Must the archetypal intruder take corporeal form before becoming a threatening and terrifying presence? Early in It Comes at Night, the hallmark of the deadly interloper – a mysterious and deadly illness – is Neptunian invisibility. Written and directed by Trey Edward Shults, the movie milks this uncertainty for all it’s worth. Sarah’s (Carmen Ejogo) […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Loving’ (2016)
November 4, 2016 by
Occasionally real-life events enter the fray adorned with the sort of proverbial beacons that signal their relevance and even fatedness. The story captured in the quiet, gem-of-a-film Loving, written and directed by Jeff Nichols, is one such piece of historicity. It’s 1958 and the protagonists are Richard and Mildred Loving, with their surname suggesting that […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Black Mass’ (2015)
September 18, 2015 by
Making a deal with one Satan whom you hope will decimate another devil is never a good idea. The maneuver, preposterous as it sounds, is at the heart of the appropriately named Black Mass, a liturgy that turns everything good and holy face down staring at the Underworld. Directed by Scott Cooper, Black Mass is […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘The Gift’ (2015)
August 5, 2015 by
Written and directed by Joel Edgerton, The Gift is a tight, stark and claustrophobic little thriller that spools as murky as the script’s reference to “let bygones be bygones.” The pair at the receiving end of those words – initially we don’t know exactly what the “bygones” are which need to be absolved – are […]
Film: ‘The Odd Life of Timothy Green’ (2012)
August 14, 2012 by
“The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” written and directed and written by Peter Hedges, gives new meaning to the expression “fresh produce direct from the garden.” Jim and Cindy Green (Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner) have just learned they cannot have biological children. Overwhelmed by grief, they write a wish list of the child they […]
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