In his latest movie, Knight of Cups, Terrence Malick asks us to join him, for the third time in a row, on a journey through the meandering thoughts of people lost in life, confessing their innermost moral quandaries to the cosmos as they stumble and crawl across god’s green earth and bask in heavenly sunlight. This time, the setting is Los Angeles, photographed in all its concrete, Art-Deco grandeur by trusted Malick collaborator (and Oscar darling) Emmanuel Lubezki. We follow and listen in on the thoughts of fading movie star Rick (Christian Bale) and, occasionally, his famous friends, as Malick lays out another unbearably thin narrative that’s as deviously frustrating as a 500-piece puzzle with 450 pieces missing. The eminently respected auteur clearly has a firm grip on the art of filmmaking—at his best, he’s one of the greats—but with his work becoming increasingly nebulous and less inviting to audiences, it’s come to the point where patience for his vagaries grows dangerously thin.

In an almost wordless onscreen performance (we hear his voice, but mostly in the form of narration), Bale drifts down the streets of L.A., occasionally jumping in thought to memories from Las Vegas, Century City and Santa Monica. Rick is in a perpetual state of punch-drunk spiritual crisis, surrounded by gorgeous women who glom onto his status, wealth and handsome looks until his emotional ineptness becomes too much to bear, at which point they make way for the next batch of girls to grab at his pants.

Rick’s fleeting romantic partners are played by a dizzying crowd of famous faces: Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Imogen Poots, Teresa Palmer, Freida Pinto, Isabel Lucas and more can now add a Malick film to their resume. The roles are thin—Blanchett plays his ex-wife, Portman plays a fling—but isn’t every role thin in a Malick movie these days? Antonio Banderas makes an appearance a Hollywood playboy who throws a swanky house party littered with real-life celebrities playing themselves (“Look! It’s Joe Manganiello! Nick Kroll! Danny Strong! Wait…Danny Strong? Huh?”). Banderas takes over narration duties for a bit, spouting twisted, misogynist philosophy. “Women are like flavors,” he says in his sumptuous Spanish accent. “Sometimes you want raspberry, but then you get tired of it and you want strawberry.”

Malick does a good job of laying out the monstrous, indulgent allure of showbiz that pulled Rick in and broke him down into the wandering, pulp of a man he is. He’s become a phony, just like all the other soul-sapped leeches overpopulating the trashy town that bred them (to be clear, Angelenos, I mean Tinseltown, or the idea of it, not L.A.). Similarly swallowed by the city is Rick’s brother (Wes Bently), a non-famous drifter whose short temper is inherited from his and Rick’s late father. The particulars of the family drama (and, in fact, most of the particulars of Ricks life) are left for us to imagine on our own, but the quality of Bale and Bentley’s performances helps to form some semblance of an emotional arc.

Some (this writer included) would consider it a duty of a true movie lover to meet the filmmaker halfway when a film’s concepts or ideas are challenging or obscure. But with Malick’s recent work, it feels like he’s not meeting us halfway. We can only give so much of ourselves over to him before his movies start to feel like tedious chores. What’s so tragic about this is that, on a cinematic level, he’s phenomenal: he and Lubezki’s imagery is sweeping, evocative and immaculately conceived. Some moments—like a ground-level shot of Bale taking a knee on the concrete as an earthquake shakes the buildings and people around him—are so exquisite you could cry. But without a deeper sense of cohesion, these cinematic feats start to feel hollow as they pile on top of each other for two hours straight. As with Malick’s last movie, To The Wonder, Knight of Cups topples over, leaving us to sift through a mess of pretty pictures in a desperate search of some morsel of meaning. Like his characters, maybe it’s time for us to wake the hell up.

With today’s announcement of the 2016 Independent Spirit Award nominations and now a new official trailer Terrence Malick‘s highly-anticipated Knight Of Cups, you’ll have plenty to talk about over Thanksgiving dinner with the family this year (wait, Malick isn’t a frequent topic around your table?). Our first glimpse of the film came in the form of a rather cryptic trailer ahead of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. And surprise, this new trailer doesn’t offer a whole lot of new information (this is a Malick film after all). Though that doesn’t make us any less excited for the film, which features performances from Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Teresa Palmer, and Natalie Portman.

Knight of Cups opens in theaters on March 4, 2016.

The state of independent, hard journalism hangs in the balance in Truth, a docudrama about the pivotal 2004 60 Minutes report in which veteran broadcaster Dan Rather called into question the validity of then-President George W. Bush’s military past. Based on the memoir by former 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes, the film trumpets the heroism of journalists not afraid to ask any question necessary to get to the almighty truth. Writer and first-time director James Vanderbilt‘s messaging is heavy-handed to say the least (the script is full of loud monologues about journalistic integrity), but the humanistic layers of the story engage on a deeper level, with subtle, powerful character moments counter-balancing the bursts of righteous melodrama.

At the heart of the film is the relationship between Mapes (Cate Blanchett) and Rather (Robert Redford), who together broke the Bush story on CBS News. During their September 8, 2004 episode of 60 Minutes, they presented memos that indicated Bush may have pulled some strings in order to avoid the draft and falsified documents regarding his tenure at the Texas Air National Guard. In no time, right-wing media and bloggers offered up evidence that Bush’s record was legitimate, and that the documents uncovered by the 60 Minutes team were, in fact, fakes. Following a firestorm of controversy, Mapes, Rather and their team went down with their ship, losing their jobs at CBS News in a move that changed the complexion of modern news reporting.

The tragedy, according to Truth, isn’t that two of the most accomplished journalists in the field were fired, but that their original question about Bush’s records got swept aside so quickly. CBS’ media competitors spent an ungodly amount of time and resources covering the controversy surrounding Mapes and Rather and whether or not they were duped by their sources, time and resources that could have been better spent supporting the original question about the President committing fraudulence. Mapes and Rather are icons of old media, and their dismissal signaled the end of a more level-headed era of journalism when figures of power were forced to answer real questions face-to-face with someone like Rather, who at one time had the public’s full trust.

