Birdman of Alcatraz: A Review

BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ

The Beatles never formally reunited. Despite that, they released Free as a Bird fifteen years after John Lennon's murder. Blending his home demo with new tracks by the surviving Beatles, Free as a Bird became a Grammy-winning hit. Free as a Bird came often to my mind while watching Birdman of Alcatraz. Misnamed, curiously laudatory of its subject, and longer than necessary, the celebration of Birdman of Alcatraz puzzles me. 

Thomas Gaddis (Edmond O'Brien) narrates our story. He is in San Francisco to get a glimpse of Robert Stroud (Burt Lancaster). Stroud is leaving Alcatraz after seventeen years there. As Gaddis waits, standing by the dock of the bay, we hear Stroud's story. Stroud is on his way to Leavenworth Prison for murdering a man in Alaska. He is a bit of a noble rebel, smashing a train window to let some air in for his suffering fellow inmates. "Even a convict's got a right to breathe", he tells Leavenworth warden Harvey Shoemaker (Karl Malden). They grow to become bitter rivals. Stroud is very touchy about anyone so much as commenting or even touching his photograph of his mother Elizabeth (Thelma Ritter).

An innocuous comment about Mrs. Stroud has him attack a fellow prisoner, which leads to the first of many solitary confinements. Him not being able to see her because she came on the wrong day ends with Stroud murdering a guard. Elizabeth goes all the way to the White House to plead for her son to be spared the death penalty. Her audience with First Lady Edith Wilson (Adrienne Marden) saves Robert's life. Unfortunately, the technical reading of his sentencing means that he will have to stay in solitary for the rest of his life.

Robert reluctantly settles into his life without anyone. One stormy day while taking recreation, he spots an injured sparrow. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, he takes and nurtures the bird back to health. Stroud soon finds himself surrounded by other fine feathered friends but aviary and human. There is prison guard Bull Ransom, who becomes something of a frenemy. There is Feto Gomez (Telly Savalas), his next-door cellmate. Stroud soon becomes an expert on birds with a particular emphasis on septic fever. He begins experimenting with various treatments, much to Shoemaker's displeasure. 

Eventually, he finds a cure. That, along with his writings, brings Stella Johnson (Betty Field) into his life. She offers to sell Stroud's bird cures after he won second place in a bird magazine. From there, a romance blossoms. Elizabeth Stroud is extremely displeased by this, calling Stella "a common adventuress". Mother and son have a falling out, to where Elizabeth openly opposes parole for her Bobby.

Without notice, Stroud is transferred to Alcatraz, the most notorious and strict prison in the United States. Alcatraz will not allow him to keep birds. Shoemaker, now warden of Alcatraz, endures his thorn at his side. He does not despise Stroud. He also does not like him. As time goes on, Stroud reunites with Gomez, discourages Stella from following him to San Francisco and stays out of a prison uprising. Now back at the beginning, Gaddis finally sees Robert Stroud emerge from the Rock.

One can start looking at Birdman of Alcatraz by pointing out that technically the title is incorrect. Stroud kept no birds at Alcatraz, so I wonder if he could be the "Birdman of Alcatraz". I suppose that Birdman of Leavenworth does not have the same romantic feel to it. One should give credit to Guy Trosper's adaptation of Thomas Gaddis' book that this was not changed. Birdman of Alcatraz was very sympathetic to Stroud, portraying him in a light verging on divinity. His murders, his arrogance, his hostility to authority were either downplayed or made almost into virtues. 

This is helped by Burt Lancaster's Oscar-nominated performance. Lancaster was a blend of square-jawed rectitude and soft-spoken as Robert Stroud. His performance was not exactly one-note. For me, Lancaster was forever noble and gentle. Sometimes Lancaster's acting came close to almost silly. At one point, he lets his various birds out of their cages. Posing like a Greek statue, his face almost immoveable, Lancaster and director John Frankenheimer seem dead set on making Stroud almost heroic. I won't say that Burt Lancaster gave a terrible performance in Birdman of Alcatraz. I will say that Lancaster and Frankenheimer were so determined to make Stroud so good that they sapped whatever humanity there was in him. This version of Stroud had almost no flaws. He was portrayed more like either a gentle man or almost a victim of circumstances. When we see him arrive in San Francisco, it is treated almost as if he were Captain Alfred Dreyfus returning from Devil's Island. 

Curiously, I thought that Telly Savalas might have been better as Robert Stroud. Like Lancaster, Savalas earned an Oscar nomination for Birdman of Alcatraz in the Supporting Actor category. It is nowadays hard to overlook how the Greek Savalas was cast as "Feto Gomez". I grant a little leeway since the half-Mexican Anthony Quinn has become the embodiment of the larger-than-life Greek as Zorba the Greek. Unlike Lancaster's more noble and serious Stroud, Savalas' Gomez had greater emotions. He could be cheerful or angry depending on the situation. I cannot say that you miss him when he is not on screen. However, when he is on screen, you do notice and enjoy his presence. 

Birdman of Alcatraz was the sixth and final of Thelma Ritter's failed Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominations. She was good as Mother Elizabeth Stroud. She had few scenes, all but two with Lancaster if memory serves right. Ritter made Mrs. Stroud into a loyal and loving mother. It is a bit unclear if her objections to her Bobby marrying were due to jealousy or concern that Stella would bring him trouble. Her final scene where she is supposed to be brokenhearted about now opposing parole for her son fell a bit off the mark for me. Overall, though, Thelma Ritter acquitted herself well in the role.

Also doing good work was Karl Malden as Harvey Shoemaker. He was solid as someone who did initially want to help Stroud, but who ended up one of his bitterest foes due to Stroud's stubbornness and arrogance. Betty Field's Stella was pretty strong as well. She made the transformation from Stella's initial reluctance to be with Stroud to being the loyal spouse believable. Unlike Ritter, Field's final scene with Stroud was moving. 

Birdman of Alcatraz may have laid the metaphor of being free like a bird a bit too think. That is especially true with Elmer Bernstein's score, which was excessively gentle. I get that it was attempting to match the film's mood. It might have been a bit overboard in that department, having like Lancaster's performance the subtlety of a sledgehammer. 

Birdman of Alcatraz is not a bad film. However, I think the almost two-and-a-half-hour runtime is unnecessary. It takes close to two hours to move Stroud to Alcatraz. The prison riot known as the Battle of Alcatraz takes place two hours and ten minutes into the film. Granted, it is part of Stroud's life story (him dying a year after the film's release). However, it almost felt as if this was included to give the film any type of action. Even that was not done well, with the riot coming across as slightly boring.

While watching Birdman of Alcatraz, I had a very curious sense that the film was whitewashing to downright lionizing Robert Stroud. In real life, Robert Stroud was not the gentle, soft figure Burt Lancaster portrayed. He was a dangerous criminal who just happened to learn a lot about birds. Something about making Robert Stroud into this quasi-gentle soul simply did not sit well with me. It came close to being as if someone made a Charles Manson biopic and focused on his songwriting. A little longer than necessary, with a main performance more focused on being noble than delving into the complicated nature of the man, Birdman of Alcatraz was a slight disappointment. 

1890-1963

DECISION: C-

Oppenheimer (2023): A Review

OPPENHEIMER (2023)

"Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds". These words from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita came to J. Robert Oppenheimer upon seeing the successful nuclear bomb test. Oppenheimer, the biopic of the "father of the atomic bomb" is a brilliantly acted and directed film. It is filled with remarkable images and insight into this complex figure. 

Oppenheimer flows back and forth between the past and what would be current-day events in the film. American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) is being questioned by a small board over whether or not to renew his security clearance. That clearance was already hard to get when Oppenheimer headed up the Los Alamos section of the Manhattan Project during World War II. This project involved building a nuclear bomb both safely and before the Nazis could.

