The Public
Director: Emilio Estevez
By Alex Watson
As a director, Emilio Estevez movies only come along when he is truly ready. His last picture, the Martin Sheen starring 'The Way' was a touching and authentic story of self-discovery which showed a maturity and a keen eye for humanity. His new effort, The Public is a movie which gives a compelling voice to the homeless and a sharp commentary on the lack of resources that are available.
Stuart Goodson (Emilio Estevez) is a librarian in Cincinnati, Ohio who each day encounters a number of homeless members such as Jackson (Michael K. Williams). While happy and content in his job, things become more complicated when his superior Mr Anderson (Jeffrey Wright) announces he has been named in a lawsuit against the library. One night a brutal Midwestern cold front is about to hit the city and all the shelters are maximum capacity. What follows will result in a tense stand-off between Detective Bill Ramstead (Alec Baldwin), local D.A Josh Davis (Christian Slater), the staff and the homeless.
While its message might be a little overstated in places, The Public still makes good use of its setting and the sheer quality of performers. Estevez has always a preference for showing the plight of the average person and Stuart Goodson is a weary yet personable library supervisor. Along with his co-worker Myra (Jena Malone), the pair are simply trying to do their jobs without causing a fuss. The homeless who frequent the space are tolerated as this is the only safe place they can go without being hassled or rejected. The library tries to maintain order and give support as best it can, but Estevez shows what a tough role this can be, especially when dealing with patrons with severe mental health disorders. Goodson is a man who is doing his best to be supportive but his hands are tied by bureaucracy.
The cold front hitting Cincinnati has resulted in more and more people freezing to death each night. During this movie, there is a firm statement on the lack of shelters available and many of the homeless are simply trying to keep warm. Stuart himself is dealing with his apartment heating being down, which has him making contact with his attractive apartment manager (Taylor Schilling). When the stand-off occurs, Jackson and the others simply just want a place to send the night. Stuart despite reservations allows this to go ahead and they barricade the doors. Everyone outside the library just wants this to be done with- Ramstead is a negotiator who is also looking for his drug-addicted son. He simply wants everyone to go home and not have to deal with the slimy and corse Davis whose campaign for Mayor is not going to plan.
The final act of The Public might seem formulaic and has a number of slightly cliched moments (complete with quoting the Grapes of Wrath). Plus there are some side stories that perhaps overstay their welcome- particularly Gabrielle Union's vampirish newswoman who portrays Stuart as a kidnapper. However, despite these flaws, there is still a nice sense of authenticity and comradery. While there is a heavy-handedness to Estevez's direction, he is still able to emphasize the struggle the homeless face to be heard. Libraries are increasingly considered to be a safe haven because few places offer them a place to simply be and access services that can help turn their lives around. Stuart desire to help is made clearer during the final act and credit to Estevez for giving this subtle touch. Within the walls of the library, there is a tension building that could potentially give the police a reason to storm. The resolution to this may divide audience members, but it will still leave a smile on our lips.
Emilio Estevez has always been a capable performer as well as director and once more he is on double duty. As Stuart, Estevez conveys a good sense of weariness alongside a fighting spirit. While he may be a reluctant participator, he is also a leader with a sense of compassion. The supporting cast alone elevates this picture and Alec Baldwin gives a fine turn as Ramstead, whose fear for his son's safety is in conflict with his role in attempting to end the stand-off. Christian Slater is also in fine form as the particularly nasty Davis. While this role may see him permanently in one gear, Slater makes full use of his distaste of this tricky situation.
The Public is a movie which gives some much needed focus on the problems the homeless face each day. It might not see much action comes awards time, but Estevez still shows he is a director who makes us think.
Showing posts with label Alec Baldwin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alec Baldwin. Show all posts
Monday, 1 October 2018
Thursday, 9 April 2015
7 Great Movie Cameo's
Kevin Spacey (Se7en)
From the very moment that Spacey enters David Fincher's dark classic, he is a force to be reckoned with! Making an eye bulging and blood soaked entrance in a police station, calmly saying "You're looking for me!" he then proceeds to play a dangerous game of psychological cat and mouse with Mills (Brad Pitt). Through Spacey's ice cold front and delivery, one of the great cameos was born!
