Conclave

CONCLAVE

2024 | Dir. Edward Berger | 120 Minutes

"No sane man would want the papacy."

When the pope unexpectedly passes away, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence gathers the College of Cardinals to elect a new leader for the Catholic Church. Sequestered in the Vatican to complete the voting process, Lawrence's principles are put to the test as he uncovers secrets surrounding each candidate that gradually shape the outcome election.

A taut drama playing out primarily through interpersonal conflicts with intriguing wider implications about human nature, director Edward Berger's film adaptation of Robert Harris's 2016 novel centered on the election of a new pope is a remarkably suspenseful thriller. Between contentious rounds of voting, Conclave is rich with intense monologues, unpredictable betrayals, and shocking revelations, presenting an ostensibly stuffy premise as a cut-throat competition between papal candidates. While each candidate is given enough characterization to make it easy for audiences to find them analogous to world leaders beyond the walls of the Vatican, at the center of the narrative is a man with no greater ambition than to urge others to make the right decision after considering all the facts laid bare, however difficult it may be.

The production thoroughly portrays the ritual pageantry of Vatican practices, depicting each step of the voting process with meticulous detail. Substituting various locations in Rome and sets at Cinecittà Studios for Vatican City, the filmmakers do a convincing job of depicting the Catholic epicenter. While striking, Volker Bertelmann's aggressive score is occasionally quite distracting. Ultimately, the picture's greatest strength is Peter Straughan's well-paced sharply-written screenplay performed perfectly by a fantastic ensemble cast.

Ralph Fiennes gives a stirring performance as the conflicted Cardinal Lawrence treading the line between loyal friend and impartial official. In the role of the dejected American Cardinal Bellini, Stanley Tucci effortlessly conveys disappointment and seething anger all at once. Captivating and soft-spoken, Carlos Diehz is intriguing in his subtlety as the mysterious Cardinal Benitez. Isabella Rossellini is masterfully understated in a memorable supporting role as Sister Agnes. The cast also features Lucian Msamati as the seemingly influential Nigerian Cardinal Adeyemi with a questionable past, John Lithgow as the deceptively ambitious Canadian Cardinal Tremblay, and Sergio Castellitto as the loathsome vaping far-right Italian Cardinal Tedesco.

Conclave is a gripping procedural on a cinematic scale featuring solid direction, a brilliant script, and a superb cast. Released during political divisive times, despite its isolated Vatican setting the film aptly serves a reflection of the society at large. The picture encourages its audience to make informed carefully-considered decisions, but also to compromise when necessary for the good of the many, just as its protagonist must make challenging and occasionally unorthodox decisions in order to appropriately fulfil his duty.

FRAGMENTS

- The reveal of Cardinal Benitez to be an intersex person is a bit heavy-handed, but I'd argue it works on a thematic level

- On the other hand, the preceding literal explosion is a bit much

007 CONNECTIONS

- Ralph Fiennes (M in Skyall, Spectre, and No Time To Die)

MCU CONNECTIONS

- Stanley Tucci (Abraham Erskine in Captain America: The First Avenger)

A Complete Unknown

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

2024 | Dir. James Mangold | 140 Minutes

"You're kind of an asshole, Bob."

In 1961, a teenager from Minnesota identifying himself as Bobby Dylan travels to New York City to visit his hero, music legend Woody Guthrie. Detecting an innate talent for songwriting in Dylan, Guthrie's friend Pete Seeger introduces him to New York City's folk music scene. As Dylan amasses a growing audience, he disappoints the women closest to him and upsets the folk community with his uncompromising push for artistic innovation.

Adapted from music historian Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric!, writer/director James Mangold captures Bob Dylan's rise in popularity in a way that makes it easy to understand the singer-songwriter's appeal and influence as an artistic voice but curiously and, perhaps, purposefully sheds little light on his motivations as a human being. A Complete Unknown portrays Dylan as a passionate musician and eloquent lyricists, but also as an emotionally unavailable individual who refuses to compromise for anyone without much in the way of an explanation for his behavior. The creative choice to not over-explain its subject but to let their music and relationships with others tell the story is a bold approach to the rather overdone biopic, but it's one that may leave some audiences in the cold.

