Another of 2020's bests--also Chloé Zhao's & Frances McDormand's best yet--NOMADLAND

So much has already been written about the glories of NOMADLAND, in particular the fine leading performance by Frances McDormand, that TrustMovies will simply provide a short addition to it all. As directed and adapted (from Jessica Bruder's book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century) by Chloé Zhao (shown below), this is by far the best work Ms Zhao (The Rider, Songs My Brothers Taught Me) has given us because her continuing use of the hybrid documentary/narrative form grows richer and more assured with each new film.

This time, the coupling of non-actors playing pretty much themselves with top-notch actors like McDormand and, in a major supporting role, David Strathairn, doing the heavy-duty lifting via their utterly truthful and realistic performances results in a movie that is close to seamless when it comes to any division between fiction and documentary. The strength of the film comes not only from the performances of McDormand (below, center) and Strathairn (further below) but from the fine screenplay and smart, generally sparse, dialog. Zhao's visuals are likewise both called for and unshowy. 

My spouse reflected, once the film's end credits had passed, that he expected Nomadland to be both "depressing and all about victims. But it was neither." That has been true of all of Zhao's films. What happens to her characters is a combination of what society inflicts and their own decisions. Which is pretty much true of most of our lives, I think. (The rich are, as ever, exempt from the first of that duo, and you'll find few to none of them in the Zhao world.)

There's a scene toward the end of Nomadland in which McDormand's character, Fern, sits on the stairs watching the Strathairn character and his son playing the piano together. Watch Fern's eyes closely and you'll witness -- about as quietly and subtly as anything you've seen -- a major decision suddenly reached, as well as character revealed. It's just one of so many moments in this terrific movie that seems to effortlessly resonate like crazy.

From Searchlight Pictures (Do we miss Fox? At least Disney hasn't shut down the independent arm just yet) and running 108 minutes, the movie is playing now in theaters, as well as streaming digitally on Hulu. See it.

Noah Hutton's just-barely sci-fi film, LAPSIS, makes smart, serious fun of Capitalism, Comcast, Amazon, Apple and more....

Imagine, I don't know, maybe a year or two ahead, with Covid and its permutations at least semi-controlled; a newer, nastier gig economy firmly in place; and internet technology evolved into something called "Quantum" -- which is the latest thing and necessary to have in order to not simply prosper but even exist and compete (of course it costs more, too). 

Quantum also requires a lot of workers laying a lot of cable to connect it all properly. This is the point from which the new-and-nearly sci-fi film LAPSIS -- written and directed by Noah Hutton (shown at left) -- takes off, and it's a point that seems so close to today in so many ways that I doubt most intelligent audiences will have any trouble following the plot and understanding exactly what the movie means to and for us "everyday people."

The movie's hero is an typical Joe named Ray (played with utter veracity and near-zero vanity by Dean Imperial, below), who currently works as a delivery man trying to take care of himself and a younger half-brother stricken with what sounds very much like some new variation of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 

When Ray gets the chance to go to work and make better money as a kind of Quantum cable guy, how can he say no? And so we're with him as he learns the ropes of this bizarre new "career," which, the more we find out about it, seems like the current shit-assed Capitalism (are we beginning to understand that there is no longer any other kind?) practiced by the likes of Comcast and its ilk, with working conditions akin to Amazon and Apple.

From the start, it's clear that everyone is cutting corners (Ray himself gets his "opportunity" via someone so clearly crooked that even his brother warns him not to go there). Soon enough our hero comes up against "unionizers" within the workforce; automated robots (below) designed to work around, if not outright against, their human "proles"; and some very large cubes (on poster, top) that might remind you of, hmmm, 2001, but that act merely as charging stations for this new Quantum process.

Those cubes are maybe the closest the movie gets to sci-fi. Everything else seems so everyday, it might be your next-door neighbor. And therein lies Lapsis' great charm and subversiveness. Even as Ray -- your typical guy who's so busy trying to make ends meet that he has given little thought to why they never can nor will -- is forced by the new co-worker/friend he meets (Madeline Wise, below) to confront what is really going on here, we, too, must look more closely at how our current economics and politics work: For the rich and corporate. Never for the rest.

As the plot's thriller elements unfold, Mr. Hutton's ability to connect all the dots comes beautifully into play. OK: He once or twice gets a little too close to preaching, but mostly his adeptness at weaving all this together into something socially, economically, culturally, politically significant is impressive indeed. And that expensive treatment center into which Ray places his brother (of course it does not accept any insurance) will give you the willies all on its own.

Alternately creepy, amusing, exciting and consistently interesting, Lapsis shows what can be accomplished when you combine intelligence, imagination, talent and concern. More, please, Mr. Hutton.

