Movie Review: Even Money (2006)

Genre: Gambling Drama  

Director: Mark Rydell  

Starring: Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, Kelsey Grammer, Tim Roth, Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta, Carla Gugino  

Running Time: 113 minutes  

Synopsis: Aspiring author Carolyn (Kim Basinger) is addicted to slot machines, but keeps her problem a secret from husband Tom (Ray Liotta). At the casino she meets and forms an empathy bond with has-been magician Walter (Danny DeVito). Clyde (Forest Whitaker) is deep in gambling debts owed to bookie Augie (Jay Mohr), and pressures his brother Godfrey (Nick Cannon), a star college basketball athlete, into shaving points. Both Augie and Walter have reasons to connect with ruthless criminal Victor (Tim Roth), who controls the biggest illegal gambling network on behalf of the reclusive Ivan. Meanwhile, police detective Brunner (Kelsey Grammer) tries to keep a lid on escalating violence in the gambling world.

What Works Well: This anthology benefits from the pervasive down-but-keep-digging psychology of gambling, with key characters deep into the addiction morass and far from seeking help. Kim Basinger and Forest Whitaker add star power to the doldrums, and allow the separate stories of Carolyn and Clyde to quickly develop within the efficient running time. Tim Roth contributes venom to Victor's heartless dean of crime, while Kelsey Grammer fits perfectly into a frumpled detective's overcoat, his defeated attitude saluting the human propensity for self-destruction.

What Does Not Work As Well: A sub-plot featuring Augie's partner in the bookie business Murph and his girlfriend (Carla Gugino) just gets in the way. Overall, emotions are confined to plastic predictability, and the resolutions default to tidyness carrying bags of faux poignancy.

Key Quote:

Detective Brunner (narrating): The question is...what are you willing to lay on the line?

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Movie Review: Luce (2019)

Genre: Drama  

Director: Julius Onah  

Starring: Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Tim Roth  

Running Time: 109 minutes  

Synopsis: Black high school student Luce Edgar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) was adopted as a child from war-torn Eritrea by his parents Amy and Peter (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth). He is now a model student, excelling in academics and athletics. Trouble starts brewing when his black teacher Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer) shares with Amy some concerns: Luce wrote an essay espousing violence, and Harriet found illegal fireworks in his locker. Amy and Peter disagree on how to confront Luce, who is also dealing with a buddy suspended from the track team and a girlfriend who may have been sexually assaulted.

What Works Well: The creeping all-is-not-well menace beneath an ideal middle class multi-racial suburban veneer energizes the adaptation of writer J.C. Lee's play. Four excellent performances feature actors exploring ambiguous realities, as Luce walks a fine line between perfect teenager and nefarious agenda, and teacher Harriet Wilson matches her student in navigating the grey zone between supporter, manipulator, and caregiver. Amy and Peter are parents caught in the middle, the sudden complexities in their adopted son's life exposing marriage fissures. Director Julius Onah succeeds in breaking out of any stage confines, while the sub-theme about the burden of striving for perfection within the black experience in America adds depth. 

What Does Not Work As Well: The plot tilts towards packing in too much drama and therefore trading in vagaries, leaving plenty of room for open-ended interpretations.

Key Quote:

Harriet: I can tell the difference between miscommunication and provocation.

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Movie Review: Little Odessa (1994)

A crime drama, Little Odessa is a slow-burning character study overburdened by a grim mood and slow pacing.

Assassin Joshua Shapira (Tim Roth) is pressured by his employer to return to his home neighbourhood of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, to eliminate an Iranian jeweller. Joshua has been estranged from his Russian immigrant family for years, ever since he fled the neighbourhood after killing the son of local Russian mobster Volkoff.

Now he reconnects with his younger brother Reuben (Edward Furlong), father Arkady (Maximilan Schell) and ailing mother Irina (Vanessa Redgrave). Joshua also seeks out ex-girlfriend Alla (Moira Kelly), and plans the assassination of the jeweller with a group of allies. But his prolonged stay in the neighbourhood allows Volkoff to start plotting a long-awaited revenge.

