005. Flight

005. (06 Jan) Flight (2012, Robert Zemeckis) 53



Now we know what would've happened if you remade The Lost Weekend with a plane crash and terrible music cues. Tonally all over the map, this is far too preachy to get away with a gag scene where a coked-up Washington rides an elevator while a Muzak version of "With a Little Help from My Friends" plays. It ticks all the boxes for a substance abuse drama, meaning there are few surprises to be found with Zemeckis's predictable direction as an added liability. Whenever he lets the camera linger on anything (e.g. the miniature vodka bottle in the empty hotel room, Washington's tearful face at the end of the hearing), it's clear something dumb or gimmicky is about to transpire. The plane crash scene is exciting, I suppose, but it's a pale imitation of the 2004 Lost premiere.

MILDRED PIERCE

MILDRED PIERCE
Written by Todd Haynes and Jon Raymond
Directed by Todd Haynes
Starring Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce and Evan Rachel Wood

There are some dream projects that just make me shiver with an almost lustful anticipation. HBO’s 5-part miniseries, MILDRED PIERCE, is definitely one of these projects. James M. Cain’s 1941 novel of the same name has been interpreted on film before (in 1945, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Joan Crawford in the title role) but never has it been given this kind of honour. Directed by Todd Haynes, one of today’s most fascinating filmmakers, and starring the inimitable Kate Winslet as the 1930’s heroine, MILDRED PIERCE pays homage to Cain’s work by allowing it the time to breathe and settle into the subtle and sumptuous epic that it was always meant to be.

Mildred is a mother first, no matter how trying it is for her to fill the role. When we meet her, she is baking pies to bring in a little extra cash, now that her cheating husband (Brian F. O’Byrne) is no longer bringing home what he used to when business was booming. Shortly thereafter, she kicks him out and decides to take control of her life for her daughters, Ray and Veda (Quinn McColgan and Morgan Turner). With the classes crumbling all over Los Angeles, Mildred is desperate to maintain a certain lifestyle for her girls but to accomplish this, she must go through one obstacle after another. And some of them are pretty devastating! It is Mildred’s determination and resolve that define her though and soon she is achieving great success amidst her emotional turmoil. And it is Winslet’s extraordinary ability to oscillate almost imperceptibly between her internal and her external emotional expression that makes Mildred so captivating. You never know where she will go and what she will do next but you always know that she will be fighting fearlessly no matter what. It’s inspiring.

The MILDRED PIERCE cast is rounded out by Guy Pearce as Mildred’s playboy boyfriend, Melissa Leo as her best friend and Evan Rachel Wood as her mortal enemy, the grown version of her daughter, Veda. The mother/daughter conflict seems almost secondary at first but as it builds, and it does so with great insight and delicacy thanks to the tender hand of Todd Haynes, it becomes apparent that this relationship is the central one in Mildred’s life. It drives her to succeed at all costs but also tears her down to absolutely nothing all too often. To an outsider, many of Mildred’s actions might seem selfish but to those who know her, Mildred’s motivation is almost always for other people and more often than not, for Veda. It is a testament to Hayne’s talent as both a filmmaker and a writer that we actually come to know Mildred well enough to know this about her.

THE FIGHTER

Written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson

Directed by David O. Russell

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo

Before a boxer sets foot in any ring, he most likely has a plan of attack in place. If he is serious about what he does, he has studied his opponent; he knows his strategies, his weaknesses. A great boxer is in control of the game even when it seems like he might not be; he can see the match straight through to the knockout. THE FIGHTER is just like that boxer and once the bell rings, signifying the fight has begun, it comes at you fast and hits you hard. You won’t even see it coming. It’s that good.

Everyone is a fighter in THE FIGHTER but there are two that fit the bill in a more technical sense of the word. Mark Wahlberg, a producer on the film, plays Micky Ward, the real life Lowell, Massachusets native and now retired junior welterweight boxing champion. Ward was on hiatus from professional boxing in the early ‘90’s and the film picks up as he is preparing for his comeback in 1993, with his brother, Dickie Ecklund (Christian Bale), also a former boxer, coaching in his corner. Ecklund’s serious crack problem does not allow for him to be in anyone’s corner but his own really and Micky must learn to fight his way out from brother Dickie’s shadow in order to become his own man.

Wahlberg gives a strong performance, giving THE FIGHTER a solid center to move around but part of Micky’s character is to allow the more dominant forces in his life control his surroundings. This allows for the supporting players to truly stand out. Bale is a twisted and tortured mess, a refreshing return to form. Meanwhile, Melissa Leo is pure, trash gold as Micky & Dickie’s manager mom. Even Amy Adams turns a quiet role as Micky’s love interest into something smoldering. Her fights with Mama Leo are almost as gruesome as the one’s in the ring.

As incredible as THE FIGHTER is, it would be nothing without the man in its corner, director, David O. Russell. Russell has crafted a taut picture that plays like its working the ring from every angle possible and placing the viewer in the middle of this barrage of punches that rarely lets up. Don’t worry; you get out alive. You aren’t the same though.