Killer Joe & Deadfall

I saw two films, a few months apart, which seemed unusually similar.

Killer Joe starring Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church & Gina Gershon; directed by William Friedkin; (2011) -  Official Website
Deadfall starring Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde & Charlie Hunnam; directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky; (2012) - Official Website

Killer Joe was the last film I saw at the Lumiere which closed on September 23.  I saw Killer Joe on August 28.  I saw Deadfall at the Landmark Opera Plaza in December.

The eponymous Killer Joe (Matthew McConaughey) is a paid assassin hired by Chris Smith (Emile Hirsch) and his father, Ansel Smith (Thomas Haden Church).  The younger Smith is in debt to loan sharks and is told his mother (divorced from Ansel) has a life insurance policy which names his younger sister, Dottie (Juno Temple) as the beneficiary.  Chris assumes if his mother dies, he will have access to the insurance money since he and Dottie are very "tight" (it's implied they are incestuous).  Hence, the Smith men hire Killer Joe to kill Adele, their mother and ex-wife, respectively.

Once the deed is done, the Smiths discover the beneficiary is not Dottie, but Adele's second ex-husband, Rex.  Furthermore, it was Rex who misinformed Chris about the life insurance beneficiary and told him how to contact Killer Joe.  Chris has been duped by Rex but Joe is more suspicious; particularly of Ansel second wife Sharla (Gina Gershon).  It turns out Sharla has been having an affair with Rex which Joe proves by retrieving some nude photos from Rex (who is presumably killed by Joe).

The Smiths were going to use part of the insurance money to pay Joe.  Without money upfront, Joe has taken Dottie as a "retainer" and after revealing the truth about the insurance scam, announces he is marrying Dottie.  Chris is vehemently opposed to this which sets up the climax of the film.

There is a modest amount of violence, much of it in the final scene, but Killer Joe is disturbing on a different level.  McConaughey is quite menacing with his soft voice & Texas drawl.  His scenes of "romance" with Dottie are very creepy, in part because is a child in woman's body (although never stated, I thought Dottie might have had a learning disability or some trauma which stunted her emotional development).  The other Smiths are the trashiest of PWTs - incest, conspiracy to commit murder, extramarital affairs, etc.

Although the content is pure Southern Fried Noir but director William Friedkin pushes the characterization to extremes and gets a few laughs along the way.  From the opening scene where Chris is greeted at his father's trailer by Sharla, naked from the waste down.  Let's just say Sharla doesn't get the Brazilian wax.  Funny, bizarre, disturbing if you think about it for long enough, Killer Joe doesn't quite take itself seriously which makes the bitter pill go down a little easier.

A memorable film, Killer Joe is populated by outstanding performances.  Gershon in particular gets A+ for effort.  The most memorable scene involves Joe interrogating Sharla as she slips up and has to admit, little by little, that she knows more than she is letting on.  The specter of violence hangs over the scene ratcheting up the tension.  It ends with Sharla doing things to a piece of fried chicken which my words cannot fully convey.

Deadfall also features two incestuous siblings, Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde).  They have robbed an Indian casino somewhere near the Canadian border around Thanksgiving.  Addison shoots a police officer after their car crashes.  They split up with plans to meet near the border.  Liza goes back to the road to be picked up by Jay (Charlie Hunnam), a recently paroled convict who has just killed a man in an argument (it later turns out the man lived by Jay doesn't know this).  Jay is off to visit his parents (Kris Kristofferson & Sissy Spacek) when he sees Liza on the side of the road.  He picks her up and his avoidance of the police suits Liza just fine.

Addison treks through the wilderness where he encounter a dangerous old man who cuts off his finger when Addison attacks him for his snowmobile.  Later he comes upon a small cabin, where Addison dispatches a drunk man who abuses his family which reminds Addison so much of his own childhood.

Using cell phones, Addison & Liza plan meet at Jay's parents house before crossing the border.  An intrepid deputy (Kate Mara) is tracking Addison by the bodies he leaves behind.  This lead to a climax at the dinner table in the house with Jay, his parents, Addison & Liza and the deputy all seated at the table.  This scene is reminiscent of the finale of Killer Joe.  Liza & Jay have developed feelings for each other which Addison is jealous of.  As the police are closing in, Addison & Jay have their showdown.

