Greetings again from the darkness. So many people allow unresolved issues from their past to weigh down or complicate their efforts to live for today. Writer-director Andrew Haigh has loosely adapted the 1987 novel “Strangers” by Taichi Yamada most notably by a shifting of locale and gender. It features the powerful literary trio of loss, loneliness, and love, none of which come easy for Adam, played beautifully here by Andrew Scott.
Adam is a reserved London-based writer in his 40’s who recognizes that he has failed to fully repress one particular fact of his childhood. Since his parents died in a car crash thirty years ago when he was twelve, he never had the opportunity to come out to them as gay. Now, he is often burdened by being the kid/grown-up whose parents never go to know the real Adam.
An unusual meet-cute in the mostly vacant apartment tower they both reside in, has neighbor Harry (a terrific Paul Mescal) knocking on Adam’s door carrying a bottle of spirits. Adam turns him away, but there’s clearly an attraction. The progression after this night leads Adam down a tricky road. His writing forces him to face the lingering complexity with his parents, and this occurs in a few excellent sequences with Adam re-visiting his childhood home (actually director Haigh’s childhood home) and finding his parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy) living there, unaged since he last saw them. Adam comes out separately to each, resulting in quite different reactions. Mom’s words, “It’s a sad life, isn’t it?” cut like a knife while also emphasizing the social changes over the past 30 years. After claiming he would have been one of those schoolyard bullies, dad confesses he’s sorry for not coming to Adam’s room when he was crying.
These interactions with the past allow Adam to begin to move forward, and that includes Harry, who has his own issues with the past. Together, the two are natural, and their debate of queer versus gay is beautifully executed. We understand how Adam dealing with his grief and guilt opens him up to a hopeful future of love, as leaving the past behind delivers the courage necessary to open up. Taichi Yamada recently passed away (November 2023), and it’s likely he would have approved of Haigh’s film. Andrew Haigh is proving to be quite an artist with this latest on the heels of his LEAN ON PETE (2017), 45 YEARS (2015), and a couple episodes of “The OA”. This film is somber and slow moving, but the direction is excellent and the two leads Scott and Mescal (rumored to be the next James Bond) make this work.
Opening in theaters on December 22, 2023
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. It appears as though I’m one of the few early viewers who walked away without having been beguiled or enraptured with this musical prequel to Roald Dahl’s 1964 story, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. Full disclosure requires me to admit that I actually found it a bit dull, and that’s mostly due to the lead performance by Timothy Chalamet. I understand that he’s the hottest young actor working today, and brings along an entire fan base, but for me, Willy Wonka should have a twinkle in his eye, a spring in his step, and enough charm to draw folks in … even at a younger age.
Greetings again from the darkness. Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos is possibly the most divisive director working today. Movie goers tend to either love his films like THE FAVOURITE (2018), THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (2017), THE LOBSTER (2015), and DOGTOOTH (2009) or walk away baffled that any decent human being could enjoy such dark works of strangeness and oddity. Despite this, two of his films have received Oscar nominations, and this latest may be both his most accessible and most outrageous project yet. It’s also a rare outing where Lanthimos left the writing to others. His co-writer on THE FAVOURITE, Tony McNamara (“The Great”) has adapted the screenplay from the 1992 novel by renowned Scottish writer Alasdair Gray, whose tome was influenced by Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”.
Greetings again from the darkness. Fast approaching his 83rd birthday, legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki claims this is the final film of his illustrious career. In 2015, he was presented with an honorary Oscar, and he has had three films nominated for Best Animated Feature: THE WIND RISES (2013), HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (2005), and Oscar winner SPIRITED AWAY (2002). His career in animation dates back to the early 1960’s and this latest, which took six-plus years to complete, proves he is still amongst the best.
Greetings again from the darkness. David Bowie’s 1975 song “Fame” has a line, “Fame … what you get is no tomorrow”, and that stuck with me during the second half of this terrific and wild film from Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli (SICK OF MYSELF, 2022). Borgli not only tackles the issue of sudden fame and the weight that goes with it, but he also comments on ego and today’s cancel culture. Subtext runs throughout a film that feels descended from the mind of Charlie Kaufman and/or Spike Jonze.
Greetings again from the darkness. Alien invasion movies have long been a favorite of science-fiction filmmakers, as well as platform for those who strive to caution us to our societal missteps and wrong choices along life’s muddy path. Within the past couple of weeks I watched JULES (2023), a cute, heart-warming story about an alien who crash-lands in Pennsylvania and is cared for by Ben Kingsley’s character. Going back further we have the thoughtful ARRIVAL (2016), the outlandish MEN IN BLACK (1997), the precious E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) from Spielberg, the frightening ALIEN (1979) by James Cameron, the often-re-made WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953), and the classic FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956). Of course, this is but a tiny portion of the complete list, but it gives some idea of the long-lived fascination.
Greetings again from the darkness. Adapting literary works for the big screen is common practice; however, the stakes are a bit higher when dealing with a beloved classic Asian work that is more than 400 years old. “Journey to the West” was initially written during the Ming Dynasty and no original author has ever been confirmed. The stories were re-imagined for an English audience in 1942 by Arthur Waley and published as “Monkey”, and now director Anthony Stacchi and co-writers Steve Bencich, Ron J Friedman, and Rita Hsiao have brought their vision to the screen … focusing on one specific segment of the story.
Greetings again from the darkness. Senior citizens sometimes nearly cease to exist for the outside world, or at best, are humored in a ‘there-there’ manner. So, what do you think happens when an elderly gentleman in a small western Pennsylvania town repeats the same suggestions at multiple City Council meetings, and then, in a nonchalant way, mentions that a spaceship crash-landed in his backyard, damaging his azaleas and birdbath? Right, others just shrug and move on, assuming the ol’ geezer is just imagining things.
Greetings again from the darkness. A reasonable assumption could be made that a movie based on a doll so popular with pre-adolescent girls would be geared towards that audience. However, this is the era of comic book movies targeting “grown-ups”, and since we know, based on her previous work (the exceptional LADY BIRD, 2017), Greta Gerwig is an intelligent filmmaker, a more reasonable assumption is that she purposefully aimed the movie at women who once played with Barbie dolls and now fill their days with work, family, and adulting. This strategy has proven to be box office gold, and the heavy dose of cosplay at screenings proves the lasting impact this plastic doll has had on many women who lined up for tickets.
Greetings again from the darkness. “They look like snakes.” It’s such a simple line of dialogue, yet after 42 years and four previous movies, we know exactly what that means to retiring archaeology professor, Dr. Henry Jones, best known to all as the swashbuckling Indiana Jones. As the final chapter of the beloved franchise, this entry is the first one not directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg (listed here as an Executive Producer). Instead, James Mangold takes the reins, and also shares writing credit with his frequent collaborators Jez Butterworth and John Henry Butterworth, as well as “Indiana Jones” veteran David Koepp. Of course, George Lucas and Philip Kaufman receive credit for their original characters.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 