film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

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  • Saint Frances: The BRWC Review

    Saint Frances: The BRWC Review

    Saint Frances: The BRWC Review. By Alif Majeed.

    I was recently reading an old interview of Kristen Wiig’s where she said what studios need is, “to see women acting like guys.” Growing up, watching TV was very limited as we often had to fight with our sister for our time on the television. Due to the constant fighting, our parents had assigned designated timings for watching TV for us. So we were inevitably forced to watch whatever caught the other person’s fancy at any given time.

    One of the more delightedly asides of hers when watching her movies and shows during her time, especially the ones where the protagonist was a well written female character, was when she would say, “That could only have come from a woman’s mind.” And it was not just a protagonist who is successful and brilliant in name but also a fully rounded female who can also be a failure and average. And it turns out while checking out the credits, she was mostly right. So while watching Saint Frances, I couldn’t help but remember my sisters’ words.

    Saint Frances is a showcase for Kelly O’Sullivan, who both wrote and stars in the movie. As the movie starts, you find the main character Bridgette as a perennial underachiever and an overall average person. One can almost get wary about her character and think it is like countless other indie movies about underachievers. (I was immediately reminded of Obvious Child and Short Term 12 right off the top of my head.) Especially when she starts a job as the caretaker for a six-year-old Frances (an adorable Ramona Edith Williams).

    When Bridgette’s unwanted pregnancy drives a further wedge in her life she has to choose between the pregnancy, and how it affects her life is what the movie is about.

    Watch out for her reaction in the very first scene of the movie. As the man trying to flirt with her has unwittingly put her down, she realizes in horror that what he is describing, is her own life. Anybody who looks way younger than their actual age and had been to a date or an interview where they were very patronizingly told that they have so much to achieve as they are still young, only to be blown off when their actual age is revealed will know where that scene came from. That reaction when she tells her age to the guy who flirted with her, who promptly walks away, not wanting to waste his perfect made-to-impress story on an underachieving over-the-hill server sets up the rest of the hopefully star-making performance in the movie.

    Equally good is the reactions of Jace played by Max Lipchitz to the same revelation of her age. His sweet acknowledgment of her age AND her blood all over the sheets and their faces after the first night they had sex shows just how accepting this guy can be. The matter of fact way in which it is dealt with along with many other bodily changes a woman goes through shows how intuitively Kelly has written the movie. Or like my sister says, “Yup, that came from a woman.”

    It is interesting to see how Frances’ parents Maya and Annie have polar opposite reactions to the new nanny. Annie, the working mother being more business-like and wary of Bridgette, and Maya, who is going through postpartum depression after the birth of their second child. They initially come across as a typical same-sex movie couple (again, the indie version, not the dialed up hammy version). Especially Annie, who is the strict uptight working mom. But Lily Mojekwu’s outburst in front of Brigette about the pressures of having to do all the heavy lifting does a lot to help us to root for her. Charin Alvarez is also great as Maya, who is going through her changes as a result of her childbirth.

    But you have to reserve your praise for Ramona Edith Williams as the titular Saint Frances. When she makes an innocent and sweet pact with Bridgette at the end of the movie, it is such a lovely moment that you root for them to make it happen.

    Outwardly, the story sounds like it came straight from a studio comedy with the nanny slowly changing the lives of the family in hilarious ways. Thankfully, Kelly and first-time director Alex Thompson does more than enough to inject the tale with much needed honestly and freshness.

  • You Cannot Kill David Arquette: The BRWC Review

    You Cannot Kill David Arquette: The BRWC Review

    You Cannot Kill David Arquette: The BRWC Review. By Alif Majeed.

    You wonder exactly what prompted David Arquette to make it and what point he has to prove with it when you start watching, You Cannot Kill David Arquette. Especially as it focuses on a “fake” sport like wrestling and on an actor who did show much promise when he started acting. He seems to have a decent life and looks to have it reasonably well. 

