THAT EVENING SUN- movie review

THAT EVENING SUN- We won’t hear his name called on March 7, but for my money Hal Holbrook’s performance in this gripping Southern indie is Best Actor Oscar-worthy, and arguably the most moving of his 55-year career. 

Holbrook stars as Abner Meecham, a curmudgeonly coot that escapes from the old folks home where his uppity lawyer son Paul (Walton Goggins) has stowed him and heads back to his farm to live out his twilight years. Problem is, when he gets there he finds the family of Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon), a good-for-nothing hooligan prone to getting drunk and abusing his wife (Carrie Preston) and daughter (Mia Wasikowska, soon starring as Alice in Tim Burton’s Wonderland). 

It appears Paul gave the Choats a lease-to-own option on the property, so the stubborn-as-a-mule Abner lays claim to his old guest house and proceeds to make life miserable for Lonzo, openly degrading his manhood and adopting an incessantly barking dog to drive him mad. "I worked too hard and too long," he reasons. "I ain't goin' down without a fight." This heated rivalry develops into a bitter inter- and intra-family feud: Paul thinks his father is mean and unreasonable, while Lonzo’s daughter Pamela would do just about anything to escape. 

Writer-director Scott Teems (a Georgia native) expertly builds the dramatic tension: You’re never quite sure how this war of iron wills will end, but you’ll have a hunch it won’t end well. All the actors, including Barry Corbin as Abner's neighbor/co-conspirator, are excellent at crafting characters that explore the thousand shades of grey dividing good from evil. Abner is old, infirm and dearly missing his departed wife (played by Holbrook’s real-life love, Dixie Carter), but he’s also a devious, ornery cuss who could make a saint swear. Lonzo is lazy, angry and obviously out of control, but he clearly struggles to do right by his wife and child. 

This is the sort of low-profile, low-budget film that indie festivals are made for, but it’s also character-based storytelling at its finest, and truly deserves to find a mainstream audience in theaters.  – BRET LOVE

BEST MOVIE OF 2009- Up In The Air

“To know me is to fly with me,” says Ryan Bingham as he packs his bags and moves through the airport with rapier-like precision. “Everything you hate about travel… are warm reminders that I’m home.” It’s the perfect introduction to a man George Clooney was born to play. 

Bingham is a 21^st century gunslinger, hired to travel around the country firing employees their bosses are too timid to terminate. Bingham spends over 300 days a year on the road, and loathes every minute of the few days he’s home in Omaha. He finds comfort in first class upgrades, Admiral’s Club admission and frequent flyer miles (his dream is to become the 7^th person to reach 10 million). “Moving is living,” he says in his “What’s In Your Backpack” motivational speeches, avoiding emotional intimacy at all costs and considering commitment a fate worse than death. 

When he meets a fellow road warrior (Vera Farmiga) in a hotel bar, comparing reward program cards and discussing mile-high club experiences, it’s a match made in heaven. “Think of me as yourself,” she quips, “only with a vagina.” After a quick romp through the Kama Sutra, they’re coordinating schedules to arrange another rendezvous. That is, until Bingham’s upwardly mobile associate (Anna Kendrick) suggests the company fire people via teleconference, saving themselves thousands on travel costs. Bingham’s job may not be in jeopardy, but his nomadic lifestyle is, and there’s an undeniable air of comedic tension as he takes the young gun on the road to show her the ropes. 

Co-written and directed by Jason Reitman, Up In The Air is easily one of the year’s best films– an adult comedy that evenly balances humor and heart while tapping into our cultural zeitgeist by putting human faces on the economic downturn. Jason Bateman delivers another fine supporting turn as Bingham’s smarmy boss, while Kendrick proves one of the year’s best new talents as a recent college grad struggling to get ahead in her career while pursuing the traditional American family dream. 

The film wisely makes no character judgments, leaving it up to the audience to decide whether Bingham’s existence is a valid lifestyle choice or merely a self-protective emotional cocoon. It also offers no pat Hollywood resolutions, letting you figure out for yourself whether our dashing cowboy hangs up his hat for good or simply rides off into the sunset. (A)  –BRET LOVE

(originally appeared in INsite)

CRAZY HEART- review

CRAZY HEART

Directed by: Scott Cooper

Stars: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall

Down-on-his-luck outlaw country maverick Bad Blake is a self-destructive drunk– a tortured train wreck who leaves nothing but misery in his wake. As portrayed by Jeff Bridges, he plays like an ornery cross between Kris Kristofferson and The Dude, armed with whiskey and a guitar instead of White Russians and a bowling ball. 

But there’s no Donny or Walter to provide comic relief in writer-director Scott Cooper’s self-assured debut; only a mopey Maggie Gyllenhaal as a reporter/groupie who falls for the charming ol’ cuss, Robert Duvall as the friend who tries to help him stay on the wagon, and Colin Farrell as the former sidekick who’s emerged as a true country star, eager to give his old boss a hand up into the spotlight. Truth be told, Blake is a killer songwriter but his own worst enemy– a Behind The Music cliché we’ve seen a thousand times before. 

It would all be terribly maudlin were it not for Bridges’ terrific turn, which elevates the material substantially and recalls Mickey Rourke’s work in The Wrestler. The movie itself isn’t great, but it features some of the best work of the four-time Oscar nominee’s career. Don’t be surprised if Crazy Heart brings Bridges his first win.  (B)  –Bret Love

(Originally appeared in INsite)