Quick takes on Ghostlight and other films

Lee is a very good biopic about photographer Lee Miller, someone who may not be a household name but is someone that history is starting to take a closer look at, due to her family’s efforts after she died. The film opens on her in 1977 as she is being interviewed, and then flashes back to 1937 in France. Lee (played by the always incredible Kate Winslet) is a former model who is looking to go behind the camera, and is just starting to get a little recognition for her pictures. However, it’s looking like a good time to get out of France in 1937, so she and her new boyfriend, English military officer Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgård) move to London by 1940, where the film picks up next. Lee takes a job at British Vogue magazine, but her former career as a model is proving a hindrance; that and her gender is keeping her from getting sent to the war, which is where she really wants to be in order to take pictures that mean something. Finally, she teams up with American photographer David Scherman (Andy Samberg, in a rare serious role), who works for Life, and the two are able to get over to France. Once there, Lee is finally able to take some meaningful shots, first of women citizens near the forefront of battles, and later in Germany, of the horrors of the Holocaust. It culminates in one of Lee’s most famous photos, that of herself naked, taking a bath in Hitler’s bathtub. The film is heart-wrenching due to its time and place, with some hard-to-watch moments, but it is easy to root for the go-get-em Lee, who is unapologetically driven to do something important. Winslet is fantastic as always, she really shines in these indie films. The movie was directed by Ellen Kuras in her directorial debut, but she’s been in the business a long time as a cinematographer, in movies and documentaries; in fact, she was behind the camera on one of my favorite Winslet films, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. ★★★½

Films like Ghostlight are why I watch as many movies as I do, because you just never know when one will surprise you. Dan and his wife Sharon are struggling with their teenage daughter Daisy, who is acting out enough that she is about to be expelled from school. The family as a whole is hurting, from the death of their son Brian in the last year, the cause of which is unknown until much later in the film. But whenever his name comes up, Dan either gets real quiet or lashes out loudly; he’s an old school guy who doesn’t talk about his emotions, just bottling everything up. This simmering hurt is noticed by a stranger one day, Rita, who invites Dan in to her acting troupe. They are putting together a production of Romeo and Juliet, and Rita knows that, whatever is eating Dan, that being in a group and getting out that emotion can only help him. When Daisy finds out (after she initially thinks that Dan is cheating on Mom), she encourages him and joins in herself, as she was heavy into the school drama club before her recent run of defiance. When the viewer finally learns what happened to Brian, and how that ties into what Dan is doing now… All I can say is it hits hard. Such a lovely film, and one that I could watch again and again (if I’ve got a box of tissues nearby). ★★★★★

Farewell Mr Haffmann is another historical film taking place during WW2. The eponymous Mr Haffmann is Joseph, a Jewish jeweler living in Paris with his wife and children in 1940. As rumors that the occupying German forces are going to start cracking down on the Jewish population, Joseph sends his family away with the promise to join them shortly. So that he doesn’t have his business taken away from him, he sells it to his apprentice, François Mercier, with the idea that François will sell the business back to Joseph after the war. François has only worked for Joseph for a short time, taking over after the previous apprentice was killed in the war effort, so Joseph doesn’t know if he can trust him, but he doesn’t really have a choice. Unfortunately the Germans come in harder and faster than expected, and Joseph isn’t able to get away. His only option is to hide in the basement, which works out for François when his own jewelry making isn’t up to snuff to please the German officers’ girlfriends/wives, and François can get Joseph to make better stuff. There’s another ploy that François wants to enact too: he has long been unable to get his wife pregnant, though she desperately wants a child, so François begs Joseph to sleep with her, and will reciprocate by mailing Joseph’s letters to his family. However, the wife can’t go through with it, only telling her husband François that she and Joseph are doing the deed, though obviously month by month goes by without her getting pregnant. A few years pass this way, until, in 1942, no one in the house can take their situation any longer, and something must be done. Who will act first ultimately decides the outcome. There’s a whole lot going on in this movie, and it features some wonderfully subtle acting by everyone involved. You spend a lot of time thinking François is a good guy until suddenly you realize he has his own agenda. ★★★½

A couple good movies, and then a dud. Seems like it always happens that way. African Giants is about a couple brothers, sons of African immigrants, who come together in LA to hang out for a weekend. They are each dealing with the weight of unrealized expectations from their dad, who praised the American Dream of hard work equating to financial success, only to see one son become an actor and the other drop out of law school. The brothers, who are definitely “Americanized” and don’t share their father’s vision, are still struggling to find their own paths. That’s the gist of the film through the first 30 minutes, which is where I gave up. The premise is great, but the telling of it is downright awful. Poor acting, poor direction, and dialogue that rings false (what two brothers, especially really close brothers, talk like this? None is the answer) all culminate in a nearly unwatchable film. Boring doesn’t say enough. ½

The Apprentice stars Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump and focuses on the 70s and 80s, when Trump was stepping out from his father’s shadow and blazing a name for himself. In particular, it focuses on his friendship with attorney Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), who (apparently) taught Trump everything he knows about strong-arming people into doing what you want. I won’t go into all the details, because you’ll probably either see it or not based on your political beliefs, but just know that, while it does show some ugly warts, it doesn’t always portray Trump in a terrible light. Yes, it shows shady deals and blackmail, and an often derisive attitude towards women, but does anyone actually think Trump is much different than that in real life? Stan’s portrayal of Trump is pretty spot-on, without being over-the-top (think SNL); he speaks like him, he puckers his lips like him when he talks, he has the gestures and looks down cold. Should net him some award nominations this season, even if the film isn’t good enough to win much. ★★½

• TV series recently watched: Secret Level (season 1), The Devil’s Hour (season 2)
• Book currently reading: Memory’s Wake by Django Wexler