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November 11, 2022

Win Passes To The St. Louis Advance Screening Of SHE SAID

Filed under: Contest — Tags: , , , , , , , — Movie Geeks @ 11:27 am

CRITICS ARE CALLING SHE SAID “BRILLIANT AND CAPTIVATING.”  “ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR.”  BASED ON ACTUAL EVENTS THAT HELPED IGNITE A MOVEMENT, UNIVERSAL PICTURES PROUDLY PRESENTS ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE CAREY MULLIGAN AND ZOE KAZAN.  SHE SAID. 

ONLY IN THEATERS NOVEMBER 18TH.

Advance Screening Tues, Nov. 15th 7pm at AMC Esquire 7.

The screening will be filled on a first come first served basis, so we encourage you to arrive early. Seats will not be guaranteed. Rated R.

Enter at the link below. Winners will be selected

SWEEPSTAKES LINK:  https://gofobo.com/Zxrpw60721 

Two-time Academy Award® nominee Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, An Education) and Emmy nominee Zoe Kazan (The Plot Against America, The Big Sick) star as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke one of the most important stories in a generation— a story that shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood and impelled a shift in American culture that continues to this day.

From the Academy Award® winning producers of 12 Years a Slave, Moonlight, Minari, Selma and The Big Short and the Oscar®-nominated producer of Zero Dark Thirty and American Hustle, the film is based on the New York Times investigation by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Rebecca Corbett and the New York Times bestseller, She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.

A testament to the incalculable importance of investigative journalism, She Said details the journey of reporters and editors engaged in the unrelenting pursuit of the truth and highlights the courage of survivors and witnesses who chose to come forward to stop an accused serial predator from committing further harm. Together, their commitment and fortitude sparked a global conversation, helped propel the #MeToo movement, and fueled a reckoning of the system that had enabled him.

At its heart, She Said is an inspiring true story about people, many of them women, many of them mothers, who summoned the courage to speak out and seek justice, not just for themselves but for those in the future, both in the U.S. and around the globe. The film is a compelling, moving reminder of the power of individual people, armed with determination and grit, to, together, change the world.

The film costars Oscar® nominee Patricia Clarkson (Shutter Island, Pieces of April), Emmy winner Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Street, Thief), Tony winner Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty, Pride and Prejudice), with Academy Award® nominee Samantha Morton (Minority Report, In America) and Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Ashley Judd (Double Jeopardy, Bug) as herself.

She Said is directed by Emmy winner Maria Schrader (I’m Your Man, Unorthodox limited series) from a screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, screenwriter of the Oscar® winning film Ida. The film is produced by Academy Award® winners Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner for Plan B Entertainment and is executive produced by Oscar® winner Brad Pitt and Lila Yacoub and by Oscar® nominee Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle for Annapurna Pictures.

https://www.shesaidmovie.com/

(from left) Rebecca Corbett (Patricia Clarkson), Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) in She Said, directed by Maria Schrader.

August 31, 2018

THE BOOKSHOP – Review

Filed under: Review — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Cate Marquis @ 8:47 am

Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) unpacks books in her shop, in THE BOOKSHOP. Photo courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment ©

At first glance, THE BOOKSTORE might look to some audiences like CHOCOLAT with books instead of chocolates, but this film about a woman who moves to a small town and opens a shop is nothing like that romantic comedy. Other audiences might expect an inspiring tale of a plucky woman, a newcomer facing steep odds but finally winning over skeptical locals. There is indeed a plucky woman and a show of courage and defiance, but the story does work out in the standard stereotypical fashion. The story is inspiring in a different, darker way.

Based on Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel, the story is set in a small English seaside village. But this very English tale is directed by a Spanish – actually Catalan – woman, director Isabel Coixet, who also directed the excellent LEARNING TO DRIVE. Her outsider lens adds a distinct dark twist.