Oppenheimer's personal life is fraught with personal and political troubles. He has had a liaison with Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh). He also keeps a friendship with their mutual friend, Berkeley professor Haakon Chevalier (Jefferson Hall). Both Chevalier and Tatlock are openly committed Communists, as is Oppenheimer's brother Frank (Dylan Arnold). While Robert is sympathetic to Leftist causes, he never joined the Communist Party and oftentimes urged caution about political activism/agitation. 

One person that Oppenheimer did not have caution with was with Kitty (Emilie Blunt). She may have been married when she met Oppie. However, that did not him from knocking Kitty up. He and Kitty do marry, and he stays mostly loyal to her. It is not, however, his marital fidelity that bothers high-ranking military officials now that the Second World War has begun. It is his fidelity to the United States.

Despite misgivings, Manhattan Project head General Leslie Groves (Matt Damon) ultimately recruits him. Oppenheimer gathers a hand-selected group of scientists to come to his remote New Mexico ranch at Los Alamos to begin work. He gets everyone he wants except for Albert Einstein (Tom Conti), despite Einstein being the impetus for the creation of the Manhattan Project. Now, Oppenheimer must navigate the scientific, professional and personal among all his men (and women). 

Not that there are not people who distrust Oppie. There are Major General Kenneth Nichols (Dane Dehaan) and Colonel Boris Pash (Casey Affleck). They believe that Oppenheimer would give nuclear secrets to the Soviets. There is a spy among the scientists, but it is not Oppenheimer. Post-war, one of Oppenheimer's fiercest enemies is Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey, Jr.). Despite his curious pronouncing of his surname as "Straws", Strauss tries to build up rapport with Oppenheimer through their shared Jewish ancestry. Oppie won't bite. Now that the war is over though, Strauss becomes convinced that Oppenheimer is a security risk. He also holds a grudge when Oppenheimer publicly humiliated him at a congressional hearing. Finally, Strauss and Oppenheimer are at fierce odds about the development of a hydrogen bomb.

Strauss is the mastermind of the hearing that Oppenheimer is facing. Strauss is also up for Commerce Secretary. Will Strauss manage to outflank Oppie and achieve his great ambition? Will Oppenheimer continue living with guilt over his successes?

Oppenheimer runs three hours long. Upon rewatching the film, however, I wondered exactly what if anything could have been cut out. Perhaps a bit of the extramarital liaison between Oppenheimer and Tatlock could have been trimmed. Tatlock's suicide could also have been trimmed. Overall, though, I was surprised at how well Oppenheimer held together. This is especially true given two elements that distinguish it from other films.

The first is that the film is not structured linearly. Oppenheimer goes back and forth from the board hearing to his work pre-and-post Los Alamos and to Strauss' Cabinet hearings. The second is that in almost all the sections that center around Strauss, Oppenheimer is in black-and-white. There are a few moments when Strauss is featured in color. There are a few moments when Oppenheimer is featured in black-and-white. For the most part though, we have color for the title character, black-and-white for his antagonist. 

That the balance never comes across as gimmicky or jarring is a credit to the production team. Jennifer Lame's editing never felt confusing or out of place. Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography made the separate sections look incredible. Both would rightly win Academy Awards in their respective fields, two of the seven Oscars that Oppenheimer would receive. 

Van Hoytema's cinematography was used effectively and brilliantly in the film. Sections were downright beautiful visually. The film shows various scientific visions that on screen look exceptionally breathtaking. Curiously, Oppenheimer was not nominated for Best Visual Effects and lost Best Sound to The Zone of Interest. I can see a case for why and how that happened. However, the Trinity test sequence is a brilliant use of visual effects and sound (or lack thereof). While watching, I heard in my mind Marvin the Martian. "Where's the kaboom?! There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom!". Oppenheimer uses that silence to build up anticipation for a brilliant and terrifying sequence.

Oppenheimer also won for Best Director. Christopher Nolan, in terms of directing actors, more than merited the recognition. He directed three actors to nominations, with two wins. Robert Downey, Jr. is brilliant as Lewis Strauss. He makes him into a confident figure, cool under pressure, yet burning with quiet rage. Downey's Strauss is not a man to trifle with. We see someone who, despite his success, is still fearful that he will not measure up. I did not hate Lewis Strauss. I did not pity him either. Instead, I saw him as an effective man, driven by a curious mix of sincere belief and petty vindictiveness. He does have one moment of rage. That makes what has come before almost jarring.

Cillian Murphy is brilliant as J. Robert Oppenheimer. He maintains the calm demeanor, in keeping with how the real Oppenheimer was in public. This is a man who never rages or grows belligerent. Instead, Oppenheimer is calm and rational. His soft voice adds to the overall manner of making Oppenheimer into a deliberate man.

One scene sticks out. Oppenheimer is giving a short speech after the war is declared over. We see him say what he thinks his hardworking Los Alamos group wants to hear. The words are upbeat and even a touch jingoistic. What we see both in terms of Murphy's performance and Nolan's directing is that his heart is not in his statements. They are performative. In fact, we see Oppenheimer very alarmed and guilt-ridden by what he has brought about.

Oppenheimer's third acting nomination and only acting loss was for Emily Blunt as the fiercely loyal but equally sharp Kitty Oppenheimer. She is no shrinking violet, able to stand up against her and her husband's accusers when she testifies. However, she is also aghast and angry at Oppie for continuously not appearing to fight. Kitty endures Robert's tryst with his former mistress. She also stays besides him despite whatever doubts that she might have.

Oppenheimer is filled with top notch performances from the entire cast. This film embodies the adage of "there are no small parts, only small actors". We get small roles for a wide variety of established actors and young talents. This film features Josh Hartnett and Josh Peck as Oppenheimer's colleague Ernest Lawrence and Kenneth Bainbridge, the man who literally pushed the button at the Trinity test site. There are cameo roles from other Best Actor Oscar winners (Cillian Murphy winning for this performance). Gary Oldman appears as President Harry Truman. In his small role, we see Truman as one thoroughly unimpressed with what he sees as Oppenheimer's self-flagellation and self-righteousness. Dismissively waving his handkerchief at Oppenheimer, he tells the sad scientist that those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki do not care who built the bomb, just who dropped it. 

There are other cameo appearances in the film, each leaving a strong impression.  Among them are Kenneth Branagh as Danish physicist Niels Bohr, Casey Affleck as the cold Colonel Pash and Ramy Malek as David Hill, another physicist who dares stand up against Strauss in his confirmation hearings. Tom Conti appears briefly as Einstein, making him a serious figure versus the common idea of Einstein as brilliant but a bit wacky. 

While they are not cameo roles, actors as varied as David Krumholtz, Jason Clarke and Alden Ehrenreich work well in their roles of fellow Manhattan Project scientist Isidor Rabi, de facto prosecutor Roger Robb and Strauss' Senate confirmation aide.  

Matt Damon is probably the weakest as General Leslie Groves. He seemed to be one note, almost always raging. It was not a bad performance, but I was not enthusiastic about it.  I could also question how Alex Wolff could play fellow Berkeley scientist Luis Alvarez. Granted, Alvarez was of Spanish descent. However, it is doubtful that such casting would not raise eyebrows if done now.

A lot of Oppenheimer's power comes from Ludwig Gorasson's Oscar-winning score. It has a tense and gripping manner that also blends genuine mourning for his emotional plight. The film is almost totally filled with Gorasson's score. There are very few moments when we do not hear music. However, the score is so strong that it is not a flaw.

Every element in Oppenheimer works brilliantly (no pun intended). On every level, Oppenheimer meets its goal of being an intelligent and entertaining film. "It's paradoxical, but it works", J. Robert Oppenheimer observes to a colleague in the film. That could be a good description of the American Prometheus. 

