A Complete Unknown (2024, James Mangold)

 

A Complete Unknown chronicles Bob Dylan's life from 1961 to 1965, the years that witnessed his meteoric rise to becoming one of the most influential songwriters of all time. Starring a dedicated Timothee Chalamet who disappears into the role of young Dylan. James Mangold's direction stays within the confines of conventional music biopics, the approach mirrors his 2005 Johnny Cash film Walk the Line: extended set pieces of live music, relationship drama, and historical verisimilitude. Dylan fans will single out some inaccuracies and creative choices, while many may find the format moribund, the film makes use of rich material and hits the right dramatic beats. 

The film begins with Dylan arriving in Greenwich Village, the heart of the early '60s folk movement that was galvanizing young people. Bob goes to visit his hero Woody Guthrie (Scott McNairy) who by 1961 was confined to a Sanatorium. Dylan also meets folk singer Peter Seeger (Edward Norton), elder statesman of the folk movement who helps Dylan and tries to be a mentor. 

Dylan quickly gets a contract with Columbia Records, and while his debut LP flopped, the second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan instantly made him famous with iconic songs like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." He begins a tempestuous relationship with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) who was already established as a folk singer, and is on and off with artist and activist "Sylvie" played by Elle Fanning (based on Suze Rotolo). As Dylan's fame and influence begin to dwarf everyone around him, he sees no other choice but to go his own way, culminating with his legendary "going electric" appearance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.   

Setting up Pete Seeger as Dylan's antagonist brings the best dramatic tension. Norton plays Seeger as a purist dedicated to social justice and tries to wean Dylan away from rock music. In a stirring moment, Dylan performs "The Times They-Are-a-Changin" before an audience for the first time, moving them to tears as Seeger beams with pride. The song captures the Kennedy era of hope, best expressed by the March on Washington where Dylan and Baez performed. In time, Dylan became alienated with the folk scene and its insistence on artistic purity. 

The script settles on depicting Dylan as a cipher, always charming and baffling those around him. There's no attempt at a Citizen Kane type investigation of what drove him. He's emotionally distant from Joan and Sylvie, views Seeger with an admiration that turns into contempt, and scoffs at his adoring fans. He finds a kinship with Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook), they meet each other on the same level. Even at the height of his artistic triumphs, Dylan himself remains ambivalent about the nature of fame and art. 

Many may find it a folly to portray Dylan's life during the 1960s, especially by taking the traditional approach. Countless books have been written on the era, No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan by Robert Shelton is the best on the early years or Positively Fourth Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina by David Hajdu is also revealing, while Dylan Goes Electric by Elijah Wald provided source material for the film. Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home is an essential watch and excellent companion to A Complete Unknown. 

In terms of films about Dylan, the most creative and ambitious attempt to understand Dylan was the Todd Haynes film from 2007 I'm Not There, in which six actors were cast to play Dylan, each symbolizing his different incarnations. Haynes even inserted scenes from a fake Hollywood biopic entitled Grain of Sand, in which a fictional Dylan played by Heath Ledger laments being the "voice of his generation." The 2014 Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis provides a jaundiced view of the folk scene with its abrasive protagonist played by Oscar Isaac.

A Complete Unknown will serve as a great introduction to anyone interested in Dylan and his music, and the film is at its best when focused on the music. Chalamet's steady performance carries the film and channeling Dylan's prickly and ever changing persona.

***1/2

Target (1985)

 

A slightly obscure family drama/Cold War espionage adventure from 1985, Target teamed up Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon as father and son. Filled with twists and turns (although the film offers diminishing returns in the plotting department) it does stand out for its unique approach to familiar material.

We first meet "Walter" played by Hackman, an apparent everyman living in Dallas who manages a lumber yard. His wayward son "Chris" is a college dropout with hopes of becoming a professional car racer. Walter's wife Donna (Gayle Hunnicut) is about to embark on a European trip with a scene suggesting their marriage might be on the rocks. 

Walter and Chris decide to spend time together fishing to mend their frayed relationship until they receive a call from the American consulate in Paris - Donna has gone missing. They catch a flight to Paris and the intrigues ensues. Here the film delivers a twist when its revealed Walter's skills go beyond managing a lumber yard, he speaks French and German and knows his way around Europe. Target is not the fish out of water story the film was leading us to believe. Much to his son's surprise "Walter: was an intelligence operative in his younger days - and that his wife's kidnapping is related to an operation that went wrong. 

