The Beguiled

My friend and I went to a screening of The Beguiled on Friday night and, while she only liked it, I absolutely loved it!  The Beguiled is set on a large and isolated plantation in Virginia which is used as a Ladies Seminary run by Miss Martha Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman) at the end of the Civil War.  When one of the girls comes upon a severely wounded Union soldier named John McBurney (Colin Farrell), they decide to shelter him while he recuperates.  He disrupts their quiet and well-ordered life and all of them, even the young girls, begin vying for his affection by wearing their best dresses and jewelry and sneaking into the music room to speak with him.  I particularly loved a scene where all of them try to take credit for an apple pie that John praises.  John takes advantage of the situation by flirting with the no-nonsense headmistress Martha, a repressed teacher named Edwina (Kirsten Dunst), and a bored and sullen student named Alicia (Elle Fanning) with the hopes of being allowed to stay on the plantation but this eventually sets them against each other with catastrophic results for him.  There were many times when I wondered who was beguiling whom!  The tension builds very, very slowly and I almost couldn't bear waiting for the resolution (my friend had seen the 1971 original but I hadn't so I think that contributed to my reaction) which just about blew my mind with its subtlety.  All of the actresses give marvelous performances as genteel Southern belles who come undone.  Of course Nicole Kidman is brilliant but I was especially impressed by Kirsten Dunst's portrayal of Edwina's sadness and insecurity and I thought Addison Riecke was adorable as one of the younger girls (especially when she suggests looking for mushrooms).  Finally, this film is beautifully shot with lots of atmospheric scenes of moss-covered trees outside and flickering candles inside.  I highly recommend The Beguiled for it's tension, incredible acting, and gorgeous cinematography.

Summer Reading: The Girls

Emma Cline's debut novel, The Girls, was the next selection on my summer reading list. It tells the coming-of-age story of Evie Boyd and her involvement in a Manson-like cult in San Francisco during the summer of love. In present-day, Evie is a middle-aged woman in between jobs and staying at the beach house of a friend. When his son unexpectedly visits with his girlfriend, Evie sees a hunger in the girl which reminds her of her younger self and begins relating her experiences in the cult as a cautionary tale. In the late 1960s, Evie is a bored 14-year-old, alienated from her friends and neglected by her divorced parents, when she sees a group of older girls and is enthralled by their unconventional behavior (which includes digging for food in a dumpster). She is eventually drawn into their orbit, which includes the charismatic leader Russell who fancies himself a musician, and begins experimenting with sex, drugs, and rock and roll while living at a communal ranch. When a promised record deal falls through, Russell has the girls go to the house of the musician, who promised the aforementioned deal, to commit a grisly murder much like that of Sharon Tate. To be honest, I had a very difficult time finishing this book because nothing much happens until the expected ending and, without giving anything away, this ending is quite anticlimactic. Evie, an in-and-out member of the cult, is a first-person narrator so most of the other characters are very thinly drawn and I would have liked to have known more about Suzanne and Russell and their motivations. Cline's writing style is overly-descriptive and sometimes it is a bit too much, almost like style is more important than substance. I didn't hate this novel but I didn't like it as much as other people do.

Have you read The Girls?  What did you think?

