Stillwater

Matt Damon pulls up to the Sonic Drive-In on 6^th Street in Stillwater, orders a Sonic burger, tots, and a cherry limeade, and prays over his Sonic meal to kick off the latest film from Oscar-winning director of “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy. Matt Damon’s Bill Baker is a performance that is sure to go down in history as an unsuspected, but powerful role for Damon. This character, built upon backyard bbq’s in Marlow, Oklahoma, trips to McNellie’s Pub in OKC, and visits with actual roughnecks across the state; Bill Baker is the quintessential image of Oklahoma’s roughnecks.

“Stillwater” released out of competition at the 74^th edition of the Cannes Film Festival on July 8^th and ended in a well-deserved standing ovation that brought the star of the film, Matt Damon, to tears. Damon noted during a press conference for the film the next day that, although it was his 5^th return to Cannes, it “felt like the first time… To be in a room with a thousand other people who are strangers, but who are part of the same community ‘cause we all love the same thing. It was such a great reminder of why we do this.”

Initially inspired by the Amanda Knox case and the immeasurable love that a father has for his daughter, “Stillwater” is the redemption arc of a down-home, Oklahoman roughneck father who has failed his daughter for much of her life – being gone on jobs throughout the majority of her childhood, and turning to alcohol and drugs while he was home. Bill Baker’s daughter, Alison, played by Abigail Breslin, is in prison in Marseilles for the murder of her college girlfriend after deciding to leave Oklahoma State University to go to school in France for no other reason than “it was different – far away.”

Damon’s Bill Baker, now clean and sober, tries as hard as he can to repair the relationship with his daughter that he shattered so long ago, feeling guilty for the position that she’s found herself in. Alison’s mother killed herself when Alison was just a child, but Bill still has lunch with his mother-in-law and even tries to help her pay his bills with money that he barely has enough of himself. Bill is on his latest two-week trip to Marseilles to visit his daughter in prison, to do her laundry, and to bring her new pieces of home. The image of a gold “Stillwater” necklace in the airport giftshop serves not only as the film’s title card inspiration, but will become the glue that pieces together the plot at hand throughout a number of twists and turns that leave the audience constantly questioning.

Upon arriving at his trusty Marseilles Best Western Hotel, Bill is met with rowdy neighbors. Camille Cottin’s single mother, Virginie, and young daughter Maya who is played by a scene stealing Lilou Siauvaud are staying in the room next door while their apartment is being repaired. Virginie would soon become Bill’s confidante, helping him to navigate the culture shock of being an Oklahoman in France. After learning about a new piece of intel that might help to find the real killer of Alison’s college girlfriend, Bill is tasked with staying in Marseilles as the lead is investigated. When Alison’s lawyer refuses to look into the tip, Bill moves in with Virginie and Maya, creating a platonic family structure that allows him the chance to be the father that he never could be to Alison – if he can only manage not to screw it up over the months he spends in Marseilles.

A far cry from “Jason Bourne” but mirroring the emotion of his breakout role in “Good Will Hunting,” Damon’s performance, while not career defining, was certainly the honest and intimate role the actor has been looking for. Damon’s Bill Baker feels like the brutally honest roughneck that he aimed to be, never questioning his motives or beliefs; most memorably when Virginie tells him he’s “acting very American,” to which he responds “Good, because I am” and not offering a moment of hesitation when asked by his French counterparts if he voted for Trump or if he owns any guns. Bill Baker is a caricature of the values of the Oklahoma roughneck, without ever becoming too cartoonish or offensive. The months that Damon spent around Oklahoma, studying people and culture, served him well in his portrayal.

The film yearns to address not only on how the French see Americans, but how the “justice” that people think they seek isn’t actually justice at all. Casting a light on broken government systems both at home and abroad without reaching too far into the controversial, political cookie-jar, McCarthy balances his plot along the line of the lengths a father will go to protect his daughter and the way Bill’s growth throughout the film leaves him forever changed.

“Stillwater” challenges the audience’s expectations for the film and leaves golden easter eggs throughout that manage not to distract from the mystery and immediacy of the plot. The twists and turns of the story land on a brutally emotional and unexpected final scene that is sure to leave audiences with the message that was always at the core of the film. The ending offers the characters a chance at a new beginning in a world that Bill Baker no longer recognizes; knowing that he can never again return to the home and the rose-colored vision of the world that he once knew and held so dear to his heart.

“Stillwater” had its world premiere at Festival de Cannes 2021 on July 8^th. Focus Features will release it in theaters in the United States on July 30^th.

