TFCA Friday: Week of Oct. 11

October 11, 2024

The Apprentice | Mongrel Media

Welcome to TFCA Friday, a weekly round-up of film reviews and articles by TFCA members.

 

In Release this Week

 

The Apprentice (dir. Ali Abbasi)

 

“[I]t won’t set the world on fire cinematically, it offers a terrifying, fact-based glimpse into what made the man who he is today.  The remarkably versatile Sebastian Stan plays Trump. His physical transformation – the pursed mouth-hole, the dumpy look and walk, those hand gestures and his transformation after meeting Cohn are spot on. Jeremy Strong is mad lawyer Roy Cohn, the amoral fixer who gave him the rules to succeed, at any cost,” says Anne Brodie at What She Said. “Ali Abbasi’s eye-opener is now out here for voters to see and reflect upon in advance of November’s consequential election.”

 

“The most remarkable thing about The Apprentice, even more than Captain America sidekick Sebastian Stan’s splendid portrayal of the title striver, is the sympathy the film arouses for Trump — but only briefly, until he becomes like the title hedonist in The Picture of Dorian Gray, succumbing to moral and physical rot,” observes Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “Actor Stan nails Trump’s clownish physicality: his verbal cadence and tics, his simian hand gestures and his rictus smirk, which seemed a lot less obvious in the ’70s and ’80s than they are now.”

 

“Throughout the film, Abbasi attempts to take an apolitical stance on Trump…that for the most part, he succeeds in doing,” says Rachel Ho at Exclaim!. “Notwithstanding other people asking the Donald if he wants to join the political arena in the future, there’s not much by way of actual politics in the movie itself. The Apprentice stands as a character study of one of the most polarizing figures of the 21st century, and, in this way, Abbasi finds the humanity in Trump.”

 

“From Strong, we expect performances of borderline psychotic intensity and here he delivers:  The reptilian stare, and the whippet-lean tanned body, the heavy-lidded gaze and his fast-talking hypocritical palaver, praising truth, justice and American values while engaging in blackmail and corruption,” writes Liam Lacey at Original Cin. “As good as Strong is, it’s Sebastian Stan’s character that does the big transformation here. In his first fumbling moments, we even feel some sympathy for the big fluffy-haired lug, who is always trying too hard and embarrassing himself.”

 

“Another extraordinary piece of casting was in choosing Maria Bakalova as Ivana, Trump’s first wife,” says Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “Wonderful comic and sexy, Bakalova is terrific as Ivana, finding the humour in her pairing with the young Donald.  Completing the triumvirate of fine casting decisions, Sebastian Stan gives a finely judged performance as Donald Trump. Stan plays him quietly as a blank slate at first; slowly, as he learns from Cohn and starts to assert himself with his tough father and New York politicos, he begins to show the traits of the Trump we know: arrogant, dismissive and very talkative.”

 

“Truth be told, the film humanizes Trump, showing him in a different light especially in his vulnerability blaming Cohn for all of Trump’s ‘badness,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “As they say, a film is only as interesting as its subject and Trump is one of the most intriguing subjects in the world today, becoming a single media circus.  The Apprentice is not only intriguing but quite a good film.”

 

“[I]t’s impeccably acted across the board, and it can be a mordantly funny reminder that Trump is beyond parody. A hilarious early scene sees Trump meeting Andy Warhol (Bruce Beaton) at one of Cohn’s parties and not knowing who he is (‘Are you successful?’ Trump asks him) but believing he’s found a kindred spirit because of Warhol’s venal commercialism,” writes Bill Chambers at Film Freak Central. “I love that the climax of Trump’s very own Young Mr. Lincoln intercuts Cohn’s funeral with Trump getting liposuction and a scalp reduction, almost as if, with his buffer gone, he’s having the last vestiges of his soul extracted from his body. It’s not like you need one to work the doors.”

