Hamlet (1990) - Stars shine in Zeffirelli's compelling adaptation

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A fine ensemble is lined up in stark, desaturated tones on this poster for Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet

Prince Hamlet of Denmark's father dies a mysterious death, and the prince's near madness in the castle in Elsinore, including his conferences with the ghost of his father, brings intrigues and murder to bear.

 

Hamlet is written by Christopher De Vore (The Elephant Man (1980)) and great Italian co-writer/director Franco Zeffirelli (Camping (1958)), adapting the same-titled 1603 play by William Shakespeare (Coriolanus (1605-08)).

Shakespeare's celebrated text gets room to shine in this excellent adaptation. Some minor flaws, - among them Helena Bonham Carter's (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)) over-acting of madness, - don't much damage the film's success, in large part thanks to the honest, human portrait of the title character by Mel Gibson (Air America (1990)), and Glenn Close's (The Stepford Wives (2004)) equally intense performance.

Ennio Morricone's (Good News (1979)) music is elegant and well played. Zeffirelli's is a sober, handsome Hamlet.

 

 

Watch a 1-minute clip from the film here

Cost: 12.6 mil. £, approximately 16.89 mil. $

Box office: 20.7 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Uncertain - but probably a big flop (seemingly returned 1.32 times its cost)

[Hamlet was released 19 December (Toronto, Los Angeles, New York) and runs 134 minutes. Shooting took place from April - June 1990 in Scotland, France and England. The film opened #18 to a 116k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #9 and in 624 theaters (different weeks), grossing 20.7 mil. $. The-Numbers.com allege that the film had an international gross of just 1.7 mil. $, - which would be incredibly little, - but if true the film was a big flop. It was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, lost to Dick Tracy, and Costumes, lost to Cyrano de Bergerac. It was also nominated for a BAFTA, won 1/2 David di Donatello award nominations and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Zeffirelli returned with The King of Ads (1991, segment), Don Carlo (1992, TV movie) and theatrically with Sparrow (1993). Gibson returned in Lethal Weapon 3 (1992); Close in Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991, TV movie) and theatrically in Meeting Venus (1991). Hamlet is fresh at 76 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Hamlet? 

Fatal Attraction (1987) - Stepping out has dire consequences in Lyne's spectacular blockbuster

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The iconic poster for Adrian Lyne's Fatal Attraction, which effectively combines the erotic with the fatal

A successful New York lawyer, who is bored in his marriage, steps out of it to enjoy another woman from his office. Unfortunately, she turns out to have a screw loose!

Fatal Attraction is written by James Dearden (Rogue Trader (1999)), with script doctoring by Nicholas Meyer (Time after Time (1979)), and directed by great English filmmaker Adrian Lyne (Foxes (1980)).
Michael Douglas (The In-Laws (2003)) somehow manages to get his lead, who appears an unscrupulous prick for large parts of the film, to become deeply sympathetic in spite of this, which requires a great, rare actor. He is helped in the task by Glenn Close (The Safety of Objects (2001)), who is spectacularly psychotic as Alex, the character who became every (straight) cheating man's worst nightmare with Fatal Attraction. She is outstanding. Also good is Anne Archer (Short Cuts (1993)) as the poor, wronged housewife.
Lyne stages the erotic thriller carefully and shows an admirable knack for suspense and visually oppressive atmosphere. Fatal Attraction is a tremendous, - and implicitly totally conservative, (which was fought over by, among others, Close and the studio), major hit.

Watch a clip from the film here

 
Cost: 14 mil. $
Box office: 320.1 mil. $
= Blockbuster (returned 22.86 times its cost)
[Fatal Attraction premiered 16 September (New York) and runs 119 minutes. It is based on Dearden's 50 minute film Diversion (1980). Close consulted 3 psychologists to get insight into her character's incestuous background and resulting borderline personality disorder. Shooting took place in New York from September - October 1986 with reshoots in July 1987. The original ending has Alex slashing her own throat, making her suicide appear a murder by Douglas' character: Close fought against the more vengeful ending eventually in the film and successfully attained the self-mutilation aspect in it to underscore Alex's self-destructive tendencies. The film opened #1 to a 7.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it maintained its #1 status for the following 7 weeks, before spending the next 5 weeks still in the top 5 (#2-#4-#4-#3-#5), ending up with a gigantic 156.6 mil. $ gross (48.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 20.7 mil. $ (6.5 %) and Germany with 20.5 mil. $ (6.4 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5/4 star review, translating to two notches harder than this one. The film was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Actress to Cher in Moonstruck, Supporting Actress (Archer) to Olympia Dukakis in Moonstruck, Director to Bernardo Bertolucci for The Last Emperor, Editing also to The Last Emperor, which also took Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay (Mark Peploe, Bertolucci). The film was also nominated for 4 Golden Globes, won 1/3 BAFTA noms, was nominated for 2 David di Donatello awards, a Grammy, won a National Board of Review award and many other honors. Lyne returned with Jacob's Ladder (1990). Douglas returned in Wall Street (1987), Close in a voice performance in Gandahar (1988), in Stones for Baharra (1988, TV movie) and theatrically in Dangerous Liaisons (1988). Dearden adapted the film into a stage play in London in 2014. Fatal Attraction is certified fresh at 78 % with a 6.74/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Fatal Attraction?