Val

Tasked with the immeasurable job of packaging over four decades worth of home movies into a two-hour documentary film, Ting Poo and Leo Scott told Val Kilmer’s story of his rollercoaster rise to fame and the depths that followed – Val’s way, in this first-person account of his life. Narrated by his son, Jack Kilmer, “Val” invites audiences to take an intimate look at Val’s life and career from his days growing up on a farm making movies with his two brothers, to his battle with pharyngeal cancer that left him with a hole in his throat and a voice box that he must plug to be able to communicate. “Val” gives audiences a look at the life of an actor – the good, the bad, and the ugly – like it’s a fireside chat with an old friend, reminiscing about the past.

Val tells his story through his decades of home video footage and his son’s voice, telling audiences that he was one of the first people he ever knew to own a video camera. The footage begins in Kilmer’s childhood where he and his two brothers created home movies on Super 8 film, directed by their youngest brother Wesley who would die at the age of 15 after having a seizure in the family’s jacuzzi and drowning. Kilmer attributed much of his successful career to the inspiration he gained from Wesley, who died just after Val left to attend Juilliard, where he would become one of the founders of the first stage acting program at the illustrious school.

The thousands of hours of footage amassed by Kilmer over the years served to give audiences an honest, behind-the-scenes look at the filming of many of Kilmer’s most famous projects from stage to silver screen; including his first major role, which would find him falling to third lead behind Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn in his 1983 Broadway debut in “Slab Boys.” The film dives into his breakthrough role in “Top Secret,” his budding friendship with Tom Cruise in “Top Gun,” one of his most famous and memorable roles as Huckleberry in “Tombstone” alongside Kurt Russell. Val even invites us into his world of method acting for his role as Jim Morrison in “The Doors”- which would play a major role in ending his marriage – his unsatisfying time as “Batman,” his tumultuous experience alongside his hero Marlon Brando in “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” and more. Before the film’s end, the audience is flashed with an image of Val in each of his soirees onto the silver screen, from “Top Secret” to James Franco’s indie film “Palo Alto.”

As much an in memoriam to Kilmer’s vast career as an explanation of who he is, “Val” pulls back the covers on what it truly means to be an artist and to live as unapologetically as possible. The film dives into the struggles he faced throughout his shiny career and the effects these things – the death of his brother, his divorce, his massive debts, the loss of his mother, and the loss of his voice – continue to have on him to this day. Through brutally open and honest monologues, Kilmer lets us into his head about the struggles of his career, his physical and mental health, and what it means to him to be selling the memory of his past to make ends meet. Filled with touching memories of when he fell in love, raising his children, and his successes and failures as an actor; “Val” offers an intimate look into the experiences that shaped Kilmer into the enigma that we’ve come to recognize.

The audience is also taken on a deep dive of Kilmer’s one-man show “Cinema Twain,” which was a passion-project stage production that Kilmer planned to take on a tour of the country. He was hoping he would use the success of this stage tour to finance his directorial debut and turn “Cinema Twain” into a feature length film. After having to postpone a show in Nashville for what Kilmer thought would be “a week or two,” this dream was cut short when Kilmer’s health began to decline. Having always wanted to morph his acting career into one of writing and directing, Kilmer’s dream of telling the story of what it truly means to be an actor took on a new shape and was brought to life through the decades of footage he’d been unknowingly collecting for this exact reason. His archives and the hard work and dedication of directors Ting Poo and Leo Scott came together to finally make these dreams a reality, despite insurmountable odds.

At the premiere of the film at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Scott remarked that from day one of creating “Val,” Kilmer was adamant about the conditions of the film’s premiere and where it would be shown to audiences for the first time. A premiere at Cannes was the only option. Although Kilmer was unable to attend the festival in person, his children Jack and Mercedes were present to accept the well-deserved standing ovation as the credits began to roll.

To even try to begin to describe the impact of this film and Val Kilmer’s incredible career would be an absolute disservice. My favorite film of the festival, “Val” is not only a reminder that fame and fortune do not amount to happiness, but that the beauty of honesty and vulnerability are part of what makes life so meaningful. A magical, raw, and creative collection of mere moments in a man’s life, “Val” is just the medium Kilmer needed to be able to act as himself in the telling of his life story.

“Val” premiered at Festival de Cannes 2021 on July 7^th and will be released in theaters by Amazon Studios on July 23^rd. The documentary will be available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video on August 6^th.

