Cultural Mining

Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.

Hot Docs is on now with free daytime screenings for students and seniors — get ‘em while they’re hot! 

But this week, I’m looking at three new movies opening now. There’s a pop star in London trying to defuse a former relationship, a ticking WWII bomb in London about to explode, and a member of a former boyband ready to explode as a solo artist.

Mother Mary

Wri/Dir: David Lowery (The Old Man and the Gun, The Green Knight, A Ghost Story)

Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel) is a major fashion designer in London. She works out of her home, an enormous spare wooden structure, built centuries earlier from weathered wood. She is preparing for her next big show. But she feels a presence approaching, almost like a dream. It’s Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) a pop superstar, ready to embark on her new tour. But the reclusive singer needs something from Sam, a new dress, one that only she could make. Which is all well and good, except that they haven’t spoken in a decade, since Mother Mary severed all ties. They weren’t just friends before, they were extremely close. Sam is the one who  created Mother Mary’s entire public image, from religious garb to medieval halos she crafted by hand. And then Mother Mary abruptly dumped her. Why should Sam lift a finger for someone who hurt her so badly? Because Mary has a song to play for her, a dance to perform, and a story to tell, after which, Sam will surely make her that dress. 

Mother Mary is a surreal fairytale about a quasi-sexual relationship between two powerful celebrities, told by them in a series of monologues and performances. It’s a story full of blood, sweat and tears… especially tears. And that’s one of the biggest problems with this movie. Anne Hathaway is a non-stop waterworks, with tears running down her cheeks for the entire two hours. How can you be affected by an emption when it’s the same emotion for the entire movie? I have a pretty high tolerance for suspension of disbelief, essential to watching any movie. And director Lowery loves introducing ghosts and the supernatural into his works. I like his movies a lot. But at some point in this one, something clicked in my brain and I went from hmm, interesting to what a load of crap. I like the stylized set draped with colourful cloth, the dream-like quality, the human bodily contortions… and Michaela Coel is a fantastic actor, but even she can’t save this heavy-winded dud.

This movie is just stupid.

Fuze

Dir: David Mackenzie (Starred up, Relay) 

It’s morning at a construction site in Paddington, London, when a man in a bulldozer uncovers an unexploded bomb. Apparently the missile landed there during WWII, and was only dug up now. But because of its size it could trigger an enormous explosion killing thousands. So the entire area is evacuated and the detonation experts are trucked in from an army base. Head of that team is Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a major with nerves of steel.  He knows all the techniques. At the same time the metropolitan police are handling it offsite, under Chief Superintendent Zuzana Greenfield (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). And while all this is going on, a third group is operating on the sly within the evacuated zone. A group of bank robbers (including Sam Worthington and Theo James) are using the distraction to drill through a wall so they can plunder the safety deposit boxes. They leave behind heavy gold bricks, going instead for jewels and cash. Then, all at once, the bomb at the construction site starts ticking after 75 years, signalling an imminent explosion. Can the police and military defuse this dangerous weapon? Why did the bank robbers choose this particular bank on this particular day? And what will happen if the bomb explodes?

Fuze is a suspense action thriller about intrigue and double and triple crossing. It’s full of chase scenes, fights, and a few crucial surprises. But this is a high-concept movie — a bank-robbery happening at the same time as a WWII bomb is being defused —  which doesn’t hold up to scrutiny or logic. The cast is good-looking but the characters are total blanks, meat-puppets with nary a personality among them. (Ok, Theo James does greedy and snivelling pretty well). And the movie is inconsistent, switching from tense thriller, to bloody violence, to silly heist.

Fuze is an acceptable action movie, just don’t look for anything deep or even coherent.

Michael

Dir: Antoine Fuqua (The Magnificent Seven, Olympus Has Fallen)

It’s the 1960s in Gary, Indiana. Joseph Jackson (Coleman Domingo) is a crane operator for US Steel. With his wife Katherine, they are raising nine kids. He vows to elevate his working-class family out of the steel mills into a future of fame and fortune: Sunny Days. And he plans to do this using five of his sons — Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael — to form a pop band. The Jackson 5 practice their songs and synchronized dance moves under Joseph’s watchful eye, who is quick to point out any mistake, and punish them accordingly. Even little Michael (Juliano Valdi), the youngest and the lead singer, is not immune to Joseph’s leather belt. He belittles the boy and calls him “big nose”, planting seeds of insecurity and self-consciousness. Joseph keeps him out of school for rehearsals and gigs, leaving Michael with no chance to make friends. He seeks solace with his toys and children’s books like Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz. Eventually the group works their way up to a famous club in Chicago where they are spotted and signed by a Motown exec. They move out to California where stardom awaits, and soon are topping the charts. Berry Gordy and his mom keep telling him, Michael you’re a special boy.

Flash forward to the late 1970s, and the adult Michael (Jaafar Jackson, his actual nephew) is even more famous now, though he still lives in the toy-filled bedroom of his parents mansion. He’s ready to make it on his own. He hires a new manager to replace his dad, releases albums with Quincy Jones, and puts out the most expensive music video ever made: Thriller. He also starts changing his appearance through plastic surgery, starting with his nose. And he hides the white patches on his skin — caused by vitiligo — with elaborate makeup, clothes and a glove. But his father still holds sway over his life, forcing him to tour again with his brothers. What’s to come in Michael’s future? And will he ever have a real friend?

Michael is a true-ish biopic about two decades of the pop icon’s life, from the 1960s to the 80s. Michael is portrayed as a talented but lonely man-boy, who never really leaves his abusive childhood, but remains a saintly philanthropist who only wants to help other people. His only friends are animals like Bubbles the chimp, his bodyguard and his manager (Miles Teller). The clear villain here is Joseph, his dad. 

This biopic leaves out a lot. 

The real Michael Jackson was a semi-sexual icon at his peak. He always added sexualized pants and groans to all his singing and constantly grabbed his crotch. The movie version is beatific and totally asexual, with a non-stop creepy smile and zero charisma. His sister Janet Jackson, once a superstar herself, has been completely erased from the story, as if she never existed (presumably due to legal conflicts). Also missing is his ardent religious background and his incredible personal wealth (eg he bought The Beatles back catalogue in 1985).  And the alleged scandals at  Neverland Ranch all happened after the movie ends. (He was brought to trial on charges of child sexual abuse in 2005, but was acquitted of all charges).

But what redeems this movie is the fact that 80% of it is his songs, whether on stage, at concerts or filming videos. Juliano Valdi is fantastic as the young Michael, while Jaafar Jackson  (who has a great voice) plays the adult Michael as weird. And Coleman Domingo is totally over the top — sometimes to the point of laughter — as his greed-and power-obsessed Dad.

Don’t see Michael for the story; see it for the music.

Mother Mary, Fuze, and Michael all open this weekend in Toronto; check your local listings. 

This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website culturalmining.com