Talking Films: May MeetUp
As the lockdown slowly eases and the world opens bit by bit, our May playlist follows suit, focusing on ‘New Encounters’ of all kinds – with new species, people, ideas, creatures, ways of life, the unseen. As always, our play list is a mixture of series, documentaries, and films to get stuck into.
Must-see TV
1. Special mention to Helen McCrory’s strong, messy, extraordinary, real women
In our first ‘Special Mention’ segment, we are remembering the late Helen McCrory who sadly passed away in April 2021. We are celebrating her with 2 iconic roles of hers in 2 fervently beloved series.
PEAKY BLINDERS- BBC iPLAYER & NETFLIX
Is there much difference between official, publicly elected government and organised crime organisations? This is the question this multi-award winning juggernaut of a British, period drama keeps brilliantly asking, shrewdly mixing fiction with reality and taking full advantage of its jaw-dropping production values, international cast to die for and a spot-on, headlined by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds soundtrack. McCrory is Aunt Polly in it, the strong, messy, extraordinary, real woman, without whom the head of the family, Cillian Murphy’s, Thomas Shelby can’t function. How her absence will be dealt with and how will it affect Thomas and everyone in the forthcoming 6th and final season?
PENNY DREADFUL- SKY ATLANTIC/NOW TV
No matter its controversial, frustrating finale episode, this wonderful, in every meaning of the world, show, created by BAFTA winning writer, John Logan, and staring the magnificent Eva Green as the haunted, supernatural whisperer, Vanessa Ives, is an absolute must see study of what it means to be different: a remarkable minority. McCrory, who had worked with Logan before and trusted him completely, appeared as the rather unexceptionable Madame Kali in the 1st season, before being revealed as the utterly seductive Big Bad of the 2nd season, Evelyn Poole – a force to reckon with.
2. The other strong, messy, extraordinary, real woman
MARE OF EASTTOWN- NOWTV / SKY ATLANTIC
One of the most anticipated new shows of the year, Mare of Easttown deserves all of its pre-premiere hype. In a small Pennsylvania town of an America we rarely see, an exceptionally good at her work but familiarly flawed as a person, middle-aged, police detective, aka a female hero pop culture rarely celebrates, tries to solve a murder mystery while also prevent her personal life from totally collapsing. Even if at times, especially in the beginning, too miserable to be true, its carefully crafted suspense and cliff-hungers of the murder mystery, its subtle humour and, above all, the perfectly calibrated, nuanced, anything but glamorous performances by everyone, but particularly Kate Winslet, Evan Peters and Jean Smart, make it a pleasure to behold, as real as it gets character driven drama for the here and now.
3. The Sci-Fi staples
In a parallel / alternative present highly intelligent robotic servants, so-called Synths, evolve exponentially out of our control, and fight for their rights as they strive to find their place in an increasingly turbulent and polarised world. This is a highly intelligent, BAFTA nominated, British drama that astutely adapts the Swedish original Äkta Människor / Real Humans to effectively ponder timeless existential questions surrounding the when and how the creation becomes the creator, while at the same time develops into a timely, subtle socio-political allegory. The star of the highly anticipated Marvel’s and Chloé Zhao’s (see Nomadaland on our film playlist) Eternals , Gemma Chan, leads the exceptional ensemble cast.
FRINGE- SYFY (Channel available on SKY, VIRGIN MEDIA, BT, TALKTALK)
Direct “descendant” of such Sci-Fi paragons as The X Files and The Matrix, and a sister show of Lost (as they were both created by the same, J.J. Abrams headed team), Fringe beat its own uniquely inventive, bold, imaginative, and consistently, incredibly, deeply moving path. Unlike its “ancestors” it also ended on a high, never loosing site / veering off its perfectly weaved and thought through, complex mythology, or the character and bond of its central trinity: a father (the irreplaceable John Noble) that crosses time and space to rescue his son, a son (the gentleman Joshua Jackson) in search of belonging, and the spirited woman (the luminant Anna Torv) who saves them both, and the world.
4. The odd one out
Marvel’s boldly experimental, 1st TV (mini) series caught the world unawares, mesmerising critics and fans alike. It is the most expensive series ever made (each episode reportedly cost around $25 million), the beginning of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4, the spark that ignites the Multiverse, a direct set up to the 2022’s sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, an ingenious referencing, revisiting and reworking of various sitcom patterns and tropes through the years (most obviously paying homage, in episode order, to The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Family Ties, Malcolm in the Middle, and Modern Family) and an unexpected study on grief. Not to mention its emotional anchor: Elizabeth Olson’s, Paul Bettany’s & Kathryn Hahn’s performances.
Alex Garland double bill
From the mind of Alex Garland, Oscar and BAFTA nominated writer and director of The Beach, 28 Days Later, Annihilation, and Ex Machina (see below) comes this stunning, eerie, quite abstract, philosophical meditation on loss, memory and weather technology will be our redemption or doom as we try to control destiny. Made to be loved or hated, like most of Garland’s work (deliberately or not – the jury is still out), it features a haunting, quietly piercing performance by comedic powerhouse Nick Offerman in an unusual for him dramatic role. And that’s something we can all agree on.
