Movie Review: Human Capital (2019)

A drama featuring several storylines ensnaring two families, Human Capital explores class divisions and the twin pursuits of wealth and happiness. The multi-pronged narrative is handicapped by diffused focus.

After an awards banquet for high school students in upstate New York, a waiter is the victim of a hit-and-run accident on a country road. Events involving the Hagel and Manning families before, during, and after the fateful night are then revealed.

Real estate agent and recovered gambling addict Drew Hagel (Liev Schreiber) befriends wealthy and successful hedge fund manager Quint Manning (Peter Sarsgaard). Despite being financially stretched, Drew borrows $300,000 to invest with Quint and hides the transaction from his pregnant wife Ronnie (Betty Gabriel), a psychiatrist. The subsequent return on investment is not what Drew expected.

In parallel, Quint's wife Carrie (Marisa Tomei), a former B-movie actress, is feeling neglected. She convinces Quint to buy a heritage theatre as a side-project to support the arts. She is then romantically pursued by the theatre's tweedy artistic director Jon (Paul Sparks). The final story features the Hagels' teenaged daughter Shannon (Maya Hawke), who remains friends with the Mannings' son Jamie (Fred Hechinger) after they break up. She then starts a torrid romance with small-time drug dealer Ian (Alex Wolff), one of Ronnie's patients. On the night of the hit-and-run, the two families are seated at the same table, and seething financial and personal tensions contribute to tragedy.

An adaptation of the Stephen Amidon novel directed by Marc Meyers and written by Oren Moverman, Human Capital enjoys a strong opening propelled by complex Liev Schreiber and Peter Sarsgaard performances. The appetizing first chapter carries a looming darkness into the superficially idyllic suburbs, as nothing good can come from the unbalanced friendship between the recovering gambling addict and the oily hedge fund manager. Drew's pursuit of a quick financial windfall has all the predictable outcomes of a non-swimmer wading into the deep end of the pool.

But momentum stalls with the disposable middle episode featuring Carrie's disgruntlement, and the final act defaults to a bland teen angst mystery, new characters like Ian and his seedy uncle introduced late and in shorthand. As Meyers focuses more of his attention on the least interesting hit-and-run whodunnit drama, the victim's story is carelessly neglected, its absence a gaping black hole.

The common themes are disgruntled souls, misplaced priorities, and dashed hopes and dreams. And within all the social classes, children are left behind as their parents focus on monetary wealth. The material contains kernels of interest, Marisa Tomei and Maya Hawke invest heartily in their supporting roles, and with more commitment to each of the characters three separate movie-length narratives can be imagined. Instead Human Capital embarks on a choppy downward journey, every subsequent deposit reducing the yield.



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Movie Review: Kate And Leopold (2001)

A fantasy romance, Kate And Leopold trades on the appeal of stars Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman, but is an otherwise frivolous and easily forgettable exercise.

New York City, 1876. The Duke of Albany Leopold Mountbatten (Jackman) has little patience for social niceties and is dabbling with an invention that looks like a scale model of an elevator. At an upper crust party Leopold spots and chases weird intruder Stuart Besser (Liev Schreiber), who is from the future. Stuart leads Leopold to a time portal accessed by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge into the East River.

They land in New York of 2001, where Stuart has just broken up with his downstairs neighbour Kate McKay (Ryan). When Stuart is waylaid after an elevator shaft mishap, Kate and Leopold start spending time together. She is initially sceptical of his story but gradually a romance blossoms. Kate is a marketing executive chasing a promotion and being sexually harassed by her boss J.J. (Bradley Whitford). Leopold gets involved in filming her latest advertisement, and his chivalrous and uncompromising integrity prove attractive as he defends Kate's honour at every turn.

Directed and co-written by James Mangold, Kate And Leopold is an old school and utterly predictable romance. With just shadings of humour and lacking any cutting edge, the film rides on lush production values and a fantasy romance-across-time premise, and even then soft pedals the concept. Leopold is quick to adjust to his new surroundings, and before long the film defaults to a New York City travelogue through the eyes of any other visitor.

At over two hours the film is unnecessarily long and the padding is obvious. Once Leopold makes the jump to the present Mangold has to kill 90 minutes of running time to get to his rather tame climax, and the paucity of material is painfully obvious. The film surrenders to subplots and distractions, including a long-winded chase of a purse snatcher through central park and Kate's slow-motion harassment by her lecherous boss, hiding in a suit and wielding his power to attempt sexual conquest.

It's all in the name of creating opportunities for Leopold to ride to the rescue on a white horse, literally in the case of the purse snatcher, and forcing Kate to consider giving up her modern life and career to be with her knight in shining armour. In better hands this would have been an interesting dilemma to debate, but in this world of fantasy romance, the push and pull between women's empowerment and the perceived chivalry of four generations past is treated with utmost simplicity.

Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman do what is asked, looking disarmingly great for the cameras and representing all-good characters just waiting for the right love to come along. Kate And Leopold is a sanguine reverie, and disappears as quickly as a lightweight dream.

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Movie Review: The Hurricane (1999)

A boxing, prison and court room drama, The Hurricane is based on the real-life of champion boxer Ruben Carter. Thanks to a potent story, a committed central performance by Denzel Washington and agile directing by Normal Jewison, the film is a dominant viewing experience.

It's the mid 1960s, and Ruben "The Hurricane" Carter is a top ranked middleweight boxer, having risen from a poor childhood including long stints in juvenile detention. With Hurricane at the peak of his abilities and fame, a triple murder is committed in a Paterson, New Jersey bar, with three patrons shot dead. Ruben and a friend happen to be in the area; they are arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Ruben insists that he is innocent and from his cell writes an autobiography.

With Ruben incarcerated a parallel story features Lesra Martin (Vicellous Reon Shannon), a young black man from Brooklyn being raised by a foster family in Toronto. Lesra takes an interest in Ruben after reading his book, and communicates with the boxer first through letters then visits. Eventually Lesra's guardians decide to investigate Ruben's case, and relocate to New Jersey to agitate for a legal review of his conviction.

Many other key characters from Hurricane's story also come to life. Featured prominently are Lesra's foster family Lisa Peters (Deborah Kara Unger), Sam Chaiton (Liev Schreiber) and Terry Swinton (John Hannah); Ruben's lifelong pursuer Detective Sargent Della Pesca (Dan Hedaya), Ruben's wife Mae Thelma (Debbi Morgan) and compassionate prison guard Jimmy Williams (Clancy Brown). Late in the film, David Paymer and Harris Yulin make important contributions as Ruben's long-term lawyers, while Rod Steiger has a short but memorable turn as a judge.

Directed by Norman Jewison as an adaptation of Carter's autobiography and the book by Chaiton and Swinton, The Hurricane is a powerful story about the search for justice. Set partially in the world of boxing and mostly behind prison walls, the film is a carefully crafted experience, covering close to 20 years of Carter's life and charting his unwavering dignity in the face of larger forces of racism, conspiracy and discrimination.

As with many biographical but non-documentary features, The Hurricane does portray Carter in the most favourable light, and his opponents come across as seething villains. The film rises above any such simplifications thanks to the intensity of its central performance. The Hurricane is quite possibly Denzel Washington's finest on-screen moment. He embodies the role and disappears into it, the actor leaving no trace as Ruben Carter comes to life, driven by rage, personal determination and quiet resistance. Whether in the ring or in prison, Washington is superb at finding the man smirking at a system that can defeat his body but never his soul, and expressing his emotions with a combination of lyricism and cutting critique.

The film runs for 145 minutes, but does not feel long. Especially in the first half Jewison keeps the energy level high and jumps across time to capture various episodes from Carter's life. Snippets from childhood through to life in prison are presented out of sequence but nevertheless logically, to establish the full scope of Ruben's life experience. The second half settles down and is more focused on attempts to secure Hurricane's release, and the film finds a new but still compelling groove as an amateur detective story seeking to lift the lid off decades of deception.

The Hurricane encapsulates rage in all its colours: a child's rage to survive, a boxer's rage to win, and a prisoner's rage to secure freedom. And it's the battles fought without weapons and boxing gloves that are ultimately most effective.

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Movie Review: Ransom (1996)

A child kidnapping thriller, Ransom enjoys excellent production values, a committed Mel Gibson performance and a determination to accentuate the cerebral aspects of crime gamesmanship.

Tom Mullen (Gibson) is a successful businessman, the head of a major airline that he created from humble beginnings. He lives in a swanky Manhattan condominium overlooking Central Park with his wife Kate (Rene Russo) and young son Sean (Brawley Nolte). However, there is a shadow hanging over Tom's business dealings involving unproven accusations of illegal payments to avoid a union strike. The Mullens' world is plunged into a nightmare when Sean is abducted during an outdoor public event. Tom and Kate soon receive a ransom demand for $2 million, and FBI Agent Lonnie Hawkins (Delroy Lindo) takes charge of the investigation.

The kidnap mastermind is New York Police Detective Jimmy Shaker (Gary Sinise), who is disgusted with Tom's seemingly shady business ethics. Jimmy's crew consists of girlfriend Maris (Lili Taylor), tech expert Miles (Evan Handler), and brothers Clark and Cubby (Liev Schreiber and Donnie Wahlberg). Sean is handcuffed to a bed and blindfolded while Jimmy makes his demands, with Tom and Kate wondering how much they can trust Lonnie's advice. When an arranged money drop goes bad, Sean's life is placed in grave danger, and Tom decides that a fundamental change in negotiating tactics is needed.

