The Zone of Interest

THE ZONE OF INTEREST

2023 | Dir. Jonathan Glazer | 105 Minutes

"This is our home. We’re living how we dreamed we would."

Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss and his family live happily in a picturesque house next to the concentration camp.

Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest is a sobering examination of infuriating complicity. Adapting Martin Amis's 2014 novel of the same name, Glazer provides the bare minimum in terms of narrative. The most significant drama that unfolds concerning its central characters is a woman's frustration at the suggestion of having to relocate her family due to her husband's promotion, the most unremarkable of conflicts if it were not for the horrific context. What makes the picture overwhelmingly unsettling is what the scenes of seemingly ordinary domesticity illustrate, that it was so easy for Nazis to carry on with their lives unbothered by the genocide they were committing just next door, in this case quite literally. The film is incredibly difficult to watch by design.

A technical masterwork in terms of subtlety and suggestion, The Zone of Interest utilizes the medium of cinema in ways that very few films do. The camera is consistently positioned to imply the horrors of Auschwitz are occurring just out of frame, with the majority of the feature made up of mundane moments at the commandant's house. The most notable shift in style are the night vision scenes featuring a young Polish girl sneaking food into the concentration camp under cover of darkness, the sole presence of resistance represented in the picture. What the audience doesn't see, the audio design forces them to hear. The sound of gunfire, shouting, crying, and screaming, while sometimes only coming through softly, is consistent and incessant. Though the production hired Mica Levi to compose music for the film, Levi's score is seldom used, which only highlights the nightmarish soundscape underscoring the proceedings.

Christian Friedel plays Rudolf Höss as a hardworking family man and loyal servant to his government most convincingly, one would almost forget the detestable nature of his gruesome work if such a thing were impossible. As Höss's wife Hedwig, Sandra Hüller is so believably smug and casually hateful that the woman she portrays somehow becomes even more despicable than Höss himself, a testament to Hüller's immense talent.

With The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer delivers a viewing experience that is most appropriately deeply unpleasant. While it is a film that is totally devoid of escapism and entertainment value, it is a work of tremendous value that must be preserved and studied. Masterfully encapsulating exactly what complicity to the evil of fascism looks like, it makes a powerful statement on the banality of evil. 

FRAGMENTS

- Sandra Hüller also appears in 2024 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee Anatomy of a Fall

- While I greatly admire The Zone of Interest and its purpose as the film, I don't think I'll ever want to watch it again

Poor Things

POOR THINGS

2023 | Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos | 141 Minutes

"I have adventured it and found nothing but sugar and violence. It is most charming."

Brought to life by a mad doctor, Bella Baxter is a young woman who perceives the world with the innocent mind of a child. Strongly desiring life experience and knowledge, Bella ventures into the world on a journey of self-discovery while challenging societal norms at every turn, particularly ones pertaining to women.

A wildly entertaining adaptation of Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel, Yorgos Lanthimos's Poor Things is a hilarious, sharp, and engaging fantastical comedy loaded with critical observations on gender-based inequity and double standards. Philosophically perceptive and perfectly-paced, the thought-provoking narrative also features an overabundance of off-color comedy but also a whole lot of heart. Throughout Bella's odyssey, she is never robbed of her agency despite the bizarre circumstances surrounding her existence and the best efforts of some of people in her life, and much of the picture's humor derives from the novel manner in which Bella approaches and resolves the various challenges she encounters.

Visually inventive and unconventional, Poor Things is immensely appealing aesthetically. Utilizing stark monochrome and lush color photography, warped fish-eye lenses, and surreal outlandish special effects, the picture is an entertainingly disorienting feast for the eyes. To say that the style of the film's production design is heightened is putting it mildly, as it features fun over-the-top period costuming and a radical variety of beautiful sets.