The most gripping aspect of the story revolves not around mass media, however, but Mapes and Rather, old friends who have a quasi father-daughter relationship (subtly expressed by Vanderbilt). As we learn, Mapes was reprimanded by her father for asking questions when she was young. In Rather, she finds a mentor who asks questions with her, a last-of-a-dying-breed confidant for whom she has bottomless admiration. Whenever Mary starts breaking down under pressure, Dan soothes her with his unflappable calmness and deliberately timed jabs of self-deprecation.

The casting of both Redford and Blanchett is excellent; they’re capturing the essence of their real-world counterparts rather than doing a shallow imitation. It comes as no surprise that the veteran actors are magic together, but the supporting get short-changed a bit. Filling out the rest of the 60 Minutes team are military consultant Lt. Colonel Roger Charles (Dennis Quaid) and researchers Lucy Scott (Elizabeth Moss) and Mike Smith (Topher Grace). It hurts a little to watch these three sit so far in the background (Grace goes for broke in his one showcase scene) though it’s understandable that Vanderbilt keeps the focus on Mapes.

The assignment of blame with regards to the scandal is a tricky thing since no party handled every situation properly. While Truth is clearly going to see Mapes’ side of the story the most clearly, the film does acknowledge the mistakes she and her team made in collecting evidence to back up their claims. The suits at CBS, who many believe should have stood by their people, aren’t painted as villains though it’s made very clear that their decision to fire the 60 Minutes team stood on the wrong side of journalism history.

In his first feature, Vanderbilt exhibits little style, though he does respect how priceless Redford and Blanchett look on-screen. At its most heavy-handed, the script is actually pretty cringeworthy. The film alludes to the connection between Mapes’ abusive father and the abusive media monster too heavily, to the point where she actually says she and her news team are being “smacked down” for asking honest questions. The symbolism would’ve rung true without all the underscoring.

Something we’ve seldom seen in movies is the chaotic hustle of a TV news production, something Truth depicts thrillingly. We see the Mapes team, just minutes prior to their deadline to turn in their Bush piece, gathered in the editing room, agonizing over what to cut to meet their required runtime. In the last moment, Mapes makes quick edits with a few flicks of the wrist and the show is ready to go. Frantic moments like these make Truth feel urgent and alive and incredibly entertaining. Were it not for the on-the-nose dramatic outbursts that throw everything out of whack, this might have been the best newsroom drama in years.

Joining the show this week is James Vanderbilt, a veteran screenwriter whose directorial debut, Truth, is out in theaters this weekend. The movie stars Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford and revolves around a the controversial report Dan Rather gave on 60 minutes in 2004 about the alleged fraudulence of George W. Bush’s military record, a piece that would lead to Rather (Redford) and his longtime producer, Mary Mapes (Blanchett) losing their jobs. Also on the show Bernard and CJ run their mouths (as always) about the Mill Valley Film Festival and festival fatigue as well as share their Indie Picks of the Week.

Topics

• Indie Picks (1:17)
• MVFF38 (7:18)
• Festival Fatigue (31:27)
• James Vanderbilt Truth Interview (39:57)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

MVFF38 Diaries
I Smile Back TIFF Review
Room TIFF Review
Son of Saul Cannes Review
The Forbidden Room Review

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(Photo courtesy of Mill Valley Film Festival)

Day five of the festival was the culmination of a three-day Sir Ian McKellen celebration, both on the larger, festival scale and on a mind-blowing, personal scale for yours truly.

The legendary actor flew into the Bay Area to receive a lifetime achievement award at MVFF, but being the generous soul that he is, he gave much more of himself to festivalgoers and the film critic community than any of us could have expected.

Magneto-level Photobomb

Sir Ian arrived on Saturday to meet up with his good friend, author Armistead Maupin. As luck would have it, Mr. Maupin also invited the San Francisco Film Critics Circle (of which I am an unlikely member) to join in on the fun and celebrate Sir Ian’s career at the beautiful Parallel 37 restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Needless to say, I was beside myself. Like most of us, I’ve grown up watching Ian McKellen on screen and have marveled at more of his performances than I can count on my fingers and toes. I couldn’t believe I was going to meet him, but my nervousness dissolved just as he walked into the room. Unlike some celebrities, especially ones of his stature and accomplishment, he actually looked thrilled to hang around and chat with our merry little group. There were about 25 of us in a room uncomfortably small for our number, but no one cared a bit—Sir Ian was happy, so we were happy, as you can see below.

He didn’t have to, but Sir Ian took the time to talk to each and every one of us, and he was as lovely as anyone you could hope to meet. I got so excited at one point that I started photobombing for no reason, one example of which you can see below. (He’s talking to excellent film critic Zaki Hasan of ZakisCorner.)

As you can tell, I was having a grand old time. It was an unforgettable experience and just the start of Sir Ian’s Bay Area takeover.

All Class

On Sunday, the celebration moved to the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael (one of the main MVFF sites, just up the road from Mill Valley), where McKellen was to receive a lifetime achievement award. I wasn’t able to watch the ceremony (I was upstairs watching the wild and weird Angelica), but I saw him step out of the car in front of the theater to the excitement of a raucous (but respectful) crowd of superfans. He signed autographs for two little girls (giddy as can be) and made his way through the flashing lights with his good friend Mr. Maupin (see photo below).

This next part I heard second-hand, but apparently when Sir Ian walked into the theater, he didn’t head straight for the green room as scheduled. Instead, he walked up to the young people working the concession counter and shook all of their hands.

I wish I was able to watch the award ceremony, but regret nothing (Angelica was awesome). I would, however, be in attendance for McKellen’s final appearance the next day, which was a big, big treat.

Longtime Ally

To cap off his visit to the Bay, McKellen gave a presentation called “Women I’ve Filmed With,” in which he celebrated some of the greatest women he’s, you know, filmed with. Sitting in front of an adoring, exceptionally knowledgeable crowd (they knew all his deep cuts), he guided us through his expansive career chronologically (via powerpoint, adorably), stopping along the way to talk about wonderful women like Ava Gardner, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Stockard Channing and Rachel Weiss, and spoke in-depth about lesser-known but equally monumental women like Lilian Baylis (who managed the Old Vic and many other famous theaters).

