Demolition

Demolition is the latest film from Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club, Wild) and stars Jake Gyllenhaal in another of his roles as a dejected man who seems incapable of feeling emotions, a bit like how I felt at the end of this film.

Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal) works in investment banking for his father-in-law Phil (Chris Cooper). Davis and his wife Julia (Heather Lind) are involved in a serious car-crash, and whilst she’s killed, he suffers only minor injuries. Wandering the wings of the hospital afterwards, he has an encounter with a dodgy vending machine and writes a complaint letter to the company that owns it, explaining his troubles for context in a unique form of grief that could only belong to a Gyllenhaal character. However, things take an interesting turn for Davis when he receives a response from customer service representative Karen (Naomi Watts). What follows is one of the most leisurely paced, unprofound, waffling films that we’ve seen so far this year.

Demolition starts off promisingly - a car-crash that will undoubtedly send Davis into a cinematic spiral of insanity - but what follows is...well, tedious. There’s always a couple each year, the films that could be brilliant but end up a conceited mess. Think Words and Pictures. Demolition is one of those. I’m not one to dismiss character-centric dramas, in fact I tend to take a high-horse attitude and think that if you judge a film solely on its supposed ‘lack of plot’, you’re most likely a toddler who hasn’t learnt to think for themselves - bloody plebs, am I right?. But the characters in Demolition are either unrelatable or just plain unlikable, which doesn’t leave much of interest to draw you in.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Throughout there are these little references to 9/11, and whether intentional or not it felt as if it’s was pushing a not-so-subtle message toward how grief has evolved in a post-9/11 America. It also keeps drawing weird linkages between Davis’s dejection and how it could be cured by embracing his inner child. Whilst normally these would be buried deep into our subconscious viewing of the film, in Demolition there’s not a lot more to focus on and so they stand out like a sore thumb. It starts to skate the thin line between intellectual cinema and ‘art for art's sake’.

You also get the impression that detail is important to Davis, and so little close-up montages are scattered throughout. They work but only to a certain point, even though the editing is one of the better takeaways from this. Don’t get me wrong, there are other positives as well. There’s a scene right at the end with a carousel which was about the only time I felt something in the nearly two-hour run time, is that a positive? There’s certainly a handful of funny moments but it’s not laugh-out-loud. A lot of Yves Bélanger’s cinematography is well-constructed and interesting, even if the film isn’t. You can tell that both Gyllenhaal and Watts are invested in crafting good performances but that never really happens because of deeply flawed character writing/direction.

In the early stages of Davis’s downfall, you see him meticulously take things apart, but never put them back together. This film feels a bit like that, a series of scenes that should have some sort of coherence as a whole, but just don’t. It’s not awful, just frustrating, tedious, a waste of talent and of your time.

While We're Young

Noah Baumbach's latest feature While We're Young continues in a similar vein to his two previous films Greenberg and Frances Ha of being unable to find direction and comfort in your own life; only this time he adds in the idea of getting old. Baumbach also confusingly shoehorns in a subplot about authenticity in documentary, which threw me about what the film was actually about.

Josh (Ben Stiller) and Cornelia (Naomi Watts) are a couple who are experiencing a rough patch in their life due to indecision over having children. Josh is a documentarian who was been working on the same film for close to a decade and is struggling to complete the project. One day after giving a lecture, he meets a young couple, Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried) and decides to spend time with them after learning Jamie is a fellow documentarian. Both Josh and Cornelia start to regain their youth by spending time with Jamie and Darby.

This movie wants to make you think that it is all about getting old and dealing with it, but Baumbach replaces this story rather quickly with the idea of authenticity (or the lack of it) in documentary filmmaking. Josh finds out that Jamie's style of documentary making is far from genuine and seeks to expose his ways. This storyline dominates the majority of the film and everything else is dropped in lieu of it. That's where this movie falls apart, it could have been a fun movie about to grown ups realising the life that young people lead isn't for everyone, but Baumbach gets to this in a rather roundabout way.

None of the lead actors bring their best to this film. Both Watts and Seyfried are relegated to the background of the movie and therefore we don't care about them. Driver gives an entirely lazy performance here. He is so much better in other movies, but here he really calls it in. Stiller is the worst offender of the film. We are supposed find the main character relatable, or at least likeable, but his character is a total asshole. Only Charles Grodin and Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock of The Beastie Boys) give the most passable performances.

