MOYNIHAN: Joseph Dorman and Toby Perl Freilich's documentary is year's best (so far)

Boy, could we use him now. 

In our current age of utter divisiveness and lack of appreciation of truth and/or facts, the figure and memory of Daniel Patrick Moynihan stands maybe medium-to-tall. It should stand a lot taller. For those of us old enough to recall this four-term Senator from New York who also served four administrations, both Democratic and Republican, and was responsible for some of the most ground-breaking and important work in trying to bring about equality for our country's Black population, phrases such as The Moynihan Report and "benign neglect" may come to mind to somewhat tarnish the reputation. Younger audiences may simply shrug and ask, Who?

The beauty and importance of the new documentary MOYNIHAN, from filmmakers Joseph Dorman and Toby Perl Freilich (shown above, with Ms Freilich on the right), lies in its ability to show both young and old generations who this singular man was and what he was able to accomplish via his intelligence and perseverance, as well as his understanding and appreciation of the human condition in so many of its seemingly contradictory forms. Consequently, he was able to convince a right-wing President such as Richard Nixon to actually pursue the much-needed goal of equality for all perhaps even more than the supposedly left-wing President, Lyndon Johnson.

As in his astonishingly fine documentary, Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness, as well as in his difficult and hugely challenging doc, Colliding Dreams, (co-directed by Oren Rudavsky), Mr. Dorman, together with Ms Freilich (Inventing Our Life: The Kibbutz Experiment) weave together history (personal, political, national) with philosophy and talking-head interviews that together create a rich and deep portrait of a man -- shown above in his earlier years, below in a later decade -- who arguably contributed as much as, probably more, than anyone else toward bringing the USA closer to its original commitment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness because he understood something that seems to have eluded much of America today: Freedom without equality is not worth very much.

Even more (much more, in fact) that this year's earlier and popular doc on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, RBG, Moynihan is chock full of the kind of intelligence, fact and detail that will keep you glued to the screen and savoring every word. The film is dense but accessible, challenging but entertaining. And, as we've come to expect from Dorman, it never unduly pushes a particular theory or connection. It does, however, connect.

Take Moynihan's famous "report," which raised an alarm about the high number of black families in which the father was not present and what this had done to the family and its fortunes. From this documentary we learn that Moynihan himself was the product of a family in which Dad went missing fairly early on. While no underscoring or psychological second-guessing are given here, the connection between Moynihan's life and his report will surely not go unnoticed by viewers.

Again, though no cheap-jack psychology is offered here, the documentary manages to build not only an adept history of the man -- his labors, beliefs and goals -- but also a quietly appropriate psychological profile, as well. We hear from his wife, Elizabeth (above) and one of his children (Moynihan himself died in 2003), as well as from co-workers, politicians, journalists (Ta-Nehisi Coates, below) and employees, and the combined result is a portrait teeming with life, ideas and ideals.

Though some liberals labeled the man a neo-conservative, while the right-wing called him everything from Socialist to Communist, the actual Moynihan was, as he preferred, adverse to any easy label. And though he sometimes appeared to contradict even himself, this was usually because he made certain he had the proper statistics and facts in front of him prior to coming to a conclusion. Would that more Americans had -- and exercised -- this ability. In one scene, while he was Ambassador to the United Nations (below), he gives a rousing and angry defense of the state of Israel. (I would like to think that, were he alive today, he might find that little state's current actions much less worthy of praise or defense.)

Daniel Patrick Moynihan had a fine sense of humor, too, along with the ability to "perform" -- the movie's end credits display him giving a delightful lesson on a particular out-of-style skill -- and this seems to have helped keep the man and his ideas on track, just as it does the film itself. The world would be lucky to see his like again. Meanwhile, we have this terrific documentary as both a wonderful lesson and lasting memory.

Moynihan, -- running 104 minutes and distributed by First Run Features -- opens this Wednesday, October 3, for its U.S. theatrical premiere in New York City at Film Forum; on October 11 at Time and Space Limited in Hudson, New York; on October 12 in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Music Hall 3; and in on October 19 at the AFI Silver Theater.