One of my favorite anecdotes was one McKellen shared about filming a movie called Scandal, which he did just as he’d completed his “coming-out journey,” as he put it.

“To show the world that I intended to carry on acting as I always have,” he remembered, “I thought it would be a rather good idea to play this part. He’s called John Profumo, an English politician and a raging heterosexual.” He recalled having to do a sex scene with Joanne Whalley and graciously confessed that he “didn’t know what to do.” He consulted with his friend actor Edward Petherbridge, who drew stick figures in curious positions on a scrap of paper. “I’ve still got (the paper),” McKellen admitted, to waves of laughter from the crowd. “I’m now an expert on the missionary position.”

One of the warmest bits of praise McKellen gave was in the direction of the great Dame Judi Dench. “Everybody Loves Judi Dench,” he said matter-of-factly, the audience nodding their heads in universal agreeance. “She’s loveable. She makes women smile and they want to be as gentle and forthright as she is, and all the men want to give her a hug. It’s alarming when you’re on stage with her because she has a direct link to the audience. If you’re not careful, you can’t get in there—there’s a lovefest going on.”

It was clear that McKellen’s career was shaped in no small part by his female colleagues and counterparts on the stage and screen. This year’s festival is in tribute to women in film, and the fact that McKellen so selflessly dedicated an hour-and-a-half or so to praising female artists was a staggeringly beautiful thing.

]]> http://waytooindie.com/news/mvff38-diary-day-5-mckellen-mania/feed/ 1 http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/carol/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/carol/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2015 14:17:41 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=40711

Todd Haynes’ gorgeous new film Carol is a delicate, romantic examination of queer identity in the 1950s. Based on the Patricia Highsmith’s novel “The Price of Salt”, about a virginal shop girl named Therese (Rooney Mara) who falls for the titular Carol (Cate Blanchett), this understated lesbian romance is an often joyous look at a blossoming relationship that transcends all obstacles of its era. Articulating that imperceptible pull of deep affection, Carol is wonderfully acted by its two leads. Mara and Blanchett develop an instant, intriguing chemistry that breaths life into their reserved initial exchanges. The immaculately crafted love story demonstrates the power of genuine connection, regardless of gender.

Haynes and his actors are able to express more with a lingering hand on a shoulder than most romances achieve in an entire film. Opening with a nervous dinner between Therese and Carol, the pair of women communicate an extensive mutual history without the benefit of the context that will later be added. Blanchett brings a dignified elegance to her fiery character, with a controlled outward demeanor Carol tries her hardest to maintain. To paraphrase a line from Carol’s jilted husband Harge (an excellent, but one-note Kyle Chandler), she’s always the most commanding presence in the room.

Her stoicism gives way when in the presence of her younger counterpart. It’s the radiant Rooney Mara who shines brightest in Carol, in spite of her character’s passive tendencies. The reserved manner in which Mara carries herself—burdened by the men and job that take her presence for granted – slowly gives way to reveal a girl simply unsure of herself. To Therese, Carol is more than someone to love, but someone whose self-assuredness is something to which she aspires (during their first get together, Therese admits she, “barely know[s] what to order for lunch”). To Carol, Therese is an alluring presence that needs to be coaxed out of her shell. Each actor seems charmed by the other’s quirks. It’s only in Carol’s presence that Therese learns to stick up for her own desires.

Carol shares thematic and temporal similarities to another Haynes film, 2002’s Far From Heaven, with the notable difference between being how retrospectively coy Far From Heaven seems by comparison. While Far From Heaven treats its homosexual elements as a reveal, Carol gives the gay relationship center stage throughout. No characters go so far as to use the L-word, G-word or H-word, but they are unrepentant about their “immoral” feelings. Therese and Carol have a harmonious bond. Even with Haynes’ history in making gay-centric movies (Poison, Velvet Goldmine), Carol feels like a step towards normalcy.

Carol could have simply been a story about a relationship falling victim to a bygone age. Instead, Haynes constructs a testament to love’s ability to endure. It’s a beautiful story only partly due to its unfettered handling of the lesbian relationship, but for the precision with which it portrays their romance. There’s a certain stiffness typically associated with Period Pieces—where costumes and era appropriate dialog gets in the way of character. That is never the case with Todd Haynes’ newest film, which uses time period as set dressing for a humanistic drama. The production details are flawless and immersive, but Haynes’ camera draws attention to his actors’ faces and their mindsets.

The culmination of Therese and Carol’s romance comes naturally. Haynes teases out the process until it seems as if the two are simply meant to get together, and that first blissful moment they share is exciting and moving. The film’s careful finale is Carol at its most tender, ending on a touchingly delightful note in sync with the rest of the film. It’s hope from the past to give us hope for our future.

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The 59th BFI Film Festival today unveiled its selection of 238 feature films and 182 shorts set to screen during the 12-day festival. While it was already known that the Sarah Gavron feminist drama Suffragette would open the festival, Danny Boyle‘s Steve Jobs biopic would close it, and the Cate Blanchett / Rooney Mara film Carol would feature in a Headline Gala, several other high-profile additions were part of today’s announcement.

The European premieres of Trumbo, Brooklyn, as well as The Lady In The Van highlight the Gala selections, while other anticipated movies like Black Mass, High-Rise, and The Lobster occupy other slots.

Thirteen features make up the Official Competition line-up, including Cary Fukunaga’s Netflix-bound Beasts of No Nation, the Cannes-awarded Son of Saul, and Sean Baker‘s iPhone shot Tangerine (which has already been released in the U.S.). The First Feature Competition highlights twelve other films from debut filmmakers, with Krisha, Partisan, and The Witch set to take part.

Tickets go on sale to the public September 17th, 20 days before BFI kicks off on October 7th. Check out the full lineup on BFI’s website.

Fairytales are meant to be passed down. With each new generation comes a new opportunity to share the fantastical stories that served to shape the moral make-up of so many before. Disney has made a new, live-action Cinderella movie, and I feel compelled to make this clear: I don’t believe new renderings of classic tales need to be the best version of all to justify their existence. Sometimes revisiting a familiar tale told by new storytellers, with their own, unique artistic philosophy, is good enough, especially for new batches of eager youngsters.

That being said, modern retellings like the 2015 Cinderella (directed by Kenneth Branagh, whose last Disney project, Thor, I liked very much) are still subject to the grand question: Is the damn movie any good or not? The short answer is, yes, it’s very good. It’s an enchanting, well-acted, snark-less rendition of the classic European folk tale with a radiant actress filling the glass slippers (Lily James) and ridiculously ravishing costumes that’ll make girls across the world lose their little minds. Is this the very best version of Cinderella? Unfortunately not: some odd design choices, unbalanced characterizations, and overall dearth of innovation stop it a few notches short of greatness. But those girls losing their little minds? They won’t care about that stuff one bit once they see James descend the stairs at the royal ball in that sparkling, ethereal, bluer-than-blue (seriously, how did they get it so blue?) dress.

But it’s not just Ella’s dress; there are tons of dresses! Cate Blanchett gets to wear a stunning emerald number as the brooding, evil stepmother; Sophie McShera and Holliday Grainger (what a name, huh?) get draped in some of the most hilariously gaudy material you’ve ever seen this side of a Cosby sweater as the dreadful step-sisters; and Helena Bonham Carter, as the Fairy Godmother, is a vision in astral white. Costume designer Sandy Powell really outdid herself with the incredible costume design, which is so detailed and whimsical and magical you may lose your mind even if you aren’t a young girl (guilty). This is a Disney princess movie, after all, and boy did Powell bring the goods.

Children’s movies these days are typically either too cloying or too mean-spirited for my taste. Cinderella, however, strikes a nice balance. The script, by Chris Weitz (About a Boy), isn’t done in by sugariness; when Ella’s stomped on and ripped apart by her wretched step-mother and step-siblings, it’s rightly dismal and infuriating (Blanchett is ruthless; James is resilient). But even more impressively, the film doesn’t resort to sarcasm, irony, or cheap zingers to make it more palatable to millennial pessimists who scoff at the mere sight of bright colors and even brighter smiles on the big screen. Tonally, everything is calibrated just right, making for a smooth, steady ride.

The biggest disappointment is that Branagh’s vision of Cinderella is in narrative lockstep with Disney’s original take, the only non-aesthetic updates being some minor character expansions. Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) plays the strapping prince, whose aging father (Derek Jacobi) may be in his final days. Madden’s prince has a more significant, rounded presence than the cartoon version (who was essentially a walking plot device), readying himself for the burden of the throne as he scours the land for the girl of his dreams. (In a nice twist, Ella doesn’t realize he’s royalty when they first meet in the woods on horseback.) Jacobi maximizes his short time on-screen, making a lasting impression as the kind, sagacious, good-humored king in just a handful of scenes. Blanchett’s step-mother is given a little more emotional depth this time around, flirting with sympathy in a key scene in which she all-but chokes up when Ella tearfully asks why she torments her so. Both Jacobi and Blanchett could have been utilized better, particularly the former, who damn near steals the show.

It’s always astonishing to me, in a cultural landscape so caustic it’s scary, when an actor can embody pure virtue and positivity and make it feel sincere, or even attractive. There’s nothing much to fault about James’ performance; she’s a classic heroine, exuding compassion, strength, and patience in her darkest hours. Some may mistake Ella’s optimism for saccharine, outdated sentimentality, but let’s remember: this is a 19th century English period piece. If you expect all your princesses to be funny and witty and talk like Tina Fey, go watch Frozen instead. Anna and Elsa are great, but Ella’s old-school.

Branagh’s always brought out the best in his actors, and Cinderella is no misstep in that facet of his legacy. The writing isn’t always all that great: As Ella’s mother (Hayley Atwell) says goodbye for the last time on her death bed, she coos, “Where there is kindness, there is goodness. And where there is goodness, there is magic.” It’s a bit of a clunky line, of which there are a handful in the film, but Branagh makes sure his actors sound as genuine as possible.

A live-action Disney movie without flashy CGI bravura shots littered throughout would be a dream come true, but sadly, Cinderella doesn’t break the trend. Bonham Carter’s sole scene in the film (she also narrates), the obligatory pumpkin transformation scene, looks exactly as sterile and weightless as you’d expect from a big-budget Mouse-House production. The worst part, though, is the transformation of a lizard into one of Ella’s coachman. Once fully morphed, the lizard-man is one of the most hideous-looking things I’ve seen in recent memory. He’s a man, but with sickly, grey-green skin, lines of little razor-sharp teeth, and nightmarish reptilian eyes. Good god is he terrifying, and in no way does this abomination belong in a children’s movie. Thankfully, this is an isolated incident. Ella’s best friends, her pack of tiny computer-animated mice, are the most convincing effect in the movie, and are actually pretty cute.

Branagh’s never been a slugger when it comes to visual stylings, and he pretty much plays it safe here as per usual. There are a few exceptions: a thrilling 3-second see-saw-tilted shot of Ella sprinting through a beautifully baroque room in the royal castle; a motif involving Ella and the prince always spinning around each other in a lovers’ spiral, the same visual poetry used so masterfully by Max Ophüls in The Earrings of Madame de…. But otherwise, the camera movement and placement is unimaginative, though far from inadequate.

You’ll find few surprises in Branagh’s rendition of the diamond-in-the-rough classic. But there are dozens of fairytale deconstructions out there, leaving plenty of room for faithful retellings, especially when they’re as polished and openhearted as Cinderella. Adult viewers’ enjoyment of the film depends on the expectations they bring to the table, but young ones will find true joy falling in love with the sooty princess-in-training for the first time.

Shortly after the announcement that Knight of Cups would have its World Premiere in competition at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival, the latest project written and directed by Terrence Malick has followed up with a first-look trailer. Full of strangely framed shots from renowned cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (who last worked with Malick on The Tree of Life, make sure to watch our video essay on the Screen Poetry of Terrence Malick), several of them upside down, the Knights of Cup trailer gives brief glimpses at the infidelity and celebrity status that the film might ultimately be about.

Starring Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman, the well-known cast extends well beyond its three leads including names like Brian Dennehy, Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Wes Bentley, Isabel Lucas, Teresa Palmer, Imogen Poots, Armin Mueller-Stahl, the voice of Ben Kingsley and others who may or may not survive the final edit. Knight of Cups’ official synopsis is about as cryptic as the trailer:

Once there was a young prince whose father, the king of the East, sent him down into Egypt to find a pearl. But when the prince arrived, the people poured him a cup. Drinking it, he forgot he was the son of a king, forgot about the pearl and fell into a deep sleep.

Rick’s (Christian Bale) father used to read this story to him as a boy.

The road to the East stretches out before him. Will he set forth?

The Knight of Cups trailer is available online through FilmNation, watch it below:

In The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden, married San Francisco filmmakers Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller explore the dark human history of the titular islands. Filled with deceit, jealousy, and murder, the island lore has all the trappings of a juicy whodunnit, and the film is being aptly billed as “Hitchcock meets Darwin”.

The film centers on German settlers Dr. Fredrich Ritter and his lover Dore Strauch, who escaped to the uninhabited island of Floreana to build their own private paradise. They weren’t alone for long however, as the Wittmer family and an Austrian Baroness soon barged into Eden, marking the beginning of a cramped, combustible situation that ended in death.Mixing unbelievable archival footage of the European ex-pats (narrated by Cate Blanchett, Diane Kruger, Josh Radnor, and more) who settled there in the 1930s with interviews with their descendants and present-day settlers on the islands, the film weaves an almost fantastical murder tale while keeping itself grounded in real emotion.

Goldfine and Geller spoke with us in San Francisco about discovering the Galapagos mystery for the first time, finding the incredible archival footage of the settlers, why they incorporated modern footage into the film, the film’s strange musical score, and more.

What was it like stepping foot on the Galapagos Islands for the first time in 1998?

Dayna: Oh god. I wasn’t prepared for how emotionally moving those islands were going to be. You read about them, about Darwin…philosophically, in a theoretical way, they’re out there. But to actually go to those islands, be with those animals…It was one of those “ah-ha” moments like, “Yeah, I kind of understand Darwin now. This is how it all began.” Geologically, they’re quite young as far as islands go. In terms of the important history that’s happened because of them, it’s very profound, and you feel it as soon as you set foot on one of the islands.

Dan: I remember thinking, “How on earth could anyone really carve out an existence here?” It’s so rough. Beyond being isolated from the rest of civilization, it’s not an easy place to be. When we first set foot on the islands, I had no idea of this murder mystery, but I remember thinking, “Why would you want to come here?” I knew the lore of the buccaneers and the pirates and all that. They were whaling, and it made sense as a temporary stop. But to set up a life there, to me, was an astounding leap to make.

Dayna: I have a hard time thinking about even leaving San Francisco, because we’ve spent decades here and we have a very rich friendship circle. For me, what these people did, saying goodbye to family and friends and thinking you’d probably never see them again, was such an anathema. I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

You originally visited Galapagos for a different project, correct?

Dan: Yes. We were there as cinematographer and sound person, shooting footage for an interactive educational project for our friend Doug. We were there without any notion of the human history of the islands. That wasn’t part of his scope for the project. We were quite surprised to begin to realize that there were inhabitants in Galapagos, though not indigenous. That was surprise number one.

Dayna: It took a couple days of being on the boat and seeing this book, which was about the human history of the islands, to wrap my mind around that.

Dan: And then that fateful chapter you read…

Dayna: (laughs) Yeah. The fourth chapter was called “Murder in Paradise”. In these little twelve pages, it was everything you could imagine in a Hollywood fiction film. As I was reading it, I had to keep reminding myself that these were real people and this really happened. If half of this stuff really happened…What an incredible story!

What was it like meeting Margaret?

Dan: We weren’t supposed to be on Floreana at all. The itinerary for the trip we were taking had us going to other islands. You don’t willy-nilly stop off at an island in Galapagos. The National Park controls the itinerary of the boats very specifically. Dayna had read this chapter, and we knew that Margaret Wittmer was the last to stay alive on this whole adventure. Dayna kept saying, “Can’t we stop at Floreana?” the whole trip. Every day. Finally, the boat broke down, and the nearest island was Floreana. That’s how we wound up going there. Our park guide Miguel had known Margaret for many years and said, “Off limits. Do not ask her about this. She doesn’t like to talk about this.” We were unexpected guests, but we sat with her and had tea and cookies, of course wondering whether they were poisoned or not! (laughs)

Dayna: No we did not! (laughs) It was a joke! At the time, neither of us spoke Spanish. Even though her primary language was German, because these islands are owned by Ecuador, by the time we met her she spoke fluent Spanish. She said, “En la boca cerrada no entran moscas”. Miguel started laughing, but we didn’t know what it meant. He told us, and we were like, “Oh my god!”

(The English translation is “In a closed mouth, no flies will enter.”)

Dan: Nothing we were talking about with her would have made that comment make sense, except in hindsight. She had a little bit of a reputation for playing with the notoriety and the myth. You couldn’t ask her about it, but then she would do something sly like that. She had a sly sense of humor. She was toying with us.

The seeds were planted for this project in 1998. It’s been a long process. Talk about the watershed moment when you discovered that footage of the inhabitants in the book existed.

Dayna: The first inkling was when Doug called and said, “You know that story you were completely gaga over a couple years ago? This professor at USC told me about this little stash of footage.” Could this be real? We looked at this VHS tape that had five minutes of the footage that had been transferred, and we were like, “Oh my god! That’s what they looked like! They existed!” Then we thought maybe we could actually make this movie.

So that sort of sent you on your way.

Dan: Definitely. That and knowing that Margaret had written a memoir, Dore had written a memoir, and we found John Garth, who visited every year, kept a journal. Then there were the newspaper and magazine articles that Dr. Ritter and others wrote. Now we have all of these first-person accounts, Roshomon style. What if we made this film all from their point of view? They’re the unreliable narrators. It makes for a more intriguing whodunnit, I think. You can view the footage through their eyes. You can start hearing Dore say something about the Baroness, and while the same shot is continuing to play out, get Margaret’s take on it. Then the Baroness herself. It allows you to keep reinterpreting that footage. Who’s telling the truth here?

Dayna: After we finished working on our Ballets Russes film, we got back in touch with the USC professor who knew about the footage. We went down and looked at this room filled with disintegrating 16mm reels. It smelled like vinegar.

Dan: It’s called “vinegar syndrome” when the acetate devolves under its own age.

Dayna: We thought, we’d better get this footage transferred as soon as possible. It was clear that not all of it was going to be salvageable. There were reels that were just solid, glued-together blocks. We took as much as we could.

So you have this mountain of material to cull from. But now you introduce footage these modern subjects into the film, who live in Galapagos now. What was the thinking behind including them in the story?

Dan: These are people who similarly decided to leave civilization behind and move to Galapagos and therefore could speak about their psychology, emotion, and fear as well as about the murder mystery itself. There are people who were born to those parents, in 1940 or 1950, who grew up in what was supposedly paradise for their parents. We were curious: What is it like not just to leave civilization and go to a place like this, but to be born in a place like this? Is it paradise for a child? Do you hunger for civilization? It’s the backwards story in a way, and I think this and the archival element inform each other in a way.

Dayna: It was great to tell an unsolved murder mystery, but our films always have a meta theme that’s always above the obvious. In this case, there’s a lot of philosophical questions that come up when you go to these islands and you think about this story. Some of those are addressed in the writings of the protagonists from Floreana, but some of them weren’t so easy to scratch at. We knew the people on the island today knew about this and told campfire-like stories. Once we talked to those people, we found that they could actually speak to the more existential issues.

Dan: The counterweights in the movie are interesting to me. The more you know about the moderns, the more depth there is in the murder mystery. Otherwise, you could get distracted by the almost melodramatic, insane goings-on of the facts of the murder mystery story. It helps keep it focused on the psychology of why those people on the island were there and what they were thinking.

Dayna: We did do a cut of just the murder mystery, just to play with it, and it was very claustrophobic. As interesting as that story is, you need a break from it.

You have all of these components to juggle and assemble into a film somehow. Sounds like a headache!

Dan: We had a great editor! (laughs) Bill Weber edited the film, and it was highly collaborative, because it’s too much for any one person to try to pull through. It took a lot of trial and error. Bill’s an incredibly gifted editor. The team could steer this gargantuan project forward. We have work-in-progress screenings with 10-15 people who we trust to get a sense of how things are going.

Dayna: I always say to new filmmakers, don’t expect to get it right the first time. Or the second time. Or the third. It’s a process, and you’d better be patient with that iterative process if you want to make a good film.

At what point did the voice actors come onboard? Was the shape of the film already set?

Dan: By the time we started to record them, the film was at fine cut. We chose to have them read wild, meaning not to picture. They could feel their way into the roles, and we knew that we could bend the timing of the images to suit the performance. What carries the movie is the sense that these are real people talking to you. Why not let them record in a way that felt dramatically appropriate? After we fitted the footage around the performances, we could finally say we were done and give it to the composer to start playing with.

The score is so weird.

Dan: Good! I’m glad you said that. We were aiming for weird! We’d worked with Laura [Karpman] on Something Ventured, the most recent movie we made. We said, “Keep it weird.” We’d temped with weird music, like Trent Reznor. Laura said it also needed to have moments that are fully orchestral and chromatic, because this is a hybrid story. It’s a desolation story, but it’s also got romantic elements. She was able to pull both of those pieces together, keeping that essential strangeness but also introducing more lush passages. She’d do that through really cool instrumentation, with Indian glass bells, chromatic didgeridoo…

Dayna: Laura called us one day and told us she’d taken a position in Valencia, Spain at the Berkeley college of music. We were like, “How are we going to do this if you’re in Spain?!” She said to trust her and that something great would come out of it. When she got there, she’d Skype and email us and say, “I didn’t even know there was an instrument called a chromatic didgeridoo, but one of my students is an expert at playing it. I’m going to record it, and I don’t even know how we’re going to use it!” She started doing that with students from across the world.

Dan: This Russian violinist is brilliant. She plays the Baroness’ theme like someone possessed. She’s called out in the credits especially. She was roughing and temping with these riffs from her students, who were top instrumentalists, but she did write and compose a very specific score.

Do you think that because the mystery is still unsolved, the film is better for it? In other words, would it have been a worse film if you’d discovered the truth?

Dan: I like the idea that it stays mysterious. It’s not definitely solvable, but enough pieces are there that you can begin to assemble your own version or many versions of what you think may have happened. It’s not so shy of facts and accounts that you’re just left saying, “Well…I don’t know.” But you don’t get closure all the way, because wondering is half the fun.

Dayna: My favorite films are ones you want to talk about afterward. Because it’s not conclusively solved, people are going to discuss afterward in a way that they wouldn’t if we’d found the smoking gun.

Over the past several weeks we have provided an extensive individual breakdown for all of the major Oscar categories. Today we have compiled our 2014 Oscars Predictions on a convenient one sheet for you, along with links to our previous analysis. Oscar night is right around the corner, so be sure to tune in to see how well we predicted.

86th Academy Awards will air March 2, 2014 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

Complete List of 2014 Oscar Predictions:

Best Picture:

American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director:

David O. Russell – American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón – Gravity
Alexander Payne – Nebraska
Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor:

Christian Bale – American Hustle
Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress:

Amy Adams – American Hustle
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Judi Dench – Philomena
Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress:

Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts – August: Osage County
June Squibb – Nebraska

Best Original Screenplay:

Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell – American Hustle
Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack – Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze – Her
Bob Nelson – Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke – Before Midnight
Billy Ray – Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope – Philomena
John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Foreign Film:

The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Missing Picture
Omar

Best Cinematography:

Philippe Le Sourd – The Grandmaster
Emmanuel Lubezki – Gravity
Bruno Delbonnel – Inside Llewyn Davis
Phedon Papamichael – Nebraska
Roger A. Deakins – Prisoners

Best Animated Film:

The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

Best Documentary:

The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom

Best Film Editing:

Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten – American Hustle
Christopher Rouse – Captain Phillips
John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa – Dallas Buyers Club
Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger – Gravity
Joe Walker – 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Score:

John Williams – The Book Thief
Steven Price – Gravity
William Butler and Owen Pallett – Her
Alexandre Desplat – Philomena
Thomas Newman – Saving Mr. Banks

Best Original Song:

“Happy” – Despicable Me 2
“Let It Go” – Frozen
“The Moon Song” – Her
“Ordinary Love” – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Best Production Design:

American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years a Slave

Best Costume Design:

American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave

Best Makeup & Hairstyling:

Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

Best Sound Editing:

All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

Best Sound Mixing:

Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

Best Visual Effects:

Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Short Film (Live Action):

Aquel No Era Yo
Avant Que De Tout Perdre
Helium
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa?
The Voorman Problem

Best Visual Short Film (Animated):

Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom

Best Documentary (Short Subject):

CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

The one question on everyone’s mind about Best Actress is, “Can we give this to Cate Blanchett already so we can all go home?”

It’s another easy category to predict, and rightfully so. Blanchett hasn’t had a proper lead role in at least 5 years, and with Blue Jasmine she makes a hell of a comeback. As the wife of a Bernie Madoff type con man who loses everything, her performance is a roller coaster. She’s funny, pathetic, monstrous, evil, kind and completely unhinged, yet Blanchett keeps Jasmine grounded enough to never make viewers lose sympathy for her. It’s a very rare case this year where the Oscar winner is also the person who deserves it the most.

With that out of the way, let’s look at the other nominees. Judi Dench and Meryl Streep are given their usual “nominate every damn thing they’re in” recognition from voters. Dench is charming as Philomena Lee, but it feels like she can do this kind of thing in her sleep by now. Streep expectedly goes all-in as the drug-addicted matriarch Violet in August: Osage County. Streep doesn’t chew scenery in this movie, she devours it, and if she didn’t win recently for The Iron Lady I could see her being a competitor to Blanchett here. Amy Adams is the best lead in American Hustle by far, but she should be happy with her Golden Globe win. Sandra Bullock probably has the smallest chance of winning in this category, but it shouldn’t diminish the fact that she’s a major reason for Gravity’s success.

Dench and Bullock could have easily been plucked out of this category in my eyes and replaced with a better performance. First things first though, let me say that these actresses did some amazing work this year: Julie Delpy in Before Midnight, Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha, Shailene Woodley in The Spectacular Now, Andrea Riseborough in Shadow Dancer and Rooney Mara in Side Effects were all terrific. But if I had to pick one actress who deserved to be nominated, it would have to be Paulina Garcia in Gloria. I had my issues with the film, but Garcia (who won Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival) owns every moment of Gloria.

Category Predictions

Best Actress Nominees

Amy Adams – American Hustle (review)

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine (review)

Sandra Bullock – Gravity (review)

Judi Dench – Philomena (review)

Meryl Streep – August: Osage County (review)

Previous Category Analysis

Best Shorts
Best Supporting Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Foreign Film
Best Documentary

Tonight marked the 20th anniversary of the Screen Actors Guild Award show, an award ceremony that has become a great precursor to help predict how the acting categories could turn out for the Oscars. The biggest reason for this is that the actors who make up this guild also make up a large part of the voting group for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Tonight Lupita Nyong’o took home a Screen Actors Guild Award for her brilliant role of 12 Years a Slave, beating out Jennifer Lawrence who recently won at the Golden Globes. Arguably the most exciting category was for the Best Male Lead category, where Matthew McConaughey, Bruce Dern, and Chiwetel Ejiofor all had a fair shot of winning. Though it was Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) who puts himself in the front of the race for the Oscar with the win here. McConaughey’s counterpart in the film, Jared Leto, also walked away a winner. Unsurprisingly, Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) won for Best Female Lead and American Hustle for ensemble cast.

On the television side of things, Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Michael Douglas (Behind the Candelabra) continued to add to their trophy collection from their Golden Globes wins from last week. Other big winners were Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Veep and Maggie Smith for Downton Abbey. Also, Rita Moreno received a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in film, broadway, music, and television.

The full list of 2014 Screen Actors Guild Award Winners:

Film

Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker, The Butler

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Brühl, Rush
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

Television

Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland

Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series
30 Rock
Arrested Development
The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Veep

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series
Claire Danes, Homeland
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Kerry Washington, Scandal

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries
Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
Jeremy Irons, The Hollow Crown
Rob Lowe, Killing Kennedy
Al Pacino, Phil Spector

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries
Angela Bassett, Betty & Coretta
Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor
Holly Hunter, Top of the Lake
Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

If my predictions of the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards hold true (nobody hold their breath), 12 Years A Slave would walk away the big winner with a projected total of 5 awards. I believe the rest of the field will be much more spread out with Before Midnight, Nebraska, Upstream Color, Fruitvale Station, Blue Jasmine, and others going home with one award. After winning the Palm d’Or and taking the Cannes Film Festival by storm this year, Blue is the Warmest Color‘s momentum has started to slow down and may no longer the obvious frontrunner anymore. Though I am still picking it to win Best International Film here, it is against fierce competition.

For better or worse, I am posting my Spirit Award predictions one day ahead of the official announcement of Oscar nominees. In just 45 days the Spirit Award winners will be officially announced and will dictate whether or not I can beat my prediction accuracy from last year of 53% (7 out of 13). In addition to picking the winners for each category below, I explain the reasoning behind my picks in detail under the categories.

Watch IFC on Saturday, March 1st at 10PM ET to see how my predictions hold up.

