The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Abuse.  Sexual, drug, child, emotional, bullying: in any number of forms, abuse is a resounding theme in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. 

Perks is a coming of age film that is firmly grounded in this age.  It’s basically along format “It Gets Better” video to a generation of wallflowers and outsiders.  Perks tells the story of Charlie (Logan Lerman) as he embarks on his freshman year of high school.  In a new place with no friends he counts down the days till graduation and does all he can to not stand out.  He is intrigued by Patrick (Ezra Miller), a flamboyant class clown who offers Charlie an island of acceptance when no one else does.  Patrick and his sister Sam (Emma Watson who has entirely shed her Hermione Granger persona) bring Charlie into their group of Wallflowers and misfits. 

Other than Emma Watson, all of the other “kids” who lead this film this have had small parts here and there but are virtual unknowns.  They carry this film with gravitas and strength through its emotional ups and downs.

Based on a book by the same name, the narrative is set in the 1990s.  It's interesting that the story is set twenty years ago rather than today where bullying has become so prevalent and part of the national conversation after the suicides of bullying victims.  I think that is significant because in our age of facebook and twitter bullies have a much larger stage to abuse their victims but the notion of being an outsider in high school is nothing new.  In some instances this is a retelling of all high school stories from Rebel without a Cause to Grease and everything in between and everything since then. 

Charlie is plagued by demons –he’s lived through the hell of losing his beloved aunt and suffered through the suicide of his best, and only, friend.  Charlie has a darker side and as the narrative progresses we learn more about that.  His parents and teachers exist on the periphery, supporting him but never truly seeing all the parts of him and breaking through his tough exterior shell.  This is about young people coming together to support one another and creating a family of their own.   This concepts is not new in cinema, since James Dean burst onto the scene as America's rebellious teenager, "The Movies" have been fascinated by this concept of young people creating their own societies where the mainstream one has failed them.  One significant difference here, though, is that the parents are not ineffectual or absent.  Whereas traditionally teenagers found themselves unable to relate to or trust their parents, in Perks, they very much want to help their children, and when they do step in their help is appreciated and successful.  However, here the teenagers are seeking their independence despite the best intentions and efforts of their parents. 

Sexual abuse is another unfortunate reality of the teenagers at the heart of this narrative.  Charlie by someone he loved.  Sam by her father's business associate.  These children have been unfairly been forced to grow up beyond their years.  However, directly in contrast with the theme of abuse, though, is the theme of love.  Charlie asks his teacher, about Sam, why do some people choose the wrong people to love.  His teacher's response is, we accept the love we think we deserve.  When you're a broken person you believe you only deserve broken love.  It is through their close bond as a group that these three learn to respect themselves and to understand that they are in fact deserving of the good things that life has to offer, not only of the pain that it sometimes unfortunately throws their way.

Crossfire Hurricane

I had the privilege of watching Crossfire Hurricane at HBO's US premiere of the film Tuesday night at the Ziegfeld theater in New York.  The band was in attendance and introduced the documentary with humor and excitement.  The theater was packed and you could feel the excitement in the room as the rock legends paraded down the aisle to speak from the podium.  However, once the film started and while watching the "Rise of the Stones" and listening to them talk about how they were the antidote to the good-boy Beatles and how they offered a release to a generation yearning to break free from the older generation I couldn't help feel as though I was experiencing a very meta-moment.  I was in a room full of industry insiders - member of the press, television executives, and a number of socialite New Yorkers (not to mention the sheer amount of botox and collagen implants on the aging women)  - exactly the population that the young Stones were rebelling against.  The documentary also highlighted those sentiments.  It was very much about a band who was founded on the notion and ideal of being the anti-establishment.  The irony was not lost on me.  However, as the documentary closes on Jagger stating that "You can't be young forever" it became clear that while yes, these guys have been playing the bad boys of music well into their 70s, they have mellowed some, as we all must, to become functioning members of society. Jagger is quoted in the film as saying that their music resonated with the youth because they were so dissatisfied with the generation that they think controls them - but what does it mean when the rockers singing about dissatisfaction are well above the age of that so-called generation?

