Onur Tukel grows up…………sort of…
After seeing Catfight at
TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) Saturday night, in which I was
anticipating to see, I was alleviated to notice this Catfight is Onur Tukel’s turn at a proper structure of story. As
oppose to taking an idea that is too small to make into a feature, and bloating
it out into a concave of amateur misguided starter film making to make a full
length. Onur’s past movies; Summer of
Blood (2014) and Apple Sauce
(2015) are usually padded out with jokes and conclude in a manner that
subtracts from the point of his movies due the overdone miscalculated timing of
the film itself. Now whether Onur Tukel always intended to have his films fell
longer than they should be or if he’s unaware of how that fact spoils his
movies, is up to debate for now as I didn’t get a chance to ask him at the
Q&A Saturday, due to the fact I was sitting behind him as he was doing
panel. Never the less Catfight has
the over length in spades but it actually feels necessary and experimental with
making the statement of the monotony and uncertain endlessness of war.
Catfightis a
deeply sardonic satirical tale about
the pointlessness of status, of two middle aged women living impossibly far
apart ideologically lifestyles, who we’re good friends in college but haven’t
seen each other since then. They both become examples of justification for
their opposing outlooks and butts of jokes displaying their disdain of said
ideals. The hidden resentment boils over however, when the two reunited unexpectedly
at a fundraiser event. Veronica (played by Sandra Oh) discovers Ashley (played
by Anne Heche) is now a struggling artist, working part time as a caterer for
her girlfriend Lisa’s catering company (played by Alicia Silverstone) and
Ashley discovers that Veronica is a strict mother/house wife. The encounter
beholds both women disturbed to find out how either person resulted decades
later, and avalanches into physical retaliation.
Onur Tukel could be known for his jovial social commentary
throughout his movies, and with Catfight he
takes that commentary to a more politically aggressive level, that reaches a
more meaningful plateau beyond all the laughs. Onur expresses his views on
social status and how a person’s venture in life can end up affecting someone
else’s on the complete opposite site of the spectrum. Assumingly created based race
relations. How art and politics can easily clash and therefore have a huge
impact on culture. How art to a certain extent, though meant to be free and
inspiring, ironically needs financial backing to reach a wide audience and to
continue as a career. That though someone maybe rich and seemingly behave with condescension,
they can still have empathy and love inside them, especially if they’re
selfless enough to parent a child, and the juxtaposition of being an artist of
meaning, yet being consumed with the process that it becomes more about the
artist than the statement of the work itself. Onur also tackles his thoughts on
Donald Trump, throwing in a cackling line said by a side character about a
tree……”That’s Donald….he’s a dick.” Going even further, Onur really hammers in
his disdain for Republicans and the idea of the war on terror. Craig Bierko
(who Onur Tukel has always wanted to work with) plays a “Jimmy Fallon” type
tonight show host who’s always broadcasted on North American television. He
displays the daily depressing headlines of political war and then counter acts
those details with a man farting in his underwear, pointing out our
conditioning to laughing at the cruelest low brow humor in order to stomach and
forget the reality of current civilization, though suggesting laughter maybe
the best thing to have when being left out of the higher level loop. Also,
Tukel displays the underlining truth that a war on terror is impossible, but that
lots of North Americans just want an answer to what they’re being told and
through that believe war has its place. There as well is a theme sprinkled
quite often though out the movie, about the need for companionship, that when
things seem distance you always have the ones you love and the ones who love
you to console you no matter what we think.
Catfight has many
moments where characters soberly stop the films stride in its tracks, to
display realistic grim exact truths towards other characters, very reminiscent
of the dark, removed, frigid dialogue from none other than the master of grim:
Todd Solondz. Clearly his movies were a big influence on this film, even down
to the strict dismal way it was filmed with certain scenes of dark clarity,
which also can bring out the hilarity of the scene from the sudden way the
dialogue is written; IE A hilarious scene with Alicia Silverstone at her baby
shower, coldly and obnoxiously telling off a guest of hers who gave her a
present that may not be so environmentally conscious.
Sandra Oh is at her peak in Catfight flawlessly going from pretentious, pushy and inconsiderate
to frustrated, caring, respectful and lovingly determined and sentimental, definitely
the anchor of the entirely film. Anne Heche is a torpedo of anxiousness, giving
her all and completely sacrificing herself to her characters plight as a
struggling self obsessed artist, very close to the commitment of Ms. Winona
Ryder in Stranger Things (2016). Great
to finally see again, Alicia Silverstone is as natural as can be as Anne
Heche’s girlfriend Lisa, who is emotionally ever changing but is completely fleshed
out as a character, played with lots of thought as Anne Heche’s practical centering
better half. The film is then rounded out perfectly with some of the greatest amusing
support roles of all time with Craig Bierko, Dylan Baker, Amy Hill and a
comedic breakout performance by Ariel Kavoussi.
Catfight is a extremely
poignant film of timely importance that spills the mindful contents Onur Tukel
has being harboring in the past year. While being so intellectually affective
and determined Onur knows when to have fun and knows who he is, a personal joke
teller who has mastered his comedic craft while being deeply honest. Though the
movie is awkwardly cut at some parts and some finesse could be suggested in the
execution of the scenes, this is typical of Onur Tukel, who does come off as an
amateur filmmaker but with Catfight
is truly coming into his own by taking some tips from some greats but by being
even more personal and forthright than ever. Of course all of this substance
isn’t lost as the film is supported by brutally hilarious detailed fight scenes
between Sandra Oh and Anne Heche, that go on purposely too long and too
cartoony to take seriously but that remind us of the essence of Onur’s
refreshingly comedic voice and his movie’s point of the over staying of war.
Finally Onur Tukel makes a movie with a ending that doesn’t lead to exhaustion,
looks professional as can be and is sure to be his breakout film.
Check out CATFIGHT!
- Maurice Jones
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