"The Descendants"

There are times in our lives when our world comes crashing down and we are completely unprepared. Shocked and clueless, we grope around making awkward attempts to deal with the overwhelming situation or to just get by. Like the day my whole life was thrown out of whack when my husband of 23 years announced he wanted a divorce and moved out that afternoon. I did my share of groping to find my footing - not always handling it with the best of grace.

I guess that's why I relate to Alexander Payne's, “The Descendants.” Payne (and Oscar winning co-writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash) aren't afraid to present a flawed main character, Matt King (George Clooney), who is absolutely clueless about how to handle the life shattering situation he finds himself in when his wife ends up in a coma as the result of a boating accident. To add insult to injury, he discovers that she was cheating on him at the time. It's a one-two punch that leaves him stunned and reeling.

Matt lives in Hawaii, in paradise, but has been so caught up in business transactions that he can't take in the beauty around him. His time has been spent negotiating deals with vacation resorts and condos to sell the pristine forest entrusted to him and the other descendants. This piece of land represents all that he has lost in his life. There was a time that he took his family on regular camping trips there. But he has lost his connection with the land and his family. He has become an absentee husband and father. In fact, he is absent from his own life.

Sometimes it takes a catastrophic event to shake us awake after sleep walking through life. (It took my husband leaving me...) Having been JOLTED awake, Matt is ill equipped to deal with the fall out from the accident on his two troubled daughters. George Clooney brings out the humor as his character gropes around trying to make some sense of the whole mess. When he hears that his wife was cheating, Matt, still in shock, charges off in his clumsy flip flops around a ridiculous circular drive – in search of answers, anything... Later, we can see the inner turmoil in his eyes even as his daughter splashes in the ocean and life goes on around him. Once he has dealt with his own issues, he is better equipped to help others cope with the tragedy. Finally fully awake, Matt sees that he is a part of something bigger than himself. He realizes his responsibility to the land, himself, and those around him. Procuring his place in the world puts his problems in perspective.

As for me, I'm grateful to be awake and learning life's lessons.

Movie blessings!
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com

"The Help"

In the prelude, Abileen stoically tells an unseen interviewer that her grandmother was a house slave and her mother was a house maid. She, herself, has raised 17 white children. A naive voice asks if she ever thought of being something else. Her answer is the blank stare of resignation passed on from generations of subservience.

The movie proper starts with recent college grad Skitter (a wide eyed Emma Stone) being interviewed for her first newspaper job. Skitter is hired to write a housekeeping and cooking column – a subject she knows nothing about. No matter. While at a bridge club meeting, she asks her friend permission to interview her maid. Ironically, the maid, Abileen, is the only one she knows who keeps house. It becomes clear that her friend sees Abigail as her property when she catches Skitter affirming Abileen's contribution to the household. She tells Skitter that Abileen will be unable to continue working on the project.

Upset by her friend's mistreatment of Abileen and the unexplained absence of the beloved maid who raised her, Skitter is inspired to write a book on the maids' perspective of working for a white family. Her editor warns that she will never be able to get any maids willing to risk their jobs or their lives to talk to her. It is dangerous. It is 1960, the dawn of the civil rights movement. Jim Crow laws make it illegal to even print civil rights material. Tensions mount as a black activist is killed. The fear is palpable as black passengers are thrown off the bus near the murder sight and Abileen flees for her life past race riots.

This movie is about the shared delusion that blacks and whites in the South were separate. In 1960s Jaskson, Mississippi, Jim Crow laws and bridge club etiquette rule their lives. The laws were designed to separate the whites from the blacks, but black women had always worked very close to white families - preparing their food, cleaning their bathrooms, and changing their babies' diapers. For generations, the black “maids” raised the white children. Skitter explains to her publisher, “We are raised by our black maids. They love us and we love them, but they can't use the same bathroom.”

The setting is the domestic world of kitchens, nurseries and bathrooms which gives ample opportunities for kitchen (and bathroom) humor. On the whole, writer/director Tate Taylar does a good job balancing comedy and drama. The 146 minutes flies by with some laughs, tears, and dramatic tension. But sometimes the comedy goes a bit over the top. Hilly starts a petition initiating a law to have separate bathrooms for the help - even though her feisty maid, Minny, is the envy of the bridge club for her great cooking. This gives new meaning to the phrase, “Don't crap where you eat.”

