Indignation (2016) - Sympathetic if muted Schamus debut

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Two very nice-looking young co-stars seated in a window sill is the unexceptional motif on this poster for James Schamus' Indignation

Marcus is a Jewish boy from New Jersey, a top student with an ambitious mother and a father who is a butcher, and he falls for a different type of girl, when he goes to college in Ohio...

Indignation is written, co-produced and directed by debuting James Schamus (The Ice Storm (1997, writer)), adapting the same-titled 2008 novel by Philip Roth (American Pastoral (1997)).

It is a well-acted portrait of the tightly wound America of the 1950s, a country at the cusp of change, with a thematic core about the relationship between Christianity and atheism, about the individual's right to his own story and perceptions, - and to attempt to convince others of his beliefs.

Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)) and Sarah Gadon (Black Bear (2020)) are good and palatable as the precocious young couple. Tracy Letts (Eric Larue (2023)) is excellent in a supporting part as a Conservative dean. Linda Emond (Only Murders in the Building (2023, TV-series)) as Marcus' mother is also terrific. Schamus succeeds in making the longer, dialog-based scenes vivid and thrilling. SPOILER The ending is somewhat confusing and unresolved: He soon after perishes in the Korean War, while she lives for decades...? Too many balances are cut out, and the title's indignation is never felt. - What here is supposed to leave us indignant? On whose behalf? The young man's, I presume, who is kicked out of college for being himself and not go to church, and therefore sent to war, but the film, - at least from a Christian perspective, - mostly merely portrays a less desirable time.

 

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Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 3.9 mil. $

= Uncertain but likely a mega-flop (projected return of 0.39 times its cost)

[Indignation premiered 24 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 111 minutes. Shooting took place from June - July 2015 in New York in just 25 days on a reportedly low budget, here projected at 10 mil. $. The film opened #34 to a 93k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #16 and in 317 theaters (different weeks), grossing 3.4 mil. $ (87.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Brazil with 72k $ (1.8 %) and the UK with 54k $ (1.4 %). Schamus returned with a short for 30/30 Vision: 3 Decades of Strand Releasing (2019, anthology) and is hoping to return theatrically with College Republicans. Lerman returned in The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017); Gadon in 11.22.63 (2016, miniseries) and theatrically in The 9th Life of Louis Drax (2016). Indignation is certified fresh at 81 % with a 7.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Indignation?

The Ice Storm (1997) - Lee makes one of the year's great American films

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Elongated, eye-focused peaks at three of the film's stars make up most of this blue-toned poster for Ang Lee's The Ice Storm

The father in a nice-looking Connecticut family in the bold 1970s has an affair with the neighbor's wife, while their daughter fools around with two brothers from the same neighborhood, and their son goes to New York during an ice storm.

 

The Ice Storm is written by James Schamus (Indignation (2016)), adapting the same-titled 1994 novel by Rick Moody (Garden State (1992)), and directed by Taiwanese-American master filmmaker Ang Lee (Pushing Hands/Tui shou (1991)), whose 5th feature it is.

An intelligent, stealing meditation of family, sexual identity-making and the dangers in the modern world, The Ice Storm stands out as an excellent drama.

In the glorious cast, durable work is turned in by Kevin Kline (Ricki and the Flash (2015)), Joan Allen (Death Race (2008)), Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man 3 (2007)), Christina Ricci (Miranda (2002)), Sigourney Weaver (Madman (1978)) and Elijah Wood (The Good Son (1993)). The Ice Storm ends powerfully and is a beautiful drama.

 

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Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 18 mil. $

Box office: Reportedly 16 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.88 times its cost)

[The Ice Storm premiered 12 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 113 minutes. Shooting took place from April - June 1996 in New York and Connecticut. The film opened #17 to a 75k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it grossed 8 mil. $ (50 % of the total gross). The foreign gross numbers are not made public, but it is ascertained at The-Numbers.com that the film made almost as much internationally, which would rank it as a huge flop. It won 1/2 BAFTA nominations, an award in Cannes, losing the Palme d'Or to Taste of Cherry, and was nominated for a Golden Globe, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Lee returned with Ride with the Devil (1999). Kline returned in In & Out (1997); Allen in Face/Off (1997); and Weaver in Alien: Resurrection (1997). The Ice Storm is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Ice Storm?

Hulk (2003) - Lee's fantastic comics adaptation drama

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+ Best San Francisco Movie of the Year + Best Superhero Movie of the Year + Most Expensive Flop of the Year: 38.92 mil. $ range

 

The green giant dominates this poster for Ang Lee's Hulk

Bruce Banner is a scientist who in a failed experiment is exposed to gamma radiation, which triggers a latent mutant gene in his body, put there by his crazed scientist father, so that the result is mad green giant persona the Hulk!

 

Hulk is written by John Turman (Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)), Michael France (The Punisher (2004)) and James Schamus (Pushing Hands/Tui shou (1991)), based on the Hulk comics (1962-) created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and directed by Taiwanese master filmmaker Ang Lee (Pushing Hands).

Lee makes an ambitious leap with Hulk, one of the most memorable of the modern superhero movies. Banner/Hulk is no conventional hero; rather a tragic hero if a hero at all. Lee thematizes the rage through several characters, - at least four, - and has success with a comics-inspired editing scheme, using split screen, among other things, as well as an impressive fusion of CGI and practical special effects.

