Forgotten Characters 2:8

When you star in a glitzy musical with a stunted character and no musical number of your own is there any way for you to thrive? The natural answer is no, you end up being forgotten. But sometimes, a paradox occurs, and both happen. There are some performances that are excellent, but due to whatever mitigating factors they end up becoming forgotten - unfortunately so. That is what happened to this excellence performance:
                 

Anika Noni Rose in Dreamgirls

as Lorrell 
                         

When Dreamgirls came out in 2006 it took the world by storm, sort of, and it seemed everyone was enamoured with the newly discovered Jennifer Hudson. As a book musical, Dreamgirls exists primarily as a showcase for the actor playing Effie White and Hudson's Effie, though often uninspired, was competent. However, it was the nuanced performance of Noni Rose that impressed me the most. At 34 Rose was tasked with playing the naive Lorrell Robinson from a teenager unto adulthood. It was a conceit, but one that has worked time and time again. Noni Rose does have a youthful look to her, but it was more than aesthetic that solidified her performance. A professional theatre actress herself, Rose was able to do something that her fellow Dreamettes could not do. Hudson's issue was that she acts only when the camera focuses on her only, she fails to provide a realistic Effie when she was not the forefront on the scene, Knowles Deena is a realistic entity in her song and in dancing, but in her spoken lines there is a nervousness that is only too palpable. However, with Anika, the immaturity and simplicity of her character is understood. From her early scene as she laments over the state of their wigs, a simple line reading like "Deena, it's so...different" suggests eons more than the line would normally allow her to do. The camera may be focusing on Effie White in "Move" but notice the wan smile of Lorrell. She's so oblivious to everything, she's just along for the ride and it's that very characterisation that defines her role.  She's not unaware of the tensions in the group as they perform the number "Heavy", she simply chooses to ignore them going to her own "happy place". This is what makes her passionate plea I'm as much a part of this group as everybody else so poignant in "It's All Over".

It's actually a running theme of a woman being pushed the brink, in Act One eventually she reaches her peak with Effie and Act Two turns to her torrid affair with Jimmy. She really isn't given much, so she must act her way through the bland moments. Like Jimmy's decision to light up at the Christmas part, she manages to portray so much with just an aversion of her eyes. If only she was given the chance to perform Lorrell's number from the stage "Ain't No Party". The truncated "Lorrell Loves Jimmy" as she leaves him is too short to present all the loveliness of her voice we've waited for, and "Patience" doesn't allow us to get inside her character. That makes her performance all the more worthy, like her frenzied run through the hall after hearing of Jimmy's death or her looks of sadness as they sing "Hard to Say Goodbye". Whenever I hear the word Dreamgirls I remember my favourite (incidental) line-reading as she turns to the exaggerated Eddie Murphy and says the sagest lines of the film. "Oh Mr Earlie, you so crazy." It's a brilliant turn from a forgotten woman, but she easily makes my top 5 Supporting Women for 2006.
                
Did Anika impress you with her shrewd acting choices in Dreamgirls? Or was she rightly shafted from any love?
       

Previously Forgotten...

Coming Soon...

Who's your favourite?

"All In A Day's Work"

Entertainment Weekly is always up and about making lists, and I always end up having severe issues with them. Their most recent is one on the best films that occur within 24 hours. They've got some fine choices there (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, America Graffiti) but they really missed the ball on some rather obvious choices. So, I've done my duty to make my own list - my top 5 films that occur in a day. I'm not ranking them on merit, but on how well they incorporate the one day theme...

#5 - Picnic (my review)

I don't particularly grudge them for not including this on the list, it's not really a popular film. Still, it's a favourite of mine somewhat. In Picnic Hal (played by William Holden) - a good-looking good-for-nothing shows up on the day of their Labour Day Picnic and rocks the town. It's based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play by William Inge and features an ensemble cast with Kim Novak and Rosalind Russell. I suppose Picnic can get a little sentimental at times, but that's part of its appeal I think.

         
#4 - The Philadelphia Story (musings on Kate)

I suppose this doesn't really happen in a day, which could explain why this classic piece is missing from the list. It begins with a prologue and then flashes forward to the morning before Tracy Lord's (Katharine Hepburn) wedding. As the day unfolds she's torn between her fiancee, her ex-husband (Cary Grant) and a newsreporter (James Stewart). After a night of craziness she comes to the right decision in the morning. The film doesn't happen in a day, but it happens in 24 hours - so I say it's eligible. And this one's based on a play too...