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?

Albert Nobbs (2011) - Glenn Close's triumphant, tender tranformation in García's great film

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1 Time Film Excess Award Winner:

Best Song: Lay Down Your Head, Glenn Close, Brian Byrne; Sinéad O'Connor

4 Time Film Excess Nominee:

Best Actress: Glenn Close (lost to Bérénice Bejo for The Artist)
Best Supporting Actress: Mia Wasikowska (lost to Agnieszka Grochowska for In Darkness)
Best Makeup and Hair: Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnson, Matthew W. Mungle (lost to J. Edgar)
Best Song: Lay Down Your Head, Glenn Close, Brian Byrne; Sinéad O'Connor (won)

+ Best Irish Movie of the Year
+ Most Overlooked Movie of the Year

Mia Wasikowska, Glenn Close and Aaron Taylor-Johnson on the poster for Rodrigo García's Albert Nobbs

Albert Nobbs is a UK-Irish co-production that has been in the works for ages: It is a labor of love for its co-writer/co-producer/star Glenn Close (101 Dalmatians (1996)), who played the title character first in 1982 on the stage and won an Obie award for it. The story is based on a novella by Irish writer George Moore (Confessions of a Young Man (1888)).

Albert Nobbs is a waiter at the Morrison Hotel in Dublin. He is proper, introverted, respected and liked. But he carries a heavy secret beneath his spotless suit: That he is biologically a woman. Now, he learns that it might be possible for him to live a more fulfilled life.

Nobbs has a fantastic cast and is a delicious period treat (for those with a hankering for such) with a heart-warming, moving story at its center:
Oscar-nominated Janet McTeer (Hannah Arendt (2012)) is strong as the woman in disguise, who shows Nobbs a way; Mia Wasikowska (Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)) is cheeky and later heart-breaking as a young lady; Mark Williams (101 Dalmatians), Brendan Gleeson (Calvary (2014)) and Pauline Collins (Quartet (2012)) fill out secondary parts superbly; Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Match Point (2005)) has a small, fine role, and, carrying the film, Close is nothing short of stupendous: In Albert Nobbs, she gives one of the most primeval and transformative female performances in years. Within minutes, the way her character has disguised himself in his surroundings is a fact beyond question. Close was Oscar-nominated for her sixth time for this, regrettably not winning her deserved statue this time either. She lost it to Meryl Streep's turn as The Iron Lady (2011) (Margaret Thatcher); also a great performance, but less resonating for me.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla (2014)) does well as a young ruffian who finds employment at the hotel, but becomes a problem there. His role is never villainized, although it easily could have been, partly thanks to Johnson's acting; however, his otherworldly attractive looks are more of a challenge than a gift for him here, as they actually threaten to stand in the way of his performance.

Brendan Gleeson and Glenn Close in one of the many wonderful scenes in Rodrigo García's Albert Nobbs

Rodrigo García (Six Feet Under (2001-05)) has directed Nobbs well. The film has a keen and sensitive eye for all kinds of disguised habits and personal and sexual traits that are kept out of sight by its characters. It is touching throughout; perhaps especially so is Nobbs' naïve and unknowing attitude towards his own status and possible way forward: It underlines the way people at the time really didn't know much about alternative sexualities and gender mix-ups. (Not that people in perhaps most countries have grown much smarter since, though.) With some irony the film lays bare how a woman like Collins' hotel manager was accepted to misuse and slander about all the people beneath her, while they, in turn, could not (as most) live as they were, if they were anything outside of the accepted norm.
Michael McDonough (Winter's Bone (2010)) has photographed the film with subdued grace. It is co-written by Close, Hungarian writer Gabriella Prekop (Házikoszt (1997)) and John Banville (The Last September (1999)).
One of the film's marvelous scenes is one in which SPOILER Close and McTeer go out in dresses for the first time in years, looking at first mostly like a pair of exotic birds, or, more precisely, as men in dresses. Close's running on the beach is also a very wonderful scene.
The film was also Oscar-nominated for its first-rate make-up and wig achievement by Martial Corneville (Synecdoche, New York (2008)), Lynn Johnson (Apocalypto (2006)) and Matthew W. Mungle (This Is Where I Leave You (2014)).
Nobbs has a perfect ending and credit song called Lay Down Your Head, written by Close and Brian Byrne (The Good Doctor (2011)), sung by Sinéad O'Connor (Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), performer).
- Don't miss this one!

