Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here. This Thursday begins the two-week period I look forward to the most in this city: the Chicago International Film Festival (Check out the fest's site here!), the longest-running film festival in North America. That doesn’t make it the most relevant or the most prominent festival (it’s not), but it’s still worthy of any film lover’s attention. I can’t remember the last time CIFF had so many great high-profile films in its lineup, and hopefully by the end of its run, I’ll be able to report that it also had a great assortment of lesser-known gems. I have previewed a handful of the Fest’s big-ticket offerings, so allow me to preview them with the promise of slightly longer reviews to come when they are officially released.

STRANGER THAN FICTION

The Opening Night offering was Stranger Than Fiction from director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland). Forgetting that the concept of the film (an IRS agent hears a female narrator detail his every move, and he attempts to find out who she is) seems like a rejected rough draft of a Charlie Kaufman script (it’s actually written by first-timer Zach Helm), the film just did not hold my interest. And it’s shocking that, in a film starring Will Ferrell (in his stone-faced serious mode) and Emma Thompson, the most exciting and interesting facet of the work is a lively performance by Dustin Hoffman as a literature professor Ferrell turns to for assistance when he discovers the writer intends to kill him off soon. On paper the film sounds like a winner, but Forster manages to drain all of the energy from the production. Ferrell walks around like a zombie; Emma Thompson as the writer plays her role as a caricature of a wacky novelist; and Maggie Gyllenhaal as the object of Ferrell’s affections and audits might have been better if she didn’t disappear for huge chunks of the film. I’m guessing the reason Stranger Than Fiction is opening the festival is because much of the film was shot here (although the setting is never expressly identified as Chicago), but I have to chalk this one up as a disappointment. I believe that star Dustin Hoffman and director Marc Forster will be at the Opening Night premiere.

THE QUEEN

You can stop speculating about at least one category of next year’s Oscars. Put your money down now: Helen Mirren will walk away with the Best Actress statue for The Queen. I can’t remember a more fearsome and fearless performance by an actress in recent years as Mirren plays the current Queen of England, Elizabeth II, in the timeframe between the death and funeral of Princess Diana. In the capable hands of director Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, Dangerous Liaisons, and who is expected to be in town for the screening), this film covers one of the most important time periods in recent British history, when the royal family’s lack of public response or reaction to Diana’s death changed the way the public viewed the monarchy. Equally Oscar worthy is Michael Sheen as the then-newly elected prime minister Tony Blair, whose respect for the monarchy is clear, but that doesn’t stop him from making several stern “recommendations” to the about addressing British people, despite the fact that Diana was no longer technically royalty. The Queen surprised me at every turn in terms of who among the royals is actually sympathetic and whose behavior is still unforgivable (let’s just say Prince Phillip, played by James Cromwell, doesn’t come off very well). At times critical, other times a glowing tribute to the monarchy, The Queen is an astonishing and timely slice of historical drama surrounding an event that still stings many around the world.

BABEL

Babel is the latest portrait of despair from Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (also expected to be present at the screening), who uses three loosely connected storylines (as he did in his Amores Perros and 21 Grams) set in Japan, Morocco, and the U.S./Mexico to convey tales of isolation, pain, and ultimately a fleeting sense of hope. The publicity surround this film will probably focus on the storyline featuring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett as Americans traveling in Morocco. While the pair is riding in a bus through the lifeless mountains, a bullet comes ripping through the window and into her neck. In the middle of nowhere, Pitt is forced to battle American political bureaucracy to get help for his dying wife. It’s his finest on-screen performance at a time in his career that we could use a fresh reminder that he is more than just a weekly tabloid cover model. The most disturbing of the stories is one set in Japan, about a teenage deaf girl whose mother committed suicide and whose father (the great Koji Yakusho) is rarely around to comfort her. She acts out sexually in a desperate attempt to lose her virginity, which leads to some awkward and sad encounters with strange men. At its core, Babel is about the relationship and gulf that can develop between parent and child, but it is also about the figurative and literal inability we have to communicate with others (in all the stories, two people not being able to speak the same language is key). This film is just about perfect, but it’s a heavy load to carry for its nearly two-and-a-hal-hour length, and you may leave the theatre feeling a little less sure about the world. Still, experiencing Babel is a lasting and powerful thing.