List of 2014 Independent Spirit Award Predictions:

(My prediction for the winners are highlighted in bold red font)

Best Feature:

12 Years A Slave
All Is Lost
Frances Ha
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

Best Director:

Shane Carruth – Upstream Color
J.C. Chandor – All Is Lost
Steve McQueen – 12 Years A Slave
Jeff Nichols – Mud
Alexander Payne – Nebraska

Best First Feature:

Blue Caprice
Concussion
Fruitvale Station
Una Noche
Wadjda

Best Male Lead:

Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years A Slave
Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis
Michael B. Jordan – Fruitvale Station
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford – All Is Lost

Best Female Lead:

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy – Before Midnight
Gaby Hoffmann – Crystal Fairy
Brie Larson – Short Term 12
Shailene Woodley – The Spectacular Now

Best Supporting Male:

Michael Fassbender – 12 Years A Slave
Will Forte – Nebraska
James Gandolfini – Enough Said
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club
Keith Stanfield – Short Term 12

Best Supporting Female:

Melonie Diaz – Fruitvale Station
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years A Slave
Yolanda Ross – Go For Sisters
June Squibb – Nebraska

Best International Film: (Award given to the director)

A Touch of Sin
Blue is the Warmest Color
Gloria
The Great Beauty
The Hunt

Best Cinematography:

Sean Bobbitt – 12 Years a Slave
Benoit Debie – Spring Breakers
Bruno Delbonnel – Inside Llewyn Davis
Frank G. Demarco – All Is Lost
Matthias Grunsky – Computer Chess

Best Documentary:

The Act Of Killing
After Tiller
Gideon’s Army
The Square
Twenty Feet From Stardom

John Cassavetes Award: (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)

Computer Chess – Andrew Bujalski
Crystal Fairy – Sebastian Silva
Museum Hours – Jem Cohen
Pit Stop – Yen Tan
This Is Martin Bonner – Chad Hartigan

Best Editing:

Shane Carruth & David Lowery – Upstream Color
Jem Cohen & Marc Vives – Museum Hours
Jennifer Lame – Frances Ha
Cindy Lee – Una Noche
Nat Sanders – Short Term 12

Best Screenplay:

Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater – Before Midnight
Nicole Holofcener – Enough Said
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber – The Spectacular Now
John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

Best First Screenplay:

Lake Bell – In A World
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Don Jon
Bob Nelson – Nebraska
Jill Soloway – Afternoon Delight
Michael Starburry – The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister & Pete

Any film directed by Woody Allen gets us pretty excited, especially after recently proving he still has it with his wonderful 2011 film Midnight in Paris. Cate Blanchett has already received a number of nominations (Spirit Award, Golden Globes) for her leading role, and has a great chance at an Oscar nomination when they are announced on the 16th of this month. And we approve! Back in July of this year, Bernard mentioned her significant performance in his review. To help promote Blue Jasmine arriving on Blu-ray and DVD on January 21st, we are giving away a Blu-ray copy of the film to one our readers!

How do you enter the giveaway?

Using the form directly below, you have the ability to earn 4 entries for the giveaway. The mandatory entry is for telling us what your favorite Woody Allen film is. Bonus entries for following us on Twitter, another for tweeting at us, and/or liking us on Facebook.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blue Jasmine trailer:

It’s always felt like everyone’s been waiting for Woody Allen‘s legendary, ultra-prolific career to inevitably begin sputtering out. When he began really losing steam about a decade ago with duds like Curse of the Jade Scorpion and Melinda and Melinda, many speculated that his edge might be dulling for good. Then he knocked us in the head with the brilliant films like Match Point, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Midnight in Paris which proved he was still capable of creating significant cinema.

From another angle, the infrequency of great films in Allen’s late period has been a signal to many that his days as a vital director may be over sooner rather than later. Is Blue Jasmine—a bitter character study starring Cate Blanchett as Jasmine, a Ruth Madoff-like wreck of a woman—substantial enough to quell the fears of his loyal supporters and prove he’s got more left in the tank? The short answer is yes, it is. Blanchett’s unbounded performance should easily earn her an Oscar nod and directorially, Allen is in tip-top shape. And yet, Blue Jasmine falls short of greatness, mostly due to strangely written and casted supporting players and a script that slightly buckles under the weight of Blanchett’s juggernaut performance.

The film opens with Jasmine, a once wealthy New York aristocrat, sitting on a plane, rattling off incessantly about how she met her husband, Hal (Alec Baldwin) to a stranger who becomes less interested with every word. “He met me at a party and swept me off my feet.” They’ve just landed in San Francisco (which Allen photographs as if it were a ghost town), where Jasmine’s forced to stay with her working class sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins), since she’s lost “every cent” of her own money—Hal’s orchestration of a failed Ponzi scheme landed him in the slammer, leaving Jasmine drowned in debt. She tries to veil her snobby disgust for her sister’s modest digs, and numbs herself to her surroundings by chugging vodka.

Watching Jasmine plummet from the glamour, Chanel bags, and Hamptons house parties of her previous life (depicted artfully in carefully planted flashbacks) to downing bottles of Stoli, snacking on Xanax, and sleeping on a crummy couch bed, is deliciously tragic and straddles the line between hilarious and depressing. Jasmine is unbelievably self-centered, perpetually complaining about everything, but mostly about the titanic tragedy that is her life, even when no one’s around to hear it (disturbing.) Whenever she’s confronted with a serious dilemma, she mentally checks out and starts reciting her go-to anecdotes from the “Hal” days like a broken record. She repeats the story with a blank stare, “He met me at a party and swept me off my feet.” Shudder. Extreme neurosis and anxiety are eating her alive (Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence comes to mind.) Jasmine’s mental breakdown is both utterly gripping and distressing to watch, like a 20 million dollar jet crashing and burning in slow motion.

The supporting cast is almost comically un-Californian, with Andrew Dice Clay as Hawkins’ bitter ex husband (“She’s movin’ in wit’ yoo?”), Louis C.K. as her frivolous fling (wasted), and Bobby Cannavale playing a lame version of Stanley Kowalski. Speaking of A Streetcar Named Desire (which inspired Allen to make this film), Blanchett channels the tragic romanticism of Blanche DuBois, who she played on-stage in 2009. She never gets too showy, though, and only goes big-time operatic when she knows the scene will be better for it.

Though Allen opted to not endow Blue Jasmine with his travelogue visual flare that I’ve grown fond of, Blanchett provides so much to chew on and gawk at that she single-handedly makes the film a certifiably significant work. The humor never falters and there’s enough of it to balance out Jasmine’s surprisingly dark character arc, but I’d hesitate to classify this as a comedy (as it’s been advertised.) I would, however, classify it as proof that Allen’s still got years of great films left in him.