Surely one of the reasons the Academy decided to expand its Best Film category from 5 to 10 films has to be Frozen River, a 2008 independent film directed by Courtney Hunt. Nominated for Best Actress, Melissa Leo plays a woman desperately trying to better her life and the lives of her two sons after her husband has deserted her. The river of the title is on the border of the U.S. and Canada. When life comes crushing down on Ray Eddy, she resorts to carrying illegal immigrants across the frozen river. Her partner is an outcast Mohawk girl who declares that a white driver will never be stopped by the police. The complications that ensue create a realistic drama filled with tension and tragedy. Now, if this sounds like a real downer, it is. But it is also one of the most involving films I have seen since In the Bedroom, another family drama that enthralled many of us a few years ago. In both, the characters are fully believable beings stretched to their breaking points, and in both the acting is superior to that of many award winners. Frozen River and In the Bedroom are both available on DVD.
On the big screen Johnny Depp is blazing away in Michael Mann's smart and shiny new gangster film Public Enemies. It's plural for several reasons. First, it is not to be confused with James Cagney's classic film from 1931. And, John Dillinger, who Depp plays with a rough suaveness that this guy probably never had, is joined by a rather dense Pretty Boy Floyd and a crazed Baby Face Nelson. But this movie concentrates its energies on sleek cars, tense bank heists and escapes, and a touching love affair. Dillinger's moll is played by the superb French actress Marion Cottiard, who won one of the most deserved Oscars in film history as Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. The camera loves both of these people and they recall the great days of key lighting and shimmering images of Tyrone Power, Greta Garbo, and many more. Some criticized this film as being cold and lifeless. Perhaps they sat through Transformers 2 and went to sleep. Public Enemies has all the virtues of Mann's best works: Last of the Mohicans, Miami Vice(the tv series), and Manhunter. Mann's visual and aural sensibilities are beautifully attuned to his subjects, yet style never overwhelms substance.
Not a shot is wasted in this fast, slick melodrama. Whether it is the parade of polished vintage cars or Marion Cottiard's flickering, tear-filled eyes, Mann is first and foremost a teller of beautiful tales. Both Cottiard as Dillinger's woman and Johnny Depp as the man himself manage to be both larger than life fashion icons as well as believable human beings. Mann also gives fair time and understanding to the law with Billy Cruddup almost stealing the film as a steely but pompous (and potentially dangerous) J. Edgar Hoover and a stern, close-mouthed Christian Bale as the chief investigator. Public Enemies is a feast for the eye and the mind.
Do we still care what happens to Harry Potter? You Betcha! In the sixth installment of this phenomenally popular film series, Harry and his friends are beset by death-eaters, an unsettling Draco, a fiendishly amusing Helena Bonham Carter, and raging hormones. Not much happens in Half-Blood Prince, yet it is consistently entertaining, suspenseful, and heartfelt. Yes, one of our major characters dies at the wands of the evil ones, but as he puts it, it was meant to be. There is also a great deal of humor in this episode, particularly driven by the awkwardness of friends in a boarding school falling in love. In that closed enviornment (I taught at a Hogwarts for 46 years!), everyone snoops or knows what the latest snog story is.
Amazingly, this series has grown up and its audience has grown with it. Now any person from kids to the retired set can enjoy Harry and his growth. All you need is imagination.
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I just saw Frozen River last week, and it is remarkable. I would put Ballast in the same category. It's a very subdued, but very enthralling story about people most of us would never look at twice. Like Frozen River, it holds out the possibility of redemption without once resorting to sentimentality or formula.
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