"Get Low" with Georgia cinema

Although Get Low was released just this summer, I remember two years back, reading an announcement in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calling for as many extras as possible to show up at Picket's Mill (a historic site near Acworth, Georgia) in their best Depression-era clothing. I thought about attending. I was even willing to skip my classes (not really a stretch for me anyway). Unfortunately, I had just taken most of my Depression-era clothes to the dry-cleaners and they weren't going to be ready for a few more days.

Whether I am privy to the filmmaking or not (usually not), I often like to support movies that are filmed locally. I saw Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd at the cinema (mistake) and I'll probably see the remake of Footloose (impending mistake), since I have already made a 'set visit.'

While it is always wonderful seeing familiar surroundings on the big screen, it is often not worth the price of the movie ticket. This time, my local pride didn't turn out to be a waste of money. Get Low was worth every penny, regardless of my geographic sentiments.

The film tells the tale of a crazy old man (Robert Duvall) living in seclusion outside a small town full of people who spread all sorts of rumors about him. Of course, there is one person in town (Lucas Black) who sees a heart of gold deep down inside the crazy old man. There is even a person in town (Sissy Spacek) who knew the old crazy before he was old and crazy. Then, you have the struggling business owner (Bill Murray) who, being a yankee outsider, has nothing to lose by cozying up to the town crazy. When the old crazy sees his days coming to an end, he decides to invite everyone to come tell stories about him at his funeral... while he is alive... at his funeral.

Of course, this story is pleasant enough by itself, but the movie really shines when we start to learn why he shut himself off from others for forty years and what emotional damage has resulted. A good cast was needed to bring all of this to life, and a good cast was delivered.

No one is going to ignore a group that includes Robert Duvall (six Oscar nominations, 1 win), Sissy Spacek (6 Oscar nominations, 1 win) and Bill Murray (one Oscar nomination). I suppose Bill Murray will appeal more to younger audiences than the other two, but Duvall and Spacek have both proved to still be worthy of the 'household name' moniker. These three are in top form here and while Oscar buzz exists for all three, Duvall stands the best chance of a nomination. Spacek could find herself in the Best Supporting Actress race if the usually crowded category doesn't see more worthy entrants soon (personally, Jacki Weaver is still the one to beat). Bill Murray will likely be forgotten as the studio will see more of a need to push for Duvall's nomination, but I don't feel that Murray is even the most deserving Supporting Actor nominee anyway. I would give that distinction to Bill Cobbs, who plays an old pastor friend who knows the answer to why Duvall isolated himself.

This is the first meaty role for Cobbs in quite a while. The actor is used to smaller character parts and television roles (and that Peter Cetera Heineken commercial). I think he delivers more depth to his performance than any other supporting player. Unfortunately, I must be alone in my opinion, as Cobbs has gone by relatively unnoticed so far.

Lucas Black puts up a good performance as well. With already a good set of films under his belt, he is on his way to a sturdy career. Besides, it is impossible for me not to be a fan of his, with that unwavering Southern accent (we need more of these in Hollywood) and the fact that he looks a bit like the missing link between me and my brother.

Oscar winning composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek put together a nice score, with the help of Jerry Douglas and The Steeldrivers. Alison Krauss also offers up a song over the credits. I would easily recommend this soundtrack.

The cinematography isn't the best I've seen this year, but you can tell there was an artful eye behind the lens. The beautiful Georgia scenery doesn't hurt either, and it serves as an extremely appropriate substitute for Tennessee (where the film takes place). The costumes are good enough to be in contention for the Oscar, which only makes me regret not showing up in my Great Depression suit.

Aaron Schneider has made an impressive directorial debut with Get Low, seeing as his film finds a nice balance between aesthetics and performances. I'm happy the film has found the audience it deserves.

