Review -- Poor Things

                                    

Every once in a while, a movie comes out that changes your perspective. Every once in a while, you find yourself cheering for a unique character and immersing yourself in dialogue so rich, you wonder what universe it had come from. Based on Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel, Yorgos Lanthimos's Poor Things is one of such life-affirming, exhilarating cinematic experiences. You will not see anything else like it.

 **SPOILERS AHEAD**

After a pregnant woman (Emma Stone) dies by suicide, an eccentric doctor (Willem Dafoe) revives her by replacing her brain with that of the baby she had been carrying and names her Bella. While Bella's brain develops, she starts yearning to participate in the world more, and so her daring and self-exploratory adventure begins...

The movie's look and ambience is so lavish in texture, it feels like we are able to reach out and touch the surrealist world that Lanthimos has created. Occasionally reminiscent of Michel Gondry's works, particularly 2013's Mood Indigo, Poor Things is an opulent visual feast of an alternative Victorian Europe, with touches of steampunk along the way. Holly Waddington's costumes and the production design by James Price, Shona Heath and Zsuzsa Mihalek -- all Academy Award winners for their work here -- lead the way in tactile triumph and creativity. Robbie Ryan's cinematography is equally vivid, especially the Lisbon and Paris scenes.

The movie's usage of black-and-white and color is also impressive. The color is infused once Bella has intercourse for the first time, showing how thirsty Bella is for intimacy and human connection. She goes about achieving them in a reverse way due to the circumstances, but once she starts discovering herself as a fully formed person and as a woman, her true life begins. Sexual expression represents liberation and freedom in this story, as it does in some other movies from recent decades. Much like Joan Allen's Betty in Pleasantville, who is no longer black-and-white after engaging in self-pleasure and after a lifetime of not taking care of her needs, the usage of color in Poor Things serves to emphasize Bella's isolation and virtual captivity until she discovers the idea of sexual relations. 

The cast is fantastic. Stone is magnificent as Bella, giving one of the bravest performances that I have ever seen. Just pay attention to the character as she listens to music or the sequence in which she finds out about the concept of classes and injustice. The actress's face speaks volumes and her joyful eloquence fully conveys Bella's wonder, curiosity and open-mindedness. Mark Ruffalo is tragic and hilarious as a man who simply does not understand not being able to control a woman. His performance brings satire to the narrative and the actor runs with it. Dafoe also excels as a man so lost in his traumatic upbringing and what he considers to be science that he does not understand until the very end how the imposed lack of choice has affected his ersatz daughter. Ramy Youssef provides notes of sensitivity and rebellion to the part of medical student Max McCandles, while Christopher Abbott, Suzy Bemba, Jerrod Carmichael and Kathryn Hunter are outstanding in supporting roles.

In this retelling of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", the "monster" transcends boundaries to create and curate a rewarding existence for herself, going beyond societal expectations and patriarchal norms. The successes and travails of Bella Baxter are an example to us all and this heroine is someone who will stay in your mind for a long time. Finding her voice and independence is a courageous journey, even in this fantasy world that mirrors our own. In this sense, Poor Things is undoubtedly and unabashedly a feminist piece. However, even more than that, it is a humanist piece of art that encourages audiences to reassess themselves and their lives, to live to the fullest and to live their truth.

10/10

Review -- Outback (2019)

                               

In the grand cinematic tradition of couples doing stupid things while on vacation and based on an urban legend, this 2019 offering from director and co-writer Mike Green takes us on a couple's ill-fated Australia getaway. Tense and frightening in its ruthless pragmatism, the screenplay also acts as a detailed manual on what not to do and how not to act while visiting an unfamiliar location.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Lisa (Lauren Lofberg) and Wade (Taylor Wiese) are in the land down under, while also coping with a bump in their relationship - he proposed on the plane and she refused. On a whim, they decide to explore the Outback, but make a wrong turn and lose their way in the unforgiving wilderness. Now the question is if they can survive the snakes, dingoes and other hazards lurking around...

As far as survival movies go, Outback is gripping. We empathize with the young couple who are just starting their lives together and are already in disagreement. The love that they share is palpable, with Lofberg and Wiese relatable and sympathetic as the two, which only makes their later torture more grueling to watch. Their last scenes, particularly Lisa filming her video, are exceptionally moving. Justin Bell's ominous music and Tim Nagle's gorgeous cinematography contribute to the sense of dread and loneliness when the two get lost; there are some beautiful shots of a place that should only be visited in an online image search. Just like 2008's The Strangers, the movie depicts an especially frightening situation because it can actually happen in real life. One does not need Jason or Michael when there are creatures that can kill you at the drop of a hat.

However, what riles me up is how ignorant these two people are about going to see a country that is third on the list of countries with the most venomous animals in the world (Mexico and Brazil are #1 and #2, respectively, in case you are wondering). They do not know much about Australia's flora and fauna, which is pretty much the first thing that one needs to be aware of when traveling there. They jump into the ocean willy-nilly and do not seek medical assistance when Wade gets stung by what is likely one of the most dangerous species of jellyfish on the planet. They decide to visit one of the wildest and most remote places on Earth without a guide or any kind of plan. They leave their car and do not even have flares, not to mention that they obviously have not brought enough food and water for this type of excursion. One has to wonder what the two are thinking; it is no surprise that nature quickly crashes them down to a brutal reality. This is where the movie cannot seem to be able to make up its mind - is its intention to purposefully show the couple's naivete or are the plot holes really this big? Are we supposed to believe that these two apparently experienced travelers know so little? It is difficult to tell.

