Movie Review: What They Had (2018)

A routine family drama, What They Had features earnest discussions about difficulties faced by middle-aged adults dealing with aging parents and college-aged children, but introduces little that is new. 

In Chicago, the elderly Ruth Everhardt (Blythe Danner) is suffering from worsening dementia and wanders away from home in the middle of the night during a snowstorm. She is found safe, much to the relief of her husband of 60 years Bert (Robert Forster). But the incident is the last straw for her son Nicky (Michael Shannon), a bar owner who now insists Ruth should live in a care facility. Bert, who has a heart condition, disagrees and wants Ruth to stay home and in his care.

Nicky's sister Bitty (Hilary Swank) flies in from California with her 20 year old daughter Emma (Taissa Farmiga). Bitty is caught between Nicky's eagerness to place Ruth in care and Bert's resistance to any change. The trip also prompt Bitty to reassess her life, including addressing Emma's disinterest in attending college and confronting dissatisfaction within her own marriage to husband Eddie (Josh Lucas).

An independent low-key production, What They Had enjoys a stellar cast in fine form, but otherwise rarely rises above conventional fare. Falling somewhere between television-level movie-of-the-week familiarity and a small-cast stage show with the drama confined to just a couple of sets, the film replays many of the notes already heard with various intensities in films like Away From Her, The Leisure Seeker, Amour, and Still Alice.

Writer and director Elizabeth Chomko gradually shifts focus from Ruth to Bitty, and What They Had is ultimately the story of a woman stuck in the doldrums: feeling guilty about being separated from her ailing parents, trapped in a frigid marriage, unsatisfied in her career, unable to communicate with her daughter, and always bickering - or loudly arguing - with her expletives-loving brother. It's a big load for one character to carry in a 101 minute movie, and despite Hilary Swank's best efforts, most of the resolutions are flash fried.

Humour derived from Ruth's dotty behaviour adds the occasional spark, and the film is nothing if not honest in its fidelity to the dilemmas, frustrations, and the is-this-all-there-is questions thrust into the face of the sandwich generation. But What They Had tries too hard to evoke nostalgia through fading and jerky 8mm film recreations of Bert and Ruth's glory years, the soulful past unable to compensate for the present gaps in creativity.



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Movie Review: The Great Santini (1979)

A social drama about life with a military man, The Great Santini explores the creeping agony of a warrior without a war struggling to fill the void in his life.

It's 1962, and Lieutenant Colonel Wilbur "Bull" Meechum (Robert Duvall), also known as The Great Santini, is a proud ace fighter pilot with the Marines. After completing a training mission in Spain he returns to the US and relocates his wife Lillian (Blythe Danner) and four kids, including eldest son Ben (Michael O'Keefe), to his next assignment at the Beaufort, South Carolina military base. Although he is often loving and supportive, Meechum treats his family as an extension of his career and demands authoritarian respect and strict military discipline at home.

The children are used to a life of annual uprooting, and Ben soon makes the basketball varsity team at his new school and befriends the family housekeeper's son Toomer (Stan Shaw), who stutters and suffers racist slurs from local goon Red Petus (David Keith). Meanwhile Meechum grows frustrated with the years passing him by and no war to call his own. He turns increasingly surly and violent, poisoning the family dynamic.

The Great Santini delves into the dangers of living life by a single code and no differentiation between career success and home serenity. Author Pat Conroy wrote the book partially inspired by personal experience with his own father, and director Lewis John Carlino (who also penned the screenplay) creates a reasonably engaging character study but with uneven patches.

As a hard-drinking, prankster-loving but revered pilot, Meechum comes across as a personification of Jekyll and Hyde in his home environment. The jarring transitions from loving husband and father to a man who loses all sense of perspective when beaten by his son at basketball induce whiplash, Carlino resorting to binary good or evil modes and unable to introduce nuance.

The theme of a proud man trained and educated for war struggling to thrive in a time of peace (the events are set before the Vietnam War ramp-up) is worthwhile. The military machine produces hard and cocky men like Meechum to fight and win battles, and in the absence of a real war, the home front becomes a proxy battleground.

In addition to imposing rigid expectations about his son's future in the military, Meechum is hardwired to find trouble and come out ahead. From the opening scenes he instigates chaos to disrupt the calm of diners at a swanky restaurant in Spain, and later at the Beaufort base he abuses one soldier and physically tussles with a commander.

Robert Duvall dominates the film and makes the most of what he has to work with in terms of Meechum's definition. A few too many scenes portray him succumbing to alcohol and suffering the consequences. Better are his conflicts with Ben and Lillian stemming from his declining influence and lessened ability to exert authority. Ben's subplots featuring advances into adulthood and the friendship with Toomer are cinematically flat and often appear to belong in another lesser movie.

Caught between a higher purpose and a mundane reality, The Great Santini erratically fluctuates between good and awkward.

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Movie Review: Tumbledown (2015)

A romantic drama with a sprinkling of humour, Tumbledown carries plenty of charm as it works its way through the late stages of personal grief.

