Tag Archives: Jake McDorman

2017 Films, Comedy, Coming-of-Age, Drama, Independent, Independent Comedy, Independent Drama

Lady Bird-2017

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Lady Bird-2017

Director Greta Gerwig

Starring Saoirse Ronan

Scott’s Review #700

Reviewed November 28, 2017

Grade: A

Lady Bird is a 2017 independent film released by actor-turned-writer/director Greta Gerwig. It is a tremendous effort in her solo directorial debut.

No stranger to the indie syndicate herself, Gerwig puts her unique stamp on the film with a rich, female-centered perspective that works quite well and seeps with charm and wit.

The story is semi-autobiographical, based on Gerwig’s life and her stormy dealings with her mother. The story is well-written, well-paced, and empathetic as the audience views a slice of life through the eyes of a restless yet kindly teenager on the cusp of womanhood.

Saoirse Ronan gives a bravura performance in the title role. Her birth name is Christine, but she defiantly changes it to Lady Bird in a show of adolescent independence, much to her parents’ (Laurie Metcalf and Tracy Letts) chagrin.

Christine lives in suburban Sacramento, California, and yearns for a more exciting life in New York City, far from what she considers Dullsville, USA. Now, in her senior year, she is attending a Catholic high school.

Christine applies to college after college, hoping to escape her daily dilemmas. Christine’s best friend Julie and somewhat boyfriend Danny (Lucas Hedges) are along for the ride.

The period is 2002- shortly after 9/11.

The brightest moments in Lady Bird are the plentiful scenes between Christine and her mother.

The chemistry between Ronan and Metcalf is terrific, and I genuinely buy them as a real mother/daughter duo, warts and all. They fight makeup, get on each other’s nerves, fight, cry, do makeup, etc.

I especially love their knock-down drag-outs, as each actress stands her ground while allowing the other room to shine—feeding off of each other.

My favorite Metcalf scene occurs while she is alone. Having gotten into a tiff with Christine and giving her the silent treatment while Christine flies to New York, Marion reconsiders as she melts into tears.

At the same time, she drives away, regretting her decision and already missing her daughter.

Metcalf fills the scene with emotional layers as she does not speak- we watch in awe as her facial expressions tell everything.

Comparably, Ronan—likely to receive her third Oscar nomination at the ripe old age of twenty-three (Atonement, 1997, and Brooklyn, 2015, are the other nods)—successfully gives a layered performance as a teenage girl struggling with her identity and restless to see different worlds and get out of what she sees as a bland city.

Of Irish descent, Ronan is remarkable in her portrayal of a California girl- sometimes selfish, sometimes sarcastic, but always likable and empathetic.

The casting from top to bottom is terrific, and the supporting players add real meat to the story. Christine’s best friend, Julie, played by up-and-coming Beanie Feldstein (Jonah Hill’s sister), is compelling as the lovable, chubby, nerdy theater geek.

Letts is perfect as Christine’s father, depressed at losing his job in the tough economy and having to compete with young talent as he sees his career slip away.

Legendary actress Lois Smith adds heart to Sister Sarah Joan’s role- a by-the-book nun who is an incredible old chick.

Finally, Hedges, seemingly in every film from 2016 to 2017, is emotionally resonant as Danny, Christine’s troubled boyfriend, struggles with his sexuality.

Gerwig does it all with this film—she directs and writes, scripting laugh-out-loud moments and eliciting heartfelt emotion from her enchanted audience.

A hilarious scene occurs as Christine attends a dreary class assembly- an anti-abortion-themed one- by a woman who almost did not exist but for her mother’s decision not to have an abortion.

When a bored Christine icily points out that had the woman’s mother had the abortion, she would not be forced to sit through the assembly, it is a laugh-out-loud moment.

Lady Bird (2017), thanks to a fantastic writer-director and superlative casting, is a film that has all the heart, emotion, humor, and great acting.

The film is intelligently written and draws the audience into its characters willingly. Gerwig carves a story, perhaps done many times before in film, but with a fresh and energetic feel.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-Greta Gerwig, Best Actress-Saoirse Ronan, Best Supporting Actress-Laurie Metcalf, Best Original Screenplay

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best Feature, Best Female Lead-Saoirse Ronan, Best Supporting Female-Laurie Metcalf, Best Screenplay (won)

2014 Films, Biography, Drama, Iraq War, War

American Sniper-2014

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American Sniper-2014

Director Clint Eastwood

Starring Bradley Cooper

Scott’s Review #223

American_Sniper_poster

Reviewed February 22, 2015

Grade: A-

American Sniper (2014), directed by Clint Eastwood, is a war film told from the viewpoint of a soldier- or a sniper.

A character study, if you will.

Starring Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, deemed the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history, he has 255 kills.

The film begins pre-9/11 as Kyle views coverage of the 1998 U.S. Embassy attacks and enlists in a grueling training program to become a Navy SEAL sniper.

Flashbacks show Kyle as a child, taught by his demanding father to hunt deer and shoot a rifle. He is eventually sent to Iraq following the 9/11 terror attacks, and the film continues to showcase Kyle’s military career and multiple tours of duty, ending years later.

Sienna Miller plays his wife, Taya.

I am not sure the controversy American Sniper has stirred is warranted. I see the film simply as a very good mainstream action movie.

Yes, it has overdone Americana machismo and Texas swagger, but it is an Eastwood film! This masculinity is at the heart of many of his films.

I do not view the film as politically charged.

The film leans neither Republican nor Democratic and seems to take a middle-of-the-road viewpoint.

It is a tale of a war hero, but it questions the wars fought and the casualties involved, both American and otherwise. Sure, Kyle is a good ol’ red-blooded American, but as he and Taya watch the 9/11 attacks on television, they are watching CNN, not Fox News.

His close military buddy asks, “Why are we here?” referring to Afghanistan, and Eastwood implies a question about what this is all about.

I hope audiences keep this in mind.

One concern I do face as I ponder the film is whether American Sniper will send some audience members back to a time when the world was fearful of Muslims and at risk of the recent ISIS terror situations; I hope that people are smart enough to realize that NOT all Muslims are terrorists.

Only a minuscule portion is evil-inspired.

The major terrorist in American Sniper, known simply as The Butcher, is despicable, but plenty of other Muslims are innocent and victims of The Butcher’s brutality.

I love how deep the film is.

Cooper is as resilient as the troubled sniper. He is portrayed as human, a nice, all-American guy. He wrestles with the choice of shooting a woman and a young boy who died at the risk of them carrying a bomb and killing members of his squad- he does not want to kill them, but rather is excellent at his job.

He is a perfect shot.

In the heat of the moment, under extreme pressure, he must ask himself, “Should I pull the trigger and end their lives”? “What if they are innocent pedestrians?”

He becomes, in a sense, addicted to his duty of going overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan and justifies his service as “protecting Americans”.

This leads to a troubled personal life as Taya grows frustrated with his frequent tours of duty, which he readily accepts. He has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder but refuses to acknowledge this.

He almost kills the family dog in a fit of uncontrolled rage; he temporarily confuses sounds from an auto shop as military warfare.

My admiration for Bradley Cooper’s acting grows with each role I see him in. He is a marvel.

From recent dynamic performances in American Hustle (2013) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) to this role, I am convinced he can play any part successfully and convincingly.

He has sure come a long way from The Hangover (2009).

American Sniper (2014) is an enormously creative and commercial success and deserves to be. Layered and character-driven, it is worlds above the typical male-driven action film.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Actor-Bradley Cooper, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Editing (won), Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing