Capone's Art-House Round-Up with DARK PLACES, RICKI AND THE FLASH, A LEGO BRICKUMENTARY, BEST OF ENEMIES, 3 1/2 MINUTES 10 BULLETS, THE RUNNER!!!

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…


DARK PLACES
It's my understanding that author Gillian Flynn's DARK PLACES (written just before her mega-best seller GONE GIRL) is quite a great read, with parallel timelines, both intent on uncovering the mystery of who killed Libby Day's mother (Christina Hendricks) and two sisters when she was just a young girl. Her brother (played at age 16 by Tye Sheridan) was put in prison for life, largely due to Libby's testimony, and now 25 years later, her entire world is about to upended.

The bitter and troubled adult Libby is played by Charlize Theron, and she is about to go completely broke after royalties from her tabloid-style book have dried up and checks she used to get from strangers sympathizing with her situation stopped rolling in long ago. After all, there have been many other killings since her family's. Desperate for money, Libby agrees to meet with a kill club (made up of true-crime enthusiasts led by Nicholas Hoult's Lyle) to answer their questions about that fateful night and whether Libby (played as a child by Sterling Jerins) told the truth on the stand or just what the police told her to. The kill club members soon reveal that they don't believe young Ben Day committed the crime, and they are actually seeking Libby's help to open up a few doors in their investigation. She reluctantly agrees, for more money, but it's clear that she's in desperate need of revisiting a period in her life she has almost no memory of any longer.

DARK PLACES jumps back and forth between the present day and the weeks leading up to the murders. Various other possible suspects crop up, including Libby's waste of a father, Runner (Sean Bridgers), and Ben's hyperactive girlfriend Diondra (Chloe Grace Moretz), but Ben's love of heavy metal music and the occult make him an easy target. The story has recognizable shades of the West Memphis 3 case in many places. Writer-Director Gilles Paquet-Brenner (SARAH’S KEY) injects a bit of nasty, freaky visual references here and there, but there's really no way audiences could ever guess what really happened that night with the facts put on screen.

Some of my favorite scenes are between Libby and adult, imprisoned Ben (Corey Stoll). She's convinced he did it, but at the same time she baffled why he never filed an appeal if he's not guilty, and he seems okay doing the time for the crime. The film might be a little too complicated for its own good, and some character motivations are a bit suspicious, bordering on unbelievable. DARK PLACES certainly isn't a terrible film, but it isn't a particularly interesting one either, outside of some strong performances. That alone might make it worth checking out (I won't lie, seeing Theron and Hoult together again after MAD MAX: FURY ROAD made me smile), and I'm guessing Flynn enthusiasts will be happy with the adaptation, but there is so much better out in theaters right now.


RICKI AND THE FLASH
You know, not every film that features two Oscar-winning actors, an Oscar-winning director, an Oscar-winning writer, the offspring of an Oscar-winning actor, the Winter Soldier, and the Grammy-winning singer of "Jessie's Girl" has to be outstanding. In fact, director Jonathan Demme's RICKI AND THE FLASH has a few things going for it, chief among them are its musical moments from Meryl Streep fronting a band that plays covers while her between-song banter seems to be decidedly geared toward red staters. Streep's Ricki is an aging singer who made the choice many years earlier to leave her husband (Kevin Kline) and three children to pursue a life of rock music; she even put out an album. And now she's playing Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga and Pink covers with her band The Flash, which includes lead guitarist and her sometime love interest Greg (Rick Springfield).

With absolutely nothing going on in her life and no money to her name, Ricki gets a call from her ex-husband imploring her to come home because their daughter Julie (played by Streep's real-life daughter Mamie Gummer) has split with her philandering husband. When Ricki arrives, she realizes that things are much worse than she'd been led to believe, and she may be ill-equipped to handle the emotional baggage of the situation, but she throws herself into her daughter's life and attempts to bring her out of her deep depression.

Working from a script by Diablo Cody (JUNO, YOUNG ADULT), Streep doesn't get a lot to work with in Ricki. Aside from being something of wreck in her own life, she's often insufferable as a human being relating to other human beings. Streep has loaded her with quirks, both in her movements and her speech, and it makes it seem that the actress is making up her dialogue as she goes. Still, there is a strange and comforting bond between Streep and Gummer that works and doesn't feel as forced as other parts of the film, namely the scenes with Ricki and her two grown sons, Daniel (Ben Platt), who is gay and afraid to tell his mother; and Joshua (Sebastian Stan), who is engaged to be married fairly soon, and is also afraid to tell his mother, because he doesn't want to invite her.

Other supporting players include a nice, all-too-brief turn by Audra McDonald as Maureen, Kline's second wife and the woman who effectively raised Ricki's children in her absence. She has a monologue aimed directly at Ricki that could become an anthem for loving step-parents everywhere. And Springfield is quite good as both an actor and musician (he's done a bit of both in his career) here, giving a bit of weight to the role of the ill-treated love interest whom Ricki is afraid of committing to for no particular reason.

