Podcasting Them Softly

Martin Scorsese’s The Departed is knock-out entertainment. Yes, he’s made better movies. But this one is just terrific on so many levels. William Monahan’s flamboyantly vulgar screenplay popped in every scene, and the performances from the deep cast were all wild and crazy and unhinged and robust. Maybe too robust in the Jack Nicholson department, but hey, if he wants to bring a bag of sex-toys to the set why not let him!? I love the violence in this movie, the cynical nature of the narrative, the final beats with Whlberg and Damon, that fucking rat scurrying over the window sill, but what really keeps bringing me back to this movie whenever I pass it by on the HD movie channels is the salty, profane dialogue that feels like masculine poetry when put into context with the cop genre. A sly and smart updating of 2002’s Infernal Affairs, The Departed allowed Scorsese to just sit back and have a ball with a bloody, nasty genre piece, made without epic pretense, instead focusing on the intimate nature of a criminal organization and undercover cops, while also allowing for smart character moments to shine through. Vera Farmiga was super sharp and oh-so-sexy in this film, and I love her pointed scenes with an impotent Damon — hilarious! Craft contributions from Howard Shore, Michael Ballhaus, and Thelma Schoonmacher were all ace. Wahlberg doing a zipper-mouth-fart on Sheen’s desk in response to Leo’s reference of Hawthorne POWER, Baldwin Patriot Act POWER, and James Badge Dale outta nowhere at the end POWER.   

Tilda Swinton’s hypnotic, bravura performance in Erick Zonca’s twisty, lurid and passionately directed indie kidnapping drama Julia is one of the most fearless pieces of acting I’ve come across. She tears into her damaged-goods role with such gusto and force that the film itself seems to be exploding with energy, frustration, and hostility. This is an expressionistic piece of filmmaking, with dreamy cinematography by Yorick Le Saux (Swimming Pool, Clouds of Sils Maria) that’s mixed with rough editing patterns by Philippe Kotlarski, leaving the audience in a jittery state of paranoia and unease. There’s nothing rational about this exceedingly intense film, but that’s sort of the point – Zonca has created a loose-cannon character who never thinks about the consequences of her actions. And when she’s forced to get serious, too many mistakes have been made for her to ever feel normal. Swinton loves playing unlikable characters, and with her titular performance in Julia, she painted a portrait of a sleazy, morally bankrupt woman who thinks nothing of endangering a child, let alone the dangerous. potentially lethal ramifications that come with her skewed sense of logic. This is an edgy, oddly sexy, deeply unique film that further demonstrates how marvelous Swinton is as a performer.

I Am Love is a film that, yet again, showcases a fearless, go-for-broke performance from Tilda Swinton, who is easily one of my favorite actresses currently working. And if you’ve ever wanted to hear he speak fluent Italian with a Russian accent, this film is for you! I Am Love is a sensual, sexual, lyrical piece of filmmaking from Italian director Luca Guadagnino, who in tandem with the brilliant cinematographer Yorick Le Saux conjured up a dreamy, tremendously stylized motion picture that literally feels like a living, breathing entity. Conceived over an 11 year period by Swinton and Guadagnino, the film is all about how unbridled passion can get in the way of almost anything and everything, and how the primal instincts that run through our bones, heart, and lower regions can sometimes not be contained, no matter how hard one tries. Music from the classical composer John Adams fills the background, giving off a rarefied vibe, while Swinton plows through the juicy narrative with so much force and command that it’s impossible not to be mesmerized by her every move. Antonella Cannarozzi’s costumes are spectacular, feeding into the overly-moneyed thematic subtext, and while the film certainly dips into melodrama, Guadagnino isn’t content to let anyone off easy, while also imbuing his film with tips to The Godfather. As with any story that is propelled by a torrid affair, there’s real heat in this film, and Swinton, ever the chameleonic artist, slips into her tricky role with so much elegance that you just can’t help but be blown away by her natural sense as an actress.

Veteran production designer and art director Charles William Breen has had an extraordinary career working on some of the most popular and long lasting films from the last 35 years. His extensive list of credits includes early career work on Ridley Scott’s masterpiece Blade Runner, Mike Nichols’ drama Postcards from the Edge, Richard Attenborough’s ambitious biopic Chaplin, James Cameron’s seminal science-fiction classic Terminator 2, Clint Eastwood’s blockbuster romance The Bridges of Madison County, Neil Labute’s scathing satire Your Friends and Neighbors and his playfully violent black comedy Nurse Betty. And that’s just naming a few! No matter the genre or the filmmaker that he’s working with, Breen is always able to transport the viewer exactly where any given project is set, and it’s through his innate sense of what’s pleasing to the eye that we’re left with some of the most visually iconic sets and brush-strokes of art direction that could possibly be imagined. Having received an Emmy nomination for Art Direction on HBO’s critically acclaimed Weapons of Mass Destruction, he’s also no stranger to the small screen, having just recently worked on the pilot for the short-lived but extremely funny FX series The Comedians, as well as 23 episodes of the USA comedic series Sirens. Breen is also a frequent contributor on short films, working with a wide variety of talent throughout the years on multiple projects, and has put his talents to use as a solo art director on the powerful drama Flesh and Bone, the glossy copy thriller Jade, the fiery revenge tale The Crow: City of Angels, and Walter Hill’s kick-ass actioner Trespass. There’s not much that Breen can’t do it seems!

One of his most distinctive credits was the 2006 gangster-musical hybrid Idlewild, from frequent collaborator director Bryan Barber, who has spent the majority of his career in the music video world. Breen brought all of Barber’s bold visual ideas to life with his production design of Idlewild; it’s gorgeous work, overflowing with detail that spills out past the edges of the frame, always providing something visually stimulating to look at. A wildly ambitious and obscenely underrated film, it’s the sort of technical and logistical tour de force that warranted an Oscar nomination. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have something like Neil LaBute’s nasty relationship drama Your Friends and Neighbors, which highlighted Breen’s ability to use open space and a clean frame to express sadness, hostility, and isolation. It’s an emotionally cold film, and the spare production design reflects the chilly and repressed interior worlds of the characters. And while this project arrived before Idlewild, it was an early indication of Breen’s range as an artist that would allow him to even be considered for such a daunting designing challenge. And I can only image what it must have been like to get one of your first industry jobs working on the sets for the now beyond famous Blade Runner, which has come to mean so much to some many people over the years that it’s safe to call it one of the most influential films ever made. In every single shot of Blade Runner, the audience is treated to something spectacular, and I can think of few other films that have been more art directed and designed to express so many thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Not much goes according to plan, a rival mobster enters the plot, a mysterious and sexy woman shows up on the scene (Alicia Vikander, pre Ex-Machina), and before you know it, loyalties are tested, sparks fly between Thwaites and Vikander, bullets are fired from various automatic weapons, and a couple of cars do some fantastic, un-CGI’d flips and roll-overs. Shot with clarity and an excellent sense of formal composition by cinematographer Nigel Bluck, Son of a Gun looks terrific all throughout and Bluck’s effective shot selection offers up unique angles during the action sequences, while also feeling intimate during the slower, more dramatic moments between the characters. Swiftly paced and featuring durable performances by an interesting mix of familiar faces and complete unknowns, Son of a Gun is a crime picture for genre enthusiasts. It does what it sets out to do with smarts and unassuming aesthetic flair, and will likely serve as a calling card for filmmaker Avery, who I imagine is taking meetings all over town by this point.