“Mary Poppins Returns”
This much-hyped and eagerly awaited film has lots of dazzle, lots of talent, great new songs, gorgeous costumes….and is totally empty at its core. The flimsy storyline about evil bankers and missing certificates is set up in the beginning and the rest of the movie is all fill and no substance until the end quickly resolves everything. There are no lessons to be learned, no character arcs to follow; personally, I need these things to become involved in a film. The audience’s reaction will most likely depend on their love (or lack of same) of the original from (can it be?) 1964. I will say that Emily Blunt is excellent—when is she ever not?—as Mary and Lin-Manuel Miranda (of “Hamilton” fame), who is brilliant and creative and all things wonderful, does a fine-enough job here as the Burt substitute (a lamplighter as opposed to chimney sweep). However, through no fault of his own, he has none of that on-screen charisma that we wish he had. Lovely work also from Ben Wishaw and Emily Mortimer, a bad wig on Colin Firth and fun surprise appearances at the end of the film. I would have cut at least two big musical numbers, but that’s because, sadly, I was not swept up in what was clearly supposed to be a magical journey. You get to choose if you agree or not.
“Green Book”
When I learned that this was the story of a black musician on tour in the 1960s in the deep South, chauffeur-driven by a tough Italian thug from the Bronx, I feared I would be seeing a sentimental, formulaic film. You know—life lessons learned, prejudices overcome, hugs at the end. I went to see it anyway and all of the formula is there but oh, there is so much more, so much depth. The film is based on a true story, with a script by Nick Vallelonga from his book. Actor Bryan Hayes Currie and director Peter Farrelly manage to avoid clichés in a film filled with humor that moves along at a fine pace. But it is the performances by Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, their on-screen chemistry, their characters’ moments of quiet reflection and startling revelation, that make this a must-see. What is the Green Book? A privately printed little paperback that let black folks know the hotels and motels that were available to them in the then-segregated South. In a year full of films that highlight the insidiousness of racism, here is yet one more excellent addition to the list. I had tears at the end, and I’m not much of a movie crybaby. Go see “Green Book.”
“Roma”
I don’t think this movie is for an American audience: Not only is it too slow for those who have been raised on fast cuts and instant gratification, and not only is it shot in black and white, but it depicts a world that is totally foreign to most Americans—a year in the life of a middle-class Mexican family in the early 1970s, as seen through the eyes of Cleo, the housekeeper/nanny/surrogate mother. Having gotten that disclaimer out of the way, I will also say that it is a breathtaking masterpiece of filmmaking by Alfonso Cuarón, the auteur behind “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” and the Academy Award-winning “Gravity.” “Roma” is like nothing he’s done before. Using mostly non-actors and relying a lot on improvisation, everything we see feels real; the children in the family interact like real kids do—fighting, playing, talking about dreams. Cleo is played by a woman (Yalitza Aparicio) who has never acted before. Her face rarely changes expression but reveals so much anyway. Cuarón’s camera switches back and forth from long, deliberate takes interspersed with short, action-filled sequences. The black and white photography is simply gorgeous and exactly right for the story. For the discerning moviegoer, I highly recommend “Roma.”