In 1950s Britain, a widow moves to a small English village, buys a old house in town that had stood empty for years, with the intention to open a bookshop. Sounds harmless enough, maybe even something the village would welcome. But Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) does not find it so. It isn’t so much the bookshop that is the problem, although one seemly friendly villager offers her the not-to-encouraging advice that people around there don’t read. Well, the villager admits, there is one reader, the reclusive Mr. Brundish (Bill Nighy) but he never leaves his decaying mansion. No, the real problem,as it turns out, is not lack of readers, but that Florence happened to pick as the spot for her bookshop the very old house that a powerful local aristocrat Violet Gamat (Patricia Clarkson) had her eye on, planning to turn the building that everyone in town calls “the old house” into an “arts center.”

It sets in motion a contest of wills between the plucky widow and the ruthless aristocrat, that sounds very British and indeed the film is based on Penelope Fitzgerald’s semi-autobiographical novel. But the direction and screen adaptation by Catalan director Isabel Coixet brings another element into this story, taking it down some darker and unexpected paths. Class differences and the insular nature of small towns are topics that are woven into this literary tale.

The acting is excellent with Emily Mortimer getting a chance to really shine as the widow determined to stay and make her bookshop succeed. Despite the lack of encouragement, the bookshop does well, bring novels like “Fahrenheit 451” and “Lolita” to the village. Bill Nighy, as always, turns in a fine performance as the book-loving Mr. Brundish, who becomes Florence’s friend, her best ally and customer. The other villagers, while friendly on the surface, are harder to read, particularly a local BBC producer Milo North, a flippant, flirtatious fellow but in an oily way, who proves a slippery factor. A local family sends their young daughter to help in the shop, and the girl and the shop owner bond over tea and books, even though she says she prefers math to reading.

Everything is low-key and emotionally restrained but the director crafts a brilliant and powerful film, one that interjects an element of Kafka and some bone-chilling twists. The result is a film far more complex and interesting than the premise suggests.

THE BOOKSHOP opens Friday, August 31, at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

August 10, 2018

Emily Mortimer And Bill Nighy Star In Trailer For Isabel Coixet’s THE BOOKSHOP – Opening In St. Louis On August 31

Filed under: Movies — Tags: , , , , — Michelle McCue @ 10:56 am

Opening on August 24 is director Isabel Coixet’s THE BOOKSHOP. The film will debut in St. Louis on August 31.

England, 1959. Free-spirited widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) risks everything to open a bookshop in a conservative East Anglian coastal town. While bringing about a surprising cultural awakening through works by Ray Bradbury and Vladimir Nabokov, she earns the polite but ruthless opposition of a local grand dame (Patricia Clarkson) and the support and affection of a reclusive book loving widower (Bill Nighy).

As Florence’s obstacles amass and bear suspicious signs of a local power struggle, she is forced to ask: is there a place for a bookshop in a town that may not want one?

Based on Penelope Fitzgerald’s acclaimed novel and directed by Isabel Coixet (Learning to Drive), The Bookshop is an elegant yet incisive rendering of personal resolve, tested in the battle for the soul of a community.

Coixet’s resume is quite extensive. Among her many films is 2008’s Elegy. Based on Philip Roth’s novel The Dying Animal, it was shot in Vancouver and produced by Lakeshore Entertainment, with a screenplay by Nicholas Meyer, and starring Penélope Cruz and Ben Kingsley. Elegy was introduced at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival.

In 2012, she shot and produced her project, Yesterday Never Ends which premiered in the Panorama Section of the 63th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival, as well as opening the Málaga Film Festival the same year. That same year she shot Another Me, an English production written and directed by her and with Sophie Turner, Rhys Iphans and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the cast.

In 2013 she began shooting Leaning to Drive in New York starring Sir Ben Kinglsey and Patricia Clarkson. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and won the Grolsch People’s Choice Award.

The director says of the main character, “The balance of this film will lie in the layers of the various skirmishes Florence must get through in her small society. Those skirmishes tally up the battles and those battles make up the war.

