Motherless Brooklyn: Mystery, Suspense Done Right

Movie Review: Motherless Brooklyn (2019)
Version: Library DVD

Frank, Lionel, Tony, and some other guys grew up together in an orphanage and when they grew up, Frank looked after them. He started a detective agency and gave them all jobs. Frank (Bruce Willis) especially looked after Lionel (Edward Norton), who had a pronounced case of Tourette's Syndrome. They got along fine until one day Frank ran into a juicy case that got him killed, and Lionel became determined to solve the murder of his only real friend. That's the main plot behind Motherless Brooklyn, a steely, gritty, suspenseful mystery done up in the film noir style by also producer, writer, and director Edward Norton.

Also features superb performances by Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Laura, the dame who always figures in a classic film noir, Alec Baldwin as Moses Randolph, the powerful big-city boss who clashes with the hero, Bobby Cannavale as Tony, one of the guys who we think is Lionel's ally, and Willem Dafoe as Paul, the guy operating in the shadows. Norton also puts in a fine performance, but I can't help but wonder if it would have been better if he had cut back on the Tourette's some. It seems a bit too put on, in the same way Dustin Hoffman's disabilities were seen as too put on in Rain Man (1988). Norton's Lionel apologizes throughout the story for his outbursts, but they seem robotic and I don't buy it. They just don't seem sincere. Nice try, though. Still, the film is a good mixture of mystery and suspense. Baldwin seethes with power and anger and danger. Dafoe sneaks around like a seedy little mouse that makes you want to squash him. Great cast!

If this film had been made in the heyday of film noir, it would have been produced in black and white; it would have been very dark and shot in stark night scenes. This was, of course, shot in color but in drab day tones and in seedy 1950s settings. You get this dank, musty, dangerous feel with each frame, and that's the way it should be. Kudos for the atmosphere.

On the whole, while I'm not a fan of film noir, I came to be a fan of Motherless Brooklyn. Norton done me right by it. He will do you right by it, too.

Isle of Dogs: See It, Because It's a Good Film

Movie Review: Isle of Dogs (2018)
Version: Library borrow

Isle of Dogs is an imaginative work of stop-action animation, the story of which takes place in a dystopian future Japan. In it, an outbreak of dog flu forces the mayor of Megasaki to exile all dogs to an island of trash. The main character Atari dares to defy the mayor, his uncle, to seek out his best friend, his lost dog Spots. Crashing his small plane in the refuse, he is rescued by some canine heroes who agree to help him find Spots while overcoming a series of obstacles, including a robot dog sent by the mayor to find him.

The film is a bit dark and dank, but the story line hangs tough and has a lot of heart. It is supported by a superb voice cast, including Koyu Rankin as Atari and Bryan Cranston as Chief, a dog that tries to help from afar because he can't associate with humans. Other top voice talents include Edward Norton as Rex, Jeff Goldblum as Duke, and Bill Murray as Boss. Liev Schreiber is Spots. There are way more! Isle of Dogs has the look and feel of a quality indie film and it has attracted a lot of top talent.

This won't strike you as "up there" with a Disney or Dreamworks picture, and children won't likely be drawn to it with cute, cuddly, colorful characters, but younguns who like films with firm characters and well developed stories will enjoy it. And adults who still love animation will like it for its depth of plot and devotion to technique, story, and art. See Isle of Dogs, because it's a good film.

Collateral Beauty: Mostly Window Dressing to Get You to the Surprise Ending

Movie Review: Collateral Beauty (2016)
Version: Library borrow

In Collateral Beauty, Howard and Whit partner to create a successful advertising agency, along with the sweat and dedication of Claire and Simon. But when Howard suffers the death of his very young daughter, he retreats from reality and life, putting in peril all that he, Whit, Claire, and Simon have built. Nothing anyone tries to do to help him resolves Howard's deep sorrow. Howard's destructive behaviors begin to affect business to the point that the agency is about to collapse, and Whit decides to sell it rather than have it fail. To do so, Whit has to be able to prove that Howard is mentally incompetent to make the decision on the sale. With the uneasy assistance of Claire and Simon, and the help of three stage actors and a private detective, Whit sets out on an intervention to either bring Howard to his senses or provide the proof he needs.

This film takes a lot on its shoulders to make a point, a point attempted to be made in its title. But the execution comes in the telling, and that's where it comes up short. You have to think long and hard to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, and as obscure as the title is and as strange as the pieces of the puzzle are, it's easy to fumble with the point of the story. The themes are Love, Time, and Death, portrayed by the three actors that Whit employs for the intervention. But it is never really clear how those themes fit into the death of the daughter and how Howard deals with it. Moreover, the title, "collateral beauty" doesn't begin to explain either the desired outcome or the achieved outcome of the story, even though it is referenced at the beginning and end of the film. This is, unfortunately, a scripting problem. The story line is too complex, the writing too evasive.

What is good about Collateral Beauty is the acting. Will Smith puts on an emotional tour de force as Howard, the grieving father. Naomi Harris is riveting as Madeline, the grief counselor but who turns out to have a surprising connection to Howard. Helen Mirren is delicious as the actor portraying Death, Jacob Latimore puts on a strong performance as the actor portraying Time, and Keira Nightley is winsome as the actor portraying Love. Edward Norton as Whit, Kate Winslet as Claire, and Michael Peña as Simon are good as well. Their performances bring a depth to the story that makes up for what the writing fails to provide.

I've read a few explanations for the meaning behind the title in an attempt to understand it. The surprise ending probably best sheds light on everything, but if you have to wait till the last minute for the "Aha!" moment, then the film has failed. All the rest is window dressing simply to get you to the end. In this sense, I believe you will likely find yourself scratching your head looking for its meaning right up to the end and wondering why you sat through everything else.