Capone's Art-House Round-Up with LEGEND, A BALLERINA'S TALE, THE WONDERS, IN JACKSON HEIGHTS, TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL, and THE CREEPING GARDEN!!!

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…


LEGEND
There will come a point while you're watching LEGEND, the new film from writer-director Brian Helgeland (PAYBACK, A KNIGHT’S TALE, 42)—and it will be a slightly different spot in the film for everyone—when you'll suddenly realize that what you're actually responding to is a pair of astonishing performances from Tom Hardy (as real-life British crime lords Ronald and Reggie Kray) and not the film itself. Hardy is so good, and the film is so decidedly average, that eventually the two will divorce themselves from each other in your mind, and anytime Hardy is not on screen, you'll find yourself drifting and getting bored.

Helgeland earned his Hollywood cred as a screenwriter, deservedly earning Oscar nominations for his scripts for L.A. CONFIDENTIAL and MYSTIC RIVER. His track record as a director is more hit and miss, but he's still a fully capable storyteller, and the appeal of a story about these demented gangsters (who were the subject of the 1990 film THE KRAYS) who ruled London for a good portion of the 1960s is easy to see. Reggie was the sane one—lean, good looking, able to see the bigger picture; Ron, the chubby one, was literally insane, committed to a mental hospital on more than one occasion and prone to nonsensical decisions and behavior that made him unpredictable in all the worst ways. He also loved being a gangster and had little interest in legitimizing the business, even if it meant more money. He was also gay, which he had no problem telling anyone or having anyone find out.

Based on the book “The Profession of Violence” by John Pearson, LEGEND tracks the rise of the Krays from small-time hoods to influencers of politicians and police in London, but it rarely digs below the surface of their tough-guy personas and their ruinous loyalty to each other. Their lives were certainly interesting and their exploits legendary, but in terms of their actual personalities, we get very little. I suppose we're suppose to find Reggie the most relatable, since he takes a crack at a normal life when he begins to date Frances Shea (Emily Browning), whom he eventually marries, but even the threat of losing her doesn't seem to sway him to leave the criminal life behind.

On the other hand, Ron is pretty much out of control from the word go. Refusing to take the pills that will keep his mind stable, Ron keeps a small harem of young men (including Kingsman's Taron Egerton as Teddy) around him for sex and as something of a cheering section for his twisted ways. He holds a particular dislike for Leslie Payne (David Thewlis), the man who attempted to keep as much of the Krays' business above the law, a practice he learned from members of the American mafia. Speaking of which, Chazz Palminteri drops in at a couple of key moments as a representative from Meyer Lansky's camp, looking to expand their interests across the pond. It's a complicated but promising alliance, which of course makes Ron suspicious.

There's a feeling of the inevitable running through LEGEND. The story doesn't feel like it's happening; it feels like it already happened and is being seen through the eyes of someone who already knows where everything is leading (which isn't far from the truth). Moments of foreshadowing or stray lines of dialogue are peppered into the film that practically project what is to come, and it gets tiresome after a point.

There are times when the only thing keeping LEGEND afloat is the pure thrill of watching Hardy create two such unique characters who are meant to be both radically different and possess an undercurrent of sameness. As someone who would walk across hot coals to watch any new performance from such a gifted actor (up next: THE REVANANT), this movie's greatest value is his work; beyond that, there's very little to strongly recommend about Legend.


A BALLERINA’S TALE
I first became familiar with Nelson George as a music writer, first with Billboard magazine and then as the author of two books—great 1980s works, one on the Motown sound and another about the "death" of R&B. In more recent years, he's written more broadly about black popular culture, produced or otherwise worked on films by Spike Lee and Chris Rock, and gotten into directing documentaries, such as FINDING THE FUNK and BROOKLYN BOHEME. His latest doc steps away from black music, but keeps its feet firmly planted in the arts. A BALLERINA’S TALE is the beautifully structured story of dancer Misty Copeland, the young woman who became the first African American principal dancer in the world thanks to her role in the American Ballet Theater.

Copeland is a bit more curvy and muscular than your average principal dancer, so her promotion through the ranks of the ABT company marks not only a racial barrier being broken (the belief for many decades is that dancers of color or those who were too muscular would distract from the rest of the company) but a move away from the deeply disturbing trend of emaciated body types being the norm among ballerinas. Her concerns about not fitting in were met with anxiety, a lack of focus and binge eating—perhaps in an attempt to allow her instructors to kick her out for her weight and not her race. But after being guided through her role and importance as a promising ballerina, she regained her confidence and reminded the company that her stage presence was her strongest attribute.

