The KinderGarten Teacher (2018)

Sara Colangelo’s The KinderGarten Teacher is one of those rare films where actor intent, writing intent and directing intent all come together as they should and create something with a message beyond as solid than anything one is expecting when they watch this film.

The Kindergarten Teacher is about Lisa Spinelli played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, a kindergarten teacher recently intrigued by poetry and who frequently attends a poetry night class. One day she unexpectedly finds out one of her child students has a knack for creating impactful insightful poetry, which takes Lisa in a irresponsible direction, way beyond anyone’s expectations. 

The Kindergarten Teacher is the most interestingly uncomfortable character study to come out this year and/or to be released on Netflix. Maggie Gyllenhaal does possibly her best performance, portraying a self-centered delusional white female, who through white privilege believes she knows best when it comes to her brown Kindergarten students poetry skills. The films point propels Lisa to convince her young students brown family and everyone around her that her students a genius, while all the while making herself look good and unfortunately, kidnaping a child’s innocence. As the story progresses, Lisa becomes increasingly creepily and ironically narcissistic, and just as you feel sympathy towards Lisa, she does something to detour your perception of her. 

The Kindergarten Teacher is a fine experiment in tone and story progression, and no matter what is perceived by the end of the film, one thing automatically comes to mind.........neglect. 9/10.

• Maurice Jones 

Hold The Dark (2018) (mini review)

Hold The Dark furthers Jeremy Saulnier’s brutally violent yet realistic “matter of fact” style, while being Jeremy’s most nuanced film so far. With an extremely focused narrative, filled with retrospection, regret, redemption and paralyzing fear, Hold The Dark leaves you helpless by the end but as well, relieved. 9/10.

- Maurice Jones

YouTube Hidden Gems #1 - Old Enough (1984)

                                  

As some may know, you can sometimes find hidden film gems deep in the transferred crevasses of YouTube. Old hidden movies that people have forgotten were good, and that leads us to such a film as Marisa Silver’s Old Enough from 1984. Starring a child Alyssa Milano, a wonderfully enigmatic Rainbow Harvest and a blissfully wise Sarah Boyd.

Old Enough is about 7th grader Lonnie (played by Sarah Boyd), child to upper class New York parents with her younger sister Diane. Lonnie is on track of being a straight A student, piano prodigy and summer camp visitor, until that all takes backseat when she suddenly meets Karen, an older teenager with a Bronx attitude and a lower income up bringing, who soon teaches Lonnie the ways of a shoplifting, style minded lifestyle but all the while giving Lonnie the education she didn’t know she needed, giving her notice of class struggle, culture, debauchery, child abuse, her own surroundings, trouble with boys, appreciation of her own parents and a summer impossible to forget. 

From the opening credits and on, Marisa Silver does with Old Enough what some of the best 70’s movies have done in terms of style over the decade, by allowing observation and music to co exist, creating an intimate visual narrative to the story and inevitably pulling us closer to Lonnie’s perspective and her relationship with Karen when things get more intense between them. Not only that, but the funky minimalist Casio synth score really gives way to the feeling of a child’s coming of age and a teenagers journey through awkward yet youthful discovery in the streets and buildings of a 1980’s NYC.

The dynamics of Lonnie and Karen’s relationship really come through in Sarah Boyd’s unstated but therefore natural acting choices, really sell the awkwardness of being age 12 and trying to look up to an older kid who you know is steering you in wrong direction, due to their own insecurities. With the writing Sarah Boyd creates a character who’s reserved yet all the while, cool, calm and collected ironically in contrast of Rainbow Harvest, very much creating an interesting dynamic. The character of Karen played brashly and earnestly by the great Rainbow Harvest, is portrayed as if Rainbow really put her real life self and experiences into the role giving off the attitude of Karen yet the vulnerable deep down that comes out in Karen when she’s challenged, making Karen completely redeemable knowing that at the end of the day Karen will do the right thing underneath that tough exterior. 

Old Enough is one of those great 80’s films that kids and adults can both find something sweet and as well profound by the end of the film, without being pandered to or put off from. Take some time out and check out Old Enough on the YouTubes and have an experience like back in the day. 

-        Maurice Jones

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AQj4cFO0AIk&t=2488s

First Reformed (2018)

First Reformed is the new film by Paul Schrader (screenwriter of Taxi Driver), about an increasingly disillusioned sickly reverend played by Ethan Hawke, who is asked by a pregnant wife played by Amanda Seyfried, to talk her politically minded husband she suspects is suicidal. As the reverend’s encounters with the husband become more intense, the reverend’s ideologies begin to parallel the husband’s own. All colliding with the 250th anniversary of the reverend’s church.

First Reformed is a genuinely haunting and dread ridden film that once again explores the aspects of isolation coinciding with mental health problems under the gaze of realistic political worry. And these themes intertwined with themes of the male obsession towards conventionally beautiful women, white privilege and revenge, all found in Schrader’s classic 1976 film Taxi Driver, but still so relevant today. First Reformed also newly intently tackles the balancing of religion and reality. What happens when you apply religion to the realistic business affairs of a church and to the undoing of the planet within climate change and societies place on the earth. As well as the injustices to one another, in which how does one “keep it all together” when the problems seem to be increasingly stacked - how could one not “lose their head” and want to exact something extreme to make a strong point when their backs are mentally against the wall within the world’s truly daunting, truly real problems we all face. That our increasing fear of our planet would understandingly push us into the comfort of obsessive love.

One reviewing the flaws of First Reformed would say it’s themes are too "on the nose" but when realizing the intense reality, the film is portraying, it’s not on the nose. It’s eerily exact.

