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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 July 2022

North Carolina, 1969.  The body of a young man has been found at the bottom of a fire tower in the middle of an expansive swamp.  A twenty-something-year-old woman, Kya (Edgar-Jones), is on trial having been charged with his murder.  The prosecution argue that the pair fought and Kya pushed him from the tower’s outer balcony.  With a guilty verdict likely to lead to a death sentence, Kya puts forward a different set of facts which point towards her innocence.

The trial is the most interesting element of Where the Crawdads Sing.  From To Kill A Mockingbird to My Cousin Vinney to A Few Good Men, I’m a sucker for courtroom spectacles where a seemingly weaker party tries to outsmart and outmanoeuvre the other side.  It’s not a flashy role but Oscar nominee David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) is very good as the subdued, experienced defence lawyer working in Kya’s best interests.

Unfortunately, the court scenes are fleeting.  They help maintain the film’s energy but the bulk of time is spent on flashbacks across the 1950s and 60s which serve as mini biography of Kya’s life.  We understand more about her tough childhood where she was abandoned by her mother and raised by her alcoholic father.  We learn she is looked down upon by townsfolk and referred to as “the Marsh Girl” because of her shy nature and the rundown swamp shack she calls home.  We see her fall in love for the first time with a patient teenager, Tate (Smith), who offers good looks and a kind heart.

These scenes are necessary but I’d argue they aren’t overly interesting.  It comes across as a generic romantic drama where the dialogue is stiff and the character development is unfulfilling.  Kya is an intriguing individual.  You’d expect that given she spent her teenage years living alone and learning how to fend for herself.  However, it’s a struggle to get inside her head and reconcile some of the choices she makes.  I don’t think I knew her that much better during the closing credits as I did during the opening ones.

Perhaps more detail is on offer in the novel authored by American Delia Owens upon which the film was based.  Reese Witherspoon picked it as part of her public book club in September 2018 and, sensing its potential as a movie, she optioned the film rights through her production company, Hello Sunshine.  I’ve heard it’s a good read (at least that’s what my boss says) but something has gone missing in translation with chunks of the film feeling like a corny, trashy Mills & Boon romance.

English actress Daisy Edgar-Jones (Norman People) is admirable in the lead role and composer Mychael Danna (Life of Pi) deserves credit for his seductive music score but Where ihe Crawdads Sing needed a better script to fully draw me in.

You can read my chat with director Olivia Newman by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 June 2022

Much is made these days of partisan news outlets and the way they “shape” people’s views but, as we learn in the new French drama Lost Illusions, it’s far from being a new problem.  The film takes us back to the early 19^th Century when the newspaper business was booming in Paris.  Production costs were falling rapidly (cheaper paper, high-speed presses) and sales were on the upswing – the result of a more affluent society who were hungry for news, opinions, and gossip.

Based on the novel by Honoré de Balzac, the film’s fictious protagonist is Lucien de Rubempré (Voisin), a young, budding writer living in Paris who yearns to be a successful author but can’t find a publisher with enough faith to back him.  To make ends meet in the interim, he accepts a job at a small newspaper where, under the tutelage of Étienne Lousteau (Lacoste), his eyes are opened to a world he never knew existed.

Étienne doesn’t mince his words or hide his bias.  On Lucien’s first day, he is told the singular focus of everyone is to “enrich shareholders”.  Morals and ethics are irrelevant.  It’s all about selling papers and boosting revenue.  Lucien quickly finds his feet and is soon writing reviews for books and theatrical productions.  The “catch” is that his actual opinion is irrelevant.  If authors/producers offer decent bribes, he’ll author glowing, favourable reviews.  If not, his critiques will contain harsh words and sharp barbs – a death sentence to the artists’ work.

Directed by Xavier Giannulli (Marguerite), Lost Illusions provides an insightful look into a fascinating time.  It’s captivating from start to finish!  It's also easy to see why it won seven César Awards (the French equivalent of the Oscars) including best film and best adapted screenplay.  It’s filled with rich, interesting characters playing power games and trying to outmanoeuvre their adversaries.  Just like a game of Snakes and Ladders, there’s plenty of rises and plenty of falls.