Alec Baldwin (Glengarry Glen Ross)
The most impressive element to Alec Baldwin's appearence as foul mouthed Mitch & Murray man Blake, is that he blows away legends such Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris and Kevin Spacey in a single scene! Demonstrating a cutthroat attitude, Baldwin is one of the movie highlights and the business' intent to only keep two employees is made abundantly clear "first prize is a Cadillac El Dorado. Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired. Get the picture?"
Alice Cooper (Wayne's World)
One of the more off the all cameos on this list- but the legendary rocker's appearance in Mike Myer's comedy classic still hit the funny mark! Doing a sly nod to Cooper's brainy nature and his love of facts and trivia, the next few minutes leave us stunned and impressed! If you didn't now anything about the city of Milwaukee (other than the Brewers), then now is the time to pay attention! Does this guy know how to party?
Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver)
Scorsese has often showed just how effective he can be when he appears in movies (look up his starring role in Quiz Show). But as the creepy passenger in the back of Travis Bickle's (Robert De Niro) cab, he has a startling effect on proceedings. Demonstrating a man so pent up with anger he is practically bursting at the seems, Scorsese ranks second only to Bobby in terms of effectiveness! What would a movie about this guy have been like?
Chuck Norris (Dodgeball)
The genius of the noted action star's cameo, is that although it is short and sweet, it has a pivotal outcome on events! This may well be the finest 'acting' of Chuckie's career. All together now, "Thank you Chuck Norris!", "Thank You Peter!"
Tom Cruise (Tropic Thunder)
When Tom Cruise plays against type, he can be stunning to watch- as fat, balding and foul mouthed producer Les Grossman, the result was people lying on the floor in stitches. He continual tirades produce of the most original and profanity laced rants that has ever graced the silver screen, "Now I want you to step back and literally FUCK YOUR OWN FACE!!!" Cruise produces one of the more memorable cameo's of the last decade- if only for his dancing to Flo-Rida!
Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction)
The kind of bizarre yet awesome acting, his solitary appearance as Captain Koontz in Tarantino's noted movie is a masterclass. In one scene he brings about his typical zany feel mixed in with some great feelings of compassion as he recalls his often painful Vietnam experience- and just where he kept Butch's (Bruce Willis) father's gold watch for two years. When this man comes on screen, expect the unexpected!
From the very moment that Spacey enters David Fincher's dark classic, he is a force to be reckoned with! Making an eye bulging and blood soaked entrance in a police station, calmly saying "You're looking for me!" he then proceeds to play a dangerous game of psychological cat and mouse with Mills (Brad Pitt). Through Spacey's ice cold front and delivery, one of the great cameos was born!
Alec Baldwin (Glengarry Glen Ross)
The most impressive element to Alec Baldwin's appearence as foul mouthed Mitch & Murray man Blake, is that he blows away legends such Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris and Kevin Spacey in a single scene! Demonstrating a cutthroat attitude, Baldwin is one of the movie highlights and the business' intent to only keep two employees is made abundantly clear "first prize is a Cadillac El Dorado. Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired. Get the picture?"
Alice Cooper (Wayne's World)
One of the more off the all cameos on this list- but the legendary rocker's appearance in Mike Myer's comedy classic still hit the funny mark! Doing a sly nod to Cooper's brainy nature and his love of facts and trivia, the next few minutes leave us stunned and impressed! If you didn't now anything about the city of Milwaukee (other than the Brewers), then now is the time to pay attention! Does this guy know how to party?
Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver)
Scorsese has often showed just how effective he can be when he appears in movies (look up his starring role in Quiz Show). But as the creepy passenger in the back of Travis Bickle's (Robert De Niro) cab, he has a startling effect on proceedings. Demonstrating a man so pent up with anger he is practically bursting at the seems, Scorsese ranks second only to Bobby in terms of effectiveness! What would a movie about this guy have been like?