    David Arquette’s fame was, to some extent, tainted by him becoming a WCW champion in 1999 in a sham of a match. This incident has become synonymous with the downfall of not just WCW but also the overall reputation of wrestling. Anyone who has a cursory knowledge of the wrestling war would know about the WWE / WCW rating war of the ’90s. As one of the butterfly effects of trying to boost its ratings was when the higher-ups of WCW made Arquette win the world championship belt. Yes, he agreed to do it to promote his wrestling movie Ready to Rumble releasing back then, but it threw a wedge in both WCW position as a wrestling company (tellingly, the company folded months after this incident) and also in his career, which was never the same afterward. 

    The documentary is mainly divided into three sections, like a three-act structure from the Hollywood paradigm. The first section is where David Arquette tries to convince his friends and family and also us, the audience why he wants to get back into wrestling. Maybe it is because the primary protagonist in the documentary is a Hollywood actor, and it follows the rags to riches template to the fault. It tries to set David as a guy who is down and out. You know that it will all be tied together neatly with a bowtie and ribbon by the end. You raise your eyebrows when he says that he has been out of work and failing auditions for a while. But a cursory glance at his filmography shows the guy has been working steadily contradicting what he said. It might not be up to the A-list standards of the promise he showed in the ’90s, but the exaggeration shows a bit at this point.

    The surprising aspect here is the willingness that his friends and family are showing to indulge him in his delusional fantasy of redemption. He, at least in the initial stages, comes across as this overgrown man – child (playing up Dewey from Scream maybe) who is immaturely trying to get everyone to agree to his tantrums. This is all fine, but I still was not convinced why this documentary exists.

    Thus begins the second section, which comprises David Arquette going to different places to train. It is the most amusing part of the documentary. Again, following the Hollywood movie paradigm, this seems like a giant second act. The “wax on wax off” part where he is training to be a professional wrestler. 

    There are many amusing scenes peppered throughout this segment as how these training montages go. It was fun seeing him training with a bunch of kids playing dress-up and getting his ass kicked and then the one where he goes to Mexico and trains and puts on a show at the traffic lights with a group of local Lucha Libre wrestlers. His surprise at not receiving the same amount of tips that the experienced wrestlers do plays up his delusional nature. Purely on an entertainment level, this is easily the best segment of the documentary and the section that works well at paving the way to root for David to succeed as a wrestler.

    In the last section, where the third act begins, he gets around the wrestling circuit on a more serious level. Seeing the way he transformed from overweight to fit actor turned wrestler is commendable. A lot of the wrestling in the arena might be fake and done with a lot of practice and good timing but to see him getting punished and brutalized in the wrestling ring is not just scary, but you almost want to tell him, “Okay you proved your point, now stop.” Only for him to keep on at it and getting critically injured. 

    The man loves wrestling, both as a sport and as entertainment, and it shows. And the need to get rid of the tag of at least being in part ruining the reputation of the thing he loves so much is also incentive enough to “fake” punish himself in the ring. Following the typical 3-act paradigm might not be a bad thing, as it best helps its case in making those points. 

    Beyond the Mat might still be the gold standard of wrestling documentaries, but, You Cannot Kill David Arquette makes its case as one of the better documentaries in the wrestling category. The competition might be less, but it is as much a wonderful tribute to the sport he reveres so much as it about his redemption.

  • The Lady In The Portrait: Review

    The Lady In The Portrait: Review

    The Lady In The Portrait: Review. By John Battiston.

    Its title isn’t the only similarity The Lady in the Portrait bears to Céline Sciamma’s widely celebrated 2019 film, Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Like Sciamma’s movie, The Lady in the Portrait — directed and co-written by French filmmaker Charles de Meaux and first released in 2017, though few eyes have since seen it — involves the relationship between a painter and the noblewoman whose portrait the artist is tasked with creating.

    But while Portrait of a Lady on Fire is by nearly all accounts a visionary masterwork, de Meaux’s film, though undeniably exquisite on a visual level, is a wholly ineffective, protracted mess with little (if any) power to engage the heart or mind.

    A placid, picturesque palace in China provides the setting to this story, in which Empress Ulanara (Bingbing Fan) — whose marriage to Emperor Qing Long (Jue Huang) one would be generous to describe as passionless — commissions a French painter to put her visage to canvas in his “magical” Western style. The meek Jean-Denis Attiret (Melvil Poupaud) accepts the task, which he first approaches with a no-nonsense demeanor, insisting the empress remain still when posing for the portrait and acting cold toward enthralled spectators who flow into and out of the studio. But Attiret’s refined manners, in contrast to the emperor’s chilly stoicism, begin to capture the heart of the empress, while her beauty begins to soften the Frenchman’s mien.