From that point on the film follows Walter and Chris through France into Germany, culminating with a climax as, right, you guessed it, in East Berlin. Father and son come to trust each other and discover a a new respect, in the midst of a number of double crossings and harrowing escapes. Government officials are untrustworthy and old intelligence operatives continue to scheme. The politics of the movie land on the side of cynical, even isolationist. America is the safe space, Europeans are dangerous. 

Methodical pacing and erstwhile performances from the two leads keep things moving along. While Target never achieves the heights of Arthur Penn's previous collaboration with Hackman, Night Moves, it does serve as a respectable programmer for those who enjoy 1980s espionage thrillers.

Salvador (1986, Oliver Stone)

Any conscientious person who takes a close look at the record of American foreign policy in Central American will rightfully be filled with indignation. Administrations have treated the region as one for economic exploitation, military interventions, and boosting authoritarian governments. Despite its messiness, Oliver Stone's Salvador takes a critical look at American engagement in the region from a 1980s perspective.

During the 1980s, Central America was frequently in the headlines with the Reagan administration meddling in the region, resulting in the Iran-Contra scandal that almost derailed his presidency. Providing military and economic support to reactionary paramilitaries to prevent a wave of leftist regimes in the region, specifically in Nicaragua and El Salvador, became a central tenet of Reagan's foreign policy.

Oliver Stone's Salvador is a semi-factually based account of the Civil War in El Salvador between the FMLN and the military dictatorship. James Woods stars as globetrotting photojournalist Richard Boyle, whose work in Vietnam was documented in his book Flower of the Dragon. The film begins with Boyle's marriage crumbling due to his philandering and drug addiction. Desperate to rebuild his reputation as a journalist he heads to El Salvador with his alcoholic buddy "Doctor Rock" played by Jim Belushi.

Upon arrival, they find the country in chaos with harsh crackdowns and retributions waged by the government against the rebels. Boyle learns the United States plans to bolster the dictatorship when the incoming Reagan administration comes into power to prevent a communist domino effect in Central America, supported by Castro and the USSR. The assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, a leading revolutionary voice against the government, further destabilizes the country and leads to an uprising.

Stone's documentary approach and Wood's intense performance provide a rawness. John Savage is electric as a photojournalist based on John Hoagland who was killed in El Salvador, in particular a scene when he and Boyle investigate a mass gravesite, saying "our job is to give nobility to human suffering." Meanwhile, the dramatic focus of the story has Richard trying to get his girlfriend Maria and kids out of the country. 

Unlike many Hollywood productions of this genre, Salvador takes an immersive approach. There's an on-the-ground feeling lacking in many Hollywood productions of its time. Stone took inspiration from political thrillers of the 1960s like Z and Battle for Algiers, adding a leftist American scruffiness to it. Woods and Belushi both play their characters as moral reprobates with little interest in the politics of the El Salvador until it affects them personally. The Reagan officials are grotesque yuppies, while the outgoing ambassador played by Michael Murphy symbolizes the Carter era's exhausted liberalism.

Salvador may strike some as crude and juvenile, but I would argue it remains a potent political statement of its era.  The abandonment of human rights in favor of power politics by the Reagan administration brought disruption to the region and we live with the consequences. 

Megalopolis ****

Not what I expected in a good way. Based on several of the reviews I read Megalopolis was "chaotic" and "incoherent." Not my experience whatsoever. 

After decades of false starts and delays, Coppola finally completed his Roman epic set in modern New York City. It's a return to form I would stand alongside his best work. There's a stately refinement running though the film that attempts to tackle big questions like: What is the role of the artist? What is money? What is power? What is the future? What are possibilities? What are the obstacles? What does it mean to be human?

These questions may induce eye rolling, if they do, Megalopolis will probably annoy you. If you're open to them, the movie will be a breath of fresh air compared to what's considered cinema in the 21st Century.

It's not perfect, far from it. Adam Driver a little uneven as the lead, but always watchable. His performance is somewhere between Jeff Goldblum and Cary Grant. Certain plot elements get underserved. The political side of the film also needed more insight.

