Quick takes on 5 films

The Swerve is one of those hidden gems, with a relatively unknown cast, a first-time director, a tiny studio, and which took a couple years to finally find a path to release. Well worth it! I loved this film, about a woman, Holly (new-to-me Azura Skye) who is suffering from severe insomnia. She’s the modern-day working mom, a teacher, with two teenage boys (one involved in school activities) and a husband who works long hours while seeking a promotion at the local grocery store. This busy home and work life keep Holly very busy, so when she goes a few nights without sleep, things snowball quickly. I think the whole film only takes a week or so, but so much happens in that week! We learn about Holly’s strained relationship with her parents and younger sister, the “black sheep” of the family, and as Holly’s sleepless nights pile up, she begins to hallucinate. What’s great about the picture is that, like Holly, we as viewers don’t know what’s real and what isn’t. Skye’s character Holly is completely believable as a woman descending into almost-madness, in one of the better performances I’ve seen in awhile in a “newcomer” (though the actress has been around awhile apparently). Her husband Rob and sister Claudia are equally fantastic. I love finding movies like this. ★★★★

Major Arcana is another solid film made on a shoestring budget. It’s about a man (not sure I even caught his name?) who returns to his parents home after the death of his father. You get the impression that he left because of his mom, and his relationship with her is still strained. In fact, the dad left all of his land (52 acres) and house to the son, along with a sum of money, leaving his widow bitter. Our main character has been away for 4 years, doing odd jobs up the west coast and Canada, and learning how to work with his hands. More than anything, he’s been away to straighten out his life, and returns home thinner, sober, and more at peace than when he left. As part of his grieving/recovery process, he starts building a cabin out in the woods, felling the trees, cutting the boards, all by himself. Unfortunately, in this tiny backwater town, his old demons try to lure him back to his previous lifestyle, mostly in the guise of his ex-high school girlfriend. This is a quiet, somber film, with subtle but profound acting by lead Ujon Tokarski. The movie’s pace will test some viewers, but it is well worth the trip as a character study about a man moving past addiction. ★★★½

My run on small indy film hits comes crashing down to earth in Make Up, the first feature film from director Claire Oakley. There’s some great moments in here, but great moments don’t always come together to complete a great (or even good) movie. 18-year-old Ruth has just joined her boyfriend in working at a holiday park. It is the offseason, so the workers are tasked with maintenance on the empty park, doing mountains of laundry, and cleaning the campers where visitors would stay. Ruth and her boyfriend Tom share one such camper, and the very first day there, Ruth starts to think something’s up with Tom. She finds some long, bright red hairs in with his clothes, and what looks like the impression of a woman’s kiss on his mirror. Over the course of a few days, she also begins to hear strange sounds under her camper and out in the wind outside. She makes a few friends, notably the feisty Jade, who has a bad reputation among the workers, and Ruth also starts to have hallucinations (or does she?). The movie’s got a great, creepy vibe to it for a good chunk of the picture, but it flips on a dime in the end, and not in a good way. The finale isn’t completely out of left field, but let’s just say, it’s not great. It’s the first feature film from director Claire Oakley, and it has plenty to build on;  some of the camerawork and overall feel is quite good. Here’s to future endeavors. ★½

I’m really torn on I’m Your Woman, a new film starring Rachel Brosnahan. She stars a woman named Jean, who knows her husband Eddie is involved in organized crime, but no other details. Unable to have a baby to this point, Eddie shows up with a baby one day, to make Jean happy. That’s the last happy day for awhile, because shortly after, a man named Cal mysteriously arrives and tells Jean she has to leave, suddenly and without packing, taking only the baby and some cash around the house. Eddie did something to get the family into trouble, and the loyal Cal is trying to help Jean get away safely. At first hiding in a suburb until her cover is blown, and then at a secluded cabin, Jean unravels the mystery of what Eddie got himself into, and she has to become more than just a trophy wife. Much like director Julia Hart’s last picture, Fast Color, this movie plods along for a long time. It has a cool 70’s vibe and powerful music, which makes you think something big is just around the corner, but outside of a couple short scenes here and there, nothing really does until the last 20 minutes. Yes, that finale is great, and like Fast Color, I like giving the powerful lead to a woman, against the grain for this genre, but what a slow journey to get there. Brosnahan is great, and it’s worth watching for her alone. ★★½

Safety, to put it bluntly, straight up sucks. I’m a sucker for feel-good sports movies, but this movie, currently on Disney+, is just a poor made-for-tv flick, and is more Hannah Montana and The Suite Life than McFarland USA or Miracle. It’s a biographical film about a college freshman and Clemson football recruit, Ray, who struggles in his first year of school, because of problems at home. He’s a smart kid, but with the busy practice schedule of a division 1 football team and a full course load, he’s barely getting by. And that is before he is forced to sneak his 10 year old little brother on campus for a month, because his mom is in a rehabilitation program. That’s the first half of the film, at which point I checked out. The acting is rough, the dialogue worse, and the jokes are as hokey as they can get. Strictly kids fare, and even for that younger audience, there’s better stuff out there. ½