Where is Anne Frank

Ari Folman takes another dive into animation with his latest film “Where is Anne Frank.” More than a decade in the making, Folman’s latest was created at a number of studios across the globe after being commissioned by the Anne Frank Fonds Basel in 2009. Anyone familiar with Folman’s previous animation projects (“Waltz with Bashir” and “The Congress”) will recognize the artful ways in which Folman wraps questions of morality in a cartoonish box, making the obvious lessons accessible to audiences of all ages. This track record was just what The Foundation was looking for, hoping to make the story of Anne Frank, and so many others, relevant for younger generations as deniers of the Holocaust continue to rise across the globe.

imdb.com. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3454424/.

“Where is Anne Frank” is a modern retelling of the Holocaust story we are all taught in the 8^th grade, bringing Anne Frank’s treasured diary back to life through a new lens, the personification of her dearest imaginary friend Kitty to whom her diary was addressed. “A year from now,” as a terrible storm rages over Amsterdam and the building where the Frank family, along with four other people, hid from the Nazi’s from July 1942 until they were taken to their first work camp in August 1944, at the beginning of the end of the war. As hundreds of tourists line up in the pelting rain, lightning strikes and a crack of thunder shatters the glass case containing Anne’s diary. As if the pen were crying for Anne, a drop of ink lands on the diary before the words magically lift from the pages and dance into the form of Anne’s best friend, Kitty.

Kitty, a 13-year-old, freckled girl, with Anne’s smile and curly, bright red hair is standing in the lobby of the Anne Frank Museum, invisible to the guards and the museum’s curator who insists that they put Anne’s diary in her room because “it will look like it belongs.” Kitty sits on Anne’s bed, invisible, curious of the voyeurs invading Anne’s personal space and reading her diary. Kitty is soon parading the streets of a near-future Amsterdam before realizing she dissolves back into ink if she strays too far from the diary.

Kitty, believing that if she’s still alive, Anne must be too, begins her hunt across the Netherlands for her best friend. While searching for Anne through the streets of Amsterdam, Kitty discovers that upon leaving the museum she is no longer invisible and meets a man enjoying a smoke at a local café who asks her if she’d filed a missing person’s report for her friend. Refusing to speak to German police, Kitty is pointed to the Dutch police, and meets a refugee child Awa who, along with her family, later ends up in a refugee camp. The chief of police, finding it hilarious that someone named Kitty would be looking for her best friend Anne Frank, is reminded by another officer what an impact the young girl had on the people of Amsterdam and how not only many young girls, but also nearly every surrounding bridge, library, and theater are named after Anne Frank. Thus begins Kitty’s journey to find Anne.

The first friend she meets is a pickpocket that she spotted earlier in the museum, Peter, who runs a camp for refugees that have traveled their way through Europe searching for asylum but are facing deportation. The same camp where Kitty will meet Awa and her family again. These refugees hold a mirror to the threat faced by the Jews during the rule of the Third Reich and bridge the gap between the genocidal ideology of 1940s Germany and the lack of possibilities for freedom and protection of the children forced to flee their brutally violent countries today.

Through a series of flashbacks, we see Anne confiding her deepest secrets, hopes, and desires to her best friend Kitty from the beginning of the war to the day that Anne, her sister Margot, or both – “does it even matter?” Anne remarks – is called to the children’s “work camps.” The Frank family is forced to pack their things and go into hiding, beginning the more than two-year stint in an attic and trips to two concentration camps that only Otto would come to survive; Anne, her sister Margot, and their mother Edith dying at the Bergen-Belsen extermination camp, only days before the Allied forces would win the war. The Frank family was on the last train that would ever deliver passengers to the Bergen-Belsen camp, along with hundreds of others including both of Ari Folman’s parents, who would be among the few that were lucky enough to survive the camp.

One of the most poignant scenes of the film is when Anne is describing to Kitty what it means to be Jewish stating that “Being Jewish means making a decision that you’ll take on the Jews’ destiny and their history.” Kitty accepts these terms, and Anne insists that she is not Jewish because she hoped Kitty would be like her in every way except for those that mattered. Kitty demands that Anne gives her the freedom to make the choice for herself, reminding the audience more than Anne that we are all in some way tasked with remembering the history of the Holocaust and the lessons that must be learned.

Glittered with the humor of arguments over cabbage and Madame’s farts at the dinner table and a reminder that dentists are in fact sadists, Folman’s “Where is Anne Frank” is designed with enough mystery and magic to appeal to young children without traumatizing them with the horrendous fate faced by Anne and more than 1.5 Million other children throughout Europe during the events of World War II. Folman’s towering 15 foot tall, cloaked and masked Nazi soldiers goosestep through the streets during Anne’s flashbacks, reminding us of the fear and oppression that Jews faced as they were being driven out of society; but Folman artfully dances between the trauma of the reality of the times, the hope that Anne had and the magic that she found in her imagination through her diary, and what these things mean for the situations that we’re seeing in society today.