From Film Movement and running 108 minutes, the movie opens all over the USA and Canada via virtual theaters, VOD and digital venues this Friday, February 12. Click here for more information and venues, and think of this one as the perfect progressive gift for someone you love on Valentine's Day.

The threesome, updated, in Svetlana Cvetko's pretty-but-vapid SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT

Some very nice black-and-white cinematography makes SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT -- the story of two guys and a girl who fall in lust/love/life lessons without ever genuinely growing or changing -- easier to sit through than it might have been. 

TrustMovies, being bisexual, has long been a sucker for "threesome" films (one of his favorites remains Andrew Fleming's eponymously titled effort from 1994). He was hoping to find this a good new addition to the rather small batch of threesome movies, but the co-writer here (with David Scott Smith) and director (who's also a noted cinematographer) Svetlana Cvetko (shown below) has managed to leave out anything resembling genuine character from her three main characters.

Oh, these cardboard cut-outs cavort like crazy and would seem to be having the time of their life -- even if we in the audience are maybe not having our own. 

But since the entire movie and all of its events arrive via a French accented narration rather than by anything organic that come from life, growth, struggle and understanding, these three just plop down and do whatever that narration has them doing. 

Our three protagonists are managing all this -- of course and once again -- via the credit card that the wealthy one has gotten off his dad, so as ever, money sho' nuff' makes things easy. 

These three -- above, left to right: Nassim, Christine, Marcello -- are played by, respectively, Neyssan Falahi, Cristina Rambaldi and Mattia Minasi. Signore Manisi grins, smiles and laughs consistently throughout, and while I understood that this character's life has been made easy via his dad who is a famous Italian soap opera star, I still wanted to punch him in the face periodically, just to give him something to deal with, for Christ's sake! Ms Rambaldi (granddaughter of that special effects maestro Carlo) seems as pretty and vapid as the film itself, but again, the screenplay and dialog do her little service. Coming off best is Swiss-born M. Falahi, who get to brood, exercise and teach an acting class, along with all the cavorting and sex.

Speaking of, even though I am one who believes that sexuality -- straight, gay and bi -- is pretty fluid, the immediate fluidity shown by these two guys for each other does seem surprising, and while the movie, along with its characters, refuses to comment on or even question any of this, you and I certainly might. Show Me What You Got is also -- considering that title -- surprisingly chaste in its visuals: no full-frontal for the guys nor even as I recall (lower-half, anyway) for the gal. There's lots of kissing, though, which is fun for awhile.

What there is not much of, however, is real character. Did the filmmaker perhaps feel that having her French female narrator explain just about everything about everyone somehow made it unnecessary to create full-bodied people? When a very subsidiary scene -- an acting class for refugees that Nassim agrees to teach and that features a "ball of energy" created and then passed from person to person -- turns out to be the best and most specific extended moment in the entire movie, you simply shake your head in oddball wonder. 

Yes, the movie is light and frothy and playful. But despite a finale that attempts some darkness, profundity and surprise, it still registers on empty. What is described in the press release as French New Wave -- ah, yes: black-and-white cinematography, ersatz Jules & Jim cavorting -- instead comes off more like International Old Hat.

From Level Forward’s Labz Live and Screen Forward theatrical network, Show Me What You Got -- in English, Italian and French (with English subtitles as needed) and running 96 minutes -- opens virtually tomorrow, Wednesday, February 12, at various venues around the country, including Laemmle theaters in the Los Angeles area. Click here for information on how to view.

THE MIMIC -- Thomas F. Mazziotti's smart little ode to identity, grief, friendship, sociopaths and more -- opens in theaters and via VOD

While it may not be quite as smart, or even as deep, as it thinks it is, THE MIMIC -- the new film written and directed by Thomas F. Mazziotti -- proves fast, funny and enjoyable enough to keep us entertained for all of its 82 minutes. 

The movie also boasts a first-rate cast, each of whom uses whatever screen time he or she has (some roles are very brief) to nail character, while keeping us alert and often pretty delighted with what we see and hear.

This is the first of Mr. Mazziotti's movies I've seen (the filmmaker is shown below) and the first he has both directed and written, and it's good enough for TrustMovies to hope for more. However, it's only his third film in 20 years, so I am not holding my breath.

As I finished watching the film and then noted the many famous cast members listed in the end credits, I immediately went back to the beginning of the film so I could pick out certain actors. But then I quickly found myself enjoying the witty dialog and performances so much that I just kept watching. Had there been more hours in my day, I'd have viewed it all a second time right on the spot.  

That cast is led by one actor I always enjoy -- Thomas Sadoski (shown below) -- and another, Jake Robinson, whose career I've only just noticed. Both are quite good in roles that mirror each other in ways that prove especially interesting because of their contribution to both the movie's themes and its entertainment quotient.

