(WOMENSENEWS)-- "The Keeping Room" is an absolutely gripping
post-Civil War drama about women's struggles for survival and
self-determination. Two sisters (Brit Marling and Hailee Steinfeld) and their
African American servant (Muna Otaru) must use their wiles and loaded guns
against the terrorizing lawlessness brought to their front doorstep by Union
soldiers who've gone rogue. Julia Hart's compelling script presents this story
through powerful and beautifully defined female characters. Galvanizing
performances by the three principals are fully supported by Daniel Barber's
nuanced direction and Martin Ruhe's captivating cinematography. This is the
pick of the week. A must-see.
"A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story," a soulful
and inspiring documentary, has received audience awards at film festivals and
now deserves wider audience attention for its theatrical release. With respect
and sensitivity, filmmaker Sara Bordo follows the amazing Lizzie Velasquez as
she transcends the relentless derision she's experienced about her appearance. Born
with a rare congenital disease, Velasquez is unable to gain weight, has
severely protruding teeth and a clouded blind eye. She was bullied throughout
her schooling, but when she saw a YouTube video entitled "The World's
Ugliest Woman," starring herself, she fought back with her own video that
went viral. Her Ted Talk, seen by millions, has turned her into a motivational
speaker of note. Velasquez is sweet, equanimous and forgiving. Brava! You must
meet her on film.
"Misunderstood," directed by Asia Argento, who also
co-wrote it with Barbara Alberti, is a coming-of-age story about 9-year-old
Aria (Gulia Salerno). Aria shows remarkable creativity
and resilience in transcending the environment of neglect established by her
self-involved celebrity parents; a concert pianist mom (Charlotte
Gainsbourg) and movie star dad (Gabriel Garko).
The film is impressionistic and the plot combines reality with illusion in a
way that's a bit hard to follow, but Salerno's performance is well worth the
price of admission.
"Wildlike," a femme-centric coming-of-age thriller,
stars Ella Purnell as Mackenzie, a teenager who takes to the road to escape an
abusive environment. Sent by her struggling mom to Juneau to live with her
uncle, she soon discovers him to be predatory. Running away, she follows a male
tourist who's hiking through Alaska. Together they meet the challenges of the
wilderness, including a very large bear. The plot holds and the performances
are very good; but the real star of the film is the Alaskan scenery. This film
is quite an awesome travelogue.
"Mississippi Grind" is the latest from Anna Boden and
Ryan Fleck, the writing-directing team whose films are fascinating fictional
studies of male psychology illuminated by particular powerful performances.
This time, the story is about two gambling addicts (Ben
Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds)
who team up to pursue their illusions on a road trip through the South. They
aim to win big and prove their worth, but wind up in a series of losing
situations; including those with beautifully written and played female
characters (Sienna Miller,Analeigh Tipton, Alfre Woodard)
that further complicate their lives. Not femme-centric, but femme-honest. It's
another must-see.
"The Intern," writer/director Nancy Meyers' latest opus, is much lighter
fare. Anne Hathaway stars as a successful business woman who, having very
quickly grown her startup into a megacorp, is suffering the stresses of life at
the top, but finds unexpected relief in her intern (Robert de
Niro), a 70-something retiree who's seeking new challenges to
relieve his boredom. The plot is cute, if not acutely clever. The dialogue is
drole, if not delightful. The characters are charming, if not charismatic.
Ultimately this is De Niro's film. He gives a terrific performance as an older
guy setting straight a distressed younger woman. Oh well.
Stay tuned for upcoming openers.
WeNews film critic
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