Elsewhere? I sure hope so. This movie deserves to play every major city in the USA. Perhaps, once word get out, it will.

Meanwhile, click here to view updated playdates, cities and  theaters.

Demange, Weiss & the brothers Miller's WHITE BOY RICK: a feel-bad film done very, very well

The only other full-length film we've seen from Yann Demange -- a born-in-Paris-but-raised-in-London filmmaker who has worked mostly in British television -- is the behind-enemy-lines action thriller, '71. His latest work, WHITE BOY RICK, is set in Detroit during the last half of the 1980s and is often as quiet and slow-moving as '71 was fast and slick. It is also a kind of real-life bio-pic about the sort of character most bio-pics might avoid: a not-very-bright kid from a not-very-bright family who makes just about all the wrong choices.

And yet, by the end of this sad and surprisingly moving tale of failure and family, I think you'll be glad you got to know Richard Wershe, Jr., and learned his unusual story. Filmmaker Demange, shown at right, along with his screenwriters Andy Weiss and twin brothers Logan and Noah Miller, take their time building story and characters -- especially that of their main one, the young man who became known as "White Boy Rick" because of his seemingly oddball entry into the Black bourgeoisie of the 1980s Detroit. (He was also a leading cog in the Black drug trade of that time and place, which we see and learn a lot about from this more realistic, less melodramatic film.)

The title role is played by a newcomer to film named Richie Merritt (above center), who offers a nearly affectless performance for much of the film that works surprisingly well. Rick seems like a fairly typical "dumb teenager" who keeps his thoughts and feelings close to the vest, only very occasionally letting them go "public." Because he and his family are borderline poor, always living on the brink, you can understand why Rick is so ready to embrace the drug trade.

Playing against young Merritt's affectlessness is that ever-energetic actor Matthew McConaughey as his dad, and the two make an appealing and believable combo. McConaughey tamps down some of his excesses (the kind that made his performance in Gold so much fun) but still brings "Dad" to vibrant life, never more so than in the sweet and moving scene in which he greets his new granddaughter (above).

The supporting ensemble includes a wealth of well-known and quite capable actors, from Jennifer Jason Leigh (above, center) to Rory Cochrane (above, right) and Bel Powley (shown two photos below, at left), plus a raft of excellent Black actors, each of whom nails his or her role and all of whom ought to be better known at this point.

The movie, however, belongs to its two leads, and to its tale of lower-middle class America, black and white, struggling to simply manage a decent life but being used, mostly ill-used, by the establishment and turning to crime to make ends meet.

This is an old story, which Demange and his writers give new life -- even if they do leave out where our "hero," Rick, resided after the end-credits sequence, which is all the more moving for simply using Rick's voice rather than an accompanying image of the "real" person.

From Columbia Pictures and running 110 minutes, the movie opens tomorrow, Friday, September 14, in a number of cities around the country. Click here to find the theaters nearest you.

  

Lorna Tucker's bio-doc WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST. But not much of a designer

Hot on the heels of last month's fashion documentary, The Gospel According to André, comes yet another who-in-hell-needs-it? movie (in which the aforementioned André even plays a minor part).

WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST, directed by Lorna Tucker (shown below: this is her first full-length endeavor) gives us a near-hour-and-a-half of Vivienne Westwood, a woman who has certainly qualified during her lengthy career as punk and activist, even as icon in the eyes of some, but perhaps not so much as an actual fashion designer -- not, at least, based on much of the oddball stuff that is shown us here.

Ms Westwood is, however, a pretty interesting figure. Now 77 years old, she has, as they say, been around the block. At the beginning of this documentary, she questions why anyone would even care to see and hear all this, and then tells us, "If I could do anything I want, what I would do is learn Chinese."