Written and directed by James Gray, Little Odessa is 98 minutes of familial bleakness interrupted by short and sharp acts of violence. Other than brief scenes of Joshua fulfilling his murderous assignments, this is a story of an immigrant family torn apart by a prodigal son, with the added strain a mother on her death bed. Head of the family Arkady is not on speaking terms with Joshua, and juggles caring for wife Irina with having an affair while pinning all hope for a better offspring on younger son Reuben.

Despite demonstrating courage by embracing the dark, avoiding over-exposition, and allowing pain points to ooze out through creaky joints of broken trust, Gray provides few reasons to specifically care about the Shapiras. Arkady's story may have been the most compelling, but here he is a side character. Instead the main focus is the brotherly bond between lost cause Joshua and potentially salvageable Reuben. Through no fault of the actors, their connection is static: Reuben secures a front row seat to his brother's crime-infested life, observing what he shouldn't. But neither brother is provided an arc towards something different, and the film strikes the same emotional tones throughout.

Little Odessa moves slowly and at low energy levels, from dour to sullen. Killing is Joshua's chosen line of business, and for his family, this business is bad. 



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Movie Review: October Gale (2014)

A drama and thriller about grief and loss, October Gale sinks under the flimsy weight of incomplete ideas.

In Ontario, Helen (Patricia Clarkson) is a doctor still grieving the death of her husband, killed in a lake boating accident during a storm. She heads out to their isolated lakefront cottage, where memories of her marriage continue to haunt her. A power outage, no phone service and an impending storm heighten the sense of isolation.

Her solitude is shattered when a stranger with bullet in his shoulder washes up on her pier. His name is Will (Scott Speedman), and Helen nurses him back to health. Will reveals he served time in prison for accidentally killing a man, and the victim's father Tom (Tim Roth) is now tracking him down and wants him dead. Helen agrees to help and together they fortify the lakehouse, waiting for Tom's arrival.

A Canadian production written and directed by Ruba Nadda, October Gale suffers from a feathery script and unconvincing characters. The entire opening act is occupied with Helen cleaning the cottage and flashing back to intimate moments of cuddling with her deceased husband of 30 years. The middle third features the arrival of the wounded Will, an expert at running down the clock by revealing his story in micro-snippets.

And by the time the climax arrives, Helen's decision to get involved in the conflict of others only makes sense on the greasy napkin of bad movie ideas, and Tom's arrival and subsequent showdown exists in a void of rationality.

Patricia Clarkson frequently stops and stares into the middle distance, gradually realizing she deserved much better material. Scott Speedman enhances the narrative blankness, while Tim Roth gate-crashes proceedings, arriving straight from Quentin Tarantino mindspace.

October Gale anticipates a storm, but drowns in still waters.

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Movie Review: Arbitrage (2012)

A drama set in the super glitzy but pressurized world of cut-throat high finance, Arbitrage explores the art of white collar money-making where ethics take a back seat and the bottom line is the only line that matters.

In New York City, respected business tycoon Robert Miller (Richard Gere) is turning 60 and desperate to close a deal to sell his family-owned private investment firm for a handsome profit. Robert is hiding a $400 million hole in the company's books due to a copper mine investment opportunity gone terribly wrong. He is also carrying on an affair with art gallery employee Julie Cote (Laetitia Casta) behind the back of his wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon).

With the deal taking longer than expected to close, Robert's daughter and the firm's chief financial officer Brooke (Brit Marling) uncovers evidence suggesting the books are cooked. Then Julie is killed in a late night car accident on a remote road after Robert dozes off behind the wheel. Robert flees the scene of the accident with the help of Jimmy Grant (Nate Parker), a young man from Harlem and the son of Robert's former loyal employee. But police detective Bryer (Tim Roth) starts to suspect Robert had something to do with Julie's death, jeopardizing everything Robert has worked for.