As we witness her establishing herself, and the decisions she makes to move forwards, we must also see the wave effect of that drop in the pond and how she affects those around her. And, although Florence does not win the war, she makes an impact on a few people that may or may not have powerful actions to take on in their own futures.

In the end is the sweet dull pain of inevitability. The fires of resistance need oxygen to survive. Water continues to flow and, as mould finds its way into a structure and tears it down, it washes away history. Each side must be vigilant in self-maintenance. The war against Florence results in nothing all that impactful. We are all human again, full “of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Florence loses her battle, but has she inspired the next generation of warriors? My mission is to show that Florence has indeed inspired us all to take up the good fight.”

March 2, 2018

THE PARTY – Review

Filed under: Review — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Cate Marquis @ 6:50 am

Patricia Clarkson as April pops a champagne cork before sparks start to fly, in Sally Potter’s darkly comic satire THE PARTY. Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions ©

In Sally Potter’s THE PARTY, what starts out as a quiet little celebration rapidly transforms into a series of shocking revelations and emotional meltdowns in this delicious dark comedy. The resulting film crackles with energy, head-whipping twists, and whip-smart humor. What starts out as a happy occasion quickly devolves into shocking revelations, verbal fireworks and general debacle.

THE PARTY packs in a lot in its mere 71 minutes. Shot in a crisp black and white, writer/director Potter gets right down to business of introducing these sharp-witted and often acid tongue characters and hen upsetting what was supposed to be a quiet little celebration with old friends after a long-sought victory, along with everyone’s carefully built world.

Newly-elected British politician Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) has invited a few other couples to her home for a little party in her London home to celebrate her recent triumph at the polls. Janet and her husband Bill have invited three long-time friends who share their political views and party. The election is a culmination of Janet’s career and all their ambitions for their political party. Well, for three of the couples. The fourth couple invited is a younger woman politician from the opposition party, with whom Janet will have to work, and her American banker husband. The stage is set for some fireworks.

First to arrive is Janet’s acerbic best friend April (Patricia Clarkson) and her German boyfriend Gottfried (Bruno Ganz), a smiling old-hippie “life coach” given to spouting aphorisms and Buddhist philosophy who is clearly on his way out in April’s affections. Janet’s husband Bill (Timothy Spall), an academic who sacrificed his own career to support Janet’s ambitions, seems remarkable subdued. Next to arrive are Martha (Cherry Jones), Janet and Bill’s radical feminist friend and her younger new wife Jinny (Emily Mortimer) who is now pregnant. The three couples then await, with a bit of dread, the arrival of the fourth, with the new co-worker from the opposition party, but instead only the American husband Tom (Cillian Murphy) shows up, saying his wife will join them later. The husband is clearly distressed, the reason for which we will eventually see.

As champagne corks pop, one after another surprise announcement ramps up the tensions in this evening of fun and games. The appearance of a gun boosts the potential for more than just people shooting off their mouths and verbal violence.

 

It is quite an assembly of acting talent and writer/director Sally Potter makes brilliant use of them all. Sally Potter, whose previous films include 2012’s GINGER AND ROSA, is known for intelligent and challenging independent films. She describes this film as “a comedy wrapped around a tragedy.” Janet and her long-time friends consider themselves, in the words of director Sally Potter, “morally right and politically left,” and have a sort of smugness about that view of themselves, a bubble that invites popping.

There is a bit of a modern “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” to this story, in that what starts out staid and sophisticated becomes anything but as secrets are revealed. THE PARTY has the same feeling that the characters are trapped in this confined space until all the elements have played out. Bill starts the evening debacle off by throwing the first bomb but soon all the couples have revelations and shocks for the gathering.

The title is clearly a play on words for both the gathering and the unnamed political party which and her friends have long supported. Potter uses the sharp-tongued interactions between the characters to poke a bit of satiric fun at British politics, particularly the Labor Party. At times, the characters will talk about high-minded views and then undercut their own idealism with political maneuvering.

