[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s movie and TV reviews of Blitz and Emilia Perez.
Saorise Ronan and (screen son) Elliot Heffernan go to Hell and back in Steve McQueen’s ambitious Blitz, about the bombing of London in the early days of World War II—and of George (Heffernan) and his eventful journey to reunite with his mother, Rita (Ronan) after he, along with thousands of other children, were evacuated from London “for their own good.” While you might expect this to be a story about British courage, admirable behavior and “stiff upper lip” resolve in the face of unceasing calamity—McQueen (who wrote and directed) is telling a different tale. Because George is biracial and noticeably “different,’ his desire to return begins the minute he is forced to part from Rita. His fellow evacuees taunt and belittle him, which spurs him on to jump the train and head back to London to find his mother. For her part, Mom is working, volunteering to help, singing to boost morale (Hans Zimmer contributed the score and some “period’ songs). When she discovers that her son never made it to his destination, she becomes determined to find him, despite a marked lack of sympathy from coworkers and supervisors.
As the film progresses, the viewers are shown an England not too tolerant toward “outsiders,” and we are shown (in flashbacks) why the unpleasant, demeaning circumstances toward George’s father that made Ronan’s character a single mom. The “present” is none too compassionate either, and George’s journey leads him into some Dickensian difficulties, namely some thieves and looters who use him to help profit from the misery and the mounting death toll. Blitz does impress on a technical level, particularly an underground flooding, and its graphic depictions of the raids and their aftermath. However, as visually impressive as it is, it is not as emotionally involving as it could be (though the performances are good); the end should wring from the viewer more than just relief, but it wasn’t the case with me. Your feelings may be different, so you may want to see it on a big screen (though it is currently on AppleTV+).
So there’s this Mexican drug cartel kingpin “Manitas” Del Monte who has it all: evil empire, beautiful wife, a few kids. The problem is…he wants to give it all up and become a woman. Therein lies the hook for Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez, a film unlike anything you’ll see this year. It’s a little bit musical (not the Wicked kind), crime drama, dysfunctional family drama, love story, and social commentary—not that it’s a particularly good or cohesive movie (tonally, it’s all over the place) but it does hold one’s interest. It has been getting a lot of attention, especially since the main character is played by transgender actor Karla Sofia Gascon, as both Manitas and as newly minted Emilia Perez. Gascon is fine in both incarnations, calmly exuding menace and regret as Manitas, as well as the sophistication and compassion as the new Emilia. Zoe Saldana is equally good as the disheartened, reluctant lawyer who helps Manitas/Emilia with both the gender change and her subsequent philanthropic efforts (as a way of making up for a very tarnished past. Selena Gomez is also good, exuding raw power as Manitas’ widow who is drawn back into Emilia’s orbit—not knowing Manitas is Emilia, she has her own plans for her future—one that leads to complications. There are some effective numbers, especially those featuring Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez in which their emotions are laid bare, and Garcon is particularly powerful when the polish and veneer is stripped in the face of some (not unexpected) third-act developments. However, despite all the best efforts, the film doesn’t quite come off—aside from Zoe Saldana’s lawyer, it’s hard to care about what happens to any of the main characters, for whom happiness is elusive no matter where (and who) they are.
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Mike Peros
José Ferrer: Success and Survival
Dan Duryea: Heel with a Heart
Published by University Press of Mississippi