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Compelling
Love Story THE CONSTANT GARDENER: Directed by Fernando Meirelles. Written by Jeffrey Caine, based on the novel by John Le Carré. Produced by Simon Channing Williams, Tracey Seaward. Executive producers, Gail Egan, Robert Jones, Donald Ranvaud, Jeff Abberley, Julia Blackman. Cinematography, César Charlone. Production design, Mark Tildesley. Editor, Claire Simpson. Costume design, Odile Dicks-Mireaux. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz. With Danny Huston, Bill Nighy, Pete Postlethwaite, Gerard McSorley, Hubert Koundé. Archie Panjabi, Nick Reding. Focus Features, 2005. R. 129 minutes. Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles (City of God) directs this excellent mainstream political thriller based on John Le Carre's novel of the same name with a fiery compassion for Third World societies wronged by the international exponents of a global economy. This overarching theme embraces a love story between Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), a reticent, by-the-books, foreign intelligence bachelor and a life-loving, by-any-means-necessary, political activist, Tessa (Rachel Weisz).
From the moment Tessa is found viciously murdered in remote Northern Kenya early in the film, Quayle becomes more like his beloved: involved, tenacious and vigilant. He learns a lot about Tessa, some of it devastating, but he is dedicated to discovering the truth, wherever it may take him. The film highlights Africa's grave health problems and the international pharmaceutical interests, which exploit (and kill) sick people in developing countries to test-market unapproved drugs. Meirelles doesn't squander the power of Le Carré's story on the white characters and their problems. Rather, he uses Quayle's quest for truth as a metaphor, which heightens the film's disturbing, indelible images and makes the plight of Africa's poor more resonant. Learning about Big Pharma, as it is called in the film, Justin uncovers a criminal conspiracy that reaches into the highest levels of governments inside and outside Africa. This dangerous knowledge ensnares him in a nightmarish world where nothing is as he thought, while cold fury arms him with the emotional, ethical and physical courage to make Tessa's work known to the world. I have to laugh when famous male film critics (are there any other kind?) dissect Fiennes' sex appeal, which is apparently a mystery to them. Fiennes' film history as a lover in two films — The English Patient and The End of the Affair — sends women all over the world to movies that offer him the opportunity to express believable but romantic desire, obsessive love, sensual connection. To that audience, among whom I count myself, The Constant Gardener does not disappoint. Fiennes and Weisz first worked together in István Szabó's acclaimed exploration of the bloody 20th century as lived by one Jewish family, Sunshine (2000). Fiennes plays a character from each generation of the family, and in one segment he is married to Weisz. The actors succeed as steamy lovers in The Constant Gardener in part because their characters are near opposites. Playful, earthy and joyous love scenes appear as Justin's memories in flashback, the very elements absent in the film's more serious and tragic main story. Supporting performers deliver outstanding work, including Danny Huston as Sandy Woodrow, Justin's friend who is drawn deeper into the cover up of Tessa's death than either of them can handle. Likewise, Bill Nighy, who famously played the comic Santa role in Love Actually, here plays a witheringly proper English bureaucrat, Sir Bernard Pellegrin, whose polite façade hides a mean-spirited career freak. Nighy's work in HBO's recent film, The Girl in the Café, opposite Kelly Macdonald, affirmed the actor's versatility, further confirmed by his darker work in this film. Pete Postlethwaite also convincingly plays a character who is not what he seems to be. Gerard McSorley plays Sir Kenneth Curtiss, a drug company executive who is decidedly not a proper English gentleman, despite bearing the title and privilege of one. The primary African actor is Hubert Koundé, who plays Tessa's colleague, Dr. Arnold Bluhm, believed by many in both the Kenyan and British communities to be her lover. Koundé gives a strong performance as a medical activist who sees firsthand the abuses and hypocrisies of Big Pharma. Not making Koundé's character more central is one the film's few missteps. Beautifully shot by Uraguayan cinematographer César Charlone from a balanced, smoothly designed script by Jeffrey Caine, The Constant Gardener is that rare cinematic delight — ravishing and intellectually satisfying as well. Now playing at Cinemark and Cinema World, it's the first of the big fall films to hit the screens. See it with my very highest recommendations.