 

“Stan gets Trump’s mannerisms, speech patterns, and essence as a total shit down pat. It’s an impressive year for the actor with A Different Man showing off his range both dramatic and comedic,” writes Pat Mullen at That Shelf. “One sees as much Homer J. Simpson here as one does Donald J. Trump, although that observation may be a disservice to the affable Mr. Simpson. It’s a big swing to portray a former (and possibly future) president in such a fair yet unflattering light. Stan’s committed performance transcends impersonation as he creates a man fuelled, consumed, and corrupted by his ‘bigly’ ambitions.”

 

Compulsus (dir. Tara Thorne 🇨🇦)

 

“The film is writer-director Tara Thorne’s debut feature, and it’s strong for as far as it goes. Intriguingly, she has all the male victims played by the same faceless, be-hoodied guy (James MacLean), even going so far as to bleep out their names, which did take me out of the film a little when it first happened,” admits Chris Knight at Original Cin. “But she also chooses not to show the attacks in any close detail, which I suspected may have been due to budgetary constraints rather than artistic choice. The Bad Men, when they get their comeuppance, mostly stagger and fall in bloodless bundles. It does rob the film of some of the visceral weight of its violence.”

 

Daddy’s Head (dir. Benjamin Barfoot)

 

“The film is well paced with a solid buildup in mystery and suspense,” observes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “However, one of the film’s flaws is the explanation of the monster that appears to the boy, who speaks to him in his father’s voice.”

 

Happy Clothes: A Film about Patricia Field (dir. Michael Selditch)

 

“Beginning with an unobtrusive fly-on-the-wall approach, Happy Clothes opens with Field and her team eating, drinking, and nattering. Apparently, they are brainstorming the season two wardrobe for the characters on Run the World, described here as a kind of Sex and the City for Black women,” says Kim Hughes at Original Cin. “About a third of the way through, Happy Clothes settles into a more conventional documentary style with talking head interviews and archival footage that more meaningfully shape Field’s story as the out lesbian daughter of Greek immigrants whose shop, established in 1971, moulded the style of everyone from Grace Jones to Debbie Harry to RuPaul as well as innovative New Yorkers keen to snap up items by then-emerging artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.”

 

Happy Clothes offers an upbeat portrait of the New Yorker with the cherry-red hair who is forever on the cusp of contemporary fashion,” writes Pat Mullen at POV Magazine. “Director Michael Selditch mostly does away with bio-doc convention to illustrate Field’s fabulous life, work, and fashion sense. The film takes a cue from Field’s habit for throwing seemingly disparate pieces together and making them work. It has some cinéma vérité on the top and some lifestyle docu-tainment tricks on the bottom, with one great stylist cinching the waist like a belt.”

 

In Her Place (dir. Maite Alberdi)

 

“Though the film’s slow moving, it has an excellent build up, priming the audience of something huge that is to come,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “But often in films where there is a strong build and audience anticipation, they fail to live up to expectations.”

 

The Last of the Sea Women (dir. Sue Kim)

 

“[A] deeply inspiring doc about a group of elderly South Korean ocean warriors,  real-life mermaids, known as ‘haenyeo’ divers. These grandmother warriors share a deep love and respect for the ocean whose chosen job is to harvest food from the ocean,” writes Anne Brodie at What She Said. “There is so much to learn from these women warriors, and to admire, they are spirited, energetic, love life and they’re independent, quashing elderly stereotypes while doing what they love best. Just an exceptional documentary by Sue Kim.”

 

At POV Magazine, Pat Mullen calls it “a stirring character-driven environmental story” and speaks with director Sue Kim and producer Malala Yousafzai, with the latter sharing how documentary is the stage phase of her career and an extension of her activism. “I think there is so much value to being a haenyeo and if a girl decides to join, she should be proud of it because, in the end, what education should do is help her to choose her own future,” says Yousafzai. “That’s how I see education. I want girls to be able to complete their school to learn, to be exposed to different experiences so that they can choose a future for themselves,” says Yousafzai. “I see the exact same thing happening in this documentary as well where the young are deciding that this is the path that they want to take. They are proud of it and they consider it as part of being a successful life.”