There are multiple storylines. Care is given in showing the intertwining lives of the blacks and the whites. The writer seems to be saying both races are enslaved by the cultural restrictions of the time. Even Skitter's mother couldn't stand up to the bigots in her social club. She admits to Skitter, "Sometimes courage skips a generation." But it's the performances of Viola Davis as Abileen and Oscar winner Octavia Spencer as Minny that holds it all together. Davis adds gravity to every scene she is in. In Abileen's carriage we see the weight of generations of suppression as well as the personal risk she is taking with her involvement in the taboo book. Minny is different. After working for segregationist bridge club president Hilly, Minny has had enough. She is a fire cracker ready to explode. These women are survivors. But they have risen above that. They have stood up to their fears. They are heroes in their own civil rights protest and free women. I can't say so much for Hilly and her bridge club.

Movie blessings!
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com

Official site: http://thehelpmovie.com/us/

"Cyrus" and "Winter's Bone" The Ties that Bind

"Winter's Bone" and "Cyrus" are two very different films about the bonds of family.

Director Debra Granik 

In "Winter's Bone,"17 year-old Ree Dolly (Oscar nominated Jennifer Lawrence) is bound by family responsibility. When her daddy goes missing, Ree must take care of her siblings and her mentally ill mother. She has an innate gift for parenting. She teaches the youngins' how to survive in a way they can understand and they show her due respect. But she soon finds that she is way over her head when the sheriff comes by to inform them that they are about to lose their house and farm because Pa put it up for his bail bond, then disappeared. Danger mounts as she is forced to defy her deadly clan's code of silence to find her Pa and bring him home. In authentic "slice of life" style, the filmmaker (Debra Granik) gives us a rare glimpse of the gritty mountain people, customs, and code of conduct of the Ozarks. You can just feel the sticks cracking under Ree's feet as she traverses the backwoods country and tastes the squirrel meat. "Winter's Bone" is about family ties that bind and gag; and finding the strength to survive in the hardest times.

"Cyrus," explores the bond between a mother and son and how much bonding is healthy. John's ex-wife (Catherine Keener) tells him she's getting married then proceeds to invite him to a party to meet other women. John (John Reilly) gets totally sloshed at the party, yet miraculously manages to pick up the most understanding woman, Molly, (the vivacious Marisa Tomei) with his clumsy attempt at honesty. John can't help but be drawn to Molly's kind heart. The relationship gets off to a great start. Then John meets Molly's 21 year-old, home-schooled, new age musician son, Cyrus (Jonas Hill). Suffice it to say that it is a very close family. Single mom Molly is so protective of her boy that she can't see the battle he is waging with John over her affections. "Cryus," has a different tone than most comedies. It is quirky and original, yet it somehow feels real. "Cyrus," is about the ties that blind, eh, bind between mother and son; and whether a mere man should get between them. Can love win out in the end?

It is more than the theme that binds this thriller and comedy. They also share truly original, honest writing and great performances. These are two of the best films I've seen for a while.

Movie blessings!
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com

"La Mission"

"La Mission" is a project of love about the barrio neighborhood the Bratt brothers grew up in. Writer/Director Peter Bratt takes time and care to set up a strong sense of cultural pride with Aztec dancers, Catholic rituals, "slow and low" cruising in shiny low riders through the family oriented Mission District of San Francisco.

Che Rivera, (Benjamin Bratt) an ex-con and recovering alcoholic, has worked hard to earn the respect of his community by going straight and being a good father to his college bound son (Jeremy Ray Valdez.) Benjamin Bratt portrays Che as the embodiment of Mexican machismo. The director presents him as a sympathetic character who was brought up to use his fists to survive on the hard streets. Che finds strength for his quest for redemption in his culture and religion. But when he discovers that his beloved son is gay, that homophobic culture drives his negative response. Everything he knows is thrown out of whack.

Enhancing the theme is a multi-racial relationship with Che's black, culturally diverse, social-worker neighbor Lena (Erika Alexander.) Lena sees through Che's violent, macho exterior. Experience has taught her that this kind of man is incapable of changing, but she can't help but be moved by the wounded boy inside. When it becomes clear that he is a man who "uses violence and intimidation" to get what he wants, she ends their relationship - forcing him to take a good look at himself.