Certainly aware of who his audience is, Folman avoids the gut-wrenching severity of Anne’s end, instead focusing on the fact that Kitty’s friend is never far because she lives on through the memories of millions. Scenes of teenagers glued to their phones during a stage production of the Anne Frank story, Kitty’s public outbursts that snap everyone to attention, high speed ice skate chases, and a heartwarming love story as Kitty truly comes to life in more ways than one, come together to set the scene for Folman to teach his lesson by telling a story that is sure to resonate with audiences of all ages.

A deeply introspective film that focuses less on the content of the diary itself and more on what life would be like were we all to forget the lessons that Anne left us, “Where is Anne Frank” is sure to become a staple in education across the globe. A cartoon that makes the importance of remembering the holocaust digestible and modern without being condescending or overtly political, this film is a reminder that Anne’s hope and imagination can be an inspiration for change even today. This film is a reminder of how important it is that we continue to be reminded of the terrors that so many innocent Jews faced because of their religion and continue to fight so that we can protect marginalized and oppressed populations from ever facing a similar fate.

“Where is Anne Frank” premiered at Festival de Cannes on July 9^th and is currently seeking distribution in the United States.

ANNETTE

The much-anticipated rock opera from Leos Carax, “Annette,” fell short with audiences after it’s opening ceremony debut at the Cannes Film Festival on July 6^th. A collaboration with Sparks, hot off the tail of Edgar Wright’s documentary “The Sparks Brothers,” – a prerequisite screening both for lovers of Sparks and anyone unfamiliar with their work – “Annette” was set not only to be a summer blockbuster, but was expected to set the tone for the 74^th edition of the festival; eyeing not only the Palme d’Or, but a run in the Academy Awards. Despite the nearly 10-minute-long standing ovation received at the end of the film in which Adam Driver could be seen smoking a cigarette, audiences and critics alike have fallen into a discourse around the film that I could only describe as a bad trip, bookended by hilariously uniting and satisfying opening and closing numbers.

The film begins with a Carax voiceover demanding audiences to “hold your breath until the show is over,” but as so eloquently put by Indiewire’s Eric Kohn, audience’s breath is instead “held hostage until the credits roll.” Audience members that stayed in the theater for the entirety of the film, that is. A moody and self-indulgent story, “Annette” kicks off with Carax, the Mael brothers of Sparks, and the main characters of the film strutting through the streets of Los Angeles, asking the audience permission to begin the film, and arriving to their characters through the film’s opening number “So May We Start?” Defying the rules of the musical genre, “Annette” pairs a raucous and ego-driven stand-up comedian Henry McHenry (Adam Driver) with the beautifully elegant opera singer Anne (Marion Cotillard), who mysteriously fall in love in a whirlwind romance, get married, and have a child, Annette. Oh yeah, and she’s a marionette doll. Off to a strong start.

For a film that begins by so blatantly demanding the audience’s attention, “Annette” seemed to drone on through the repetitive nature of Sparks seemingly never-ending musical numbers. More than half of the film’s dialogue being sung, the story is told both through the Sparks simplistic lyrical style and the odd lens of Carax’s war on classical cinematic form. The avant-garde style of filmmaking implemented through Carax’s style leaves much to the viewer’s imagination, so much that I’d journey to say this film was more of a “make your own adventure” article than a musical – lacking the substance and context needed to be able to deconstruct the director’s intended meaning of the film.

It seems that Carax’s mission with “Annette” was nothing more than providing a vehicle for Sparks to achieve their goal of creating a musical and allowing Carax to question the tenets of the musical genre. Having asked the question “why don’t people have sex in musicals?” when conceiving the plot for “Annette,” Carax answered his own question… three times. Not to say Carax has never experimented with bizarre, avant-garde filmmaking before, he took the music created by Sparks and remixed it with a dose of his own imagination. Saying he initially eyed Joaquin Phoenix for the lead role of Henry McHenry, the tortured comedian themes that mirrored Todd Phillips smash dumpster fire “Joker” found great benefit from Driver’s fresh, whirlwind performance.

