Discrète (La)

Genre: romantic drama
With: Fabrice Luchini, Judith Henry, Maurice Garrel
Director: Christian Vincent
Release: 1990
Studio: Productions Lazennec, Sara Films et al. – MK2 International
Rating: -
MBiS score: 8.1/10


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Story-line: after being dumped by Solange, Antoine, a disenchanted writer and civil servant, accepts his editor’s proposal to seduce another girl strictly out of revenge.
Pluses: exemplary acting and direction, Fabrice Luchini at his sarcastic best, clean production values, great music by Schubert.
Minuses: none whatsoever.
Comments: schemes about love have often been depicted in the movies, with mixed results overall. Nevertheless, when treated with good taste, this premise has produced some marvellous works like LA DISCRÈTE and René Clair’s LES GRANDES MANOEUVRES. In its own way, Christian Vincent’s film is a treacherous watch because you mustn't let Antoine’s meanness put you off. Life, as always, is full of surprises.


MBiS

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Monster's Ball

Genre: psychological drama
Director: Marc Forster
Release: 2001
Studio: Lee Daniels Entertainment, Lionsgate – Lionsgate
Rating: R
MBiS score: 8.2/10


The Widow and the Widow-maker


While Lawrence Musgrove (Sean Combs) spends his last days on death row at Jackson Penitentiary, his wife Leticia (Halle Berry) and their son Tyrell (Coronji Calhoun) are understandably devastated and uncertain about the future. In an unusual way, Lawrence’s fate will also change the lives of Hank (Billy Bob Thornton) and Sonny (Heath Ledger) Grotowski, a father and son team of prison guards assigned to escort him to his execution. With Peter Boyle (Buck Grotowski, Hank’s father, himself a former prison guard).

Although Albert Camus once wrote ‘It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners’, MONSTER’S BALL focuses as much on enforcers of the death penalty as on a woman and a son indirectly subjected to it. In this sense, Marc Forster’s work speaks of issues not covered by DEAD MAN WALKING and other prison films but, like them, it is patently grim, achingly raw and psychologically demanding, especially at first. Eventually, it gains in humanity in the aftermath of Lawrence’s execution as it allows its characters to experience disillusion and want, reflect on the tribulations of life and move a step or two forward on the road to rebirth. Judging from reviews I had read beforehand, I had a distinct feeling that this movie would be heavy-handed and implausible but, thanks to a masterful screenplay by Milo Addica and Will Rokos, it unfolds in a logical and considered way. As you will discover, MONSTER’S BALL tackles violence, capital punishment and ingrained racism head-on and succeeds unequivocally because of its complete candidness.

Of course, a feature such as this would not have carried without a strong cast and superior acting. Halle Berry earned her Oscar nod as a woman faced with a brutal future and Billy Bob Thornton provided her with solid support; one special scene between them will take your breath away (you’ll know which one). Production values are irreproachable. The story here was paramount and nothing was done to compromise it.

Honestly, I have little else to add about MONSTER’S BALL, a film that deserves recognition for its seriousness and fine craftsmanship. As it demonstrates with gut-wrenching eloquence, there are neither easy answers nor pat solutions in life but there is hope, even if it seems scant or fragile.


MBiS

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White Palace

Genre: romantic comedy drama
With: Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander
Director: Luis Mandoki
Release: 1990
Studio: Double Play Productions et al. – Universal Pictures
Rating: R
MBiS score: 7.9/10


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Story-line: Max and Nora may be from opposite sides of the tracks but, sometimes, opposites attract.
Pluses: fine acting, good direction, a somewhat raunchy tone and some quirky moments.
Minuses: none really.
Comments: the basic story driving this movie is not the most original on earth but its refreshing treatment and humanity make for a compelling watch. I’ll always remember Nora’s face when Max gives her that special, heartwarming present…


MBiS

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To Die For

Genre: black comedy
Director: Gus Van Sant
Release: 1995
Studio: LH Productions, Laura Ziskin Productions, Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group – Sony Pictures Releasing
Rating: R
MBiS score: 8.1/10


Frankly, It’s The Weather Girls I Check Out, Not Their Satellite Maps


A huge commotion has engulfed the small burg of Little Hope, New Hampshire: Suzanne Maretto (Nicole Kidman), the vivacious weather girl on local TV, has been charged with murdering her husband Larry (Matt Dillon). With Dan Hedaya (Joe Maretto, Larry’s father), Illeana Douglas (Janice Maretto), Joaquin Phoenix (Jimmy Emmett), Casey Affleck (Russell Hines), Alison Folland (Lydia Mertz), Wayne Knight (Ed Grant, WWEN manager), Kurtwood Smith (Earl Stone, Suzanne’s father); Holland Taylor (Carol Stone), Susan Traylor (Faye Stone), Maria Tucci (Angela Maretto), Tim Hopper (Mike Warden), Michael Rispoli (Ben DeLuca), Buck Henry (Mr. Finlaysson), Gerry Quigley (George), Joyce Maynard (the lawyer) and David Cronenberg. Music by Danny Elfman.

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a TV personality? Or wondered what it takes to make it in the media? If so, you may have realized that a career in the public eye requires hard work, talent, ambition and luck… in proportions dictated by circumstance, personal goals and mindset. Case in point: the fetching Ms. Maretto. Suzanne is no Christiane Amanpour but an assertive and pretty lady, a whirlwind and a snappy dresser she certainly is. In other words, she packs more than enough to charm any red-blooded TV exec and score a ton on the Nielsen ratings. Moreover, she’s a great character on which to build a biting satire about the media world… and Gus Van Sant has treated her to a fine, shiny showcase.

Let’s not beat around the Bushes… TO DIE FOR shows solid craftsmanship, from its faultless direction, sprightly editing and lively pace – except for a fifteen-minute lull midway through – to its mad, mad screenplay based on Joyce Maynard’s novel and penned by Buck Henry. Acting-wise, its whole cast is note-perfect but I truly marveled at Nicole Kidman’s delicious, bubbly and multi-faceted turn as Suzanne; I also loved Matt Dillon as Larry, a man who may have dreamed of Hannah Storm but wound up with Desert Storm, Wayne Knight as a wily TV type, Illeana Douglas as Suzanne’s acerbic sister-in-law, Buck Henry as an authoritarian teacher and Joaquin Phoenix – already a fine actor then – as an intense and vulnerable young man who will learn a lot about life in a very short spell. But remember… TO DIE FOR’s raison d’être is comedy and it does deliver some devastating laughs along with a strong, well-deserved payoff.

So move over all of you Janes, Barbaras, Katies and Oprahs, Suzanne Maretto is already staking her claim to fame. And if Marshall McLuhan has posited that the medium is the message, I may add that, nowadays, it emphasizes image and self-promotion. Here’s to a fun and waggish time for movie buffs!


MBiS

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