Directed by Ron Howard, Ransom is an intelligent thriller which relies on plot and characters and resists most impulses to engage in mindless action. The film remains grounded in relative foundations of reality, and the kidnapping ordeal enjoys a trio of excellent, out of the box twists. The drama is well paced, the two hours of running time efficiently used to recount a story rich in detail and resolve.

The script by Richard Price and Alexander Ignon gets the fundamentals right by investing in both sides of the kidnapping. While Tom and Kate's trauma does get the majority of attention, a significant amount of time is spent with Jimmy and his gang, humanizing the criminals and building to an effective climax where the need for complex decisions will come to the fore at the individual level.

The central twist in the negotiations, a ploy too clever to reveal, sets the film off in a new direction and radically changes the dynamic between Jimmy, Tom and Kate. It's an idea both foolish and audacious, and sets the film apart from most other kidnap thrillers. Of course all daring initiatives can suffer from the law of unintended consequences, and Ransom rides one wild notion straight into another, victim and perpetrator locking horns and engaging in a new battle of wits within an unexpected context.

Howard infuses the film with his usual commitment to quality, and Ransom enjoys lush cinematography courtesy of Piotr Sobocińsk, attractive locations and the occasional on-the-street burst of dynamism. Not unexpectedly, there are hints of big budget over orchestration in some scenes, Howard always choosing multiple helicopters and hordes of extras when more intriguing and more modest options were perhaps available.

Mel Gibson delivers a surprisingly effective performance. He tones down both his boyish charm and his manic intensity, and settles into the relatively steady tone of a concerned father who nevertheless will not subdue his entrepreneurial inclination to seek a different and better solution. Gary Sinise offers a perfect foil as the smart and determined police detective moonlighting as a criminal, although more background on what fueled Jimmy Shaker's motivation would have been welcome. The rest of the cast is brimming with talent and provides solid support.

Canny and resourceful, Ransom delivers a satisfying pay off.

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Movie Review: Spotlight (2015)

A newspaper drama based on real events, Spotlight recreates the Boston Globe's investigation into child abuse by Catholic priests. With a quality cast in good form the film sustains a steady level of engagement, without fully breaking away from the constraints of a well known story.

In 2001, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) is hired as the Globe's new editor. He quickly authorizes the investigative Spotlight team, led by Robby Robinson (Michael Keaton) to dig into accusations that a Catholic priest named Geoghan was a serial sexual abuser of children, and that Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law (Len Cariou) knew about the incidents and did nothing. Robinson's team consists of reporters Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brian d'Arcy James). Assistant Managing Editor Ben Bradlee Jr. (John Slattery) supports the investigation while warning that the Church will mobilize to push back against the newspaper.

Rezendes establishes contact with scrappy lawyer Mitchell Garabedian (Stanley Tucci), who is fighting a lonely battle representing multiple former child victims of abuse by Catholic priests. Robinson and Pfeiffer pursue lawyers who have defended the Church behind the scenes to keep the abuse accusations away from public scrutiny. Gradually victims come forward to share their stories with the Spotlight team, and it becomes apparent that many more priests were likely engaged in abusing children. With the sensational exposé taking shape, the terrorist attacks of September 11 derail the publication schedule, and pressure mounts on Robinson to avoid rocking the boat of Boston's established society.

Directed by Tom McCarthy, Spotlight draws its energy from the familiar theme of crusading reporters committed to a cause. The film is an earnest treatment of a sensitive subject, and the script by McCarthy and Josh Singer covers all the angles, including victims, lawyers, priests, reporters and Boston's power brokers. Some want the truth, others justice, while the elite circles where the church, money and tradition intersect just want the whole story to be swept under the carpet.

Very much a galloping talk fest, the script does pack in a large number of names, referrals and sources with short roles, and it's sometimes difficult to keep track of all the players. There is even a subject matter expert only available over the phone, psychotherapist and priest researcher Richard Sipe (an uncredited Richard Jenkins) offering crucial insights based on years of research, but never seen in person. The few scenes of action try to generate drama from the mundane pursuit of documents in the bureaucratic maze of government offices, where the hours are short and the red tape thick.

Spotlight's best moments are when the reporters pause and allow the enormity of the emerging story to wash over them. Emotions flair between Robinson and Rezendes in a disagreement over timing, Rezendes and Pfeiffer discuss what the church meant to them, while Carroll finds the scandal residing closer to his home than he would like. Robinson has to face his own history as a reporter, a case of present-day success revealing yesterday's imperfections. McCarthy also ironically humanizes Baron by keeping him cold and aloof. More of these interludes would have made Spotlight even better.