But too much of RICKI AND THE FLASH feels like plot and not enough like life. Although Demme has made a career out of grander films than this (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, PHILADELPHIA), he is often at his best at smaller films (RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, SOMETHING WILD) and films about musicians, such as his concert films STOP MAKING SENSE, STOREFRONT HITCHCOCK, and a trio of Neil Young performance works. But something about this one doesn't quite come together, despite one of his strongest casts in years. Ricki feels like more of a character and less like a person, and while other characters fare better on the believability spectrum, since Ricki is in pretty much every scene, Streep's unfocused work taints everything around her. It's a closer call than you might expect, but RICKI AND THE FLASH, like the character herself, doesn't quite reach its potential.


A LEGO BRICKUMENTARY
I was somewhat nervous about this film, only because I was afraid it was going to focus too much on more recent LEGO-related projects like The LEGO Movie and LEGO-style cartoons. Thankfully, A LEGO BRICKUMENTARY barely touches on those topics, and it's all the better for it. In fact, if it doesn't involve the actual LEGO bricks and the creativity they inspire, it's probably not in the documentary at all. The real focus of the film is the LEGO company, its designer, master builders, and the millions of kids and adults that have been inspired to build using these deceptively simple interlocking bricks.

From co-directors Daniel Junge (an Oscar winner for the doc short SAVING FACE) and Kief Davidson (Oscar-nominated for the short OPEN HEART), A LEGO BRICKUMENTARY gives us a remarkable look behind the scenes at the Danish toy company that only makes products related to its base bricks (unlike other toy companies that diversify like rabbits), and the film is painfully honest about the rough years the company had when it got away from its core product and audience to appear more modern. The executives fully admit they stopped listening to their customers and paid the price. In more recent years, they've not only listened to customers; they've started accepting ideas from them, including one man who gave the company the idea to do an entire line of products based on famous architecture around the world, as is working on making functioning, scale roller-coaster sets.

Some of the most enjoyable parts of the film are about the fans—both children and AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO)—and the way the bricks are traded, original worlds are built and competitions are held at the massive BrickCon, an entire convention dedicated to LEGO bricks. The doc dives into the way the bricks can be used as therapy for learning disabled kids or just as a means to bring shy kids out of the shells. One of the most awe-inspiring parts of the film focuses on an artist who uses only LEGO bricks and had a massive gallery exhibit in New York City, in which presented both original pieces and re-creations of famous paintings and sculptures done in LEGO bricks. Hell, even the guy who does custom-made modern weapons for LEGO characters (since the company has a policy against doing it themselves) is kind of cool.

Narrated with the help of a friendly little LEGO figure voiced by Jason Bateman, A LEGO BRICKUMENTARY is dedicated to the spirit of creativity and far from the corporate infomercial you might expect. There's barely a mention of the many tie-in sets the company has with Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Marvel, DC or Star Wars, and that's because the customers the company seems to value most are people who built from scratch rather than follow directions. It's a fun doc that all ages can find some level of inspiration within, and it's also informative and entertaining.


BEST OF ENEMIES
A couple of years back, I saw a great documentary called GORE VIDAL: THE UNITED STATES OF AMNESIA about the great leftist thinker, author, and social commentator. Within that film, a sizable portion was dedicated to Vidal's notorious 1968 series of debates with right-wing heavyweight William F. Buckley Jr. on ABC during both the Republican and Democratic conventions. Now and entire film, BEST OF ENEMIES, has been dedicated to these debates, which culminated in Buckley calling Vidal a "queer" and threatening him with physical violence for calling him a "crypo-Nazi" (you can see the glee in Vidal's eyes, having reduced this intellectual to a brute bully).

The film delves into both men's lives and a bit into the history they had with each other before these debates. Buckley was a rising star among conservatives, while Vidal was the gay cousin of Jackie Onassis who was a professional button pusher as both a writer and speaker. ABC was a struggling network that couldn't afford to cover every minute of the conventions as the other two networks did, so they provided highlights and offered the Buckley-Vidal debates as commentary. While we don't get to see every minute of every debate, the highlights are nevertheless electric and pure venom.

Directed by Morgan Neville (TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOME) and Robert Gordon (JOHNNY CASH’S AMERICA), BEST OF ENEMIES is a wonderful reminder of the power (for good and destruction) of debate. Events become increasingly heated during the Democratic convention in Chicago, when riots break out in the streets and the police respond per then-mayor Richard J. Daley. Vidal can barely speak full sentences from being so full of rage, and even Buckley seems shaken by the events. It's a remarkable point of view from which to view this historic event, and other noted commentators like Dick Cavett and the late Christopher Hitchens offer up their views on the importance of these ratings-boosting on-air conflicts.