1904-1967

DECISION: A-

2024 Best Picture Winner: Anora

The Unbreakable Boy: A Review

THE UNBREAKABLE BOY

Well, they tried. 

That was how I felt after finishing The Unbreakable Boy. This story aims at the heart. Like our title character at the end, his aim fell a bit short. Still, at least he tried.

Narrated mostly in voiceover by our title character, we hear from young Richard Austin LaRette (Jacob Laval). Richard goes primarily by either Auz or AuzMan. He is a very, very chipper young man. He fills us with almost miniscule details about all sorts of things. There is a reason for that.

AuzMan has two conditions. The first is that he is autistic. The second is osteogenesis imperfecta, which is also known as brittle bone disease. His OI is inherited from his mother, Teresa (Meghann Fahy). Teresa met AuzMan's father Scott (Zachary Levi) and in a whirlwind romance he knocked her up thirteen years prior. Teresa did not inform him about her own OI until later in their relationship. She also had not informed him that she had been married twice before.

For his part, Richard does not seem to follow that he is slipping into being an alcoholic. He has his own secret in that he still talks to his imaginary friend Joe (Drew Powell). All this AuzMan informs us in his own chipper way. Scott does his best to bond with Austin, but his efforts keep flopping. He keeps struggling to stop accidents that injure AuzMan. Austin's autism also blocks Scott's connection to his firstborn. The bottle and the bars are his only sources of respite apart from talking to Joe.

AuzMan continues through life cheerful and cheerfully oblivious to things for the most part. He is forced to stay at a psychiatric hospital when in an uncharacteristic fit attempts to strangle his younger brother Logan (Gavin Warren). He also has his down moments, but for the most part everyone around him seems charmed by the AuzMan. Everyone except Scott.

Things come to a head in the LaRette's marriage when Scott drives his sons back home from a New Year's Eve party in a state of intoxication. He does manage to not kill anyone, but this is the last straw for Teresa. With some guidance from his parents Dick and Marcia (Todd Terry and Patricia Heaton), Scott finally goes to AA meetings. He still talks to Joe, but he also starts bonding with Pastor Rick (Peter Facinelli). Rick, like Scott, is a recovering alcoholic. At last, Scott can bond with the AuzMan and the rest of his family. We know that because at the end of The Unbreakable Boy, it is Scott and not Austin who is doing the voiceover. 

Voiceovers can rise or fall based on a variety of factors. There is the voice itself. There is the dialogue. There is the delivery. I do not know if, in the long run, it was a good decision by writer/director Jon Gunn to have Austin be our narrator. I understand the reasoning behind that. Austin is supposed to be the unbreakable boy. However, the end result seems a bit too cutesy for its own good. 

Again, I understand that we are meant to get this innocent child's viewpoint. However, when Austin tells us that his father is talking to his imaginary friend, the end result is not charming. It makes Scott look genuinely bonkers. This "talking to Joe" business goes on throughout the film. In fact, we are informed at the end that Scott still talks to Joe. The conceit is carried to what I think is an extreme level. Several times do we see "Joe" with Scott. He is with him in the delivery room. He is with him when he is moving a bed. Near the end, Scott asks Joe if he is God. The Unbreakable Boy starts showing Joe with a quasi-divine light, then cuts to Joe laughing and saying that he absolutely was not God.

I think one of my issues with The Unbreakable Boy is that it wants to have its cake and eat it too. This is especially true when it comes to promoting The Unbreakable Boy as a "faith-based film". Yes, you have a pastor character. Yes, Teresa does say that the family will go to church. However, The Unbreakable Boy barely touches on any faith-based elements. Scott has no "come to Jesus" moment. They attend church exactly once. That scene seems created just to show how uncomfortable and ill-prepared Scott is as a father. It also allows for a chance to see Austin run around the sanctuary in his underwear while Scott is desperately trying to both keep an eye on him and change Logan's diapers. 

It is a curious thing how The Unbreakable Boy oddly seems to forget about the IO and concentrate more on the autism as the film goes on. I think that it could also be argued that The Unbreakable Boy is not Austin. It is Scott. AuzMan may be our narrator, but Scott is our focus. A lot of The Unbreakable Boy centers around Scott's struggles both as a father and alcoholic. 

That is not necessarily a bad thing given that Zachary Levi handled the role rather well. For the most part, Levi made Scott into a well-meaning but floundering man. We see this throughout the film, especially whenever he struggles to understand and/or bond with Austin. Levi makes Scott someone who wants to do the right thing but can't figure out how. 

The rest of the cast is a bit hit-or-miss. On the positive side is Patricia Heaton as Scott's mother. She has a surprisingly good moment of comedy when she is raging about Scott having knocked up Teresa. We mostly hear her off-camera in her rant about Scott's poor choices. The running commentary and dish-smashing is not mean or terrifying but more frustrated. Drew Powell also did well as Joe. Granted, he was a figment of Scott's imagination. However, Powell brought a full range of emotions as the fictional Joe. He could be supportive or sarcastic depending on the moment. 

On the negative side is Jacob Laval as Austin. I figure that he gave the performance that director Gunn wanted him to give. It is, however, unfortunate that The Unbreakable Boy makes Austin sometimes look like an unhinged robot rather than an autistic individual. I understand that school bully Tyler (Pilot Bunch) was meant to have manipulated the well-meaning Tyler. He does so by starting the "You can't handle the truth!" speech from A Few Good Men. That is all the prompting that Austin needs before he starts quoting the entire speech verbatim in class. However, the effect does not have the full impact that I think it could have. Something about it just did not sit well with me. When the school principal welcomes him back, she announces to the school assembly, "Everyone's favorite mascot, AUZMAN!". 

Again, something about that just did not sit right with me. 

As a side note, Austin's voiceover points out that Scott has an imaginary friend like Tyler Durgan from Fight Club. I am not sure that Fight Club would be appropriate for any thirteen-year-old. Yet, I digress. 

Peter Facinelli, who was one of the film's producers, has very little to add as Pastor Rick. No suggestion of spiritual guidance. No suggestion of a spiritual life. All we learned is that, like Scott LaRette, Pastor Rick is a recovering alcoholic. Meghann Fahy as Teresa at times was overly dramatic.

I did not end up hating The Unbreakable Boy. It was fine. For me, it fell just a bit short of the crowd-pleaser that it was aiming to be. 

DECISION: C-

Reversal of Fortune: A Review (Review #2160)

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

It is said that with great power comes great responsibility. Perhaps with great wealth comes great irresponsibility. Reversal of Fortune has everything that a filmgoer could want when it comes to true-life crime stories. There is sex. There is wealth. There is a sinister suspect. With excellent performances and a sly tone, Reversal of Fortune chronicles its lurid story well.

Our story is told primarily in voiceover from the victim herself. Sunny von Bulow (Glenn Close) is a persistent vegetative state. She fell into this sorry state after falling into a coma due to a diabetic shock close to Christmas, 1980. What makes this all the more curious is that this was her second coma. The first was almost a year earlier, but she had recovered. Now, however, there is no way back for our socialite.

Sunny's husband Claus von Bulow (Jeremy Irons) had been slow in getting his wife needed medical attention on both occasions. He had a mistress, soap opera actress Alexandra Isles (Julie Hagerty). He also stood to inherit a great deal of money upon Sunny's death. Could Claus have attempted to murder Sunny not once but twice? He did not get away with it as Sunny managed technically surviving both comas. However, Claus was convicted of attempted murder.

Into this comes crusading Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver). Claus contacts Dershowitz to help him with his appeal. He took the advice of his newest companion, Andrea Reynolds (Christine Baranski) to "get the Jew". Alan has no interest in the von Bulow case. He does have an interest in the $300 an hour that von Bulow can pay, which Dershowitz will use to help two black teens on death row. Dershowitz soon starts looking into what should be an open-and-shut case. However, is it as open-and-shut as it appears?

