Me Before You

Posted on June 2, 2016 at 5:21 pm

It’s all about the eyebrows. Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”) has gamine-like “natural” eyebrows ideal for expressing wonder, hurt feelings, and enthusiasm, and Sam Claflin (“Hunger Games”) has circumflex-like eyebrows ideal for expressing skepticism, irony, and stoicism. All four eyebrows get an extensive workout in “Me Before You,” based on the international best-seller by JoJo Moyes about Louisa Clark (Clarke), a high-spirited, warm-hearted pixie of a girl, just laid off from her job behind the counter at a bakery, and Will Traynor (Claflin), a once-energetic, once-successful finance type from a wealthy family who is now paralyzed below the shoulders following an accident. Lou is hired by Will’s mother (the redoubtable Janet McTeer) as a “companion” for Will, a position that only exists in novels about warm-hearted young women sent to castles with names like Thornhill that have eligible but tortured men waiting to have their hearts warmed. Will has an Aussie aide who handles the icky physical stuff (Stephen Peacocke), so Lou is there to bring cheer to Will, who has no intention of being cheered. And did I mention he lives in a literal castle?

Lou’s family depends on her for money, because her father has been laid off (due, as we will find, to the financial engineering of Will’s one-time protege). And so she accepts the job with no real understanding of caring for a severely disabled person and stays in it even when he refuses to speak to her or to accept her many offers of a cup of tea. Ultimately, through a combination of ennui, frustration, and the impossibility of resisting the charm of Lou’s kindergarten teacher meets Lisa Frank and Hello Kitty-style attire, Will begins to thaw a little. The immense pressure of what he has lost inspires him to want more for her than she wants for herself, and he feels impelled to show her that, even with a castle in its midst, her little town cannot be enough for all she should want from life. Did I mention that his name is Traynor?

This is not a movie that leaves anything to the imagination. Just in case you were not sure of that, Lou’s boyfriend Patrick (one-time Neville Longbottom Matthew Lewis) is Will’s polar opposite, a fitness instructor and “motivational coach” who thinks a few more reps can solve any problem. And just in case that isn’t enough, there’s a brief encounter with the divine Joanna Lumley to spell it all out for Louisa and for us as well.

Okay, so no surprises here, especially if you’ve read the book. Bring a handkerchief, maybe two. But Clarke and Claflin have palpable chemistry, and we are no more able to resist Lou than Will is. As she takes him back out into the world, she thinks it is for him, but he knows it is for her, and we find that the real hero of the story is Will’s, well, will.

SPOILER ALERT: Some groups have raised concerns about the film’s portrayal/advocacy of assisted death, adapting the movie’s #liveboldly tagline to urge movies to portray disabled people who are active and engaged.

Parents should know that this film includes non-explicit sexual references and situation, mild language, severe injury and discussion of assisted death.

Family discussion: Should Will have changed his mind? What will Louisa do next?

If you like this, try: “Love Story” and “A Walk to Remember”

Teaser Trailer: Disney’s New Live Action Beauty and the Beast

Posted on May 23, 2016 at 11:14 am

Emma Watson and Dan Stevens (“Downton Abbey”) star in Disney’s live action “Beauty and the Beast,” coming in 2017. Here’s a peek.

Love & Friendship

Posted on May 12, 2016 at 5:54 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rate PG for some thematic elements
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Scuffles
Diversity Issues:	Class issues
Date Released to Theaters:	May 13, 2016
Date Released to DVD:	September 6, 2016
Amazon.com ASIN:	B01HE7NTX6

Who better to adapt Jane Austen’s epistolary novel, Lady Susan, for the screen than our finest contemporary observer of life among the “haute bourgeoisie,” Whit Stillman? A highlight of his first film was a conversation about Austen’s Mansfield Park, and his gift for epigrammatic dialog and understanding of class and money — and female protagonists — make it a natural fit. The result is a delightful confection about a woman described by Austen via one of the other characters as “the most accomplished coquette in England,” and one who “does not confine herself to that sort of honest flirtation which satisfies most people, but aspires to the more delicious gratification of making a whole family miserable.”

That assessment is not exactly accurate. Making a whole family miserable is somewhere between collateral damage and side benefit.

Lady Susan (fearless but effervescent Kate Beckinsale) is a recent widow with a teenaged daughter. In the manner of the era, when the gentry visited each other for months at a time, she has been staying with friends. First, she has no money and therefore her primary asset, aside from her guile and is her relationships with more comfortably settled members of her class. And second, the best chance for her to have a home of her own again is to marry her daughter off to a wealthy man. Stillman makes Lady Susan a more sympathetic character than Austen did, in part due to the vivacity of the actress who portrays her. It’s hard to have her believably portray such a captivating figure without our being captivated ourselves. But in addition, it is clear throughout that she may be ruthless and mercenary, but she has no other options. Her very status and gender constrain her from any other option, but she is undeterred. “In one’s plight is one’s opportunity,” she says. She has a gift for outrageous comments made with so much confidence they almost sound reasonable: About being sent away by her hostess: “If she were going to be jealous, she should not have married such a charming man.” About her daughter’s school: ““The fees are too high to even think of paying!” In the midst of an era of polite misdirection and euphemism, she is focused and direct, a hint of the coming modernity in the days of the harpsichord.