While politics are discussed, the real focus of the humor is on human foibles. All the cast are excellent but Patricia Clarkson nearly steals the show as the acid-tongued April. Time after time, April’s pointed criticisms and blunt views both underline absurdities and get to the real point that others are dancing around. Cherry Jones is a major culprit, dancing around generational differences in her relationship with her much younger wife. Bruno Ganz, as the goofy dreamer and would-be wise man is particularly funny, a perfect foil to April. Timothy Spall’s Bill and Ganz’s Gottfried engage in a bit of self-delusional lunacy that is as funny as it is horrifying. Cillian Murphy’s character starts out as an enigma but eventually is revealed as a linchpin of the drama under the comedy.

No spoilers but the film ends with a final shot that is the perfect cherry on the top of this satiric confection. This satire lets the air out of many sails as one revelation follows another in this bitingly funny film. It packs more dark comedy and satiric jabs in its brief running time than several the usual parlor drama. THE PARTY is an invitation you should accept.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

January 25, 2018

MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE – Review

Filed under: Review — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Jim Batts @ 10:34 pm

 

It’s kind of a slow month at the movies, so join me in a cinema experiment (cue Kenneth Strickfaden’s sparking, buzzing Frankenstein lab equipment). That’s because this weekend’s new flick is a real rarity for this time of year: a franchise entry. To be more precise, it’s the third part of a trilogy based upon (oh oh) a popular series of young adult novels (that sends a chill up my spine, only matched by the name “Nicholas Sparks”). And its setting is a most familiar backdrop for such stories, a dystopian future. The first one came out in 2014, followed a year later by the middle entry. But why the nearly three-year wait? Being “heavy” on the action stunts, the leading man was injured on the set, forcing a lengthy shut down. Will this derail its momentum? Well, generally January is the “multiplex graveyard” where franchise flicks come to die. So what is the experiment I mentioned? Well, I’ve not seen the two previous films in this series, so we’ll see if I can jump in cold. Most film fans believe that reading the novel a film is based on, should not be required for an adaptation. The same is said with film series or franchises. Is it necessary to see all the Marvel Studios movies before seeing next month’s BLACK PANTHER? Shouldn’t be, it should stand on its own. You could say the same for Bond (and that’s over 20 films). All right, time for me to jump off the diving board, into the dark, unseen pool that is MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE.

 

As I mentioned earlier, it’s sometime in the not so distant future (maybe around the corner from Fury Road). Roaring out of the desert comes a beat-up jeep/dune buggy hybrid driven by Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito) and Brenda (Rosa Salazar). They (part of a rebel group called the Gladers) are trying to intercept a train (owned by the evil corporation WCKD) that’s carrying kids (teens and pre-teens) that are immune to the disease that wiped out most of Earth, the ‘Flare’, a plague similar to the ‘Rage’ from 28 DAYS LATER that turns folks into rapid-running maniac killers (think WORLD WAR Z), though the infected have brief moments of calm when they can converse. WCKD’s gonna’ experiment on these captured kids in order to find a cure. Of course the two are outnumbered, until two more Gladers arrive in the nick of time (a repeated plot device). It’s the adult Vince (Barry Pepper) and twenty-something Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), who hopes to rescue his buddy Minho (Ki Hong Lee) from the train. Alas, after a furious fight, Minoh is not in the boxcar they separate from the train. Returning to the Glade HQ camp, they decide to send a small group to the fortress city on a rescue mission. After a near fatal encounter with a cave full of “Cranks” ( the infected, not the family from the holiday movie classic), they finally arrive outside the city where desperate mobs hope to get past the machine gun drones and tower cannons. A former friend/ foe they thought was dead, Gally (Will Pouter), takes Thomas and his crew to the underground kingpin, the Flare-ravaged Lawrence (Walton Goggins), who offers help by way of a secret passage into the gleaming city. There they make their way to the imposing tower that is the home of WCKD. Inside Minho is a guinea pig in the lab headed by Ava Paige (Patrick Clarkson) who is assisted by former Glader (and I’m guessing former paramour of Thomas), Teresa (Kaya Scodelario). Does Thomas and his band of Gladers stand a chance against the WCKD forces headed by enforcer/ hitman Janson (Aidan Gillen)? And what will happen when he sees Teresa once more? The fate of the planet seems to rest on the young man’s shoulders.

