2022, David O Russell (American Hustle) -- download
I said that about every ten minutes in this movie that I knew was done by a Well Known Hollywood Director, but didn't recall exactly who at the time. Part of me wants to say we are in a lull for "acclaimed directors", as in directors with enough popularity and critical overtures that everyone just rushes to see whatever their next release is. In this era of transition from Cinema Release to Life on Streaming, understanding what will click (pun unintended, this time), what will capture attention, what will hold attention must be the greatest of challenges, so where does that leave room for loud vision? I cannot say I know what Russell's "vision" is from the top of my head, but if anything, its breadth of scope. From the stable of actors, and guest actors, to the far ranging plot, to the setting, this movie moves around a lot and keeps a lot of plates spinning!
I am going to try to write the rest of this post without relying on cliches and sayings, as I ... tend to do. Yeah, I just deleted one.
I knew I wanted to see this movie from two scenes in a very well done trailer: Chris Rock's non sequitur about his grandfather, and Christian Bale's "uhhhhhh, no no no no...". They were such WTF deliveries to me that I expected a movie full of head scratching, gut holding weirdness. Instead, I got a much fuller movie of companionship & moral fortitude amidst political upheaval, full of lush performances. Those moments don't stand out as much in the movie, as they do in the trailer, but that's because so they are surrounded by so much else going on, so much else worth paying attention to, that they don't rely on WTF moments. But kudos to the trailer editors for catching those little bits.
Burt (Christian Bale, Reign of Fire) is commissioned as an officer by his wife's wealthy family, and sent off to die in France, during WWI. Instead he steps forward to support a forward thinking General Meekins (Ed Begley Jr, Future Man) and their "coloured regiment". He makes quick friends with Harold (John David Washington, Tenet), each vowing to protect the other's back, which ends them up together in the care of nurse Valerie Voze (Margot Robbie, Love Actually), an oddball who honours their horrific wounds by making art from the shrapnel. They muster out together, moving to Amsterdam for a blissful bohemian lifestyle, until Burt is compelled to return to his wife, having failed to die in the war.
Years later, Burt is a doctor, estranged from his wife, hooked on his own pain meds, and dedicated to vets with disfiguring wounds, and compelled to hide his own relatively mild scars whenever he is near his wife, which is rare. And then he is dragged into something by his old friend Harold, via General Meekins daughter Liz (Taylor Swift, Cats). The General has died, she does not believe it was natural causes, and to lend weight to her belief, she is almost immediately after contacting them, killed herself. And thus begins the rather convoluted ball of yarn that they have to unravel (but not really) plot.
There is no real point in recapping the entire movie, for its more the fun way Russell goes about revealing it all that makes the movie enjoyable. Unfortunately, while enjoyable, nothing is ever really a revelation. Sure, its a thin allegory to the right-wing politics currently shaping our world via events and behaviours no sane person ever thought was possible, but the plot itself would have been grand in a penny serial, but in this context its just ... news? But the performances, from the so so many familiar faces, are where its at, especially Bale and all his little quirks.
So, yeah not much more than one of my, "Movie OK... me like," and I would be OK with that usually, but I do feel a bit let down, based on all the names in this movie, and the money put into doing such a pristine period piece. I guess I would want even more memorable performances, or more importantly, a much much more memorable plot and execution of such. Weird that the trailer gave me most of that.
Of note, I feel the need to clean out all the Drafts in my list, so they will not clutter this December's Advent Calendar. I suppose I could just write them all up, and schedule them to post after the 25th. Yeah, I guess I will do that.
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