubborn small kid who just wants to be like his older brother, Saroo insists that he must come along. After many initial rejections to this request, Guddu finally gives in and agrees to let him come along.  Along the way, the two become separated and Saroo finds himself embarking on a train to the distant Calcutta- where he doesn't know the language, the people, or even the name of the village where he is from. After spending a lot of time on the crowded streets of this Indian city, Saroo is adopted by a loving Australian couple, Sue and John Brierley (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham). After growing up with this new life and new family, he has only dim memories of his life and family back in India. Once Saroo hits adulthood (now played by Dev Patel), he decided to locate his home via Google Earth, and hopefully be reunited with his mother and brother. 

     The first half of Lion is set in India with Saroo being a small child. Although the only english we get during this half of the movie is in subtitles- it is beautifully done, and I believe the best part of the film. Lion sets a very strong pace in the beginning of the movie. Seeing a child as young as Saroo all on his own in such a new, foreign territory, is heartbreaking and keeps us on the edge of our seat, waiting to find out his fate. Davis effectively captures the boys confusion and fear over being lost. I wasn't quite ready for the transition to adult Saroo, considering how adorable the young version of him is- but the handsome Dev Patel made that a bit easier. The second half of the movie wasn't as great as the first unfortunately. Granted there is a 20 year difference between he two parts of the film, I just felt the second half lost some momentum from the climatic first half. The story in the second half lacks the intensity from the first, and the character is less interesting as an adult. That is to say nothing bad about Patel's performance, however. 

     Patel and Pawar both play such different performances of the same character but both do an incredible job. This is the first role for Sunny Pawar, and he barely speaks any english- so to see him take on this powerful role was great. Aside from these two actors, the few supporting roles in this film are very limited. Rooney Mara plays Saroo's girlfriend, and really didn't have enough screen time for me to form an opinion on her performance. Kidman also had limited screen time but played a powerful role. She was hand-picked by the real life Sue Brierley to play this role. She already had the accent even! Patel and Kidman both scored oscar nominations for this film, as they deserved. 

     Lion is an amazing tale that for Davis and the cast, was much anticipated to tell. Davis shot footage for a "60 minutes" special on the story of Saroo- and that footage can be seen at the end of the film. Patel really immersed himself in the history of his character in order to play him to the best of his abilities. That is what I like so much about this film- the determination behind the makers to bring it life. 

I give Lion a... 

7/10

The Fighter (2010)

Directed by David O. Russell

Written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, and Keith Dorrington

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo

     From the elusive David O. Russell, comes yet another movie about boxing that majorly succeeds in the theaters and during awards season. These films either revolve around an underdog boxer, who is given one more chance in the ring, and succeeds greatly. These ones always have tremendous success among viewers as they sympathize with the underdog, and root for their success. Then there are the fighting movies that have deeper and darker back stories of the fighter- and have lots of hidden connotations. The Fighter is a rare gem that represents both these types of films. Based on the true story of Irish fighter Mickey Ward (played by Mark Wahlberg), this film is much different from other boxing films. 

     Set in Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1990's- The Fighter opens with an HBO documentary crew filming Mickey's older brother, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). The HBO documentary is a chronicle of how crack destroys lives- with Dicky being the prime example. Dicky believes the film crew is documenting his triumphant, eventual return to the boxing ring. When he's not spending his days in Lowell's notorious crack house, he is training with Mickey. With the incompetent management of his mother, Alice (Melissa Leo) and Dicky's unreliability in training- Mickey gets thrown into a fight against a guy who is 20 pounds heavier than he is, and gets pulverized. Mickey soon gains the confidence he needs to break away from his parasitical family when he meets bartender, Charlene (Amy Adams). Dicky's reckless actions land him up the river- which is when Mickey takes matters into his own hands to further his boxing career. With the help of his girlfriend Charlene; his father, George (Jack McGee); and his new trainer, O'Keefe (Mickey O'Keefe)- Mickey steps towards respectability in the sport of boxing. While he tries to make a name for himself with his new support crew- Mickey's family drama continues to threaten his career. 