This pretty much sets the tone of a let-it-all-hang-out documentary that bounces back and forth in time (rarely telling us the year) and giving us snippets and shards of Westwood's (born Vivienne Isabel Swire) family history, marriages and relationships, and careers as housewife and mother, punk icon, and finally -- almost by default, it seems, as fashion designer.

Along the way, we're given some fun archival footage and lot more current-day images, meet quite a few of her employees (what a treat it must be to work for this woman! No, no: I'm being ironic), and view more than we might like of various catwalk collections -- which more than once brings to mind the idea that fashion exists mainly to appear "new" and to push the by-now utterly dessicated envelope.

At one point along the way, I jotted in my notes, What a bunch of poseurs! and indeed that does seem to be the case. Poseur-in-chief would be the fellow named Andreas who appears to be Vivenne's significant other, and also seems to have taken over Westwood's business empire. According to her son, whom we meet and hear from periodically during the documentary, this is a good thing. And since Ms Westwood, as shown here, does seems at times to be perhaps a little bit demented, yes, there needs be someone in charge.

Over the past few years, the woman has embraced the idea of climate change and approaching catastrophe and so has become something of an activist (we see a little of this as Westwood attends various rallies and speaks out). But of course her fashion empire remains important, even if, as she explains to a room full of international buyers a propos her business, "Our plan is not about world domination." Well, that's a relief.

Toward the end of the doc, we get the usual round-up of fulsome praise for Westwood, and yet many of the so-called fashions we view here seem downright ugly, if not actually nutty. Notes one woman post-catwalk debut, "The show was just mind-blowing!" Given what we've just witnessed, there must not have been much of a mind to blow.

Early on in her career, during the punk stage, it occurs to Westwood that, "Although we wanted to undermine the establishment, we weren't attacking the system at all. It was all being marketed, all the time. We were just part of the distraction." Exactly. And she still is.

Finally, the question that remains in my mind is this: In the narrative version of her life, will Dame Vivienne Westwood be played by Dame Judi Dench? (There is indeed a resemblance.) Or maybe Dame Vivienne will instead play Dame Judi in the narrative film about the latter's life! God knows, Westwood is quite the performer. In fact, you may end this 91-minute documentary with the sneaking suspicion that perhaps this whole thing was merely a put-on. Maybe even a put-down.

See for yourself and decide when Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist -- from Greenwich Entertainment and running just 83 minutes -- opens this Friday, June 8, in New York City at the IFC Center, and the following Friday, June 15, in Los Angeles at the Landmark NuArt -- with a limited nationwide rollout to follow.

HEAT AND DUST: Blu-ray/DVD debut for Merchant/Ivory's 4K-restored semi-classic tale of India in the 1920s and the 1980s

If it is not quite up to the levels of those James Ivory and Ismail Merchant classics, Howard's End, Maurice, A Room With a View, or The Remains of the Day, not to worry.  The Cohen Film Collection's new release of the 4K restoration of the duo's 1983 film, HEAT AND DUST is more than good enough to rate a viewing (or two -- if not an outright purchase).

This lesser-known but quite fine collaboration, featuring a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (based on her novel), continues the team's exploration of the sub-continent, its history, culture and mores, with the usual accent on the stupidity and cretinous entitlement of British rule -- without ever leaving out India's own stupidity and backwardness in its attempts at self-rule. The ironies here literally stumble over each other in their sad, merry dance.

Director Ivory, pictured at right, and his screenwriter also poke fun at the American search for "identity and inner peace" that grew ever more assertive during the latter half of the last century, as the young and naive, impacted by the Hare Krishna and other sects, descended upon India in record numbers, searching and/or whining to beat the band.

The young actor, Charles McCaughan (shown below, right), who embodies this American abroad, is a delight, and thanks to the filmmakers' ability to explore human frailty, hypocrisy and denial so cleverly and gracefully, no taint of nastiness or the misanthropic is ever felt.

The director and screenwriter also excel at making clear how the British view of the Indians (just as vice versa) is tainted, so that anything we hear from either about the other must be taken with that proverbial grain of salt. Oh, it very well could be true. But ambiguity always remains.