The supporting characters are more symbols than individuals. The aesthetics are both Shakespearean and 1950s Hollywood. It's a about a society that's become self-indulgent and lost sight of the future.

Coppola excels at telling stories on a grand canvas and here we get one of his most hopeful films. It was more conventional than I expected, but had enough cinematic flourish to make it unique. The vibe of the film feels of a different time, even an alternate timeline, and I will definitely revisit.

Sneakers

Sneakers was a moderate success upon its release in 1992 and has since become a cult favorite, championed by late Gen X and early Millennials, the last generations to come of age in a time before the internet. The film works as a premonition of things to come, a world where information is weaponized and faith in institutions and centers of power are shifting.  

Despite the heady themes I just mentioned, Sneakers is a great hangout movie. Few genres are more entertaining than the techno-thriller and heist flick. Our cast of characters are a group of happy warriors who function harmoniously as a team despite their differences. Robert Redford (Martin) heads a security consultant company with former CIA operative Donald Crease played by Sidney Poitier. In addition are Dan Aykroyd as tech specialist and conspiracy theorist "Mother," River Phoenix as hacker Carl Arbogast, and David Strathairn as phone freak "Whistler." Mary McDonnell rounds out the cast as Liz, Redford's former girlfriend, who remains an ally to the group.

The plot of Sneakers revolves around a "Black Box" with incredible encryption potential, the power to infiltrate governments, corporations, and banks. In the film's prologue, we see Martin as a college student with his friend Cosmo (Ben Kingsley), who were both hackers. As the authorities were coming to arrest them for illegal activity, Martin managed to escape to Canada, but Cosmo was arrested. We later learn Cosmo got an early release and sold his hacking services to criminal organizations. He wants to use the Black Box built by the NSA to destroy the world's financial system, making rich and poor equal. Out of the chaos will arise a new order.

Martin and Cosmo symbolized two sides of the New Left. Martin managed to redefine himself as a security expert, working within the system while never abandoning his anti-establishment ethos. Cosmo took the opposite track; he became further radicalized and concluded chaos was the only answer to an unjust system. Although Cosmo is the antagonist his words have proved prophetic:

There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think . . . it's all about the information!

Sneakers handles the minutiae of heist films with gentle humor. There are agents who appear to be NSA but are covertly working for another government. To get past a voice-based security system Liz is sent under protest on a date with a hopeless milquetoast played by Stephen Tobolowsky. There's an absurd chase scene in a parking lot. And a pleasing denouement scene featuring a James Earl Jones cameo. 

Written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter Parks, the team behind the iconic '80s techno-thriller War Games, the script has the precision of a European thriller. James Horner's ethereal music matches the finesse of the production design. Phil Alden Robinson's direction deftly handles a complex plot with a cast of heavyweights.

Ultimately, there's more to Sneakers than merely being an above average heist film with some sharp insight into the post-Cold War world. It's also a redemptive fable for the boomer generation. I'm a little out of date here, referring to the backlash towards boomers on social media during the early 2020s (they elected Reagan and Trump, got drunk on credit and doomed future generations, while also destroying the planet with fossil fuels) gets a redemptive counternarrative in Sneakers.

There's a utopic undercurrent to the story, evident with the casting. Poitier was a part of so many important movies and a living legend, his reserved presence evokes a dignity rare in modern movies. Redford will always be remembered as a great movie star, his role here as the seasoned liberal who still lives by a more mature '60s ethos approaches aspirational. Aykroyd's presence will always recall early SNL, the closest American pop culture ever came to something approaching the Beatles (I have a theory many are obsessed with early SNL but I may be projecting). Finally, River Phoenix represented Gen X, the youngest member of the group who gets on fine with everyone. If the characters share one common trait, is they're all motivated by something beyond money. 

The ideological and generational harmony among the ensemble is why I think many go back to Sneakers. One need not disavow all their youthful ideals and cynically go for the big money. Ideals and making the world a better place still matter.

Spiderman (2002) ***1/2

A touchstone of the early 2000s, Sam Raimi's Spiderman kicked off a new era of superhero movies. If Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie marked the first modern superhero epic and Tim Burton's 1989 Batman struck a pop culture nerve through smart marketing and iconic imagery, Spiderman brought a retro charm, a superhero movie both reverential towards the comic book aesthetic and pleasantly cinematic.