             
#3 - Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (my review)

Trust Entertainment Weekly to ignore Liz Taylor at her sexiest. In a nutshell, it's about a woman who's trying to convince her husband to sleep with her while her father-in-law may (or may not) be dying and the vultures are gathering around in anticipation the will. It's a depressing film, but Tenneessee Williams excellent writing makes it very accessible and Taylor and Newman give some scintillating performances. Classic...and based on a classic piece of literature too.

     
#2 - Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? (my review)

It almost topped the list, and with good reason. It has its haters, but this film really makes excellent use of the one day plot point. Mr and Mrs Drayton (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) are a white couple who love all races, but they're still somewhat surprised when their daughter Joey (Katherine Houghton) brings home a black man 14 years her senior hoping to get their blessings. The conondrum is that Dr. Prenticehas to leave tonight, so time is of the essence. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner isn't exactly perfection, but it is enjoyable, smart and classic.

        
#1 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (my review)

 

What an egregious snub. This film doesn't utilise the full 24 hour, it doesn't even use twelve. This one's based on a play too, incidentally. Martha and George are two sadists (Richard Burton and Liz Taylor). He's a college professor, she's his wife and the daughter of the dean. They may, or may not, have a child. They invite the new young professor and his wife (George Segal and Sandy Dennis) for a night of fun and games. We get games, but not so much fun. After seeing this you'll probably want to stay away from marriage and from liquor, I know I did.

                     

What have we learnt? Entertainment Weekly needs to get better list makers, I like way too many classics, and plays are the best source material for film. All in day's work.

Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones Confirmed For Men In Black 3

Barry Sonnenfield, director of the Men in Black series has confirmed that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will be reprising their roles in Men In Black 3 after years of speculation.

Sonnenfield reveals that Will Smith has been on board for the project for some time now but Tommy Lee Jones' involvement was not so clear, with rumors that Josh Brolin will be replacing him in the third film. Sacha Baron Cohen has also been approached with ideas of playing one of the alien characters in the film, possibly the villain.

At the moment, little is known about the plot of the movie, which Sony will be aiming to get into cinemas by Memorial Day 2011 (that’s May 30, 2011 to the rest of us), but we imagine it’ll involve Agent Jay (Smith) and Kay (Jones) getting in way over their heads with some angry alien beasties.

But Sonnenfeld did drop one more bombshell – MIB III will, like every single film in this or any other post-Avatar universe, will be in glorious 3D.

Source:  Empire Online

All About Eve...and the Women...

I always feel a little bad for Anne Baxter. Sure, she won her (deserved) Oscar playing a sympathetic prostitute in The Razor’s Edge. But, few recall that film or her performance in it. She’s remembered today for her duplicitous Nefertiti in The Ten Commandments, and the like minded Eve Harrington in All About Eve. It suggests that she has little range, but that’s not true. The thing is the film is supposed to be all about Eve – but it isn’t. It’s a giant irony actually, since the film is really all about Margo. But I like to remember Anne Baxter though, because she’s just as important (and excellent) as Bette Davis. The thing is, I’ve never been overly fond of Ms. Davis. I’ll always appreciate her talent, but I’ve never found myself particularly enamoured with her. I’ve often preferred her less popular work (Now Voyager, The Letter) to her more admired (What Happened to Baby Jane, Jezebel). But I can firmly champion Margo Channing as her more ardent fans do, even if it’s still not my favourite of hers. Still, if Tracy Lords represents the fullest representation of our Lady Kate on screen then Margo Channing is most certainly the embodiment of diva-Bette. But, as usual, I’m getting ahead of myself. I should retrace my steps.

All About Eve is a story that’s not original, but not clichéd either. Margo Channing – a celebrated actress of the stage is realising that her career is waning. She is simultaneously accosted by an overzealous fan who seems (despite the ostensible) intent on replacing the great diva. That is the story – in a nutshell, and yet it doesn’t do justice to the excellence that is All About Eve. It's a film with everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end. Of course, any classic worth its weight depends particularly on the dialogue, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s writing in All About Eve is exceptional, but I don’t think of the writing of the lines when I remember All About Eve so much I think about the line readings. It’s not a conceit on my part to pinpoint each actor in All About Eve – particularly the women – as being at the top of their game (case in point, four of them were nominated for Oscars). But by pinpointing the women I fail to identify one of the most fully nuanced characters of the piece – Addison Meredith, played beautifully by George Sanders. The tagline for All About Eve reads “It’s all about women and their men.” I’m never sure that that is an accurate tagline, but for some reason I rarely recall the men in this show, it’s not that they don’t achieve their task but being caught up in the delicious machinations of the casts we often only remember the ladies (and George).