Watching Brett Morgen's Crossfire Hurricane I couldn't help but feel as though a major theme was just how strongly the idea is that the 1960s was essentially a failed experiment by "the youth" to create a Utopian society based in anti-establishment, anti-bourgeois, and anti-authoritarian society.  It pains me to say this, but the concert at Altamont makes that abundantly clear - Mick Jagger's voice over introduces the segment by saying that this was going to be the youth's chance to prove that they can create a society where police are not needed and they can gather peacefully.  When it ended with a murder and the band in genuine fear of being attacked the realization that that is impossible becomes clear.  The involvement of the Hell's Angels to be the "security" proved to be more dangerous that actual police officers and the abundant drug use was ultimately one of the major causes of the disturbance.  Ultimately social order is necessary to a functioning society and the band came to realize that and Altamount ultimately marked a major turning point in their evolution.

The doc doesn't delve into the peripheries of the life of the - namely the women that came in and out of their lives were noticebly absent - it is truly about the band, and about how the members as individuals came together to make music history.  The drugs do play a major role in the film - one of the opening scenes shows Mick snorting cocaine off a knife blade.  Keith Richards talks candidly about his run ins with the law over his drug use and how it both enhanced and hindered their music making at times.  Additionally, the aging rockers talk openly about the band members who have both come in and out of the Stones throughout the years.  Brian Jones' tragic death is handled with elegance and delicately while Mick Taylor's rather sudden departure from the band is also covered with candor and in Taylor's own words.

Also interestingly, while the Morgen recorded 80 hours of interviews, none of those hours were on screen.  The documentary was told entirely in voice over while stunning archival footage shows the story.  At first I was hoping to see the band in their current state telling their story, but as the documentary went on I found that I wasn't missing that at all.  In fact, the voice over allowed for the images to tell the story of the history rather than focusing on where the band is now.  Yes, Mick's voice is so distinct and Richards' voice is so ravaged it was often clear as to when they were speaking and while Morgen did often offer visual cues as to who the speaker was, it was still unclear at times and that left me wanting a more obvious context as to who was offering the voice over.

Clocking in at just about 2 hours, the film felt long towards the end, but all in all offers an interesting glimpse at the band which, after so many years in the spotlight (not to mention a plethora of other documentaries made about them) still feels fresh and illuminating.  Definitely worth the trip.

Crossfire Hurricane airs on Thursday night at 9PM on HBO.

Salvation Boulevard

It’s no new thought that religious zeal makes people do some admittedly crazy things.  People get swept away with thinking that religious leaders are beyond mortal existence and seek to protect them at all costs.  Salvation Boulevard calls that unconditional trust into question.  The movie itself is all over the place, bombastic acting and choppy editing, but ultimately that is the message.  It also, and more successfully, calls into the question the sanity of those who follow these leaders.  In particular during this tumultuous election season which is rife with religious extremism and political leaders acting equally as religious pundits contesting the legitimacy of science and compassion for the sake of their religion, the message has never seem more relevant.

In Salvation Boulevard, Pierce Brosnan is Daniel, pastor and leader of “The Church of the Third Millenium,” a Megachurch with throngs of followers.  Carl (Greg Kinnear) is an ex-deadhead who is now a devout follower of Daniel’s who is vying to be in Daniel’s inner circle.  When he witnesses his leader commit a heinous act, he sees the powerful reach Daniel has at his disposal.  While in a private meeting with a colleague (Ed Harris), Daniel accidentally shoots him in the head, and soon after, instead of doing the right and noble thing, he starts to turn the tables back on Carl and blames him for his act.  Carl begins to question his unconditional devotion to “The Church.”  Concurrently, the narrative structure also creates a situation where the audience begins questions Carl’s reliability as a narrator.  As Carl goes on the run from the powers that be, and as he sinks deeper into a state of paranoia, a parallel narrative is suggested and the audience is unsure of whom to trust.

