45 Years

"45 Years" was written and directed by Andrew Haigh based on a short story by David Constantine. It stars Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay who, at 69 and 78, respectively, play the parts of Geoff and Kate Mercer, a supposedly happily married couple as they, or more properly, Kate, plans their 45th Wedding Anniversary celebration at the local banquet hall. Spanning a period of less than a week in their lives, this is the story of a long lost romance Geoff had well before he ever met Kate and how this 50 year old experience suddenly impacts on their present lives and, more significantly, Kate’s reaction and response to what she now learns about it. Mr. Courtenay plays a subdued and stoic role as he attempts to move on from the past while Ms. Rampling’s character becomes more absorbed with the historic details as if this now deceased part of her husband’s life is still alive and in competition with her. Enough cannot be said of the wonderful acting of Ms. Rampling who, with little or no dialogue, is able to express more emotion and feeling than most actors might if they were shouting. Although the film is long and at times somewhat tedious, it is in effect mirroring the relationship of the couple on the screen as they, in their typical British civility, struggle through the emotional obstacles that confront them. I give the film 3 and 1/2 stars and credit Mr. Haigh with successfully accomplishing the dual role of good writing and directing.

The Revenant

"The Revenant" stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in this "based in part on a true story" of mountaineer Hugh Glass and his fight for survival in the South Dakota wilderness after an almost fatal encounter with a bear.  The film was directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Innarritu  ("Birdman") who, with Mark L. Smith,  co-wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Michael Punke. Although shot in Canada and Argentina, the film attempts to depict the challenges of a South Dakota winter n 1823. The word "revenant" is derived from the French word "revenir" (i.e. to return) and literally means the return of the spirit from the dead. This is the plight of Mr. DiCaprio’s character as he struggles across the barren icy wasteland for over 2 and ½ hours of viewing time. The audience also feels his pain and anguish since it too has to suffer through this ordeal as it is forced to endure a tedious and overlong excursion through the cold and unforgiving wilderness. The difference of course is that Mr. DiCaprio was paid for his suffering while the audience was not. Mr. DiCaprio’s character is enmeshed in a thin story line and basically has a non-verbal role as the script requires him to do a great amount of crawling and some groaning but, unfortunately, these do not necessarily rise to the level of great entertainment.
One must acknowledge the haunting and vitally important original musical score created by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto and the spectacular photography of Emmanuel Lubizki. That being said,  I found myself looking at my watch at least 3 times during the film in hopes that it was nearing its conclusion and wondering why I saw what the editor didn’t. I give the film 2 stars for it proves once again that advertising and hype will not always make a film great but a quality screenplay and strong acting performances will. In my opinion, this film is lacking in both.

Joy

"Joy" stars Jennifer Lawrence, Diane Ladd, Robert De Niro, Virginia Madsen, Edgar Ramirez, Isabella Rossellini and Bradley Cooper. The film was directed by David O. Russell and co-written by Mr. Russell and Annie Mumolo. This is the loosely based story of Joy Mangano, the lady who went from rags to riches via the QVC Network after demonstrating and selling her new invention, a mop that never touches your hands and whose head can be washed in a washing machine. The story is really quite predictable with the other actors playing caricatures in a modern Cinderella tale with a heroine who mops the floor and a stepsister who is her arch rival.
The dialogue is trite and leaves little to the imagination save the gaps that the viewer must fill in because some of the scenes and scenarios just don’t make much sense.  If you delete the "J" from the title of the film you end up with the word "oy" and that’s the word I used after I viewed it. I give the film 2 stars and suggest that the ticket price would be better spent on buying the mop featured in the story.