Beyond recreating the aesthetic of its period setting with pleasing attention to detail, A Complete Unknown truly shines during its live music sequences. From early performances in the cozy setting of Gerdes Folk City to the crowd-engraging finale at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, the strength of Dylan's songwriting and stylistic choices are enhanced with the context of music history as depicted in the film's narrative. The most engaging dramatic conflict of the picture isn't the struggle between folk music conservation and progress between the folk music community and Dylan, but the romantic tension between Dylan and Joan Baez. The film is at its most captivating in the scenes illustrating Dylan and Baez's tempestuous relationship, particularly through their tense exchanges on stage

Timothée Chalamet is perfectly convincing in the lead role, delivering more than just a solid impression of Bob Dylan, but also replicating the unquantifiable qualities that make the celebrated musician such a uniquely appealing and frustrating character. Monica Barbaro stands out among the supporting cast, absolutely mesmerizing in the role of Joan Baez, perfectly delivering the wit and musical talent of the icon. In a somewhat thankless role, Elle Fanning does her best to give depth to the part of Dylan's neglected girlfriend, though one can only do so much wavering between enthusiastic admiration and tearful disappointed glances. The picture also features Edward Norton going full-folksy as Pete Seeger, Boyd Holbrook as a perpetually-inebriated Johnny Cash, Dan Fogler playing Albert Grossman as a standard run-of-the-mill music executive, and Scoot McNairy making an infirmed non-verbal Woody Guthrie more interesting than one would expect.

Running on Chalamet's charismatic lead performance and an authentically understated narrative, Mangold presents the start of Bob Dylan's career with a degree of nuance and specificity that makes A Complete Unknown more engaging than the average biopic. More of a feature than a bug, while the importance of what Dylan's songwriting and music represents is paid due tribute, the picture sheds very little light on the man himself who comes off as a bit of an unresolved enigma. If anything, the feature is a serviceably entertaining way to enjoy some of Dylan's greatest hits with a side of drama.

FRAGMENTS

- Timothée Chalamet also stars in 2025 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee Dune: Part Two

- Though his screen time is limited as a sickly Woody Guthrie unable to speak, it's always a pleasure to watch Scoot McNairy take on a role with full commitment

MCU CONNECTIONS

- Edward Norton (Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk)

The Brutalist

THE BRUTALIST

2025 | Dir. Brady Corbet | 215 Minutes

"No matter what the others try and sell you, it is the destination, not the journey."

In 1947, talented Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor László Tóth arrives in America to begin a new life. Catching the attention of industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren following a contentious chance meeting, the wealthy businessman hires László for an ambitious project and promises his family safe passage to America. However, László's personal demons and Van Buren's fickle and cruel true nature warp the immigrant dream into a nightmare playing out over decades.

The general premise of writer/director Brady Corbet's The Brutalist has all the ingredients of a standard prestige picture centered on the journey of an immigrant struggling to make it in America. However, the film's prologue featuring a striking inverted view of the Statue of Liberty quickly clues the audience into the fact that the narrative will unfold quite differently from the routine inspirational story. The Brutalist spends its first half combining shreds of hope and aspiration with abject desperation and cruel betrayal as László's every achievement is immediately followed by severe setback. The life-changing opportunities Van Buren offers to László before the halfway point seem to suggest the times of hardship will come to an end thanks to the admiration of his rich benefactor, and that the narrative may yet amount to an uplifting triumphant immigrant story. However, the gut-punch of the second half makes it clear that Van Buren and his son only consider László and his family as resources to be abused, his refusal to compromise met with underhanded retaliation, sending the architect reeling into a deeper state of despair that is all too relatable for any immigrant who ahs ever felt exploited. The picture as a whole is a bold criticism of the very notion of the American Dream, suggesting that it is hardly attainable by everyone, least of all by those unwilling to sacrifice their basic dignity.

Filmed in its entirety using the old fashioned VistaVision process, cinematographer Lol Crawley's work for The Brutalist is nothing short of breathtaking. The aesthetic of the picture gives it a nostalgic quality that complements its period setting very well and accentuates the grandeur of the featured architectural work. The film is visually splendid, from the reveal of Van Buren's new library with its massive folding wooden doors, to the on-location photography at the Carrara quarries, to the massive community center - most notably its ethereal chapel. Daniel Blumberg's score is a superb fit for the picture, alternating between moody and foreboding with bursts of orchestral glory at key moments.

In the lead role as the devastatingly vulnerable László, Adrien Brody is the best he's ever been on screen, affecting and nuanced in his approach to playing the rather complex character. Guy Pearce is perfectly convincing as the pompous, duplicitous, and insufferably pretentious Van Buren. Felicity Jones is also exceptional as László's wife Erzsébet, serving empathetically as the voice of reason as well as a grounded representation of post-war trauma. The supporting cast features memorable performances from Joe Alwyn as Van Buren's obnoxiously entitled son, Raffey Cassidy as László's niece Zsófia who is non-verbal for much of the film, and Isaach de Bankolé as László's loyal friend and confidant Gordon.