25-year-old Benjamin Voisin (Summer of 85) is outstanding in the lead role – a performance that relies as much on his appearance and facial expressions as it does on dialogue.  The costume and make-up teams do a stellar job in helping illustrate Lucien’s everchanging disposition with his external “look” mirroring his internal mindset.  That’s not to say there aren’t some terrific conversations.  The exchanges between Lucien and Étienne are riveting and the same can be said of fleeting scenes involving a big-wig publisher (a great cameo from Gérard Depardieu).

Selected to open the recent French Film Festival here in Australia, Lost Illusions is a must-see flick and another great addition to the canon of great French cinema.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 July 2022

Released in the United States a month ago, The Black Phone arrives in Australia as a proven hit.  It has already grossed over $100 million USD at the global box-office and will turn a tidy profit.  Based on a short story authored by Joe Hill (the son of horror guru Stephen King) and directed by the skilled Scott Derrickson (Deliver Us from Evil, Doctor Strange), it reaffirms the public’s interest in a twisting horror-thriller.

Set in 1978, the story is centred on a small community in Denver where several children have disappeared.  The police and parents are clueless but as the audience, we know the person responsible is “The Grabber” (Hawke), a serial killer who is big on creepiness and light on intelligence and motives.  His latest target is Finney (Thames), a kid he shoved into the back of his black mini-van and is now keeping captive in the basement before deciding what to do next.

The story is largely told from two perspectives.  The first is that of Finney who must find a way to escape The Grabber’s clutches before it’s too late.  Introducing a splash of the supernatural, Finney is contacted by the ghosts of previous victims who offer their past learnings (what worked and what didn’t) in trying to get the upper hand on The Grabber.  The second perspective is that of Gwen (McGraw), Finney’s worried sister who has a few curious talents of her own which will help in saving her brother before it’s too late.

The Black Phone has stuff which is really good… and then other stuff which is questionable.  Starting with the positives, I enjoyed the blend of drama, horror and supernatural.  Such movies can become very formulaic (borrowing heavily from previous works) but this held my attention all the way through.  It’s got everything from simple jolt-out-of-your-seat scares… to heart-pumping escape sequences… to intriguing plot points involving the afterlife.

The film also features a superb lead performance from 15-year-old newcomer Mason Thames who goes through a range of emotions.  He skilfully portrays Finney as a shy, reserved kid who must step out of his comfort zone and harness every ounce of smarts and courage if he wants to survive.  Thames creates a character worth cheering for and this should set him up for more great roles in the near future. 

Turning to the not-so-positives, the screenplay is littered with inconsistencies and contrived moments.  It’s the kind of movie where the more you think about it, the less sense it makes.  The police detectives are incompetent, the townsfolk don’t show much interest, and there’s an overexcited private investigator who adds nothing.  Perhaps the script is to blame but Ethan Hawke isn’t particularly convincing as the one-note serial killer.  A creepier individual with a clearer agenda could have added significantly to suspense levels.

It misses opportunities to become a standout within the horror-thriller genre but there’s still enough on offer in The Black Phone to warrant your time and money. 

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 June 2022

When it comes to biopics, condensing the entire life of a renowned individual into a two-and-a-bit hour movie isn’t my preferred approach.  I lean towards a narrower focus on a particular moment in their career, such as what director Stephen Frears did with The Queen, to provide a deeper insight into who they are/were as a person.  If I want to know more about them, I can jump on the internet and do some reading to fill in the gaps.

This personal preference explains why I was lukewarm about the opening hour of Elvis.  In trying to provide a quick overview of Elvis Presley’s upbringing and rise to stardom, director Baz Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby, Romeo + Juliet) hits us with a torrent of sound and visuals (with an emphasis on reaction shots).  The editing is so fast paced that there’s barely any time for characters to share meaningful conversations.  It’s like skim reading a book – you get a high-level feel for the content but not a full comprehension.

Thankfully, the tempo is slowed in the second half and we finally get an appreciation of Presley’s talent along with his strengths and weaknesses.  Central to film’s allure is the lead performance of Austin Butler – an American actor better known for his television work (The Carrie Diaries, The Shannara Chronicles) before now.  He does a wonderful job capturing the soul of Elvis Presley and you will care about the character as his life unravels in the later stages.  Butler was recommended for the role by Denzel Washington (they worked together on Broadway in 2018) and it’s easy to see why.

