You yell at the screen and cover your eyes. But this is no horror film. It’s a highly sophisticated cinematic tale of the affectionately desperate pursuit of an adult female executive by her aging father who takes on Grand Guignol attire – atrocious, fake vampiric teeth and bad wig – and the name “Toni Erdmann” […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Jackie’ (2016)
December 2, 2016 by
You need a kickass, steely preservationist to ensure that an exceptional life becomes a memory that feeds future generations. And in Jackie, that force-of-nature caretaker is Jacqueline Kennedy who, after her husband’s assassination, impressionistically exudes intentions – elegantly, sullenly, arrogantly – to ensure Jack’s being remembered. Directed by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, and written by […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Manchester by the Sea’ (2016)
November 18, 2016 by
The archetypal Father is many things. The biological dad. A person who behaves like a father. A vigilant caretaker. All these paternal activities encompass the same vital force: guide, lead, protect and introduce the child into the world. Directed and written by Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea is a sobering, often heartbreaking story about […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Nocturnal Animals’ (2016)
November 13, 2016 by
In Nocturnal Animals, the sting of a paper cut can penetrate way below the dermal level. Directed and written by Tom Ford, the film, based on the book Tony and Susan, by Austin Wright, demonstrates that a seemingly slight abrasion can turn into a deep, male-inflicted wound, underscoring the movie’s key questions: how do we […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Arrival’ (2016)
November 13, 2016 by
What does a host say to the newly arrived? Especially when they’re aliens? That’s the key question posed in Arrival: What’s your business here, given that 12 of your ships that look like squished Bosu balls standing upright have plopped down all over our planet. Directed by Denis Villeneuve and based on the Ted Chiang […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Elle’ (2016)
November 6, 2016 by
Gamers get off on winning battles against creatures that aren’t real. So it’s no wonder that the hot-shot, female, gaming executive in Elle lives her life in Paris as though it were a simulated contest. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, Elle follows the story of Michele LeBlanc (Isabelle Huppert), a divorced woman who, in the first […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Morgan’ (2016)
September 2, 2016 by
Motherhood set against a wash of sophisticated biotechnology is the prevailing theme of Morgan, a futuristic thriller directed by Luke Scott. The title character with the sexually ambiguous name is Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy), an “It” – a “hybrid autonomous organism” – which has been generated in a remote location by a dedicated tribe of corporate […]
Archetypes: Television: Review: ‘The Night Of,’ the Feet and Neptune (2016)
August 29, 2016 by
Feet often slip. They and whatever coverings shield them don’t always take people where they want to go. Typically because the wearer doesn’t have a good sense of the direction in which they’re headed. This pretty much describes the eight-part drama “The Night Of” – it could easily have been called “Feets, Don’t Fail Me […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Don’t Breathe’ (2016)
August 23, 2016 by
Typically the hallmarks of romantic cinema, Mars and Venus get a different sort of work out in Don’t Breathe, a nimble horror film about a burglary gone very wrong. Co-written and directed by Fede Alvarez, the movie gets to the basics quickly. Three young adults – Rocky (Jane Levy), her hot-headed boyfriend Money (Daniel Zovatto) […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Mia Madre’ (2016)
August 22, 2016 by
The fine line between balancing one’s family and professional life cuts a deep groove in Mia Madre (My Mother), an incisive dramedy co-written and directed by Nanni Moretti. Margherita (Margherita Buy) is an earnest but nit-picking middle-aged movie director who has turned into a frustrated caregiver on set. Her charge is Italophile actor Barry Huggins […]
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