Jamaica Inn (1939) - Laughton leads playful criminal antics in underrated Hitchcock pic

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A nonchalant, pistol-toting star Charles Laughton dominates this drama-promising poster for Alfred Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn

On the South-English coast near Cornwall lies the Jamaica Inn, around where in 1820 arranged shipwrecks, ship-looting and corruption from a group around local squire and justice of the peace Pengallan spread havoc.

 

Jamaica Inn is written by Sidney Gilliat (Wee Geordie (1955)) and Joan Harrison (Nocturne (1946)), with J.B. Priestley (Snoggl (1993, TV movie)) contributing additional dialog, adapting the same-titled 1936 novel by Daphne du Maurier (The Scapegoat (1957)), and directed by English master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock (The Pleasure Garden (1925)), whose 24th feature it was. It was Hitchcock's first of three Du Maurier adaptations he did (the others being Rebecca (1940) and The Birds (1963)) and his last film before heading to America, (although he returned to make films now and again in the UK since.)

Freed of the more or less foolish mix-up romances and tongue-in-cheek elements of his preceding English output, Hitch here spins a more hard-boiled theatrical drama with a colorful Charles Laughton (Salome (1953)), who also co-produced the film, in the overshadowing lead as the villainous, detestable Sir Humphrey Pengallan. The rascals at loose here may be small time crooks, but the portrayals are very good nonetheless. The story has many twists, and the ending, in traditional Hitchcock style, is grand (in more ways than one!) and spectacular.

 

Related posts:

Alfred Hitchcock: Frenzy (1972) - Hitchcock's great, morbid tie killer thriller 

The Birds (1963) - Hitchcock spearheads horror sub-genre and innovative special effects in great, odd film
Dial M for Murder (1954) - Hitchcock's 3D thriller is hindered by theatrics

I Confess (1953) - Hitch's great drama of a Father caught by the confessional vow 
The 39 Steps (1935) or, Murder and High Jinx!  

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Reportedly 200k £

Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain

[Jamaica Inn premiered 12 May (London) and runs 108 minutes. Hitchcock tried to get out of making the film and later said it was among his most unhappy as a director. This was especially due to the difficulties of working with star/co-producer Laughton, and also because Hitchcock had an aversion to costume films, which he believed himself unable to do. Shooting took place in England, including at the actual Jamaica Inn. The film is said to have turned 'a small profit'. Du Maurier also publicly disliked the film due to its disloyalty to her novel. Hitchcock returned with Rebecca (1940). Laughton returned in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939). 12k+ IMDb users have given Jamaica Inn an average 6.3/10 rating.]

What do you think of Jamaica Inn?

The Immigrant (2013) - Cotillard scintillates in Gray's classical New-York storytelling

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Three mysteriously looking stars veiled in seriousness adorn this poster for James Gray's The Immigrant

Ewa and her sister arrive to the US from Poland in 1921 but are split up on Ellis Island, and Ewa winds up with a dubious man, hidden from the watchful eye of the law.

 

The Immigrant is written by Ric Menello (Tougher Than Leather (1988)) and co-writer/co-producer/director James Gray (Little Odessa (1994)).

Gray again here shows his gift as a sublime storyteller with a classical film and a story that could have been told 80 years ago as well. The Immigrant has beautiful cinematography (by Darius Khondji (Okja (2017))), production design and costumes. Fine performances from Joaquin Phoenix (Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker (2008)), - but it is Marion Cotillard (The Dark Knight Rises (2012)) who once again astounds the viewer with a fully authentic turn as the Polish Ewa, a cowed but not beaten woman, who fights for her sister and her own life.

The Immigrant may seem only distantly relevant to some. For me it was a pure pleasure.