Portraying these poignantly important messages in First Reformed comes a very focused and unrelenting performance by Ethan Hawke, who sells the dishevelling of the reverend so logically yet instantly without ever subverting the character as a whole. And a surprise performance by Cedric the Entertainer, as Ethan Hawke’s fellow reverend, in a extremely natural and uncompromising role that plays to Ethan Hawke’s crisis of character.

Paul Schrader’s direction with the films subject matter instantly leads a upsetting grime tone to the film and even ironically which adds to the films unease. Stagnant straight forward shots conveying the story and a cold intent accompanied with a chilling bare bones atmospheric score and the irony of church hymns. And like Taxi Driver, Schrader allows the characters surroundings to eerily tell the story.

First Reformed is one of Paul Schrader’s best films, and my favourite so far of 2018, and with the trend of social horror in the ether, First Reformed is definitely a contender for the years best horror film.

- Maurice Jones

Withdrawn (2017)

Withdrawn is a depressingly sobering film about lonely white middle-class roommate life in Toronto and subconsciously evading purpose day to day.

In Withdrawn Canadian director Adrian Murray tells a true to life tale of Aaron, a twenty something in Toronto, Canada who spends his days swindling his drug dealer and everyone else around him, playing video games and figuring out the wonders of the oh-so-hard Rubik’s cube. When Aaron finds a lost credit card on a bike ride, he redistributes his time figuring out the pin to the newly found card.

Adrian Murray’s film is essentially about the YouTube generation who believe that everything they say and do matters and must be known, and with that have every reason to never work a real job and to turn their current existence in a money making possibility, at least for the character of Aaron. Adrian Murray truly understands the personality of the revamped shy slacker of the 2010’s. Shy and awkward due lack of constant human interaction from consistent at home activity and therefore a creation of narcissism hearing ones of voice. Adrian Murray also understands the vibe of Toronto and the daunting expensive spectacle of a big city like Toronto that would withdraw one into reclusion without the means to fund one’s self. With a perfectly mundane directing style, Adrian Murray accurately depicts the setting in dread of aloof boredom and self involvement, staying on a single shit to let you sink into every moment of YouTube watching, trashing pushing, Rubik’s cube contemplating, money negotiating and bong puffing numbing-ness. Also, Adrian Murray touches upon the idea of non-territorial relationships of the current generation as with a scene where Aaron smokes weed with his roommate’s girlfriend while he’s passed out drunk, maybe in hopes to subtly make her his girlfriend.

Aaron Koegh plays Aaron it a very unseen way. He’s condescending but nice, and awkwardly manipulative in a very “Fuck boy” so of way that seems very inspired by a real-life person.

Withdrawn is Canadian film making at its best; raw, real and poignantly unapologetically Canadian.

- Maurice Jones

You Were Never Really Here (2018)

Vicious, brutal, engrossing, visceral and sad - You Were Never Really Here is a violent crime vigilante drama by Lynne Ramsay that has more to say within the “Taxi Driver” genre. About a man whose past as a war veteran lends itself to his career as a contract child tractor and predator assassin.

As many will say, You Were Never Really Here is excitingly reminiscent of the film “Taxi Driver”, but ironically more so realistic coming from such a surreal take on mental illness as You Were Never Really Here portrays.

Though the film is exactly as you would imagine based on its trailer, Lynne Ramsay manages to make Joe and his atmosphere gritty, dark, dull and scary, while being reflective, beautiful and hypnotically wandering and melancholy. With an original score setting the tone for outside of Joe’s head and inside Joe’s mind. The film isn’t afraid to portray real relationships and real violence and its consequences but also wants us to understand how Joe got to where he is and the deep psychosis that would riddle a veteran whose become a contract killer. Interestingly so, the moments where we get to understand Joe are disturbing but freeing.

Joaquin Phoenix is eagerly made for this role, immersed in menace struts, childish angry and psychopathic brute force but Joaquin Phoenix being the only one to express the pain beyond the physical pain of a character whose choices are directly influenced from his past of violence and fear.

Lynne Ramsay makes a beautiful looking film from two extremes of gore and enlightenment and makes it work. Understanding the fun of stylized film making without drowning or confusing the reality and plot of a rough, dull, brutal atmosphere within a film.

You Were Never Really Here does everything right visually, audibly and creatively and surprisingly leaves you emotionally present making it definitely one of this years best if not the best.

-          Maurice Jones

Outside In (2018)

Outside In is a needed progression from Lynn Shelton who can’t make a satirizing film to save her life apart from Laggies though that movies message for women to find a rich man to lean on and though outside ins portrayal of imprisoned men being painfully and wrongfully white, outside in delivers us what Lynn Shelton should been doing it the first place.

Certain lines here and there throughout the movie makes the films atmosphere feel realer and realer and express Lynn Shelton’s slight talent in creating realistic interactions with her characters. The real location of Granite Falls also lends its natural beauty and Mundane yet quaint infrastructure to sell the realism of this story with the differentiating housing structures of it’s characters. 

Lynn Shelton does her best writing here, subtlety exposing ones jealously and uncertainty with bursts of a character’s joyous explanation and opposing characters short handed questioning responses of disappointment accompanied with sharp core lines towards someone’s shaming truth. Lynn Shelton can’t hold back dialogue wise with this recent entry. 

Edie Falco plays her most vulnerable role yet being charming and rest assured while uncertain and broken at the same time. Jay Duplass, though stereotypical at times plays ex convict Chris with a painstaking sincerity, that’s hard to watch but believably so. And Kaitlyn Dever gives a bold portrayal as Edie Falco’s daughter, playing her confident and troubled but human is every way.

Outside In has a few flaws in its directing but considering Lynn Shelton’s past films and her unfinished style in general, Outside In is her most gritty film yet but just as satisfying as Laggies. 

- Maurice Jones