The Mill Valley Film Festival is wrapping up this weekend. The closing night film is Oscar hopeful Loving, but it could be sold out on all five screens, so check first.
I’ll be writing about The Girl on the Train, the movie adaptation of the popular novel starring Emily Blunt. The last 30 minutes rocks, but I found the murky first 82 minutes to be confusing and boring. The Wife, however, enjoyed the whole thing. Neither of us had finished the novel and knew about the Big Plot Twist.
And you can still find the best movie of the year so far – the character-driven crime drama Hell or High Water. It’s atmospheric, gripping, and packed with superb performances. Hell or High Water is a screenwriting masterpiece by Taylor Sheridan. It’s becoming hard to find, but it’s out there and it’s a Must See.
Other movie choices:
- Girl Asleep, is an offbeat coming-of-age story with more than a splash of Australian magical realism. From a first-time woman director.
- Another odd tale from Down Under is the uneven but entertaining period tale of revenge, The Dressmaker.
My DVD/Stream of the Week is Free State of Jones, the compelling story of resistance to the Confederacy and to white supremacy by Southerners during and after the Civil War, starring Matthew McConaughey. It’s now available on DVD from Netflix (and coming soon to Redbox) and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
This is a fine week for film noir on Turner Classic Movies. On October 16, TCM presents The Third Man (1949). Shot amid the ruins of post-war Vienna, this film noir classic sets an American pulp novelist (Joseph Cotten) to find out what happened to his pre-war buddy, who turns out to have become a notorious black marketeer (Orson Welles) with a set of associates each shadier than the last. This has it all, a fated relationship with a European beauty (Alida Valli), stunningly effective black-and-white photography, an enchanting musical theme and one of cinema’s most sharply surprising reveals of a new character. There are two unforgettable set pieces – a nervous interview in a Ferris Wheel and a climactic chase through the sewers.
Then on October 19, TCM screens three more noir classics:
- Lady in the Lake (1947): Shot entirely from the point of view of the protagonist detective (Robert Montgomery), we never see him except when reflected in mirrors. Even without this interesting gadget, it’s a good movie. Audrey Totter plays one of her iconic noir Bad Girls.
- Detour (1945) Ann Savage plays the nastiest, most predatory and savage female character in film noir history. One of the few Hollywood films where the leading lady was intentionally de-glamorized with oily, stringy hair.
- Born to Kill (1947): Lawrence Tierney (no cupcake in real life, either), plays the nastiest, most predatory and savage male character in film noir history. Set in the world of Reno quickie divorces. Features Queen of Noir Claire Trevor, along with Walter Slezak and Elisha Cook, Jr.
