In Aisha, Letitia Wright (who broke out in Marvel’s Black Panther films) plays the title character, a Nigerian immigrant trying to eke out a living in Ireland. She came there after her father and brother were murdered back home, and she’s been working and sending money back to her mother, who is trying to save up enough to make the trip. Asylums were created just for people in Aisha’s position, as she’d face danger if she returned to Nigeria, but still, the system is set against her. She lives in public housing, and the managers at each place (they bounce her around a lot) always seem to have it out for those under their care, setting silly rules that need to be obeyed “or else.” Aisha is even sent out to a remote housing facility one time, far removed from anywhere she could work (she has a legal work permit), so she is unable to send money to her mom. The one bright spot in her life is Conor (Josh O’Connor), a security guard at one of the facilities, but she can’t focus on her friendship with him with the growing threat of losing her asylum case and being sent back to Nigeria. Stellar acting from those two, in a deeply heartfelt film. The right loves to scare everyone with tales of immigrant hordes coming for your jobs and safety, but the reality is there are people like Aisha who just want a break. If you expect her to get one in this film, don’t hold your breath. It’s a downer from start to finish, but an important movie. ★★★★
Femme is another emotional film, and probably another that many will find objection with. In London, Jules is a gay man who performs in a drag show. One night, Jules is attacked by a group of testosterone-heavy young men for making a crack that one of them was eyeing him up earlier (which is true). Jules is badly beaten and left traumatized, unable to leave his apartment after healing up. When he finally does, he goes to a gay sauna to unwind, but rebuffs offers of a tryst, until he spots the man who attacked him. Jules approaches the young man, Preston, who doesn’t recognize Jules without his drag attire. Turns out Preston is a closet homosexual, but puts on a brash exterior for fear of reprisal from his gang of buddies. Preston and Jules begin a sexual relationship, with Jules having an ulterior motive: secretly recording Preston during a sex act in order to publicly “out” him and get his revenge. Things obviously take some dark turns, if it wasn’t already dark enough for you. It’s a complex movie, and the ending will give you plenty to think about. Outstanding performances from Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay in the leads. ★★★½
Accidental Texan is one of those movies that isn’t really a great film, but it is plenty entertaining. Erwin is an actor who’s been struggling in Hollywood for several years but has finally landed his first leading role in a movie, to be filmed in New Orleans. He drives cross country and shows up on set ready to go, in awe of having his own trailer and star treatment. Unfortunately for Erwin, his shoot on the very first day goes horribly (and hilariously) wrong, and he is fired on the spot. Driving back to LA that night, his car breaks down in middle-of-nowhere Texas. Broke, Erwin is left with no options but to find help in the local small town. As luck would have it, an oil driller, Merle, takes a liking to Erwin and hires him to help on his latest, last venture. Merle is deep in debt and has 30 days to find and secure a new oil well, or it’ll be the end of his family-run business and the handful of employees who have stayed faithful to him. The big oil companies have been trying for years to force him out, but there are still a couple leads on untapped oil reserves in the area, and it is up to Merle and Erwin to get those land rights secured and the drilling done in time. Some big names in the cast here, including Thomas Haden Church, Bruce Dern, and Carrie-Anne Moss, with relative newcomer Rudy Pankow in the lead, but the strength of the movie is in the occasional laughs, though it’s not really a comedy per se. The story of underdog vs goliath is tried-and-true and works again. ★★★½
Ezra is a movie that works better on paper than in the telling. It stars Bobby Cannavale as Max and newcomer William Fitzgerald as Max’s son Ezra. Ezra is on the autistic spectrum and has been having a hard time at school and in life in general. Ezra’s mom and Max’s ex-wife Jenna (Rose Byrne) wants to take the school’s position of drug therapy, but Max has been steadfast against that, wanting Ezra to learn to “blend in” and be able to live and interact with normal people without drugs. It comes to a head when Ezra overhears Jenna’s boyfriend make a snarky crack about “taking care of Max” and Ezra freaks out, thinking he really means to harm his father, and runs out into the street in front of oncoming traffic. Not having the whole story, the school thinks Ezra is a danger to himself and wants to expel him if he doesn’t start taking medicine. Rather than see this happen, Max kidnaps Ezra and heads out on the road, but it will not be easy for either of them. There’s some corny humor here and there, and while I applaud the decision to cast a young person with real autism in the lead as Ezra, it makes for an uneven viewing experience. Plot is a bit all over the place too. The supporting cast includes Rainn Wilson, Robert De Niro, and Vera Farmiga, but the whole of the group can’t bring it all together all of the time. ★★
Not sure how I feel about The Beast, the newest film from French director Bertrand Bonello. I watched this one a couple days ago and have been thinking about it here or there since; sometimes I think I love it, sometimes I think I hate it. It stars the great Léa Seydoux as Gabrielle, and being completely transparent, it takes the viewer awhile to figure out what’s going on. Sometimes Gabrielle is in the future, talking to an A.I. about acting out a scene with a beast intent to kill her. Sometimes Gabrielle is in the past, early 20th centrury-ish, at a dance and talking about fears of a beast hunting her, a recurring nightmare since she was a child. Later, Gabrielle is in present day, where she is house-sitting a mansion in LA. In all three time periods, she encounters a man named Louis (George MacKay again, he’s all the place today!). Little spoiler here, so you may want to stop if that would bother you—>. We finally learn that, in the future, Gabrielle is trying to get a better job, but humans must go through “purification” in order to erase certain emotions, in order to make them better, more productive workers. This involves reliving emotional moments in past lives, and softening those memories out. Gabrielle and Louis have crossed paths several times in their past existences, with varying outcomes, in a star-crossed lovers kind of way. It’s very muddled but does eventually make a bit of sense, but I’m not sure the payoff was worth all the confusion I had throughout the movie. So I’m going to give it a solid 3. Maybe a second viewing would raise my feelings on it, but not sure I want to put myself through that again anytime soon. ★★★
- TV series recently watched: Cobra Kai (season 6.1), Batman Caped Crusader (season 1), Batman Beyond (season 2)
- Book currently reading: Glacier’s Edge by RA Salvatore
Jons Movie Takes 