SUNDANCE 2015: Capone continues his coverage with two of his favorites so far: James Ponsoldt's THE END OF THE TOUR and Ramin Bahrani's 99 HOMES

Hey everyone. Capone in Park City, Utah at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Here are a few things I’ve seen recently on this particular festival circuit…

THE END OF THE TOUR
The key to making any film that involves a famous person—whether it be documentary or feature film—it to make it interesting not just to admirers of said person, but to capture those who know nothing about them. I’m guessing there’s a sizable quantity of people in this country that don’t know the writings of the late David Foster Wallace, so it becomes the duty and challenge of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter of THE END OF THE TOUR Donald Margulies and director James Ponsoldt (SMASHED, THE SPECTACULAR NOW) to create a version of Wallace who is close to the real man, while also making it clear why his writings touched so many millions of readers before his suicide at age 46.

Of course, the genuine burden of of birthing this character belongs to actor Jason Segel, who turns in a career-best performance as Wallace, a man who embodied both confidence in his talents and also a innate shyness that kept him from being the social butterfly he (sometimes) wished he was. People wanted to label him a hermit, but really, he just wanted to teach his Illinois State University students and live a stripped-down life that involved writing without having to explain his work to anyone. He seems genuinely touched by those that were moved by his books, but annoyed by fans who invaded his privacy. Wallace was a man who only seemed to be a mass of contradiction when someone put him under the microscope, much like Rolling Stone reporter David Lipksy did in 1996, when he joined Wallace for the last few days of his “Infinite Jest” book tour, mostly spending time with him in his home and in Minneapolis for a book reading/signing. Jesse Eisenberg plays Lipsky as someone who was initially, professionally jealous of Wallace’s success (Lipsky was also a writer as well as a journalist), but sees the value in Rolling Stone’s first profile of a writer in years.

The resulting film is virtually non-stop conversation between the two men, with Lipsky skillfully extracting (sometimes with both hands) facts and thoughts from Wallace that he’s initially hesitant to let go of. Unlike the cocky arrogance Eisenberg displayed in The Social Network, here he gives us a type of friendly boldness and willingness to push a little too far to evoke a reaction. Certainly a case can be made (so I might just do so) that THE END OF THE TOUR is actually Lipsky’s story of crossing paths with a man that would define his professional career. It’s certainly not a biography of Wallace, although naturally personal details are a part of the interviewing process. As someone who frequently interviews people, I was drawn into these exchanges based largely on the strength of Lipsky’s interview technique, and some may be shocked by the way he secretly takes inventory of Wallace’s home and medicine cabinet, presumably for additional color in the article.

But Segel is a marvel as Wallace, surprising us with each new interaction and set of questions. A lesser film might have attempted to label his personality quirks as some strain of low-grade mental illness (there are certainly clues that manic-depression might play a factor in his life), but THE END OF THE TOUR is too smart for that. Segel glides from moment to moment with a fairly clear outlook on Wallace’s thoughts on all subjects. As much as Wallace seemed to cherish his privacy, he also seemed to understand that if you agree to an interview, you should be honest and open. If you aren’t willing to be that, don’t do the press. It seems crucial to him that he doesn’t just want to spill his guts to a stranger. He’d rather talk openly with friends (as fleeting as that friendship might be).

And then there are the conversations themselves, which take place like we’re listening in from the table next to these two. If you’re someone that get hung up on Plot, you may be in for a much-needed shock. Lipsky drops a subject into place and gently, encouragingly prods more and more detail about Wallace’s views on popular culture, his musical tastes, celebrity, drug abuse, suicidal thoughts, and everything else you’d expect. But the film isn’t simply an update of MY DINNER WITH ANDRE with a touch of ALMOST FAMOUS on the side.

When the pair hit the road to Minnesota, the dynamic becomes even more electric, bordering on confrontational. Joan Cusack as local book tour handler Patty is glorious as she lays on the enthusiasm just a tad too thick, but doesn’t hesitate to voice her disapproval when Wallace and Lipsky decide to hang out with locals Julie (Mamie Gummer, a superfan that Wallace has becomes friendly with) and Betsy (Mickey Sumner), an old girlfriend. The most tense moments in Wallace and Lipsky’s time together occurs when Wallace thinks there is inappropriate flirting happening. The cold shoulder has rarely been so cold, even in Minneapolis.

