Our Brand is Crisis

Posted on October 29, 2015 at 5:38 pm

As we gear up for one of the most improbable and even outlandish Presidential campaigns in US history, we get a movie based on a real-life Presidential campaign in Bolivia, with imported American political consultants transplanting the media-savvy, scorched-earth, mud-slinging “expertise” that won elections in the US. What could go wrong?

The name of the film is “Our Brand is Crisis,” also the name of the 2006 documentary about what happened when James Carville, an architect of the Clinton campaign, went to Bolivia with his group of consultants and strategists to help elect the Bolivian-born, American-raised Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. Actually they went to help re-elect him. He had served as President from 1993-97. He was trying to regain the Presidency, and who better to help than the team who helped the young governor of Arkansas beat a sitting President, George H.W. Bush?

Sandra Bullock, taking a part based on Carville and originally written for George Clooney, plays a consultant known as “Calamity” Jane. She is burned out and living in a remote rural area when she gets a visit from two former colleagues.

Nell (Ann Dowd) and Ben (Anthony Mackie) want her for two reasons. First, she is good at what she does. Second, she is “disposable, expendable, and deniable.” If their candidate (named Castillo in this film and played by Joaquim de Almeida) wins, they get the glory. If he loses, they can blame “Calamity” Jane. Win win, and a good introduction to the small-p politics of the world of strategists and consultants who work on campaigns.

Jane is not interested, even though she needs the money, until she learns that Castillo’s opponent is being advised by her arch rival, Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), a man who has been on the other side “three or four times” and beaten her “three or four times.” Much more interested in trouncing anyone Candy is advising than in any of the issues or the quality of the candidates, she agrees to fly to Bolivia, where she spends the first few days breathing oxygen from a tank and throwing up due to the altitude.

Finally she begins to wake up and her fiercely competitive spirit takes over. She brings in a secret weapon, a young woman with crackerjack online research skills known only as LeBlanc (Zoe Kazan), a sort of Lisbeth Salander who looks like a sophomore at Yale. And she starts barking orders, telling her candidate to take off his jacket and roll up his sleeves and to turn toward the camera if he feels a tear in his eye. “We are the syringe that injects the people’s voice into your campaign,” she barks. He is so far behind in the polls that he has no alternative.

Jane’s short-term goal: to humanize her candidate, who is seen by the electorate as imperious and out of touch. Her medium term goal: to persuade the electorate that there is a crisis and only his experienced hand can guide them through. Her ultimate goal: complete annihilation of Pat Candy, with a side order of public humiliation.

The political sophistication of the screenplay is below the level of an AP history class, with a lot of scorched earth posturing and the inevitable idealistic youngster to provide contrast to all the superficial cynics. A reference to Adam Smith’s theory of the invisible hand is there for a gloss of political sophistication, but the aphorisms are tired (“If you fight with monsters for too long, you become a monster”) and the film is almost as cynical as its characters. The reason to see it is Bullock, who gives one of the best performances of the year, as complex, nuanced, savvy, and honest as the film would like to be. She’s got my vote.

Parents should know that this film includes very strong and crude language, vulgar sexual references, smoking, drinking, and some violence including riots, tear gas, and guns.

Family discussion: Why did Jane take the job? What will she do next?

If you like this, try: the documentary of the same name that inspired this film and “No,” starring Gael Garcia Bernal, based on the 1988 election in Chile

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Interview: Katherine LaNasa of “Jayne Mansfield’s Car”

Posted on September 12, 2013 at 7:54 pm

Katherine LaNasa stars in “Jayne Mansfield’s Car,” a new 1960’s Southern family drama co-written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton. LaNasa, Thornton, Kevin Bacon, and Robert Patrick play the children of a World War I veteran named Jim Caldwell (Robert Duvall). When their mother dies in England, her British second husband (John Hurt) and his children (Frances O’Connor and Ray Stevenson) bring her body home to Alabama for her funeral. The conflicts between and within the two families are sometimes comic, sometimes romantic, and sometimes painful. LaNasa’s character, Donna, is a former beauty queen, the sister of three World War II veterans with varying physical and emotional scars, affectionate with her family and children but not very satisfied in her marriage. The title of the film comes from Caldwell’s fondness for examining the scenes of car wrecks.

Tell me how you first found out about this project.

Well, actually I was in Cannes with my son who was starring in Gus Van Sant’s movie, “Restless.” And I thought, well, this is what this comes to, I’m the mom of a well known actor. I got a call about it and I decided to leave early. Henry was having a big time partying with Mick Jagger while I was sitting in my hotel, so I thought perhaps – oh he was about 20 at the time – so he was old enough, but I thought, oh I’m going back and audition and I’m so glad I did. And that’s how I came to find out about it. I was actually up for a smaller role – but the role just had scattered lines here and there, so Billy had me read the role of Donna in order to audition for the smaller role. He was actually being pressured to cast a movie star in the Donna role. So I just got really lucky.