The stories here span two time periods: India of the 1920s, during which the assistant collector (Christopher Cazenove, above, left) and his new bride (the gloriously beautiful Greta Scacchi, above, right) must adjust to both their British bosses and the India royalty around them.

This tale plays out against another of India in the 1980s, where we find Scacchi's great niece, played by Julie Christie, above, setting out to learn as much as possible about her great aunt's story. Both tales fascinate, and both actresses are, as expected, first-rate -- as is the entire cast, which is also to be expected in a Merchant/Ivory presentation.

Also important to the story is royalty, personified via the Nawab (above, played by Shashi Kapoor, who died only this past week, at age 79), who is quite drawn to the wife of the assistant collector, even as Ms Christie's character finds herself growing closer to the husband (Zakir Hussain) of the Indian family with whom she is boarding during her research.

Back and forth we go, but under Ivory and Jhabwala's firm and constant hands, we are never confused nor unsure about where we are -- even if, quite intentionally, we can not always be certain of motive or even occasional actions. Eventually all (or most) is revealed, and the results leaves us satisfied but a little sad, as does so much the fine work of this storied team.

Along the way, we're treated to some gorgeous and amazing set pieces --state dinners and the like -- and even get another small but sharp and juicy performance from Merchant/Ivory regular Madhur Jaffrey (shown below, behind those binoculars), playing the mother of the Nawab.

And so it goes, for yet another of this pair's remarkable forays into human nature and cultural prisons. Running a lengthy but always interesting two hours and ten minutes, Heat and Dust will hit Blu-ray and DVD this coming Tuesday, December 12, in a two-disc set packed to the gills with Bonus Features. I hope that Cohen Media Group will continue its restorations of these Merchant/Ivory films until we're able to see every last one of them so beautifully and rigorously restored.

Andy Serkis' BREATHE walks a fine but difficult line between feel-good and feel-bad

With a serviceable and sometimes more than that screenplay by William Nicholson, excellent performances by a well-chosen cast working near the top of its form, and very smart direction from a first-time filmmaker, Andy Serkis, known best for his computer-generated/performance-capture acting roles, BREATHE turns out to be better in every way than might have been expected. While certain critics have bemoaned Serkis' choice to make his debut directing what some feel is merely a disease-of-the-week movie -- one reviewer, for The New 

York Times, managed to misread the film so completely that she appears to have watched a different one from what the rest of us saw -- TrustMovies feels that Mr Serkis, shown at left, has done a commendable job of telling a story, with honesty and appreciation of what is a near-impossible situation, one that proves every bit as feel-bad as it does feel-good.

That situation is one of adult-onset polio back in the late 1950s that turned an intelligent, vital, healthy young man into a being completely paralyzed from the neck down for the remaining 36 years of his life. How do your turn a story like this into something an audience can not only view and appreciate but find every bit as inspiring and full of fascinating detail as you might wish? Serkis, Nicholson and their cast do exactly that, and they manage to make those impossible-to-contain tears at the finale flow absolutely guilt-free.

The journey of Robin Cavendish, played -- once his body is taken from him, with mostly those amazing, deep-pools-of-expression eyes -- by Andrew Garfield (above), is a remarkable one by any standard, thanks in particular to the help of Cavendish's wife, Diana (performed with humor, restraint and great strength by Claire Foy, below) and his good friend, the inventor Teddy Hall (Hugh Bonneville).

It is the specific detail found in that journey, taking us from England to Africa and across Europe, too, that adds such pleasure and fascination to the tale, as Robin and his helpers find ways of making his own life (and consequently those of other polio and wheelchair-bound patients) richer and more acceptable.

Simply staying alive was thought to be nearly impossible at this time. Making the lives of the respirator-bound more comfortable was not even a consideration -- except perhaps in a certain country noted for its cleanliness and efficiency, as above, where the film's most surprising and quietly shocking scene takes place.

