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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 14 July 2020

The early 20s can be a difficult age to navigate.  The world’s general expectation is that you are a mature, fully functional, financially independent adult who is contributing to society by working hard and paying bills.  The reality can be quite different.  Despite the best intentions, it’s often hard to move out of home, pick a viable career path, land a decent job, avoid addictions, and find quality friends/lovers.  Life is tough.

This theme is explored in The King of Staten Island, a film loosely inspired by the upbringing of 26-year-old actor-comedian Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live).  He teamed up with Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and Dave Sirus to write a screenplay that was “75% autobiographical” and would serve as a “love letter” to his family.  Davidson has openly struggled with his mental health and he hopes the film will be helpful to viewers in a similar position.

It’s tough enough to create a producible script but Davidson takes on the additional challenge of acting in the lead role.  He plays 24-year-old Scott Carlin, a chatty, socially awkward “manic” who smokes weed, takes anti-depressants and hides in the corner at parties.  He has no job, he still lives at home with his mother (Tomei) and his college-bound sister describes him as looking like “the guy who sells crack under the bridge.”  When asked about his future, Scott speaks of his illogical plan to create a chicken restaurant that also serves as a tattoo parlour.

The King of Staten Island is an interesting character study in that there’s a lot to like and dislike about Scott.  On one hand, you feel empathy because he’s been diagnosed with ADHD and still carries the scars from the death of his firefighter dad (Scott was just 7 years old at the time).  On the other hand, he wallows in self-pity, chooses not-so-great friends, and struggles to take responsibility for his own actions.  He can be a stressful burden on those around him.

Davidson, Apatow and Sirus have gone with a slightly lighter approach in tackling the subject matter.  There were times when I thought the film would go down a darker, heavier path but each time, it pulls back and offers a window of opportunity for Scott to open.  The end result is a feel-good flick that offers as much comedy as it does drama.  The fact Scott verbalises almost every inner thought helps create some memorable one-liners.

It’s a little long and a few subplots feel unnecessary (such as an out-of-nowhere scene involving a robbery) but The King of Staten Island is worth seeing for its humour, its themes and its performances. 

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 March 2020

Writers have a lot of creative licence when it comes to animated features.  They aren’t limited by what visual effects artists can generate or by what stunt people can achieve.  Think of the strange world in Spirited Away or the odd-looking characters in The Triplets of Belville or the lovable toys in the Toy Story franchise.  It’s hard to believe such memorable, distinctive imagery could have been crafted if live-action techniques were used.

That said, even I was a little puzzled by the curious domain used in the latest Pixar film, Onward.  It’s a world filled with centaurs, unicorns, mermaids and fairies and yet, despite the fact these creatures have magic abilities, they’ve forgotten (I think?) how to use them because they now rely on technology to go about their daily lives.  It doesn’t make much sense but I’m guessing it’s a metaphor for today’s world and the way scientific advances have many jobs and tasks obsolete.

If you think that’s odd, wait until you hear what the film is about.  16-year-old Ian (Holland) and his elder brother, Barley (Pratt), are two elves who have been raised almost entirely by their widowed mother (Louis-Dreyfus) after their father passed away many years ago.  Using a long-forgotten magic spell and a special gemstone, they attempt to bring their late father back to life for a period of 24 hours but regrettably, it all goes pear-shaped.  Only the “bottom half” of their dad regenerates and so they’re forced to interact with a confused pair of legs that cannot see or hear them.  It’s weird stuff.

What follows is an adventure whereby Ian and Barley go on a lengthy road trip to find another gemstone which they can use to complete the spell and see their “full” father.  They mingle with an assortment of creatures along the way including a stifled manticore (Spencer), a pixie bikie gang, and a bunch of police officers.  It’s anything but smooth sailing and tension grows between the two brothers with each passing hour.

The film’s worthy messages are easy to discern.  It’s about complex sibling relationships and the ways in which loss and grief connect us.  It was inspired by the real-life upbringing of writer-director Dan Scanlon.  His father died when he was just 1-year-old and so the only way he could get an appreciation of his dad’s life was through pictures, home movies and stories relayed by other family members.

I struggled to buy into the film’s concept and the torso-less figure that socialises with the two brothers.  It’s a jagged narrative that doesn’t flow smoothly from scene-to-scene.  I could also see younger audiences becoming confused at times.  Despite its flaws, the film comes together for a powerful, emotional climax in the final 10-15 minutes that may see a few tears shed.  The wait is almost worth it.

With a voice cast including Tom Holland, Chris Pratt and Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Onward isn’t as memorable as other Pixar classics.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 July 2020

Love has the power to divide us and yet, love also has the power to unite us.  It’s not a new message but it’s one that’s easy to forget.  Thankfully, we have gifted filmmakers in the world like Trey Edward Shults (It Comes at Night) who can put this lesson at the forefront of our minds by creating multifaceted characters and putting them in troublesome situations.

Waves begins by focusing on an African American teenager named Tyler (Harrison Jr) who is completing his final year of school.  Like so many at that age, he’s a complex kid trying to find his place in the world.  This is illustrated in an early sequence where Tyler is taking shirtless selfies in front of his bedroom mirror and posting them to Instagram in search of likes and comments.  He’s a popular, good looking guy with athletic prowess but this scene alludes to a level of anxiety and insecurity that he keeps hidden from others (including his family).