Spiderman's origin story remains one of the most ingenious. Peter Parker, a socially awkward teen gets bitten by a radioactive spider and discovers new superpowers. At first he decides to use his powers for financial gain and popularity, but his own selfishness leads to his guardian Uncle Ben losing his life. The first half of the film follows these beats from the early issues of Spiderman written by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The immortal phrase "With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility" becomes the mantra of the film.

Tobey Maguire was cast as Spiderman, and he leans into the awkward charm of the character. Neither a brooding crime fighter like Batman nor possessing the moral perfection of Superman, he faces struggles both socially and economically. His life as a crimefighter often interferes with school and work. Maguire gets to the pathos of the character while skillfully gliding himself out of difficult situations. 

Kirsten Dunst plays Peter's eternal love interest Mary Jane Watson, the central relationship through the Raimi trilogy. James Franco brought an edge as Harry Osborne, who will be both friend and antagonist to Spiderman. William Dafoe is memorable Harry's father Norman, who gets transformed into the Green Goblin, one of Spiderman's earliest foes. Rosemary Harris adds humanity as Aunt May and Cliff Robertson is memorable as Uncle Ben. J.K. Simmons provides comic relief as J. Jonah Jameson, Peter's boss at the Daily Bugle.

The film still looks good. The visual style channels the art of Ditko and the dialogue evokes the pop art style of Stan Lee. Raimi's direction brought a kinetic flare, he always has memorable faces in the frame even for the most minor roles, as an example I would point to the scene when Spiderman rescues a baby from a burning building. Such an approach risks the movie becoming cheesy and in many ways, it is, but its earnestness defied the cynics. 

Melancholia (2011) ***1/2

Directed by Lars Von Trier

Melancholia feels like two separate movies smashed together. At the center of both sections are two sisters Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Justine struggles with depression, while Claire acts as her emotional crutch. The first story takes place after Justine's wedding, a droll satire of the upper class. The second part depicts an apocalyptic scenario about a rogue planet on a collision course with Earth.

Depression, fatalism, and fate are all major themes. During the wedding section, Justine expresses uncertainty about the marriage and undergoes manic episodes, complaining of being unable to walk sneaking off for a tryst with a stranger. Her brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland) complains about her odd behavior during the lavish wedding, while her estranged parent's bicker (John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling). The marriage never takes flight. 

Several months later Justine returns to stay with John, Claire, and their young son. Now deeper into depression, Justine barely has strength to move or express coherent thoughts. We also learn a planet called Melancholia is heading towards Earth. John warns Claire to not go online, assuring her the planet will safely pass the earth despite the alarming rumors. The sense of isolation in the film is palpable, we can imagine what's happening on the outside of the world.

As Melancholia draws nearer, Justine's mental health begins to improve. As Claire's fears deepen, she and Justine begin to switch roles. The final 25 minutes of the film are quite harrowing and grim. Von Trier sustains a sense of dread. There's an emotional intimacy often lacking in films of this sort. Existential questions are raised, specifically on how to face an imminent end not only to one's existence but the entire world. When Justine and Claire muse on the end of life on Earth, Justine believes people are evil and there's probably no life elsewhere - the end of everything is imminent. 

Von Trier was open about the story stemming from his own depression. To anyone whose ever been in the grip of depression and anxiety, the film may ring startlingly true. The idea of rogue planet arising is the stuff of pseudoscience, but for the purposes of the film, the sheer novelty of the concept works. A beautiful twin of earth arriving as destroyer is poetic. Like Bergman's Cries and Whispers or even Kurosawa's Ikiru, Melancholia gently eases in questions of mortality with a bluntness, but Justine's small acts of compassion at the end offer a shade of hope.

Dunst was awarded Best Actress at the Cannes Film, Festival and it was well deserved, a truly brave and emotionally raw performance. For all the film's reveling in hopelessness and despair, there's a humanist sensibility apparent throughout. The Wagnerian overture and symbolism add sonic and visual flourish, but it's mere appendage to its sharp meditations on the human condition. Not a film likely to go on anyone's constant rotation for its unrelenting morbidity, but worth watching.