Uncle Frank

— I was taken by “Uncle Frank” with its well-written script, nice acting, and wonderful Southern vibe. I suggested it to a friend and he liked it too, even mentioning the tone reminded him a bit of the Southern feel Harper Lee provided so well. Initially, it almost seems like another entry in the gay-and-not-out-in-the-1970s genre we seem to be seeing more frequently, but that’s something of a parallel and maybe even lesser story to what ends up being a coming of age tale tale. Beth, the niece of the man who’s made a life for himself in New York City and whose sexuality isn’t discussed by his family in South Carolina, ends up at NYU, and stumbles across Frank’s secret. They soon they forge an even stronger bond during a road trip back home for a funeral. Once they arrive home, the script is easier to guess and not completely believable, but a shift to tug at our heartstrings isn’t the worst thing that could happen. It’s hard not to find a tear running down your cheek by the end. I enjoyed the film. [Amazon Prime streaming.]

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[2020. 95 minutes. Written and directed by Alan Ball. Starring Paul Bettany, Sophia Lillis, and Peter Macdisi.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/uncle-frank-movie-review-2020

Hillbilly Elegy

— It’s always sad when a top notch director and first rate actors can’t carry a film I based on a pretty decent book, but that’s the case with “Hillbilly Elegy,” based on J.D. Vance’s book, directed by Ron Howard, and featuring Amy Adams and Glenn Close. It’s not bad, just disappointing—it iwould be fine as a movie of the week on a cable channel. It’s a look at three generators of dysfunction and one person who escapes the cycle. There’s a lot of screaming and a too many flashbacks, and too little focus on the rustbelt world so many people don’t understand, and it’s characteristic of being isolated and isolating. In the end, the film makes it clear the world from which we come makes us what we are, but our dreams and actions make us what we become. Unfortunately, this must seem like a hopeful misconception of the privileged to people living lives without hope. Some of the parts of this film are pretty good, but it doesn’t come together as well as I’d like. Sadly, I think this is one where too many of the original story’s nuances slipped away when the film was made. [Netflix streaming.]

Small Axe, Season 1: Mangrove

— I’ve seen three of Steve McQueen’s films (“Shame,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Widows”) and, different as they are, they’ve all been very good, so it’s no surprise that the first episode of his anthology for Amazon is very good too. It’s a look at harassment by London police of a Trinidadian immigrant’s restaurant in Notting Hill as the restaurant, the Mangrove, became an enclave for West Indian immigrants, intellectuals, and activists in the late 1960s, culminating in a protest/march in 1970. The result was a confrontation and subsequent courtroom drama vaguely reminiscent of the Chicago 7, but referred to as the Mangrove Nine and with a decidedly British twist. It is well done and worth seeing, but hard to watch without thinking about our country’s current struggles with racism and systemic racism. I also confess I knew nothing of the Mangrove Nine before watching this film and realize I received a dose of “history” through a single lens focused by McQueen to make a point, again speaking to how history is being written today as we receive our news through social media and “news” programs that cross the line between reporting and opinion. It also makes me think about unlikely heroes who may engage in personal acts of resistance, but then suddenly find themselves at the center of a larger, cultural change, and the courage they must find within themselves. Evidently this is the first of five episodes in the first season, all of which McQueen directed and all of which focus on the same community. I’m looking forward to the next one. [Amazon Prime streaming.]

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[2020. 126 minutes. Directed by Steve McQueen. Starring Shaun Parkes, Letitia Wright, and Malachi Kirby.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/small-axe-mangrove-movie-review-2020