In a small town in Maine, Hannah Miles (Rebecca Hall) is a young widow still grieving the death two years prior of her husband Hunter. He was an up-and-coming folk singer who released just one album prior to his mysterious death. Protective of Hunter's legacy, Hannah fends off persistent approaches from New York-based professor Andrew McCabe (Jason Sudeikis) to interview her for a book about talented musicians who died early.

Hannah takes a crack at writing Hunter's biography, but her friend and local bookstore owner Upton (Griffin Dunne) convinces her that she needs writing help. She swallows her pride and hires Andrew as her co-author. He moves into her cabin and as he starts to uncover details about Hunter's life and death, an undeniable attraction develops between the widow and the academic.

Directed by Sean Mewshaw and written by Desiree Van Til, Tumbledown is an appealing journey along the seam between mourning and living. The film blends lightweight drama and wry humour in balanced doses and benefits from a rustic rural setting. Mewshaw maintains a light mood and brisk pacing as the story explores weighty themes, while the folk music soundtrack adds a melancholy tone.

The road to recovery from the untimely death of a loved one is an arduous process, and Tumbledown captures Hannah at the place where she can have fun, laugh and fight for what she believes in, but where she also remains beholden to the memory of a happier time and a partner who grows more ideal by his absence. Andrew is further along in his trip away from a similar trauma but is caught looking for obvious answers in a complex reality.

The film does not escape the linearity of romantic movies that start with two attractive people clashing furiously, and some plot developments such as Andrew moving into Hannah's cabin happen with illogical speed. But one of Tumbledown's graceful achievements is in avoiding some of the more obvious genre traps. Hannah will of course chart a course towards loving again, but not before she exposes Andrew to some unexpected lessons about the magic that develops in perfect unions, relationship nuggets unleashed by welcoming Andrew into Hunter's sanctuary.

Rebecca Hall infuses Tumbledown with most of its appeal. She sometimes slips briefly into overacting, but mostly straddles a fine line between Hannah's wicked independent streak and her still-tender emotional scars. Jason Sudeikis is more monotonal and less convincing as a romantic lead.

The rest of the cast features a quirky mix, and includes Blythe Danner and Richard Masur as Hannah's parents, Dianna Agron as Andrew's girlfriend Finley, and Joe Manganiello as Hannah's hunter-gatherer casual sex buddy.

Despite some predictable constraints that come with the territory of romantic movies, Tumbledown is a relatively elegant and thoughtful search for love on the far side of emotional damage.

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Movie Review: The Prince Of Tides (1991)

A romantic melodrama, The Prince Of Tides spares no familial agony in search of emotional scar tissue, and delivers a patchy exercise in pop psychology.

Unemployed teacher and football coach Tom Wingo (Nick Nolte) of South Carolina endured a tough rural childhood, with his parents Lila (Kate Nelligan) and Henry (Brad Sullivan), a shrimp farmer, locked in a vicious cycle of spousal abuse. Tom's older brother Luke has since died, while his sister Savannah (Melinda Dillon) is depressed and suicidal. Tom is now facing a crisis of his own, with his marriage to Sally (Blythe Danner) seemingly drifting to an end due to his emotional neglect.

After another attempt by Savannah to kill herself, Tom travels to New York City to meet with her psychiatrist Dr. Susan Lowenstein (Barbra Streisand), who is trying to unlock the hidden traumas in Savannah's early life. Tom obliges, and start to reveal episodes from his childhood while falling in love with Susan. He establishes a friendship with her brooding teenage son Bernard (Jason Gould) and uncovers Susan's unhappy marriage to violin maestro Herbert Woodruff (Jeroen Krabbé).

An adaptation of the Pat Conroy novel directed by Streisand, The Prince Of Tides takes itself far too seriously as it wades into some laughable territory. There is no doubting the slick quality of the production, and Streisand constructs an elaborate journey into a thick jungle of overlapping psychological catastrophes spanning two generations. There are enough damaged souls and cracked psyches to fill an academic treatise on familial disasters, and the never ending revelations make for compelling viewing of the train wreck variety.

But the premise of a psychiatrist arm-twisting the brother of her patient into revealing childhood memories is fundamentally shaky, and the fiery hot and cold interactions between them never ring true. Tom's big breakdown scene on Susan's couch falls flat, and overall the film loses its way in pretty spectacular fashion in the final stages. The romance elements pour thick syrup over all else, and the original narrative drivers are effectively forgotten.

Regardless, there is enough value to maintain engagement. Nick Nolte delivers one of his better career performances, and Tom's excessive use of cynicism and humour to cover up a childhood of hurt is the one emotional part of the film that does work. The relationship between Tom and his wife Sally contains compelling nuggets of carnage, and more of the film should have been invested in their rocky marriage. Finally the flashback scenes are the foundations of the film and what Streisand does present is sharp and effective, but this is another aspect of Tom's story that suffers from increasing neglect as the film progresses.

A fly on the psychiatrist's wall, The Prince Of Tides is sometimes provocative but just as often cringe worthy.

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Movie Review: I'll See You In My Dreams (2015)

A low-key drama about love and death, I'll See You In My Dreams enjoys a heartfelt Blythe Danner performance but otherwise meanders in and out of cul-de-sacs.