All About Eve is mostly remembered for its climatic part scene where Davis’ Margo drifts deeper into cynicism. It’s a rare and beautiful moment to see all those excellent actors together in one room literally playing off each other. A young Marilyn Monroe makes as appearance here as Miss Casswell and she as excellent. I’ve never been overly fond of her work, but as I’ve said before, she does wonders with a bit role here. It’s as we watch the tug-of-war between Margo and Eve that I come to appreciate the talents of both ladies. It really does seem to be a perfect match of protagonist and antagonist and it’s all really handled well, but if I were forced to give a favourite performance of the film (more nepotism, than talent based) I’d probably single out Celeste Holme. Celeste plays a friend to Margo who realises Eve’s duplicity too late. The role is a bit contrived but I just find Ms. Holme so mesmerising in it. It is her face (and narration) that takes us back to our first meeting with Eve, and for such a silly role she handles it with a surprising amount of grace. But, honestly, I wouldn’t pick between them. From Davis, to Baxter, from Sanders to Holme, even Ritter in a bit role and all those other performances from actors who's names have become lost in history (George Merrill, Hugh Marlowe).

All About Eve is a rarity, it cruises dangerously close to perfection...who knows? It even achieves it at times. Quotable lines, classic performances, smart direction. It sits comfortably at #18 on my list of favourite films. Slow curtain, the end.

Agora: Review

God, I've been putting off this review for a long long time now.

So okay, last year I saw this movie called Agora because I love Rachel Weisz and wouldn't pass up a chance to see her in nothing but a tunic. Agora is a Spanish film about Hypatia of Alexandria played by Weisz who tries to unite the city of Agora that has been torn apart by civil war between the Christians and the Pagans and Jews.

Let me first start the review by saying that I never supported Rachel Weisz winning her Oscar for The Constant Gardener. If anything she should have gotten nominated for Supporting Actress in The Fountain or even My Blueberry Nights. But in Agora, I solemnly feel that she was robbed of the Best Actress award. How the hell Sandra Bullock won is beyond me after watching Agora.

Weisz brings to life an iconic figure of feminism with the hardheadedness of the character Mulan and the grace of Mother Theresa. Every second of her on screen was breathtaking, so dynamic in vision and subtle in execution. Bar none, Hypatia is Rachel Weisz's best role to date. And speaking of date.. I wanna date Rachel Weisz! She so fine.

And her performance speaks a lot more considering the limited material she had to work with. Now, this movie is a complete borefest, it's 2 hours of long political talk in the fanciest language imaginable which was real agony to watch. The best scenes with the fights and Hypatia's scenes were all and all 30 minutes of the entire film. The rest were just........ zzzzzzzz.

And there was really a high chance for me to not like Hypatia at all in the movie because she was written so one dimensionally, that if I just read the script instead of watching Rachel Weisz'ss interpretation, Hypatia would have seemed more of a whinny feminist than a heroine. But Weisz stills pulls it off despite all that

But where the writing of this movie lacked, it made up for in it's stunning art direction. I mean, the architecture of Agora is really marvelous to look at. It puts the art direction in Troy to shame. Everything in the film is sweeping and epic in it's scope and the detail is super. And I like the sort of white wash cinematography Agora had and how it gets darker as the film progresses, symbolizing the lost of innocence in the city as war and religion tears a once great city apart. The costumes were okay. They're pretty much the same costumes in any other biblical Roman themed movie.

I can go on and on about all the plus points Agora has, but one thing that keeps making me give this movie a lower rating is the fact that Agora is really really boring. And I like boring movies. I sat through Gone With The Wind without so much as a yawn but I could barely keep myself conscious when I was watching this on my computer. For the most part, the scenes in Agora are great and completely necessary for the story.. but it's still so boring!

Also I'm kind of taken aback by the portrayal of Christians and Christianity in this. Agora has Christians being somewhat like medieval age Nazis who are trying to "cleanse" the city of non-Christians. Now I am fully aware that these are based on historical facts but still, them Christians couldn't have been that villainous right?

You know, I think I would have liked Agora more if I saw the movie on HBO or Hallmark or like on the History Channel or something. Cause that was what Agora came off as, a really really great movie made for television, something you would enjoy if you came across it when flipping through Astro or something

So yeah, Agora is a solid historical film with a stunning one woman show by Rachel Weisz. Other than that, it is pretty much an average boring period piece.

RATING: 6/10