Transgressive
Sex MY SUMMER OF LOVE: Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. Written by Pawlikowski in collaboration with Michael Wynne, based on the novel by Helen Cross. Produced by Tanya Seghatchian, Christopher Collins. Executive producers, David M. Thompson, Chris Auty, Emma Hayter. Cinematography, Ryszard Lenczewski. Editor, David Charap. Production design, John Stevenson. Costume design, Julian Day. Featuring music by Alison Goldfrapp, Will Gregory. Starring Natalie Press, Paddy Considine and Emily Blunt, with Dan Andrews and Michelle Byrne. Focus Features, 2005. R. 87 minutes I love to watch a movie, half-way through decide I know how it's going to go, feel resigned and a little disappointed, then experience delight. What a surprise! If Pawel Pawlikowski's wonderful little film can jazz up my Sunday afternoon like that, he may show you something new under the sun as well.
In My Summer of Love, two girls meet on a sunny day in the Yorkshire countryside and fall in love. Mona (Nathalie Press) is a working-class, teenaged girl who lives over the pub her late parents owned. Her brother, Phil (Paddy Considine of In America), lives there, too. But Phil is a born-again just out of prison who's now planning to convert the pub into a spiritual center for similar thinking men and women. Mona hates the idea, calls Phil a hypocrite and worse, storms off in a temper. "I just want my real brother back," she says to him after one outburst. When Tamsin (Emily Blunt) first sees Mona, she's lying on her back, eyes closed, in deep grass at the top of hill, below which the village sprawls. Tamsin, riding a white horse and looking quite splendid, asks Mona if she's hurt. Did she fall off her bike? No, Mona replies, the bike doesn't have a motor. The ice is broken, and the girls swap stories like old friends. Tamsin has been turned out of boarding school for some vague infraction, and before the day is over, she invites Mona to visit anytime. Along with more fights with Phil, Mona also has an unusually frank encounter with Ricky (Dean Andrews), a guy from the pub she's been going out with — although it wouldn't be accurate to call what they do dating. Likewise, Tamsin has problems relating to her father, and she sadly tells Mona all about her sister, Sadie, who died of anorexia. As Tamsin spins ever more elaborate fantasies, Mona grows ever more infatuated. When she tries on Tamsin's exotic wardrobe, Mona looks terrific even to herself. No wonder the twosome grows closer, what with the availability of drugs and alcohol, the run of Tamsin's Tudor estate, Mona's estrangement from Phil and their awakened sexuality. Now you get the idea: Here's Mona, a poor, uneducated girl from the sticks playing dress up and get drunk with Tamsin, a beautiful, sexy, rich girl who plays the cello. Phil, of course, is the wild card in the deck. He disapproves of their relationship, but he's tied up, building a hideous, huge cross he plans to erect up on the hill. Director Pawlikowski masterfully moves the story from gritty emotions into a hazy dreamtime so subtly we almost don't notice we have become enchanted ourselves. Cinematographer Ryszard Lenczewski makes the enchantment believable with luscious golden sunlight and velvety purple evening shadows. The director's first film, Last Resort, also set in Great Britain and co-starring Considine, never played Eugene, but the national critics liked it. I hope you'll see this film early and often at the Bijou when it opens this weekend, because there is a crush of others waiting at the gates. Very highest recommendations for a painless way to keep summer in your heart forever.
