Review: Golda

Image courtesy of Bleecker Street Media.

Buried beneath a mountain of makeup and almost always with cigarette in hand, Helen Mirren disappears into the role of Golda Meir, the Israeli prime minister who was the first female head of government in the Middle East. Known as the "Iron Lady of Israel," Meir was the head of state during the 1973 Yom Kippur War when Egypt and Syria joined forces to attack Israel.

The film, much like the recent "Oppenheimer," utilizes the narrative device of a hearing - in this case, Meir is sitting before a committee to determine whether her government had been adequately prepared for the war after the nation was caught off guard by the attack.

Mirren is the best part of what is often a slightly stuffy movie in which Golda and groups of men sit in meetings making preparations for war or reconfiguring their strategies after having lost numerous tanks and men in battles. Throughout all this, Golda chain smokes and occasionally has nightmares of the dead who were claimed in the war.

Much like Ava Duvernay's "Selma," the film places an historical figure at the center of a pivotal moment in their career, rather than engage in a hagiographic biopic that tells their life story. The central focus of "Golda" is the Yom Kippur War and how Meir handled this fraught series of days. As such, we learn little about Meir, outside of her incessant smoking and the specific decisions she made about that war.

And yet, Mirren - who is among the greatest living actresses - finds a way to humanize Meir, rather than merely portray her as a figurehead. Most of Meir's advisers do not fare as well - and are not as memorable - other than Camille Cottin as a loyal aide whom Meir treats as family and Liev Schreiber, whose portrayal of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is solid.

The history of the Yom Kippur War is fascinating material, so it's a shame that much of our experience of it in the film is people discussing attack routes, casualties, and military equipment losses in boardrooms. There's a horrific sequence during which one of Meir's military advisers flies in a helicopter over one of the fields of battle in the dark, and the sky is illuminated by the massive explosions going on below. Otherwise, the war is given a speculative treatment and, as such, feels at a remove.

"Golda" is not a bad movie. Mirren's performance - and those of some of the other cast members - are memorable, while the true story behind the attack is interesting enough to keep one compelled, but I believe there is a better movie that could be made about his material. 

There are two scenes that particularly stuck out to me in the film - one in which Meir insists that Kissinger try a bowl of borscht made by one of Meir's servants, and another late in the film that shows the real Meir - who comes off as humorous and lively - in stock footage discussing peace with Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat during a news conference. Those incidents tell us more about Meir than anything we see in this film about her.

Review: Passages

Image courtesy of MUBI.

The latest film from Ira Sachs - whose body of work primarily focuses on intimate human dramas, such as "Love is Strange," "Frankie," and "Married Life" - is well made and full of solid performances, even if the scenario at its center and the consequences that result from it seem a bit overly familiar.

"Passages" was a hit at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and it's bolstered by strong performances from lead actors Franz Rogowski and Ben Whishaw - portraying a married couple, the former of whom is a temperamental film director - as well as Adele Exarchopoulos, the woman who gets in between their relationship by engaging in an affair with Tomas (Rogowski), who surprises both himself and his husband by the fact that he's bisexual.

The performances are what make the film ultimately click, even when it feels as if the picture isn't necessarily saying anything new about such a scenario. One element of the film that is particularly interesting is the juxtaposition of Tomas' work ethic with the goings on in his personal life. 

As the film opens, he is nitpicking the lead actor - and even the extras - as he prepares to shoot a scene in his latest film. Every time the camera is set to begin rolling, he walks back onto the set, grumbling and criticizing someone about something they are doing. This meticulousness in his career is a far cry from the messy, rambunctious way he engages with people personally as he makes a mess of both his relationships with Martin (Whishaw) and Agathe (Exarchopoulos), whom he meets at a nightclub and quickly engages for an affair.

Things become even more complicated when Martin decides that he wants nothing to do with Tomas and, instead, gets involved in his own tryst with a writer named Amad (Erwan Kepoa Fale), while Tomas impregnates Agathe and doesn't do a great job convincing her nervous parents that he'll stand by her through the pregnancy.

"Passages" is ultimately about a narcissist (Tomas) who burns bridges both professionally - you get the sense that people on his movie sets won't want to work with him again - and personally. At the same time, while Martin and Agathe put up with his nonsense, there's never a sense that they are necessarily weak people. As the film nears its end, and these two characters meet for a coffee, it's obvious they are both moving on from Tomas, leaving him to crash and burn - something he's likely done before and will likely do again and again - on his own.

"Passages" might not be my favorite Sachs picture - that would probably be either "Love is Strange" - but it's a solid indie feature with strong performances and an intriguing take on tumultuous relationships. All in all, a pretty decent film.

Review: The Last Voyage Of The Demeter

Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.

Universal Pictures has long been trying to stick the landing with its Dark Universe series and, to be fair, there has been the occasional success, such as 2020's "The Invisible Man." However, there was also "Renfield," "The Mummy," and "Dracula Untold," which were - to say the least - not as successful.