 

Related posts:

 

James Gray: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

The Lost City of Z (2016) - Gray's grand, adventurous Amazonia epic 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 16 mil. $

Box office: 5.9 mil. $

= Mega-flop (returned 0.36 times its cost)

[The Immigrant premiered 24 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 117 minutes. Gray based the story mainly on recollections from his own grandparents. Shooting took place from January - March 2012 in New York. When the film's investors sold the distribution rights to The Weinstein Company, against Gray's wishes, and when Harvey Weinstein demanded a different ending, which Gray refused to give him, the distribution was left in shambles, with the film only getting a very small and unsupported release in North America. The film opened #47 to a 44k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #18 and in 150 theaters, grossing 2 mil. $ (33.9 % of the total gross). The biggest market for the film was France with 2.2 mil. $ (37.3 %), with North America 2nd biggest and Spain 3rd with 464k $ (7.9 %). The film lost the Palme d'Or to Blue Is the Warmest Color. It was also nominated for 2 Independent Spirit awards, among other honors. Gray returned with The Red Road (2014, TV-series) and a Chanel commercial prior to his theatrical return with The Lost City of Z (2016). Cotillard returned in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013); Renner in American Hustle (2013); and Phoenix in Her (2013). The Immigrant is certified fresh at 86 % at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Immigrant?

Irma la Douce (1963) - Wilder's overlong prostitution comedy

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Colorful levity and hijinks are promised on this poster for Billy Wilder's Irma la Douce

In Paris' sinful Rue Casanova, a new copper roams, indignant and active in upsetting the obvious prostitution going on there, but only until he falls head over heels for the charming Irma.

 

Irma la Douce is written by I.A.L. Diamond (One, Two, Three (1961)) and Austrian-Hungarian/American master filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Billy Wilder (Bad Seed (1934)), whose 19th feature it was. It is an adaptation of the same-titled 1956 French stage musical. The title is French and translates to 'Irma the sweet'.

This poorly aged Wilder adaptation beckons you to accept prostitution a an easy and comfortable life, one that is also natural and without any negative sides to it. That proposition is a hard one to swallow, and fatiguing as well. The same can be said of Jack Lemmon's (Some Like It Hot (1959)) policeman character's unexplained 180 turn in the story from a by-the-book stickler to a completely embracing participant in the monkey business goings on of the Rue Casanova. His plan involves him keeping Shirley MacLaine's (Around the World in 80 Days (1956)) Irma from her sidewalk 'career' by dressing up as an English professor with very deep pockets.

Jokes are repeated ad infinitum. Irma la Douce is overlong. Handsome sets and costumes weigh up; and Lemmon's caricature of an Englishman is funny. But Irma la Douce overall is taxing.

 

Related posts:

Billy Wilder:  The Front Page (1974) - Wilder's hilarious Chicago newspaper comedy

Double Indemnity (1944) - Wilder's noir classic 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 5 mil. $

Box office: 31.5 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 6.3 times its cost)

[Irma la Douce premiered 5 June (New York) and runs 147 minutes. The film was envisioned as a repairing of Lemmon with Wilder and Marilyn Monroe as Irma, but the latter's overdose death in 1962 meant the hiring of MacLaine. It seems that Wilder, Lemmon and MacLaine negotiated the same pay deal of 350k $ plus 7.5 % of the profits, a very lucrative deal as it turned out, which reportedly also meant that United Artists only profited 440k $ from the film's stellar theatrical run. Shooting took place from October 1962 - February 1963 in California and Paris, France. The film was a huge hit in North America, where it was the year's 5th highest-grossing with rentals of 12 mil. $/25.2 mil. $ (80 % of the total gross). It also struck huge in Netherlands with 3.6 mil. admissions, becoming the biggest hit in the country for many years. The film was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning for Best Score - Adaptation/Treatment (André Previn (Dead Ringer (1963))). It lost Best Actress (MacLaine) to Patricia Neal in Hud and Cinematography - Color (Joseph LaShelle (A Child Is Waiting (1963))) to Leon Shamroy for Cleopatra. It was also nominated for a BAFTA, won a David di Donatello award and 1/3 Golden Globe nominations, among other honors. Wilder returned with Kiss Me, Stupid (1964). Lemmon returned in Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963); MacLaine in What a Way to Go! (1964). Irma la Douce is fresh at 75 % at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Irma la Douce? 

