Polite Society is a genre-defying film that, while it definitely has Tarantino influences, remains fresh and different from just about anything else I’ve seen lately. Ria Khan is a British-Pakistani teenager who doesn’t want to be a doctor like her parents would want, but instead has dreams of being a stuntwoman. In that way, she is following in her sister Lena’s footsteps, who also eschewed their parents hopes and went to art school, though she has recently become depressed and has dropped out. The girls’ outlook is changed when the family is invited to a high society party by another Pakistani family in the area. The matriarch, Raheela, is looking for a wife for her son Salim, and all the 20-somethings in their circle are fawning over him. Salim forgoes them all though and sets his eyes on Lena. Ria doesn’t want to see her sister give up her dream of being an artist, and smells something fishy about Raheela and Salim, looking for a way to break up the blooming romance. Her intuitions may just be right. The movie is bright and colorful, almost something out of Bollywood, but is also extremely funny, with elements of drama, a lot of action/hand-to-hand fighting, and even some horror elements thrown in for good measure. It is all over the place, but in a good way. It all blends and comes together in an outlandish but entertaining way. Very fun film. ★★★½
All the World is Sleeping is about a woman trying to break the cycle of addiction in her family, and showing how hard that can be. Chama grew up with a single mother who couldn’t beat her drug addiction, leaving Chama and her sister to fend for themselves. The sister has grown up to lead a fine life, but Chama unfortunately is following in her mother’s footsteps. Chama’s daughter Nevaeh isn’t old enough to understand exactly what is going on, but she is old enough to be disappointed when her mom breaks promises and doesn’t show up to stuff. Despite her best intentions, Chama’s life continues to spiral. Even when she finally enters a rehab facility, in hopes of somehow keeping her daughter, we’re not sure she’s ever going to be ok. A very sad film, told in a roundabout way with snippets from Chama’s past, her current life, and other dream-like sequences, which are the effects of her drug-induced loss of reality. I think the film really wants to be more profound than it comes across, but it is still a very well done picture from a first time director (Ryan Lacen) on a budget. ★★★½
Next up is a French film, François Ozon’s Everything Went Fine. Third film I’ve seen from this director, and for the previous two, Frantz was incredible, and By the Grace of God was just ok. This one is more of the latter unfortunately. Emmanuèle and her sister Pascale are having to make a hard decision regarding their father André, who has recently had a debilitating stroke. He wants to end his life, and Emmanuèle doesn’t know how to feel about that. He wasn’t exactly a great father nor a great husband to their mother; apparently mom knew he was a homosexual going into the marriage, but loved him nonetheless, and the resulting marriage was a sad one for her. Towards his kids, André was emotionally abusive and overly critical, but Emmanuèle admits that she loves him anyway. As time goes by, André’s condition improves, but he is adamant about going through with his decision. Should be an emotionally charged film, but it never pulled me in. I felt for Emmanuèle and her psychological struggles, but never got swept away in them. However, strong acting all around, including a small role for Charlotte Rampling as André’s wife. ★★★
Based on a true story, The Lost King follows Philippa Langley in her quest to find the remains of King Richard III of England. Philippa sees the eponymous Shakespearean play one night, and immediately relates to Richard III, a man portrayed as evil only because he has a physical disability (hunchbacked; she herself suffers from chronic fatigue and was recently passed over for a promotion at her work). She joins the Richard III Society and starts learning as much about the man as she can, and makes it her goal to unearth the true story of what happened to his body upon his death. Legend has it that, when he died in the final battle of the War of the Roses, his body was tossed in the local river. Instead, Philippa starts putting together clues that he may actually have been buried at a friary in the area. Now she just needs to find the modern-day location of that old friary. Sounds like a very interesting story, and I remember when this all went down in 2012, as finding Richard III’s body made headlines around the world, but as a movie, it is awfully dry. Philippa is haunted by visions of Richard III, and even starts having conversations with him after awhile, and it all feels kind of hokey. Even a stellar performance by the always estimable Sally Hawkins as Philippa can’t save this boring film. ★★
Chevalier is the highlight today. It’s a biopic about a person I’ve never heard of, but who was an important figure that time almost forgot. Joseph Bologne was born in Guadeloupe, French islands in the Caribbean, in 1745. An illegitimate son of a wealthy white plantation owner and one of his slaves, Bologne would inherit nothing but a name, but he put that name to use. His father did one thing for him though: he recognized that his son was gifted musically, so at age 6, Bologne was taken to Paris and put in a fine school. Though abused at school by the white boys, he dedicated himself to his studies and excelled at fencing and violin, which attracted the attention of the queen of France, Marie Antoinette. She knights him Chevalier de Saint Georges, and roots for him when many won’t, but her favor only goes so far: when Bologne puts himself forward for the job of maestro of the Paris Opera, Antoinette is overruled by the powerful aristocrats. At a time when the French people are nearing revolution, Bologne decides to lend his powerful voice to their movement against the monarchy. The movie plays a little loose with the facts, as most biopics do, but I think the major bullet points are right, from what I can find online. He was an important figure who the powers-at-be tried to erase, but this film brings him back. Kelvin Harrison Jr is mesmerizing in the lead role, giving an absolutely brilliant performance. ★★★★½
- TV series recently watched: Tehran (season 2), Waco (miniseries), The Girl From Plainville (miniseries), Tulsa King (season 1), Star Trek Picard (season 3), Freaks and Geeks (series)
- Book currently reading: The Dawning of a New Age by Jean Rabe
Jons Movie Takes 