Greetings again from the darkness. Some losses hit hard. When Helen’s dad dies suddenly and unexpectedly, her downward spiral begins. Writer-director Philippa Lowthorpe and co-writer Emma Donaghue have adapted Helen MacDonald’s 2014 book/memoir for a screen version that moves about as slowly as any movie I’ve ever seen. That’s allowed when depression is taking hold (of Helen, not me).
Claire Foy (THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB, 2018) stars as Helen. She’s a natural science academic at Cambridge and has a close relationship with her photojournalist dad (the always great Brendan Gleeson). His death leads her to training a beautiful goshawk she names Mabel. Helen is patient with the bird and spends an inordinate amount of time with the magnificent creature … so much time, in fact, that it jeopardizes her job, her friendships, her family, and quite frankly, her sanity. But that all makes it sound much more exciting than it plays out on screen
Based on Helen’s true story, the time period is 2007, yet we believe this emotional crash could happen to most anyone at any time. Her distraction (which she claims Mabel isn’t) is a bit more worrisome than some, and as her mom (Lindsay Duncan), brother James (Josh Dylan), and best friend Christina (Denise Gough) fret over how best to help her, it turns out time and delivering her dad’s eulogy are even more effective than training the hawk. As odd as it seems, this may be a textbook “finding yourself” story and film.
Greetings again from the darkness. It’s been 10 years since director Phyllida Lloyd presented the crowd-pleasing MAMMA MIA!movie. It was a box office hit (over $600 million worldwide) and was, for a few years, the highest grossing musical of all-time. Most importantly, it was extremely entertaining and a joyous cinematic romp for viewers. This year’s sequel is directed by Ol Parker (THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL and husband to actress Thandie Newton), and though the melancholy is slathered on a bit too thick, it also fulfills its number one priority – entertaining the fans.
The story begins with Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) putting the final touches on the house-turned-hotel in preparation for the upcoming Grand Opening. It’s named Hotel Bella Donna in honor of Sophie’s mother (Meryl Streep). What looks to be a straight-forward story surprises us with a flashback to Donna’s 1979 graduation, which features not only the first song-and-dance number “When I Kissed the Teacher”, but also the first of two ABBA cameos … Bjorn Ulvaeus as a professor. The young Donna is played brilliantly by Lily James, and she effortlessly captures the free-spiritedness that led to the conundrum of the first movie – 3 possible dads for Sophie.
Those 3 dads return not only as Pierce Brosnan (Sam), Stellan Skarsgard (Bill), and Colin Firth (Harry), but also as Jeremy Irvine (young Sam), Josh Dylan (young Bill), and Hugh Skinner (young Harry). In fact, most of the run time is dedicated to the backstory of these characters and how they first met as youngsters. Each has a segment (and song) with young Harry featured in “Waterloo” accompanied by Benny Andersson (ABBA cameo #2) on piano. Young Bill is the charming sailor who saves the day for Donna, while young Sam assists her with saving a storm-shaken horse (kind of humorous since Mr. Irvine starred in WAR HORSE).
Also back are Dominic Cooper as Sky, Sophie’s true love, who can’t decide between romance and career, and Donna’s life-long friends Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters), who are also part of the flashback as Jessica Keenan Wynn (excellent as young Tanya) and Alexa Davies (as young Rosie). New to the cast are Celia Imrie in the graduation number, Andy Garcia as the hotel manager, and drawing the biggest applause of all … Cher as Sophie’s grandmother (and as my viewing partner commented, an early peek at what Lady Gaga will look like as a grandma)! It’s best if you experience Cher for yourself, and it should be noted that this is her first big screen appearance since BURLESQUE in 2010.
Of course, the songs are key and many of the ABBA numbers from the first movie are featured again this time. In particular, “Dancing Queen” is a nautical standout, and “Fernando” is a show-stopper. While it may not be quite as raucous as the first, it’s a treat watching Lily James, and there is a wonderful blending of “old” and “new” in the finale. The only real question remaining is, did the casting director do the math before casting Cher (age 72) as Meryl Streep’s (age 69) mother?
*As a special treat, there is a “most interesting” cameo near the end of the film
Greetings again from the darkness. Some losses hit hard. When Helen’s dad dies suddenly and unexpectedly, her downward spiral begins. Writer-director Philippa Lowthorpe and co-writer Emma Donaghue have adapted Helen MacDonald’s 2014 book/memoir for a screen version that moves about as slowly as any movie I’ve ever seen. That’s allowed when depression is taking hold (of Helen, not me).
Posted by David Ferguson 
Movie Reviews from the Dark 