Driver’s Henry McHenry, the “Ape of God,” seemingly exists solely to invoke a response from his audience, joking about killing his audience each night, wrapping the microphone cord around his neck to mime hanging himself, presenting a monologue about killing his precious and beloved wife, pretending to be shot in the middle of his set, and basing the opening of each of his soirees on stage around suffocating in a cloud of smoke. Trying incredibly hard to impress the audiences that he has to remind to “laugh, laugh, laugh,” Henry McHenry prepares for each show by eating a banana, smoking a cigarette, and punching an imaginary boxing bag, wearing his most comfortable robe, boxers, and slides – the supreme stage outfit.

McHenry’s bad comedic taste mirrors his disillusionment with the rest of his life, but the laughter he receives continues to stroke his ego, allowing him to forget that he’s bad in nearly every single aspect of his life. As his life descends into jokes about murderous tickle fights, foreshadowing his very predictable homicidal tendencies; Henry becomes unable to even muster the strength to put on a show, his interactive audience asking, “Why’d You Become a Comedian?” to which Henry has no answer. Drunkenly speeding down the highway and through the streets of LA on his motorcycle, McHenry’s “bad-boy” attitude only becomes darker as his stardom begins to fade and as he continues to be overshadowed by his beloved Anne, who he must remind the audience, if not himself, that he loves so much.

Anne, the perfect operatic beauty, dies on stage each night, but always brings her audience to life. It’s obviously questioned why someone like her would be with her perfect antithesis – someone like Henry, who the press and the rest of the world are aware of being nowhere close to deserving of her. Before long, a literal chorus of #MeToo statements against Henry (this is a musical, after all), press statements about his violence and their rocky relationship, and Henry’s alcoholic tendencies overshadow the birth of Annette, and drive Anne’s need to regain control over Henry and their tumultuous relationship.

Annette, a literal marionette for much of the film, serves as nothing more than a puppet for her parents to gain leverage over each other and, eventually, for Henry to gain leverage over his own life. Using her fame and talents to remain relevant in a world that so badly wants to forget him and the fame that they accidentally loaned to him in the beginning of his career, Henry discovers that she’s also magically got a voice exactly like her mother’s, signing only when light shines upon her. Henry, thinking he must be dreaming, initially shrugs off his daughter’s talent until he quickly realizes that she belongs under the spotlight, and how much money this child prodigy could bring for his stalled career. Annette eventually realizes that she is being used as a pawn and eventually exposes her father for the heinous crimes he commits throughout the film, leaving him to wish he’d allowed the world to forget him when he had the chance.

Simon Helberg’s “The Conductor” brings a much-needed humorous break to the largely unconventional and violent film, trying to drive both his character’s exposition and the plot of the film itself during a slam-poetry style monologue that is consistently interrupted by his need to direct the band that sits ahead of him in rehearsal. Explaining how he’s in love with Ann and how Henry stole her from him, The Conductor sets up the tragedy that lies ahead, and brings into question what the audience has already found out, what exactly happened to Ann on that boat trip?

Agreeing to team up with Henry to take Annette on the road because he loves her and Ann and must do what is right for the child; The Conductor becomes Annette’s best friend and pseudo-father as Henry continues to use Annette’s fame as nothing more than a way to serve his need for attention, women, and nights out on the town. After Henry, yet again, allows his violence to take everything from Annette, he decides it’s time to end her career with one final performance. Annette, realizing what her father has done, and piecing together many events from the past, decides that his time is up and that she is no longer willing to be a pawn in his game. Rather than performing, Annette so simply announces, “Daddy kills people.”

Annette’s marionette comes to life in true form years later while visiting her father in prison. “My How You’ve Changed” he remarks, before she repeats that the same can be said for Henry. Annette gains her human form and her own identity when she gracefully tells her father – through song, of course – what a worthless piece of shit he is and how he doesn’t deserve to love anyone, including her. Driver’s performance reaches its peak in this scene as he continues to sing through his tears, finally coming to terms with the damage that he has done. The grand message of “Annette” is nothing more than an introspective at how a man who can’t seem to do anything right and who doesn’t love himself, will muscle through anyone and anything to gain the power and respect that he thinks he must find from others. And what’s with the consistently growing mark on Henry’s face? Any ideas?

The one savior of “Annette” was Driver’s incredible performance as Henry McHenry. From his gleeful and audacious comedy performances to his violent outbursts, Driver’s performance might be the only potential hope for an Oscar nomination related to this title. Marion Cotillard’s name is also often associated with big, widely memorable performances, but her character lived only in the shadow of Henry’s monstrous grip on the plot and the audience’s attention, just as his character would have wished.

“Annette” had its world premiere during the opening ceremony of Festival de Cannes 2021 on July 6^th and opens theatrically on August 6^th in the United States. It will be available to stream on Amazon prime beginning August 20^th.