How did you work on the Alabama accent to develop an authentic feel to it?

I am southern, from Louisiana, so that helped. And I just based a little bit off of Lucas Black, from “Slingblade” . There was something in the character of Donna that reminded me oddly of the boy character in Slingblade.” There was a kind of unabashed sense of self – like his whole self was just very forward. I don’t feel that either of those characters had any shame. They just sort of were exactly who they were. And there was just that made me think about that kid in “Slingblade” when I started to work on the character of Donna. I kinda tried to morph that into Donna. Then of course when she’s flirting turns into this whole other thing – with the voice down low – which my grandmother has a bit of that, and I also kinda wanted there to be this “hickiness” to the accent at times, like when I speak to my husband. I’d say “Oh Jimbo” not that it was oh so grounded and soft and finished like people sometimes do when they do a Southern accent. I wanted it to have some of that twang that you hear in Lucas’ accent and a lot of the accents in the Deep South.

Your character had long and complicated histories with the other characters that were not always reflected in the dialogue. What did you do to develop the family relationships and the back story with the other actors?

Billy said something to me at the beginning about the shooting that I thought was so informative and great which was “I think Donna is probably more herself in this town, where she has got to be a big star, because, seriously, she was Miss Alabama – she’s from this tiny town –I mean everybody’s gotta know Donna. Plus, sides the fact they are probably the richest people in town. And everybody liked her.” And I thought – oh wow – how great it is to play a character that everyone loves. So, that was in my brain. It gave me permission to just have fun. And to just be well liked and just step into Donna the whole time that we were shooting. So the funny thing is that the relationships just started to become that while we were there. It’s like I was really the only female that was always around. All the men would look to me to do the social planning. It got to the point where Billy’s wife was calling me to ask, could I take Billy’s son under my wing – into the fold – it’s like hilarious. I said, “You know, I’m not actually Donna.” Ducall would refer to me as Donna. I love to work that way because I thought, “My only job here is to just get to know my brothers. It’s to have a good time, be the well-liked center of attention and get to know these guys.” And I thought that that would read on film, the more that I got to know them. Billy is a very together-y guy. When he’s shooting, he likes for everyone to do stuff together and go listen to music together or have some beers and pizza together – he likes a lot of that.

When I first met Robert Patrick I died – he is so scary looking – he is a scary looking man. He has a cigar and he rides a motorcycle and in real life he mostly just wears black t-shirts. If I had just shown up on the set to do that role with him, I think I would have played that scene completely differently. I would have felt like I had to stand up to him, which in a way – would make him look like he has more power. When I realized that he was a sweetheart through hanging out with him so much I realized there’s this kinda soft inside to him – in his character as well – and that Donna wouldn’t be intimidated by him. Donna would just tell him to shut up.

I just let things come to me. I personally like to hang out with people if I’m playing their mom, I’d like to go have lunch with the kid and I want to try to spend as much time with people that I can while we are working together if we’re supposed to have a familiar relationship with them because I think it reads.

My favorite scene with your character was the one where you were in bed with Philip because Donna has a lot more willingness to be honest than you normally see in a scene like that. So tell me a little bit about how that scene came together.

That’s what I’m talking about, that same vibe that I got off that kid in “Slingblade.” It’s really all so raw. That complete, sort of unabashed lack of shame, there’s no dancing around it. I really wanted to hit it – to be pronounced.

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Actors Interview

Great Movie Moments: ‘The Apostle’ — Billy Bob Thornton Wants to Bulldoze a Church

Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:00 am

As I wrote earlier, my new book, which should be out by the end of the year, is about some of my favorite movie moments. I’m having a lot of fun writing about them but one thing I can’t do in a book is post the clips, so I’m going to post some of them here. This is from “The Apostle.” Robert Duvall wrote, directed, and stars in the story of a flawed man of faith who starts a church in a poor community. In this scene, Billy Bob Thornton’s character, who is offended by a church with both black and white worshippers, arrives with a bulldozer to knock the church down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BadaTb1qhZI

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Great Movie Moments Spiritual films

Eagle Eye

Posted on December 23, 2008 at 8:02 am

A promising premise, some intense action, and a lively appearance by Billy Bob Thornton might have been enough to squeak this one by as a summer movie but when the days grow shorter and the wind blows chill we ask for a little more in our movies and this one does not make it.