Jacki Weaver, Queen of the "Animal Kingdom"

I've got it pretty good here in Atlanta. My home is both a city that I love and the cultural capital of the South. We don't usually get first week openings for art films... those are pretty much exclusively for New York and Los Angeles. It is not even that common that we get second week openings either... go to Chicago, San Francisco or Boston for those. But Atlanta still gets the art films. I am thankful for that. I have no problem waiting three weeks to see something that if I lived elsewhere, I might never get a chance to see in the cinema.

I saw the trailer for Animal Kingdom a couple of months ago at home, one day when I was in the mood to just watch some movie trailers. I headed over to Apple's trailer collection and watched several trailers for films which either had titles or posters that struck my fancy. Animal Kingdom had both. And the trailer was even better.

Immediately, Jacki Weaver stands out in the trailer. First off, she the only female shown to have any lines (there are a couple more in the film, but the roles aren't nearly as large). Secondly, she looks supremely menacing.

A few weeks into the film's US release, it hit Atlanta. I went to see it the day it came out here and it met every one of my high expectations head-on. Animal Kingdom is akin to Israel's Ajami, minus the broken narrative structure and with a singular focus on one family. Funny that I liken it to Ajami, seeing as these two films are both among my top three for the year so far.

I imagine the Australian Film Institute Awards will have a field day with Animal Kingdom. The film is marvelously paced. Every bit its two hours moves with swift but meaningful pace, thanks to a strong screenplay and an exceptional ensemble. Newcomer James Frenchville carries the film from the first frame. A stone-faced exterior eventually gives way to show his vulnerability and, ultimately, his shrewdness. Frecheville is very solid in the film, but veteran Aussie actors Weaver, Ben Mendelsohn, Sullivan Stapleton and Guy Pearce walk away with more of the audience's attention.

Let's talk about Jacki Weaver. Weaver plays the mother of four sons who are involved in a variety of crimes... bank robbery, drugs, murder. When Frenchville's character, J, calls her after his mother dies of a heroin overdose, she resumes her grandmotherly duties after having been absent from his life for many years. While her boys take care of her, you never feel as though she is helpless. In return, she dotes on them with long kisses on the mouth. I know... right? These kisses might seem incestuous, but aren't. They are simply how she casts her spell.

"All of her four children had different fathers. They were violent criminals. She has consorted with criminals all of her life and has made a living out of the proceeds of criminal behavior — that is why she condones and encourages the boys. I think she's a woman without a conscience, a sociopath." - Jacki Weaver, Los Angeles Times interview

Maintaining a confident presence amidst all of the havoc that arises; when we finally see her break down... mascara running from those unflinching and devilish eyes... we are perhaps even less sympathetic than we were before. And after we see her choose between one of her sons and her grandson, we know that she is the one who has been in charge all along.

Even with her standing out in the trailer, I didn't expect her performance to be this good. In this day and age, Oscar-watching is a tremendously popular internet hobby. Buzz is generated for performances months before they are seen. Animal Kingdom won the World Cinema Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, but I had yet to hear much about it. When you come across a performance that jumps out and strangles you, and you hadn't already been told to expect it, it seems all the more powerful. She plays Janine "Smurf" Cody with an unwavering intensity... both in the character's disturbing nature and in the consistency of the performance.

I hope Sony Pictures Classics stays on top of the game and puts on a good campaign for her. While it seems that the Best Supporting Actress category is one of the easier groups in which to find inclusion when the film isn't exactly up to par, it helps that Animal Kingdom is a very good film. Other nominations would be well-deserved, but are very unlikely for an Australian film with such limited distribution.

This is director David Michôd's first feature film. He wrote Weaver's part specifically for her and thank goodness for that. Whether or not the film attains any Oscar nominations come January, Michôd can at least take comfort in his first film being a job well done.