Beautifully composed on an epic cinematic canvas, The Brutalist is a monumental work of art uncompromisingly conveying the undesirable aspects of the immigrant experience in America. An emotionally raw saga, the film skillfully depicts the ever-present conflict between the impoverished and the wealthy, artistic expression and merciless pragmatism. It is a powerful cinematic production exploring the uncompromising process of channeling trauma into creation, pointedly condemning those who would exploit such creation for its worth.

FRAGMENTS

- Watching this at a sold out screening at a local arthouse theater projected in 70mm is one of my favorite cinematic experiences ever -- the electricity in the air was palpable during the build up to the intermission

- As Hans Zimmer's musical score for Dune: Part Two is questionable ineligible for an Oscar nomination, Daniel Blumberg's score for this film is my pick for 2025 Oscar for Best Original Score competing against the scores for Conclave, Emilia Pérez, Wicked, and The Wild Robot

- Van Buren's literal raping of László during the second half is a bit on-the-nose, but I suppose it drives home the ultimate message of the picture

- The epilogue of the film, opening with a 1980-appropriate synth-driven version of the film's overture, also works overtime to deliver the message of the story as Zsófia explains to attendees of an architectural exhibition in Venice (and by extension the film's audience) how László's expressed his personal trauma hidden within the design of the community center

MCU CONNECTIONS

- Guy Pearce (Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3)

- Isaach de Bankolé (River Tribe Elder in Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

Anora

ANORA

2024 | Dir. Sean Baker | 139 Minutes

"You do not love him, and he doesn't love you. You understand? That's in your head."

Anora "Ani" Mikheeva, a stripper from Brooklyn, meets Ivan Zakharov, the son of a Russian oligarch. After taking Ivan on as a regular client, attracted to Ivan's carefree nature and freewheeling lifestyle, Ani spontaneously agrees to marry him. Their nuptials set in motion a series of unpredictable events with emotionally cataclysmic results for Ani.

A pointed subversion of improbable Hollywood love stories, writer/director Sean Baker's Anora is as amusing as it is heartbreaking. The film is a highly entertaining tale of raw passion and devastating loss with an incredibly funny layer of cynicism masking heartfelt sincerity. Consistently hilarious in its frank, almost mechanical depiction of sex work, the outrageous wealth and fickle whims of Russian oligarchs, and the limited competence of three grown men attempting to wrangle one desperately determined young woman, the picture also poignantly explores the hidden overwhelming vulnerability of its protagonist under layer upon layer of antagonistic snark and anger.

Liberal glimpses of nudity, sex, and illicit substances aside, the first act of Anora plays out like a dreamy fantasy as Ani gradually falls for Ivan, an attachment that gives her a taste of decadent luxury and ostensibly allows her to leave behind an unfulfilling job and bothersome roommate. The moment Ivan flees his handlers, all hell breaks loose and the film descends into incessant shouting and random acts of violence Ani inflicts upon those determined to track Ivan down in the employ of his enraged parents. To Baker's credit as writer and director, the narrative remains thoroughly engaging through the pandemonium as he makes it incredibly easy to empathize with Ani while she gradually realizes her relationship with Ivan evidently does not align with her expectations. By the time the audience reaches the final heart-rending scene in a kindly hired goon's grandmother's car, the cathartic release is fully earned.

Mikey Madison is absolutely fantastic in the titular role, naturally exhibiting sly wit, gritty toughness, and deep heartache all through a thick but convincing New York accent. As the privileged and totally irresponsible Ivan, Mark Eydelshteyn is believably charming but also believably spineless and punchable. The embodiment of pure undiluted frustration, Karren Karagulian gives off infectious anxiety as Ivan's put-upon Armenian godfather Toros charged with retrieving the boy. Yura Borisov shines as lovable tough guy Igor, consistently and effortlessly stealing his scenes. 

Anora is a wild, chaotic, and deeply earnest emotional ride driven by a truly exceptional leading performance. Despite the somewhat unconventional and ostensibly salacious aspects of its narrative, at its core the picture is an engaging universally-relatable story of misplaced love and heartbreak. The pacing and incessant shouting can be a tad relentless during the second act, but the film starts and ends masterfully.

FRAGMENTS

- Igor is honestly the best, no notes

- While the rapid decline of his physical well-being due to Ani's relentless attacks and straight-up bad luck is incredibly funny, I really hope Garnik is okay

The 97th Academy Awards

My ranking of the Best Picture Oscar contenders of 2025:

1. Dune: Part Two
2. The Substance
3. The Brutalist
4. Anora *
5. Nickel Boys
6. I'm Still Here
7. Conclave
8. Wicked

9. A Complete Unknown

10. Emilia Pérez

* Actual Winner