Multi award winner (including an Oscar for its Visual Effects) and nominee (including Oscar and BAFTA nominations for Best Original Screenplay) this is a stunning, eerie, quite abstract, philosophical meditation on everything from AI consciousness to gender and class politics. Apparently simple in its structure: 3 characters, the reclusive CEO / inventor, his AI creation, Ava, and the programmer chosen as the human in a Turing Test, interact within the slick confines of a high-tech house in the middle of nowhere. Yet essentially complex in its ideas, themes and references. Universally loved, unlike most of Garland’s work, it features a spellbinding, quietly piercing performance by Alicia Vikander, without which she wouldn’t have clinched the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for The Danish Girl the same year. And that’s something nobody can deny.
Documentaries from Other perspectives
SHOOTING JOE EXOTIC: LOUIS THEROUX- BBC iPLAYER
Louis Theroux revisits previously unseen footage from his encounter with Joe Exotic a decade ago, long before the Netflix documentary hit series Tiger King, in a fascinating look at the impact documentaries and the media can have on the lives of those featured. Louis talks to family members of Joe, offering different perspectives to try and uncover the real person behind the media phenomenon. (J.H.)
THE WORLDS OF URSULA K. LE GUIN – BBC iPLAYER
Ursula K Le Guin is widely regarded as one of the great, ever influential, science fiction authors and feminists of the 20th Century. This documentary charts Le Guin’s defiance in holding her ground on the margins of so-called respectable literature. Captured on film for the first time and recorded over the course of a decade, we see how her efforts pioneered and opened opportunities for a new generation of women and marginalised writers, challenged the status quo and revealed the power of sci-fi literature as a formidable vehicle of socio-political commentary. (J.H.)
Leaning into the Wind follows artist Andy Goldsworthy on his meditative journey exploring the natural world. Cinematographer-director-editor Thomas Riedelsheimer and composer Fred Frith create another mesmerising cinematic experience observing the artist at work; Goldsworthy’s ephemeral work encourages us to always look at things anew, embracing the instant. (J.H.)
Must-see Feature Films
1. Different ways of being
Exquisitely blurring the lines between fiction and documentary, poetry and realism, as she engages only 2 professional actors (the both revered, powerfully bare Frances McDormand and David Strathairn) among her ensemble cast of real-life nomads, Chloe Zhao introduces us to a brave new, always on the move way of life: the difference between “homelessness” and “houselessness”. In the process she redefines the Western and Road-movie genres, enthralling Hollywood, becoming the 1st woman of colour, and only the 2nd (after Kathryn Bigelow) women to ever win the Best Director Oscar, and leading the sublime in her austere simplicity McDormand to her 3rd Best Actress Oscar and her 1st as a Best Picture producer. On May 17, 10 days before our MeetUp, Nomadaland will also, finally, open in cinemas. Do yourself and favour and (re)watch it there.
Where does the artist end and the person begins? Where does the actor end and the role begins? Where does Jim Carrey end and Andy Kaufman begins? And vice versa? Following Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond documentary in our April playlist, we urge you to (re)discover this often misunderstood, cinematic singularity by the late, great, uncompromising Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus, The People vs. Larry Flynt). It lays bare the genius of both the actor, Carrey, and the unconventional comedian, Kaufman, whom Jim so completely and seamlessly embodies, staying true even to Andy’s stubborn vision.
2. Netflix’s Sci-Fi endeavours
What you see out there can kill you. Netflix’s 1st ever mega hit and pop culture phenomenon of a film, took the world by storm just before the pandemic began. Panned by the majority of critics, who routinely, unfavourably compared it to its thematically similar contemporary, A Quiet Place (where what you hear can kill you), it was nevertheless fearlessly attended (and relentlessly, dangerously memed) by audiences everywhere. Less striking in its direction by the great Dane, Susanne Bier (The Night Manager), less of a thriller/horror and more of a character study rooted in its stellar, led by Sandra Bullock cast, however, it works as a better allegory than A Quiet Place. Especially in retrospect, in our lockdown times, as our fears and prejudices inflame conspiracies and fake news that spill out of our every feed on our every screen, infecting the real world out there.
In space an unplanned passenger can kill you. Netflix’s latest offering in the Sci-Fi genre, is another thrilling character study rooted in its stellar cast of Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette, Daniel Dae Kim and Shamier Anderson. More claustrophobic than Bird Box though, and in a different, more literal manner, it stands out, and to an extent defies expectations due to the engaging philosophical questions and dilemmas it poses, as well as its spot-on depiction of everyday life and survival in space, in a tin box.
3. The odd one out
Before becoming a household name with his gloriously irreverent Marvel comedy (yes, you read that right) Thor: Ragnarok, before he won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for his misunderstood masterpiece JoJo Rabit, New Zealander actor, writer and director, Taika Waititi, made this “enormously likeable coming-of-age comedy”, about an 11 year old Michael Jackson fan, imaginatively idolising his absentee father. Based on Waititi’s Oscar nominated short Two Cars, One Night, it became the top-grossing New Zealand film of all time, and it will burst your heart open.
What the f**k is this? An animation film like nothing you’ve seen before, that’s what. Most definitely not for kids, it comes from the -in the best possible way- deranged mind of actor, writer, and producer Seth Rogen (Superbad, Preacher, The Boys) and his creative team, features a delicious (pun intended) voice cast (Rogen himself, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, Salma Hayek, James Franco, Edward Norton) and you must see it to believe it. Because, as one of its many, many reviewers / fans put it, “Sausage Party is more than funny. It’s downright revolutionary”.