Its latest attempt is "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," another Dracula tale that comes a mere four months after "Renfield," which took a campy approach to the famed bloodsucker, whereas this latest picture - which is based on a single chapter in Bram Stoker's "Dracula" - is much more like an old-school Hammer horror film. It's occasionally creepy and deadly serious.

All in all, it's not a bad attempt at once again reviving the count. It's better than "Renfield," "The Mummy" and some other attempts at bringing Universal's classic horror villains back to life, although it's not nearly as good as "The Invisible Man."

Atmosphere goes a long way in "Demeter." The film chronicles the doomed ship in which Dracula's coffin was transported from Romania to England. Not surprisingly, the crew and nearly all aboard - which also includes a woman, a kid, and some livestock - are no longer among the living by the end of the journey. The film holds few surprises up its sleeve, but it does a reasonable job of handling the material, even if I'd never exactly imagined Dracula as a gigantic bat-looking creature with wings.

The tale of the Demeter is told through the ship captain's log in both the book and, to an extent, in the film, but the lead character is a doctor named Clemens (Corey Hawkins), who has a difficult time gaining the trust of the crew, both due to his race and to the fact that he's never before sailed with anyone else on the boat. 

Soon, it becomes apparent that something strange is afoot aboard the ship after the livestock are brutally slaughtered and a woman, who appears to have a blood infection, is discovered as a stowaway. Shortly thereafter, the crew starts getting picked off by a creepy presence that lurks in the ship's shadows. As a man of science, Clemens is quick to dismiss the presence as supernatural, while the ship's cook - who's religious - believes the devil is along for the ride.

Not a whole lot happens that you won't see coming from a mile away, but "Demeter" is often creepy and atmospheric enough to keep it interesting. At the same time, the film is more passable than invigorating. It's the type of picture where I could admire the craft, while at the same time not see anything that I hadn't seen some variation of numerous times before. It's passable - albeit mostly well made - summer fare.

Review: Dreamin' Wild

Image courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

It was at some point in the past decade that I discovered the song after, I believe, I was skimming through a Pitchfork article on the top 200 songs of the 1970s. In the process of looking up a few of the selections of which I was not familiar, I came upon Donnie and Joe Emerson's "Baby," and was immediately struck by its haunting, soulful crooning backed by a mellow, almost eerie late 1970s beat.

I was surprised to find that the song was written and recorded by a couple of teenagers, whose semi-cheesy album cover for their only record, "Dreamin' Wild," might not exactly lead a listener to believe they'd stumbled on a gold mine - but the album was rediscovered in the 2010s, given some rave reviews by prominent music magazines and was the subject of a New York Times article, upon which the new film - "Dreamin' Wild," directed by Bill Pohlard, who was responsible for the solid Brian Wilson biopic, "Love and Mercy" - is based.

The film, much like its musical source material, is soulful and often sad, a story about a lost dream that finally comes true, only to lead the dreamer to realize that he's not the same person he once was when he originally had the dream and, therefore, might no longer be able to play the part that he once fantasized for himself.

Casey Affleck plays the grown version of Donnie Emerson, the whiz behind the band's music, who operates a failing recording studio circa 2011 in small town Washington. His brother, Joe (Walton Goggins), primarily works with his hands and looks back on their music-making days as "fun," but certainly not the life calling that his brother envisioned. Also central to the story is their farmer father (Beau Bridges) who goes to great lengths - often heartbreaking ones - to show his sons that he believes in them.

The film jumps back and forth in time, occasionally placing Affleck's grown-up Donnie in the same scene as the teenage version of himself (played by Noah Jupe). The framing device in the picture is an appearance from an exuberant small-time record producer (Chris Messina, having a very good year) who wants to rerelease "Dreamin' Wild," so that it gets the attention that it missed the first time around. 

Joe and much of the rest of the family are excited about the newfound love for the record, but Donnie is hesitant. We gradually learn that his own musical career never took off - at the film's beginning, he and his wife (Zooey Deschanel) are mostly playing wedding parties - and that he has a difficult time facing the family that was willing to support his career at great risk.

There's also a tension between the two brothers. Donnie is the family's musical genius and often chides Joe for not being able to keep time on the drums during their recording sessions. This is done lovingly in the early scenes when they are boys, but becomes harsher during their attempts at putting together a reunion tour.

There are excellent performances all around, from Affleck's portrayal of the temperamental artist and Goggins' turn as the brother who knows that his sibling will quickly overshadow his own talents to Bridges, who gives one of his best performances in years as their father. 

"Dreamin' Wild" is a smaller indie film that, much like the album that inspired it, might be overshadowed by some of the season's flashier titles. But, also like the Emersons' album, it deserves to be discovered. It's a soulful little film about what it takes to create something special artistically, but also about the people an artist relies on for support in doing so.