The film has a few interesting subplots.  The deputy is the sheriff's son and the only female in the department (which could use a refresher course on sexual harassment law).   Jay is an Olympic bronze medalist in boxing who fixed a fight and has a strained relationship with his father.  Of course, the siblings have long standing issues dating back to their childhood.

Deadfall lacks the self-aware affectations of Killer Joe.  It is a more earnest film.  The snowbound & isolated settings add to the sense of desolation all the character feel.  Killer Joe looks like Friedkin achieved what his goal was for the film.  I get the sense Deadfall didn't quite get to where director Stefan Ruzowitzky wanted.  Perfection should not be the enemy of the good and both are quite good films.

A Grab Bag of Films

I am finally whittling down the backlog of 2012 films I have not yet chronicled.

In the second half of 2012 I saw several slightly above average films; many of them foreign.

Nobody Else But You starring Sophie Quinton; directed by Gérald Hustache-Mathieu; French with subtitles; (2011) - Official Website
The Big Picture starring Romain Duris; directed by Eric Lartigau; French with subtitles; (2010) - Official Website
Killing Them Softly starring Brad Pitt; with Ray Liotta & James Gandolfini; directed by Andrew Dominik; (2012) - Official Website
Easy Money starring Joel Kinnaman; directed by Daniel Espinosa; Swedish with subtitles; (2010) - Official Myspace
The Man From London with Tilda Swinton; directed by Béla Tarr; English & French with subtitles; (2007)

I saw Killing Them Softly & The Man From London at the Roxie.  I saw Nobody Else But You at the Landmark Lumiere, The Big Picture at the Landmark Embarcadero & Easy Money at the Landmark Opera Plaza.

Nobody Else But You is a French film about the death of Marilyn Monroe.  Technically, it is a fictional flashback to life of Candice Lecoeur (Sophie Quinton) who thinks she is Marilyn reincarnated but the plot is very similar to the circumstances regarding Monroe's death...right down to the two brothers who are politicians and have affairs with her.  Since the film is told in flashback as a journalist investigates Lecoeur, the audience already knows she will die.  Once I picked up on the historical basis for the plot, the film lost its whodunit quality.  All that is left is the considerable sex appeal of Sophie Quinton who does an admirable Monroe imitation.

Killing Them Softly stars Brad Pitt as a hitman who has to kill some guys who robbed a mob sponsored poker game.  He has to deal with all sorts of labor issues and management approvals to get the job done.  Ray Liotta has a small but memorable role as a card room manager who has robbed his own poker game in the past.  He even blabbed about it but enough time had passed that he was forgiven.  Some not-so-bright Jersey boys decide to rob the game again figuring Liotta would be fingered for the crime and take the fall.  They are write but eventually Pitt is dispatched to get them.  Gandolfini shows up as a drunk, whore-mongering, out of town hitman who can't get sober enough to finish the job.  The entire is played against the backdrop of the 2008 financial meltdown and presidential election.  The analogies are too ham-handed for my tastes.  Killing Them Softly has the feeling of a good idea taken too far.  The analogy was forced in my opinion.

Easy Money is about JW, who leads a double life - business school student by day and drug courier by night.  He gets involved with a Chilean ex-con.  The two them get involved in a drug war with a Serbian hitman on the other side.  Those three characters are the focus of this taut and violent film.  JW is dating a wealthy woman and trying to impress her family.  The Chilean guy has a pregnant sister and is fugitive (he escaped from prison).  The Serbian has a young daughter he loves.  Easy Money drags a little as these characters are developed.  It doesn't quite reach Scorsesian levels; it's more like someone trying to imitate Scorsese.  However, there are scenes which are extremely tense and one where the little girl receives a call from her father as he lays dying from a gun battle is heartbreaking.  The Serbian character's subplot was my favorite.

Of these film films, The Big Picture is my favorite.  Romain Duris plays a successful lawyer.  Catherine Deneuve has a small role as his law partner.  She still looks beautiful.  Anyway, Paul (Duris) discovers his wife is having an affair with the photographer neighbor.  After confronting him, Paul accidentally kills him.  Worried about being arrested for murder but also tired of his life, Paul switches identities with the dead man and fakes his own death.  Paul was an amateur photographer earlier in his life.  He travels to Montenegro and takes up the dead man's name & profession   He begins taking photos and rediscovers his love for it.  As a foreigner living in such a small town, he attract unwanted attention; especially when a French neighbor, without permission, submits his photos to the local newspaper.  This leads to a job at the local newspaper, followed by an art gallery exhibit and finally an offer for a larger art exhibit in London with full publicity...with his face matched to the dead guy's name.  Paul books illegal passage on a cargo ship where he learns first hand how Eastern Europeans deal with suspected stowaways.

