Fairly Recent Movies: The Hand of God; Passing; Scarborough; Books: Michael Tolliver Lives

Fairly Recent Movies

The Hand of God

In the 1980s, Fabietto Schisa (Filippo Scotti) is a teenager living in Naples with his family: both parents and an older brother and sister. The film chronicles the family’s connections with friends, neighbours, and extended family members as well as Fabietto’s aspirations to work in film along with his deep admiration for football great, Diego Maradona.

“The Hand of God” is very ‘Felliniesque’ in the first half which includes many enjoyable short scenes with a good share of whacky characters. While some of the characters occasionally show cruelty toward others, the film cleverly avoids crossing the line into sadism; the people on screen are all intriguing in their own way and there is a lot of humour.

The film’s climax (and a shocking one at that) happens around the middle of the story and while it continues its flow-of-life pace with which it began, the feelings of whimsy and humour are gone and replaced with a strong drama.

As both comedy and drama, director/writer Paolo Sorrentino succeeds on both counts and he is greatly aided by cinematographer Daria D’Antonio especially in scenes involving the architecture of Naples and its nearby bodies of water.

RATING (out of four stars): * * * 1/2

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Passing

Based on the novel by Nella Larsen: In New York City in the 1920s, two childhood friends are reunited: Irene (Tessa Thompson) is a light-skinned black woman who is married to a black doctor and living in a wealthy Harlem neighbourhood where the couple raise two young sons; Claire (Ruth Negga) has mixed race heritage unbeknownst to her wealthy white husband who is racist. Clare and her husband have a young daughter. Like Clare, Irene occasionally takes advantage of being able to “pass” as white in certain circumstances.

From the film’s beginning, the viewer is set up for a fascinating ride. The superb production values (black and white cinematography, costume and set designs, and sound) are on full display when the reunion takes place in a hotel lunch room. This is shortly followed by an intense scene where a harshly racist comment is made and Irene has an inner-conflicted response to it.

While a lot of the film focusses on Irene’s family life, very little of it is focused on Clare’s. Key scenes occur when Irene is arguing with her husband, Brian (André Holland) about exposing the terrible events of racism in America to their sons. Irene believes the children’s innocence is being harmed while Brian believes this exposure is necessary for their safety. They’re both right but Irene seems oblivious to the fact that her husband and sons cannot ever have the advantage to “pass” as she can.

Clare’s husband (Alexander Skarsgard) appears briefly in three scenes while her daughter is not seen at all. This leaves a very serious gap. There is a hunger to witness the day-to-day life of this family in which very important information is withheld. Hopefully one day, there will be a parallel story written which focuses more on Clare. (This film’s writer/director, Rebecca Hall, would be a perfect candidate for this task.) Despite this gap, the film is powerful regardless.

Thompson does a great job at providing a stable influence for most of the film – that is until her strange behaviour at the beginning of the film’s final scene which makes more sense after the shocking climax.

Viewers of both versions of the film “Imitation of Life” (1934 and 1959 – both highly recommended) would be familiar with the term “passing” which is rarely covered in film, unfortunately. It is great to come back to the theme of this agonizing inner-struggle that would not have to exist without the terrible effects of racism.

There is so much to praise about this film including the journey back to Harlem in the 1920s. It is a fine imitation of life as it was back then filled with charm, elegance, and class. A very good film overall.

RATING: * * * 1/2

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Scarborough

Based on the novel by Catherine Hernandez: In the titular multicultural district of Toronto, the day-to-day struggles of various families are portrayed with a focus on three children: Bing (Liam Diaz), Laura (Anna Claire Beitel), and Sylvie (Mekiya Essence Fox).

It is easy to feel for many of the characters in the film especially the children whose acting portrayals are powerful particularly Beitel. There is also a lovely performance by Aliya Kanani who portrays Ms. Hima, a hijab-wearing childhood educator who shows genuine warmth for the children.

The many difficulties of the characters are well portrayed but they can also be so realistic to the point that the end effect is bleak and depressing. The film also has a problem in the extremes of the modern woke mindset: every adult white character in the film – no exceptions (and there are many of them) are any combination of stupid, insensitive, and/or downright cruel. The race contempt was clear and lowers what could have been a better film. One particular scene includes Ms. Hina being unfairly chided by a white education supervisor. In modern Toronto’s education system, this is a highly unlikely event which would likely have caused the supervisor to be fired. With less bias and stereotypes, this could have been a better film.

RATING: * *

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Books

“Michael Tolliver Lives” by Armistead Maupin

San Francisco, mid-2000s: the title character is a gay man in his fifties who co-owns a gardening company and lives with his much younger partner, Ben. Michael must make a visit to Florida to see his family of origin as his mother’s health is deteriorating.

This book, published in 2007, is part seven of a series whose first six books were published between 1978 and 1989. The catch-up of the eighteen-year gap is as fascinating as it would be in catching up with people in real life. While some characters from the original series are mentioned only briefly, it is heart-warming to check in with them. Maupin is such a brilliant writer that his characters seem to be like people we’ve known a long time even if they are fictional. And finding out what happened during the eighteen-year gap is sometimes shocking; quite sad in one case.

The book’s greatest strength, as in the previous ones, is the laugh-out-loud sharp-tongued wit which is rampant. The humour mostly occurs in conversations in short sentences usually between two people; sometimes three. But like the earlier books, the humour is not the only strength. There is also mystery, suspense and occasional shocks.

Some of the shocks come from Michael’s mother, presumably a devout Christian, who has developed different views on certain things while being hospitalized. Another shock around Michael’s family history is revealed by his brother. Yet another comes from Michael himself when he must face a difficult decision by the story’s end. And it’s also fair to say that some of the sex scenes are bluntly shocking as well.

As always, Maupin’s world is filled with a fascinating variety of characters including two transgender people who are two generations apart and share the same household. There are also certain archetypes that Maupin (and others like him) would dislike at a surface level but he is fair to such characters, giving them depth and perspective without dismissing them as stereotypes.

Some of the older characters speak of the yearning for lighter attitudes (and housing affordability) during the 70s and 80s. Their nostalgia can be easily felt by readers who lived through such times.

A wonderful read with wonderful characters.

Before reading this, it is highly recommended to read the series in order before starting this one: “Tales of the City”, “More Tales of the City”, “Further Tales of the City”, “Babycakes”, “Significant Others”, and “Sure of You”.

RATING: * * * 1/2