“Viceroy’s House”
Recently we have seen two films about seminal events in the 1940s, which both deal with England and offer a historically accurate (to the extent that any nondocumentary account can be so) framework surrounding fictional characters and stories that makes each more relatable to modern audiences.
The first, “Dunkirk” (reviewed in the July 28 edition of The Malibu Times), takes place in 1940 in the early stages of World War II, and portrays the heroic and crucial rescue of soldiers after battle.
And now: “Viceroy’s House,” which takes place post war in 1948 and deals with an event that, it could be argued, changed the world forever.
It details the turnover of India, a British colony for three centuries, to the Indian government and the creation of the country of Pakistan. We are privy to the behind-the-scenes political maneuvering necessitated by this huge change bringing various factions, both Indian and English, into intense conflict.
The film offers stunning views of gorgeous palaces and dry, dusty poverty. It gives us Hugh Bonneville (of “Downton Abbey” fame) as Lord Mountbatten, the genial, upper-crust last Viceroy, the one in charge of the final shifting of power.
It also offers fictional-based-on-reality stories of Indian families in crisis and the religious hatred between Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus.
“Viceroy’s House” has some less-than-graceful scenes and a romance thread that eventually becomes formulaic, but they do not take away from the stunning, moving story that is on screen. If room allowed here I would list by name the large, brilliant cast of English and East Asian actors who make the story achingly human, but you can see them for yourself when you see the film.
Do so, and soon: It is currently in small “art house” theaters only.
“Logan Lucky”
It has not been a great summer for movies, as far as catching the public’s interest, but anything that’s been around over a month and still showing everywhere means—to use show biz parlance—it has “legs.”
And that’s why I took myself to “Logan Lucky,” Steven Soderbergh’s latest, to see what the fuss was about.
I am so glad I did. For me, it was the escape film I needed and needed badly, in this time of political turmoil, H-bomb threats, heat waves, hurricanes, earthquakes and tornados.
It is a very funny caper film with a heart and a cast of quirky characters played by appealing and talented actors. Although director Soderbergh has done other caper movies, most notably the “Ocean’s” series of Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen, those were about urbane, too-cool-for-words characters played by the likes of George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Mark Damon.
“Logan Lucky” is about as unsophisticated as it gets, following the decidedly unlucky North Carolina Logan siblings (Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Riley Keough) and their desperate plan to rob the box office at a huge NASCAR event.
The plot is more complicated and layered than most of us mortals could either invent or unravel (kudos to script writer Rebeca Blunt), and it moves along with satisfying gusto and a fun ending.
What really makes it work is the cast. Tatum, as the recently fired Jimmy Logan, is sweetly charming to his young daughter and fiercely loyal to his one-armed, Iraqi war veteran brother (Adam Driver, a standout).
Daniel Craig, in a role as far from James Bond as it gets, is a brutal safecracker with a small brain, quick fuse and powerful arms.
There are great female roles, too. Riley Keough, as the hairdresser Logan sister who is astonishingly detail oriented and super cool in a crisis, Katie Holmes as Jimmy’s bemused ex-wife and Katherine Waterston in two small but indelible scenes as a doctor, are all delightful and real and very, very funny.
Look for Seth MacFarlane and Dwight Yoakam in small but important roles.
Need escape? “Logan Lucky” is for you.