Director George gives us a brief tour of the history of black women in the history of ballet, and we even get to meet a few of the trailblazers. In addition, Copeland's history of coming from a poor family, starting her dance instruction late in life (relatively speaking), and her recurring issues with bone and muscle injuries (one hairline fracture required surgery and months of recovery) are all nicely perused. Although it's never directly addressed in the film, anyone presuming that Copeland's rise is some form of tokenism need only watch one of the many extended dance sequences that Nelson is wise enough to leave in to see that she has a gift that is unrivaled.

Her 2012 casting in "The Firebird" (which caused her bone injury) and later as the lead in "Swan Lake" mark the two major pinnacles of her career, and you can't help but watch the performances and not think about all that has come before. The film ends right as Copeland's celebrity is on the rise—endorsement deals and appearances become a regular part of her week—so we never really get to see how fame impacts her work or her ego.

It appears that the access that Nelson was granted is unprecedented, from warm-ups and rehearsals to doctor's visits and final performances while still in pain. Often uplifting and excruciating at the same time, A BALLERINA’S TALE places Copeland's story in the necessary context and shows how placing a person in a position they have earned based on their merits not only improves the quality of the company but increases the diversity of those coming to see this fresh new face, who for once is not a skeletal, pale white girl.


THE WONDERS
The winner of the Grand Prix at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, THE WONDERS concerns a large Italian family living in relative isolation, raising bees and producing delicious honey in the picturesque Tuscan countryside in Italy. Director Alice Rohrwacher (CORPO CELESTE) portrays a family on the brink of self-destruction by many forces—a hot-headed, impulsive father named Wolfgang (Sam Louwyck); running out of money; new farming production regulations; or the family simply collapsing from putting too much pressure on the four young sisters who make up the honey operation's workforce—the oldest being 12-year-old Gelsomina (Maria Alexandra Lungu), who attempts to save the family farm by entering it in a nationwide reality show contest searching for the truest old-school, "traditional" Italian family in the land.

When we meet the family, they are taking on the equivalent of a foster child, a silent delinquent boy from Germany, who may or may not speak Italian, but he definitely does not like being touched. The family sets him to work as a farmhand, under Gelsomina's supervision. The children find out about the reality show when they stumble upon a film crew shooting a commercial for it near their farm. With the crew is the beautiful host of the show, Milly Catena (Monica Bellucci, just seen in SPECTRE), who as mesmerized by the natural beauty of the sisters as she is weirded out by their father.

THE WONDERS is a metaphor for Gelsomina's budding adolescence. The world seems intent on distracting her, drawing her attention away from beekeeping, even though she's a natural at it. She finds herself drawn to this strange new male figure in her life, and to anything that isn't her day-to-day life of examining bees, processing the honey, and looking out for her sisters. She's adrift in her own life, irritable and questioning her passive-aggressive mother about why she's still with Wolfgang, who seems to go out of his way to deny the family anything good, such as winning money from this reality show. She's too young to be the only sensible one in the family, but that's the way her life is presently.

The film also touches on the death and exploitation of the small town, the way provincial life is trivialized for the sake of tourism and a quick buck, and the way corporate farming is murdering the family farm wholesale. But it's when the THE WONDERS narrows its focus to its more personal tales that it excels. Gelsomina is one of the most perfect and interesting characters I've seen on screen this year. Her internal and external conflicts are devastating, and her desire to escape her life is downright heartbreaking. This is an understated but still quite moving work about a family in crisis but one still well within its ability to heal itself before it all goes to hell. It's a sometimes surreal, sometimes tense viewing experience, but wholly satisfying above all else.


IN JACKSON HEIGHTS
The films of now-85-year-old Frederick Wiseman are pure immersion projects. Typically running about three hours, his works aren't about story or explanation or even identifying the people in his documentaries. They are about dropping you into a community or institution (as he does in such films as TITICUT FOLLIES, HIGH SCHOOL, WELFARE, ASPEN, CENTRAL PARK, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, BOXING GYM, LA DANSE, NATIONAL GALLERY—the titles usually tell you all you need to know about subject of each new film), and by the end of the movie, you feel like you could stroll into the place and know your way around, recognize faces and feel a part of the community.

His latest profile is of perhaps the most diverse community in the city of New York, Jackson Heights in Queens. One person in the film says more than 167 languages are spoken in the neighborhood, and Wiseman does his best to give as many of these nationalities, religions and other groups a voice in his film. Wiseman's method is not to interview these people, but to capture them in their natural environment—at restaurants, community meetings, protest marches, parades, houses of worship, or just at work. He seeks out places where a variety of colors, sexual orientations and faiths might intermingle on behalf of the community, and certain themes emerge from this tour.

IN JACKSON HEIGHTS features a rich mix of grass roots activity, especially on behalf of small businesses that are in eminent danger of being squeezed out by rich real estate developers looking for bring chain stores and rich white people into the neighborhood because Manhattan and Brooklyn are too expensive and crowded to contain them. We observe everyone from the local councilman to illegal immigrants in the film, and they all have great stories to tell and causes they champion. The community is a vibrant, functioning place, and we immediately feel by the end that disrupting it would be a huge mistake. And as is likely Wiseman's intent, I want my next trip to New York to include a detour into this essential melting pot of a neighborhood.


TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL
Essentially following the path of the former matinee idol's 2005 memoir “Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star,” the new film TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL traces the wildly successful career and secret life of the movie star, pop singer and all-around handsome guy who was forced to hide his homosexuality deep in the celluloid closet.

The most immediate revelation many of you will have watching this film is just how big a star Tab Hunter truly was. Although mostly bubble-gum teenage in nature, his films were hits, and he was one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood in the 1950s. There was something innocent and non-threatening about his brand of strikingly handsome looks, which both young girl and their parents seems to appreciate. When he wanted to become a singer as well as an actor, Warner Bros. Studios (to which Hunter had a contract as an actor) created a record division to release his music and capitalize on his massive success.

Directed by Jeffrey Schwarz (VITO, I AM DIVINE, and upcoming doc THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR, about the late Broadway and film producer), the film allows the now 83-year-old Hunter to narrate his own story decades after the fact. Most younger moviegoers might only know Hunter from his appearances in John Waters' POLYESTER and opposite Divine again in LUST IN THE DUST. But to hear his modern-day take on allowing the studios to set him up on dates with young starlets (like Natalie Wood and Debbie Reynolds) in the hopes of throwing the gossip writers off the rumors of his being a gay man would be hilarious it also wasn't so tragic.

One of the sadder moments in the film revolves around Hunter's secret relationship with Psycho star Anthony Perkins, who was so terrified of being discovered that he broke off the affair, got married and had children. (Perkins died from complications of AIDS in 1992.) Hunter is still in a long-term relationship with film producer Allan Glaser, who had a hand in this film as well and appears in it.

But the real reason to check out TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL is to explore this rich corner of Hollywood history that isn't really examined much by film historians today. The archival footage is abundant and fantastic, and the current interviews with many of Hunter's close celebrity friends are engaging and illuminating, with notables like Reynolds, Robert Wagner, Lainie Kazan, George Takei and even Clint Eastwood chiming in about what a lovely man Hunter has always been.

TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL also looks at the plight of the struggling middle-aged actor, seeking relevance in a sea of B-movies and C-grade theater. Hunter was happier fading away in obscurity than tarnishing the career that had made him famous. With an eye toward always being entertaining, the film also reminds us that some find it better to be themselves and anonymous than live a lie to achieve celebrity. The film is quite moving, inspirational and a true eye-opening work for movie lovers.


THE CREEPING GARDEN
Rarely has a documentary creeped me out to this extent, and for that I love it. Directors Tim Grabham and Jasper Sharp have fashioned something that's akin to a sci-fi documentary in THE CREEPING GARDEN, a nature film exploring the still-mysterious world of "slime mold," or myxomycetes (roughly translated: fungus-animal), an organism that take on many shapes, sizes and colors but seems to grow and expand at a rate that is almost animal-like, purposeful, seeking nutrients, doing so in a way that form elaborate and intricate patterns that imply some sort of intelligence behind them.

The film opens with a bizarre bit of archival national news footage describing the strange and unexplained presence of a "blob" substance all over an area of Texas (the report even says some residents believed the material might be from outer space, based on what, I have no idea). The film ends with an explanation that the substance was a fungus, which isn't exactly true, although slime mold often gets lumped in with the study of fungi. What makes THE CREEPING GARDEN so unnerving is the combination of breath-taking, time-lapse macrophotography that shows the rapid spread of many varieties of slime mold in eerie detail—its grows then retreats, which when sped up, almost looks like it's breathing—as well as musician Jim O'Rourke's (Sonic Youth) moody, atmospheric, wailing guitar, which indicates that what we're seeing is something to be feared, even though nothing can be further from the truth.

The film introduces us to some wonderfully nerdy scientists, researchers and amateur nature enthusiasts who walk us through everything from where in the woods to find slime mold, what it enjoys eating/absorbing, how to control its growth patterns to a degree, and how it is collected and stored (a visit to a vast fungus museum is equal parts fascinating and stomach-turning). The science on this possibly intelligent ooze is still far from conclusive, but some early discoveries are intriguing, especially when it comes to comparing the growth networks to the way human's maneuver around each other, as well as the way we build our infrastructures.

As the film goes on, we get used to the grotesque look of slime mold and begin to notice its beautifully complicated makeup and lattices and textures. Not surprisingly, we also eventually find the human characters just as adorable and complicated, who branch off their studies into the worlds of art, music and design. THE CREEPING GARDEN is a captivating and unique nature doc that expands the definition of the sub-genre by daring to consider the philosophical implications of a thinking, complex organism with no body parts or brain. It's a glorious experience that all ages will appreciate, and will likely spark both interest, debate and the imagination.

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