The Iron Giant (1999) - Bird's heavily themed family animation debut

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A stylish and retro-cool poster for Brad Bird's The Iron Giant

1950s Maine, the United States: Boy Hogarth is mad about sci-fi magazines during the atomic scare period, when a giant robot from space lands in the forest near his home ...

 

The Iron Giant is written by Tim McCanlies (North Shore (1987)), Brent Forrester (Love (2016-18)) and great Montanan filmmaker, debuting co-writer/director Brad Bird (Ratatouille (2007)), loosely adapted from Ted Hughes' (The Hawk in the Rain (1957)) The Iron Man (1968).

Wonderful, inspired and deeply colorful and vivid animation, which is endowed with a keen comical eye and excellent voice performances from Eli Marienthal (American Pie (1999)), Jennifer Aniston (We're the Millers (2013)), Harry Connick Jr. (New in Town (2009)), and others.

The story's political angle, - weapon are evil and the state and authorities are deceitful, ignorant and hungry for wars, - is a bit too pregnant for a family film. The Iron Giant is nevertheless still a very special and delightful picture.

 

Related posts:

Brad Bird: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - Cruise and Bird's phenomenal action spectacle 
The Incredibles (2004) - Unwanted animation action slam-dunk

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 50 mil. $

Box office: 31.7 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.63 times its cost)

[The Iron Giant premiered 31 July (USA) and runs 87 minutes. Bird was inspired by the murder of his sister, shot dead by her estranged husband, because Hughes' novel was a comforting tale for his children following their mother, poet Sylvia Plath's suicide. Production took place in Los Angeles, California. The film opened #9 to a 5.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, steadily declining from there to end with a 23.1 mil. $ (72.9 % of the total gross) gross. The flop was attributed to Warner Bros. lacking marketing campaign, apparently stemming from lack of faith in the film due to their failure with the preceding year's big animation Quest for Camelot (1998). The film won a BAFTA, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. IMDb's users have rated it in at the site's Top 250 at #239, sitting between Network (1976) and The Handmaiden (2016). Bird returned with The Incredibles (2004). Marienthal returned in 3 TV credits prior to his theatrical return in American Pie 2 (2001). The Iron Giant is certified fresh at 96 % at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Iron Giant?

In the Realm of the Senses/愛のコリーダ (Ai no Korīda) (1976) - Ôshima's psycho-sexual shocker

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A tense and intimate moment between a man and a woman in old-fashioned Japanese garbs make up most of this exceedingly text-littered poster for Nagisa Ôshima's In the Realm of the Senses

In Japan in the 1930s, the young woman Sada is increasingly obsessed with her lover Kichizo, despite his married status, and her urge to possess him only increases.

 

In the Realm of the Senses is written and directed by Nagisa Ôshima (Ai to kibô no machi (1959)). The original Japanese title translates to, 'bullfight of love'. It is a fictionalized account of the real-life sensational murder of her lover by Sada Abe in 1936.

Ôshima's film is a blindingly strange and uncompromising one with sexual malaise, a psycho-sexual relationship in which the sexuality becomes all-encompassing and fatal. Shockingly explicit, - SPOILER including a scene in which Sada pinches a naked boy's penis, - In the Realm of the Senses is hard to watch, heavy as well, and inauspicious as a date movie. It is nevertheless a remarkable film.

