Continuing a recent string of watching movies that I knew almost nothing about before my viewing (the underrated Saltburn and the mystifying Infinity Pool being the two most recent), Todd Haynes’s (Carol, Dark Waters) May December rewarded me with an experience I won’t soon forget. First and foremost, watching this film is somewhat disturbing, making the viewer frequently feel uncomfortable. While not for everyone, this harrowing portrayal is a diligent, albeit flawed, portrayal of a family after the fallout of a story that was so taboo that it was the cover story for tabloid magazines across the country.
Category Archives: Todd Haynes
Dark Waters (2019)
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher, Spotlight) continues to show that he is one of the more under-appreciated Hollywood heavyweights in Todd Haynes’ (Carol, Wonderstruck) new release. Dark Waters tells the true story of Cincinnati lawyer Rob Bilott’s extraordinarily long legal battle against the DuPont Chemical Company and the toxic waste it was dumping into the streams and rivers of West Virginia. This poisonous waste contributed to a high rate of cancer cases in the surrounding areas and contributed to an alarming number of deaths among cattle and other animals. The movie is exceptionally well-made. It should be seen by all as it hits on self-regulation, big business, medical disasters, and company cover-ups on such a grand scale that it seems hard to fathom as being possible in today’s world. In today’s society, there is so much scrutiny, regulation, and punishment for companies doing what DuPont did and almost escaped without punishment. Almost.
Carol (2015)
Every once in a while, you see a series of trailers that convince you that a movie will be awesome. Sometimes this holds to be true, and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you convince yourself that a film is going to be amazing based upon the trailers alone. And then, when the critics support your belief by giving the movie high praise, you head into that movie thinking that you are about to see something exceptional. I thought Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, I’m Not There) was about to strike gold with Carol. He had the players. With apologies to Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) is the current leading lady in Hollywood. When I first heard Blanchett’s soothing voice-over speaking to an unidentified character during a trailer with lots of drama, strife, and unpopular decisions with the leads, I could not help but be engrossed. I don’t know who created this trailer, but this individual should have directed Carol rather than Haynes because they brought more drama to a two-minute snippet than Haynes brought in two hours. This isn’t an exaggeration. The trailer is THAT good, and the movie is THAT disenchanting. Blanchett’s dramas are heavy, and she is at her absolute best when she plays a character who is lost in her confusion. So why wasn’t Carol the movie of the year? My belief was because Haynes and Blanchett blew it. The film lacked all of the drama that the preview led you to believe that it had. And Blanchett’s performance wasn’t so flat as much as it was confusing. I based many of the reviews of other lead actresses this year around how I perceived Blanchett would be in Carol (incidentally, I did the same with Lawrence for her performance in Joy). I completely jumped the gun with both of these actresses and prematurely included them in the same sentences as Brie Larson (Room), Carey Mulligan (Suffragette), and Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn). While I do believe Blanchett will get a nomination (primarily based on name recognition), it would be a travesty if she were to win over Larson or Ronan.
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Far From Heaven (2002)
One of my five favorite previews for 2015 has been for the movie Carol which is, more or less, Cate Blanchett narrating a quick story about her life in 1952 New York City. We don’t learn much about it other than she’s married to Kyle Chandler and that not everything is what it seems to be. At the start and then again at the end of the trailer, Blanchett mentions how everything comes full circle. The trailer is captivating and made me want to see it. It’s directed by Todd Haynes, who has filmed just one movie (I’m Not There) between 2015’s Carol and 2002’s Far From Heaven. In Carol, Haynes returned to what worked in Far From Heaven. We return to 1950s Northeast America. In both movies, Haynes craftily tells the stories of lives that are less perfect than they appear.
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