Mr. Robinson (shown below) looks at times enough like a younger version of Mr. Sadoski that the two could almost be related, and since one of the movie's themes concerns identity, mimicry and character, this certainly adds to the fun.

Further, as much as these two g uys are clearly attracted to each other, the question keeps cropping up whether one of them is a sociopath or merely a mimic, so their physical, as well as psychic connection allows for a maximum of homoerotic (though not homosexual) frisson. Both actors play into all this with considerable finesse and zest.

Sociopaths seem just about every-fucking-where in our current movies and TV, and Mazziotti makes wonderful fun of all this via so many of the movie's various characters calling humorous attention to the fact. Like serial killers (even more prevalent in our entertainment culture) that exist in fiction exponentially more than in real life, sociopaths too are maybe a tad over-rated and over-exemplified these days. (On the other hand, we've just finished four years of a U.S President who is one, so maybe this is understandable.)

Stylistically the filmmaker tries some tricks that mostly work -- moving from color to black-and-white, and using a fun clip from Gaslight. He also breaks the fourth wall and, in one scene featuring M. Emmet Walsh and Doug Plaut, he breaks a lot more. Gina Gershon (above, left) and Austin Pendleton (below, right) each get their own fun camero, too, and Matthew Maher is especially good in the role of restaurant owner/bartender.

Mostly, though, the movie belong to Sadoski and Robinson, and these two score nicely. If you're expecting some big reveal at the finale, don't. There's a little something, but fortunately, Mazziotti's doesn't make too much of it. Or of anything much else, really. This is a small little indie film that, in its own way, simply delivers its ideas and entertainment with enough wit and skill to pass muster.

From Gravitas Ventures and running, as I say, just  82 minutes, The Mimic opens in theaters in limited release and via VOD today, Friday, February 5. Take a chance, particularly if that cast intrigues you. Click here for more information.

Best of Year (so far): Regina King's superlative could-have-happened ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

For all the good things you've heard about ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI, the movie turns out to be even better. It starts well, builds consistently into something richer and more meaningful than you could have imagined, even given the subject matter --  the night spent together by four black icons (Cassius Clay Jr., Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Malcolm X), all of whom had at least a nodding acquaintance with each  other and actually attended the world heavyweight boxing match that Clay had won earlier that evening -- and ends reaching the highest level of thought and emotion of which movies may be capable. How? Best I can figure is simply via an extraordinary intelligence and simplicity.

This is thanks to the film's writer Kemp Powers (adapted from his play of the same name), its director, Regina King (shown at right), and its amazing cast, especially the four leading actors. How Mr. Powers manages to encapsulate so much of Black American history, philosophy and ideas in such a natural, off-the-cuff manner is exemplary. His dialog grabs you and holds you, first to last, and best of all, he does right by each of his characters.

As director, Ms King, who has over and over again proven herself a very fine actress, comes at this material in the most naturalistic manner. She, along with her cinematographer (Tami Rekier) and editor (Tariq Anwar) have the knack of understanding where to place the camera and seize the moment without ever appearing to do so. The direction of this movie never calls attention to itself, and that is Ms King's great achievement. 

Unfortunately work like this rarely wins awards. It should, for it is quietly extraordinary. Even when King moves from the movie's main location -- a simple hotel room -- to the outside and even to past events, all this unfolds so gracefully and naturally that no underscoring is ever needed.

As to that cast, these four amazing actors could not be bettered, TrustMovies believes. No one grandstands or is in any way better than his co-stars. Each achieves his character's major and minor qualities in the most natural, direct manner. The performances themselves keep you riveted. As Malcolm X, Kingsley Ben-Adir (three photos up) brings the man's intelligence, passion and paranoia (that last quite justified) to full bloom, while Eli Goree (two photo above) makes Clay's braggadocio, as well as his talent, not merely believable but hugely entertaining.

Leslie Odom, Jr. (two photos up) lets Cooke's layers of intelligence and enormous feeling emerge ever so slowly, and in so doing makes them resonate all the more, while the quiet strength and power in Aldis Hodge's performance as Jim Brown (above) commands both the screen and the movie via its stillness and subtlety. Sure, these guys were all legends. What we have here are the humans behind those legends.

What the movie has to say about the Black experience -- then and now -- is paramount, of course. Powers and King don't preach. They simply show and tell. I can't imagine that audiences who genuinely care about this fractured country of ours, where it has been and where it is going, will not hang on every word and every beautiful, eye-, mind- and heart-opening performance on view. For me, so far, this is the year's best film.

From Amazon Studios and running 114 minutes, the movie is in theaters now, as well as streaming on Prime Video. Miss it and you will not be doing yourself any favor.

