| From the 45th New York Film Festival: The Blockbusters Coming Up |
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Margot at the Weddingwritten and directed by Noah Baumbachstarring Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black  Nicole Kidman as Margot in Margot at the Wedding Margot (Nicole Kidman) and her son Claude (Zane Pais) are going to New England to attend the wedding of her sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to a schnook named Malcolm (Jack Black). The sisters hadn't talked to each other in years and we soon learn why—they're both insufferable bitches. So they, Pauline's daughter (Halley Feiffer), and the maid Ingrid (Flora Cross) go about their preparations doing pretty much nothing but bitch and moan about almost everything while fighting with the even more insufferable neighbors. Meanwhile, it's revealed that Margot's been screwing another local, Dick (Ciaran Hinds), and they are going to attend an event at the local bookstore together. For most of the film, everyone seems to get along, even when Margot's husband Jim (John Turturro) unexpectedly shows up. Aside from Margot's extramarital shenanigans, which are only alluded to, none of the actual reasons for the dislike between the sisters is actually explored beyond a couple of throwaway lines here and there. As for the story, there's no real There there, and if it weren't for the terrific performances by Kidman and Leigh, there wouldn't be any actual reason to go see this thing. It just appears to be a cheap, pointless independent film with a bunch of major movie stars. Unless you just have to see everything Kidman is in, it's best not to bother with this one.
I'm Not Therewritten and directed by Todd Haynesstarring Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood  Christian Bale as Jack in I'm Not There It's not exactly Bob Dylan, of course, it's a slew of people named Jack/Pastor John (Christian Bale), Jude (Cate Blanchett), Woody (Marcus Carl Franklin), Billy (Richard Gere), Robbie (Heath Ledger) and Arthur (Ben Whishaw), all of whom manage to have some sort of relation to a part of Dylan's personality and career. Going back and forth in time, from when Woody, who's a black child riding the rails in 1959, to Billy, who's living in a Western fantasyland in a timeless present, Haynes tries to mine what Dylan is supposed to be at various times in his life, and to some extent succeeds. Because this is an uneven film, and the parts with Christian Bale and Heath Ledger are barely touched, and the part where Ben Whishaw is married to a version of Dylan's wife Sarah named Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) seems like it comes from another movie. However, the main focus is Woody Guthrie in the guise of a black kid, and Cate Blanchett as the electrified Dylan. The Blanchett segments take up the greatest part of the film, when s/he's hanging out with the Beatles (the best gag in the film) and sparring with Edie Sedgewick clone Coco Rivington (Michelle Williams), poet Allen Ginsberg (David Cross), and a British journalist (Bruce Greenwood), who is out to expose Jude for what he really is—not Andy Warhol with real hair, but something more sinister. This really brings together time and place, but still there's a disconnect, especially with Charlotte Gainesbourg's segment, where the Dylan clone barely shows up, and with the Richard Gere segment, where play Dylan as Billy the Kid—which has nothing to do with anything and is just annoying. Clearly Blanchett is going to get all sorts of nominations for her brilliant performance here, and it's worth the price of admission, although one might leave shaking one's head perplexed... but I guess that's what Dylan himself would want anyhow. No Country for Old Menwritten and directed by Ethan and Joel Coenstarring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson  Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss in No Country For Old Men The film begins with a sheriff's deputy (Zach Hopkins) arresting a mysterious stranger—who turns out to be Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem)—who is carrying a tank of compressed air. Once they get to the jail, Anton shows us what the tank is for, and we cut to a certain Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) hunting in the desert, when he comes across the tattered remains of what would have made one hell of a cinematic shootout. Apparently, it was over drugs, and there's the aforementioned unattended suitcase full of money, which he takes, and an extra dying of thirst. Taking pity on the fellow, he tells his wife Carla Jean Moss (Kelly MacDonald) he's going to do something really stupid [it's called 'idiot plotting'], which is to return to the scene of the crime and give the extra some water. But of course, there's Anton and some toughs waiting for him. So begins the chase. Fortunately for Anton, the money has a radio transmitter in it, and he goes around blowing people's brains out with his compressed air device while Llewellyn heads off into the sunset in a failed attempt to get away. Meanwhile, the people who own the drugs and the money (including Stephen Root) hire a man called Wells (Woody Harrelson), to find Llewellyn before Anton could get him while Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) and his remaining deputy Wendell (Garret Dillahunt) try to figure out what's going on. With the introduction of a whole bunch of what seems to be crucial characters, one would think the film would lead somewhere, but it doesn't. A lot of red herrings appear out of nowhere and return from where they came, both confusing and infuriating this audience member.Why introduce all these peope when they get dispatched so quickly? While the ending is from the novel, it makes matters even worse and makes Cormac MaCarthy look bad. This is a shaggy dog story, and for the most part just as pointless. The acting is fine—the Coens always manage to get the best actors for their films—and the dialogue is punchy, especially when it seems that the film is actually going somewhere. So if you're a fan of these brothers, by all means, go for it, but it's not their best.
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