The good performances from Eric Bana (Eric (1997, TV-series)) and Nick Nolte (Teachers (1984)) culminate in a father-son fight in the end, which underscores the film's drama, which is of Shakespearean heights. Hulk is ravishing entertainment.

 

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Watch a short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 137 mil. $

Box office: 245.2 mil. $ 

=  Big flop (returned 1.78 times its cost)

[Hulk premiered 17 June (USA) and runs 138 minutes. Development of the film began in 1990. In 1998 Universal Pictures put the film in hiatus with reportedly 20 mil. $ already spent on numerous scripts as well as computer animation and prosthetics work. Jennifer Connelly (Little Children (2006)) was paid 1.5 mil. $ for her performance. Shooting took place from March - August 2002 in Utah, Arizona, California, including in San Francisco, and in Hawaii. 2.1 mil. $ were spent on a 30 second TV ad during the Super Bowl. The film opened #1 to a 62.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#5) and grossed 132.1 mil. $ (53.9 % of the total gross.) The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 13.9 mil. $ (5.7 %) and Mexico with 11.6 mil. $ (4.7 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. It earned an additional 61.2 mil. $ in DVD sales in 2003 in North America. Sequel plans were snuffed out due to the film's disappointing performance; a reboot was instead made with The Incredible Hulk (2008). Lee returned with The Hire (2003, segment) and theatrically with Brokeback Mountain (2005). Bana returned in Troy (2004). Hulk is fresh at 62 % with a 6.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hulk?

Lust, Caution/色，戒/Sè, Jiè/Sik1Gaai3 (2007) - Lee's erotic spy thriller is an exquisite, complex masterpiece

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+ 2nd Best Movie of the Year
+ Best Big Hit Movie of the Year + Best Taiwanese Movie of the Year + Best Erotic Movie of the Year + Best Period Movie of the Year + Best Spy Thriller of the Year

The two leads in a sensual embrace on this desaturated poster for Ang Lee's Lust, Caution with highlighted bloody reds

A young woman is engaged in a patriotic Chinese theater group in Shanghai in the late 1930s. Their energetic leader advocates fighting the Japanese occupation by murdering the local collaborator Mr. Yee. This becomes the beginning of a dangerous duplicity for the girl.

Lust, Caution is written by Hui-Ling Wang (The Myth/San wa (2005)) and James Schamus (Hulk (2003)), adapting Eileen Chang's (Love in a Fallen City (1943)) same-titled 1979 novella, and directed by Taiwanese master filmmaker Ang Lee (Life of Pi (2012)). It is a cinematic treat so irresistible that one floats through its extensive running time as on an exquisite period journey. Lee's vision is uncompromising, and he gives the film an intensity and a depth that is wholly his work.
Lust, Caution stands out due to stunningly beautiful images, (cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Babel (2006))), a meticulous, sensual sound design as well as costumes, hair, sets and language that continue to impress. And actors that give career-defining performances: Tony Chieu-Wai Leung (The Silent War/Ting feng zhe (2012)) is so natural as Yee, a character that stirs ambivalent feelings in us, and Wei Tang (The Golden Era/Huang jin shi dai (2014)) is simply incredible in every way as our brave, sexy protagonist.
Lust, Caution is a terribly well-made spy tale of lust, intimate bonds, national pride, treason, anguish and self-sacrifice, and it is among Lee's finest accomplishments.

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Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 15 mil. $
Box office: 67 mil. $
= Big hit (returned 4.46 times the cost)
[Lust, Caution premiered 30 August (Venice Film Festival, Italy) and runs 158 minutes. Shooting took place in Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur, in China, including Shanghai, and in Hong Kong, ending in September 2006. Lee has stated that the approximately 10 minutes of sex scenes in the film took roughly 100 hours to shoot, and that they were more difficult to produce than the elaborate fighting sequences in his Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon/Wo hu cang long (2000). The film opened #49 in 1 theater to a huge 63k $ first weekend in North America, where it peaked at #20 and in 143 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 4.6 mil. $ (6.9 % of the total gross), impressive for a foreign language epic with an NC-17 rating. The film's 3 biggest markets were China with 17.1 mil. $ (25.5 %), South Korea with 10.7 mil. $ (16 %) and Taiwan with 7.9 mil. $ (11.8 %). It was the highest-grossing Chinese-language film of the year in Hong Kong, and the 3rd highest-grossing Chinese-language film in China of the year. It was only released cut in China, India and other countries, and lead actress Tang was blacklisted from the Chinese film business for 3 years, because the dictatorial Chinese state disapproved of her performance's sexual nature in the film. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to two notches harder than this one. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe, 2 BAFTAs, won 1/6 Asian Film award nominations, was nominated for 3 Independent Spirit awards, won a National Board of Review award and two awards at the Venice Film Festival. At a 2007 press conference in Los Angeles, an elderly lady proclaimed that she was suing for defamation, as the lady spy of the film is reportedly based on older her sister's actions some 70 years earlier, but nothing more came of this. Taiwan entered the film for the Oscars, but it was rejected, because it did not have enough Taiwanese nationals in key positions. The film made in excess of 24 mil. $ on the North-American home video market, which would change its status to a huge hit if figured into the equation. Lee returned with Taking Woodstock (2009). Leung returned in Red Cliff/Chi bi (2008); Tang eventually in Late Autumn/Man-choo (2010). Lust, Caution is fresh at 73 % with a 6.7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Lust, Caution?