Initial Review by Drew

Possessive, obsessive, jealous.  Quirky, endearing, naïve.

The first three words accurately described Marjorie Nugent, as the other three for Berne Tiede.

Bernie was a dark film mixed with a compelling yet true story. An assistant mortician, who was beloved by the people of a small, east Texas town, was taken in by a rich widow, whom no one liked, and murdered her.  That is the basis of it but there is more to it.

Tiede took pride in his work.  He wanted every family to have a respectful funeral and to be honest, families appreciate that and he, apparently, did it well.  What became Bernie’s downfall was one of his finest qualities; compassion. According to Don Leggett, Bernie cared for bereaving, female widows (DLOL; dear little old ladies) by giving them too much attention.  When he met Marge Nugent, Bernie got more than he bargained.

Nugent was not only disliked in the community due to her cold personality but also by her family.  As the story went, she had an estranged relationship with her immediate and extended family.  She rarely, if ever, talked to her son, who lived in the panhandle around Amarillo, and her sister, who lived in the area.  To further the point, her family members sued her for money.  That kind of relationship was reptilian cold.

When she met Bernie, however, she saw someone who could be controlled.  Perhaps she enjoyed his company and Bernie certainly was not fighting the attention – at first – but predators do not mix with other predators.   They need a prey and Nugent’s was Bernie.

That was Richard Linklater’s and Skip Hollandsworth’s perspective and it was what we saw.  There was, however, some fairness to the side of Nugent’s family.  Danny “Buck” Davidson was hounded by the locals who wanted that sweet Bernie to not go to jail but he held his ground (side note: Is it me or does anyone else notice how McConaughey is casted as someone in law?).  To the Nugent’s, Marge was Bernie’s prey and he became accustomed to a certain standard of living and since he was now her benefactor, why not kill her?  The jury agreed.

A friend of mine told me about this film and anytime Jack Black is in anything, I have Will Ferrell syndrome.  How stupid is it and how many times does he do something unfunny?  When I saw Black using his musical talents in a way that benefited the film and he was not over the top stupid, it was breath of fresh air.  With Black, overplaying the role is tempting but Linklater knew how to balance it.

Shirley MacLaine had a limited but fantastic role.  She did not have a great amount of lines but when present in the scenes, her gravitas radiated.  MacLaine is one of the finest actors alive and in her small capacity, she made 85% of the film.  Even McConaughey was good.  He was able to project how Danny Buck was a “good – ole boy” without patronizing the viewer.

The acting was great but what was most enjoyable was the way Linklater told the story.  It was a different and interesting approach to storytelling.  To use interview style of “locals” to narrate is almost ingenious.  It played to the caricature of Texans but that worked.  Not to mention, it was not far off the mark.

Linklater brought in a goofy, over the top actor and tamed him.  He put two Oscar winners in supporting roles and made it work.  That is great recipe for a good story.

Grade: A-

Initial Review by Sean

Meh

As I continue to choose movies that are recognized as classics that I’ve never seen before somebody veto the next time I pick something from the 70s.  Annie Hall isn’t a bad movie but to borrow from Sonny Carolla it just didn’t move the needle for me.  The first half hour is the strongest of the movie and we get to see some of Allen’s wit while at the same time his neurotic jittery nature hasn’t worn you out yet.  My first attempt to watch Mindy made me turn it off because she couldn’t handle him anymore and I totally get it. I also get why some people really enjoy it.  I think you have to be in the proper mindset and setting to maximize Woody Allen. I finished it last night while tired and running the dishwasher in the nearby kitchen.  Tired and noisy is not ideal for Woody Allen, you need quiet and focus to catch his phrasing while he is ranting to be able to catch the jokes.  Because of that I may try to watch another of his movies in a better mindset, Tom recommended Manhattan Murder Mystery the other day.  

Let’s break down a couple of takeaways- the 4th wall. I’m not a guy who is firmly pro or con on breaking the 4th wall but I hated it in this movie.  It was ok in the intro where he describes himself but once he got into the story it didn’t fit- more annoying than that was when things would happen and he would talk to random strangers on the street about what they think about his situation, most annoying of that is the extras would get in line to provide their commentary and sometimes they’d be used sometimes not every time he did it is pissed me off with 1 exception.  When he was in the movie line loudly complaining about the guy standing behind him who teaches at Columbia, it was funny that he went over to the actual person who shut down the expert.  This worked for me because it reminded me of the movie Back to School starring Rodney Dangerfield. In that movie Rodney plays Thornton Melon the owner of a chain of Big and Fat stores who joins his son in college and joins the diving team.  He hires experts to do his homework including Kurt Vonnegut himself to write a paper about Kurt Vonnegut, his love interest/professor fails him for obviously having someone else write it for him while saying, whoever wrote it doesn’t know the first thing about Kurt Vonnegut.  It was funnier when Dangerfield did it although I would say he was inspired by Allen.

