Doubt

Genre: psychological drama 

With: Meryl Streep (Sister Aloysius Beauvier), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Father Brendan Flynn), Amy Adams (Sister James), Joseph Foster II (Donald Miller), Viola Davis (Mrs. Miller, Donald’s mother), Lloyd Clay Brown (Jimmy Hurley), Bridget Megan Clark (Noreen Horan)

Director: John Patrick Shanley

Release: 2008

Studio: Miramax Films, Scott Rudin Productions

Rating: PG-13

MBiS score: 7.7/10

Damned If You Do and Damned If You Don’t

QuickView

Story-line: the Bronx, 1964. Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the stern principal at St. Nicholas, suspects that something improper is going on in her school and that Father Flynn, the local parish priest, is somehow involved.   

Pluses: a remarkable performance by Meryl Streep as the unlikeable but gutsy Aloysius, fine acting by Philip Seymour Hoffman, attractive cinematography, a screenplay that cultivates ambiguity and delivers an intriguing climax.

Minuses: a slow first act (although necessary to lay down the issues), inconsistencies in Sister James’s mindset, one unconvincing scene about priestly life (do men of the cloth really get together to smoke, drink and make fun of people?), disruptive interventions by minor characters, overstatements in the dialogues.      

Comments: DOUBT, a film about morals and judgment calls, is marred by several defects but makes up for most of them in the final act with two intense discussions that shed light on earlier events. I’ve read somewhere that we humans cannot bear living in doubt because we naturally crave certainty… and that’s very true when you consider Sister Beauvier’s anguish in the closing scene. Food for thought and food for the soul.

MBiS

© 2017 – All rights reserved

Intouchables

English title: The Intouchables

Genre: buddy comedy 

With: François Cluzet (Philippe), Omar Sy (Bakary Bassari, a.k.a. Driss), Audrey Fleurot (Magalie, Philippe’s assistant), Anne Le Ny (Yvonne), Clotilde Mollet (Marcelle, the nurse)

Directors: Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano

Release: 2011

Studio: Quad Productions, Ten Films, Canal+ et al.

Rating: 14A

MBiS score: 8.0/10

A Sidekick at Your Bedside

QuickView

Story-line: while interviewing prospective caregivers, a wheelchair-bound French aristocrat meets a Senegalese schemer whose only interest is submitting enough job applications to get back on welfare. Guess what happens next!

Pluses: sturdy acting by the capable François Cluzet, Omar Sy’s irresistible charisma, a lively and funny screenplay, vigorous pacing and direction, dandy visuals and a driving, swinging soundtrack.

Minuses: INTOUCHABLES is a little too neat and does feel empty at times but you’ll be hooked once you’ve seen its hilarious 15-minute intro.

Comments: call it predictable, formulaic, clichéd and well-worn… but INTOUCHABLES remains an endearing odd-couple story and a perfect picker-upper if you’re down in the dumps. No wonder it was such a hit in France!

MBiS

© 2017 – All rights reserved

Imitation of Life

Genre: slice-of-life drama

With: Lana Turner (Lora Meredith), Juanita Moore (Annie Johnson), John Gavin (Steve Archer), Sandra Dee (Susie in her teens), Susan Kohner (Sarah Jane in her teens), Robert Alda (Allen Loomis)

Director: Douglas Sirk

Release: 1954

Studio: CIC Universal

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.0/10

A Mother’s Work Is Never Done

QuickView

Story-line: at Coney Island in 1947, Lora Meredith loses her daughter Susie in a crowd and finds her playing with Sarah Jane Johnson, Annie’s little girl. From then on, a lasting bond will develop between the Merediths and the Johnsons, but a bond that won’t shield them against life’s nagging problems. Lora’s main problem is work… a theatrical career she’s been dreaming of since becoming a widow. For the Johnsons, it’s the prejudice they suffer because they are black... more precisely, because Annie is much darker-skinned than her daughter Sarah Jane.

Pluses: distinguished performances by Susan Kohner (a Golden Globe winner and an Oscar nomination) and Juanita Moore (two noms), a serious screenplay treated in an appropriate tone, strong direction by a much respected American helmer.  

Minuses: the story may lack unity because it deals with several issues over time. Some events will feel like déjà vu for today’s movie buffs although they remain important. As a side note, the poster shown above doesn’t give a full idea of the film’s content.

Comments: this noble movie defies description because it covers a whole decade in the lives of two mothers supporting each other through personal challenges. Taking its cue from Annie and Lora, it also chooses humility and decency over glamour and sensationalism. A critically acclaimed production, a top-grade soap opera and a rare chance to see and hear the great Mahalia Jackson… how can you go wrong with IMITATION OF LIFE?

MBiS

© 2017 – All rights reserved