Alan and his team of students soon think that Claus von Bulow is being set up. His stepchildren Alexander (Jad Mager) and Ala (Sarah Fearon), along with Sunny's loyal maid Maria (Uta Hagen) all openly detest Claus. Their own attorney had taken copious notes from them, notes that he never shared with Claus' original defense. There is also a published interview with Truman Capote who claimed that Sunny was taking drugs. Could she have injected herself? Could it have been a botched suicide attempt? 

There is also the shady David Marriot (Fisher Stevens). Marriot admits to being a drug pusher but also says that he was a drug mule for Alexander. Could he be a help or hindrance in this case? Everyone is against Claus. Only Claus and Sunny's daughter Cosima (Kristi Hundt) has stayed loyal. 

Claus finally tells his side of the story to Dershowitz and his team. It is of an unhappy wife who ignored medical advice about her hypoglycemia. Could Claus actually be innocent? Alan starts believing it so. There is at least room for doubt. However, will it be enough to reverse Claus' fortune?

Reversal of Fortune has a cold, wry and efficient manner. Those qualities work so well in the film. The three elements that lift Reversal of Fortune to being such a good film were all recognized with Oscar nominations. 

Director Barbet Schroeder received a Best Director nomination. It was well-earned. Reversal of Fortune has a strong pace and excellent performances. From the beginning when we hear Mark Isham's elegant and sophisticated but menacing score, we know that Reversal of Fortune is telling us a dark story beneath its elegant veneer. 

Schroeder balances the past and present with subtle hints. When we are with the comatose Sunny, the film is dominated with blue cinematography. This suggests Sunny's eternal twilight, where she is aware but powerless. He also draws strong performances out of his cast. Glenn Close's performance consists almost entirely of voiceover. It is close to 45 minutes before we see Close not narrating but in the role. She made Sunny into tragic figure, brittle and lost. 

A standout performance is that of Fisher Stevens as the shady David Marriott. He is appropriately sleazy and amoral. He, however, also makes him oddly compelling, like a con man who does not hide that he is a con man.   

Nicholas Kazan's Oscar-nominated screenplay adaptation of Professor Alan Dershowitz's book has an interesting take in metaphorically giving the comatose Sunny a voice in her story. In a nine-minute opening narration Sunny gives us a recap of her case. Glenn Close's delivery is soft, elegant and matter of fact. Sunny's narration has a drop of arsenic, as if hiding her fury within an icy delivery. 

"I never woke from this coma, and I never will" she tells us. "I am what doctors call "persistent vegetative". A vegetable. According to medical experts, I could stay that way for a very long time. Brain dead, body better than ever". 

We go back to Sunny in that sorry state every so often. Of particular note is when we see her getting a massage in the hospital while she discusses her past. It is a dark commentary on how the once idle rich now are in this physically weakened condition. 

Kazan's dark wit continues with the third element to be recognized by the Academy. Unlike Kazan's script or Schroeder's directing, Jeremy Irons won Best Actor for his icy, sarcastic Claus von Bulow. He makes von Bulow's patrician, aristocratic air almost farcical but in a good way. Irons' Claus is a man surprisingly and simultaneously self-aware but clueless. For example, he attempts to integrate himself with Dershowitz's students by making what he thinks are delightful puns.

"What do you give a wife who has everything?", he tells them. After a silent beat, von Bulow replies, "An injection of insulin". Claus then follows that quip with another stab at humor. "How do you define a fear of insulin?". After another silent beat, Claus von Bulow deadpans, "Claus-traphobia". The lines are groan-inducing. However, it is Irons' performance that shows this man is basically not human. 

He does not speak these lines in an avuncular manner. There is not a drip of sarcasm or even a sincere effort at lightening the mood. Instead, Irons delivers all his dialogue with this curious assurance that is eerie, bizarre but endlessly fascinating. Irons never rages as Claus von Bulow. He never seems to express any true and authentic emotions. That is what makes Jeremy Irons in Reversal of Fortune so good. He makes Claus into this enigma, a figure who is unaware of how he comes across. The closest that von Bulow comes to acknowledging his eccentric manner is after another meeting with Dershowitz. "You are a strange man," the law professor tells him. "You have no idea," Irons' von Bulow icily replies.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Ron Silver's turn as Professor Alan Dershowitz. He makes Professor Dershowitz into a moral crusader who is also a shrewd mind. He endures the elites thinly veiled antisemitism. He argues with his students. Yet, Silver never makes Dershowitz into a fool or an idiot. He has a moral core. In fact, it is that moral core that gets him to hitch his wagon to the odd Claus von Bulow. When he is successful in getting a new trial that will ultimately acquit von Bulow, he tells him that it is a legal victory but that morally, von Bulow is on his own.

Despite this long, strange trip, Alan Dershowitz never cracked who Claus von Bulow was. It appears that he ended up not wanting to know.

Reversal of Fortune has the aforementioned Mark Isham score, elegant but sinister. It is a perfect reflection of the story and its characters. It flows well and never has its flashbacks jar the viewer. 

Reversal of Fortune is a dark and elegant story of justice delayed and perhaps denied. The film did a good thing in bringing Sunny back from time to time. So often, the victims or alleged victims are forgotten. Here, she was not. She was even allowed a chance to speak in a way, something the real Sunny would not be able to do for the last 28 years of her life. 

Legally, Claus von Bulow died an innocent man. However, there is still room for doubt. The film ends with Claus at the unlikeliest place: a corner convenience store. He buys some cigarettes and observes that the cashier recognizes him from the tabloids next to him. "Anything else?", she asks, somewhat frightened. "Yes. A vial of insulin", he replies. Smiling in a curious manner, he adds, "Just kidding" and winks at her. Whether Claus von Bulow ultimately got away with his crimes we may never know. We do know that his fortunes, once apparently doomed, were reversed in his favor.

Claus von Bulow: 1926-2019

Martha "Sunny" von Bulow: 1931-2008

DECISION: B+

Sight (2023): A Review (Review #2125)

SIGHT (2023)

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord". So begins The Battle Hymn of the Republic. That could also encapsulate Sight, a deeply moving and effective film. Sight is based on a true story. If there are any deviations from fact, it would not lessen Sight's emotional impact.

Sight flips from Nashville in 2007 and 1960-70's China. Dr. Ming Wang (Terry Chen) is a pioneer in eye surgery. He is able to give sight to those with deeply damaged eyes. Dr. Wang and his Wang Vision Institute partner Dr. Misha Bartnovsky (Greg Kinnear) have had great success with their surgeries. Dr. Wang now has the biggest challenge of his career. Sister Marie (Fionnula Flanagan) is Catholic nun who has brought an Indian girl named Kajal (Mia SwamiNathan) for treatment. In a shocking act, Kajal's mother blinded her so that she could be a legitimate beggar.

Dr. Wang is reluctant to take the case, knowing the immense damage done to Kajal's eyes. However, he takes the chance. However, Dr. Wang is a haunted man. He continues to struggle with the aftereffects of the Cultural Revolution which he and his family barely survived. Young Ming (Ben Wang) wants to follow in the footsteps of his father and mother (Donald Heng and Leanne Wang) into medicine. He also fancies pretty Lili (Sara Yi), the proverbial girl next door. However, these are dangerous times for educated people. The Cultural Revolution is in full force. Red Guard thugs push everyone around and demand that Ming and Lili join them.

The dangers eventually put them all at risk. It is through sheer good luck and the Cultural Revolution petering out that the Wangs manage to survive. Ming's brilliant mind allows him to return to his education and even go to America to continue them. He is also eventually able to bring his family to America, including his lazy brother Yu (Garland Chang).

