The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)

Directed by: Marielle Heller
Country: USA

Movie Review: In this successful screen adaptation of Phoebe Gloeckner’s autobiographical novel “Diary of a Teenage Girl”, first-time director, Marielle Heller, who already had adapted it for an off-Broadway play, managed to inflict a very peculiar and personal touch that makes the film rise above the standard levels within the so inviting and yet slippery coming-of-age genre. A glamorous cast was reunited, involving not only confirmed talents such as Alexander Skarsgard and Kristen Wiig but also a fantastic discovery, Bel Powley, who shines in the main role. She gives the body and puts all her soul in the promiscuous 15-year-old Minnie Goetze, a cartoonist wannabe, living in San Francisco in the 70’s, who is radiant for having lost her virginity. Nothing wrong with that, if the chosen man wasn’t her mother’s boyfriend, Monroe (Skarsgard), who wasn’t able to say no to her daring and direct approach - ‘I want you to fuck me’. The experience didn’t stop there since they start having sex on a regular basis for years. All these occurrences are narrated and recorded on audiotapes that Minnie hides in a small box underneath her bed. Minnie’s mother, Charlotte (Wiig), eventually finds the truth, confirming the suspicions already thrown by Minnie’s father, the firm and astute Pascal (Christopher Meloni), who only needed one visit to the house to figure out what was happening. One may conclude that Charlotte has responsibility in the matter since she acts permissively regarding her daughter, in particular during the course of her intoxicating home parties where alcohol and drugs were a constant. But Minnie’s story shows to have a more intricate complexity that can’t be simply explained by this or that aspect. Told from a very feminine perspective, and painted through occasional animation sequences and an insistently attractive light sepia tone that evokes the warmth of the 70’s, this Diary is subtly sweet, emotionally intense, and poignantly funny. The cycle experience-suffer-learn is exposed unreservedly without, however, being radical. And I liked that.

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Cop Car (2015)

Directed by: Jon Watts
Country: USA

Movie Review: I wonder how great could “Cop Car” have been if thoroughly put together and well concluded. Director Jon Watts, who co-wrote with Christopher D. Ford, didn’t know how to give the best sequence to a riveting first part where the film straddles between a rebellious teen misadventure and a sort of cat-and-mouse road thriller. The story focuses on two 10-year-old kids who set off for a walk throughout the immense surrounding fields of a small city, just to find a tempting and yet hazardous plaything: an abandoned police car with the key and guns inside, and a beaten guy stuck in the trunk. The car belonged to the disreputable sheriff Kretzer, played with a distinguished firmness by Kavin Bacon, who only wants to retrieve his car. For that, he will have to chase down the kids, now turned into reckless speed drivers, wherever they go. Regardless the trivial plot, which in any occasion satisfies completely, Mr.Watts was able to gear an attractive pace boosted by the energy of the two promising young actors, James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford. Even enriching a few passages with refreshing doses of black humor, the film’s issues are maintained along the fabricated excesses of its plot, aggravated with a despicable finale that makes us think about the absurdity of the whole situation. This leaves us destitute of something palpable at the end of the overfamiliar third act, time for the usual shootouts and car chases. The tensest moments were designed when the kids play with the guns, putting us in an incessant state of alert. As for the rest, “Cop Car” brings nothing new, consisting in a mediocre course of events that keeps oscillating between favorable and fatal. With this being said, the last thing I want is to discourage Mr. Watts, who showed capabilities as a filmmaker. Maybe with a tight screenwriting, he might conquer something more than a few grins when presenting some of his strenuous scenes.