In the weeks that follow, Tyler’s life quickly slips off the rails.  He breaks up with his girlfriend (Demie) after a weighty disagreement.  Dreams of landing a college scholarship dissipate when a serious shoulder injury ends his wrestling career.  The burden of living up to his father’s (Brown) increasingly lofty ambitions becomes too heavy to carry.  Tyler turns to alcohol and prescription medication as his “way out” but it only adds to his woes.

Waves is a tense, unrelenting film.  There’s not a lot of reprieve for audiences.  It’s like watching someone self-destruct in slow motion and yet be powerless to stop them.  It’s a narrative that can also be looked at through multiple lenses.  Did his father push too hard?  Should his mother have noticed the warning signs?  Should his sister have intervened?  It reiterates that the actions of one have ramifications for many.

Shults infuses the film with his own distinctive style.  From the circular, fast moving camera work of cinematographer Drew Daniels (Skin) to the nightclub-like score from Oscar winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network), Waves grabs your attention early and holds it throughout out.  You become invested in the characters and care about their fate.  All the performances are strong but it’s hard to go past Kelvin Harrison Jr (It Comes at Night) in the intense lead role.

Without giving too much away, Shults makes the gutsy decision to change tack at the halfway mark and it gives him the freedom to develop the film’s themes more fully.  It’s been a long wait for Waves to make it to Australian cinemas (the world premiere was almost a year ago) but those that seek it out will be rewarded.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 10 March 2020

At the film’s world premiere in Toronto last September, Oscar nominated director Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty) lamented that “you see hundreds of war films, but you’ve never seen what happens to the families left behind.”  That’s a slight generalisation (many war films do offer a family perspective) but I can see his point given this story is told solely from the perspective of a group of women in Britain while their husbands are off serving in Afghanistan.

Some may already know the true story on which it’s based.  The idea began in 2010 when two women from North Yorkshire started a small choir.  It was intended to be a support mechanism for women looking to pass the time while their spouses/boyfriends were on overseas deployment.  Similar choirs were formed across the country and they came together as part of BBC television show, The Choir: Military Wives, which first aired in November 2011.  A month later, they released a single which went to #1 on the UK Single Chart over the Christmas period.

Military Wives is a semi-fictionalised version of events.  It opens with two very different women, Kate (Scott Thomas) and Lisa (Horgan), being charged with the responsibility of organising social activities at their military base.  Kate is sophisticated, controlling and formal.  Lisa is the exact opposite.  It’s not hard to see the awkward tension between the pair as they squabble over the tiniest details when planning get-togethers for the local women.

They ultimately settle on the choir idea and, if you’ve seen your fair share of feel-good flicks, you should know what to expect.  There’s the initial nerves and reluctance from the group.  There’s the singer who doesn’t realise how beautiful her voice is.  There’s the arguments over which songs to use.  There’s the big performance at the end (complete with a few hiccups in the hours leading up to it).  They’re plot devices we’ve seen used before in films such as As It Is in Heaven to Pitch Perfect. 

I tired of the goofy, repetitive tiffs between Kristen Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan (who feel like they’re overplaying their characters at times).  Thankfully, screenwriters Rachel Tunnard and Rosanne Flynn push for a more dramatic layer in the second half with several interesting subplots involving the theme of grief.  It leaves a stronger mark than the choir stuff in the sense that it’s more emotional and less clichéd.  We get to see these people open up and act like real humans.

Military Wives has been compared against the likes of Calendar Girls, Brassed Off and The Full Monty and so if you’re a fan of those, this might put a smile on your face (and maybe a tear down the cheek).

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 July 2020

A White, White Day takes place in Iceland but it could arguably be set in any country. It delves into the universal themes of death and grief.  For the first 70 minutes or so, it’s a patient/slow observational drama centred on an elderly man.  When talking to a therapist, he simply describes himself as a “father, grandfather, policeman and widower.”

It’s that later noun which is most key. Ingimundur (Sigurddson) is still coming to grips with the unexpected death of his wife in a car accident.  Taking time off from work, he’s now pouring his energy into home renovations while also spending time with his inquisitive 8-year-old granddaughter and his soccer playing friends. 

Just like the lead character, the film seems somewhat directionless during the opening two acts. We’re watching short, fragmented moments in the life of an ordinary guy.  He revisits old home movies.  He moves a small boulder which has fallen on the road.  He reads a scary bedtime story to his grandchild.  You wouldn’t be alone in asking yourself the question - what’s the point and where is this all going?

It’s alluded to during the early stages but the tension finally ratchets up when Ingimundur confronts a younger man who he suspects had an affair with his wife.  His suspicions were aroused when looking through library books and old photos passed on by his wife’s work colleague following her death.  It’s a personality shift that will come as a surprise.  We’ve gotten to know Ingimundur as a quiet, docile man but now he’s consumed by rage and will stop at nothing to get the answers he seeks.

Iceland doesn’t have a huge movie industry but they’ve produced some great stuff in recent years including Rams and Woman at War.  It’s an intriguing country given their isolated location, cold temperatures and small population (just 364,000 people).  The most memorable sequence in the film occurs at the very start.  We’re treated to a lengthy time lapse that highlights the country’s beauty and how it changes depending on the season and the time of the day.  It reaffirmed my desire to visit one day.

Unfortunately, the film’s meandering nature struggled to hold my early interest.  We’ve seen so many films around the world that deal with grief and there’s nothing here that offers a fresh, different perspective.  It’s only scratching the surface when it comes to character development and I wasn’t won over by the finale’s sudden change of pace and its big revelations.

Selected as part of the International Critics’ Week section of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, A White, White Day struggles to make an impression.