2nd big takeaway/question.  I’ve not seen any other Woody Allen films, does he always play a caricature of the New York Jewish male? I get it he’s Jewish and from New York but does he have any other qualities? Is it his age that pushes that onto screen for him being a young child during WWII?

Lastly and to set up Kissel’s research, the loudest laugh came unintentionally when he compared politicians to child molesters. Granted in 1977 we were 25 years away from controversy with him but damn.

 

C+ is the meh grade right?

Initial Review by Phil

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”  - Confucius

What a perfect way to describe “Blue Ruin.”  Let’s face it; most revenge movies are outlandish to say the least.  It’s not often you find a movie within this genre that is brutally honest about any revenge story.  Blue Ruin draws quite a bit of inspiration from classic family feuds such as the Hatfields & McCoys (especially considering the setting is Kentucky & Virginia) and takes an honest look at the pointlessness of revenge and the far too simple means of carrying it out in our society.

Even though this is a family vs family sort of thing, we are dealing with a limited story involving Dwight Evans, a man with no purpose in life until he finds one in the form of avenging his parents’ death when their killer is released from jail.  Dwight doesn’t exactly have a “particular set of skills” that makes him cut out for the job like other revenge movie protagonists.  This, in addition to fantastic directing by Jeremy Saulnier, adds to the tension in every scene where Dwight must fight off the Clelands.  Even one-on-one, he’s in over his head with any of them, so we are never sure how he’s going to escape any scenario.  Everything about Dwight’s journey was strangely relatable because he was just “a guy.”  He couldn’t sew his own leg up b/c that’s something that maybe one in a million people could ever do.  He couldn’t shoot a gun either.  He was an everyman through and through.

Dwight is an outsider in this world he’s stepped into, and we are discovering how it works with him.  The only funny line of the movie comes at the expense of Dwight’s ignorance when he tells Teddy he’ll let him out when he finds a gun and Teddy, almost puzzled, tells Dwight he can get him a gun no problem.  It’s this reaction that gives the audience an idea of what world we’re in.  Dwight’s interactions with Ben involving getting a gun were particularly interest.  Ben gives him a carbine b/c he got it from a gun show and there are no papers involved.  Realizing Dwight cannot shoot, Ben switches him to a buckshot rifle.  The Clelands have a comical number of guns, and despite getting two days to clean the house top to bottom, Dwight doesn’t find them all.  It’s the Second Amendment taken to its illogical extreme to say the least.

Couple the access to firearms with the type of people we’re dealing with here.  The Hatfields & McCoys are a strange and fascinating piece of American history.  The bulk of the settlers in the Cumberland Gap region, which includes the two famous families, are descendants of Anglo-Saxon farmers from Scotland, England, and Ireland.  They are a notoriously prideful people, willing to settle disagreements amongst themselves.  The Clelands are very much patterned off this template.  Their motivation is solely that of their pride.  It isn’t terribly different from the gangland battles we discussed in The Warriors or Boyz N The Hood. 

In the end, Dwight “succeeds” in enacting his revenge, but even he recognizes the futility of his endeavor.  There isn’t much dialogue in this movie, but many lines were affecting and cast a damning light on all the proceedings.  From Sam calling Dwight “weak” in their final interaction to Dwight lamenting the fate of himself and the Clelands due to their parents’ infidelity, the dialogue is sparse and affecting.  Truth be told, some of it felt a little too on the nose.

Dwight is a character I have mixed feelings about.  For the most part, I just feel bad for him.  Macon Blair did an excellent job portraying Dwight as a regular guy in way over his head, clearly having no idea what was going to happen next.  He entered a world he didn’t understand and was in no way ready for it, and he survived as long as he did by the grace of God or his friend Ben.  The audience winds up rooting for Dwight as an underdog out for justice.  He rightfully has no faith in the system and comes to the conclusion that vigilantism is his only choice.  It’s a sad commentary that Dwight comes from a place where this thinking is not only acceptable, but almost expected.  We hear it in Dwight’s voice at the end, resigned to his fate that this was the only outcome.  Who’s at fault here?  The justice system?  The culture of violence that permeates the region?  These ease of access to an arsenal so vast it would make The Bullet Farmer from Mad Max blush?  In the end, it seems the answer is “all of the above.”

Blue Ruin is an excellent movie that gives a grim commentary on justice and vengeance in the outer fringes of our society.  You could argue it’s punishingly grim, almost to a fault.  Dwight’s tale of revenge is not fun or satisfying like many other revenge stories.  It’s what probably actually happens when a man seeks revenge.  Well done on a realistic take on a genre that sorely lacks it.

+ Unique revenge story spin

+ Good draws from society and history

+ Macon Blair makes Dwight a sympathetic figure

+ Excellent directing by Saulnier builds tension

- Punishingly bleak

Grade: A-