What he is not able to do is restore Kajal's sight. Ming is bitter and reproachful. No one can get him out of his funk. Misha cannot. His family cannot. Not even pretty bartender Anle (Danni Wang), whom Ming is too shy to approach at first. He feels great guilt about his medical failure. He feels greater guilt over Lili's fate, which is still unknown to him. Approached to try again with another patient, Ming at first declines. However, when he finally finds peace through another meeting with Kajal, Dr. Ming Wang is ready to try again. Will he be able to exorcise his private demons? Will he be able to see internally the way he helps others see externally?

At the end of Sight, the real Dr. Ming Wang appears to tell us that everything that we saw is true. We see footage of Dr. Wang dancing with Kajal at the EyeBall fundraiser. We see pictures of the real Misha and his wife, June. We also see Dr. Wang with the real Arle, whom we discover did end up married. This stays close to a standard biopic. 

What sets Sight apart from other biopics is that we get moments of lightness and humor that play closer to a fictional film.

Dr. Wang opted to name the fundraiser with the deliberate pun of "Eye Ball". In Sight, Misha chides him for choosing such a silly and cliched name. The interactions with his family also have humor, such as his brother Yu's continuing efforts at business that always sound eccentric. Arne and Ming have one of the best "meet-cute" moments. She is working at the hotel bar where Ming is having a drink after an event. The man next to him asks if the food there is good. After Ming tells him that it is, that patron says that "the green stuff" looks great. Before Ming and Arne have a chance to warn him, that patron swallows a massive amount of wasabi. As the poor misguided patron is taken away by ambulance, an immediate bond comes between Ming and Arne. In one of Sight's flashbacks, we see Ming and two other Chinese students arrive at college. The three immediately realize that their suits are inappropriate for the setting. They have little money for new clothes. Enter a scene at the Salvation Army thrift store, where they marvel at jeans for fifty cents. 

Let's just say that their new threads are not exactly the latest styles either.

Moments like these make Sight into a nice, charming film. The audience is not drowned in misery or tragedy or seriousness. However, director Andrew Hyatt does not shrink from showing us particularly dark moments. Hyatt adapted Dr. Wang's autobiography From Darkness to Sight along with John Duigan and Buzz McLaughlin. The various Cultural Revolution scenes shock the viewer with their terror and brutality. They are not graphic. However, the scene where Wang, having been severely beaten, is unable to help a terrified Lili is deeply moving. Sight does not shrink from showing how the Cultural Revolution did great damage both culturally and individually.

It also gives us an insight into Dr. Wang's current dark night of the soul. In Sight, we see a haunted man, privately tormented by what he went through and what he failed to do. This carries over into his work. He is devastated when Kajal does not regain her sight. However, in time he, thanks to people like Misha, Arle, Sister Marie and Kajal herself, is able to forgive himself.

Sight is beautifully acted all around. The film floats between past and present, so we get two Wangs. Ben Wang leaves a very strong impression as the young Ming Wang. He is smitten with Lili, respectful and loving towards his parents, and able to display both courage and fear whenever facing against the Red Guard bullies. Wang shows a wonderful range throughout Sight. After a positive turn in Karate Kid: Legends, Ben Wang shows that he is fast becoming a solid actor in both English and Mandarin. Terry Chen as the adult Ming Wang also displayed moments of almost naïve charm. He also showed Dr. Wang's commitment and tenacity along with his fears and doubts. 

Most everyone else had smaller roles. Even Greg Kinnear, ostensibly the biggest name in Sight. The various figures flowed and ebbed throughout the film. Kinnear was asked to play the loyal, slightly goofy sidekick. He did that well. Danni Wang also was not a major part of Sight as Anle, the woman who eventually agrees to date Ming. She however is both charming and intelligent, a break from the usual portrayal of potential love interests as nothing more than supportive (though she is that). 

Sight blends humor and heart to tell this truly inspirational story. It shows our characters as flawed but ultimately good people, always attempting to do what is right. Dr. Ming Wang is a person of faith. "There is more to life than what we see", the real-life Dr. Wang tells us at the end of Sight. On that, we agree.    

 

DECISION: B+

Raging Bull: A Review (Review #2110)

RAGING BULL

Boxing is known as "the sweet science". Neither sweet nor scientific would be used to describe Jake LaMotta, the subject of Raging Bull. This portrait of a brawler in and outside of the ring is a brilliant piece of filmmaking, with standout performances all around.

In 1964, Jake LaMotta (Robert De Niro) is a heavyset master of ceremonies pumping himself up for a performance. We then go back to 1941. Here, LaMotta is a muscular figure, the Bronx Bull knocking down all middleweight opponents. 

One person who knocks him out though is young Vickie (Cathy Moriarty). With a sultry voice to match her sultry body, Vickie drives Jake wild with desire. His loyal brother and manager Joey (Joe Pesci) reminds Jake that he is married. Jake, however, will not be denied and he eventually wins Vickie over, first as his mistress then as his second wife.

Jake is a pugilist par excellence. Despite this, he keeps failing to become middleweight champion even though he clearly defeated such figures as Sugar Ray Robinson (Johnny Barnes). Jake fights brilliantly inside the ring. The problem is that he fights stupidly outside the ring. Perpetually jealous, he is wildly suspicious of any man whom Vickie so much as bumps into, let alone talks to. Jake also does not want help from the Mob to get him a shot at the title despite Joey's awareness of the need to. 

Jake eventually goes against his own interests again and again. He agrees to take a dive for mob boss Tommy Como (Nicholas Colasanto) but does such a poor job of it that he's booed out of the ring and suspended by the boxing commission. He becomes unhinged at Vickie talking to any man, going so far as to accuse Joey of having sex with her. He does make it to the championship (the price of throwing the match) but this is a hollow win. Jake loses Joey. He gains massive weight post-retirement. He runs his nightclub poorly to where he ends up in jail for allowing underage girls in. He loses Vickie and his kids. Finally, he finds a second act as an MC, making quips while introducing strippers and later reciting Shakespeare.

Jake LaMotta is not a good man. In particular, his rage and abusive nature should put people off. However, Raging Bull shows us that as he says of himself near the end, "I'm not an animal". LaMotta is driven, intense, hard. These are all qualities that made him an excellent fighter. They also were the qualities that wrecked him when he was not boxing.

As a side note, him saying, "I'm not an animal" coincidentally echoes another 1980 black-and-white biopic. This exact sentiment was expressed in The Elephant Man. That film featured a physically disfigured man with a noble soul. Raging Bull featured a physically powerful athlete with a disfigured soul. Yet, I digress.

Raging Bull is one of Robert De Niro's finest hours as an actor. He makes Jake LaMotta into this fierce force of nature. He is able to show a surprisingly tender side when with Vickie. De Niro also shows us the shattered man after he takes a dive. Crying uncontrollably, he keeps asking himself and those around him the same question: why did he do it. We marvel at the bouts that LaMotta goes through. We also feel a mix of disbelief and sadness seeing this brawler turn into a de facto lounge act.

Cathy Moriarty had a stellar turn as Vickie, Jake's obscure object of desire. She has a sultry, low voice and beautiful figure. Moriarty also shows Vickie to be loving and surprisingly tolerant of her man until even she got fed up. Like Moriarty, Joe Pesci received an acting Oscar nomination for his turn as the loyal but put-upon Joey. His work with De Niro is absolutely fantastic, each playing off each other so well. They are similar in their volcanic tempers, yet different in Joey staying loyal both in his marriage and his relationship. Unlike Jake, Joey understands that talent alone can't get Jake to the top. 

Martin Scorsese films Raging Bull so beautifully. He does make boxing poetic. He has clever moments, such as how Vickie kicking her feet in the pool matches the drumming we hear. This is indicative of how brilliant Thelma Schoonmaker's Oscar-winning editing is. The various fights also range in style and appearance, no small feat given how many we saw. 