A slick independent production written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki, Arbitrage is a compact and fast-moving business drama. The film focuses purely on the character of Robert Miller, and adopts both his strengths and weaknesses: smooth, determined, and magnetic, Miller is also soulless. ruthless and cold. Jarecki ensures that Arbitrage makes for compelling viewing as an insider's look into the world of the very rich where money governs, arrogance dictates, and rules are for others.

Jarecki succeeds in making his loathsome main character somewhat sympathetic. Thanks to an effortlessly fluid Richard Gere performance, Robert Miller emerges as a charismatic and radiant man who immediately dominates every room he enters. He is also a liar, a fraudster and a philanderer, and attempts to cover up his role in a fatal accident by pressuring an innocent man into taking the fall. At this level of wealth the package is inseparable, and since Miller and his ilk effectively control the levers of finance, he is a character at least worth understanding.

The film's limitation as a drama reside in the lack of character development. The narrative is unapologetic in zooming in on an unscrupulous man facing multiple concurrent crises in one week. While damage will be caused and a price paid as Robert looks for the wriggle room needed to survive, there is no space in Arbitrage for growth or reflection. Indeed, the scenes where Miller tangles with his daughter Brooke and his wife Ellen are the weakest. Jarecki is more comfortable portraying Miller in his element manipulating the business environment rather than grappling with the human consequences.

Stylistically Arbitrage oozes power and wealth, the film capturing the glittering world of expensive homes, lavish parties, and snooty art galleries and fund raisers. The one percent live the life, but it's a life where the heart can also grow awfully cold.

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Movie Review: Reservoir Dogs (1992)

A violent crime drama, Reservoir Dogs introduced Quentin Tarantino to the world and unleashed stunning levels of profanity and violence in a tight independent production.

After a seriously botched off-screen jewelry store hold-up that ended in a wild shoot-out with police, a group of gang members who only know each other by pseudonyms convene at a warehouse to regroup and recriminate. Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) has been shot in the stomach and is slowly bleeding to death. The veteran Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) feels responsible for Orange taking a bullet during the getaway. The excitable Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) is unhurt, having shot his way out of the chaos and then stashed the prized jewels at an unknown location. Pink is sure that an informant double crossed the group.

The cool and detached Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) is blamed for starting all the shooting, and White labels him a psychopath. In the melee Blonde has also managed to abduct a police officer (Marvin Nash), who may hold information about the double cross. The group was brought together by crime lord Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his sidekick son "Nice Guy" Eddie (Chris Penn). Now Joe and Eddie need to clean up the mess and figure out what went wrong. With emotions running high among the group of armed strangers, sorting out who is responsible for what will not be easy.

Tarantino's directorial debut is a stunning crime film, filled with sharp dialogue, intriguing characters, and a story that gradually reveals itself through clever use of flashbacks. The central heist that causes the carnage is never seen, as Tarantino prefers to make his 100 minute compact film about people rather than events. The gang members are all strangers to each other, and the film is as much about a bunch of criminals getting to know each other and not liking what they uncover, as it is about the audience enjoying the experience.

The film is mostly set at the one warehouse, and stylistically Reservoir Dogs resembles a stage play on steroids. Most of the action is through intense, threatening dialogue exchanges, with guns being drawn and bullets flying at strategically timed intervals. There are numerous highlights, including several red mist Mexican standoffs, not all of which successfully de-escalate. Tarantino's staging and choice of perspective is often audacious, never more than when a character is shot and falls to ground long seconds later, after the camera has seemingly lost interest only to catch a crucial glimpse.

Oozing Blues Brothers-type cool in black suits, thin neckties and old-fashioned shades, the cast have a blast. The performances are excellent, with Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and Michael Madsen particularly impressing. Keitel brings surprisingly prominent principles to Mr. White and Roth delivers most of his role from the ground and flat on his back. Madsen is a vision of understated insanity, a man so far on the edge he alienates hardened criminals.