 

 

Watch a scene from the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: In excess of 7.65 mil. $ (France and West Germany alone)

= Uncertain but likely at least a huge hit

[In the Realm of the Senses premiered 15 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 108 minutes (original cut)/102 minutes (producers' cut). The film's explicit sexual content meant that it would not pass Japan's censorship: Ôshima planned to get around this by making it as a French production in Japan, and shipping the film to France for post production. Shooting took place in Kyoto, Japan. Despite optically censoring, reframing and blurring his film to appease the censors, Ôshima was nevertheless sued with obscenity along with a man responsible for a book release based on the film. Both were found not guilty in 1979 and again in 1982. The film was met with outrage, longer or shorter bans and extraordinary interest in most countries it was released in. In France and Germany alone it sold 2.4 mil. tickets, grossing 7.65 mil. $. It also grossed 1.4 mil. SEK in Sweden. The film's cost and world gross is regrettably unknown, but it was likely a huge hit. Ôshima returned with 3 TV credits prior to his theatrical return Empire of the Senses/Ai no bôrei (1978). Eiko Matsuda (Jack no irezumi (1970)) returned in Ôoku ukiyo-buro (1977); Tatsuya Fuji (Radiance/Hikari (2017)) in Empire of Passion. In the Realm of the Senses is fresh at 84 % with a 7.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of In the Realm of the Senses? 

Indochine (1992) - Magnificent Deneuve in Wargnier's picturesque colonial epic

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Co-star Catherine Deneuve marching in a red dress and a flowery hat in front of poor locals in South East Asia in front of a temple makes up this poster for Régis Wargnier's Indochine

A beautiful Frenchwoman with an enormous rubber plantation in colonial French Indochina (Vietnam today) gets drama in her life, when she falls for a French naval officer and starts to feel her colony falling apart around her.

Indochine is written by Catherine Cohen (The Woman of My Life/La Femme de Ma Vie (1986)), Louis Gardel (Himalaya (1999)), Erik Orsenna (La Dette (2000, TV movie)) and co-writer/director Régis Wargnier (The Woman of My Life/La Femme de Ma Vie (1986)).

Catherine Deneuve (Place Vendôme (1998)) is fabulously beautiful and her acting is an enormous pleasure in the lead, paired here with an almost equally photogenic Vincent Perez (Fanfan (2003)) as the officer, who starts out with setting fire to a boat with a heroin-smuggling father and his little boy, but who later gains understanding and sympathy for the hardships of the locals, - mainly because he also falls in love with Deneuve's adopted daughter!

The impressive production is enamored with the foreign landscapes and presents beautiful costumes, hair and faces and in this the Wargnier commits the crime of beautifying the story. Indochine is at times a compelling drama, though at others it is a bit static, and the film is overlong.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 120 mil. FRF, approximately 4.3 mil. $

Box office: Reportedly 29.6 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 6.88 times its cost)

[Indochine was released 15 April (France) and runs 159 minutes. 14 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and production of the film. Deneuve was paid 2.7 mil. FRF (approximately 513k $) for her performance in the film). Shooting took place from April - August 1991 in Malaysia, Vietnam and in Paris, France. The film sold 3.1 mil. tickets in France, where it was the 6th highest attended of the year, and it made 5.6 mil. $ in North America. Wikipedia lists the impressive 29.6 mil. $ total gross, linking to JPBox-Office, but the figure is not visible on the link, although it is not unlikely. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars, winning for Best Foreign Language Film. It lost Best Actress (Deneuve) to Emma Thompson for Howards End. It was also nominated for a BAFTA and won 5/12 César award nominations as well as a Goya, a Golden Globe and 2 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 2.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Wargnier returned with A French Woman/Une Femme Française (1995). Deneuve returned in My Favorite Season/Ma Saison Préférée (1993); Perez in Cendre d'Or (1992, short) and theatrically in Fanfan (1993). Indochine is fresh at 74 % with a 6.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Indochine?

Come and See/Ідзі і глядзі/Иди и смотри (Idi i smotri) (1985) - Klimov's soul-searing war film

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A frightening, zombie-like appearance in the weather-beaten, catatonic face of a young man makes up this intense poster for Elem Klimov's Come and See

During World War II the Nazis march into Belarus to exterminate Communists. Here the big lad Flyora has his life unrooted permanently. 

