The Meddler (2015) - Stars elevate Scafaria's mother-daughter romcom

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The two central stars in front of a purple-pink background with palm tree contours makes up this poster for Lorene Scafaria's The Meddler

 

Marnie has, after she has also become a widow, moved to Los Angeles, where her adult daughter lives, but she meddles a bit much in her life.

The Meddler is written and directed by Lorene Scafaria (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)). Scafaria's own personal relationship with her mother is the basis of this warm, bright film.

The drama may be in the lightweight category, but The Meddler is an enjoyable time that leaves you with a smile on your face, which is always welcomed.

Rose Byrne (Take Away (2003)) and a delightful Susan Sarandon (Little Women (1994)) elevate the film with depth and comedic knack, and the story gets sound backup from J.K. Simmons (3 Geezers! (2013)), Cecily Strong (Staten Island Summer (2015)) and Jerrod Carmichael (Ferdinand (2017)) as the Apple guy.

The Meddler is a soft present.

 Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 3.2 mil. $

Box office: 5.4 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.68 times its cost)

[The Meddler premiered 14 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 100 minutes. Shooting took place in New York and California, including Los Angeles. The film opened #35 to a 57k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #12 and in 464 theaters, grossing 4.2 mil. $ (77.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 372k $ (6.9 %) and Spain with 354k $ (6.6 %). Scafaria returned with This Is Heaven (2018, TV movie) and theatrically with Hustlers (2019). Sarandon returned in Hell and Back (2015) with a voice performance and physically in The Other Side of the Lake the Purple Girl: Episode IV - The New Visitor (2015); Byrne in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016); Simmons in Ultimate Spider-Man (2012-15) and theatrically in Worlds Apart (2015). The Meddler is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.03/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Meddler?

The Wife (2017) - Strong acting tethers complex marrital drama

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The two stars, dressed for gala, send tense, loathsome looks on this poster for Björn Runge's The Wife

An American novelist is awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, and together with wife and son, the three make the daunting journey across the pond, as old resentment and a major secret surface.

The Wife is written by Jane Anderson (Mad Men (2008, TV-series), adapting the same-titled 2003 novel by Meg Wolitzer (Surrender, Dorothy (1998)), and directed by Björn Runge (Harry och Sonja (1996)). It is a tense and fraught marital drama with Bermanesque tones, (especially since it is mostly set in Sweden), which is powered by sharp performances, especially from leads Jonathan Pryce (Leatherheads (2008)) as the Grand Man author husband, whom Glenn Close's (Hoodwinked! (2005, voice)) complex wife character has just about had enough of finally.
Christian Slater (Breaking In (2011-12)) is solid as a bio-writer, who is sympathetic while at the same time circles the couple with a vulture-like hunger; Max Irons (Dorian Gray (2009)) seems a little old to be the son who lives in his father's shadow, badly needing his approval, but he plays well in the climactic fight and denouement scenes. Harry Lloyd (The Iron Lady (2011)) and Annie Starke (Albert Nobbs (2011)) are very good and credible as young versions of the marrieds, SPOILER who lay the groundwork for the constellation of a Great Writer husband and a secretly ghost-writing missus, which is tearing their marriage apart half a century later.
The Wife is generally a fine drama and a great occasion for Pryce and Close to shine in fleshy roles, which they both fill out very satisfyingly.
It annoys that characters more than once smoke indoors in contemporary Swedish establishments, which is simply unthinkable and has been for more than a decade, important VIP guest or not. Lazy writing, honestly, because what modern people light up cigarettes in fancy locations today?
And then there are small psychological things that nag: SPOILER After decades of such self-discipline, why exactly does Close's character have to explode so impulsively when at the plush gala, seated right next to Swedish royalties? The ending has her indicating that she will write another book under her own name, implying that her deceitful nature now turns to self-deceit, as she must imagine that she'll be able to publish without the world realizing her secret as a decades-long ghost writer.
SPOILER It doesn't seem to be intentional from the creators, but the many decades of diligently churning out novels without demanding credit by Close's character in my eyes blocks an exculpation of her now as her husband takes the world' arguably highest literary honor. She is no victimized innocence but someone who has entered a marriage for self-serving purposes (publication), just as her husband did (to attain her gift for writing.)
The Wife serves well as a debate-starting picture about deceit, equality and the basis of relationships.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 14.2 mil. $ and counting
= Uncertain
[The Wife premiered premiered 12 September (Toronto International Film Festival, Ontario) and runs 100 minutes. Frances McDormand, Gary Oldman and Logan Lerman were pursued to star in the film. Shooting took place in Stockholm, Sweden and in Scotland, including Glasgow, ending in October 2016. The film opened #35 to a 108k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it has peaked at #14 and in 541 cinemas and grossed 7.6 mil. $ to date. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets are Australia with 2 mil. $ and the UK with 1.9 mil. $ but the film is still playing. It will open in Russia 22 Nov., Norway 23 Nov. and in Japan on 26 Jan. 2019. It is rumored that Close is up for a Best Actress Oscar nomination, which would give the film another push in North America and globally. If the film is made for a likely 8-10 mil. $, it still has quite a distance before becoming a theatrical success. Runge is announced to next helm US drama Remember Me. Close returned in Crooked House (2017), Pryce in The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017). The Wife is certified fresh at 84 % with a 7.1/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


