Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 October 2023

Drawing from Philippe Besson’s 2017 novel, Lie with Me is an engaging French film with the ideal blend of comedy, drama, and love.  It’s centred on Stéphane Belcourt (de Tonquédec), a globally recognised romance writer who has returned to his childhood hometown for the first time in 35 years.  He’s been selected as the keynote speaker at an annual Cognac festival – an obligation which add-on commitments such as book signings, media interviews, and formal dinners.

The trip brings back a flood of memories which are illustrated by director Olivier Peyon through use of flashbacks.  It was in his final year of high school that then 17-year-old Stéphane (Gillet) fell in love for the first time.  Stéphane was an openly gay teenager but the object of his affection, Lucas Andrieu (Belmondo), remained in the closet – partly because of his insecurity and partly because of his conservative parents.

Largely confined to the bedroom and other secluded locations, it was a love affair which lasted only a few months before the school year ended and Lucas moved to Spain to work on his family’s farm.  The pair never saw each other again.  While much has happened to Stéphane in the decades which followed, the memories of that first love remain vivid and, while he’ll coyly deny it in public, they’ve served as inspiration for many of his most successful books.

The catalyst for the current day drama arrives in the form of a young man, Thomas (de Saint-Jean), who is acting as festival tour guide for a group of wealthy Americans.  He is Lucas’s son and when Stéphane draws the connection, it creates as many questions as it does answers.  Where is Lucas today?  Does Thomas know about the teenage tryst his father had with Stéphane?  Is this all just a crazy coincidence?

The concept could easily come across as phoney and contrived, but the four-person screenwriting team make it work and the performances are superb.  There are so many great individual moments.  From a scene where Stéphane meets Lucas’s elderly mother… to a subplot involving a visit to a hidden lake, Lie with Me will, most likely, generate an emotional response from audiences.  To help break up the poignancy, Guilaine Londez adds a splash of comedy with her performance as a stressed festival organiser.

Bolstered by a great music score from experimental composer Thylacine, Lie with Me is a beautiful, interesting story.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 September 2023

My knowledge is poor when it comes to mixed martial arts, but I have plenty of younger friends who closely follow the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).  The first UFC fights took place in 1993 and while it took time to find an audience, it’s now reached a point where annual revenues (sponsorships, media rights, ticket sales) exceed $1 billion per annum, and title fights and held almost every weekend.

Made with the financial support of the New Zealand government, Stylebender is a documentary that delves into the life of Israel Adesanya, a high-profile mixed martial artist who was born in Nigeria and migrated with his family to New Zealand at age 10.  He made his professional fighting debut in 2012 and seven years later, he’d become UFC Middleweight Champion.  His most recent fight was two weeks ago here in Sydney.

This is an above-average doco and much of the credit belongs with writer-director Zoe McIntosh.  Firstly, she’s found an interesting person in Adesanya with a backstory worthy of public awareness.  Secondly, and more importantly, she’s maintained a significant level of creative control which allows her to look at the subject matter from multiple perspectives.  This is not a brand-enhancing, glorified “puff piece”.

Adesanya’s rags-to-riches upbringing is covered in detail, but Stylebender is at its best when probing the champion we know today.  McIntosh speaks extensively with Adesanya but there are also interviews with those in his immediate orbit.  The most comprehensive insight is offered by his long-time trainer, Eugene Bareman, who is the ultimate “open book”.  He passionately talks about Adesanya’s strengths and achievements… while also acknowledging his weaknesses and limitations.

Adesanya has been embroiled in several controversies in recent years, largely of his own making, and McIntosh doesn’t shy away from this fact either.  The film could be used as a lesson for any high-profile professional athlete about how they become roll models, whether they like it or not, and how social media is a double-edged sword.  There’s an eye-opening scene (can’t believe McIntosh was granted access) where Adesanya and his team discuss how best to deal with a moment of negative press.

This feeds into another great angle – the mental health considerations that arise when being at the top of a sport and living constantly in the public’s spotlight.  We see a more vulnerable side to Adesanya which reminds us that wealthy celebrities aren’t necessarily happier than everyone else.  The confident sportspeople we idolise on the field… are often very different when the cameras aren’t rolling.

I’m sure this will appeal most to UFC fans, but I’d argue the less you know going in, the better.  Stylebender offers something for all.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 October 2023

We’re less than three months out from the end of 2023 and the nominations will soon be determined for the AACTA Awards, honouring the best in Australian cinema.  Personal favourites of mine thus far include Of an Age and Talk to Me but a new entry to add to the list is Shayda.  The buzz has been strong since it won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition category at the Sundance Film Festival back in January.

Inspired by the upbringing of writer-director Noora Niasari, the film is set in 1990s and is centred on Shayda (Ebrahimi), an Iranian mother living in a women’s shelter in Melbourne.  Through a series of conversations with the shelter’s caring manager (Purcell), we develop a detailed understanding of Shayda’s backstory.

She had temporarily relocated to Australia with her husband, Hossein (Sami), and her 6-year-old daughter, Mona (Zahednia), while he studied to become a doctor at a local university.  The plan was for Hossein to graduate and then the family return to Iran.  However, after being subject to physical and mental abuse by her domineering husband, Shayda used the opportunity to escape his control and found refuge at the shelter.  It’s a lifeline available in Australia and its Western cultures that would not otherwise be available back in Iran.

