Recent Movies: And the Birds Rained Down; Little Women; Knives Out; Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Recent Movies

And the Birds Rained Down

Based on the novel by Jocelyne Saucier: in rural, northern Quebec, three elderly men (played by Gilbert Sicotte, Rémy Girard, and Kenneth Welsh) reside in a cottage in the woods, living as separately as possible from outside society. Their lives change as an elderly woman (Andrée Lachapelle) escapes her nearby psychiatric hospital to live with them and a young photographer/historian (Ève Landry) wants to know more of their experiences during a massive forest fire that devastated the region many years before.

This film is a fascinating story about fascinating outliers and how they connect with each other. Another character, played by Éric Robidoux plays the nephew of the elderly woman. He manages to connect the other unusual characters with each other while adding a few quirks of his own to the story.

Occasionally, some of the connections are confusing or unexplained. And there is a serious flaw in that there seems to be no police investigation after a senior psychiatric patient has gone missing. But luckily, the strengths of the film outweigh the flaws.

The story and its characters provide a deep perspective of life from people who live differently – sometimes not by their own choices. While it is sometimes easy to dislike the historian for acting like a jerk, her perspective is also given validity. Here, there is good ambiguity. And the acting by the elder actors add a lot to the film’s beauty especially that of Lachapelle, her final film as she died late last year. And let’s not forget the breathtaking views of the forest and lake.

RATING (out of four stars):   * * *

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Little Women

In the seventh film adaptation of the novel by Louisa May Alcott: Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) is the second of four young daughters living in rural Massachusetts during the 1860s. An aspiring writer (clearly a stand-in for Alcott), she juggles her ambitions, her wishes to help her family when in need, and a romantic life all while being determined to have an independence untraditional for females in that era . The lives of Jo’s sisters are also chronicled: Meg (Emma Watson) has acting talent and dreams of marrying and raising children; Amy (Florence Pugh) is an aspiring artist; and Beth (Eliza Scanlen) is a talented pianist. The March family also deals with financial challenges (despite living in a huge, beautiful house) while the patriarch is away fighting in the Civil War.

Using the non-linear approach, there are many back-and-forth time shifts that are sometimes jolting, making the film seem more like a series of related segments rather than a united whole. But director/writer Greta Gerwig has orchestrated a beautifully, moving piece with lighting, music, set designs, exterior shots, and costumes that are all at the highest level, wonderfully re-creating an era long gone by.

Ronan is very powerful as the lead and lives up to the demands of a very deep, complex character. She is at her best in a confrontation scene with a potential lover played by Timothée Chalamet. While most performances and characterizations are quite good, Jo’s older sister Meg (Watson) and Meg’s love interest, John (James Norton) have little chemistry and occasionally come off as bland although their individual performances are good otherwise. Other roles are played by such stalwarts as Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, and Chris Cooper.

A very clever device is used by the film’s end showing the parallel of the fates of the characters in Jo’s book matched with that of Jo herself. The climactic scene at a vintage train station is one the most beautiful of conclusions.

RATING:   * * *

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Knives Out

Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is a successful mystery novelist. He has invited his dysfunctional extended family to his Massachusetts mansion for his 85th birthday party. The following day, an unexpected death is discovered and eccentric detective Benoit Blanc (David Craig) shows up unexpectedly to see if there is any foul play involved in the death.

Director/writer Rian Johnson begins the film with sharp editing (by Bob Ducsay) as the viewer sees interrogations with family members interspersed with events as they actually unfolded – events that are not revealed during the interrogations. This gets the film off to a great start and luckily, the energy stays that way.

“Knives Out” may be a bit long and somewhat convoluted with minor holes but it still provides a solid mystery with great twists and revelations as more and more is unfolded – especially the surprise ending. Adding to the mystery is whether or not a murder even took place. Its all-star cast provides fine performances especially from Craig, Ana de Armas as Harlan’s likeable private nurse and confidante, and Chris Evans as Harlan’s high-adrenaline, spoiled, entitled grandson. The film also goes deeper on many issues – including contemporary politics – and pulls no punches on what it has to say about trust-fund brats and lecherous in-laws.

Other cast members include Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, and Toni Collette.

RATING:   * * *

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Portrait of a Lady on Fire

In the late 1700s, Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is a painter who has traveled to an island on France’s Brittany coast with the assignment to paint a portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). Heloïse is of an aristocratic family who intends, against her will, to have her marry a Milanese nobleman. In time, the two women connect romantically.

Director/writer Céline Sciamma clearly knows much about visual art. Each frame of her splendid film could easily resemble a beautiful painting of the time period of the film. The sequences of the artist at work are also in clear, fine detail. Whether scenes take place in a sparsely lit chateau or a cliff by the sea, the cinematography by Claire Mathon is breathtaking.

Sciamma has succeeded in applying a modern feminist perspective in her characters during an era long before feminism existed. This is reflected in three situations: an arranged marriage in which the potential bride has no say regarding the marriage (while the potential groom does); a love connection between two women that must be kept secret; and an unwanted pregnancy of one of the film’s other characters.

An interesting twist on class is also covered: Marianne is middle-class and yet she has more autonomy and independence (at least where marriage is concerned) than Héloïse who is of a higher class. It was also interesting in that, even after the two main players have connected as lovers, they address each other using the formal French word “vous” instead of the familiar “tu”.

Merlant does a fine job as the main protagonist – a smart, educated woman of many talents. Yet Haenel truly stands out as a mysterious “muse” whose facial expressions convey so much emotion particularly envy and love. Her extended close-up in the final scene is mesmerizing.

It is inevitable to compare “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” with “The Piano” released in 1993. Both films deal with forbidden love with the matching metaphor of crashing waves in the background. Each also begins with an artistic woman arriving by a rowboat to a place where she has never been before. There are other similarities as well as clear differences between the two but this is certain: each film deserves very high praise.

RATING:   * * * 1/2