For me, the best example revealing the kind of man Jake LaMotta was captured near the end of Raging Bull. Desperate for money to try and buy himself out of a criminal charge, he storms into his now-estranged wife's home, grabs his championship belt and forces the various diamonds out of it. Going to a pawn shop, he is told that the diamonds are not as much as LaMotta was asking for. Had he brought the entire belt in undamaged, he is told, Jake could have had more than enough cash for it. 

Paul Schrader and Mardick Martin's adaptation of LaMotta's autobiography may not have intended it so. However, to me it shows that Jake LaMotta did not see the true worth of things. He saw the small parts and not the big picture. He saw Vickie talking to men, not her love for Jake. He saw Joey "selling him out" to the Mob, not his brother doing all he could to get Jake a shot at the title. He saw the diamonds. He did not see the belt.

Raging Bull stands tall not just in sports films or biopics. It stands tall among some of cinema's finest achievements. 

1922-2017

DECISION: A+

Missing (1982): A Review

MISSING

The Chilean coup that overthrew socialist President Salvador Allende and led by General Augusto Pinochet occurred on September 11, 1973. This curious historical coincidence has led some to refer to the coup as "the other September 11th". I think that is a disservice to compare the events in 1973 to those of September 11th, 2001. That, however, does not diminish the horrors that those murdered in the immediate aftermath of the coup d'etat suffered. Missing chronicles the brutality of the 1973 coup through the experiences of one family. It is a well-acted, directed and written film that one remembers long after the credits roll.

American expatriates Charlie and Beth Horman (John Shea and Sissy Spacek) are mixed about living in Chile. Charlie, who is working on an animated film and translates for a left-wing newspaper, wants to stay. Housewife Beth would rather leave. The constant shooting around her, the curfews, the overall stress and terror of the situation is wearing on her. After visiting some friends, Beth misses the bus and is forced to live out a night of terror, hiding from the military when she fails to get home by curfew.

Her failing to make curfew and hiding on the streets may have ultimately saved Beth's life. She returns to their home to find it in shambles, ransacked and Charlie now missing. In desperation, she makes contact with her estranged father-in-law, Edmund (Jack Lemmon). Ed, a devoted Christian Scientist, has never been supportive of his son and daughter-in-law's liberal to radical politics. Arriving in a militarized and paranoid Santiago, Chile, Ed and Beth are civil but opposed when it comes to several matters.

Ed, having already worked with government official in the U.S., believes that the American embassy can help locate Charlie. Beth has worked with both American and Chilean officials. She has found them ranging from indifferent to downright hostile. Ed also holds Beth and Charlie partially responsible for Charlie's disappearance.

As Ed and Beth join forces, the extent of what happened to both Charlie and Chile becomes clearer and more alarming. Charlie in flashbacks finds retired and current American military officers in the resort town of Vina del Mar. Charlie, who was forced to stay overnight in Vina del Mar with his platonic friend Terry (Melonie Mayron), soon starts wondering why they are there at all. Ed and Beth manage to find one of Charlie's friends, David Holloway (Keith Szarabajka). Holloway was one of two last Americans swept up in early raids. He was taken to the National Stadium along another of Charlie's colleagues, Frank Teruggi (Joe Regalbuto). David lived.

The week keeps going. Ed soon starts understanding how the American government will be less than helpful if not downright complicit. He will see just how tied they are to what has happened both to Chile and to Charlie. Eventually, the truth about Charlie Horman is found.

Missing does something that makes it more effective. Under Costa-Gavras' direction, the film has no big scenes, no great drama to push the story forward. Far from it, as Missing is a surprisingly quiet film. Even an earthquake late in the film does not build up to something epic.

In that scene, as Ed and Beth along with the other alarmed hotel guests attempt to walk out, they are warned not to. One couple, cradling their child, ignores the dual proclamations of curfew and the hotel's building integrity. We hear the gunshots coming from outside. While we are relieved to see them return, almost comically, back inside, Missing shows us exactly what kind of state the Hormans are in.

In fact, we rarely see many acts of overt violence. Most of the terror is implied, sometimes in the most unexpected ways. When David and Frank are taken to the National Stadium, we overhear this exchange in Spanish.

"Where do you work?", a soldier asks one of the prisoners who has come up to his table.

"The Senate", the man replies, surprisingly calmly.

"What do you do there?", the soldier asks.

"I'm a Senator", is the reply.

Throughout Missing, the horrors of the junta retribution are visible but not dwelt on. We see the bloody corpses on the street. As Ed and Beth go to another hospital, a group calls out for everyone to see something outside the window. Everyone can then see another human corpse being carried by the current. The matter-of-fact manner to Missing makes things more chilling. It is to where when Ed and Beth are told that there will be an extra charge to send Charlie's body home that needs to be paid immediately, the viewer feels that mix of disbelief and rage.

Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek received Lead Actor and Actress Oscar nominations for Missing. Both, I think, did excellent work. Lemmon makes Ed Horman a very calm and rational man in a chaotic and irrational world. Often, he underplays scenes. He can get angry, most often at Beth and by extension Charlie. However, as Missing continues, we see this steady man slowly crumble. 

When quietly informed by someone of Charlie's true fate, Lemmon does not start wailing or having a big breakdown. Instead, we see Ed struggling between accepting what he now knows and the truth of the wild goose chase that he was purposefully sent on. One of the hardest moments in Missing is when he and Beth finally are allowed to go to the National Stadium, which has become an unofficial prison/detention center. The hope to find Charlie fading, Ed at first cannot bring himself to use the public address system he's been permitted to. Beth calls out for Charlie. Ed then can muster the courage to call out for his son. Given all that we have seen, we should know that the young man running to the foreground is not Charlie. In Lemmon's face, however, we see that faint hope he carries given some life. 

Sissy Spacek does fine work as Beth. She is more openly cynical about American involvement both in the coup and in functionaries being terribly unhelpful. However, she also sees that Ed is not dumb. He is at heart a good, decent man who holds to his shattering ideals. He can be dismissive of Charlie's works and views. He also, Beth sees by the end, is a father who does love his son.

Missing, in a curious way, shows that Ed still has not given up on his American idealism. As he and Beth finally leave Chile, Ed is visibly but quietly angry at the American embassy flunkies. "I just thank God we live in a country where we can still put people like you in jail", he tells them. Many people might scoff at that idea. However, I see it as revealing that Ed Horman still has faith despite the cruelty of it all. This is a man who amidst all the chaos both external and internal managed to find time to visit a Christian Science Reading Room. Faith, both religious and political, is important to Ed. Missing shows that despite all the horrors he has seen and endured, his moral compass is still solid. Ed does not shrink from trying to stop violent acts, even if it is dangerous. Ed's morality makes him heroic and tragic.

This ability to keep things grounded and simple may be why Missing won Best Adapted Screenplay. Costa-Gavras and Donald Stewart adapted Thomas Hauser's nonfiction book The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice into a somber, intelligent film that keeps a metaphorical human face on this overwhelming tragedy. Costa-Gavras did similar work in his Oscar-nominated directing. There is nothing flashy in Missing. When Frank Turoggi is found, the camera goes first to Beth and Ed, and then slowly rises upwards, to see the other spread out corpses. Often in Missing, no one has to say a word to know just how shocking things are.

One aspect in Missing that was not Oscar-nominated was Vangelis' score. Missing, particularly its gentle, somber main theme, is haunting, elegant and moving. Like much in the film, the Main Theme from Missing serves as counterpoint to the brutality of the situation.

Missing is a strong film on all levels. It is more than a chronicle of one person caught up in a shocking situation. It is an ode to how small figures can still display great courage even when facing massive odds.   