 

 

Whew, with all the narrow escapes this flick feels like one of those Golden Age movie serials. with all fifteen of its chapters smushed into one feature. But not in a good way, like RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. The actors are almost like chess pieces, being moved from one action sequence-square to the next. As for the cast newcomers (those still passing for teens), O’Brien is a competent leading man, all earnest determination. He’s not given much of a chance to reconnect with Scodelario’s Teresa, though she ably conveys the character’s torment over switching sides (I’m guessing that happened in the previous entry). Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Glader Newt has a nice tragic arc as he realizes that the Flare may consume him before they finish the mission. Salazar has an appealing “tough chick” vibe as the no-nonsense Brenda who doesn’t hesitate when facing any danger. Poulter, coming off his very, very bad cop role in DETROIT, continues to impress as the “wild card’ ally who may have other motives. All for the screen vets, Esposito and Pepper are regulated to adult mentors/ cheerleaders. Saddled with some constricting make-up (Lon Chaney’s Eric meets the Red Skull), Goggins seems muzzled as the big boss of the under, underworld. Clarkson is all cool menace as the passive aggressive Paige, a power-mad mean, mean mama. The only actor that seems to be having a bit of fun is Gillen as the cackling, unrelenting killer king (if he had a mustache I’m sure he’d be twirling it as he boasts about terminating Thomas).

 

At a rump-numbing 142 minutes, this flick from director Wes Ball (who helmed the previous two) feels as though it’s an attempt to tie up the many loose ends, while satisfying the novel’s fans. Since Ball is an effects artists, all the scenes of the glistening metropolis are impressive. Unfortunately the characters are no more than action figures in a super-deluxe play set. They run down endless corridors (enough for several Aaron Sorkin TV shows), nearly running into clumps of bad guys who shoot as well as the stormtroopers in the middle Star Wars trilogy (lousy). In the next scene they’re defying gravity with stunts that fans wouldn’t buy in a Superman movie (a bus and helicopter, take a guess). And like many action blockbusters, we get countless endings, until things mercifully grind to a halt, and the whole thing lands with a big thud. As I mentioned at the start, this is my first exposure to this series. And I can safely say MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE will certainly be the last.

 

1/2 Out of 5

 

January 25, 2016

LEARNING TO DRIVE Now Available on DVD

Filed under: DVD — Tags: , , — Tom Stockman @ 8:36 pm

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When Cate Marquis reviewed Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley in LEARNING TO DRIVE here at We Are Movie Geeks, she wrote: “…LEARNING TO DRIVE is a charming little film, with fine performances, appealing characters and nice little message about both friendship and learning something new, no matter your age.” (read all of Cate’s review HERE

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As her marriage dissolves, Wendy (Patricia Clarkson), a Manhattan writer, takes driving lessons from Darwin (Ben Kingsley), a Sikh instructor with marriage troubles of his own. In each other’s company they find the courage to get back on the road and the strength to take the wheel. Now you can own what’s been called “An extraordinarily moving and funny film”. LEARNING TO DRIVE is now available on DVD from Broad Green Pictures.

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The LEARNING TO DRIVE DVD is presented in 1.78:1 Anamorphic widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. A Spanish dub and English subtitles are available.The only extra is a photo gallery consisting of 31 publicity and behind-the-scenes stills.