 

Come and See is written by Ales Adamovich (Synovya ukhodyat v boy (1971)) and Russian master filmmaker, co-writer/director Elem Klimov (Welcome, or Nor Trespassing/Dobro pozhalovat, ili Postoronnim vkhod vospreshchen (1964)), whose 6th feature it was. It is based on the true story of the Nazi's burning down of more than 600 villages in Belarus during the war, as well as the books Khatyn and I Am from the Fiery Village by Adamovich. The title is a quote from Chapter 6 in the Bible's Book of Revelation.

Perhaps the greatest anti-war film of all time, Come and See is a deeply transfixing experience, related with a towering authority: A voluminous, 'forgotten' chapter of horror from WWII: How the Nazis exterminated and burnt down 628 Belarusian villages.

Aleksey Kravchenko (Jacked$ (2004)) is unforgettable as Flyora; he utilizes his face muscles to deliver some of the most intense and frightening expressions of human terror and despair in cinema history. Photographed (by Aleksey Rodionov (The Party (2017))) incredibly beautifully and inventively, with camera travelings that precurse work which Emmanuel Lubezki and other fine cinematographers would later be heralded for (such as found in The Revenant (2015)).

Some of the most unpleasant sequences in cinema history are here combined with surreal images (the stork, the burnt man) and an expressive portrait of the crimes of the Nazis. The evil is unfathomable. SPOILER The scene in which the building full of people gets burned down is horrifying as few others before or after it. 

Come and See, for most who dare, is a film you watch once and never forget.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Reportedly 20.9 mil. $

= Uncertain but likely a mega-hit (projected return of 20.9 times its cost)

[Come and See premiered 9 July (Moscow Film Festival) and runs 142 minutes. It took Klimov 8 years to make it, most of them spent in pre-production since the Soviet authorities would not allow the production for years. When at last they did, all he had to change was the work title Kill Hitler. Shooting took place chronologically for 9 months in the Soviet Union. All of the portrayed events did reportedly occur. Klimov utilized hypnosis and autogenic training to shape the performance of Kravchenko, who was also put on a minimal diet. Live bullets were fired, at times just 10 centimeters from Kravchenko's head, he has alleged, and security measures were generally few and primitive. 28.9 mil. reportedly paid admission to the film, an incredible number that is impossible to verify. It was reportedly #6 at the annual USSR box office in 1986. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. It has additionally made in excess of 1.2 mil. $ on the North-American home video market alone. IMDb's users have voted the film in at #91 on the site's Top 250, sitting between Singin' in the Rain (1952) and Requiem for a Dream (2000). Klimov retired from directing after the film. Kravchenko returned in Melkiy bes (1995). Come and See is certified fresh at 89 % with an 8.6/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Come and See? 

In Old Chicago (1938) - King delivers splendid period drama

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A dashing poster with three very teeth-smiling painted stars up front for Henry King's In Old Chicago

From the loving, dynamic O'Leary family comes Chicago's new mayor around the year 1870, but his brother Dion comes on collision course with him concerning the future of the growing metropolis' wood-built slums...

 

In Old Chicago is written by Sonya Levien (Hit the Deck (1955)) and Lamar Trotti (Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)), adapting the 1936 story We the O'Learys by Niven Busch (Continent's Edge (1980)), and directed by Henry King (Who Pays? (1915)). It depicts the real-life 1871 Great Chicago Fire with a mostly fictional story of the O'Learys at its center.

A thoroughly splendid and spectacular piece of escapism with delightful performances from especially Tyrone Power (Witness for the Prosecution (1957)), but also from Alice Faye (State Fair (1962)) and Don Ameche (So Goes My Love (1946)) and from Alice Brady (Three Smart Girls (1936)) as Mrs. Molly O'Leary, the mother. A compelling story with good song and dance numbers at Dion's bar, good visual ideas and a brisk pace. The blazing inferno at the end is incredibly staged and accomplished. In Old Chicago is a tremendous picture.

 

Related post:

 

Henry King: The Bravados (1958) or, Complications of Revenge!