     The family drama mixed with the sports, is what makes this film so enjoyable. Mickey's extremely dysfunctional family puts him in a lot of difficult situations. Mickey faces a lot of dismay over choosing a more professional manager and trainer, over his mother and brother. 

     In the end credits, there are some clips with the real life Mickey Ward and Dickey Eklund. I was astonished with the similarities between Christian Bale's portrayal and the actual Dickey. Bale perfectly nails the mannerisms and habits of Dickey. Him and Melissa Leo crawl into the skins of their characters and play unforgettable characters in this film. Leo and Bale both took home Oscars for their supporting roles in this film- however I think their performances were anything but supporting. Amy Adams plays a foul-mouthed bartender who is the girlfriend of Mickey, and was contender for the supporting role oscar that went to Leo. We're used to seeing Adams in more innocent roles, so seeing her play this confrontational bitch who beats up one of Mickey's seven sisters- was surprising. Her ability to take on any role given to her is amazing. Mark Wahlberg does well in the lead role- but is often overlooked because of the complexity of the supporting characters. 

     This film does not fit the status quo of boxing movies at all, which is why I enjoyed it so much. It mostly focused on how Mickey's deranged family effects his career. The boxing scenes were still thrilling though. The cast drives this film to success. One of my favorite roles of Bale's. 

I give The Fighter a...

7/10 

Monster (2003)

Directed by Patty Jenkins

Written by Patty Jenkins 

Starring Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, and Bruce Dern 

     Patty Jenkins brings us a dark and chilling film based on the real life of Daytona Beach prostitute turned serial killer, Aileen Wournos (Charlize Theron), who murdered seven men in 1989. Going into this film I was very hesitant considering Jenkins really had no past track record. Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci both never had any memorable past roles either that drove me to watch this film. However, after seeing Theron play this haunting character I will always be a fan of hers. 

     Set in Daytona Beach, Florida where real life Wournos commit her murders, the film starts with the prostitute on the verge of putting a gun to her head under a highway over pass. Then she meets Selby (Christina Ricci) at a gay bar, who I assume resembles Aileen's real life girlfriend Tyria Moore. After the initial denial of Selby by calling her some vulgar terms used towards lesbian women, Aileen who is looking for any form of affection for her barren life, eventually becomes very taken with timid Selby, who is living with family friends because her father kicked her out. Aileen murders her first "john" after he beats her, ties her up and tries to rape her. From that point, what we're thought to believe is a "cute" lesbian relationship (based on the roller skating scene) turns into Selby enabling Aileen's sudden erratic behavior. The first murder seems justified, as her life threatening predicament left her with no other option but to shoot the man in self-defense. However, from there everything goes down hill very fast as each of the next victims become progressively more innocent, leading up to her last murder which was a case of the man being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person (Aileen). 

     Jenkins presents Aileen in a very interesting way as we neither sympathize or empathize with her. She leads us to understand why Aileen committed all these murders time and time again, not why we should acquit any of our previous beliefs of Wournos being a "monster". Jenkins does present us with this unconventional "love" story between Selby and Aileen as a way to further display why Aileen commits these murders, not in an attempt to humanize her and justify her actions. 

     By far the best thing about this film was Charlize Theron's depiction of the real-life serial killer. Theron's transformation from glamorous to homely is quite astounding. While most of the credit goes to the make-up team, Theron still deserves appraisal as she gained over twenty pounds and let her body flab and sag in some unflattering places. She didn't just become "ugly" on the outside to play this role. She perfectly adopts the mannerisms and dialect of the Daytona Beach prostitute that blows all the fellow 2003 oscar nominees out of the water. Theron delivers an unforgettable character that is probably the best of her career so far. Monster is an eerie drama film that is no way like any other "monster" or "slasher" horror movie. It is real. It is scary. 

I give Monster an...

7/10