Outback is a good way to spend two hours distracted by others' plight, yelling at the screen and shaking your head in disbelief. Its unique location is a merciless predator, toying with two unsuspecting humans in its midst. An engaging and suspenseful movie, it demonstrates how beautiful places can also be perilous and is a good warning for any wannabe travelers to always do their research.  

7/10

Review -- Embattled

                                 

A hard-hitting drama with a great cast and performances, Nick Sarkisov's Embattled largely flew under the radar due to its unfortunate release date at the height of the pandemic. Its grittiness -- reminiscent of the boldness of 1970s American cinema -- and story set in an environment not often explored in film should make it your next movie to watch, especially if you have a good dramatic piece in mind.

Cash Boykins (Stephen Dorff) is an aggressive, abrasive, sexist and homophobic MMA champion, who had abandoned his family years earlier. Having renewed contact with his older son Jett (Darren Mann) while completely disregarding his younger son with Williams Syndrome, Quinn (Colin McKenna), Cash starts training Jett and helping him fulfill his own ambition of becoming a fighter. Circumstances eventually lead to a clash that threatens the family even further -- a furiously promoted and anticipated yet immoral fight between father and son... 

The movie makes good points about toxic family relationships, father-son dynamics and the MMA business exploiting its fighters. Scenes involving the business side are engaging not only because they show a different side of Cash -- as horrid of a human being as he is to his own family, he paradoxically truly cares about his fellow fighters and their financial well-being -- but also because they examine the workings of a sport that we rarely see represented within this medium. Mixed martial arts is most likely the only career option for many individuals and, just like in any other type of entertainment industry, the people that come into this sport are at the mercy of higher corporate powers. Although I understand that this is not Embattled's centerpiece, I wish that there had been more content about the business itself and Cash's disputes with the higher-ups.

The family relationships and characters are well fleshed out. The scene where someone suddenly recalls an unspeakable event and suffers a near-breakdown is one of the most effective moments, as is the Welcome to Holland sequence and the phone call toward the end. The script successfully depicts the poison of family abuse and indifference, how it affects generations and the toll that it takes on children.

An intriguing aspect of Embattled is the way that it pays a lot of attention to social issues and weaves them expertly into the main story. It surmises toxic masculinity perfectly in the sequence where Cash is watching Quinn play a video game, in hateful disbelief that this is his son. It also manages to point its finger at stigma with Cash making an assumption about Quinn's feelings, but also with his ex-wife's assumption about her upcoming date. These are issues and relatable struggles that I wish more movies would tackle or at least incorporate into their narratives.

I also need to mention the fight scenes, which are as authentic as they come. The final scene in particular is brutal in a number of ways. It is a bloody, messy, merciless conflict that naturally goes much deeper than a cage match. The emotions and confrontations between Cash and Jett and Quinn, between Cash and Susan, the past, the violence... it all comes to a head in the final fight. The result is a breathless sight of pure, unrelenting intensity and the finality of this tattered family's tragedy. Kudos goes to all of the actors involved for what they have achieved. I should also mention the beautiful, austere cinematography by Paul Özgür, which contributes to Embattled's realism.

The performances are excellent. Mann is a picture of affection and strength that strives beyond perfection due to his cruel father. McKenna gives a great performance as the sensitive and neglected son. Elizabeth Reaser is very good as Cash's ex-wife and the boys' struggling mother, while Ava Capri and Karrueche Tran are exceptional as Jett's smart love interest and Cash's principled and assertive second wife, respectively. 

The standout, however, is Dorff, who has never encountered a role that he could not play. He transforms into an absolute beast of a man, both in terms of physicality and Cash's seriously warped psyche. Having grown up with an abusive father himself, Cash knows no other way to be with his sons. The issue is, he does not even care to know, because he firmly believes that no other parenting philosophy is right and that they would turn out unforgivably "soft" if he treated them any other way. He sees no problem with insulting his son with special needs and sees no qualms with almost beating his other son to death in the cage because, from his standpoint, a man is only a man if he possesses a "kill or be killed" attitude. In short, violence is his main language and Dorff taps into the damaged mindset to perfection. 

 

The actor does find a trace of vulnerability in Cash's demeanor, though; a note which permeates a number of sequences and which postulates that this might have become a very different person if his upbringing had been nurturing. His last scene with Tran shows a man who is desperately trying to hang on to every bit of love that he can get and desperately trying to hide this yearning at the same time, and his very last scene is a true sensation, with Cash traversing a spectrum of emotions in less than a minute. On another note, his scenes with the MMA bigwigs show a businessman who is shrewd and uncompromising about his job, the same traits that unfortunately get translated as callousness to people who are supposed to be his nearest and dearest. It is a performance for the ages. 

Embattled is an example of a realistic drama that does not get made often anymore. It is a cue to filmmakers to pay more attention to the human heart and the creative side of cinema, because one never knows what kind of narrative could burst out of a unique and empathetic idea. It could be a tale about a brutish MMA fighter, about a tender brotherly relationship, about a fractured family... or it could be all of the above in an underrated, meaningful and affecting movie.

9/10