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Estimated 1.8 mil. $

Box office: In excess of 4.91 mil. $ (estimated North American gross)

= Big hit (projected return of 4.38 times its cost)

[In Old Chicago premiered 6 January (New York) and runs 111 minutes (roadshow version)/96 minutes (theatrical version). Shooting took place from June - September 1937 in Arizona and California, including in Los Angeles. The film arrived as part of a wave of big budget films that ended with a spectacular disaster: San Francisco (1936, earthquake), The Good Earth (1937, locust plague), Made at Night (1937, shipwreck). It was among the most expensive films ever made at the time, and the climactic fire sequence cost reportedly 150k $ to stage, burning for 3 days on the Fox backlot. The total cost is rumored to have been "over 1 mil. $" with IMDb listing it as reportedly 1.8 mil. $. A 1.964 mil. $ North-American rental figure from Variety in 1990 points to a domestic gross around 4.9 mil. $. The film was also launched abroad prior to WWII, and a cautious foreign estimate of 3 mil. $ would give it a 7.9 mil. $ final gross, enough to make it a big hit even if the 1.8 mil. $ estimate holds up. It was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning 2: Best Supporting Actress (Brady) and Assistant Director (Robert D. Webb). It lost Best Score (Louis Silvers) to Charles Previn for One Hundred Men and a Girl, Picture to The Life of Emile Zola, Sound to The Hurricane and Writing - Original Story to William A. Wellman and Robert Carson for A Star Is Born. King returned with Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938). Power returned in Alexander's Ragtime Band; Faye in Sally, Irene and Mary (1938); and Ameche in Happy Landing (1938). In Old Chicago is fresh at 67 % with a 6.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of In Old Chicago?

The Brutalist (2024) - Brady impresses with major immigrant love story

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A rich man looks at a coal-shoveling laborer on this evocative poster for Brady Corbet's The Brutalist

 

László Tóth, a great Hungarian-Jewish architect, arrives in America as a refugee following WWII, split up from his beloved wife Erzsébet, and he initially finds work at his cousin's furniture store.

 

The Brutalist is written by Mona Fastvold (Vox Lux (2018)) and co-writer/co-producer/director, great Arizonian filmmaker Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader (2015)). The title is ambiguous, referring to the architectural style practiced by the protagonist but may also refer to several of the lead characters.

Commanding remarkable length, (this epic runs past 200 minutes), Corbet and his team manage to keep the story moving and compelling throughout. Centrally stands the engaged performances of Adrien Brody (The French Dispatch (2021)) as the wrought László and Felicity Jones (On the Basis of Sex (2018)), who gives a beautiful performance as his devoted wife. The film is in large part a love story of the two of them, and this love is the majestic force that powers The Brutalist.

Around them hovers Guy Pearce (Back from the Outback (2021)), mercurial, handsome and conflicted as the wealthy Van Buren, who becomes László's patron. There are rich supporting parts that are filled out by esteemed performances from Isaach de Bankolé (S.W.A.T. (2019, TV-series)) and Joe Alwyn (Boy Erased (2018)). The film's vivid experience of an immigrant in America is heightened by inspired work from the production design, locations and costumes to Lol Crawley's (Dau (2019)) fabulous VistaVision 70mm photography and Daniel Blumberg's (The World to Come (2020)) bold and strong score.

SPOILER László's troubles come to a head, when Van Buren rapes him, somewhat out of the blue, during their trip to Italy for marble. The event provides food for thought as to Van Buren's motivation for the entire enterprise, (the construction of a lavish community center on top of a hill), but the rape itself is relayed in just one shot that seems to last all of thirty seconds or so. It is somehow too short, - and seems unrealistic in its brevity. The film wraps up with a speech given about Tóth's body of work at a career retrospective exhibition decades later in Venice, and though I suppose the intent is for us to leave on a positive note, something along the lines of 'love overcomes', the speech's 'it is not the journey but the destination' feels a bit misplaced in the context of the very old and tired-looking László who is there in a wheelchair to be celebrated. These are minor asides to a noteworthy and highly accomplished film, which feels like a biopic but is actually entirely (inspired, of course, by life) fiction.