Check out the hilarious trailer for LEARNING TO DRIVE:

LTD_08-26-13_517-544_R_COMP_CROP (l to r) Ben Kingsley stars as Darwan and Patricia Clarkson as Wendy in Broad Green Pictures upcoming release, LEARNING TO DRIVE. Credit: Linda Kallerus/Broad Green Pictures

 

 

 

 

September 17, 2015

MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS – The Review

Filed under: Review — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Movie Geeks @ 4:43 pm

THE SCORCH TRIALS TM and © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.  All Rights Reserved.  Not for sale or duplication.

TM and © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.  All Rights Reserved.

By Cate Marquis

The second in a trilogy based on the young adult science fiction series, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS picks up where the first one left off. The sequel gets Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and friends from point A to point B, that is, across the burnt desert landscape known as the “Scorch,” with a few detours and twists along the way. Although they have left the maze behind, there is still lots of running.

The second installment has relatively few plot points, which leaves lots of time for chases, pursued by the wicked forces of WCKD or the zombie-like Cranks. The chases and battles take place in a variety of devastated landscapes, each filled with imaginative FX obstacles. This second movie reportedly follows the second book fairly closely but this installment may be the weakest book of the three. Still, fans will want to see the film anyway, to get to the final book. Anyone who was not hooked by the first Maze Runner (or did not see it) is unlikely to be drawn in by this sequel.

Thomas and the Gladers – Min Ho (Ki Hong Lee), Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Frypan (Dexter Darden), Winston (Alexander Flores) and Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) – arrive by the helicopter that rescued them at a military outpost headed by Janson (Aiden Gillen). Thomas is unsure about Jansan’s motives or even what the military facility is all about. The group is given bunks and food in a cafeteria with other kids from other mazes, awaiting some kind of reassignment. Thomas is wary Janson because Teresa has been separated from the group, without explanation. When a kid who has been at the facility awhile, Aris (Jacob Lofland), shows Thomas a hidden room with disturbing contents, it is time for them to get out of there. There goal is a rumored resistance camp on the other side of the desolate Scorch.

However, the journey is not a straight path, there are plenty of detours and back-tracking as they make their way to the hope-for goal of the resistance camp.

If you get tired of seeing characters running, running, running, this is not the film for you. The film is mostly a long race, from one danger to the next, interrupted by pauses to rest or by a battle, with an occasional looping back for some critical mission. Those who like non-stop action will be pleased.

The cast from the first film are back, including Patricia Clarkson as WCKD head Ava Paige. As Janson, Gillen seems to be doing a version of his smooth, slippery “Game of Thrones” character,  Lord Balish, but with an American accent (although his native Irish one keeps peeking through). Other new additions to the case include Giancarlo Esposito as Jorge, Rosa Salazar as Brenda, Lili Taylor as Mary and Barry Pepper as Vince.

The film meets the needed plot points to advance the story but most of the entertainment value rests on the many battles and chases in lavish special effects locations. The Gladers battle the forces of WCKD, but also the zombie-like Crank victims of the plague they are supposedly immune to, and a variety of sinister types in the lawless area of the Scorch. The kids travel through devastated landscapes, encountering an abandoned shopping mall buried under sand, a pair of broken city high-rise buildings teetering on collapse, and a factory taken over by hardened survivors. The heroes dangle over precipices, narrowly escape evil doers and navigate through a drug-laced party of shady survivors.

The effects are appropriately sweeping, including views of what looks like a wrecked San Francisco. The actors all do their parts well enough but no performance really transcends the material. Fans of young O’Brien should be pleased with his performance.

New characters are introduced (some only briefly), some established characters are lost, and seeming enemies turn out to be allies and vice versa.

Fans of the first film, or of the book series, will want to see Scorch Trials to get to the next chapter in the saga. Audience members who were not taken with the first one probably will not find much to hook them on the series with this second part.

MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS opens Friday, September 18.

OVERALL RATING: 2 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS

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September 4, 2015

LEARNING TO DRIVE – The Review

Filed under: Review — Tags: , , , , , , , — Movie Geeks @ 7:50 am

Credit: Linda Kallerus/Broad Green Pictures

Review by Cate Marquis

Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley give us a pair of well-drawn, likeable characters as a New Yorker learning to drive from a Indian-American driving instructor, in LEARNING TO DRIVE.