Related posts:

Rodrigo García: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Carnivàle - 1st season (2003, TV-series) - Grand but oft clotted-up period mystery show

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 8 mil. $
Box office: 7.5 mil. $
= Big flop
[Albert Nobbs made 3 mil. $ (40 % of its total gross) in the States. It was, disappointingly, wrestled out of theaters by louder, less tender fare. In its many year-long story of development, Amanda Seyfried and Orlando Bloom were previously cast as the younger hotel-employees. (Wasikowska and Taylor-Johnson are undoubtedly the much better fit.) It is a shame that this fine film couldn't break even at least, so buy it on DVD, Bluray or as VoD today and help it out, - it's a great film!]

What do you think of Albert Nobbs?

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - Get giddy with this pretty awesome, silliest blockbuster of 2014

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+ Best Blockbuster of the Year

A delicious-looking poster for James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians is a new Marvel comic book adaptation of one of their more wacky properties, which looks like it will turn into its own movie franchise now:

Peter 'Star-Lord' Quill thinks he's all human: He has been taken from Earth following his mother's death in his childhood and is now a bounty-hunter after a very powerful and expensive orb. He gets it, but also becomes locked up with a band of celestial misfits (see posters). They break out, loose the orb and realize that it can be used to kill billions of innocents, so they decide to get it back to prevent that from happening.

Our outlaw heroes in Guardians are good, even if they are primarily out for money and revenge. Guardians of the Galaxy is a somewhat silly, off-center universe, which is apparent right off the bat as Star-Lord, - charmingly played by Chris Pratt (Her (2013)), - starts his dangerous orb-retrieval mission by dancing around to Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede, - just one of the film's many 1970's and 80's pop-rock-hits that make it all a little groovier. - And sillier and more refreshing than most superhero movies in recent years.
But the characters in themselves are also so strange that it would have been a catastrophe for any writer-director to have taken it all too deadly serious. And James Gunn (Slither (2006)) certainly doesn't choose that road: Guardians is probably the most irreverent, self-humorous huge superhero space opera creation of this millennium.
Bradley Cooper voices the raccoon Rocket, wrestler Dave Bautista is the intellectually limited but hard-punching Drax, and Vin Diesel, - in what must be one of the easiest earned top-billings ever, - voices the giant, living tree Groot, who can only say, 'I am Groot'. They are all fun characters. Michael Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)) is a good difficult stepfather for Quill called Yondu, and John C. Reilly (Step Brothers (2008)) is fun as 'Corpsman Dey'. Glenn Close (Dangerous Liaisons (1988)) looks crazy as a tight-haired leader of the peaceful human planet.

They have apparently built some real, huge sets in London for the shooting of Guardians, which is hard to notice in it, because it looks almost completely animated. It is not a critique per se, because it has a consistent look and impressive stuff like the various skies and fights, - which are fun, but still don't draw out and eat up all the room from story and dialog, - but the tour de force cinematic experience is hard to achieve in an environment that feels so artificial as is the case in Guardians and other similar CGI-based giants.
Where Star Wars, in comparison, is always about good vs. evil, this the first Guardians film is more about friendship and comradeship, and diversity meeting and becoming unity, and very timely at that. By its end, the film is a sure and quite uplifting winner.
Guardians is certainly also the funniest major summer blockbuster ride of 2014, and it will certainly stimulate kids and make adults giddy from its permanent wit. Where Avengers (2012) entertained but at the same time punctured my last bit of superhero enthusiasm, Guardians is a new Marvel franchise that I found myself actually looking forward to seeing return by the end of the film. It seems also a good replacement for the X-Men franchise that I at Film Excess deemed obsolete a few months ago.
Guardians has one really vulgar, adult referential joke, (which I don't think it absolutely needed), but it will shoot (bad but as you'll realize; appropriate pun again) right over the heads of the younger ones in the audience, so I'd say the film is fine for any media-trained kid who is 8 years or older.
Pratt was sure fun here, but I hope he will have another, much more serious role to play in next summer's highly anticipated Jurassic World (2015), which will have to be a lot more serious than Guardians to be any bit scary. 

Related posts:

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
 

Watch the trailer here

Cost: 232.3 mil. $
Box office: 773.3 mil. $
= Box office success

What do you think of Guardians of the Galaxy?