Related posts:

 

Brady Corbet: Saint Laurent (2014) - Bonello's overly self-confident biopic (actor) 

While We're Young (2014) - Baumbach offers another observant, clever downer (actor)

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) - Durkin's chilling psychological thriller debut (actor)

Funny Games (2007) - Haneke recreates his strong critique of movie violence consumption for the American audience (co-star)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 9.5 mil. $

Box office: 47.3 mil. $ and running

= Big hit (has so far returned 4.97 times its cost)

[The Brutalist premiered 1 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 215 minutes. Filming began in 2020, where the ending in Venice was shot. The rest of the filming, delayed due to the China Virus pandemic, Ukraine War, pregnancies, deaths and other issues, took place from March - May 2023 in Hungary, including in Budapest. The film opened #12 to a 266k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #9 and in 1,612 theaters. The film has one announced market left to release in: Lithuania on April 4. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning 3; for Best Actor (Brody), Cinematography and Score. It lost Best Picture to Anora, Supporting Actor (Pearce) to Kieran Culkin for A Certain Pain, Supporting Actress (Jones) to Zoe Saldaña in Emilia Pérez, Director to Sean Baker for Anora, Original Screenplay also to Baker for Anora, Editing to Anora and Production Design to Wicked. It also won 4/9 BAFTA awards, 3/7 Golden Globes, was nominated for an Independent Spirit award and won an AFI award, among many other honors. Corbet has not announced his next project yet. Brody returns in Emperor (2026); Jones in Train Dreams (2025); and Pearce in Killing Faith (2025) and The Woman in Cabin 10 (2015). The Brutalist is certified fresh at 93 % with an 8.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Brutalist?

Infamous (2006) - Inauspicious faux documentary grip hinders Capote biopic

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A long star parade ensemble rests atop co-star Toby Jones' pleased face on this poster for Douglas McGrath's Infamous

Truman Capote is New York's diminutive, wonderful jet-set author par excellence, when his curiosity zones in on a gruesome quadruple homicide case in Kansas. He decides to travel there to write his new masterpiece on this topic.

 

Infamous is written and directed by Douglas McGrath (Emma (1996)), based on George Plimpton's (Out of My League (1961)) nonfiction biography Truman Capote (1997). 

Toby Jones (Tetris (2023)) is good and deeply identified with his subject Capote here, whom he also resembles, - a good deal better than Philip Seymour Hoffman who scored his career's only Oscar for portraying the same author in Capote (2005). Others in the starry cast are also good, especially Daniel Craig (The Golden Compass (2007)) as one of the two murderers, Perry, who in this version of events falls in love with Capote.

This is a strange story, and it is not obvious what we are supposed to take from it. What ultimately sinks Infamous is the peculiar choice of having actors like Sandra Bullock (The Heat (2013)) as Harper Lee, play central people in Capote's life, who appear as talking heads, enlightening us about it, as the film in turns wants to appear to be a documentary. This dimension is thoroughly artificial and breaks the illusion of reality otherwise found in Infamous.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 13 mil. $

Box office: 2.6 mil. $

= Box office disaster (returned 0.2 times its cost)

[Infamous premiered 31 August (Venice Film Festival) and runs 118 minutes. Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love (1998)), who plays a minor part in the film, was reportedly paid a whopping 3.6 mil. $ for it. Shooting took place around February 2005 in Kansas, New York and Texas. The film opened #21 to a 452k $ first weekend in 179 theaters in North America, its peak position there, where it grossed 1.1 mil. $ (42.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 606k $ (23.3 %) and France with 237k $ (9.1 %). The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 2.5/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. McGrath returned with His Way (2011, TV movie) and theatrically with I Don't Know How She Does It (2011). Jones returned in Amazing Grace (2006); Craig in Casino Royale (2006). Infamous is certified fresh at 75 % with a 6.8/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

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