Tag Archives: Alex Jennings

2006 Films, Biography, Drama, Political Drama, Royalty

The Queen-2006

Leave a comment

The Queen-2006

Director Stephen Frears

Starring Helen Mirren

Scott’s Review #1,253

Reviewed May 8, 2022

Grade: A

Before the Netflix series, The Crown (2016-2023), loudly stomped into existence and took the world on a historical journey through the trials and tribulations of British royalty, there was The Queen (2006).

Starring Helen Mirren, the film is a quiet telling of the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II, especially immediately after the death of Princess Diana and the conflict and contention that took place.

Ironically, The Crown was created and primarily written by Peter Morgan, who also wrote The Queen.

He created The Crown because of The Queen, so there is an instant correlation between the two brilliant projects, and the handwriting is very similar.

Stephen Frears, who also directed Judi Dench to an Oscar nomination for Philomena (2013), is at the helm and earned an Oscar nomination for directing, as well as a win for Mirren.

The Queen is a terrific film across the board, and Mirren is phenomenal in her portrayal of the grand dame. She cleverly fuses stiffness and stoicism with subtle warmth and humanity few see from the queen, at least publicly.

Layers of complexity are provided to an already mysterious public figure.

Following the death of Princess Diana in a fiery auto accident, Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (Mirren) and Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) struggled to reach a compromise on how the royal family should publicly respond to the tragedy.

The family’s need for privacy and the public’s demand for an outward show of mourning are in the balance. It causes mayhem and drama behind the sacred walls of Buckingham Palace.

The performances by Mirren and the direction are what make The Queen pure magic and a standout among the many royalty-themed films that have emerged since the beginning of motion pictures.

First of all, Mirren looks like Queen Elizabeth II, and this goes way beyond wearing glasses and a sweater or having the same hairdo. She encompasses the role, and this is no small feat.

The mannerisms, speech patterns, and low-key attitude are the amazing nuances the actress can somehow channel.

It feels more than Mirren dressing up like royalty and showing up scene after scene. She does something much more with the queen’s unspoken looks and inner workings that becomes apparent to the viewer.

Frears chooses to include many close-ups of the characters, mainly of Mirren, which focus on what each character is thinking and pondering.

The film is very subdued, with a lovely musical score adding texture and appeal to each frame. The inclusion of archival footage lends a powerful sense of realism.

Merely nine years after the real-life death of the uber-popular Diana, the event was still so fresh in the minds of viewers that releasing The Queen at this time was a stroke of genius.

It’s no secret that while Queen Elizabeth II is respected, she is worlds away from wildly popular Diana and emits a coolness that baffles the public.

Thanks to Mirren, the public gets a glimpse into the heart and soul of a mysterious person, and that’s a good feeling indeed.

However, Mirren couldn’t have delivered fully without the talents of Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair. Generations apart and with differing views, they spar and respect each other, slowly forging a friendship of sorts.

The Queen (2006) hardly needs bombs, bombast, or quick editing to get its point across, though speaking of editing, a fantastic job of it with family scenes of Diana.

The film lures the viewer into its web and makes them feel like an insider amongst the walls of royalty.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Director-Stephen Frears, Best Actress-Helen Mirren (won), Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score

2006 Films, Drama, Independent, Independent Drama, Psychological Drama

Babel-2006

Leave a comment

Babel-2006

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett

Scott’s Review #791

Reviewed July 19, 2018

Grade: A

Babel (2006) is part of director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Death Trilogy” films- Amores Perros (2000) and 21 Grams (2001) are the others.

The director crafts a riveting drama involving intersecting stories that are a thrill ride a minute and highly compelling.

The film is at risk of being forgotten, however, largely due to Iñárritu’s subsequent successes- Birdman (2014) and The Revenant (2015). Still, Babel is a fantastic companion piece to either Traffic (2000) or Crash (2006), as those films hold a similar style.

The three stories are riveting in their own right and could each be a gripping short film.

The fact that characters within each segment are related to the others in some way takes the stories over the top.

The film switches back and forth between stories, which is a huge plus, making the tension even more palpable as we begin to connect the dots.

The spliced editing is a remarkable achievement in ensuring seamless continuity.

Each story is summarized below.

An affluent American couple, Richard and Susan (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett), vacation in Morocco, happily enjoying a bus tour.

When two local boys play with their father’s rifle and experiment by shooting at long range, the American woman is shot, leading to a terrorist accusation. At the same time, the couple desperately seeks medical attention in the middle of nowhere and in a foreign country.

In Japan, a wealthy businessman (and owner of the rifle) is investigated while his promiscuous teenage daughter (Rinko Kikuchi) seeks attention from young men.

The girl, who is deaf, is angry and depressed due to her mother’s recent suicide.

As she flirts with a local detective, she slips him a mysterious note. She implores him to read the note only after he leaves her father’s gorgeous high-rise apartment, leading to a mysterious revelation.