Carol Peterson (Danner) has been a widow for more than 20 years, and she enjoys an independent lifestyle close enough but not within a retirement community. Her dog Hazel is a close companion, as are her friends Georgina (June Squibb), Sally (Rhea Pearlman) and Rona (Mary Kay Place). When Hazel dies of old age, loneliness sets in, and Carol is further annoyed by an elusive rat that takes up residence in her apartment.

Carol starts a tentative friendship with underachieving pool cleaner Lloyd (Martin Starr), a much younger man, and then she is asked out on a date by the rich, confident and masculine retiree Bill (Sam Elliott). A karaoke date with Lloyd reawakens her passion for music, while Bill wants to move quickly towards a serious relationship. With Carol wondering which way to steer her emotional life, daughter Katherine (Malin Åkerman) comes for a visit.

An independent production directed and co-written by Brett Haley, I'll See You In My Dreams tackles themes of loneliness, love and death's looming shadow in the latter stages of life. The film maintains a soft and grounded tone, with Haley sprinkling touches of humour and wisdom in enough doses to keep the mood more light than overbearing. At 96 minutes the film is perfectly paced, with enough time for Carol's story to unfold without unnecessary moping.

The death of Carol's dog Hazel is the trigger for reflection on what level of companionship she needs. Hazel and the small circle of friends had papered over the gaps caused by the death of her husband, but now Carol needs more, with pool boy Lloyd and the flamboyant Bill presenting contrasting alternatives. Lloyd is a young man already stuck in the neutral gear of life and a dead-end job, but he has the sensitivity to coax Carol back towards her singing passion. Meanwhile, cigar chomping Bill has a heart as big as Texas and confidence to match. He is all about living life to the fullest, spending lavishly, not having any regrets, and not wasting any time.

The two men nourish Carol's soul in different ways, but events intervene and cause her to remember why she valued being alone: caring about others can be hard work, and the emotional investment comes at a price. She does not doubt the pleasure of companionship, but the pressure is also not to be discounted.

Despite an absorbing performance from Blythe Danner, I'll See You In My Dreams peters out in its final third. Katherine's appearance is left hanging and the choice between the two men self-resolves. Carol becomes more of an observer and listener rather than a catalyst, and she defaults to an unimaginative level of comfort. While it's a pragmatic reality that mature people rarely embrace new risks, it's still vaguely disappointing that Carol doesn't more strongly advocate for girls just wanting to have fun, at any age.

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The Movies Of Blythe Danner

All movies starring Blythe Danner and reviewed on the Ace Black Blog are linked below:

The Great Santini (1979)

The Prince Of Tides (1991)

Husbands And Wives (1992)

To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

Meet The Parents (2000)

I'll See You In My Dreams (2015)

Tumbledown (2015)

What They Had (2018)

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The Index of Movie Stars is here.

Movie Review: Meet The Parents (2000)

A mild comedy with a premise stronger than the execution, Meet The Parents features a surprising number of flat moments, but is saved by Robert De Niro stretching his comic wings.

Chicago-based nurse Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is ready to propose to girlfriend Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), but realizes it would be better to seek her father's permission first. With Pam's sister about to get married, Greg and Pam head for a weekend at the suburban home of Pam's parents Jack (De Niro) and Dina (Blythe Danner) to attend the wedding and for Greg to meet the parents.

Jack is a hard-as-nails retired CIA agent, a specialist in lie detection. All of Greg's insecurities related to his religion (Jewish), his profession (a male nurse), his real name (which makes his surname even more interesting), and Pam's former fiance (Owen Wilson) quickly bubble to the surface, as Jack embarks on a merciless intimidation campaign to test Greg's true mettle.

The Meet The Parents script, penned by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg, cannot escape the obvious, with Greg quickly lurching from one exaggerated catastrophe to the next, and Jack discovering his soft side just in time to save the day. The dialogue exchanges generally lack sharpness and wit, and include some really inane detours into topics as desperate as milking cats. Director Jay Roach either does not try or is incapable of adding any spice.

But a few of the performances rise above the material, and De Niro's Jack Byrnes is an opportunity for understated comic excellence. Never less than engaging, De Niro brings the full repertoire of subtle eyebrow movements, intimidating smiles, and a wrinkle of the nose to signify building acidic distaste for Greg's credentials as a future son-in-law.

Teri Polo is the other notable performance, as she gives Pam a seductive edge balancing her need to please her dad with rescuing Greg's ego as it takes a beating after every disastrous episode.  Mr. Jinx the cat is the other memorable cast member.

As for Ben Stiller, he delivers his typical performance of a man flailing when dropped into a situation bigger than he can handle. Stiller characters are rarely credible as real people, and Greg Focker is no different, from setting the roof on fire to imbecilically struggling with a task as simple as saying grace. Blythe Danner and Owen Wilson provide capable support in smallish roles.

Meet The Parents is a visit that passes the time, the dull moments rescued by a few laughs and enough interesting characters to keep the conversation alive rather than boisterous.

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