The always-appealing Shia LaBeouf plays Jerry Shaw, whose job as a “copy associate” requires him to greet customers, “Welcome to Copy Cabana; how can I help you?” He is behind on his rent and gets an “insufficient funds” notice when he visits the ATM. After his brother’s funeral, he suddenly has three-quarters of a million dollars and an apartment full of weapons. And then he gets a cell phone call telling him that the FBI will arrive in 30 seconds to arrest him and he needs to run. He stays put, the FBI arrives, and he finds himself being interrogated by Agent Tom Morgan (Thornton). He gets another call with instructions to escape and this time, there is no alternative. Meanwhile, Rachel, a young single mother (Michele Monaghan) who has just put her little boy on a train trip to Washington with his school band, gets a call with instructions, too, threatening to kill her son unless she goes along. They meet (“Who are you and why are people shooting at us?”).

Pretty soon, they’re on the road together, doing that bickering/personal revelation/impressing each other/building trust dance amidst chases, explosions, and shoot-outs, with Agent Morgan and an investigator from the Air Force (Rosario Dawson) on the trail.

I’m always up for a good paranoid thriller, and these days the incursions on privacy from both increased technological capability and Patriot Act-era transparency provide some plausible and nicely creepy possibilities to explore. What if someone could track all of our conversations, even when our phones were off and process all of the data stored about us, our families, and our friends, at work, at the bank, at the insurance company, in the IRS files. It turns the enemy into something between Hannibal Lecter, the Borg, and the Terminator, with resistance futile in the face of such an implacable and all-knowing foe.

So far, so good. There are some inventively staged moments, especially one that looks like a live-action variation of the climax from “Monsters Inc” with a chase scene in an airport cargo conveyor system. Thornton brings some twisty humor (and, given the variation in quality, his skill as a writer to his own dialogue) to the story. But the thinness of the premise and the even greater thinness of the characterizations kick in and it all begins to fall apart. I can’t really explain how dumb the resolution is without spoilers, so I am invoking the legendary “Gothika Rule” and will give away the surprise ending to anyone who sends me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com. Let me just say that it doesn’t take an eagle eye to figure it all out.

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“Gothika Rule” Action/Adventure

The Astronaut Farmer

Posted on February 3, 2007 at 4:34 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for thematic material, peril and language.
Profanity:	Brief strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Some social drinking
Violence/ Scariness:	Character in peril with some injuries, sad death
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	2007
Date Released to DVD:	2007
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00005JPLE

Once upon a time there was a farmer who wanted to build a rocket ship and orbit the earth. And there were some evil ogres who wanted to stop him.

That’s the best way to describe this slight fairy tale of a film, where each shot is lovingly framed to show the golden light playing over the pastoral landscapes, set in a small town that makes Mayberry seem unfriendly and featuring a family so unconditionally loving and devoted that we seem to have come upon them mid-Hallmark commercial.

That is not to say that it is anything but warm-hearted and captivating. It is just to say that you can’t take it too seriously. In other words, don’t try this at home.

Billy Bob Thornton plays a farmer actually named Farmer. That is his last name and many people call him that, including his wife Audie (Virginia Madsen). He rides a horse in his astronaut uniform — the ultimate mash-up of American male icons. When he gets up to a small bit of vandalism he is sent for a psychological evaluation — to the local school nurse, who was once his prom date. Everyone in the town knows everyone else and knows everything about everyone else. But even his good friend at the bank can’t stop foreclosure proceedings when Farmer spends all his money on the rocket. And when he orders rocket fuel over the internet, he attracts the attention of some people outside the community. They are people from places that are very big on initials, like NASA and DOJ and WMD. They are people who are very big on laws like the Patriot Act. And they are people who have no imagination and no sense of humor when it comes to having private citizens launch rockets.

The good guys are cute and cuddly and believe in their dreams. They have family dinners where everyone talks about what should be packed for the mission. The children are devoted to their parents and have beautiful manners. The two little girls (real-life daughters of the twin brothers who made the film) are the most natural and appealing young performers since “In America.” Virginia Madsen is radiant as always as Mrs. Farmer. And there’s an adorably grizzled old grandpa (Bruce Dern) to tell Farmer what a great dad he is.

It works because of the conviction of its actors (including a surprise third act appearance by a major movie star) and its gentle, unassuming Capra-esque air. Its takeoff and flight is more butterfly than rocketship, but it’s a lovely ride.

Parents should know that there are some tense and scary moments. A character is in peril and is injured. There is a sad death. Characters use brief strong language and drink and there is a brief sexual reference.

Families who see this movie should talk about why Farmer’s dream was so important to him and why his family supported him. Why didn’t he accept the offer to go in NASA’s space shuttle? Was the government right to try to stop him? Why?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy films about the U.S. space program, including Apollo 13, From the Earth to the Moon and The Right Stuff. And they might enjoy the made-for-television movie “Salvage 1” with Andy Griffith, which became a series.