What do you think of The Wife?

Winter's Bone (2010) - Lawrence stands out in Granik's melancholic adaptation

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Jennifer Lawrence hovers like an eagle on the poster for Debra Granik's Winter's Bone

A 17 year-old girl, who is caring for her two younger siblings and sick mother, gets a big problem on her hands, when her alienated father doesn't appear in court. To keep their house, she now has to find out what has become of him.

Winter's Bone is an adaptation of Daniel Woodrell's (The Ones You Do (1992)) same-titled 2006 novel, written by Anne Rosellini (My Abandonment (2017)) and co-writer-director Debra Granik (Down to the Bone (2004)). It's a film filled with tristesse, unusual as the piece of outskirts social-realism Americana that it is, taking place in the rural Ozarks, Missouri in central USA, where even food can be a luxury.
Jennifer Lawrence (The Devil You Know (2013)) is a cool heroine as Ree, - likely a performance that locked her for her subsequent Hunger Games (2012; 2013; 2014; 2015) mass-stardom. Winter's Bone is a nuanced, fine and only slightly dreary film.

 

Jennifer Lawrence gives an interview to the BBC about the film in this video

 

Cost: 2 mil. $

Box office: 13.7 mil. $

= Huge hit

[Winter's Bone premiered January 21 (Sundance) and runs 100 minutes. Filming took place on location in Missouri in just 25 days from February - March 2009. The film opened #35 to 84k $ in 4 theaters, peaking at #16 and 141 theaters (different weekends though), playing for an unusually long 45 weeks in North America, where it grossed 6.5 mil. $ (47.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Sweden with 1.3 mil. $ (9.5 %) and the UK with 0.9 mil. $ (6.6 %). Roger Ebert gave the film 4/4 stars, two notches better than this review. The film got nominated for 4 Oscars, winning none: Best Picture (lost to The King's Speech), Actress (Lawrence), lost to Natalie Portman for Black Swan, Supporting Actor (John Hawkes), lost to Christian Bale for The Fighter, and Adapted Screenplay, lost to The Social Network. The film was also nominated for a Golden Globe, won AFI's Movie of the Year award, won 2 Independent Spirit Awards and was nominated for another 5, was chosen by National Board of Review as one of the year's ten best films, won the Grand Jury Prize and the screenwriting award in Sundance, as well as many many other nominations, awards and top 10 listings. Winter's Bone is certified fresh at 94 % with an 8.3 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Winter's Bone?