LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

 

There are some comedians/actors that for me are just “too much”. They never seem to be able to turn it off or dial it down, and because of this, I tend to avoid their work. Robin Williams and Andy Kaufman were examples. Another is Jim Carrey. I don’t deny that any of the gentlemen I’ve mentioned have immense talent and uniqueness, I’m just saying that I find them to be too much. I say this because it was with trepidation that I ventured into viewing 2004’s Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events as part of my 2022 quest to see all the movies featuring Meryl Streep.

DON'T LOOK UP

The most recent film that Meryl Streep appeared in is the 2021 release, Don’t Look Up. This star-studded apocalyptic film is a biting satire of our culture’s current obsession with social media, approval ratings, and celebrity self-importance. This is interwoven with the ineptitude of our self-serving political system and the outrageous greed of the billionaire oligarchy. It’s a lot, and I believe this film is one of those that you will absolutely love, or completely loathe. It’s definitely not for everyone.

I enjoyed this movie so much that I’ve watched it three times. There are so many subtle bits of humor that make me laugh harder each time. The tone is set almost from the get-go, and the opening credits (retro 1960s) and soundtrack exacerbate that tone and drive the pacing throughout the film.

EVENING

My quest to see all of Meryl Streep's films continues. This time the film is Evening from 2007.

Take two Oscar-winning iconic actors (Meryl Streep and Vanessa Redgrave)… pair them with their own real-life actor daughters (Mamie Gummer and Natasha Richardson)… throw in even more award-winning actors (Glenn Close, Toni Collette, and Claire Danes)… and you should have a monumental two-hour masterpiece. Or not.

Anne Lord (Redgrave) is on her deathbed and reliving a specific time in her past. Her daughters (Collette and Richardson) care for her as she wafts in and out of consciousness. Lord continues to mentally revisit a period in her youth (she's now portrayed by Danes) when she was close friends with Lila (Gummer) and Lila’s family. Through them, she met Harris (Patrick Wilson) a man with whom she would develop feelings and eventually have a one-night affair. And now, in her final hours of life, she wonders what would have happened had she pursued a life with Harris.

Glenn Close is magnificent as Lila’s steely mother, and Hugh Dancy delivers an amazing performance as Lila’s emotionally tortured brother, Buddy. Really, all the primary players deliver fine performances. Despite all the premiere acting though, the film just doesn’t work. As Lord is breathing out her final hours, she’s visited by Lila (now portrayed by Streep). Yet despite their previous close friendship, neither of Lord’s daughters has met her. And Lord’s daughters can’t seem to figure out if they like each other, both bickering and believing the other is judging her. But saddest of all is that in her final hours, Lord is fixated on a man she barely knew from decades earlier in her life. I’m just not sure what I was supposed to garner from this film. Despite its wonderful cast, it was quite frankly a bore. It is a film that unfortunately gives “chick flicks” a bad reputation.

HOPE SPRINGS

                            

 Hope Springs (2012) stars Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep as empty nesters Arnold and Kay Soames. Arnold has settled into the routine existence that they share, while Kay is feeling trapped and ignored by that same mundane routine. At Kay’s insistence, they depart to Maine for a week of intense relationship therapy with professional counselor Dr. Bernie Feld (Steve Carell).

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE

My goal to see all Meryl Streep movies continues. My most recent flick is The Manchurian Candidate. This is a 2004 remake of the 1962 film based on the novel of the same name.

The story revolves around a group of Gulf War veterans who are unaware that they were subjected to experimentation and brainwashing during their time in service. The purpose of this experimentation is to turn them into unknowing sleeper agents for forces bent on political and global domination.

Major Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington) is becoming cognizant of what happened to him and is working to discover the full extent of what he was subjected to… and why. One of his former servicemates is Congressman Raymond Prentiss Shaw (Liev Schreiber). Raymond is the son of Senator Eleonor Prentiss Shaw (Meryl Streep), a ruthlessly ambitious politician who is working to ensure her son becomes the next candidate for Vice President of the United States.

The acting is extremely good all the way around, but Schreiber stands out as the smarmy child of privilege private and public personas are so at odds with each other. I give credit to director Jonathan Demme for altering and updating enough of the story to make it interesting to those who might have seen the classic original. This film keeps you guessing despite its iconic and well-known plot.

This is a solid film and one well worth seeing if good suspense is something you enjoy. But if pressed to choose between this version or the original, the original wins hands down. 

JULIA

1977’s Julia afforded Jane Fonda a nomination for a Best Actress Oscar and provided Vanessa Redgrave with an acting Oscar win, her only one out of seven nominations. The film is also notable for being the screen debut of Meryl Streep. My journey to see all Meryl Streep movies continues!

Julia tells the tale of two women who grew up as childhood friends and continued a close friendship through adulthood. Julia (Redgrave) comes from great wealth and is being raised by her grandparents in America. There she meets Lillian (Fonda) and the two seem to build an entire world around their unique friendship. The movie continually time shifts between the present day (the 1930s), their childhood past, and time periods in between the two.

After becoming a successful playwright, Lillian is invited to a writer’s conference in the USSR. Through intermediaries, Julia reaches out to Lillian to seek her assistance in sneaking money into the USSR. Julia is now working for the anti-Nazi resistance. Lillian eventually agrees to and embarks on a train ride to Berlin to see her longtime friend again. It is at this time that the film has its longest linear storytelling, and the film reaches its crescendo.

The acting is superb throughout, not only by the leads but by the outstanding international array of supporting actors including Jason Robards, Maximillion Schell, Rosemary Murphy, John Glover, Hal Holbrook, Elisabeth Mortenson, and the aforementioned Streep. Jane Fonda is reported to have told director Fred Zinnemen, “This one will go far”, referring to Streep! The cinematography is often breathtaking, and the film was awarded an Oscar nomination for it, along with costuming, editing, and musical score.

It is not a perfect film and suffers from the number of interlocking vignettes it tries to insert as a means of attempting to establish character and relationship development, as well as simply expanding the story beyond its suspenseful train journey. That said, it is still a wonderful piece of art and worthy of the Oscar nomination it received for Best Picture. 

STILL OF THE NIGHT

It’s the early 1980’s and everyone smokes… a lot! The one character that doesn’t smoke likes to kick back with his preppy collar up and drink lots of Tab! So goes things in Still of the Night, a 1982 psychological thriller starring Roy Scheider as psychologist Sam Rice, and Meryl Streep as Brook Reynolds, the onetime mistress of George Bynum (Joseph Sommer), a patient of Dr. Rice who turns up dead in the film’s first few minutes.