Poor Things is dependent upon leading lady Emma Stone's performance, her second feature collaboration with Lanthimos, and she does not disappoint. Stone confidently plays the part of Bella to perfection, fully committing to all of the character's bizarre behavior at the start of the picture while quickly and convincingly becoming the outspoken voice of reason in an objectively absurd world. Delivering perhaps the funniest performance of his career to date, Mark Ruffalo is delightfully dastardly and eventually quite pathetic in the role of the lawyer Wedderburn. As something of a scientist, Willem Dafoe shows off his range as the complicated physically and psychologically scarred Dr. Godwin Baxter, believably well-meaning but detestable yet pitiable, all the while amusingly burping up utterly disgusting bubbles. Ramy Youssef makes for an effortlessly relatable McCandles, the audience surrogate who cares deeply for the protagonist but is only able to stand by and observe her journey. Though her screentime is limited, Kathryn Hunter gives a stand-out performance as Madame Swiney, fantastic at portraying the seemingly wise and empathetic woman but still the sleazy manager of a brothel.

An excellent off-beat comedy that examines the mistreatment of women through an absurdist lens, Poor Things is equal parts funny and profound. The film's peculiar premise serves as an unlikely springboard for timeless social commentary. Director Yorgos Lanthimos, specializing in his unique brand of satire mixed with sincerity, and star Emma Stone, reliably hilarious and exceptionally versatile, are the perfect pair to bring this story to the screen.

FRAGMENTS

- Supporting players Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott starred in the psychological thriller Sanctuary which was also released in 2023

- Considering the all-around excellence of Poor Things and 2018's The Favourite, here's hoping there will be more Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone comedies to come

MCU CONNECTIONS

- Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner in The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day)

- Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborn in Spider-Man: No Way Home)

Past Lives

PAST LIVES

2023 | Dir. Celine Song | 106 Minutes

"We're not babies anymore."

Childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung reconnect in person after 24 years apart. Although Nora is married and happy with her life in New York City, the pair question destiny and what might have been.

Celine Song's semi-autobiographical Past Lives is a bittersweet film about missed opportunities and the unyielding progression of life. Despite presenting what is ostensibly a love story premise, the picture instead delivers an admirably realistic narrative that alternates between a casually voyeuristic lens and a more intimate perspective. Devoid of misguided grand romantic gestures, the narrative instead portrays a mature relationship between two people with an indelible bond that has lost all romantic potential due to circumstances that are beyond the control of any one person, and it does so with plenty of natural humor and heartfelt empathy.

Past Lives invites the audience to people-watch but not to judge. The picture opens with a conversation between unseen observers as they innocently speculate about the relationships that connect the three leads, while various pairings of people populate the background in scenes that take place in public spaces as if nudging the viewer speculate themselves on the details surrounding the various connections. These moments juxtapose well with the intimate insight the story provides for Nora and Hae Sung's complex and nuanced friendship.

The way that language is used in Past Lives to convey love and kindness is rather ingenious. When Nora and Hae Sung initially reconnect over Skype, the dialogue calls attention to the fact that Nora's Korean is rusty because she exclusively speaks it when conversing with her mother and with Hae Sung, implying that her connection with Hae Sung as at least as strong as her connection with Hae Sung without outright calling attention to the fact. Nora's husband Arthur speaks Korean to her, albeit poorly as she points out to Hae Sung, in an effort to be closer to her, communicating to the audience everything they need to know about how much Arthur is committed to Nora. In one of the film's most amusing scenes, Hae Sung and Arthur try to communicate with one another in the other's native tongue, both earnestly trying to be friendly with awkward mixed results at best. When Nora and Hae Sung have a heart-to-heart in Korean while Arthur is present, the dramatic tension is almost unbearable.

The powerful connection between Nora and Hae Sung is played to perfection by the picture's two leads who share spectacular chemistry. As Nora, Greta Lee is naturally charismatic, delivering an equally funny and dramatic performance. Teo Yoo is incredibly charming and affecting in the role of the lovesick Hae Sung. Playing Arthur, John Magaro is also very impressive, believably embodying a remarkably understanding husband placed in a uniquely uncomfortable position, truly the source of much of film's comedy.