LEARNING TO DRIVE is the kind of little film – smart, often funny, thoughtful – for grown-ups seen too little in theaters.  But what really makes this film are the careful crafted, lived-in performances by Kingsley and Clarkson.

A cross-cultural  story about two people driving around might bring “Driving Miss Daisy” to mind, but this film is really nothing like that sentimental tale. Although this story is built around a New Yorker learning to drive, the film is really about taking the wheel of one’s own life, a lesson for both the student and the teacher.

In St. Louis, like most of the country, nearly everyone learns to drive, usually as a teenager. In New York, it is a different case. Many people never learn to drive there, instead using public transportation and cabs. So it takes a certain courage and determination for a middle-aged woman to decide to learn to drive in a culture where not everyone does.

Patricia Clarkson plays Wendy Shields, a successful, well-known book critic whose college professor husband suddenly announces he is leaving her for another woman. Her husband gives her the news at a restaurant, hoping to limit the drama, but when he tries to leave, shocked Wendy jumps in his cab and continues asking him why The cab driver, a South Asian immigrant named Darwan (Kingsley), politely pretends not to hear what is going on in his back seat but he is clearly moved by her heartbroken reaction. The husband asks the cabbie to pull over, gets out and tells the cabbie to drive her home.

The next day, Wendy finds comfort from the couple’s only child Tasha (Grace Gummer), who is home from her college in upstate New York. Tasha wants to be supportive but turns down her mother’s request that she transfer to a university in town. So if Wendy wants to see her, she’ll have to drive there. Which means, she will have to learn to drive. When she calls a driving school, the instructor that shows up at her door is the same cabbie who drove her home, the second of his two jobs.

This film takes a smart, drily witty, literary spin that quashes any drift towards the sentimental. The strength of this charming, warm, often funny film is the appealing characters Clarkson and Kingsley build up. The two actors have great chemistry together and bring a little romantic attraction, never acted on, that gives a little extra boost. A lesser film would make this all about the New Yorker, but this film rounds out both characters.

Because of the cab ride, Darwan understands a little more of what Wendy is going through and as he guides her through the basics of driving, he builds up her confidence for taking control of her own life. Darwan’s calm effortlessness in teaching these dual lessons suggest this is not the first time he has helped a middle-aged New York woman find new self-confidence in driving. However, as the story unfolds, Darwan and Wendy become more like friends, and Darwan learns from Wendy as well as the reverse, as he faces his own life changes.

Darwan lives in Queens, in an apartment he shares with a bunch of other Sikh men, a minority religion in the Indian subcontinent men. Most of his roommates, including his nephew, are not in the country legally but Darwan is a legal resident, granted political asylum to escape persecution for his religion and political beliefs. Back home, he was a professor at a university, here he teaches driving and moonlights driving a cab. An immigration raid scatters his roommates and he finds himself living alone, which prompts him to finally agree to his sister’s plan to find him a wife in their village back in India, an idea he had resisted previously.

Since Sikh men wear turbans, they are often mistaken in this country for Muslims, and the film touches on that fact in one scene. While Wendy copes with her pending divorce, her role in the its end and explores her new life, Darwan gets some help from her about romancing his new wife, who arrives uncertain about adjusting to her new country. The film keeps things light but always intelligent

LEARNING TO DRIVE is a charming little film, with fine performances, appealing characters and nice little message about both friendship and learning something new, no matter your age.