Near the end of the film, there is an odd visual metaphor which I believe is meant to show the contrast between past and present Chicano culture: colorful Aztec dancers perform at the shine of a murdered gang member with a sign, "No more violence." I found it odd because the Aztec's practiced human sacrifice, right? Whether intentional or not, the Aztec dancers are a good metaphor for the theme: We need to keep what is healthy from our culture or religion and let go of what is destructive.

"La Mission," isn't perfect. A few scenes were just left hanging - especially in the romantic subplot. I didn't feel the chemistry between Che and Lena. But Benjamin Bratt delivers one of his strongest performances. The brothers have given us an authentic, loving depiction of the culture in the Mission barrio with an important theme for our times.

Movie blessings!
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com

"PRECIOUS" and "THE MESSENGER"

From Despair to Hope

Two powerful, acclaimed films, "Precious," and, "The Messenger," have heart-achingly honest performances that express the strength of the human spirit to move through despair to hope.

The synopsis of, "Precious," couldn't be more depressing. Precious, (Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe) an obese thirteen year old, is pregnant for the second time with her father's child. Her mother (Mo'Nique) treats her as less than a servant, beating her and constantly reminding her that she is nothing. We get a glimpse of the girl's spirit as Precious escapes into her dreams of being a glamorous star. At school Precious is pretty much invisible aside from being teased for her weight. But there is one teacher who recognizes her potential in math. When Precious is kicked out of school, he recommends that she be placed in a alternative school. Her new teacher (Paula Patton) asks Precious how she felt about introducing herself to the class and Precious says she feels, "Here." The teacher assigns her a journal where she expresses herself for the first time. Precious finds the strength to get an education and keep her baby even as the abuse intensifies at home.

It is a minor miracle and a credit to director Lee Daniels, screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher, and actress Gabby Sidibe that you leave the theater actually feeling hopeful. The film demonstrates the transforming power of having one person - in this case a teacher - who believes in you. Precious illustrates the strength of the human spirit to survive extreme abuse and find hope.

In, "In the Messenger," war "hero" Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) returns from Iraq and is assigned to the Army's casualty notification service. He has not gotten any grief counseling since receiving his own battle wounds - just a quick lesson in protocol from his jaded partner Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) who instructs the soldier to avoid physical contact or hugging the N.O.K. (next of kin.) Ben assures him, "I'm not going to be offering any hugs."

Will has come home to a lonely apartment and an empty life. (When he went off to war he broke up with his girlfriend.) He diligently carries out his duty, but the grief of the families of the deceased hits close to home. He finds himself drawn to a widow with a brave facade. Her husband's story brings out his own neglected issues. Will his "war scars" heal so he can be a decent husband and father? Or should he reenlist because war is the only thing he is still good for? Somehow he finds the strength to choose life. "The Messenger," shows the resiliency of the human spirit to move through grief to hope.

Movie blessings!
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com

OSCAR ALERT:

Mo'Nique won Best Supporting Actress, Geoffrey Fletcher won Best Adapted Screenplay

"My Sister's Keeper"

In "My Sister's Keeper," Anna (Abigail Breslin) was conceived as a donor for her sister Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) who has cancer. By the age of eleven Anna has already gone through several painful medical procedures to save her sister. Now she must endure another surgery in order to give her dying sister her kidney. Anna shocks her parents by hiring a lawyer (Alex Baldwin) to get medical emancipation so she can make her own decisions about her body and live her own life.

"My Sister's Keeper" succeeds as a tear jerker. Despite some script problems including undeveloped characters, contrived plot elements, and a stereotypical terminally wise child, it moved me to tears. It could be because of what I brought to the film as an audience member. I related to the marriage straining under the responsibilities of parenthood. The mother (Cameron Diaz) had given up everything, including her relationship with her husband (Jason Patric), to take care of her sick child. In her single minded pursuit to keep her daughter alive, she has forgotten the importance of living. Though this storyline paid off with an emotionally stirring scene, it would have been more powerful if their marital problems had been set up earlier and we actually saw the father being pushed out of the picture.