    Beyond unsubtle dialogue and the (admittedly dedicated) performances it so insufficiently fuels, little effort is otherwise expended to establish a connection between the two romantic leads. (I hesitate to even label them as such, so paltry is this film’s emotional weight.) And from the outset, The Lady in the Portrait presents itself in such a way that suggests de Meaux and his cowriters, Michel Fessler and Mian Mian, know just how threadbare a story they have on their hands.

    Scenes both dialogic and action-oriented are bloated by sluggish editing, with most establishing shots and many inserts lasting twice or thrice as long as they ought to run. Sure, many of those shots are impeccably lit, coloured and framed, boasting sumptuous, anamorphic cinematography, but no level of optic beauty can justify tone deaf pacing and cutting.

    It’s an unmitigated marvel that The Lady in the Portrait manages to last ninety-seven minutes, for this story contains barely enough substance to reasonably fill a short film one-third that length. Despite its striking visuals, I challenge any moviegoer to have their most basic need for entertainment or artistic fulfilment satiated by this film. Even the easiest-to-please child would likely start tugging on their mother’s arm fifteen minutes in, begging to escape to the dullest possible museum within walking distance, for even that would more reliably rejuvenate the senses.

  • Cult: Review

    Cult: Review

    By Alex Purnell. Director Luke Ibbeston’s feature debut is funny yet disturbing, a whimsical mockumentary with a distinctly British charm.

    Reminiscent of Louis Theroux’s The Most Hated Family in America (2007), Cult explores a strange fictional 90’s cult with all the cultish bells and whistles.

    Following a camera crew into the depths of a religious compound known as F.A.T.E, or Friends At The End, who believe that a comet that flies by the earth every 40 years is in fact a spaceship manned by extraterrestrial beings. F.A.T.E’s members consist of a medley of quirky, enrobed individuals, including Manaus (Althyr Pivatto), who took a dodgy LSD tab and somehow ended up on the compound, Beck (Marriane Chase), the groups disturbed cook hell-bent on sacrifice, and Comet (Calvin Crawley), the excitable, innocent and childlike centrepiece of the film who falls in love with new recruit Rachel (Elizabeth Sankey), who the cult pick up from a local rehab centre. With numbers waning, crops dying and the end of the world scheduled in a couple of days, we watch F.A.T.E’s final few months from the perspective of the bewildered camera crew.

    Cult’s mockumentary style works wonders, it’s fantastically absurd black-comedy is brilliantly entertaining, poking at fun at the wackiness of real-life religions, yet also posing deep questions about the public understanding of often misunderstood cult members.

    However, the film leans too into its low-budget style, in which some questionable casting options and location decisions more or less break the documentary-style spell.

    Moreover, in a jarring change of pace and tone, the final few scenes of the flick change to present-day with a more sombre retrospective of the cult, seemingly out of place in this otherwise playful comedy.

    Cult is fun, charismatic and at points, dead strange. Brimming with cultish stereotypes and unusual song parodies, its unique take on a typically considered depressing subject matter is a breath of fresh air.

  • Whistleblowers On Film

    Whistleblowers On Film

    Whistleblowers on Film. By Frankie Wallace.

    We would all like to believe that the world is fair and that governments and businesses have our best interests in mind. However, this isn’t always the case. Unethical behavior is an all-too-common feature of our landscape. What makes this worse is that unethical actions are often encouraged and shielded. Sometimes this is through a culture of solidarity, at others, the potential whistleblowers are discouraged by the threat of retaliation.     

    This is why it is so important that we treat whistleblowers with the respect and protection they deserve. These people dare to put their livelihoods, reputations, and — at times — lives on the line to speak out against unethical practices. 

    We’re going to take a look at productions that tell the stories of whistleblowers. What issues have their subjects brought to light? How do these movies and documentaries help us to discover issues and make meaningful changes?   

    Government

    The documentary We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks (2013) gives us a glimpse into one of the most high-profile cases of this in recent years. Chelsea Manning is depicted as the real hero of the situation, risking more than almost any other participant. Manning served 7 years of a 35-year sentence for the leaks and was then returned to prison for refusing to testify against Wikileaks.