The violence and profanity are legendary. The thugs basically converse through streams of expletives and insults interspersed with a just the few non-profane words. Appropriately, Reservoir Dogs is male-only territory, and the film features no talking parts for any women.When it comes to blood and gore Tarantino also does not hold back, with messy bullet wounds and large puddles of blood literally painting parts of the set a bright red. But the peak of depravity is a torture scene not for the faint of heart, as Mr. Blonde reveals his inner derangement dancing to radio tunes while administering some impromptu butchery.

At this reservoir, the dogs bark, bite, bleed and back stab, and all are off leash.

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Movie Review: Selma (2014)

A biographical drama focusing on a specific chapter in Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, Selma looks for the man behind the image, and finds a leader struggling against self-doubt as he charts a course to change history.

It's 1964, and in the southern United States, blacks have the theoretical right to vote. Practically, they are denied that right by a maze of paperwork and ridiculous civic tests administered by bigots at small-town city halls. In the shadow of the Birmingham church bombing that killed four young girls, black civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo) raises the issue with President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), who is sympathetic but distracted by other agendas. Although King and his wife Coretta (Carmen Ejogo) are living under the constant shadow of death threats, King decides to push the issue by organizing peaceful marches deep in the south, and chooses the small town of Selma, Alabama as the rallying point.

Not all blacks are supportive of King's tactics, but he connects with members of The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and they start to organize. Alabama's Governor George Wallace (Tim Roth) does his best to inflame local opinions against King, and local sheriffs are quick to resort to brutality when the marches start. Johnson conspires with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Dylan Baker) to try and intimidate King into stopping the marches by creating a wedge in his relationship with Coretta. But King pushes ahead, the national media pick up the story, the marchers grow in strength, but the number of victims also mounts.

Selma does not spend much time on the marches themselves. Most of the 127 minutes are spent on the backroom politics that shaped public events, and on King's personal struggle to balance duties to his family, with his vision for his people and the trauma of placing individuals in harm's way. King was all of 35 years old when the events of the film took place, and director Ava DuVernay places the focus on the young man carrying an enormous burden, stripped from the legend.

For the first time the subject of a feature film, King in Selma is not just an imposing figure behind a microphone rousing a crowd (although there are several such scenes). Rather, DuVernay is more interested in how one man showed the courage to lead, move thousands, and change a country, despite opposition from the President, apprehension and dissent from on-the-ground black activists, and a marriage being rocked by threats and infidelity. The film is at its best when King is in small groups holding intense conversations, allowing waves of doubt to emerge, talking through the issues, deciding on the next action by assessing the trade offs, and then persuading others to join in.

Much like the marches, Selma moves slowly and deliberately. DuVernay contrasts dark rooms and prison cells with the harsh outside light, and unfurls the narrative at a gradual pace, allowing the enormity of the challenge to sink in. This does mean that the film drags on occasion, waiting for something to actually happen in amongst all the planning. When the climactic marches do finally start, DuVernay effectively marshals armies of extras, uncorks the tension that exists whenever history reaches a turning point, and finds impressive contrasts between those who define the future and those left behind on the sidelines, their raised middle finger a pathetic confirmation of their own extinction.

David Oyelowo steps in the shoes of King with confidence. While the speeches are delivered with the expected powerful cadence, it's in the many smaller, more intimate scenes, either with Coretta or with King's advisors, that Oyelowo shines. He creates the private King, passionate, determined, and yet often uncertain about his actions and the impact of his activism on his family. In a relatively few but pivotal scenes, Carmen Ejogo makes a strong impression, representing the home front where pride and fear reside side by side. Tom Wilkinson never quite gets the right angle on Lyndon Johnson. Martin Sheen and Cuba Gooding, Jr. have small roles in the court battle that helps determine the legality of the marches, while Gionanni Ribisi plays Johnson's main advisor.

Selma does not attempt to be the definitive statement about King, but it does provide a satisfying behind-the-scenes taste of his history-changing impact.

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