All in all, this is a missed opportunity of a movie. What could have been a smart, funny movie about the idea of growing old gracefully ends up being an unfunny mess about the ethics behind documentaries. Baumbach needs to change his approach.

Birdman

Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is a fading movie star who was famous two decades. Fearing that he is losing relevance, he decides to star in a stage adaptation of Raymond Carver's story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" that he is also directing, producing and has written. Riggan's best friend and attorney, Jake (Zach Galifianakis), is hoping for Riggan's sake that the play is a success, as his daughter and assistant Sam (Emma Stone).

This film has a lot to say thematically. The method of acting is explored in great depth, with a lot of focus on how actor's draw a solid performance from themselves, as well as which reality is real for an actor. Edward Norton's character Mike Shiner has trouble being honest in real life, but when he is on the stage, all his emotions are real. Riggan also has the same problem. Due to being thought of as Birdman for his whole career, he starts to believe that he actually is Birdman. Of course this fact draws a lot of comparison between Riggan and Michael Keaton, whose most famous role is undoubtably that of Batman in the Tim Burton films.

Riggan is also disgusted by the dominance of superhero movies that proliferate the real world of the movie. Seeing Downey Jr. on TV talking about Iron Man and hearing that he is unable to get actors for his play because they are acting in these types of films. It also has to do with Riggan (read: Keaton) being the precursor to the current crop of superhero franchises. The film also discusses the relationship between creators and critics, with Mike Shiner commenting to a critic that people only become critics when they can't produce something of their own. This comment made me laugh, due to this reviewer straddling the world between creativity and criticism.

Iñárritu has created a superbly technical film. Birdman is simulated to make it seem like the film is one single take. This makes the film feel not only more real, but adds to the sensation of being on the stage as the camera explores the St. James Theatre where the movie was filmed. Antonio Sanchez's drum score is perfect at building the tension that so many of the scenes have and it is perfectly placed.

All of the performances are mind blowing. Keaton flows from being manic to in control to being at his wits end and just all out insane so perfectly. Edward Norton's Mike Shiner is simultaneously loveable and extremely hatable for both his arrogance and brutal honesty. Emma Stone gives Riggan's daughter such depth and humanity that she feels like a real person. Both Naomi Watts and Andrea Riseborough play superb actresses who are just excited to be in a broadway play and Zach Galifianakis is so far removed from his regular idiot persona, here he is closer to his stand-up self, and his performance just feels refreshing.

Verdict: An amazing look at acting for the stage, whilst saying so many other things. Iñárritu is superb at making stunning and technical films as well as drawing the best from his actors. A must see.

St. Vincent

In recent years, Bill Murray has become an unlikely folk hero, travelling around the United States imparting wisdom at bachelor parties, being a guest bartender at random bars and just doing things Bill Murray would do. His recent Renaissance has given his career a new life other than just being remembered for 80s comedies. This latest film (and debut from Theodore Melfi) may not exactly be a career defining film, but it certainly cements his position as both a comedic and dramatic actor.

Vin (Murray) is ageing war veteran retiree who lives in Brooklyn and spends most of his days drinking or cavorting with Russian prostitute Daka (Naomi Watts). One day, single mother Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) moves in next door with her young son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher). Vin becomes Oliver's babysitter when Maggie fails to return home after work one day and the two begin an unlikely friendship.

Although Melfi's script is a little predictable at parts, there are some surprising moments of sadness and comedy littered throughout and these are aided along by the entirely convincing performances from both Murray and Lieberher. The moments of sadness and heartbreak that come are touching but also do a fantastic job in building the character of Vin.

Murray's career spanning four decades has given him the skills to be able to alternate between comedy and drama with ease, so it's hardly surprising that he is a wonder here. But the true star is young Jaeden Lieberher, who doesn't have all those years of experience. His character of Oliver has a certain naïvety that soon drops once he begins to spend time with Vin and I can't help feeling that that has something to do with the chemistry between Murray and Lieberher.

The supporting cast acts as a great backup to these two mains. Melissa McCarthy's recent string of films has really worn on me and I don't find her coarse comedy funny at all, but here she has wound it all the way back and isn't searching for or stealing the spotlight, instead becoming a part of a fluid machine, thus becoming more enjoyable to watch. Naomi Watts is another actor who has never really grabbed me, but her gruff portrayal of a pregnant Russian stripper and prostitute is great to watch. As always, Chris O'Dowd is fantastic in a comedic role that isn't Roy.

Verdict: While it may not be a fantastic comedy or drama, St. Vincent is a great movie to get you through a quiet afternoon.