    The movie, Snowden (2016) also depicts one of America’s most high profile whistleblowers, Edward Snowden. Directed by Oliver Stone, it traces Snowden’s life from his basic training in the U.S. Army, through to his eventual exile to Russia. The production explores the various examples of governmental corruption Snowden experienced during his time with the CIA and NSA, and the unethical practices employed against even the allies of the U.S. 

    However, it is the corrupt actions of those government representatives who are tasked with protecting us can have the biggest impact upon us. Crime + Punishment (2018) explores how 12 cops of color in New York city fought against the quota system in their police department. The practice put pressure on police officers from minority backgrounds to issue a specific number of arrests against Black and other minority communities each month. Yet, whistleblowers in law enforcement are few and far between. Corrupt incidents such as shootings and racially motivated violence are often suppressed by the Blue Code of Silence. It’s a toxic culture that places a duty for police officers to look out for one another, even when their actions are unethical or illegal. It also means that there are few protections for those who seek to break that code and report incidents.   

    Finance

    The Panama Papers was the biggest data leak in history and saw 11.5 million files handed by an anonymous whistleblower to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The files revealed how wealthy entrepreneurs and officials exploited offshore tax havens, and 12 world leaders were among those implicated. The Laundromat (2019) tells the tale through the lens of a comedy-drama. However, it doesn’t focus on the John Doe whistleblower, but rather on how varied the approaches to money laundering and fraud utilized were. More importantly, it shines a light on how the corrupt actions of the wealthy tend to impact the lives of the working classes.  Yes, there are moments of comedy and drama, but it’s also a valuable insight into wealth inequality.      

    Unfortunately, there are also examples in business of whistleblowers who have themselves also acted in financially unscrupulous ways. The Informant! (2009) gives a slightly eccentric and comedic account of Mark Whitacre’s time informing for the FBI. Whitacre was vice president of a bioproducts division in the food processing industry and agreed to wear a wire to expose high-level price-fixing. However, it was later revealed that while he was informing for the government, Whitacre embezzled $9.5 million from the company. 

    This movie also shows just how important it is for executives in business to consider how their actions have wide-reaching effects on their company and their own reputations. After all, their reputations have the potential to influence investment and affect the lives of all employees. As such, there is increasing emphasis placed on how they must match the overriding company values, and focus on ethical behavior. 

    Toxic Behavior

    Whistleblowers aren’t only instrumental in exposing high-level corruption, they can also play a key role in making meaningful social and cultural change. Picture Me: A Model’s Diary (2011) shone a light on some of the most toxic practices models are subjected to in the fashion industry. Following model Sara Ziff, it explored not only how prevalent eating disorders, drugs, and sexual harassment are in fashion, but also how the industry enables, and in many ways, supports destructive behavior.

    Documentaries such as this not only highlight how dangerous the industry is to models but are also an example of the myriad ways in which fashion projects unhealthy standards and expectations onto consumers. We are seeing more examples of this, too. There have been recent revelations that Target, among others, have been utilizing photoshop in unethical ways to alter the appearance of models. The more we examine the cumulative and far-reaching consequences of these actions, the more we can see how alterations in behavior and business practices could make a positive cultural impact.          

    One of the most significant social issues exposed through whistleblowers as of late has been through the #MeToo movement. While it began with a focus on Hollywood, it has been more valuable in revealing how sexual harassment is endemic throughout multiple industries. The documentary On the Record (2020) examines allegations of sexual assault by hip hop music mogul Russell Simmons. While it looks at the accusations, it also reveals the rollercoaster of experiences whistleblowers go through. We see one of its primary sources, A&R executive Drew Dixon, wrestle with whether she should come forward and deal with the press and the aftermath. It’s a stark reminder of the courage exhibited and hardships faced by those who are seeking to reveal corruption. 

    Conclusion      

    Whistleblowers help us to see the dark side of the world we live in. Movies and documentaries are key mediums to help spread the word and allow us to examine the facts and the consequences. For the work of both whistleblowers and filmmakers to be worthwhile, we must each take responsibility for using their information to make meaningful changes.