In an interesting structural device, each character narrates their point of veiw on how having a family member with cancer affects their lives. You would think that this would give ample opportunity for each characters' storyline to be developed. Unfortunately, some storylines have gaping holes in them.

The male family members are nearly non-existent through much of the film. You could argue that it was the director's (Nick Cassavetes, The Notebook) intent since everything evolves around the sick child's needs while everyone else is neglected. For instance, there are some vague references to the brother (Evan Ellingson) needing help because he is dyslexic, but that story thread is abruptly dropped. In one scene he wanders into a bad section of the city and watches street walkers. Nothing happens. No one even notices that he's gone. Perhaps that's the point. But it may have had more impact if he had gotten into trouble.

Their many sacrifices have weighed on the family, but I believe the spirit of giving has a positive impact on the children. They have grown so much closer from taking care of each other. The film touches on the theme that giving to others is it's own reward and a worthwhile way to live.

If you could use a good cry or a reminder of how good life can be, watch "My Sister's Keeper". How you spend your entertainment dollars tells Hollywood what kind of movies you want. Want more family dramas? Then go see "My Sister's Keeper" while it is still in the first run theaters.

Movie Blessings!
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com

"When Did You Last See Your Father"

"When Did You Last See Your Father?" ignores standard Hollywood wisdom: Keep the title short and catchy. Avoid flashbacks. The action should be external, not internal. Make films that appeal to teenage boys. And most of all, don't do stories about old, dying people.

In an article about what sells in Hollywood, an agent moans that she just can't read one more story about coping with aging, dying parents. The market was glutted with them. I couldn't help but think that this must be a very timely and heartfelt theme since it was popping up in so many scripts. Is it possible that there's an adult audience hungry for stories that help them deal with the hard issues in their lives?

"When Did You Last See Your Father?" is based on Blake Morrison's heart wrenchingly honest autobiographical bestseller. It is the story of the forty year old writer's attempts to resolve his troubled relationship with his father as he deals with his immanent death. Collin Firth courageously portrays the estranged son's sometimes unlikable sentiments of resentment, frustration, confusion, and disappointment tinged with compassion for his fading father. Being home brings back memories of coming of age in his charismatic father's shadow and discovering some hard realities about the man. Thanks to Jim Broadbent's dynamic performance, we can see why the son was once proud of him - even though he never felt his father's approval. Blake goes on an internal journey where he finds that he has some of his father's weaknesses. He must decide what kind of man he is to become. At first, the film's lengthy title seems to accuse the grown son of neglecting his father. But by the end, we discover that the title actually asks, "When was the last time you really saw your father - without your own feelings of inadequacy and resentment getting in the picture? When was the last time you saw love?"

If you are longing for a true life drama, go see, "When Did You Last See Your Father?" this weekend. With our attendance, we are sending a message to Hollywood that we want more films that reflect our lives.

Movie Blessings!
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com

"The Savages"

"The Savages," isn't nearly as savage as the title or some reviewers make it out to be. I didn't find it to be a dark comedy. It's definitely not a feel good flick, but I'm sure many people will relate to this honest, sometimes funny film. It is a slice of life drama about two grown children (Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman) suddenly faced with the challenge of caring for their estranged aging father (Philip Bosco ) who never took care of them. It's time for their father, who is suffering from dementia, to leave his retirement community and move into "assisted living." This isn't the Sunshine Home; it's a place where people go to die.Oscar nominated writer-director Tamera Jenkins presents the hard reality of death without a trace of sentimentality. Death isn't pretty. It is the children's responsibility to take care of things and they do -- not without the residual resentment and guilt. It doesn't help that their father is still the same hostile, short tempered, foul mouthed jerk that abandoned them as kids. And his kids get in a few stingers of their own. The affects of their lousy childhood is reflected in their inability to sustain healthy, lasting relationships. Trapped together by the situation, the siblings are forced to come to grips with these issues. There is a touching moment of compassion between the two when they share some prescription pain killers. The film is worth seeing just for the Oscar caliber performances of the three major actors. And Laura Linney has been honored with a nomination. (See Oscar nominations below.) Hoffman, however, must settle for a nomination for a supporting performance in "Charlie Wilson's War."

At the end, there is the end of a life and a hint of a beginning. The children have grown up just a bit for having dealt with their responsibility the best they knew how.

Movie Blessings,
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com/