Capone's Art-House Round-Up with Woody Allen's IRRATIONAL MAN, DO I SOUND GAY?, and UNEXPECTED!!!

Hey, folks. Capone in Chicago here, with a few films that are making their way into art houses or coming out in limited release around America this week (maybe even taking up one whole screen at a multiplex near you). Do your part to support these films, or at least the good ones…


IRRATIONAL MAN
I like morally ambiguous Woody Allen, and the reason I know this is because I've seen him do it a few times over the years. I don't know why people are acting surprised that Allen's latest annual offering, Irrational Man, is dipping into waters he's waded into before (with albeit better results) with CRIMES AND MISDEMEANSORS and MATCH POINT. The idea of finding (or failing to find) justification for murder is a subject that is ripe for repeat visits, especially when he never quite figures out if premeditated murder can ever be an approved behavior. Of course, there is so much more than that going on in IRRATIONAL MAN, but that's the part that feels familiar, even if it's not the most interesting bit.

The story begins with new philosophy professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) arriving at a small Rhode Island college just as he feels his life is meaningless—a realization that is sending him into a tailspin that includes impotency and misery. At his first faculty mixer, he meets Rita (Parker Posey, absolutely on fire), another professor whose marriage is boring, and she's seeking excitement in this troubled man. At one point in the film, she makes it clear that she'd run away with him to Spain, if only he would ask.

As much as Abe is enjoying their trysts, he's more interested in the young student with the short skirts named Jill (Emma Stone, in her second Allen outing), who has a long-time boyfriend (Jamie Blackley) and an attraction to tortured older men. Abe resists her as long as he can, but she pushes until he cracks. But oddly, this is not a film about two women warring over an unworthy man. It's about murder.

While having lunch at a local diner, Abe and Jill overhear a conversation at the table next to theirs involving a corrupt judge who has essentially ruined a woman's life in a custody hearing. After digging into the judge's past, Abe and Jill speculate about how much better the world would be without him in the world any longer. And after careful planning and surveillance, Abe finds a full-proof way to carry out the murder, without losing a minute of sleep about the consequences. Jill is unaware of his actions, but she begins to suspect when, of all people, Rita speculates that Abe would be the perfect suspect because he's the least likely person. And before long, Jill begins to see signs that Rita may be right, and her world begins to crumble.

IRRATIONAL MAN has a lot to say about being drawn to damaged goods, about looking for a second lease on life and love, and about whether eliminating bad people from the world is the right thing to do. The film is the least interesting on this last point, although the existential arguments on the subject are quite interesting. Allen has never been one to give his audience clear-cut answers on any moral dilemma, but he also can rarely be accused of rambling on a subject that means something to him, and this film is the rare exception. The characters (with maybe the exception of Posey's Rita) are flailing. It's amusing to watch Abe come to life after he feels like something he's done will actually change the world for the better. His sex life improves greatly, and he's just a generally happy person after the killing, but that's not necessarily surprising or amusing.

I certainly wouldn't call IRRATIONAL MAN a miss from Allen, but it's certainly not essential viewing except to be reminded of what a true powerhouse Posey can be when given the right material. And with this film, I have a suspicion she's working well beyond the page, which might be why Allen has hired her for his 2016 film. Maybe the real lesson if this movie is that the best things come from the most unexpected places.


DO I SOUND GAY?
With a title as amusing as DO I SOUND GAY? and a rather light-hearted approach to the question of whether or not there is a recognizable "gay voice," it might surprise you to learn that journalist and first-time filmmaker David Thorpe's four-year investigation into this phenomenon hits its mark with such a definitive impact and taps into self-conscious concern of gay men that they might not even be aware of. Thorpe began shooting the film after a fairly traumatic breakup, and growing frustrated with the gay dating world of New York City, he began to look into way of distinguishing himself from the gay herd, as it were. Hating his voice for sounding too gay, he looked into speech lessons from a voice coach.

Using this as a jumping off point, Thorpe embarked on finding the root of the gay voice through talks with everyone from linguistics experts to random people on the street to gay celebrities (George Takei, Tim Gunn, David Sedaris, Dan Savage and CNN's Don Lemon (as well as honorary gay man Margaret Cho). The results are a fascinating and revealing look at not just the characteristics of said voice, but how it has become incorporated into gay culture, but also a moving look at the lengths some gay men have gone to hide any trace of being gay in the voice.

The mood of the doc is kept light, but Thorpe is smart to keep bringing it back to these stories of various forms of closeted behavior that have plagued gay men throughout the ages. It's also amusing that none of the men can agree on where the voice came from in their own lives (their mothers, female celebrities they admired, other gay men, some combination of all of these). Thorpe interviews gay men who sound straight, straight men who sound gay, and everyone in between. He also looks into whether possessing the gay voice impacts the way you are perceived and judged in society, implications of which could be deeper and farther reaching than one might realize.

DO I SOUND GAY? will make you look at your own voice as well, and the many influences that went into shaping it. It's a terrific, funny little film that isn't afraid to take things to a more serious and culturally aware place. Hey, every little bit helps.


UNEXPECTED
Sometimes keeping things simple is the best way to go. Director Kris Swanberg (EMPIRE BUILDER) and her co-writer Megan Mercier have come up with a way to tell the story of two pregnancies that is neither trite, nor dull, nor cutesy in any way. In fact, UNEXPECTED pulls isn't afraid to point out the differences in beginning a family between 30-ish white teacher Samantha Abbott (Cobie Smulders) and her 18-year-old black student Jasmine (extraordinary newcomer Gail Bean) who has none of the advantages of Samantha, but they still find way to connect about their shared experience.

Samantha has a live-in boyfriend (Anders Holm) who says he's happy about this unplanned baby, but doesn't do a great job convincing anyone he means it. Jasmine also has a boyfriend who is long gone before her baby is due, forcing her to lean on her already overtaxed family for support. Even before these pregnancies, these two women were friends, Jasmine being Samantha's best and most promising student. But with these babies due only days apart, their bond becomes much stronger as they discuss their hopes and ambitions for the future. Samantha doesn't want Jasmine to give up her dream of going to college, and the two even take a roadtrip from their Chicago home downstate to look at a school that they believe accommodates student mothers.

Disappointments and pressures from all sides put a strain on their relationship at a time when both could really use that extra set of eyes looking out for them. Samantha's mother (Elizabeth McGovern) is particularly stinging when it comes to her daughter being an unwed mother and taking an interest in the poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Even after their friendship becomes damaged, it's clear that the conversations and inspiration they instilled in each other stuck with them. 



Swanberg isn't going for big, emotional moments, nor is she ignoring the life-altering changes that come with a baby on the way. Smulders and Bean are so good together that it's almost a shame when they have fewer scenes together in the final third of the film. But things have a way of working out, and I guess that's the biggest lesson learned in UNEXPECTED, really beautiful, fragile work from a filmmaker showing signs of even better things to come.

-- Steve Prokopy
"Capone"
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