Brave
Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
Starring Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson
Pixars latest boasts the studios first female protagonist but its a shame the character doesnt have a better story to work with. Set in the 10th century Scottish highlands, Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire) voices the feisty redhead Merida, a young princess who seeks to break an age-old tradition while bringing turmoil to her kingdom in the process. She soon turns to a mysterious witch for help but typically ends up with more than she bargained for.
Brave looks gorgeous; its beautifully rendered with stunning detail and full of vibrant colours. Pixar even apparently altered their animation process for the first time in 25 years to give the film more complex visuals.However, given the studios stellar track record in previous outings, audiences expect more than just eye candy; this is Braves fundamental issue.
First off, the constantly shifting tone causes some problems.The movie sets out to be a serious mother-daughter drama at its core but the ill-timed humour throughout often results in physical gags and slapstick, bereft of any real wit. Obviously the kids need scenes that will make them squeal with delight but the comedy just doesnt jive with the overall narrative.
The second big issue with the film is the story, or lack thereof. The plot never reaches the levels of grandeur weve come to expect from the beloved studio and fails to truly tug at the heartstrings.
Brave is a splendid looking effort but unfortunately feels like it could have been a more memorable experience.
YOUR SISTERS SISTER
Starring Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt
Directed by Lynn Shelton
When first glimpsed, Jack (Mark Duplass) is begrudgingly attending a party commemorating the anniversary of his brothers untimely death. Incapable of stomaching the unjust beatification of his late sibling, he strives to set the record straight. But as he details his brothers failings, its his own self-loathing that emerges. Its an ugly, emotionally complex scene that lingers with you, if only because writer-director Lynn Shelton never orchestrates another sequence to rival it.
As part of a minor intervention, Jacks best friend Iris (Emily Blunt) banishes him to her fathers isolated cabin in the San Juan Islands to straighten himself out. Instead, he discovers that her lesbian half-sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) has already taken refuge there to heal from a broken heart. A bottle of tequila later and theyve slept together. By the next morning, Iris has arrived, confessing to Hannah that shes in love with Jack.
After steering the bromance genre into hilariously awkward territory with 2009s Humpday (which also starred Duplass), Shelton seems unsure of what she wants to accomplish here. Initially an entertaining bedroom farce, Your Sisters Sister increasingly consists of supposedly deep conversations that really only illustrate how underdeveloped these characters are.
The unscripted Humpdays success partly hinged on the fact that its final scene was left to the actors to resolve in whatever manner seemed most honest to them. While still largely improvised, Sister relies on clunky story mechanics to guide it on a predetermined course that culminates in a tidy conclusion. Regrettably, Shelton seems to have forgotten that shes a filmmaker who excels when things get messy.
LOLA VERSUS
Starring Greta Gerwig, Joel Kinnaman
Directed by Daryl Wein
Im sure that writer-director Daryl Wein and co-writer Zoe Lister Jones would readily admit that the premise for Lola Versus reads like a conventional romantic comedy: When unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé (Joel Kinnaman), Lola (Greta Gerwig) endures a year of romantic misadventures. However, the twentysomethings would also undoubtedly assert that theyre lending a fresh perspective to such formulaic storytelling. The problem is, theyre too busy looking down their noses at everyone and everything to make any observations or offer any insights.
With Lister Jones also appearing as Lolas crass, belligerent best friend Alice, you cant help but look to her for cues as to the tone Lola Versus is aspiring to. Unfortunately, the obnoxious, shallow, and snide Alice does prove indicative of the film as a whole. References to the likes of Match.com and Yelp.com pass as cleverness and the characters are largely grab bags of readily mocked characteristics. To wit, a prison architect with an elephantine penis who loves Ani DiFranco and rollerblades to his Pilates class is introduced for the sole purpose of confirming that such a person would indeed be rather ridiculous.
Meanwhile, Lola seems to be defined solely by her heartbreak. Its a credit to Gerwigs energy and expressiveness that she breathes life into someone devoid of any personal passions. She manages to escape this debacle with her appeal intact, thanks in part to a late scene that sees her championing the effectiveness of silence as a poetic tool. And if Weins 87 minutes of inane blather confirm but one thing, its that more people should consider shutting the hell up.