LEARNING TO DRIVE opens Friday, September 4, at Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

OVERALL RATING: 4 OUT OF 5 STARS

 

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Photo Credit: Broad Green Pictures

August 25, 2015

Win Passes To The Advance Screening Of LEARNING TO DRIVE In St. Louis

Filed under: Contest — Tags: , , — Movie Geeks @ 3:30 pm

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Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley star in this feel-good, coming of (middle) age comedy about a mismatched pair who help each other overcome life’s road blocks—festival circuit favorite LEARNING TO DRIVE, which was chosen the Audience Award runner-up at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Wendy (Clarkson) is a fiery Manhattan book critic whose husband has just left her for another woman; Darwan (Kingsley) is a soft-spoken taxi driver from India on the verge of an arranged marriage. As Wendy sets out to reclaim her independence, she runs into a barrier common to many lifelong New Yorkers: she’s never learned to drive. When Wendy hires Darwan to teach her, her unraveling life and his calm restraint seem like an awkward fit. But as he shows her how to take control of the wheel, and she coaches him on how to impress a woman, their unlikely friendship awakens them to the joy, humor and love in starting life anew.

LEARNING TO DRIVE is written by Sarah Kernochan (Based upon the article by Katha Politt) and directed by Isabel Coixet.

This terrific movie opens in St. Louis on Friday, September 4th, 2015.

WAMG invites you to enter for a chance to win a pass (Good for 2) to the advance screening of LEARNING TO DRIVE on Wednesday, Sept. 2nd at 7PM in the St. Louis area.

We will contact the winners by email.

Answer the following:

As an Academy Award® nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress, PATRICIA CLARKSON takes on roles as varied as the platform in which she plays them.  It is that multi-faceted approach that has made her one of today’s most respected actresses.

Name the movies where Clarkson played:

  • Catherine Ness
  • Samantha Walker
  • Melinda Moores
  • Eleanor Fine

TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWERS AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.

OFFICIAL RULES:

1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.

2. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.

3. No purchase necessary.

Rated R for language and sexual content.

http://www.learningtodrivemovie.com/
https://twitter.com/LTDFILM
https://www.facebook.com/learningtodrivefilm

Credit: Linda Kallerus/Broad Green Pictures

Credit: Linda Kallerus/Broad Green Pictures

August 24, 2015

Patricia Clarkson And Ben Kingsley Talk Isabel Coixet’s LEARNING TO DRIVE In New Featurettes

Filed under: Movies — Tags: , , , , , , — Michelle McCue @ 3:09 pm

Credit: Linda Kallerus/Broad Green Pictures

Credit: Linda Kallerus/Broad Green Pictures

Broad Green Pictures has released three new featurettes for director Isabel Coixet’s wonderful film, LEARNING TO DRIVE.

Chosen as the Audience Award runner-up at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and inspired by a true story, LEARNING TO DRIVE stars Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley in a feel-good comedy about an improbable friendship.

Wendy is a fiery Manhattan author whose husband has just left her for a younger woman; Darwan is a soft-spoken taxi driver from India on the verge of an arranged marriage. As Wendy sets out to reclaim her independence, she runs into a barrier common to many lifelong New Yorkers: she’s never learned to drive. When Wendy hires Darwan to teach her, her unraveling life and his calm restraint seem like an awkward fit. But as he shows her how to take control of the wheel, and she coaches him on how to impress a woman, their unlikely friendship awakens them to the joy, humor, and love in starting life anew. (trailer)

Of special note – the movie is edited by triple Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker.

For Schoonmaker, the film served as a reunion of sorts. Schoonmaker explains, “Having had the wonderful experience of editing Sir Ben Kingsley’s performance in two Scorsese movies, Shutter Island and Hugo, and also having had the same wonderful experience editing Patricia Clarkson’s performance in Shutter Island, it was a delightful surprise to discover how much humor both of them brought to their parts in Learning to Drive, and how Sir Ben’s stillness and quiet dignity as a Sikh was the perfect foil for Patricia’s highly emotional and wonderfully courageous performance as Wendy. They were magical together and enormous fun to edit.”

LEARNING TO DRIVE

This delightful, independent film is playing in select theaters now and opens in St. Louis on Friday September 4.

http://www.learningtodrivemovie.com/

https://twitter.com/LTDFILM

https://www.facebook.com/learningtodrivefilm

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