Contrasted with Carl and his questioning of the legitimacy of The Church is his wife, Gwen (Jennifer Connolly).  Gwen is an unswerving totally devoted member of the church.  When her sense of stability gets called into question when Carl goes missing as he’s on the run from Daniel’s thugs, her religious fervor manifests itself into what can only be described as crazy behavior.  Through Gwen, religious zealots are linked with mental illness.  To illustrate this, her coping mechanism in time of crisis is to isolate herself in her art studio.  Her paintings reflect her paranoia regarding drug dealers and the devil pulling Carl away.  This highlights that point and directly linked religious fervor with mental illness and socially deviant behavior.

If being suspicious of religious leadership is the message this film is seeking to get across, it succeeds.  The film is hard to watch despite the strong cast and often feels like these professional actors are overacting to convey a sense of campiness.  The message is an interesting one and one which is important to have as part of the national dialogue when religion is dangerously close to becoming how our laws are decided.

To get your copy of Salvation Boulevard you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Salvation-Boulevard-Greg-Kinnear/dp/B005J4TLQ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348238584&sr=8-1&keywords=salvation+boulevard

Frances Ha

Frances Ha is the newest Noah Baumbach vehicle which just wrapped its run at the New York Film Festival and will get a wide release this Spring.  Starring virtual unknowns, this film is about Frances (Greta Gerwig, the co-writer of the film as well), a 27 year old woman living in New York and trying to make it as an adult.  A dancer, she is trying to succeed in a business known for its expiration date where being older and more experienced is a hindrance rather than a selling point.  Her friends all seem to be on the fast paths to success – even Sophie (Mickey Summer) her best friend and roommate seems to be able to move on from her while Frances does all she can to hold on to her youth.

After the screening at the NYFF, both Gerwig and Baumbach were in attendance to discuss their work.  When asked about the inspiration for the film and her character, Gerwig mentioned one phrase that she kept thinking about as writing this role.  She referred to "The Death Rattle of Youth" - the awareness that your youth is passing you by and in some ways, this is analogous to feeling like you're losing a friend.  It’s a real fear in our culture, always but now seemingly more than ever, and there's no real word (or place) for that in our culture. 

While in New York and interacting with her peers, Frances is all over the place – emotionally, professionally and otherwise, she can’t seem to get her shit together (to use an oft used phrase among millennials)  Yet, when back in the bosom of her family she transforms into a completely different person.  She goes home to Sacramento for the holidays and while there she totally has her shit together:  she is a productive member of her family, is good to her parents and attends church dutifully.  The subtext of this is a comment on life in New York City – New York is the city of dreamers where young people come in droves to live out their greatest fantasies, both professional and social.  Yet, in this narrative, those who attempt to achieve full maturity can only do so once they’ve left the island of Manhattan.  Sophie leaves with her boyfriend to Japan, Abby (another college friend) lives in Paris.  Frances even tries escaping to in Paris but that doesn't help.  When she fails at capturing the maturity that another has in Paris she realizes that she needs to forge her own path and decides to escape to someplace that is safe for her – she goes back to college.  Spending the summer as a dance instructor for kids on campus she has returned to her womb and expects for things to be the same.  This encounter makes it painfully clear that she has in fact changed, and now she has to acknowledge is.  New York City, adults are living together in this highly intense and highly stimulating environment their joint suspended adolescence is perpetuated and seems to be a major contributing factor to this inability to grow up.  The only way for the characters to realize that is to get distance from it.

