Movie Review - Calvary

Calvary (2014)

Starring Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran, Isaach de Bankolé, M. Emmet Walsh, Marie-Josée Croze, Domhnall Gleeson, David Wilmot, Pat Shortt, and Gary Lydan

Directed by John Michael McDonagh

I'm going to be honest with you.  Despite having an English degree, I had to look up the definition of "calvary" as I was really only familiar with the term "cavalry," dealing with a military force.  "Calvary" is either "a sculptured representation of the Crucifixion, usually in the open air," or "an experience or occasion of extreme suffering, especially mental suffering."  Needless to say, by the end of Calvary both of those definitions will make sense to the viewer.

Now with that out of the way, if you look at the cast list above, you'll notice a lot of names -- most of which you're likely unfamiliar.  However, I felt the need to include them all because Calvary is an ensemble piece of a film with Brendan Gleeson at its center as Catholic priest Father James as he struggles to deal with the fact that in a closed confessional a member of his parish tells him he was abused as a child by a priest and plans on killing Father James in one week's time as recompense for the Church's abuse.  As Father James struggles with whether to inform the authorities, attempts to confirm the identity of the confessor, and also determine if there's any veracity to the threat, the priest travels throughout the small Irish town talking about a variety of things with his parishioners.

Despite the heaviness of the overarching (and always present) death threat, Calvary is more about the inhabitants of the town itself.  More than three-quarters of the film is simply Father James visiting his people and discussing their sins, problems, and aspirations.  Therein, unfortunately, lies Calvary's biggest problem -- rather than feel like a fully realized film, it feels like a series of vignettes.  I realize that overall they all contribute to Father James' emotional state in what could possibly be his final days, but the film lacks a really important "through line" with which all of the tortured lives of the Irish town's residents really come together.  It feels more episodically play-like than a well-rounded film.

I appreciate director-screenwriter John Michael McDonagh's ambition here.  The simplicity of the film is interesting and the overall concept is unique with several of the townsfolk's stories proving to be emotionally stimulating.  Still, while Calvary is better than McDonagh's first film The Guard, I couldn't help but find myself teetering on boredom multiple times with the film not quite equalling the sum of its many, many parts.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Heaven Is for Real

Heaven Is for Real (2014)

Starring Greg Kinnear, Kelly Reilly, Connor Corum, Thomas Haden Church, Lane Styles, and Margo Martindale

Directed by Randal Wallace

The "religious movie" genre isn't exactly known for quality.  I'm not talking about historical epics like The Passion of the Christ, but instead those lower budget, poorly acted flicks that find themselves being advertised on the Fox News Channel and nowhere else.  With Heaven Is for Real, we get to see what happens when you take that same faith-based quality and put a little money behind, hire Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning actors, and bring on a director/screenwriter known for flicks like Secretariat and Braveheart.  The result:  a sugary concoction that's well-acted, but overlong and cloyingly message-driven.

After four year-old Colton Burpo (Connor Corum in a strong acting debut) has emergency surgery following a sky-high fever, he awakens and tells his father and mother (Greg Kinnear and Kelly Reilly) that he saw Heaven and met Jesus while on the surgical table.  Although dad Todd is a pastor, he has a tough time believing this until Colton tells him things that the boy was completely incapable of knowing -- describing in detail Todd's grandfather whom Colton never met, telling Todd exactly what he was doing while Colton was in surgery, and so on.  This sets up a perplexing inner dynamic for Todd as he wants to believe his son, but discovers that his own faith is being tested.

What saves Heaven Is for Real from going over the edge into a complete saccharine mess are the performances from the entire acting ensemble.  Kinnear delicately balances the faith issues his character faces in a commendable way.  Kelly Reilly takes on the stock role of wife and mother, but gives her character a little bit of bite and sass.  Nice supporting turns from Thomas Haden Church and Margo Martindale as church members round out the cast and bring a quality to the table we don't usually see in faith-based films.