The film delves into several interesting subplots.  It looks at language barriers and the difficulty of a non-English speaking person seeking legal help in a country like Australia.  It explores the psyche of a 6-year-old girl who doesn’t understand her parent’s separation and why she is not living in her usual home.  It illustrates the ongoing trauma associated with domestic violence and the difficulty of doing daily chores (like shopping) while constantly looking over one’s shoulder.  It taps into the rigidity of Middle Eastern cultures and, as shown by a phone conversation involving Shayda’s mother, an unwillingness to believe a wife’s denunciation of her husband.

Guided by Niasari’s screenplay, the cast are meticulous in imparting each character’s emotions onto the audience.  This is most evident during a get-together late in the film where the tension ratchets up to very high levels.  You’ll feel the gravity of the situation and its consequences.  While it feels unfair to single anyone out, Zar Amir Ebrahimi is especially good in the title role.  This adds further weight to her impressive resume which includes the Best Actress prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival (for Holy Spider).

Submitted as the Australian entry for Best International Feature at next year’s Academy Awards, Shayda is a superb, thought-provoking piece of cinema.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 September 2023

Having never watched an episode of PAW Patrol in my life, I had to do extra background reading to prepare myself for this experience.  Many parents will already know but the franchise was created by a British television writer, Keith Chapman, and is produced by a toy/entertainment company headquartered in Toronto, Canada.  The first TV episode aired in 2013 and, with over 230 shows created, it’s become one of the longest-running animated series in history (though still a fair way behind The Simpsons’ 750 episodes).

Pitched largely at preschoolers, the PAW Patrol brand has generated billions in revenue over the past decade.  Those dollars don’t come directly from the show… but rather the myriad of commercialisation opportunities which have since presented themselves.  It’s not just about fluffy toys.  There’s PAW Patrol craft sets, clothes, toothpaste, fruit snacks, birthday cakes, water bottles… whatever.  You name it, they’re probably selling it.  Even Sea World on the Gold Coast has a “PAW Patrol on Holiday” show where kids can meet their beloved heroes.

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie opens with a simple adventure which shows what these characters are about.  Led by a 10-year-old boy, Ryder, a group of fast-growing puppies rescue two humans from an out-of-control fire in their hometown of Adventure City.  Each dog has a separate role to play (e.g. policing, constructing) and, to borrow from the series’ website, it’s a “fun way to learn bravery and heroism, with exciting stories that never get too scary.”

With the movie offering more time for plot and character development (it’s 92 minutes as opposed to the 22-minute TV shows), we’re then introduced to a new villain.  Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) voices Vee Vance who is described as “the maddest scientist in the world”.  Her plan is to create a giant magnet, bring meteors down to earth, and use mined alien technology to generate superpowers.  It sounds convoluted but, for the most part, it’s easy to follow and that’s exactly what 5-year-old kids will seek.

I am clearly not in the target demographic, but I can respect PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie for what it delivers.  The characters are cute, the dialogue is simple, and the themes are noble.  I’m sure if I was a pre-teen again, this is the story of harmless stuff I’d lap up.  The bright colours and flashy animation also make it a winner in maintaining kids’ attention.

Serving as an unconnected sequel to a successful-enough 2021 film (which I didn’t see), PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie is simple and effective… and brand-building.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 October 2023

This may be the 6^th film in the stop-start Exorcist franchise but based on the opening hour and the lack of supernatural happenings, you’d think you were watching a different movie.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) builds a credible relationship between a single father, Victor (Odom Jr), and his teenage daughter, Angela (Jewett).  It’s that delicate, inevitable time where she’d rather hang out with her own friends than her not-so-exciting dad.

What follows is any parent’s worst nightmare – Angela doesn’t return home from school one evening.  The police become involved, the nearby forest is scoured, personal belongings turn up… but there’s no sign of Angela.  Another student, Katherine, has also gone missing and security camera footage from the school shows the pair were together when last seen.  A panicked Victor struggles to keep his emotions in check – a natural reaction given the circumstances.

Then, three days later, the two girls are found by a stranger in the back of a barn.  They have no sense of time (they didn’t even realise they were missing) and cannot explain what happened to them.  A doctor gives them a clean bill of health and they return home.  It’s at this point, roughly half-way through the movie, where the demonic elements are introduced.  Both Angela and Katherine start doing some really weird stuff and, guided by a next-door neighbour (Dowd) who has seen this kind of thing before, a priest and a shrewd veteran (Burstyn) are called in for assistance.

It builds to a lacklustre finale where the only surprise is the lack of originality.  I realised a film called “The Exorcist” should contain an exorcism but when that moment finally arrives, it’s a bland, tiring, not-so-scary one.  This might have shocked audiences back in 1973 when the first movie was released but it feels “dated” today.  The horror genre is continually evolving and when you compare The Exorcist: Believer with more adventurous material, such as this year’s surprise hit Talk to Me, its limitations become even clearer.

Academy Award nominee Leslie Odom Jr (One Night in Miami) is the standout cast member with his performance as the softly spoken Victor.  The rest don’t have much to work with.  While it’s nice to see 90-year-old Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) reprise one of her most famous roles, her involvement is little more than a heightened, unnecessary cameo.  Without giving too much away, the use of her character in the final act is laughably bad.

Intended to kickstart a new trilogy, The Exorcist: Believer starts with a bang but finishes with a whimper.