Atlanta Film Festival 2010: What I'm attending

While 2010 marks only my fourth time attending, the Atlanta Film Festival has been going, and growing, since 1977. Three years ago, I saw La vie en Rose and was blown away by Marion Cotillard's performance. Several months later, I blogged about it and was correct in what I had predicted. Two years ago, I decided to see another French film at the festival, Hors de prix (Priceless). The film is a modern take on Breakfast at Tiffany's starring Audrey Tautou and while it was fun to watch, it wasn't quite to the same level as what I had seen the year before. Last year, I was able to check out two films. I had already been anticipating (500) Days of Summer well before I found out it was screening at the festival, so it was a no-brainer. That Evening Sun was a film I chose to see based on its chilling trailer and star, Hal Holbrook. If you look back at my Oscar ballot, you will see that I doled out seven nominations between the two films and then went on to list That Evening Sun as my #11 film of the year and (500) Days of Summer as my #3 of the year.

The point I am trying to make is that, typically, the films I have seen at the Atlanta Film Festival have made an impact on me.

This year, I have tickets to see four films. One is a locally shot zombie comedy and three are festival darlings. I could potentially see a fifth film as well.



Pushin' Up Daisies was shot in and around Athens, Georgia. While I'm a bit tired of my generation's obsession with zombies and zombie movies, this looks pretty funny. It's about a crew shooting a documentary about flowers when a bunch of zombies show up. They aren't dangerous, but they get in the way of the shoot. It looks pretty hilarious and I'm excited about it opening up my time at the festival.




The Things We Carry is the second film I'll be attending. The fantastic title stood out so much to me that it was the first film I looked into after they posted the list of films screening this year. The film looks to be a bit emotionally heavy, which is not a bad thing. It is about a woman reconnecting with her sister and drug-addicted mother. It won seven awards at the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival and also showed at Boston Film Festival and Hollywood Film Festival.



Winter's Bone is the film I am most excited about seeing this year. This film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year and did well at Berlin too. It is already getting Oscar buzz much like An Education and Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire did last year (and we know how that turned out). Set in the Ozarks, Jennifer Lawrence's character has to find her meth-addicted dad and keep her family together. I'm expecting this one to be very good.




Cold Weather has gotten a lot of good buzz after it screened at SXSW earlier this year. The film is a bit of a mystery to me... which is good, as the film is a mystery film. I have a good feeling about this one. It looks like it could be a bit like Primer, and that can only be a good thing. This will be the last film I see at the festival this year, so I'm hoping to go out on a high note!




Dear Lemon Lima is potentially another film I will see at the festival. Stylistically, it looks a bit like a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Juno (which I have heard others say as well). It is about a teenage girl in Alaska coming to terms with her heritage during her most awkward years. I like that Melissa Leo and Beth Grant, two of the best character actresses around, are in the supporting cast. I hope I'm able to catch this one.

You are looking at the next Best Actress

And by "next Best Actress," I don't mean second best. I mean this woman will win the Oscar for Best Actress in a few months.

You've seen Marion Cotillard in Big Fish and A Good Year. You may have seen her in A Very Long Engagement. And you probably haven't seen her in any of the French Taxi movies. She's great in everything (not to mention stunningly beautiful), but she delivers one of the best performances I've ever seen in La Vie en Rose.

I saw the film at the Atlanta Film Festival back in the spring. Back then, the previous Oscars were still fresh in everyone's minds... no one cared much about next year's. She started to change that, though. The more people that saw this film at festivals or sneak screenings or in other countries, the more her hype grew. It hasn't slowed down... and I think she will win the Academy Award.

There is an interesting interview over at the New York Times, so check it out.

Other potential Oscar winners this year could be Cate Blanchett for Best Supporting Actress in I'm Not There, Javier Bardem for Best Supporting Actor in No Country for Old Men and Benicio Del Toro for Best Actor in Things We Lost in the Fire. Although, anything could happen. I'm not making final predictions for a while. Don't count Cate Blanchett out for either Actress category, though, and keep an eye on Casey Affleck and Daniel Day-Lewis.