DECISION: B+

Song Sung Blue: A Review

SONG SUNG BLUE

"You are the words, I am the tune, Play Me" is one of the many well-known songs from singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. Song Sung Blue is another. The film with that title, itself based on a documentary, tells its story in a curious way. It may be based on a true story. It may be with the best and sincerest of intentions. It ends up playing like two movies in one, which is one of Song Sung Blue's many issues.

Recovering alcoholic and veteran Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman) sees himself as "Lightning", the greatest musical impersonator in all Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His skills do have limits, as he finds the idea of performing as Don Ho idiotic. His frenemy, Mark Shurilla (Michael Imperioli) insists he fulfill his last-minute booking at the Wisconsin State Fair despite the oddness of it all.

While Lightning ultimate skips out, he does see and catch the eye of Claire Stengl (Kate Hudson). She is an upbeat, enthusiastic Patsy Cline impersonator. Quickly, and despite the misgivings of Claire's kids Rachel (Ella Anderson) and Dana (Hudson Hensley) they begin a relationship. Mike's daughter Angelina (King Princess) also has qualms about this. However, Mike and Claire seem an ideal match. Eventually, Claire convinces Mike to make them a duet where they can perform Neil Diamond songs. 

Now as Lightning and Thunder: A Neil Diamond Experience, Mike and Claire begin making waves in the area. They have support from Mike's manager Dave Watson (Fisher Stevens), who is also his dentist. They also get an agent, Tom D'Amato (James Belushi), who is also a tour bus driver. There are a few stumbles, such as a gig playing at a biker reunion that Tom had mistook for a home realtor convention. On the whole, the now-married Mike and Claire are living a surprisingly charmed life. They even open for Pearl Jam, down to having Eddie Vedder (John Beckwith) join them in Forever in Blue Jeans.

That Mike has no idea what a "Pearl Jam" is doesn't matter.

In the blink of an eye, though, tragedy (and a car) hits Lightning and Thunder. Claire is left physically and emotionally spent. Mike too falls into a depression. He ends up hosting karaoke at a Thai restaurant. Fortunately, the owner loves Neil Diamond. Will Mike and Claire recover to rebuild their America dreams? Will they find that now they have Love on the Rocks? Will Lightning and Thunder strike again? 

As I watched Song Sung Blue, I did something that I do not do often. I literally covered my eyes. I did that at least twice. The first is early on, when Hugh Jackman was attempting to do Neil Diamond at home. I think the song was, I Am I Said and he was attempting to get Diamond's moves and vocals. The latter was, to be fair, not bad. It is only when he tries some big kick and ends up hurting his knee that I winced. I figure that this was done as comedy. It ended up looking forced.

The second was almost always when James Belushi came on the screen. His Tom was so utterly bad that I thought he was making the already exaggerated tone Song Sung Blue had into worse forced farce.

A lot of Craig Brewer's writing and directing came across as forced. This is particularly true with Hugh Jackman's Mike. He did not come across as an upbeat, optimistic fellow. He came across as an idiot, sometimes egotistical and clueless. Song Sung Blue opens with a close-up of Jackman, reciting some strange monologue about his musical talents. He referred to himself as a "superhero of rock and roll", saying that as his alter ego Lightning, he was "like Chuck Berry, Barry Manilow and the Beatles all rolled into one". 

I don't know, the mix of Chuck Berry and Barry Manilow just sounds rather oddball to me. It was almost as if Mike or Brewer's screenplay just settled on these two names because they share the "Berry/Barry" homophone. He could have chosen Barry White, which somehow does not stick out as much. In the end, we find that Mike/Lightning says this to his AA meeting, where he has a tradition of performing Song Sung Blue to the other members on his sober birthday. Later in the film, we go back to this curious tradition when we see Dana record his stepdad's rendition to send to the AA meeting because he'll be on tour. The film ends with footage that Mike recorded on what would have been his 22nd sober birthday.

If that were not enough, the first recording has him performing Song Sung Blue in his underwear. When Dana asks if he would like to put pants on, Mike casually dismisses it, telling him to shoot him from the waist up (he was wearing a shirt). 

This, I think is why Song Sung Blue failed for me. For at least the first hour of this two-hour eleven-minute film, Song Sung Blue played almost like an exaggerated comedy. How does one not laugh at the scenes where Mike and Dr. Watson are discussing Mike's dentistry and potential bookings? How does one not laugh at Mike's persistence and insistence that Neil Diamond has more to offer than Sweet Caroline? How does one not laugh at Mike's stubbornness over keeping the song set as is to the bikers? He is adamant that they open the set with Soolaimon, refusing to so much as alter it to something perhaps more potentially palatable like America or opting to let Claire sing Patsy Cline instead. When one of the bikers dares to shout that Neil Diamond sucks, this enrages Mike enough for him to start a bar fight.

Again, all of this may have happened, as Song Sung Blue is based on a documentary by that same name. It doesn't, however, change that it plays like a comedy. That makes the wild turn into a depressing drama all the more jarring. The sudden turn comes as a total surprise, but in the initial part, it keeps to a less serious tone. Claire has been rushed to the hospital, hovering between life and death. Her children are naturally terrified and confused. Mike appears to start to comfort Rachel. However, he soon starts rambling about "George" from the television show that Rachel likes. Quickly establishing that he means George Clooney from ER, Mike tells her that he soon will experience a medical emergency of his own. He starts the defibrillator in an empty hospital room but falls before he can complete his instructions. Rachel is left holding the device pads, terrified, screaming, but using them anyway.

I am astounded that Craig Brewster or anyone else in Song Sung Blue did not think that this would play as almost a joke. It is compounded by some poor editing choices. After this chaotic scene where one or two of our characters might die, we see Claire suddenly wake up. That leads the viewer to think the whole thing was just a wild dream. Right after that, though, it is clear that it was not a dream. 

Song Sung Blue, having been a bit lighthearted for the first half, then shifts to almost depressing drama in the second. The tonal shift is jarring, and I do not think that the film ever finds its footing again (no pun intended). The problem is that since Song Sung Blue played like a comedy for so long, its turn to drama feels wild and fake. It does not help that Brewster put in another semi-dream sequence that looks more oddball. In that scene, Claire goes onstage to sing Patsy Cline's Sweet Dreams. During her admittedly beautiful rendition, Mike comes and tells her she needs to get off the stage. We then find that somehow, despite her physical limitations, she managed to get to her front lawn and live out her Sweet Dreams.

It is a bit strange the way it was all set up. It is as if Song Sung Blue struggled to find if it was a comedy of two dreamers who became the biggest impersonators in Milwaukee or a drama of recovering from strange circumstances. 

In the cast, the standout is Kate Hudson. She managed to keep the lighthearted and dramatic elements to her character. In the first half, Hudson made Claire a peppy, upbeat and positive figure. She was fun and flirtatious while still being rational in how she struggled to get her kids to respond to her new boyfriend and eventual second husband. In the second half, Hudson brought Claire's struggles to recover in strong, even at times moving form.

And then there is Hugh Jackman. This is a Tony winner, so one would expect him to carry the songs well. To his credit, there were times when he did look like Neil Diamond, if not sound like him. However, he did not look his best. He struggled to find if Song Sung Blue was a comedy or drama. He played Mike as someone one could not take seriously. He was not charming or amusing. He was moronic. Even at times when he should have been serious, Jackman made him anything but. 

The only time that I did chuckle with Hugh Jackman was when Rachel, looking for him, asked, "Papa, you all right?" (he wasn't, having had a sudden heart issue and knocking his head on the bathroom sink). I wasn't laughing at that, though it did play a bit like a comedy skit. I was smiling because all I could now hear was Papa, Can You Hear Me? in my mind. 

