Key Largo

Genre: suspense (in black and white)

With: Humphrey Bogart (Frank McCloud), Lionel Barrymore (James Temple), Lauren Bacall (Nora), Edward G. Robinson (Johnny Rocco), Monte Blue (Sheriff Ben Wade) and Claire Trevor (Gaye Dawn)

Director: John Huston

Release: 1948

Studio: Warner Brothers

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.3/10

A New Lease on Life… and It Didn’t Even Cost You

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Story-line: when an embittered former major goes to the Florida Keys to meet the family of a fallen comrade, he witnesses strange happenings and threatening behaviour.   

Pluses: formidable acting by Bogey, Bacall, Claire Trevor (an Oscar winner) and Edward G. Robinson (observe him as Gaye sings along… is he smiling or grimacing?), a masterly screenplay by Richard Brooks and John Huston (based on a play by Maxwell Anderson), potent dialogues and sturdy direction.   

Minuses: none.

Comments: over the years, I’ve missed KEY LARGO several times but I hope you won’t wait as long as I did to see it. Nothing in this thriller seems forced or artificial; characters are well drawn, their strengths and weaknesses skilfully exposed. Can today’s movie industry beat this kind of star power and flawless dramatic development? Not often, I would say.

MBiS

© 2016 – All rights reserved

Mother (The)

Genre: social drama

With: Anne Reid (May), Peter Vaughan (Toots), Steven Mackintosh (Bobby), Cathryn Bradshaw (Paula), Anna Wilson-Jones (Helen, Bobby’s wife), Oliver Ford Davies (Bruce) and Daniel Craig (Darren)

Director: Roger Michell

Release: 2004

Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Rating: 14A

MBiS score: 8.2/10

A Mother But Still A Human Being

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Story-line: as soon as retirees Toots and May arrive in London to visit their children, a health issue throws the whole family into a fix.     

Pluses: a very contemporary subject, natural acting by Anne Reid and cast (check out Daniel Craig before James Bond!), Hanif Kureishi’s subtle screenplay, disciplined direction, Jeremy Sams’ jazzy score.

Minuses: none.

Comments: a genuinely surprising and thought-provoking movie about old age, generational conflicts and how damaging it is to pigeonhole people, especially those who are close to us. I can only admire a film that tackles tough issues in such a brave and realistic way.

MBiS

© 2016 – All rights reserved

Fearless

Genre: psychological drama

With: Jeff Bridges (Max Klein), Isabella Rossellini (his wife Laura), Rosie Perez (Carla Rodrigo), Benicio del Toro (Mannie, Carla’s husband), Tom Hulce (Brillstein) and John Turturro (Doctor Perlman)

Director: Peter Weir

Release: 1993

Studio: Warner Brothers

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.4/10

Some Guys Have All the Luck

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Story-line: when Max Klein and his associate took a flight to Houston, they never expected it would end in a crash… with only one of them surviving.

Pluses: bravura performances by Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez, solid support from Isabella Rossellini and Tom Hulce as less likeable characters, an ambitious screenplay by Rafael Yglesias.

Minuses: none really.

Comments: it only takes a minute to realize that FEARLESS is a hard-hitting and enriching movie that goes to the heart of human experience. In some ways, Max will become an enigma after his miraculous escape, a man disconnected from our world. Should we fear the future? How can we cope with tragedy? As Peter Weir’s demanding film demonstrates, the answers are not simple and the road to understanding is often difficult to follow.

MBiS

© 2016 – All rights reserved

One, Two, Three

Genre: comedy (in black and white)

With: James Cagney (C.R. McNamara), Pamela Tiffin (Scarlett Hazeltine), Horst Buchholz (Otto Ludwig Piffl), Arlene Francis (Phyllis, C.R.’s wife), Lilo Pulver (Ingeborg!) and Hanns Lothar (Schlemmer).
Director: Billy Wilder

Release: 1961

Studio: United Artists

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.4/10

Drink a Cold One for the Cold War

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Story-line: C.R. McNamara, the Coca-Cola manager in West Berlin, is asked a favour by his boss at the very moment he’s dealing with Russian officials to market Coke behind the Iron Curtain.

Pluses: a whirlwind performance by James Cagney as the unstoppable McNamara, a strong cast and colourful characters, a breathless story by Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond and playwright Ferenc Molnár.

Minuses: clearly none, unless you’re not in a laughing mood.

Comments: an uproarious comedy, no doubt, and also a piece of cinematic history. It took a lot of chutzpah to mock capitalists and communists alike at the height of the Cold War… and ONE, TWO, THREE pulled it off spectacularly by mixing post-World War II anxieties, old Nazi reflexes and East-West rivalries (Frank Sinatra!). One can only surrender to such wit and humour.

MBiS

© 2016 – All rights reserved