Past Lives is a soulful, profound film that contemplates lost love. The feature authentically depicts the process of two people confronting paths not taken and genuinely moving on. It's a universally relatable narrative that is perfectly captured in this lovely and somewhat melancholy picture.

FRAGMENTS

- Recommending Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to a man who clearly has a crush on you is low-key malicious

- My movie streaming app crashed the moment Nora hugged Hae Sung in the scene after the pair meet in person for the first time since they were kids

Oppenheimer

OPPENHEIMER

2023 | Dir. Christopher Nolan | 181 Minutes

"We might start a chain reaction that destroys the world."

In 1954, J. Robert Oppenheimer appeals the United States Atomic Energy Commission's decision to revoke his security clearance. A private hearing is held to review Oppenheimer's leadership on the Manhattan Project while scrutinizing his history with members of the Communist Party. In 1957, a Senate confirmation hearing is held for Lewis Strauss to become Secretary of Commerce. Adversarial to Oppenheimer, Strauss quickly finds that the scientific community and history are not on his side.

Adapted from Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin's 2005 J. Robert Oppenheimer biography American Prometheus, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is a sweeping epic charting the rise and fall of a deeply flawed genius. Written and directed by the celebrated auteur, he tells his most personal and contemplative story yet, exploring festering guilt and overwhelming anxiety through the eyes of the father of the atomic bomb. A decidedly unconventional biopic that chronicles the man's career rather than his entire life, the film celebrates scientific ingenuity but also condemns the nuclear arms race in no uncertain terms, a resounding protest against political agendas manipulating and exploiting scientific advancement.

The audio-visual components of Oppenheimer are unmistakably Nolan. Consistent with the director's non-linear storytelling tendencies, the feature interweaves two primary storylines occurring years apart with elegant aesthetic coding, structuring the narrative around an emotional through line rather than a strictly chronological one. Oppenheimer's demoralizing 1954 security hearing behind closed doors, depicting key events through flashbacks as he recounts his fraught education at Cambridge through the Trinity test at Los Alamos and the years that followed in which he used his influence to promote nuclear disarmament, are filmed in color. The events surrounding Lewis Strauss's humiliating 1959 Senate confirmation hearing, with flashbacks presenting his seemingly contentious professional relationship with Oppenheimer, are filmed in black and white. It's a fascinating approach to deliver the impression of a man from both internal and external perspectives, poignantly expressing both his confidence and his insecurity with nuance in the color sequences while conveying his supposed arrogance as perceived by Strauss with incomplete context in black and white. Ludwig Göransson's moody score is appropriately atmospheric, but it is incessant and occasionally more distracting than complementary.

Nolan's strength as a filmmaker are on full display showcasing the scale of the Manhattan Project. The gathering of the scientists, and their interpersonal conflicts and their collective accomplishment are the most engaging parts of the film. Conversely, Nolan's greatest weakness remains his inability to write nuanced female roles. While they serve their purpose as key figures in the protagonist's life, the roles of Jean Tatlock and Kitty Oppenheimer can be distilled down to purely temperamental forces that consistently behave like emotional disasters.

Cillian Murphy is excellent in the lead role, equally superb in portraying the confident man of science and the anxiety-stricken wretch overcome with guilt. As the vindictive Lewis Strauss, Robert Downey Jr. gives one of the very best performances of his career, absolutely convincing as a jealous and spiteful man who relishes in utilizing backhanded tactics for political gain. Making the most of her role as Kitty, Emily Blunt's considerable talent shines through despite the character being drunk and upset for the majority of the picture. The massive supporting cast features memorable performances David Krumholtz as Oppenheimer's lifelong friend physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi, Matt Damon as the amusingly straight-forward General Leslie Groves, Florence Pugh as the bewilderingly mercurial Jean Tatlock, Josh Hartnett as Oppenheimer's conflicted colleague Ernest Lawrence, Dane DeHaan as the hateful Major General Kenneth Nichols, and Alden Ehrenreich as Strauss's conscientious Senate Aide.