Chuck Norris (Dodgeball)
The genius of the noted action star's cameo, is that although it is short and sweet, it has a pivotal outcome on events! This may well be the finest 'acting' of Chuckie's career. All together now, "Thank you Chuck Norris!", "Thank You Peter!"
Tom Cruise (Tropic Thunder)
When Tom Cruise plays against type, he can be stunning to watch- as fat, balding and foul mouthed producer Les Grossman, the result was people lying on the floor in stitches. He continual tirades produce of the most original and profanity laced rants that has ever graced the silver screen, "Now I want you to step back and literally FUCK YOUR OWN FACE!!!" Cruise produces one of the more memorable cameo's of the last decade- if only for his dancing to Flo-Rida!
Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction)
The kind of bizarre yet awesome acting, his solitary appearance as Captain Koontz in Tarantino's noted movie is a masterclass. In one scene he brings about his typical zany feel mixed in with some great feelings of compassion as he recalls his often painful Vietnam experience- and just where he kept Butch's (Bruce Willis) father's gold watch for two years. When this man comes on screen, expect the unexpected!
Monday, 8 December 2014
Wordplay: Review of Still Alice
Still Alice
Director: Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland
By Alex Watson
You can only imagine what it must be like to have your mind go into stages of decline. Suddenly the person you were begins to fade away and your life becomes a very different experience. After impressing at TIFF 2014 and earning a overwhelmingly positive response, directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland bring us a heartbreaking adaptation of Lisa Genova's novel Still Alice. With Julianne Moore anchoring this effort could be one of the strongest that 2014 has to offer.
Dr Alice Howlett (Julianne Moore) is a world renowned and respected professor of linguistics at Columbia University. She has a happy marriage to John (Alec Baldwin) and three great children. Soon though she finds herself beginning to forget words and through this she suspects something is wrong. Crushingly Alice is diagnosed with early onset of Alzheimer Disease and soon she has contend with her life falling apart. The weight of her disease will test her relationship with her family as well her job!
Still Alice is a simple yet utterly poignant movie from Westmoreland and Glatzner that grabs at our hearts and rips them clean out. The most pulverizing element is how simply things come about and what starts as Alice forgetting to spell words such as Lexicon and gets lost running on her own campus, things soon develop into something far more serious! The moment the life changing news is given to her, it elicits a variety of reactions, John angrily dismisses the diagnosis where as her children Lydia (Kristen Stewart), Anna (Kate Bosworth) and Tom (Hunter Parrish) range from being acutely concerned to nervously staying clear of events.
The later scenes where's her mind begins to deteriorate are one the strike us the most, the most lucid things become an eternal struggle such as her forgetting where the bathroom is supposed to be, her children's names and going from a master at playing 'Words with Friends' to being unable to spell a single thing. Alice is being reduced to a shadow of her former self and gradually words lose all meaning to her, a key scene shows Lydia reading an extract from Angels in America, all Alice can muster is that is 'about love'. The things she loved so dear have become only sounds and feelings.
A variety of extreme close ups from Westmoreland and Glatzer show the pain and affliction that has become Alice's world. In some sense's she is now stuck in a trap that she cannot be released from. The burden on her family gives the film an increasingly strained feel, particularly as John is continually absent which upsets his wife as he is forever not completely listening. But her steadfastness is cause of celebration as Alice still tries to cling to old person she was. At a Alzheimer convention with the aid of a highlighter, she gives one of this years most tear shedding but triumphant speeches!
However there is also a sense of the clocking being run down on Alice's mind and we worry about what the outcome could potentially be. Early on in the movie, Alice makes a video while still her old self that is to give instructions to herself in the future when she 'can no longer answer the questions'. This is supposed to be the last thing she ever sees, but could also be the one thing that she was never supposed to see! Either way it remains as source of discomfort throughout for viewers and we hope in vain it will not be discovered.