Unfortunately, the film can't escape the shackles of its PG-rated nature.  There's no bite to any scene.  A visit of Todd's to an atheistic college professor ends with the professor coming off as a bit of a jerk instead of presenting an opposing viewpoint which simply plays into the hands of the movie-going community who flocked to this flick upon its release last Easter.

I will say, however, that Heaven Is for Real does elevate the faith-based movie genre in a way that I think is definitely positive.  The story, while lacking depth, is intriguing (particularly seeing as how it's based on a real-life situation) and had potential to really dive deep into its subject matter.  While it doesn't really go there in terms of depth, I appreciate the ramped-up aesthetics this brings to the genre.

The RyMickey Rating:  C 

Movie Review - Flight

Flight (2012)

Starring Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood, John Goodman, Brian Geraghty, Tamara Tunie, James Badge Dale, and Melissa Leo

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

As of late, Robert Zemeckis has not been a director you could rely on for solid product.  Caught up in the motion capture world, the director hasn't helmed a live action film since 2000's Cast Away.  Needless to say, his recent track record is one of the reasons I waited a long time to check out Flight and it's a shame since now I can't recommend it to folks since it's already departed from most theaters.

Although the film starts with a harrowing and excitingly well shot plane crash sequence, we soon discover that while the film revolves around the aftermath of this tragic accident, its focus is really on the troubled Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington), the pilot of that fateful flight who while being hailed a hero for saving 96 of the plane's 102 passengers is really a lost soul himself.  Whip is an alcoholic and in order to mask that from others, he snorts a nice cocaine chaser to give him the "uppers" that he needs to function.  On the day of the fateful accident, Whip had some substantial amounts of these substances in his system and, despite performing an extremely successful landing that all parties involved admit could have been much worse, this puts him on quite the hot seat.

As Whip struggles with the aftermath of the accident, he finds some solace in a recovering junkie named Nicole (Kelly Reilly) who is striving to better herself and overcome her addictions.  Unlike Whip, Nicole wants to rid herself of the toxic substances she often relied on and the two, while initially seemingly two peas in a pod, begin to drift apart as Whip continues his ongoing downward spiral into addiction.

Denzel Washington is great here in perhaps his best role in years.  "Playing drunk" always runs the risk of going over-the-top and Denzel reins things in, taking a more quiet and inward approach.  Despite the rather introspective nature of the performance, we're always well aware of the thoughts going on in Whip's frazzled mind.  There's a subtlety in certain scenes that is surprising and lovely and shows the talent that Washington brings to the screen.

Zemeckis also gets some great performances from his supporting cast as well.  Don Cheadle is strong as a lawyer assigned to Whip's case who tries to be the voice of reason for the drug-addicted Whip.  Bruce Greenwood plays Whip's loyal friend with equal parts care and concern.  John Goodman is a hoot in a small role as Whip's dealer and Tamara Tunie and Brian Geraghty prove quite successful in small roles as members of Whip's flight crew.

However, much like I was moved by Washington's performance, I was equally bowled over by Kelly Reilly -- a British actress entirely convincingly portraying an American Southerner -- as Whip's new girlfriend Nicole and James Badge Dale in a very small, one-scene role as a nameless cancer patient who tries to imbue a sense of "life's short so embrace what's best" into both Whip and Nicole.  As the three actors find their characters meeting in a stairwell to sneak a smoke while recovering in hospitals for their various ailments -- Whip after the plane crash, Nicole after an overdose, and the cancer patient facing head-on the end of his life -- they speak of life, death, faith, love, and fear.  It's a powerful and beautiful scene that I won't soon forget.

Flight falters ever so little towards the end becoming a tiny bit preachier than it should and ending on a slightly cornier and more uplifting note than the film had heretofore deemed feasible or plausible.  Still, this one was definitely a winner and certainly worth checking out when it comes out on dvd in the upcoming months.

The RyMickey Rating:  A-