Oppenheimer is a monumental cinematic achievement. Despite turning up all of his signature proclivities to maximum output, Nolan's unconventional biopic is never over-indulgent. The film presents a sprawling narrative that leans heavily into the nature of regret and the folly of political division in the atomic age.

FRAGMENTS

- Barbie and Oppenheimer were released on the July 21, 2023 in the United States, creating the cultural phenomenon dubbed the "Barbenheimer" in which moviegoers opted to watch both pictures as a tonally-contrasting double feature, significantly benefitting both films financially

- The fake post-credits scenes for this film circulating around the internet amuse me to no end

007 CONNECTIONS

- Rami Malek (Lyutsifer Safin in No Time To Die)

MCU CONNECTIONS

- Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark in Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame)

- David Dastmalchian (Kurt in Ant-Man and Ant-Man and The Wasp, and Veb in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania)

- Matt Damon (Asgardian Actor playing Loki in Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder)

- James D'Arcy (Edwin Jarvis in Avengers: Endgame)

- Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova in Black Widow, Thunderbolts*, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day)

Maestro

MAESTRO

2023 | Dir. Bradley Cooper | 129 Minutes

"It's so fucking draining to love and accept someone who doesn't love and accept themselves, and that's the only truth I know about you."

Conductor Leonard Bernstein and actress Felicia Montealegre meet at a party and quickly fall in love. As the years pass following their marriage, Leonard and Felicia's relationship becomes increasingly strained due to Leonard's success constantly placing the family in the public eye and his habitual indulgences in extramarital affairs with men.

Bradley Cooper's second feature in the director's chair, Maestro is more the story of a complicated marriage than a standard biopic. A stylish film, the feature sincerely explores the challenges behind some of the most loving romantic relationships. The narrative is only underscored by the musical achievements and occurring throughout Bernstein's career instead of directly focusing on them, placing much more emphasis on the emotional highs and lows of his private life. Most of the picture is seen through the perspective of Bernstein's loving but frustrated wife Felicia, sidestepping the often artificially aggrandizing nature of movies about real life artists.

Maestro is an aesthetically appealing picture. Shifting from one style of filmmaking to another throughout the course of its runtime, the black and white photography gives way to Technicolor and the boxy Academy ratio eventually changes to widescreen. It is an inspired way to present the passage of decades. The film's musical score is made up of Leonard Bernstein's works, perfectly demonstrating the timeless quality of his acclaimed musical works.

Bradley Cooper is impressive as the celebrated conductor-composer, fully committed to the part, even genuinely learning how to conduct an orchestra to convincingly perform a key scene. Although as good as Cooper is in the lead role, the old age makeup is a bit distracting as the picture covers Bernstein's later years, decidedly more exaggerated than the way he mimics the way Bernstein spoke. Giving a nuanced and heartbreaking performance as Felicia, Carey Mulligan is mesmerizing. Mulligan believably embodies a woman whose patience is regularly put to the test by disagreeable actions taken by the man she loves unconditionally, sometimes communicating all of this with just a subtle look.

Maestro is a sweet film about an imperfect relationship. The picture takes a refreshing approach to telling the story of a public figure on film, providing ample emotional insight into the person behind the public image that goes well beyond the standard biographical narrative. Confident aesthetic flourishes and a pair of memorable performances delivered by its leading stars further enhance the feature.

FRAGMENTS

- Miriam Shor also appears in 2024 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee American Fiction

- Martin Scorsese was initially attached to direct Maestro but left the project to make The Irishman, while Steven Spielberg who was approached to direct the film after Scorsese's exit encouraged Bradley Cooper to helm the picture upon seeing an early screening of Cooper's A Star is Born

- It's rather controversial for Bradley Cooper, a Catholic man, to wear a prosthetic nose and play a Jewish man

- Who abandoned Snoopy in the vestibule?

MCU CONNECTIONS

- Bradley Cooper (Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

- Miriam Shor (Recorder Vim in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)