The principle strength of Still Alice comes from a stunning central turn from Julianne Moore. 2014 has been one of Moore's strongest years and this role is very much the cherry on top. Playing with devastating effect, she neatly strips away the layers of Alice as her condition worsens and accurately conveys the hurt involved. This role will rank as one of Julianne's career highs and this could well be the part that carries her to award season glory this year. Alec Baldwin also a key anchor for the movie and his gradually increasing avidity to her declining health serves the well but also causes a minor source of stress.
One of the 2014's best independent efforts, Still Alice is a film that is worthy of its critical praise and with the strength of Julianne Moore, it will ensure that audiences will go away feeling a little numb. Best stock up on those Kleenex boxes, they will be compulsory!
Director: Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland
By Alex Watson
You can only imagine what it must be like to have your mind go into stages of decline. Suddenly the person you were begins to fade away and your life becomes a very different experience. After impressing at TIFF 2014 and earning a overwhelmingly positive response, directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland bring us a heartbreaking adaptation of Lisa Genova's novel Still Alice. With Julianne Moore anchoring this effort could be one of the strongest that 2014 has to offer.
Dr Alice Howlett (Julianne Moore) is a world renowned and respected professor of linguistics at Columbia University. She has a happy marriage to John (Alec Baldwin) and three great children. Soon though she finds herself beginning to forget words and through this she suspects something is wrong. Crushingly Alice is diagnosed with early onset of Alzheimer Disease and soon she has contend with her life falling apart. The weight of her disease will test her relationship with her family as well her job!
Still Alice is a simple yet utterly poignant movie from Westmoreland and Glatzner that grabs at our hearts and rips them clean out. The most pulverizing element is how simply things come about and what starts as Alice forgetting to spell words such as Lexicon and gets lost running on her own campus, things soon develop into something far more serious! The moment the life changing news is given to her, it elicits a variety of reactions, John angrily dismisses the diagnosis where as her children Lydia (Kristen Stewart), Anna (Kate Bosworth) and Tom (Hunter Parrish) range from being acutely concerned to nervously staying clear of events.
The later scenes where's her mind begins to deteriorate are one the strike us the most, the most lucid things become an eternal struggle such as her forgetting where the bathroom is supposed to be, her children's names and going from a master at playing 'Words with Friends' to being unable to spell a single thing. Alice is being reduced to a shadow of her former self and gradually words lose all meaning to her, a key scene shows Lydia reading an extract from Angels in America, all Alice can muster is that is 'about love'. The things she loved so dear have become only sounds and feelings.
A variety of extreme close ups from Westmoreland and Glatzer show the pain and affliction that has become Alice's world. In some sense's she is now stuck in a trap that she cannot be released from. The burden on her family gives the film an increasingly strained feel, particularly as John is continually absent which upsets his wife as he is forever not completely listening. But her steadfastness is cause of celebration as Alice still tries to cling to old person she was. At a Alzheimer convention with the aid of a highlighter, she gives one of this years most tear shedding but triumphant speeches!
However there is also a sense of the clocking being run down on Alice's mind and we worry about what the outcome could potentially be. Early on in the movie, Alice makes a video while still her old self that is to give instructions to herself in the future when she 'can no longer answer the questions'. This is supposed to be the last thing she ever sees, but could also be the one thing that she was never supposed to see! Either way it remains as source of discomfort throughout for viewers and we hope in vain it will not be discovered.
The principle strength of Still Alice comes from a stunning central turn from Julianne Moore. 2014 has been one of Moore's strongest years and this role is very much the cherry on top. Playing with devastating effect, she neatly strips away the layers of Alice as her condition worsens and accurately conveys the hurt involved. This role will rank as one of Julianne's career highs and this could well be the part that carries her to award season glory this year. Alec Baldwin also a key anchor for the movie and his gradually increasing avidity to her declining health serves the well but also causes a minor source of stress.
One of the 2014's best independent efforts, Still Alice is a film that is worthy of its critical praise and with the strength of Julianne Moore, it will ensure that audiences will go away feeling a little numb. Best stock up on those Kleenex boxes, they will be compulsory!
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