There's one scene towards the beginning of the film where Frances is frolicking through the streets of New York.  Looking at her it might seem that she is carefree and loving her youthfulness.  However upon further inspection, she is anything but. This scene caught my eye as I found it to be one of the saddest in the film – the imagery is so directly juxtaposed to the actual emotions behind it.  Frances is anything but carefree.  She wants to be enjoying herself but her surroundings do not allow her to. While watching this I couldn’t but help to think of my grandmother. She and her sisters also lived in New York, exploring what the big city had to offer.  They attended college in NY, explored acting careers here and looked for love here.  Yet by the time any of them were Frances' age they were all married and had finished having their children. They had their careers in place and ha settle comfortably into suburbia with their families.  A lot has changed in two generations and 60 years, but interestingly the underlying goals have not.  Everyone wants to "find themselves" and pursue happiness.  The disconnect seems to lie in the manner in which the generations go about looking for it and the ages in which it seems to happen.

One manifestation of her refusal to grow up is Frances’ perpetual reference to things that happened when she was in college and friends from her college years – this was a time where she was forging the relationships that would come to define so much of her and now those relationships are fading and moving on to new ones.  If she clings to it she can avoid the reality that she’s not evolving and doesn’t have to face her inevitable reality.  She even leaves her boyfriend simply because he wanted to move in with her.  She was not interested in taking this next step so without the slightest of arguments, she walks out.  In another attempt to protect herself she also claims that she is simply, undate-able.  Whenever she does something quirky or weird she announces, “Undate-able!” no matter how awkward the setting.  Is that true or is she protecting herself from having people move on from her?  

Other than Sophie, the only other person Frances seems to be able to trust is Benji, a new roommate who seems to be trapped in this suspended adolescence with her – they even joke about being undatable together.  He’s a writer, yet we never see him writing.  He talks about his projects – one in particular is a script for Gremlins 3.  He’s another example of someone clearly attempt to recapture and connect back to his childhood. 

This film is shot entirely in black and white.  Interestingly it was shot in digital black and white so even though visually it harkens back to a bygone era, the new technology with which it was shot adds a layer of modernity to the historical aesthetic.  This medium gives it a certain timelessness while also acting as an homage to its cinematic predecessors. The presence of technology within the narrative will root it in an era but aesthetically it will always be grounded in a sort of timeless ether as well.

Frances desperately looks for someone or something to complete her.  The ending of the film leaves the audience wanting more.  Eventually (SPOILER ALERT:) she does start getting things together and she is on the path to becoming a grown up.  She doesn’t have to abandon herself and her dreams to do so.  Yet, the final scene which makes it clear that she’s finally gotten her shit together is jarringly contrasted to the previous one where she had no plan.  The audience had gone on this wild ride with her watching her struggle and try to work things out and it was frustrating that everything suddenly was wrapped up in a nice bow with no explanation of how she got there.

Symmetry in Motion

If there ever was any doubt that cinema and cinematic technique was a real art form, adhering to and at the same time forging its own visual language this video will explain it.  Kubrick is masterful in his composition: building his shots by paying the closest attention to mise en scene, framing and camera position.  This montage expertly splices together Kubricks films to highlight his acumen for framing and how to elicit emotional responses based on that composition.

Specifically, in this montage Kubrick's use of the one-point perspective is highlighted. The stark symmetry these shots offer allow for a broad view of the scene at hand yet are restricting at the same time.  While the viewer thinks he is getting the whole picture (literally and figuratively) he is not and that causes unease (often times that unease is subconscious).  Kubrick was a master of making his viewers uneasy and this supercut shows off that talent. 

Enjoy!

The Bourne Legacy

Completing a trilogy is always a tricky business. In a successful franchise, it’s a rare accomplishment for the final installment to live up to the success of the first two. The Bourne Legacy has an interesting challenge as it’s not technically a part of the trilogy upon which it is based, yet it is inexorably linked to it and has masses of fans to deliver its well-known and well-loved brand. Directed by Tony Gilroy who was involved in the previous Bourne films, successfully mirrors the specific Bourne stylization from the previous films and while not as intricate as those which came before it, manages to be a successful continuation of the franchise.