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS

From writer-director Dito Montiel (who also wrote the original book and will be in Chicago for the screening), A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is an honest and gripping look at one of the toughest and most dangerous places in America to be in the mid-1980s: Astoria, Queens. Filled with the colorful language and driven by a ferocious energy that can only come from the overflowing testosterone of teenage boys, this is a constantly moving study of young, directionless Dito (played by Shia LaBeouf) and his destructive and self-destructive friends. But the films also looks at Dito (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) coming back to his old neighborhood for the first time in 15 years when his father (Chaz Palminteri) becomes ill and refuses to go to the hospital. The trip opens old wounds and sets loose memories both good and bad. He remembers his old sweetheart Laurie (Melonie Diaz as a teen, Rosario Dawson as a woman), and the guys he used to run with, including the explosive Antonio (Channing Tatum, who turns in the film’s most frightening and unforgettable performance). What strikes you immediately about Saints is its language, temperament, and volume. Characters are always yelling at each other even when they aren’t mad; four-letter words are clearly the most popular, even around parents; and anyone who isn’t like you is a threat. The film is reminiscent of early Scorsese, both as a love-hate remembrance of the days of angry youth and as a portrait of a man returning to a world that made him who he is today, for better or worse. There are many questions left unanswered about character’s fates and how Dito puts his past to bed, but that’s like life: not everything wraps up nice and clean.

COME EARLY MORNING

I really liked the writing-directing debut from actress Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy; The Break-Up), whose beyond-low-key Come Early Morning is an honest and authentic look at a small-town woman (Ashley Judd, reminding us what a tremendous actress she can be) whose troubled upbringing results in her essentially becoming the town’s drunken slut. But the film’s real focus is her struggle to shed her hard-learned ways when she meets a man (Jeffrey Donovan) who actually wants to kiss her when she’s sober and have her stick around when the sun comes up. After a string of mostly ludicrous crime-thrillers, Judd returns to the type of role we always knew she was capable of since she first caught our eye in Ruby in Paradise. But more impressive is Adams’ sure-handed direction (she'll be in town for Q&As after the film). There isn’t much of a plot to this film, but this isn’t really a problem. As a slice-of-life look at small-town living, it’s a winner. Laura Prepon gives a sweet and moving performance as Judd’s roommate, who still believes in true love. Without resorting to a series of explosive dramatic encounters, Come Early Morning instead relies on small, deeply felt scenes that add up to something quietly meaningful.

SHORTBUS

Directing his first film since the wonderful Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell dazzles us with Shortbus, an examination of today’s sexually active New Yorkers. Although done with a light-hearted touch, the film does feature some fairly heavy moments thanks to some strong performances and a touching soundtrack. This swirling feature moves between several characters with their own brand of sexual preference and hang-ups. I’m not sure if Mitchell’s message (assuming there is one) is 100 percent clear, but there is a free spirit to this work that remind us that even in the world of AIDS, people should not forget to be daring and experimental. There are elements of performance art, cabaret, S&M, and politics, all leading to the den of sin known as Shortbus, where anything goes. The entire cast is made up of first-time actors, most of who engage in full-on sex throughout the film. Not simulated sex, actual X-rated sex. Shortbus has a reckless spirit that is both refreshing and scary, and the final 20 minutes or so turn into an orgiastic musical number that is equal parts somber and celebratory. This is the kind of film that seems light and fluffy while you’re watching it, but upon reflection, it features a deeper and more impressive heart than one might expect.

This is only the beginning folks. I have a couple dozen films to see in the next two weeks, and maybe even interviews lined up with a few of the directors mentioned above. We'll talk soon, and I guarantee I'll be sleepy.

Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com