Phoenix (Petzold, 2014): Phoenix led to an interesting discussion between K and me. Christian Petzold's 2014 film about a Holocaust survivor who has facial reconstructive surgery and searches Berlin for the husband who may have betrayed her to the Nazi's in the first place. The question I asked is, does having one (or maybe two) amazing scenes or sequences make a movie great? The ending of Phoenix is so stunning, haunting and frankly perfect. The whole movie builds to that moment like a freight train that can't be stopped. And while I think the film is good even without that ending, with it, I think it might be great. But when I think of some of my favorite movies, there isn't one scene that stands out above and beyond literally every other scene. Obviously when the ending is the scene that leaves a huge and lasting impact, the film is building to a climax, and Phoenix does that expertly. When I thought about it later, there was no other ending, but that didnt stop it from shocking me and literally leaving me breathless. Nelly (Nina Hoss, goddess!) is liberated from a concentration camp but has been shot in the face and left for dead. She has facial reconstructive surgery, and when the doctor presents her the choices of how she can look, she only wants to look like herself. He cautions her against this as it won't be an exact replica but she has no other choice. As the only survivor of her family, she has come into a large inheritance and is living with a friend in post war Berlin. Nelly only has one goal, to find and be reunited with her husband Johnny, a jazz musician. When she finally finds him, he doesn't recognize her, or doesn't want to, instead he tells her she resembles his ex-wife. Johnny is after that inheritance and wants her to pretend to be his wife so that he can get it. Did I mention that Johnny may or may not be the one who betrayed her in the first place. Ronald Zehrfeld is marvelous as Johnny, he is menacing and intense but also charismatic and sad and you see why Nelly wants to be near him no matter the circumstances. Nelly's gradual realization of just how little she knew Johnny is heartbreaking and Nina Hoss is wonderful as a woman very slowly regaining her confidence after the unthinkable. And that ending.
Tangerine (Baker, 2015): I hate to admit the first few minutes of this movie, I thought, nope, this isn't for me. I found the two leads, particularly Kitana Kiki Rodriguez as Sin-Dee, grating and thought they seemed too over the top (I mean I get that transgender prostitutes in L.A. may be over the top in general, but I found the tone too unrealistic and annoying, frankly). But I am happy to say, once Sin-Dee finds out that her boyfriend (James Ransone, a.k.a. everyone's favorite f**k up Ziggy from The Wire!) is cheating on her while she was "away" and rushes out of Donut Time to find him and confront him, I was already getting sucked in. Thanks to Mya Taylor as Alexandria, who manages to ground the over the top performane of Kiki Rodriguez, I found a character to relate to in a world very different from my own. Taking place in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, Sin-Dee and Alexandria are on a mission to confront drug dealer Chester (the aforementioned Ransone, who is hilarious in this small part). Shot on an iPhone, Tangerine is alienating and brash, you aren't supposed to connect with the characters, at least at first, more like a hurricane, you are immered in their lives. And these lives are hard, Sin-Dee and Alexandria are trans woman and prostitues. We meet the various drugs dealers, fellow prostitues, and one very sad Armenian taxi driver that they share their meager existence with. Tangerine is non stop from that moment that Sin-Dee rushes out of that donut shop a few minutes in, and at times the film can be trying with the non stop confrontation, screeching and screaming Kiki Rodriguez gives us as Sin-Dee who does everything she can to hide her feelings behind the facade of being the biggget bully in history. Alexandria is dragged along with her, reluctantly, watching out for her friend, all the while hoping for her own big night, performing at a empty nightclub a sweet, sad version of "Toyland". The climax of the film when they finally confront Chester reaches absurdity in the best way. And the final moment is so sweet and tender, something I didn't except from the film when it started.
The Last Five Years: (LaGravenese, 2014): I hate it that so many times I come on this blog and say, look this movie might not be that good but its in my bailiwick or my wheelhouse or that it hits my particular pleasure centers. But, The Last Five Years, is absolutely one of those movies. I was unfamiliar with the musical that this movie is an adaptation of but Netflix found it for me and suggested it. We follow a couple Jamie and Cathy and the span of their marriage. The hook is that while Jamie sings his songs chronologically from the beginning of their relationship, Cathy sings her songs backwards, from the end. If we're talking about how one scene can really color your perception of a movie, The Last Five Years is in fact a much better example than Phoenix. Phoenix has interesting themes and good acting and stylish directing, The Last Five Years has a couple good songs and Anna Kendrick. But the scene in which the Jamie and Cathy finally meet in the middle and he proposes to her is a stunner. I actually didn't really realize they never sang together until that moment, but having a musical where two characters in love don't sing together is like having a romantic comedy where the characters never kiss. It's integral and that's why "The Next Ten Minutes" is like the most romantic kiss you have ever seen, like top three kisses in the history of kisses kind of thing.
Anna Kendrick is winning as always and she brings Jamie's songs alive even though she doesn't sing in them, she is a strong actor who is able to convey a lot of emotion with her face. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for our Jamie (Jeremy Jordan). He is charming enough in his songs but can't match up to Kendrick in hers. Ultimately, I think the movie also has the "Blue Valentine" problem, where one character is too unlikeable, I think we aren't supposed to like Cathy because she is needy and a little bit of a mess but Jamie is so smug that I just can't help but think, girl, you can do better than him! If doomed romance, musicals and Anna Kendrick are your sweet spot, this movies for you. This is my perfect, oh its on TV movie. Netflix and Chill, K?
All three of these are currently streaming on Netflix!
Julie
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