Knight at the Movies ARCHIVES
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Thomas Bezucha's wonderful family comedy comes to DVD, Joan Plowright shines in an intimate drama
Windy City Times, the Chicago weekly newspaper that I am the Cinema Writer for publishes on Wednesday making it next to
impossible to review films that are screened at the last minute for critics. This practice has been the subject of a fair amount of ink
as of late as Hollywood has somehow gotten a hold of the notion that people don't listen to critics (they do) and so, increasingly,
movies are either being screened too late for critics to publish their reviews or not at all.
Obviously, I think sidestepping the critics is an exercise in futility and in some ways, a bizarre act of self-mutilation. Not all critics
(including yours truly) will opine orgasmic over the undiscovered Satyajit Ray and dismiss the latest Alien sequel (I actually liked the
last one -- a lot) for example. Second guessing is a dangerous game -- especially when applied to the arts -- and it certainly won't
have much of a shelf life. Audiences can smell a stinker just as easily as the most esteemed critic can. And oftentimes critics CAN
point audiences toward films that would otherwise be easily dismissed or overlooked in the shuffle of a busy season. If given the
chance, that is.
Here's a case in point: The Family Stone, which arrives on DVD this week courtesy of Fox Home video, got lost in the end of the
year rush and deserved a much better fate in theatres. I think it's a terrific film, destined to become an offbeat seasonal classic not
unlike Home for the Holidays, which is on the annual watch list at Thanksgiving.
So, instead of offering my opinion on the latest Tom Cruise actionfest, M:I:III (have fun, kids) which you may have been expecting
(screened at the last second of course), I offer instead this week an interview with Family Stone actor Ty Giordano, who made his
debut in the film and is available HERE.
And a review of the beautifully nuanced Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont which is getting a theatrical run here in Chicago this week follows.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Joan Plowright is nothing if not a late bloomer and in Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont she is at her genteel best. The widowed
Mrs. Palfrey moves into The Claremont hotel in London in order to be closer to her grandson Desmond who doesn’t bother to return
her repeated phone calls. The Claremont has seen better days, has only a few regular elderly tenants, who down the not very good
meals in the mostly empty dining room. The setting is so close to Terence Ratigan’s Separate Tables that even the characters
comment on it.
Through an accident, Mrs. Palfrey becomes acquainted with Ludovic (Rupert Friend in his screen debut), a struggling writer with
exceptional manners, and he becomes a surrogate grandson. Both are estranged from their families (Ludo’s mother is introduced in
one scene as distant and disapproving and Plowright’s daughter and real grandson don’t even reveal that much emotion when they
finally show up). Though one might expect Friend’s character to be gay he’s written as straight (and later on given a girlfriend). The
source material, a 1950s era novel, has been updated with references to “Sex and the City,” etc. and I’d have loved Friend’s
sexuality to have been switched (and his girlfriend turned into a lover) as well.
But my predilections aside, both Plowright and Friend deliver beautiful, nuanced performances within the confines of this delicate little
story that is much more Mrs. Dalloway than Harold & Maude. If you appreciate small scale, gentle stories this will be your cup of tea.
www.landmarktheatres.com
impossible to review films that are screened at the last minute for critics. This practice has been the subject of a fair amount of ink
as of late as Hollywood has somehow gotten a hold of the notion that people don't listen to critics (they do) and so, increasingly,
movies are either being screened too late for critics to publish their reviews or not at all.
Obviously, I think sidestepping the critics is an exercise in futility and in some ways, a bizarre act of self-mutilation. Not all critics
(including yours truly) will opine orgasmic over the undiscovered Satyajit Ray and dismiss the latest Alien sequel (I actually liked the
last one -- a lot) for example. Second guessing is a dangerous game -- especially when applied to the arts -- and it certainly won't
have much of a shelf life. Audiences can smell a stinker just as easily as the most esteemed critic can. And oftentimes critics CAN
point audiences toward films that would otherwise be easily dismissed or overlooked in the shuffle of a busy season. If given the
chance, that is.
Here's a case in point: The Family Stone, which arrives on DVD this week courtesy of Fox Home video, got lost in the end of the
year rush and deserved a much better fate in theatres. I think it's a terrific film, destined to become an offbeat seasonal classic not
unlike Home for the Holidays, which is on the annual watch list at Thanksgiving.
So, instead of offering my opinion on the latest Tom Cruise actionfest, M:I:III (have fun, kids) which you may have been expecting
(screened at the last second of course), I offer instead this week an interview with Family Stone actor Ty Giordano, who made his
debut in the film and is available HERE.
And a review of the beautifully nuanced Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont which is getting a theatrical run here in Chicago this week follows.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Joan Plowright is nothing if not a late bloomer and in Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont she is at her genteel best. The widowed
Mrs. Palfrey moves into The Claremont hotel in London in order to be closer to her grandson Desmond who doesn’t bother to return
her repeated phone calls. The Claremont has seen better days, has only a few regular elderly tenants, who down the not very good
meals in the mostly empty dining room. The setting is so close to Terence Ratigan’s Separate Tables that even the characters
comment on it.
Through an accident, Mrs. Palfrey becomes acquainted with Ludovic (Rupert Friend in his screen debut), a struggling writer with
exceptional manners, and he becomes a surrogate grandson. Both are estranged from their families (Ludo’s mother is introduced in
one scene as distant and disapproving and Plowright’s daughter and real grandson don’t even reveal that much emotion when they
finally show up). Though one might expect Friend’s character to be gay he’s written as straight (and later on given a girlfriend). The
source material, a 1950s era novel, has been updated with references to “Sex and the City,” etc. and I’d have loved Friend’s
sexuality to have been switched (and his girlfriend turned into a lover) as well.
But my predilections aside, both Plowright and Friend deliver beautiful, nuanced performances within the confines of this delicate little
story that is much more Mrs. Dalloway than Harold & Maude. If you appreciate small scale, gentle stories this will be your cup of tea.
www.landmarktheatres.com
Heartwarmers:
The Family Stone DVD-Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
5-3-06 Knight at the Movies/Windy City Times Column
By Richard Knight, Jr.
The Family Stone DVD-Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
5-3-06 Knight at the Movies/Windy City Times Column
By Richard Knight, Jr.