The theme of an outsider having the courage to lift the lid over an established but corrupt order resides at the of the film. Baron is a Jew, a newcomer to Boston, and has a resume that suggests he won't stay long at the helm of the Globe. He is presented as a fascinating character but unfortunately drifts towards the edges of the film, his influence only tangentially hinted at while the focus resides with Robinson and his team.

Keaton, Ruffalo, McAdams and James get on with the job of portraying reporters without much fuss, Ruffalo getting the most animated role. The supporting cast is loaded with interesting performances. Liev Schreiber is cool and cold as Baron, Stanley Tucci ruffled and exasperated as the lawyer Garabedian (another self-aware outsider), and Billy Crudup makes a welcome appearance as Eric MacLeish, the slick lawyer with a scripted message and much to hide.

Spotlight celebrates the still relevant power of old-fashioned reporting to drag a tragic scandal into the open. The reporters get the satisfaction of a job well done, but the real beneficiaries are the unnamed vulnerable children of the future whose lives may have been made that much safer.

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Movie Review: The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

A remake of the 1962 classic, the 2004 version of The Manchurian Candidate updates the story and adds glossy treatment and star power, but loses some soul and grit in the process.

During the 1991 Gulf War to liberate Kuwait, a small US army reconnaissance unit under the command of Major Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington) engages the enemy in a fierce fire fight. Marco is knocked out, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) takes charge. Although two soldiers are consequently killed and the unit is lost in the desert for three days, after the ordeal Shaw is awarded the Medal Of Honor for his bravery and leadership in battle, based on the testimony of Marco and all the surviving men.

Years later, the US is involved on multiple fronts in the war against terrorism. Shaw is a respected Congressman but very much under the influence of his domineering mother Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw (Meryl Streep). He is also in the running to be named as the Vice Presidential candidate on his party's ticket for the upcoming election. Meanwhile, Marco is struggling with vivid dreams that suggest the story of the Kuwait firefight is more manufactured than real, and that all the unit members may have been subjected to mind control techniques. Risking his reputation and his life, Marco digs into the story and uncovers the involvement of Manchurian Global, a private equity conglomerate heavily invested in arms deals, funding politicians and dangerous science. Marco reaches out to Shaw, but uncovering truth from fiction and the real motives at play will not be easy.

Directed by Jonathan Demme and with an all-star cast, this remake is not as needless as most. The story is updated to the present day, with the Gulf War and the war on terrorism replacing the Korean War and the war on communism respectively. Wisely not competing with the grim aesthetic of the original, Demme applies a thorough shine to this version, with electoral machines in full swing, corporate chicanery operating behind the scenes and the media cycle reporting on every detail.

The Manchurian Candidate offers a pleasing mix of conspiracy, back-room politics, a personal quest for the truth, frazzled flashbacks, wicked science, police work and a rush against time to a satisfying climax. Demme keeps the pace moving, and the 130 minutes zoom by fairly effortlessly. The film works hard to establish a fledgling bond between the high-flying Raymond Shaw and his forgotten former commander Bennett Marco, and the investment pays off as the resolution unfolds.

But the script can't shake a couple of significant problems. In modern day politics organizations like Manchurian Global easily buy and sell high ranking politicians with good old fashioned graft. Resorting to an elaborate and dangerous plot to brainwash soldiers in the middle of the desert to serve a political purpose seems disingenuous in the extreme. Another gaping logic hole opens up when Raymond Shaw, Vice Presidential candidate, is activated to personally do the dirty work once the conspiracy is threatened, another highly implausible and self-defeating tactic from evil plotters with supposedly every angle covered.

The performances from a host of familiar faces are adequate. Denzel Washington comfortably occupies the space of the increasingly troubled veteran soldier on a quest to uncover an alternative truth when his version of reality stops being plausible. Schreiber maintains a suitable facade of tortured coldness, while Streep is, for once, relatively perfunctory. Kimberly Elise makes a good impression in the second half of the film as Eugenie Rose, Marco's potential love interest and possibly hiding her own secrets.

Jon Voight has a few scenes as Shaw's political rival, and Vera Farmiga gets even fewer minutes in an underdeveloped sub-story as Voight's daughter and Shaw's lost love interest. Jeffrey Wright, Anthony Mackie, Dean Stockwell and Charles Napier show up in brief roles.

The Manchurian Candidate 2004 edition is a reasonable effort, a classic story modernized but not fully reinvented.

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The Movies Of Liev Schreiber

All movies starring Liev Schreiber and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

Ransom (1996)

Scream (1996)

Twilight (1998)

The Hurricane (1999)

Kate And Leopold (2001)

The Sum Of All Fears (2002)

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Salt (2010)

Movie 43 (2013)

The Butler (2013)

Spotlight (2015)

Creed (2015, voice only)

Human Capital (2019)

Don't Look Up (2021, cameo, voice only)

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The Movie Star Index is here.