Art and the folk who make it, sell it and buy it get a good going-over in Michael Walker's terrific little indie, PAINT

The best movie about art that I have seen in a long, long time, PAINT, written and directed by Michael Walker, plays fast and fair with all its characters -- most of whom are all too hypocritically human and a little too full of  themselves -- from the Pratt students determined to make great art and their cynical professor to the older successful artist, and especially the people who sell that art, along with the wealthy public that buys it. 

Paint may be a comedy -- much of it is gleefully funny -- but it is also serious about the desire to create art, where this comes from and how it is manipulated every which way on its journey from imagination to creation to sale (or not). The beauty and surprise Mr. Walker (the filmmaker is shown at right) has in store comes from his understanding that this need to create is genuine -- even if, especially if, the creators are often so unformed and clueless that they unable, at this point in their life and career, to achieve anything resembling their best impulses and ideas.

So these three art students/friends, played by (above, left to right) Olivia Luccardi, Josh Caras and Paul Cooper, bumble along in art, life, love, sex, theft, marketing and much else, and that bumbling is often so much fun that anyone genuinely interested in art and/or creativity will want to come along for the ride. 

The filmmaker mixes in young and old artists (the wonderful David Patrick Kelly plays the funniest and maybe smartest character in the film), students and teachers (Austin Pendleton, above, gets a lovely rant early on in the film), parents and children, buyers and sellers -- and all to great effect. His plotting and pacing are as much fun as his people, so that the 95 minutes whiz by in no time.

As one of our main character notes early on, "Is it my fault I haven't suffered? I just think there's more to life that that!" But what? And so he comes up with an idea -- oh, my! --  that is indeed something rather new, and then he gets his best buddy to help him. Which leads to a lot more fun and games at the same time that the female in this crew is finding her own success via a road not so often taken, at least not via the very amusing route we have here.

Along the way filmmaker Walker fills us in on all kinds of art theft, even as he gives us a group of characters who, for all their insecurities, occasional nastiness and naivete, are rather sweet, fun and almost always funny. 

The third wheel in this group finds his own way of connecting to the art world and its wonders (including sex), and the film's finale could hardly be bettered, giving us not just a sudden and surprising look at another kind of  "real" art, but also showing us the unintended consequences that creativity can sometimes bring. 

From Gravitas Ventures (though I dare you to try to find it on the firm's web site), Paint was released via VOD on most major platforms last week. It is definitely worth a watch, as it introduces quite a raft of talent -- in front of and behind the camera. Click here and/or here for more information.

Cooper Raiff's new indie, SHITHOUSE, offers college life from the view of the shy outsider

 

As has been duly noted elsewhere, SHITHOUSE -- the movie named for a college fraternity that hosts particularly popular parties -- deals with the sort of student, a young man named Alex, whom we've not seen as the center of attention in most examples of this genre. 

He's male, all right, but he's also very close to unhealthily shy and uncertain. Frightened, really -- about leaving his warm and loving family, as well as encountering and interacting with the rest of the college students. His stupid and somewhat abusive roommate clearly thinks Alex is a needless nerd and, other than because we audiences usually root for the underdog, we come pretty close to agreeing with that assessment.

As written, directed, co-edited by and also starring Cooper Raiff (at left) in the lead role, Shithouse, were it not as good a film as it is, would probably be pegged as a vanity production. It's still smacks somewhat of the vain, but it's worth seeing, and Mr Raiff at least has qualities that might indeed produce some degree of vanity.

He's handsome, intelligent and possesses a view of humanity -- concerning the circumscribed world of family and college shown here -- that proves to be encompassing enough yet less typical and judgmental than first glance might indicate. And in his two leading characters, Alex and Maggie, the odd girl he meets with whom he becomes quickly entangled, he's given us two people worth knowing.

Maggie is played by Dylan Gelula (above, left), an actress who is fine match for Raiff in terms of nicely offsetting his aw-shucks charm and rectitude. She's acerbic, witty, a little nasty and, of course, as it turns out, a lot needy. Yes, Shithouse deals in some of the usual youth cliches, but it is smart enough to disguise them for awhile.

We also get those frat parties, perhaps the single most boring, repetitive and tiring iteration of "youthful fun" movies have yet given us, and that are not, it must be said, any more interesting here than elsewhere. (Animal House has much to atone for.) But as the film slowly centers around this main relationship and how it builds then falters and builds again, its strengths becomes more apparent.

Amy Landecker does a lovely job playing Alex's caring, somewhat hovering mom, while Logan Miller (above, left) has the even more difficult task of turning obnoxious roommate Sam into someone maybe worth caring about -- which he manages quite well. 

Overall, there's nothing here to set the world aflame, and at 102 minutes, the movie does seem overlong for what it has to say. Yet considering what it does accomplish -- and well -- we'll be eager to view the next step for Mr. Raiff.  From IFC Films, Shithouse opens this Friday, October 16, in theaters and via digital and VOD.