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They Returned (2015)

Directed by: Ivan Noel
Country: Argentina

Movie Review: From Argentina, country that usually spits out a lot of interesting dramas, comedies, and thrillers, comes “They Returned”, a part crime, part horror film that is nothing else than a spectral revenge tale set in a small Argentine town. The sixth feature by Ivan Noel starts with considerable mystery and was decently mounted, showcasing solid performances by Jorge Booth and Romina Pinto, joined by the newcomers Julio Mendez, Camila Cruz, Rosana Rossotti, and Edmee Aran. However, the film's finale demonstrates to be the main setback of a story that involves the murder of three kids in ‘The Shame’, an abandoned hospital that is the refuge of a secluded former Nazi known as ‘the lunatic’, the last of a known German family, the Himmels. The kids eventually return home, naked and sexually mutilated, drawing the attention of the country’s authorities that send an experienced inspector to clarify and solve the puzzle. The Jew inspector Cohen (Booth) reunites with the passive mayor, the arrogant local judge (Aran), a concerned psychologist (Pinto), and the school’s headmistress (Rossotti). All of them have their own secrets, but the suspicions fall on Sergio (Mendez), an ‘illuminated’ schoolteacher who keeps talking about an evil chain, with origin in the past, that he considers responsible for the occurrences. It’s him who brings the theory that the kids are already dead, the reason why they act so apathetic and unresponsive. Some of the kids’ parents might have something to reveal too. It’s the case of Paola (Cruz) who lives haunted by a sad past and resentful with her vague boyfriend. The filmmaker Ivan Noel has a strong sense of aesthetics, slyly bringing in spooky atmospheres created through the score that he composed. It was a pity that the finale let down the little quiet chaos he was able to immerse this little town in. Working more at the psychological level, “They Returned” was never creepy enough to make us forget its progressive quibbles and plot failures.

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Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Country: USA

Movie Review: Despite my reluctance over the general Hollywood action genre, I must admit I had great moments of fun with the fifth installment of ‘Mission Impossible’, which was given the title “Rogue Nation” and stars the unchangeable Tom Cruise as the experienced IMF spy, Ethan Hunt. The film was written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who already had directly worked with Cruise in his previous “Jack Reacher”. However, if Reacher was a failure, Rogue Nation is a triumph. Here, our resolute secret agent falls in disgrace and is turned into an international fugitive wanted by the CIA, whose director, Hunley (Alec Baldwin), intends to incorporate the IMF in his services. Nothing that stops the resolute Hunt from proving the existence of a shadowy criminal network called The Syndicate whose leader, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), he caught a glimpse while being trapped in a vintage music store. Taken to a loathsome torturer known as Bone Doctor, he manages to escape with the help of an agile double agent, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), a devious MI6 operative who never makes completely clear on which side she is. Despite of Hunt’s extreme efficacy in dealing with the challenging tasks – the peak is a breathtaking mission carried underwater – the ‘impossible’ mission wouldn’t have been possible without the help of his fellow IMF agents: Benji, Brandt, and the retrieved Stickwell. More inventive and gripping than I was expecting, the film was completely controlled by Mr. McQuarrie who smartly and with no unnecessary fanfare, set up fantastic tense moments replete of intriguing tech details, awesome scenarios, and invigorating action scenes that make our hearts beat as fast as their speed. Even the supposedly standardized motorcycle chase feels rejuvenated as it’s concluded with unimaginable outcomes. “Rogue Nation” is an action treat that provides boundless fun while shows Tom Cruise in a perfect shape.

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Red Knot (2014)

Directed by: Scott Cohen
Country: USA / Argentina

Movie Review: Scott Cohen’s debut feature “Red Knot” doesn’t disappoint, capturing stunning images and extracting emotional heft from the drama of a freshly married couple who faces the possibility of separation during their very unusual honeymoon. Olivia Thirlby and Vincent Kartheiser give shape to the newlyweds, Chloe and Peter Harrison, two New Yorkers who decide to spend their honeymoon in a research vessel en route from Argentina to Antarctica. Everything pointed to a serene expedition, instructive at the most, if Peter had paid more attention to his forlorn wife instead of converting their first trip together into work. As a writer and enthusiast of nature, he takes the opportunity to write an article about the explorers who travel with them, which includes the respected marine biologist Roger Payne (himself) and his wife, Lisa. He often seems to forget that Chloe is present, and is more interested in listening to conversations about whales and penguins rather than provide an unforgettable, romantic trip to the one he loves. A silent tension installs itself, ready to explode at any moment, which eventually happens when she finds out through Lisa that Peter is already committed for another trip next year. Before, a conversation about having children had already set a conspicuous discomfort in their relationship, but now Chloe feels really hurt and deceived, without knowing how to fit there anymore. She can only request her own space. Peter has difficulty to grant her that, especially after seeing her engaging in a very friendly conversation with Captain Anderson, a lone wolf who chose the sea to forget a failed marriage. Narrated in a form of a diary, “Red Knot” sometimes feels like a documentary, punctuated with occasional dreamlike tones, and driven by metaphors and the sadness of uncertainty. Scott Cohen, who has a background in still photography, managed to untie this first knot with an unanticipated efficiency.