The rest of the cast played it like a comedy, even after the second hour. This film does not need to be over two hours. For example, we start with Lightning's recitation to the AA meeting. Later, there is a scene where Mike tells Claire about his sober birthday. I think it would have worked better if Brewster had cut Jackman's monologue to let Claire (and by extension, the audience) find out about Mike's struggle with alcohol. 

Song Sung Blue, I suppose, has its heart in the right place. It did not work for me, given that I was shouting, "FALL OFF THE STAGE!" at Lightning and Thunder's big comeback when Lightning was performing. Neil Diamond has a wonderful songbook that I enjoy. Neil Diamond in film, however, can't seem to catch a break. At least Diamond's The Jazz Singer had some great songs to make it tolerable. Song Sung Blue has only cover versions. 

DECISION: D-

Nuremberg: A Review

NUREMBERG

It is now eighty years since the end of the Second World War. Despite all those decades, the aftereffects of World War II still reverberate through our lives. Nuremberg covers the first of a series of trials where the Nazi high command was judged by the Allies. With strong performances and an engaging story, Nuremberg brings the truth of how true evil can appear so charming.

Nuremberg is two stories that eventually fold into one. In one story, U.S. Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelly (Rami Malek) is brought in to examine the surviving Nazi leadership for evaluation. The highest-ranking Nazi official taken alive is Hermann Goring (Russell Crowe), who willingly surrendered to the Allies. Kelly examines him as well as other Nazi officials such as the fanatically antisemitic propagandist Julius Streicher (Dieter Reisle) and Labor Front director Robert Ley (Tom Keune). Kelly needs Sergeant Howie Triest (Leo Woodall) to translate for him. Kelly, however, realizes something that none of the other Americans do. Goring understands and speaks English. Eventually winning his trust, Goring soon begins if not a friendship at least a less guarded relationship with Kelly.

In exchange for getting the apparently bonkers Rudolf Hess (Andreas Pietschmann) to cooperate with the Allies, Goring asks Kelly to secretly take letters to Goring's wife Emmy (Lotte Verbeek) and daughter Edda (Fleur Bremmer). It is not long before Kelly begins blurring the line between seeing Goring and his family as human and remembering the monstrous acts that Goring oversaw and knew about.

That is the second story. Associate Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon) is anticipating that he will be named Chief Justice. He was not anticipating being the American prosecutor at the newly established International Military Tribunal. He initially struggles with the entire concept of this trial, with others pointing out that there is no international law on which to hold the Nazis accountable. He finds that many would prefer that they be shot and be done with it. Jackson, however, soon becomes convinced that this trial is needed. The prosecution and the judges will be made up of the Allies: British, French, Soviets and Americans. Jackson will work with British Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe (Richard E. Grant) as the primary prosecutors.

Kelly begins working with and even bonding with the outwardly charming Goring and his family. He becomes convinced that Goring will manage to beat the rap, Jackson in Kelly's view severely underestimating Goring. Whatever fondness for Goring that Kelly might have is shattered when footage of the various extermination camps is shown. Kelly has talked to too many persuasive lips and is thrown off the case. He still can help guide Jackson in bringing the narcissist Goring to account for the horrors that he and the others committed. Will Kelly and Jackson, with some help and encouragement from Maxwell-Fyfe and even Sergeant Triest, help them unmask the satanic evil of the Nazi regime? Will justice truly be served?   

Nuremberg is a long film at close to two and a half hours. Yet for the most part, Nuremberg does not feel long or slow. The film moves remarkably well. It also never short-changes the Kelly/Goring story and the Jackson story. That is a major credit to writer/director James Vanderbilt, who adapted Jack El-Hei's book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist for Nuremberg. 

The film has many standout performances. Leading the cast is Russell Crowe as Hermann Goring. He does what all good portrayals of villains do. He rarely if ever rages or appears out of control. Crowe's Goring is cold, calculating, shrewd. He reveals Goring to be terrifying in his charming manner. One can see how Kelly could be metaphorically seduced by Goring's outwardly courtly, if pompous, manner. Kelly quickly deduces that Goring speaks and understands English when Crowe gives him a quick startled look on hearing that some of the Americans call him "Fatso". As their conversations continue, it is unclear if Goring does ultimately see Kelly as a friend or is playing him for a fool. My guess is that it is a mix. 

Crowe keeps to a correct German accent. Nuremberg should be recognized for making the situation realistic in terms of languages. Germans speak with a German accent when speaking in English. The Americans require translators. Vanderbilt does not allow for the accents to grow to cartoonish levels. Things are played perfectly straight. It is so nice to see Russell Crowe remind us of how good he can be as an actor.

Another standout is Leo Woodall as Howie Triest. He is called on to speak German and speak with an American accent. That last detail is important for two reasons. First, we get a surprising revelation about how the Detroit Tigers fan speaks flawless German. Second, Woodall himself is British. As such, both the character and the actor have to speak in an accent not their own. Woodall does an exceptional job on a technical level. He also does an exceptional job in terms of his acting. One of his final scenes, where he reveals his past, is deeply moving. 

As Nuremberg is almost two stories split into one, we had Michael Shannon give an equally strong performance as Justice Jackson. He could be prickly and ambitious. However, he could also use his moral outrage to push none other than then-Pope Pius XII to metaphorically bless the trial. It is one of Nuremberg's flaws however, that Richard E. Grant was given very little to do as Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe. He does have a great moment when interrogating Goring. However, it would have been nice to see him do more than look disdainful and drink tea.

The showdown between Crowe's Goring and Shannon's Jackson is one to watch. We see two actors playing well against each other. It shows Goring's cleverness and Jackson's initial bumbling. 

In their smaller roles John Slattery as the firm Colonel Andrus and Colin Hanks as Kelly's less patient fellow psychiatrist Gustave Gilbert did well.

I would say that Rami Malek is the weak link. It was not a terrible performance. However, Malek did purse his lips quite a bit. It soon became a distraction. I will give Malek and Vanderbilt credit in how it did not portray Kelly as saintly or even righteous. He was motivated by the thought of future fame. Kelly dreamed of seeing his work be the basis of a book where he could analyze evil. It helps that Gilbert, we learn, had the same idea. He did change somewhat in his motives. 

One of Nuremberg's most effective to downright shocking moments is during the trial itself. As Jackson presents footage from the extermination camps, the film uses actual archival footage rather than hide it or go with reenactments. This footage has been featured in documentaries. However, this is the first time that I can recall it being used in a feature film. I do not think something like Judgment at Nuremberg did such a thing, though to be fair that film did not center around the first trial. 

I think many people in the audience that I saw Nuremberg with had never seen this footage. The stunned silence, broken by occasional sobs and gasps, had the necessary effect. The use of this footage is a chilling reminder of how demonic the Nazi regime was. 

At a time when terms like "genocide" and "Nazi" are tossed about rather casually, seeing the images of Holocaust survivors should stun and horrify viewers. Nuremberg does not shy away from presenting us with these images of man's inhumanity towards man. The film even allows for moments of humanity to seep through. Earlier, Sergeant Triest told Kelly how he plans to mock the monstrous Streicher before he is hanged. When the Americans go to get him to the gallows, Triest sees what a pathetic, cowardly man he is. Whether he is moved to genuine compassion or sees that gloating will not bring him peace, only the viewer can answer.

"It matters. More than you know", Sergeant Howie Triest tells Dr. Douglas Kelly late in the film. Kelly had been thrown out for telling the press via a beautiful reporter that he felt Goring would demolish Jackson. Triest reminds him that remaining silent, even after all that he had seen, would be a betrayal of all those murdered. That, I think, is the theme of Nuremberg. Holding those who do evil in the sight of man and God however you perceive Him, matters.

We cannot forget. We must not forget. We must maintain permanent vigilance, lest we too fall for the charms of someone like a Hermann Goring.

DECISION: A-