Hidden Figures

With Hidden Figures you get a two-for-one deal. It tells the story of the forgotten black women who worked on the early days of the space program in the US, just like it's advertised as, but it also goes deeper and explores the damaging nature of the segregation laws that were present in many of the southern US states during the 1960s. Those two parts combine to make an impactful and inspirational story.

In 1961, Katherine Goble (Taraji P. Henson) works at NASA, crunching numbers on whatever project she is assigned to. She is one of a larger group of black female mathematicians that do this job that also includes Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monaé). One day she is hired by Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) and his Space Task Group in order to put a man into space. There is immense pressure to do so from the government, as the Soviets have not only launched their series of satellites, but they have beaten the US in sending a man into space. Since Katherine is a black woman, she has the twin obstacles in proving that she can actually do the job and gain the respect of her colleagues.

After doing some research, I found out that the segregation of the facility in which they work had been basically non-existent since the 1950s. The reason I mention that fact is that it leaves the film in a strange limbo. The movie is very much about being a black person in the 1960s and the majority of society was subject to these Jim Crow laws, but at the same time the film has to be true to experiences of the people being portrayed in the film. I think that director Theodore Melfi balances these two elements really well and that although the segregation laws may not have affected these women in the ways presented in the film, it allows the audience to extrapolate them into the rest of society.

To make these strong women believable and sympathetic, they need to be backed up by strong performances from the female leads. Luckily this movie has plenty of those. Taraji P. Henson transforms into Katherine Goble so completely it's fantastic. She is able to really convey the strength and confidence that the Goble must have had to work in a completely male environment at a time when women were not at all seen as intelligent beings. I am a huge fan of Octavia Spencer and whenever I see something that she's in, I know that she is going to give the best she can and she doesn't disappoint. Especially when it comes to being the comic relief of the three leads, something that she excels at. It seems that to get your film nominated for best picture you need to put Janelle Monaé in it, because she has been in two Oscar nominated films this year (the other being Moonlight). Her character's struggle against segregation is the more amazing of the three as she became the first qualified black female engineer for NASA, which is no small feat. It's also worth noting that if you want to make a movie set during the Cold War, there is an obligation to put Kevin Costner in it.

Hidden Figures is an incredibly inspirational movie. I know that we don't live in a world that has such open discrimination where racism is acceptable (in most countries at least), it is good to be told a story that you can do whatever you want if you work really hard to go out and get it. This is especially true of a world where the pay gap between the genders is so big when it shouldn't be.

Moonlight

Barry Jenkin’s coming-of-age drama Moonlight may struggle to win over audiences that feed-off the latest high-concept blockbuster, but this composed and affecting three-part story brings a sorely-needed intimacy and contemplation back to the cinema.

Growing up in a world that he doesn’t understand and that doesn’t understand him, Chiron (Alex Hibbert), nicknamed “Little”, struggles to come to terms with his Mum’s drug-addiction, his troubles at school, and his sexuality. Docile in physical size and personality, Chiron’s only companions are his school friend Kevin (Jaden Piner), a kind-spirited drug-dealer he befriends, Juan (Mahershala Ali), and Juan’s affectionate girlfriend, Teresa (Janelle Monáe). These relations help define Chiron as he slowly tries to breaks free of his skin as a teenager (played by Ashton Sanders) and as an adult (played by Trevante Rhodes), in each act he’s very much a minor evolution of his former self, at his core he’s still “Little”.

Moonlight stems from a small drama school project by American playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, and Barry Jenkin’s manages to sustain the collected, deeply personal and reflective elements of the piece which ultimately define the film itself. As I said before, this will not appeal to the low attention-span audiences that only attend the modern blockbuster, but they’re not the sort of people who would willingly see Moonlight.

The more refined three-chapter structure of Jenkin’s script perhaps addresses the concerns of the few detractors to Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and its (in-effect) 12-part story - but whilst it might be the most comparable contemporary film to Moonlight, they are not one in the same. Where Boyhood aimed to be smooth in transition, Moonlight makes a point to divide Chiron’s deeply-personal odyssey into three distinct short-stories. These contained periods each define and build upon the whole of the man, and as the film cuts to black you feel not as if you’ve followed a boy growing up, but more as if you’ve been privileged to witness the determinate moments in the building of a character.

Neither strategy is better or worse, they’re both simply designed to serve the needs of their story. Boyhood’s Mason has an arguably normal (for a white family) set of circumstances growing up that the free-roaming structure celebrates. Chiron’s life is anything but normal in comparison to Mason, and the challenges he faces are immense, hence each new chapter is a reactionary reflection of the last and an indictment of representational issues in the film making community.

Each of these three periods emerges through the extraordinary performances of the Chiron actors. Hibbert’s “Little” is uncertain, shy and confused. Sanders’ Chiron is dejected, independent and desperately reaching out for an understanding. Rhodes’ “Black” is informed, sentimental and as equally uncertain as his young self. One character, three actors, three dominant portrayals. Then in support you have a similar situation with Kevin, one of Naomie Harris’s best performances, and Mahershala Ali s the knavish yet fostering Juan.

Much like its structure, Moonlight is at its most poignant and honest across a few moments where the dialogue drops and Nicholas Britell’s score comes in, teaming up with James Laxton’s breathtaking cinematography to beckon the audience into the most intimate moments of Chiron’s episodic pilgrimage of self. It’s the superb acting, writing and structure that build Chiron into a tour de force of empathy, but it’s these scattered moments of directorial finesse that allow us to truly understand him.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

I've never been much of a fan of the Hunger Games series, or indeed any of the many teenage dystopic films, apart from perhaps The Maze Runner. So walking into the latest instalment, Mockingjay - Part 1 I was a bit hesitant. So, does Part 1 continue in the Battle Royale-esque manner of the first two?

After Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) destroys the arena, Plutarch (Philip Seymour Hoffman) takes her to District 13, an underground embattlement where she meets President Coin (Julianne Moore). Coin persuades Katniss to become their Mockingjay, a symbol of revolution that will boost the uproar against the Capitol. They design a series of propaganda videos to spread the word, but Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) quite rightly suggests that she needs to send her message from the battlefield for it to have influence.

Armed with a film crew, directed by Cressida (Natalie Dormer), Katinss visits a district that has just survived a vicious bombing raid by the Captiol, to see if she can capture both the atrocities of the Capitol, and the spirit of the survivors, in the hope of fanning the flames of revolution. Whilst at the same time, she remains concerned about the state of Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and his existence within the Capitol.

With Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Water for Elephants) reprising directorial control after the success of Catching Fire, the film takes a while to gain momentum, only really finding its stride by the second half. The story of Mockingjay seems much more focused on the political manoeuvres occurring in this Orwellian society and is clearly building up for Part 2, the final instalment in the series. Nevertheless, I was far more absorbed here than I was in the previous two films and for the first real time in the series, I'm actually interested in where it's going. I just wish the first half of this film was as good as the second.

I've never been able to understand how The Hunger Games gets such a vast array of superb actors on-board (Spoiler Alert: It's probably money) and generally they all provide decent if (certainly) not career-peaking performances. Jennifer Lawrence maintains the strong yet troubled nature of Katniss, with both Liam Hemsworth and Hutcherson supporting her well. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman is gentle and sympathetic as Plutarch and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch is still the lovable jackass that he was in the first instalments. Although Julianne Moore is less than stellar, mainly because President Coin is such a bland character, and Natalie Dormer seems to play the same smirking egotist that she does in most her roles, although I suppose it works quite well when playing a director.

Whilst for the first half, Part 1 fails to move away from the stock-standard 1984 dystopia that we've seen many times before, it flourishes more as it moves on, supported by a great cast and a handful of action scenes for good measure.

The Place Beyond The Pines

One of the first descriptions I read of this movie said that it was a multi-generational saga. And boy, you better believe it's a saga. But at no stage during the 158 minute running time did I want it to stop. Also, Ryan Gosling.

The Place Beyond The Pines has three consecutive stories that all affect each other and, more importantly, the characters within them. The first story follows Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling), a stunt rider in a traveling carnival (so basically he's a carnie), who finds out that he has a son from a fling that he had with Romina (Eva Mendes). Because he doesn't want his son to turn out like he did (with an absent father), he promises to provide for him. But Romina has moved on, with a new man in her life, Kofi (Mahershala Ali). Luke still wants to provide for his son, so he starts to rob banks with the help of his friend, Robin (Ben Mendelsohn). This life soon takes a heavy toll on him.

The second story follows Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), a young hero cop who becomes involved in police corruption. He turns to his father, a former judge, for advice. His father tells him that the best course of action would be to take down the corrupt officers, which include Pete DeLuca (Ray Liotta). He turns them into the district attorney, Bill Killcullen (Bruce Greenwood). He also has an infant son with his wife (Rose Byrne).

The third story picks up fifteen years later. Both Luke's son, Jason (Dane DeHaan), and Avery's son, AJ (Emory Cohen), become friends in high school. It is only after Jason becomes aware of Avery's involvement in his father's death that things start to go off the rails.

This movie is fantastic. This is Derek Cianfrance's second film after Blue Valentine (which also starred Gosling). He has crafted an immense flowing storyline, that whilst doesn't explore every single possibility, is still coherent and easy to watch.

The film also looks amazing. It is set in upstate New York and some of the scenery is amazing. So too is the set design in the small town in which it is set.

In my review for Gangster Squad earlier this year, I said that Ryan Gosling works best when he's outside the Hollywood system. Whilst he's not in this movie for too long, his character resonates and you can see a little bit of him in his son. Because he has worked with Cianfrance previously, you can see that relationship come through. At first I thought his character was going to be similar to the Driver, but not at all. You can see that all Luke wants is what's best for his son.

The character who we see the most in this movie is Avery Cross, so that meant just a little bit too much Bradley Cooper for me to handle. When he's in a movie like the Hangover where he has other actors as a buffer, I find him more tolerable.

The women in this movie are also very strong. Mendes' Romina still shows feelings toward Luke, but ultimately knows what's best for her son. We don't see a lot of Rose Byrne, but when we do, you know that she is a stronger person than her husband.

I always feel good when I see Australians in American film, so to see Ben Mendelsohn in this movie made me feel good. Here, he plays an extremely toned down version of the character he played in Animal Kingdom, a man who has lived the life but is happy to settle down. Ray Liotta on the other hand, plays the greediest person alive. His character knows that because this is a small town, he can get away with his corruption.

Finally, Dane DeHaan is someone to watch out for. I recognised him from Chronicle and I hear he will be playing Harry Osborn in the new Spiderman movie. In this role, he has to carry a lot of emotional weight on his shoulders and he pulls it off perfectly.

Verdict: I'm not afraid to say that this film might have to compete with Django for my favourite movie of the year, because it really deserves it. And, of course, Ryan Gosling.