OPENING
OR RETURNING: Crow, The: Alex Proyas' 1994 action, crime, fantasy, thriller stars Brandon Lee. A dead man comes back for revenge. R. Midnight 9/9 and 9/10. Movies 12. Exorcism of Emily Rose, The: Scott Derrickson directs this unusual film, which incorporates horror with a compelling courtroom drama. Stars Laura Linney as an ambitious attorney, Jennifer Carpenter as a murder victim. With Tom Wilkinson, Colm Feore, Campbell Scott and Shohreh Aghdashloo. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Found Footage Festival: From Brooklyn, a national touring live comedy event and screening, featuring odd and hilarious clips from found videotapes. $6. Plays at 9:35 on 9/11. Bijou. Lord of the Wu Tang: Marital arts action star Sammo Hung directed and costars with Jet Li. Classic tale of orphaned boy adopted by a kung-fu master and taught secret fighting techniques. NR. LateNite Bijou. Man, The: Through a case of mistaken identity, law enforcement officer Samuel L. Jackson ends up with the hapless Eugene Levy. Les Mayfield directs this action, crime comedy. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. My Summer of Love: Two girls fall in love during a summer in Yorkshire countryside in Pawel Pawlikowski's romance. Mona (Natalie Press) lives above the pub in town; Tamsin (Emily Blunt) lives in a mansion and plays the cello. Mona's brother Phil (Paddy Considine) doesn't approve of their relationship, but he's busy building a crucifix to stand over the village. Droll, enchanting film. Don't miss. Very highest recommendations. R. Bijou. See review this issue. Mysterious Skin: Writer, director Gregg Araki adapted Scott Heim's 1995 novel of sexual trauma for the screen. A controversial portrait of two boys and the different paths their lives take after a sexual encounter. Disturbing. "Jaggedly dreamy," according to the Village Voice's Dennis Lim. R. Bijou. Omar and Pete: Two African American men who have been in and out of prison most of their lives decide to change when they are united again in their native Baltimore. Each struggles alone and with support. One deals with addiction and fear, the other finds success through helping others. Shows on 9/13, "POV" on PBS. Check TV listings for times. Unfinished Life, An: Contemporary Western directed by Lasse Hallstrom working from a screenplay by Mark Spragg, based on his excellent 2004 novel (EW movie archives12/9/04). Life changes for two hard-working cowboys (Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman) who have lived on the same piece of Wyoming ranch land for 40 years when a young mother, Jean Gilkyson (Jennifer Lopez), and her 10-year old daughter, Griffin (Becca Gardner), invade their familiar routine. Jean is fleeing an abusive boyfriend (Damian Lewis). Sneak at 7:30 pm on 9/10 at Cinemark.
CONTINUING: Aristocrats, The: Paul Provenza directs this obscene talent show where about a hundred comics tell the same filthy joke, an oldie from at least early vaudeville, in which unspeakable acts are performed. Each skit is original, while the joke remains. Comic talents include Paul Reiser, Jake Johannsen, Chevy Chase, Whoopi Goldberg, Gilbert Gottfried, Kevin Pollak, Bob Saget, Robin Williams, Erik Cartman, Jon Stewart and Sarah Silverman. Film has been banned by some theaters. Caution: Not for the faint of heart. NR. Cinema World. Bad News Bears: New take on 1976 comedy of same name about a grizzled former minor league baseball player recruited to coach inept Little League team to a championship. Directed by Richard Linklater (Before Sunset), film stars Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear and Marcia Gay Harden. Recommended for the simple vices it enjoys: cussing, fighting and irresponsibly driving a Caddy convertible while drinking. Batman Begins: Christopher Nolan (Insomnia, Memento) directs an all star cast to bring you the story of how young Bruce Wayne (Christopher Hale) becomes the Dark Knight. Also stars Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Katie Holmes. PG13. Movies 12. Online archives. Bewitched: Nora Ephron (You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle) directs this story about the remaking of the classic 1960s sitcom "Bewitched" starring Will Ferrell as Darrin and Nicole Kidman as Samantha. Best when it's a sweet love story but always watchable. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Broken Flowers: Bill Murray plays a man who looks up all his ex-girlfriends, searching for a son he might have fathered. Jim Jarmusch's minimalist film is touted as his most accessible yet, which would be good news for most filmmakers but not for this iconoclast. Also stars Julie Delpy, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton. R. Bijou. Online archives. Brothers Grimm, The: Terry Gilliam directs this tale of the legendary brothers who brought fairytales to the world, Will Grimm (Matt Damon) and Jake Grimm (Heath Ledger). Set in the Napoleonic countryside, the brothers have to wrestle with the demons and magical characters their imaginations have brought to life. Also stars Jonathan Pryce, Lena Headey, Peter Stormare and Monic Bellucci. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Cave, The: A giant underground cave system in Romania entices thrill seeking professional spelunkers Jack (Cole Hauser) and his brother Tyler (Eddie Cibrian); other divers include Piper Perabo and Morris Chestnut. The trailer is really scary and kind of cheesy. PG-13. Cinemark. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Tim Burton's reimagining of Roald Dahl's perennial children's favorite dark chocolate treat stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka with Freddie Highmore, his child co-star from Finding Neverland, along with Helen Bonham Carter. Loved it! Highest recommendations. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark. Online archives. Constant Gardener, The: Directed by Fernando Meirelles (City of God) and adapted from a John Le Carre novel, this thriller also stars the excellent Rachel Weisz (pronounced Vice) and the ever masterful Ralph Fiennes, playing a career diplomat who plunges into the mystery of his wife's murder. He uncovers a world-wide pharmaceutical industry criminal conspiracy. Also stars Danny Huston, Bill Nighy. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. See review this issue. Dark Water: Psychological thriller directed by Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) stars Jennifer Connelly as a young mother starting a new life with her daughter in an apartment that takes on a sinister life of its own, including persistent leaks of dark water. PG-13. Movies 12. Fantastic Four: Marvel Comic's superheroes, transformed by cosmic rays while on an outer space mission, battle the evil powers of Doctor Doom. Directed by Tim Story, movie stars Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon. PG-13. Movies 12. Forty-Year Old Virgin: Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) has lived a life of involuntary chastity, and his friends are determined to do something about his state. Directed by Judd Apatow, the film stars Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd and others. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. Online archives. Four Brothers: After their mother is murdered, four brothers reunite to avenge her death. From John Singleton, the director of 2 Fast 2 Furious, this disappointing film stars Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund, with Terrence Howard. R. Cinemark. Online archives. Herbie, Fully Loaded: More hijinx and shennanigans from that animated, but so unlike Christine, VW bug, Herbie as he heads to NASCAR. Starring Linsay Lohan and Justin Long. G. Movies 12. Longest Yard, The: Lots of world-class athletes from NFL players to kick-boxers and wrestlers star along with Adam Sandler, Burt Reynolds and Chris Rock in this comic tall tale of a group of diverse inmates who team up to play against their guards. PG-13. Movies 12. Madagascar: Computer-animated comedy stars voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith as animals who escape from the Central Park Zoo for a big city adventure. But they are captured and put on a ship headed for Africa, where they must survive in the wild. Directed by Eric Darnell (Antz) and Tom McGrath ("The Ren and Stimpy Show"). PG. Movies 12. March of the Penguins: Documentary director Luc Jacquet's film chronicles the oft-repeated survival of the species in the wind-strewn wilderness of Antarctica. Film tracks a pair of Emperor Penguins across continent. Includes intimate scenes of the big birds mating. The female lays one egg, passes it to the male and takes off for a three months round trip to the sea and food. Meanwhile, the male penguins don't eat but focus exclusively on keeping the eggs alive for the gestation period. G. Bijou. Cinemark. Mr & Mrs Smith: An action adventure romantic comedy thriller about a bored married couple (Angelia Jolie and Brad Pitt) who is surprised to learn that they are assassins hired to kill each other. Directed by Doug Liman (Bourne Identity). PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Red Eye: You've all seen the trailer: Rachel McAdams is horrified to learn that her father has been kidnapped and the monster (Cillian Murphy) who's in on it is seated right next to her on a red eye to Miami. Directed by Wes Craven. PG-13. Cinemark. Skeleton Key: Something wicked lurks in the Louisiana mansion where Kate Hudson works as a live-in nurse. PG-13. Cinemark. Sound of Thunder, A: According to the IMDB's Anonymous review, the film is about a hunter (Ed Burns) on a time-traveling safari who wanders off the path and kills a butterfly. Safari owner (Ben Kingsley) and other experts must go back and replace the butterfly or humanity will not exist in the future. Also stars Catharine McCormack as the game's inventor. PG-13. Cinemark. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: The long-awaited final episode in George Lucas's series stars Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman. From Village Voice reviewer Ed Halter: "Lucas packs his latest with physics-defying deep-space dogfights and zhoozhing lightsaber battles, frequently cutting back and forth between two simultaneous melees on separate planets, deploying his signature Flash Gordon wipes." PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Transporter 2, The: Former Special Forces operative (Jason Statham) must find the kidnapper who took a boy from the wealthy family he works for. Written and produced by Lu Besson, directed by Louis Leterrier, film also stars Alessandro Gassman, Amber Valetta, Mathew Modine and Kate Nauta. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Underclassmen: Nick Cannon (Drumline) stars as a street-smart cop who goes undercover at an elite private high school to infiltrate a group of rich, smart students under suspicion for murder. PG-13. Cinemark. Wedding Crashers: Hyper pranksters Owen Wilson and Vince Vaghn star in this throwback to a rowdier time in movies. Things go well for the boys until they meet up with Rachel McAdams and Isla Fisher and their parents, Christopher Walken and Jane Seymour. R. Cinemark.
MOVIE
THEATERS Bijou
Art Cinemas Regal
Cinemas Cinemark
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