The Man From London was my least favorite of the five.  Practically unwatchable with its snail's pacing, the plot involves a man who witnesses a murder and recovers a large amount of money from a briefcase near the dock he works.  With the penumbra of noir elements, director Béla Tarr forgoes plot and dialog for extended visual compositions  and stylized cinematography.

Brother, Can You Spare $3.50?

I'm so busy at work, I don't have time to post about the films I've seen.  Work, films, occasional gym visit, repeat.

Two items related to theater going in SF.

First, I wrote that the UA/Regal Cinema theater at Stonestown was charging $3.50 for all screenings.  That was way back in July.  I don't know if the theater has changed its policy or if it ever strictly adhered to a policy of "$3.50 for all screenings," but I stopped by recently to see Farewll, My Queen and was quoted an admission price of $10.50.  This was my first trip to the Stonestown Cinema since receiving an email announcing the switch to $3.50.  Rereading the email, it states "$3.50 all day, everyday."  I guess there is some wiggle room in there but the simple reading of it gives the definite impression that all screenings are $3.50.  I did not stay to ask the ticket taker about the ambiguity of "$3.50 all day, everyday" as I was on the fence about seeing Farewell, My Queen.  The unexpected change in ticket price was enough of an impetus for me to go with my backup plan which was to do some early Christmas shopping.

If the price policy has changed, I did not receive an email announcing it.  I looked on Fandango and could not purchase any tickets for $3.50 at the Stonestown Cinema.  Even the matinee price was $8 for Adults.

As I mentioned in my original post, the switch to $3.50 was not likely enough incentive for me to go to the Stonestown more frequently.  I guess it didn't incentivize other people either.  I have noticed that the theater has switched from second run general release films to second run art house films.  Currently playing are The Master, Killer Joe and Farewell, My Queen.  The latter two films have come and gone from local Landmark theaters.

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Speaking of Landmark theaters, the Lumiere closed in September.  According to the San Francisco Chronicle article, the theater was nicknamed the "Gloomier" for "both its interior ambience and the type of film it showcased."  I never heard that term used but can appreciate it because the subject matter of the films suited my tastes just fine.  I thought the Lumiere had a funky charm to it.  I recall the framed movie posters in the smallest screening room and the small photographs in the lobby.  The Lumiere had the same vibe as the late Red Vic.  Contrast that to the shabbiness of the Clay and Bridge, the pastel infused sterility of the Embarcadero or the ominous and depressing Opera Plaza.  The Lumiere was a favorite of mine even if that statement is not borne out by my attendance data.  I enjoyed riding the cable car to and fro or dining at the tiny Cordon Bleu restaurant next door to the Lumiere.  The woman at the doughnut shop at California and Polk would occasionally give me a free banana with my coffee.  I speak of these things in the past tense because (notwithstanding a dinner at Crustacean) I cannot recall the last time I was in that area if not for a screening at the Lumiere. 

I was unable to see a film during the last weekend of the Lumiere.  I was attending a Hong Kong film series at the equally imperiled Viz.  The HK series was sponsored by the San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) which also seems to be having hard times.  New SFFS Executive Director Ted Hope sent a letter to members asking for donations so the Film Society could make its annual budget.  Where did that come from?  How could the Society enter into a lease with New People in 2011 and run a budget shortfall in 2012?  They had to gut their Summer slate of educational programs (although I notice they have a reduced course offering this fall).  I can't help but wonder if the daily programming at the Viz became a moneypit for SFFS.

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Finally, it's the last week to see Chinglish at the Berkeley Rep.  It closes on October 21.  The play is delightful.  The first act was one of the most enjoyable theater experiences I've had in a long time.  Actress Michelle Krusiec (Saving Face) shows off her comedic talents (not to mention a rather painful looking bunionette/corn on her foot).  I highly recommend Chinglish.

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