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The End of the Tour (2015)

Directed by: James Ponsoldt
Country: USA

Movie Review: Once there was a masterpiece called “My Dinner with Andre” that consisted of two men engaged in conversation about their lives while seated at a restaurant table. Well, that movie, directed by Louis Malle and written/acted by Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, somehow came to my mind while watching “The End of the Tour”, which doesn’t match the brilliance of the cited, but is assuredly a great film. The reason for this resemblance, is that this compelling drama about the real short-term relationship between two novelists, David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel), who enjoys an incredible peak of fame after the launch of his acclaimed novel ‘Infinite Jest’, and his fellow interviewer and Rolling Stone reporter, David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg), relies almost totally on their engrossing conversations. The film, directed by the diligent James Ponsoldt (“Smashed”, “The Spectacular Now”) from a Donald Margulies’ screenplay, was based on Lipsky’s 2010 book ‘Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself’. Lipsky, is one of those committed men, eager for a good story, who leaves NY for a five-day tour with the secluded and enigmatically talented, Wallace. The attempts to figure out the latter’s character, which is a complex mixture of prominent ego, legitimate modesty, shyness, and solitude, play a fundamental factor to keep us avidly watching the ups and downs that arise from the protagonists’ interaction. The pleasure of gradually discovering each other suddenly takes a sour detour. At this point, they recognize not only the virtues of their humanity but also the faults, impossible to discern by reading a thousand-page novel. “The End of the Tour” is a subtle, genuine, and beautiful accomplishment whose enthrallment is as memorable for the viewer as the experience was for Lipsky. The film was a great opportunity for Segel to shine outside the comedy circuit and to confirm Eisenberg as one of the most solid actors of our days. Ponsoldt and Margulies were intelligent enough to set up a suitable narrative scheme to make the story work.

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Horse Money (2014)

Directed by: Pedro Costa
Country: Portugal

Movie Review: “Horse Money” is the new drama from the celebrated Portuguese filmmaker, Pedro Costa, author of the remarkable trilogy based in Fontainhas, an impoverished neighborhood in Lisbon, which includes “Ossos”, “In Vanda’s Room”, and “Colossal Youth”. This time the subject is a bit different, but Mr. Costa retrieves Ventura from his last film. This man, played by himself, is a confused Cape Verdean immigrant, a retired bricklayer, who was admitted in a Lisbon’s hospital where he keeps escaping through the gloomy back passageways, losing track of the space and the time, and being haunted by ghostly presences of his past. To complement the disquieting phantasmagoric images, we’re granted part of the disorder that goes on Ventura’s head. These particular sequences are arranged with a persistent exactitude, and yet some elements seem not to fit quite well, making us even more intrigued and sometimes lost in the darkness of his alienation. Suffering from a nervous condition, Ventura is stuck in time – he says he’s 19 and believes the date is March 11, 1975, time of a failed military coup led by General Spínola. This occurrence apparently destroyed the company where Ventura was working. In one of his visits to what remains of this company, Ventura finds his nephew, who seems a ghost waiting for the money that was never paid after a three-month absence due to an epileptic seizure. He often bumps into Vitalina Varela, an anguished widow, who blames Ventura for the death of her husband. Another visitor is a man who stabbed him and whose restless soul also wanders throughout the hospital. The most memorable scene is when Ventura is tormented by voices inside the hospital’s elevator, in the presence of a living statue of a revolutionary soldier. Costa brilliantly plays with past and present, truth and hallucination, desires and nightmares, songs and silences, politics and misery, life, death… My head is still spinning in a sort of a watchful dazzle, and I cannot forget the sad, vague, and embittered expressions of these lost souls…or ghosts.

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