Finally, in southern California, Richard and Susan’s Mexican nanny, Amelia (Adriana Barraza), cares for the couple’s young children. Almost like a real family member, Amelia adores the kids (and they love her.)

When she is notified that the couple will be delayed returning home, she panics and foolishly takes the kids across the border to Mexico to attend her son’s wedding.

When an incident involves the police, Amelia and the kids’ lives are in peril.

The connecting stories are only part of what makes Babel so fantastic, but an enormous aspect is the direction Iñárritu gives the characters.

As the stories play out, we care deeply for the characters that play a great role in adding meat to each story.

Sometimes the characters’ connections are immediately known; other times, the audience can savor the inevitable big reveal. Not every story featured in Babel will have a happy ending, which makes the film all the more compelling and satisfying.

How incredible are the different locales and cultures featured in Babel from a geographical perspective alone?

The action traverses from the hip, modern metropolis of Tokyo, with slick nighttime sequences, dance clubs, and urban hip-hop beats.

The deserts of remote Morocco, with their vast, sweeping landscapes, blend perfectly with the hot Mexican atmosphere and the cultural nuances of a real Mexican wedding.

Another key element is the characters’ different backgrounds and the conflicts this sometimes leads to. As Richard frantically seeks medical attention for Susan, he encounters resistance from some while receiving aid from a local veterinarian.

At the Mexico-United States border, Amelia and her brother are not treated well by Border Patrol. One cannot help knowing that this is because they are Mexican and carrying American children, thus discriminated against.

Wonderful call-outs are deserved for the relatively unknown actors Kikuchi and Barraza, both of whom received tremendous accolades in 2006 for their work, even though they could easily have been overlooked in favor of bigger, high-profile stars like Blanchett and Pitt.

I love it when this happens, and gritty performances get the respect they deserve. Both actors give great performances in complex, layered characters.

Since making Babel, Iñárritu has progressed to great acclaim with Oscar winners like Birdman (2014) and The Revenant (2015), but let’s not forget that Babel received a heap of Oscar nominations, though sadly only one victory for the musical score.

Unfortunately usurped by his more high-profile works, Babel (2006) is an excellent, fast-paced, and layered film with spectacular characters, storytelling, and editing.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Director-Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Best Supporting Actress-Adriana Barraza, Rinko Kikuchi, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score (won), Best Film Editing

2015 Films, Biography, British, Comedy, Drama

The Lady in the Van-2015

Leave a comment

The Lady In The Van-2015

Director Nicholas Hytner

Starring Maggie Smith

Scott’s Review #610

Reviewed January 19, 2017

Grade: B

Maggie Smith can do no wrong and I will happily enjoy watching her in anything- anytime. Around in film since the 1950s this lady deserves a starring film role.

Utterly distinctive she is, as legendary actress Bette Davis was,  Smith has a style purely her own. Her facial expressions and exasperated gasps make her one of the great film stars.

The Lady in the Van (2015) is specifically made for her, but besides her talents, the movie is a decent offering, but very safe.

It lacks the depth that it could have had.

Written by Alan Bennett, the film tells the true story of Mary Sheperd, an elderly woman living in a broken-down van, who befriends Bennett and eventually lives in his driveway for fifteen years before her inevitable death.

Set in northern London, a quaint and gorgeous part of the world, Mary harbors a deep secret involving her van and is revealed to have been a star piano pupil in her day.

Smith has no qualms about playing unflattering characters.

Shepherd is grizzled, abrupt, and rude, but Smith puts a lot of heart into her too, so the audience senses her vulnerability and falls in love with her. With her sad protruding blue eyes, wrinkles for miles, and chirpy voice, Smith is fantastic at giving her all to the role.

The rest of the cast adequately play their roles but are limited and out-shadowed at every turn. Most notable is the wasted talents of Jim Broadbent, appearing in a small and quite meaningless role.

Besides Smith’s brilliant performance, The Lady in the Van lacks layers. The story is good, but we never see many of Mary’s struggles. How does she afford food? How is she not sick? The film skims over the darker elements of homelessness in favor of a lighthearted tale.

Fine, but what about her inevitable issues?

Other less important stories are mentioned but not fully explored. Alex speaks to what looks like his twin brother, but is it his alter ego?

Young men come and go at night, so the presumption is that Alex is gay, and in the end, we do see Alex living with a man, but why is this so vaguely written? Why mention it at all?

This story would have been interesting to delve deeper into given that the real Alex Bennett wrote the film.

Other side stories are introduced but remain on the surface. Alex’s mother suffers from Alzheimer’s, but this is not explored much, and Mary’s brother, who institutionalized her at a young age, offers no explanation as to why this was done she had a mental illness- but the brother’s motivations are not clear.

I wanted more from the supporting characters than was offered.

Still, the bottom line is that The Lady in the Van (2015) is a Maggie Smith film, and any in which she has the lead role, is pretty damned good for that reason alone.