Movie Reviews
New On Blu-ray: ‘Hacksaw Ridge’, ‘Manchester’, And ‘Nocturnal Animals’
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Manchester by the Sea from writer-director Kenneth Lonergan is a difficult yet absorbing film about grief. When his brother dies, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is asked to care of his teenage son. Lonergan’s writing is exceptional, like reading a great novel, and Affleck is worthy of his Oscar-nominated turn as an uncle who doesn’t know how to quite handle being a guardian to his nephew (played by newcomer Lucas Hedges). Manchester by the Sea is not easy viewing by any means, but worth the time to those who watch. The release comes with an EPK-style featurette on the making of the picture and deleted scenes. The highlight in terms of supplemental material, though, is audio commentary from filmmaker Lonergan as he recounts his experiences in writing and directing the film.
HACKSAW RIDGE
Leading up to its release the marketing for Hacksaw Ridge did its best to exclude mention of the film’s director, Mel Gibson. But the film also attracted attention because it was the story of a conscientious objector for the United States in a wartime setting. Andrew Garfield received an Oscar nomination for his performance as Desmond Doss, a Seventh Day Adventist, who was able to claim conscientious objector status, much to the chagrin of his military overseers and fellow soldiers.
This war film, much like Full Metal Jacket, is a story in two parts. We have Doss’s upbringing and his introduction to a young nurse (Teresa Palmer), before he enlists to help with the war effort. Basic training and subsequent court martialing for refusing to handle a gun look to encroach on Doss’s participation in the war until fate intervenes. All of which leads to a second half that is full of visceral battle footage that is every bit as devastating as Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan.
The heroics that would eventually lead Doss to receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor are awe-inspiring stuff. Doss would not compromise his beliefs and in the end his valor never wavered.
Hacksaw Ridge on Blu-ray is an audiophile’s dream with bombastic sound – which may explain the accolades it has received in sound editing and sound mixing this past year. To go along with great A/V presentation the disc has a nearly 70-minute documentary about the production and includes interviews with Mel Gibson and Doss’s son.
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
In 2009, fashion designer and clothier Tom Ford made the transition to filmmaker with A Single Man starring Colin Firth. Seven years later he returns with Nocturnal Animals. Based on Austin Wright’s novel “Tony and Susan,” Ford takes liberty with the source material by refocusing the story, particularly with the character Susan Morrow (Amy Adams), a wealthy art gallery owner who receives a manuscript from her ex-husband. The novel is a thriller involving a family traveling from East to West Texas and their encounter with a trio of backroads ne’er-do-wells.
Nocturnal Animals’ story within a story narrative gives the viewer much to mull over in terms of themes and how to interpret the story. The symbolism of Susan and her ex, Tony (Jake Gyllenhaal – playing dual roles – he’s also the thriller’s protagonist, Edward) and their fractured relationship is apparent, but the ending will leave you contemplating Tony’s actions.
Among the extras is a three-part featurette on the making of the film, exploring the story, the look, and Tom Ford’s direction.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Beauty and the Beast is a tale as old as time, having undergone numerous adaptations, including Jean Cocteau’s 1946 classic to Disney’s 1991 prized musical. French filmmaker Christophe Gans did a recent rendition of author Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s novel starring Léa Seydoux as Belle and Vincent Cassel as the Beast. The 2014 release, while visually satisfying, doesn’t quite capture the spirit of the story that is as old as time.
The biggest hindrance is the relationship that never seems to draw us in to the shared romance of what made the Disney musical such a classic. In this iteration, Belle has a larger family and we get a subplot involving a magical “golden deer” (did it stop grazing at Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory?). Gans, whose last feature was 2006’s less than impressive Silent Hill, delivers on a visual level despite budgetary constraints, but is a so-so adaptation overall.
In terms of extras, we get interviews with the principal leads and the filmmaker, plus a theatrical trailer.
MILDRED PIERCE
Of the catalog titles getting a Blu-ray release this week the biggest one is the Criterion Collection debut of Michael Curtiz’s 1945 noir melodrama Mildred Pierce. James M. Cain’s 1941 novel has had a few iterations, most recently Todd Haynes’ 2011 miniseries. While people bring up the names Hitchcock or Spielberg when talking about great filmmakers, Curtiz’s name is sorely overlooked.
Applying his craft in one different genre after another, including Angels with Dirty Faces, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Casablanca, this adaptation is a great character study with Joan Crawford as a Depression-era housewife whose life is falling apart. Curtiz’s direction of Crawford is to be applauded but more so is the film’s noir aspects which opens with a murder committed (not found in Cain’s novel) and flashes back to Mildred’s tortured story.
The Blu-ray release brings the bells and whistles with an archived documentary about Joan Crawford (perfect viewing in anticipation for FX’s Feud miniseries), separate archived interviews with Crawford and James M. Cain, plus a new conversation with critics Molly Haskel and Robert Polito as they discuss the original novel and film interpretation.