By Gregg Shapiro
Photos: PR
Greta Gerwig may lack range as an actress, but it’s possible that her real talent lies behind the camera instead of in front of it. With Lady Bird (A24), her second full-length feature film as writer/director, Gerwig joins the ranks of acclaimed female filmmakers such as Jill Soloway, Nicole Holofcener, Dee Rees, Lisa Cholodenko, Gillian Robespierre and Sofia Coppola.
Within the first few minutes of the Sacramento-based, 2002-set film we discover that Christine aka Lady Bird (Golden Globe-winner Saiorse Ronan) and her nurse mother Marion (Metcalf) don’t get along. A directionless and unpopular student on scholarship at Immaculate Heart High School, Lady Bird lives “on the wrong side of the tracks” with her mother, father Larry (Tracy Letts), and older brother Miguel (Jordan Rodriguez) and his girlfriend Shelly (Marielle Scott).
That rare combination of comedy and drama, fresh and original writing matched with strong direction and mesmerizing performances from Metcalf and Ronin are mesmerizing, Lady Bird is a soaring triumph.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, now appears to be the one to beat come Oscar time. That’s especially true in the case of McDormand, who could handily score another gold statuette.
The billboards get Mildred attention, both welcome and unwelcome. Sheriff Bill (Woody Harrelson), who is called out by name on one of the billboards, tries to reason with Mildred. Although aware that Bill is dying of cancer, Mildred refuses to back down. Police officer Jason (Globe-winner Sam Rockwell), an alcoholic with a history of racist behavior, also gets on Mildred’s case. She almost comes to blows with her ex-husband Charlie (John Hawkes) and is harassed by a stranger at the gift shop where she works in a particularly frightening scene.
It is Mildred’s determination to see her mission through to its end that is at the broken heart of the movie. McDormand’s portrayal of a grieving mother is raw and authentic, setting the bar even higher for any actresses that follow.
Fatih Akin’s IntThe Fade (WB/Magnolia), which won Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language at the Globes, is separated into three sections – “The Family”, “Justice” and “The Sea”. In the first, Katja (Diane Kruger) is happily married to Turkish ex-con and reformed drug dealer Nuri (Numan Acur). Nuri works as a tax advisor in Hamburg, Germany and they have a six-year-old son named Rocco (Rafael Santana). A few hours after dropping Rocco off at Nuri’s office so she can meet a friend at a hammam, a bomb explodes on the sidewalk in front of Nuri’s place of business, killing the father and son. Katja is devastated by the loss and determined to aid in the investigation find the killers.
In the second aptly titled section, In the Fade becomes a courtroom drama. We agonize along with Katja as she sits through trial, listening to the horrific details of the bombing’s aftermath. At one point, when she flips out in court and attempts to attack one of the accused bombers, a female Nazi, we feel her pain. The trauma only increases when the woman and her husband are acquitted.
The third, and final section, follows Katja to a seaside town where she tracks down the married Nazi couple. The movie shifts gears, becoming a story of retribution. The last few minutes are alternately captivating and shocking. Undeniably topical in light of the current refugee crisis and changing attitudes towards immigration, In the Fade is especially notable for Kruger’s portrayal of Katja. It ranks as the most spellbinding performance of her career.