If she was around today, she’d be a CEO. Or a reality star.

Lady Susan has very little by way of education. She is not sure how many Commandments there are or what they contain. But she knows people, especially men. She knows her husband’s family has no socially acceptable vocabulary to tell her she can no longer stay with them. And when a handsome, eligible man warned about her skill with the opposite sex appears ready to resist her, she cleverly upends his expectations and before he knows it, he is captivated.

Stillman presents the story with wit and brio, introducing us to the characters with helpful on-screen descriptors: “his wealthy wife,” “a divinely attractive man.” The slight archness is his, or Austen’s, or Lady Susan’s; all are a bit reductionist when it comes to assessing everyone in the story according to his or her usefulness. He resists the usual musty respect for all classics, especially those featuring corsets, and presents the story with elegance and a refreshing briskness. Lady Susan would approve.

Parents should know that this film includes themes of deception and adultery.

Family discussion: Why did Lady Susan confide in Alicia? How did Lady Susan show her understanding of what it took to gain the affection of the different men around her?

If you like this, try: more Jane Austen films including “Sense and Sensibility” and “Pride and Prejudice,” as well as the books that inspired them

The Meddler

Posted on May 1, 2016 at 11:42 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for brief drug content
Profanity:	Some strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, marijuana
Violence/ Scariness:	Sad offscreen death, minor accident
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	April 29, 2016

Marnie (Susan Sarandon) is the irresistible force who, just before this movie starts, meets the immovable object: devastating grief in the loss of her husband. She does not have the vocabulary to process this loss. And so she tries to hold onto the person she was before. And she tries to convince everyone around her — and herself — that she’s fine. “The Meddler” begins with a brief monologue about how much she loves living in Los Angeles, where she has moved to be near her only daughter, Lori (Rose Byrne). “It’s like Disneyland!” she says cheerfully.

But she has trouble filling her days and finding a place to use her generous impulses. And so, as the title indicates, she meddles. She calls Lori many times a day, and when Lori does not answer, she comes over — with a bag of bagels. Lori, grieving in her own way for her father and for a breakup with a handsome actor, does not respond, and so Marnie turns her attention to anyone who comes along, from Lori’s friends to the guy at the Apple store genius bar. What she does not feel ready to do yet is to say goodbye to her husband by burying his ashes and putting up a headstone in the family plot back in New Jersey. “It’s been a year,” she tells his brothers. But it has been two. And she is not ready to think about loving someone new, even after she meets a man who is from her home town and seems perfect for her (Michael McKean).

When Lori’s friend Jillian (SNL’s Cecily Strong) mentions that she needs a babysitter, and so Marnie shows up at her house — with bagels. Jillian says that she does not have a mother and she never had the dream wedding she wished for. So Marnie offers to give her a wedding. And when she encourages the Apple genius (Jerrod Carmichael of “The Carmichael Show”) to go back to school, she offers to drive him. She has so much to give, but the loss of her husband has left her with no place to give it and a fear of losing him even more if she changes too much or gets too close to someone else.

Sarandon gives one of her best performances, which means she is truly superb, and Byrne is excellent as well. When Lori’s ex and his new girlfriend find Marnie and Lori having dinner together on Valentine’s Day, there is a beautifully funny and heart-wrenching moment as both mother and daughter try so hard to appear to be doing fine that they do not notice they are undermining each other. In another scene of piercing bittersweetness, a day of emotional upheaval ends in mingled laughter and tears. JK Simmons brings dry wit and humanity to the role of an ex-cop and hen farmer whose quiet understanding gives Marnie her first chance to let go a little, and to acknowledge, after some resistance, that it is something she wants and needs to do, for herself and for Lori.

Writer/director Lorene Scafaria (“Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist” and “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World”) has a rare gift for finding the space in between joy and grief, and a rare understanding of the power of small moments to tell a big story. As Marnie watches Lori’s script being filmed, she is moved by the way Lori has used her writing to work through her grief, and as we watch this film, we share that feeling.

Parents should know that this film has some strong language, sexual references, and drug use.

Family discussion: Why does Marnie want to help people she hardly knows? What’s the difference between being supportive and meddling and how does that change in different circumstances?

If you like this, try: “Hello, My Name is Doris” and “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World”

Trailer: Equals

Posted on April 26, 2016 at 8:00 am

Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart star in a futuristic story about a time when emotions are outlawed and love is the worst crime of all.