In the supporting cast, special note must be made of the wonderful Tom Hollander (this year's BAFTA winner for The Night Manager) in the small but juicy roles of Diana's twin brothers. The finale is every bit as moving and unsettling as you might expect, but perhaps the film's biggest jolt of emotion comes as the end credits roll and we view photos of the real family and discover how this film came into being and who the person is who was most responsible for shepherding it to the screen.

From Bleecker Street and running a lengthy-but-utterly engrossing 117 minutes, Breathe, after hitting New York City and Los Angeles last week, opens around the country this Friday. Here in South Florida, you can catch it in the Miami area at the The Landmark at Merrick Park 7 and AMC Aventura; in Sunrise at the Regal Sawgrass; in Fort Lauderdale at the Gateway Theatre; in Boynton Beach at the Cinemark; and in West Palm beach at the AMC City Place. Wherever you live, click here and then scroll down to find the theater near you.

DVDebut: Anne Hamilton's smart mix of family, farming, fairy-tale & fright -- AMERICAN FABLE

A movie oddity that almost works and, in fact, comes close enough to merit a viewing, AMERICAN FABLE, by first-time/full-length filmmaker Anne Hamilton, is so interesting and unusual for so many reasons that, despite its somewhat ham-handed rendering of the fairy-tale element, the other genres it mixes and mashes work well enough to hold us in thrall and finally bring us home. Combining visual beauty, nostalgia (the film takes place in the 1980s, but it is set on the kind of family farm where time remains static), mystery and coming-of-age, Ms Hamilton (shown below), as both writer and director, has created a film that compares to little else.

Most of what we see is via the eyes, mind and feelings of the movie's heroine, Gitty, an exceedingly bright and imaginative adolescent girl, played with great charm, wit and a kind of reticent charisma by Canadian actress Peyton Kennedy (below, with pet chicken). As happened to so many American family farms during this decade of "Reaganomics" and its corporate sellout, the farm of Gitty's mom and dad is struggling to remain afloat. Though she's aware that something bad is afoot, her parents are trying to shield her from exactly how dire the situation is. As it turns out, they're also shielding her from something even worse, and this provides the heart and soul of this unsettling and oddly beautiful, strangely affecting movie.

Considering that American Fable deals with rather monstrous stuff -- the details of which I must eschew in order not to spoil things for you -- it manages to maintain a difficult balance of serenity and beauty, while offering up occasional jolts and surprise.

In its depiction of family, the movie is perhaps at its most shocking, since the villain of the piece turns out to be a somewhat unusual choice (which had me wondering if Ms Hamilton has, perhaps, some "older brother" issues). In any case, this role is taken by a good young actor, Gavin MacIntosh (above), who imbues the role with a peculiar brand of American-idiot machismo gone increasingly bonkers.

The roles of dad and mom are played well by the always reliable Kip Pardue and Marci Miller (above, left and right, respectively), while the wild card here is the character who maybe ought to be the villain but somehow is not. As played by the always excellent Richard Schiff (below and at bottom, with Ms Kennedy), this fellow proves to be the link that brings the movie's many themes and genres together.

The weakest link in all this is the would-be fairy-tale element. Yes, this is clearly part of Gitty's imagination, but the filmmaker makes these sections clunk along rather than organically meld into the rest of the movie. The POV is wrong, for one thing: We oughtn't have to view Gitty and this monster within the same frame, since this apparition is coming from Gitty's own mind and fear.

Leave out completely the ram-headed villainess-on-horseback, and the film would only be stronger, for the actress who plays her (Zuleikha Robinson) is just fine and fulfilling in her more "normal" appearances along the way. Gitty and her love for the "magic" of the natural world combined with her strong moral sense provide wonder enough here.

From IFC Midnight and running a nicely-paced 96 minutes, the movie, after hitting streaming venues and getting a very limited theatrical release, arrives on DVD this coming Tuesday, July 11 -- for purchase or rental.