Baby Driver

Tuesday night my plans unexpectedly fell through so I had the chance to see an early screening of Baby Driver.  This movie is an adrenaline rush from beginning to end and I absolutely loved it!  Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a getaway driver for a criminal mastermind named Doc (Kevin Spacey) who has a rotating crew of bank robbers (Jon Bernthal, Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez, Flea, and Lanny Joon).  Baby suffers from tinnitus and listens to music to drown out the ringing in his ears and to energize himself for driving.  All Baby wants to do is to get out of the game so he can go on the road with his girlfriend Debora (Lily James) but Doc wants him to drive for one more heist which eventually goes horribly wrong.  It is a sleek and stylish crime thriller with some of the best car chases I have ever seen and it has an amazing soundtrack, featuring the likes of Queen, Beck, Danger Mouse with Run the Jewels, Golden Earring, the Commodores, Martha and the Vandellas, and Simon & Garfunkel.  The action is exactly choreographed to the music and Baby even rewinds a song when a conversation with the crew runs longer than expected before a heist.  I found the sound design to be absolutely amazing because every sound, from the squealing of tires to the spitting of bullets from a machine gun, corresponds exactly to the beat of the music.  I also loved the scenes of Baby dancing and singing along with the music he is listening to.  I was extremely impressed with Elgort's performance.  Even though Baby is incredibly self-contained, you always know exactly what he is thinking and feeling with just an expression.  I think he is so charismatic, especially in his scenes with Debora.  He and Lily James have great chemistry and I loved their conversation about name songs (since I have a song with my name in it!)  All of the supporting actors are very well suited to their roles.  Jamie Foxx is a hoot and Jon Hamm gives a particularly nuanced performance. There is a fair amount of profanity and violence but I think it is wildly entertaining and I can't remember when I have had so much fun watching a movie.  I highly recommend this intoxicating thrill ride!

My Neighbor Totoro

I think my friend is trying to turn me into an anime fan because she invited me to see My Neighbor Totoro with her on Monday night (she also recommended Your Name which is quite possibly my favorite movie of the year).  Her plan may be working because I absolutely loved this adorable film, so much so that I am considering seeing the rest of the films in the Studio Ghibli Festival.  My Neighbor Totoro is an imaginative look at the childhood of two sisters who have moved from the city to the country to be nearer to their mother who is recovering in the hospital from a long illness.  The younger sister, Mei, is left to play on her own outside where she meets an otherworldly woodland creature that only she can see.  Eventually both of the girls have fantastical adventures with this creature and it ultimately rescues Mei when she gets lost.  The animation is beautiful with every frame reminding me of a watercolor painting; the characters are endearing and I especially loved the relationship between the sisters and the nanny reminded me of a neighbor I had when I was young; and the story is magical, portraying the innocence of childhood as it once was.  I had a smile on my face during the entire film and I especially loved the scene where the girls give Totoro their umbrella.  I loved literally everything about this film and I definitely recommend it for everyone, especially children.  Go here for more information about the Studio Ghibli Fest.

La La Land in Concert

Saturday night I went to see the movie La La Land on the big screen at the Usana Amphitheatre with the Academy Award winning score by Justin Hurwitz performed live on stage by the Utah Symphony.  It was so much fun!  I love seeing performances outside during the summer (Saturday was an absolutely perfect night) and I am a huge fan of showing movies with the score played live by an orchestra (I certainly enjoyed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone last December).  La La Land was one of my favorite movies last year (I forget how many times I saw it in the theater) and I loved it just as much seeing it again on the big screen.  It feels like such an old-fashioned Hollywood musical to me and I was even more impressed with Ryan Gosling (I go back and forth on how I feel about Stone's singing).  I also had a different take on the ending this time around.  Mia and Sebastian choose their dreams rather than their relationship but there is a montage which shows what their lives would have been like if they had chosen each other instead.  I've always thought that they would have been much happier if they had chosen their relationship but, after this viewing, I realized that many of their dreams would have been fulfilled as well.  It is such a great movie!  The score is absolutely magical and, of course, I enjoyed the piano solos (Sebastian is a jazz pianist) but I was also impressed by the themes played by the clarinet and flute and there was a fabulous trumpet solo.  The Utah Symphony played it beautifully under the baton of guest conductor Emil de Cou.  I had a huge smile on my face the whole time and I may or may not have sung along with "City of Stars."  I would highly recommend seeing a movie performed with a live orchestra if you have the chance.  I will be seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark in September, The Nightmare Before Christmas in October, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in December, all with the Utah Symphony, and I am very excited about all of them.  Go here for more information about these concerts.

Note:  Utah Symphony patrons comport themselves very differently than the usual crowd at the Usana Amphitheatre!