Miller’s Crossing into rom-com
Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013) Available now
Back in 2013, a great deal of controversy surrounded Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is The Warmest Colour.
This wasn’t only for its intense, intelligent and unflinching depiction of the romantic love that develops between two young women, but because of the intrusive, exacting demands the director made of his stars.
Lea Seydoux (Emma) and Adele Exarchopoulos (Adele) both came forward after the film’s release to say that he had been tyrannical as a director, making them work in abusive conditions to get scenes right — allegations that might have gained more traction in the #MeToo era. In this passionate film, the furious love affair which develops between Emma and Adele is nevertheless shot with depth and care — with astounding performances from the two leading ladies, who were unconventionally awarded the Palme d’Or along with the film’s director.
Nebraska (2013) Available now
When curmudgeonly Woody Grant (Bruce Dern, he of TV Batman fame) finds out he’s won a million dollars in a magazine sweepstake, he’s determined to walk the 800 miles to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect his prize if he has to.
Unwilling to see his elderly father walk himself to death over the scam prize, his son David (Will Forte) offers to drive him the distance. On the way, they visit Woody’s home town and learn that the slightest whiff of money brings out the worst in his old friends and relatives.
Shot entirely in stark black and white, Nebraska is a thoughtful take on the road trip genre, both wryly funny and a touching meditation on ageing, family and regret. Throughout, director Alexander Payne gently infuses the film’s comedic tone with strains of longing and regret, always careful to avoid the mawkish or cheaply sentimental.
The closer the characters get to Lincoln, the more they appear to be moving into the past, culminating in one magnificent sequence that corresponds a drive down a small main street with the span of an entire life lived.
The Fundamentals Of Caring (2016) Available now
This movie is many things at once; a sort of teary laugh, nourishing food-for-thought and a story which lingers in the memory. Based on a novel by Jonathan Evison, it contains, at first glance, a dangerously on-the-money mix of the precise ingredients needed for a hit indie flick. A depressed writer takes a job caring for a teenager with muscular dystrophy. Together, they embark on a road trip to find the boy’s father, and end up meeting several other colourful characters and learning something about themselves and each other along the way. The whole idea signals a potentially deadly mix of quirk and saccharine. Yet somehow, the movie manages to be charming. This is probably due, in large part, to the performance of Paul Rudd as Ben, the caregiver. Rudd is the kind of actor that is innately watchable, it feels all but impossible at this point for him not to brighten whatever movie he is in. And while The Fundamentals of Caring is far from his best role, it’s nice to see that despite being in Marvel’s stable of action superstars, he still has the knack for more intimate projects.
Maggie’s Plan Available now
This is the rarest of cinematic beasts — a highly intelligent rom-com. Shakespeare would have loved the idea: Maggie (Greta Gerwig), a well-intentioned university administrator in New York, falls in love with John (Ethan Hawke), a married writer — until she realises she’s made a mistake, and contrives to give him back to his ex-wife Georgette (Julianne Moore), a coolly bitchy academic. It works, because the dialogue is so bright and the performances so grounded. Moore, sporting a Danish accent and leather and fur, is probably the performance highlight. But Rebecca Miller (daughter of the playwright Arthur Miller) always knows how to mix pathos and laughs. These three can’t be ridiculous when you’re looking into their eyes. Comparisons to vintage Woody Allen are inevitable — urbane urbanites confused by love — but Miller’s characters are complete, singular people, and her take is thoroughly female.