With so much story to tell, it’s inevitable that a few supporting players will fall by the wayside.  Elvis’s wife, Priscilla (DeJone), and his father, Vernon (Roxburgh), come across as simple and one-dimensional.  Presley’s music was shaped by that of many gifted black artists and again, it’s fleetingly touched upon in only a handful of scenes.

The four-person writing team have chosen Elvis’s long-time manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks), to be the film’s dominant focus.  He serves as the story’s villain in that he was a gambling addict who took a farcically high commission from his client’s revenues.  On top of that, he was an expert manipulator who deliberately sabotaged Elvis’s relationships with friends and family.  It’s rare to see Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump) step into the shoes of such a loathsome, whiny character but he’s solid as the sweet-talking Colonel Parker.  That said, I’ve have cut the 1990s scenes as they add little.

I spoke with actor Kelvin Harrison Jr several months ago (he plays B.B. King in the movie) who succinctly summed up the filmmaking experience – “Baz is an event in one person.”  It’s an apt way of describing this movie.  Shot here in Australia on the Gold Coast, Luhrmann draws on his trademark style and creates something loud, colourful, bold and “in your face”.  It takes time to warm up but Elvis provides audiences with a celebratory tribute to an iconic musician.  At the very least, see it for Austin Butler's performance!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 13 July 2022

Given it combines two of my favourite pastimes, a golf movie is both a blessing and a curse.  On one hand, these films come along so infrequently that I feel compelled to enjoy and promote whatever is served up.  On the other hand, I have a thorough knowledge of golf which makes it easier to spot the flaws and general “dumbing down” of the storyline to appeal to non-golfing audiences.  Would a guy really hit 12 balls into the water on the final hole of the US Open like we saw from Kevin Costner’s character in Tin Cup?  I don’t think so.

The above thoughts were rummaging through my head while watching The Phantom of the Open, a new British comedy-drama.  The release in Australia is timely given it’s the same day The Open Championship kicks off at St Andrews in Scotland (go the Aussies!).  I’d fleetingly heard about this crazy true story before but now it’s been immortalised into a mainstream movie for a wider group to enjoy.  Golfers will get the most out of it but that’s not to say others can’t have fun and appreciate the eccentricities of its leading man.

The film begins in 1975 when Maurice Flitcroft (Rylance) loses his long-term shipyard job and is in search of new opportunities.  He stumbles across coverage of The Open Championship on television and then has some kind of weird dream/epiphany to take up the sport, win next year’s title, and claim the victory prize of 10,000 pounds.  His first step – learning the art at home but putting balls along the carpet into a mug at the far end of the living room.

It’s farcical to think a 46-year-old man could take up a sport like golf and become the best in the world within a year.  It didn’t stop Maurice from trying though.  Despite having no knowledge of the sport and no coaching assistance, he decided to give it a crack.  When entries opened for The Open Championship the following year, Maurice blindly ticked the “professional” box on the application form which gave him in a guaranteed start in the qualifying stage of the coveted event.  What followed was one of the worst displays of golf ever witnessed!

The story has been given a thorough glossing-up by writer Simon Farnaby in bringing it to the screen.  Significant alterations to the story create faux-drama which makes you realise it’s a very, very loose adaptation of the Maurice Flitcroft tale.  I wish it was more authentic.  If you believe the movie, these qualifying rounds had big crowds and were televised, complete with insightful commentary, across the globe.  None of this is true.  The Open Championship qualifiers aren’t even televised today let alone back in the 1970s.

That said, the heart of the story is still there thanks to a strong lead performance from Oscar winner Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies).  He was one of the worst golfers to ever attempt to make it at a professional level but you grow to like the guy because of his enthusiasm and optimism.  The world keeps knocking him down and Maurice keeps getting up and marching on.  He may not have ever qualified for The Open Championship but there’s a nice footnote to the film which shows he did leave a small positive mark on the game.

With a cast including Sally Hawkins and Rhys Ifans, The Phantom of the Open is both messy and fun.