THE END OF THE TOUR isn’t meant to be a revealing document of Wallace’s sometimes-troubled life, so to criticize it for not being flooded with details seems silly. It’s a slice-of-life encounter that had something of an impact on both men, despite the fact that, in the end, Lipsky never wrote the Rolling Stone piece, and instead turned their encournter into a memoir after Wallace’s death. Thankfully, the work never turns into some outlandish explanation as to why Wallace killed himself 12 years later, because that isn’t the point of this specific moment in history. Instead, there are moments of pure joy—a trip to a movie theater to see John Woo’s BROKEN ARROW or probing the depths of Alanis Morissette’s first album stand out.

Ponsoldt is a director whose films keep getting better with each new one, and THE SPECTACULAR NOW had already set the bar pretty high. But THE END OF THE TOUR, with strong support from a tremendous screenplay, may end up being my favorite film at Sundance and is an early candidate for one of the best of the year.


99 HOMES
Even if you do it for the right reasons, making a deal with the devil is never more than that. This is the lesson quickly learned by Andrew Garfield in director/co-writer Ramin Bahrani’s latest, 99 HOMES. Garfield plays single father Dennis Nash, who is having trouble making mortgage payments and is visited by the local sheriff as well as realtor Rick Carver (a cutting, nasty Michael Shannon) when he, his son, and Dennis’ mother (Laura Dern) are evicted from their home. The eviction procedure is show almost in real time and might be one of the most dehumanizing things I’ve ever seen, as the family is given two minutes to collect anything valuable before the entire contests of the house are tossing onto the sidewalk.

In recent months, Carver has gone from full-time realtor to full-time representative of mortgage-lending banks who pay him to aid in the foreclosure and resale of the property. During the recent economic downturn, the man was properly printing money. His predatory behaviors are finely honed, but he also know talent when he sees it. When Dennis comes crosses paths with Carver soon after the eviction, Carver hires the handy-with-tools Nash to help fix up foreclosed property, and before long Dennis becomes Carver’s right-hand man, moving up to overseeing his own series of foreclosures. They men don’t form a friendship exactly, but their mutual respect for each other’s abilities is a close approximation.

A section of the film is nothing but Nash going through a series of foreclosures, and you can see the toll it takes on his spirit and soul. He wants the money to buy back his original home, the one where he was raised and where his son was as well. But the worse the hotel where his family has been forced to stay becomes, the more eager he is to just buy any house to get out of there. But he seems especially heartbroken when he has to throw out one of his old neighbors, Frank (played by the great character actor Tim Guinee), who takes the bank to court—a case he should win until Dennis is forced to take action to ensure a loss.

Bahrani has always been the champion of putting characters on screen whose voices and faces are rarely seen in film. With MAN PUSH CART, CHOP SHOP, GOODBYE SOLO, AT ANY PRICE, the filmmaker looks at the working-class struggle in ways that are always hopeful to some degree, but still quite desperate. He celebrates small victories in these small lives more than any director has since Satyajit Ray. In 99 HOMES, his contempt for the rich getting richer off the suffering poor and heartless banks refusing to make exceptions in tough times seeps through over pore of this movie, and it makes it easily his angriest work to date. Before, Bahrani painted in nuanced brush strokes to tell his stories, but with this, he’s tossing buckets of bile onto the screen, and it still looks great.

It’s great to see Garfield get back to the type of acting that was only hinted at in his early film work and on stage. He’s a desperate man who is manipulated by a guy with ready cash, and the deals he makes hurt other people, as he is simply repeating what was done to him. He’s a tormented and torn man who is so blinded by his desire to get his house back, he doesn’t see the pain he’s inflicting. The flaws in Shannon’s character have to do with the underwritten nature of the characters and no as much with his performance. He adds a thin layer of guilt to the proceedings, but it never really takes hold.

99 HOMES is ambitious in terms of its emotional impact, and will likely result in many audience members wanting to burn down banks. Okay, maybe not. But I guarantee you that the next time you enter a bank, you’re going to look around suspiciously and probably cringe. As with all of Bahrani’s works, it leaves me eager for the next on and curious about what group of people he’ll place on the screen that I’ve never been exposed to.

-- Steve Prokopy
"Capone"
capone@aintitcool.com
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