BEST OF ENEMIES is a thorough, expertly researched piece that puts these debates in the proper context to gauge their cultural significance. If I remember correctly, Buckley and Vidal never spoke again after they concluded the appearances, but they were both asked to comment on their lasting relevance and importance for the rest of their lives. I find this subject endlessly fascinating, and if you're up for working your brain a bit during the summer, this is a great place to start.


3 1/2 MINUTES, 10 BULLETS
Nine months after an unarmed Trayvon Martin was gunned down in Sanford, Florida, there was another similar shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, during which unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Davis was gunned down by Michael Dunn, who said he thought he said Davis holding a shotgun in an vehicle that was playing loud music. The fact that Dunn continued to fire into the vehicle (in which three other black teens were also riding) while it was backing away from Dunn's car led many to believe that this was a case of first-degree murder. The older white Dunn maintained that he was not guilty under the state's Stand Your Ground laws, and he was being threatened for asking the teens to turn their loud rap music down. The documentary 3 1/2 MINUTES, 10 BULLETS from director Marc Silver (WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL?) is as complete an account of the crime and trial as you could want in a story like this. The only things missing is a video of the actual shooting.

The filmmakers were given total access to Dunn's trial, taped jailhouse conversations between Dunn and his fiancée that reveal his true feelings on the incident (although I don't believe the jury ever heard them), and Jordan's parents and friends, including the other boys in the vehicle and his girlfriend, whom he visited just minutes before the shooting. But it's the conversations with his parents that really drive home the personal loss of the situation. Jordan was a trouble-free kid who ran his mouth sometimes, but was never in trouble. The film really breaks down the trial and its subsequent media coverage, which dubbed it the "Loud Music Trial."

One of the most shocking pieces of the case was the testimony of Dunn's fiancée who took her vow to tell the truth so seriously that she ended up effectively burying Dunn in the eyes of the jury. The fact that he even had the possible protection of a Stand Your Ground defense is made to seem especially preposterous, but in light of the George Zimmerman verdict, Dunn's conviction was far from a given. Director Silver keeps a professional distance from the events and avoids commenting on crime or verdict, allowing instead all signs of emotion to come from his pained subject, and there are plenty to choose from. 3 1/2 MINUTES, 10 BULLETS is moving work that will likely leave you outraged and eager to react.


THE RUNNER
It seems like about every other week, I get some email notification that a new Nicolas Cage film is being released straight to VOD or home video, with little or no exposure via the big screen, and that saddens me. I try to keep up, but it's not always easy when so many of his recent titles are flying so low under the radar. So when I got a notice about THE RUNNER, I perked up, and without even reading what it was about, I asked to screen it for review. Imagine my surprise and delight a couple of days later when I viewed a fairly straight-forward, unassuming drama about do-gooder New Orleans politician Colin Price, who is trying to actually help his Gulf Coast constituents (primarily fishermen) in the wake of the 2010 BP oil spill disaster. He makes an impassioned plea before Congress for federal assistance, and it makes national news, setting him up for a potential run for U.S. Senate.

I'm as big a fan of Cage's sometimes loopy on-screen eccentricities as anyone, but with THE RUNNER, the actor is doing something just as compelling—he's digging his teeth into a role and giving one hell of a performance. Price takes meetings with potential big-money donors, including ones representing the oil industry, and all they ask in return for millions of dollars is for him to back down on his call to cease all drilling in the Gulf region. He's having none of it, and, as if on cue, an elevator video surfaces of Price bumping and grinding with the wife of a fisherman, throwing his world into scandal mode and wrecking his chances of getting elected. His opportunistic wife (Connie Nielsen) seems less bothered by the affair than the fact that he wasn't more careful and now can't ascend the political ladder, something they have both had their eyes on for some time.

As if to rub salt in his wounds, Price's father (a former beloved New Orleans mayor played by Peter Fonda), also sidelined by scandal, shows up to show his support and ends up just making everybody angry. Fonda is absolutely on fire as Rayne Price, with every word sounding both supportive and wickedly insulting and judgmental. Also impressive is Sarah Paulson as Kate Haber, Price's straight-talking advisor who leaves town after the scandal but is called back into the fray when Price fights for a comeback. She's one of the few people to shoot straight with him, but when they begin a tentative relationship, things become strained between them, especially since she's married with two kids in another city.

With his wife about to divorce him and his continued fight to help the fishing community draining his bank accounts, Price resorts to drinking and sleeping around, but some interesting turns make him a viable candidate once again, making his wife have second thoughts. What's impressive about the film (written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Austin Stark) is that THE RUNNER is no story of redemption. It's an examination of the way a good-hearted, idealistic person can have their soul chipped away when they're on the verge of losing everything they hold dear.

The message that Price is delivering by the end of the film is so far from the one he was touting in the opening that your heart is crushed. It's a devastating (and highly believable) final moment, delivered by a most capable actor. The film itself is getting a sparse opening this week, but I was genuinely shocked by how engaged I was with this material. It's comforting to see Cage the actor win out over Cage the spectacle this time.

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