As the fourth film of a successful trilogy, The Bourne Legacy is the post-script to the series. What was particularly clever about this film is that unlike most franchise extrapolations, it both recognizes and honors the films that came before it. Cleverly interweaving footage from The Bourne Ultimatum, the final in the original trilogy, Legacy takes place concurrent to Ultimatum. It delves deeper into the overarching mythology and background of Operation Treadstone and Operation Blackbriar and depicts the other side of the organization’s reaction to the rebellion of Jason Bourne. We learned that Jason Bourne was not the only operative in the program in in the wake of his dissent the project is literally being killed off.  Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) is one operative who won’t go away quietly and as he learns of his expected fate we are treated to the heart pounding excitement we have come to expect from this franchise. Along with Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), a neurobiologist responsible for much of the research behind the project, they set out to escape the clutches of the program’s administrators. Their group of adversaries, led by Edward Norton’s Col. Eric Byer arms themselves with every tactic they have available to destroy the duo. Cross has been a faithful servant to the program and when he finds out how he’s been taken advantage of, he vows to escape it’s grasp.

The paranoia that Legacy elicits is palpable – anyone can be watched at any point. The labyrinth of cameras around this country has the capability to watch and track your every move. Lately, issues of corporate “big brother” have taken the spotlight away from ideas that the government is watching your every move. In an era where your emails are scanned to pull out key words so ads are better served to you, where your online search history is recorded to collect both individual and mass data and where all your personal information is stored by google or yahoo or any other email client there’s a general sense that corporate America is hoarding your anonymity. While the Bourne series makes it clear that the government overlords are targeting individuals who have chosen to sign up for their program, it also makes clear just how easy it is for your every move to be tracked and traced without your knowledge.

As I walked out of The Bourne Legacy my gut reaction was to tell people that I loved it and I thought it was great. True to the Bourne brand, it’s an adrenaline fueled high impact movie that keeps the audience highly engaged. But the more I thought about it after I walked out of the theater the more I realized how many loose ends were left untied. Ultimately, however, I don’t think it mattered as the goal of these movies are to offer audiences an exciting two hours of action and suspense. And on that, this Bourne delivers.

Thank You, Aly and Mazal Tov!

The IOC should be ashamed of itself.  Allowing 40 years to pass and never meaningfully recognizing and mourning the murder of the Israeli athletes and coaches from the 1972 Munich Olympics is a disgrace.  The international Jewish Community has been vocally outraged and despite thousands of signatures on a petition to do so, there was no official memorial offered by the International Olympic Committee.  Individuals and other organizations have had their own moments of silence in commemoration, but nothing from the Olympic organizers who claim there is no place for a memorial during the games.

Last night American Gymnast, Alexandra (Aly) Raisman won the Gold Medal for her floor competition.  This was the third time she’s performed this sequence at the London Games and the third time she’s done it to Hava Negilah, a traditional Jewish song that has become iconic of the Jewish people.  As she tumbled her way to gold the audience cheered and some even waved Israeli flags.  Her personal victory was, in some ways, a victory over the IOC's insistence on ignoring the Jewish voice.  Whether it was intentional on her part or not, her win, done through a salute to her heritage, honored the memory of the Israeli athletes who were so ruthlessly slain decades ago. 

Raisman’s floor exercise lasted a minute and a half, and during that time I watched with pride as I thought to myself that this was their moment of silence as all eyes were on this proud Jewish girl.  A fitting tribute with a song that has been in our tradition for hundreds of years blasting throughout the stadium, fans cheering, clapping and waving the Israeli flag showed the world that we as a people are proud of our heritage and we will not sit in silence as the world tries to keep us down. 

So, Mazal Tov to you Aly!  Thank you for honoring our people, the Israeli athletes and yourself in a magnificent display of sportsmanship and talent.

You can watch her floor routine here:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/2012/top-nbc-moment-1-aly-raisman-wins-floor-gold.html