 

Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln (dir. Shaun Peterson)

 

“The norms of the entire sexual history of humans were reduced to stereotypes. And then claims that homosexuality was against the Bible and the backlash began,” writes Anne Brodie at What She Said. “The 20th century embraced eugenics and cleansing and making sexuality a controllable political idea, in which variations were and are punished.  There is a vast amount of information in this doc, a wake-up call.  Using Lincoln as a focus may help people accept the idea and practice of gender fluidity.”

 

The Menendez Brothers (dir. Alejandro Hartmann)

 

“This true crime doc constructed by interviews and footage of the cops’ investigation is a most intriguing piece, again proving that Netflix is one of the best streaming places to watch true crime, especially when one lo res this genre when reality is  often stranger than fiction,” suggests Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

 

My Hero Academy: You’re Next (dir. Tensai Okamura)

 

“The manga feature is emotionless and boring to no-manga fans and to those who are not fans of the series despite some good animation,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “It is difficult to get excited to watch animated heroes fighting animated villains.”

 

Piece by Piece (dir. Morgan Neville)

 

At POV Magazine, Jason Gorber chats with Morgan Neville about making a documentary out of LEGO. “Totally. There were so many things that were liberating, and so many things that were the opposite. The things that were liberating were that I got to control how things looked in a way that when you’re shooting a documentary, you don’t get to decide,” says Neville. “Normally, you don’t decide what the walls look like when you follow a subject into a room. What I realized is there’s a tremendous amount of exposition and context that you can give with visuals that you can’t in traditional documentary because you’re not controlling it to that level. I found when we started animating, I was able to take out more dialogue. I didn’t have to say things because you could see them.”

 

“Most biopics take extraordinary subjects and peel back the layers to reveal the relatable human being behind the legend. Whether it’s Michael Jordan or Elton John, origins highlight the star’s humble beginnings, and their gradual transformation into a mythological figure,” writes Victor Stiff at That Shelf. Piece by Piece takes another approach, depicting Williams’ modest beginnings in spectacular fashion…I may never write a hit song, or see music in pulsing rainbows, but for a brief 93 minutes, Piece by Piece lets me see the world through Williams’ eyes. Where others see limits, he sees endless possibilities. The LEGO bricks composing every frame become pliable pieces of reality, reshaped by his talent, imagination, and sheer force of will. Like those bricks, our hopes and dreams are the building blocks of the universe, moulded by our mindset — idea by idea, piece by piece.”

 

“If there’s a problem with this film—and what work doesn’t have flaws—it’s in the depiction of Pharrell,” notes Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “Though we get to know him as a musician, the human being is missing,” adds Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why this film is in LEGO: Pharrell doesn’t really want to reveal himself. In a documentary made by Morgan Neville, or his finest contemporaries, there’s an expectation that the truth of the profiled individuals and their situations will be revealed. That doesn’t happen in Piece by Piece, which was done in complicity with ‘the subject,’ Pharrell.”

 

“The novelty of Lego characters quickly fades as the procession of talking heads and career highlights add up. Pharrell’s oft-expressed angst about the meaning of life and the cultural relevance of his music — was he really happy about making “Happy”? — starts to get repetitive and a bit self-serving,” writes Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “Moments of sheer gonzo brilliance kick the show back on track. The depiction of synesthesia, a perceptual phenomenon Pharrell discovered as a child wherein he perceives music visually as colours, turns a Stevie Wonder tune into a fun psychedelic trip.”

 

“Just when you think that music docs have hit every single been there, done that beat, someone busts out the LEGO. This absolutely original portrait of Pharrell Williams rebuilds music doc convention piece by piece,” says Pat Mullen at POV Magazine. “The elements of corporate synergy between Pharrell’s brand and LEGO’s brand admittedly may seem inappropriate in a documentary setting. But branding, like it or not, is the name of the game with music docs and celebrity bios these days.”

 

Sing My Song (dir. Barbara Kayee Lee 🇨🇦)

 

“One can understand Lee’s lessons learnt but the film’s conclusion with Lee’s speaking to the film’s audience tends to be preachy if not condescending,” admits Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

 

“This documentary offers a self-portrait of Lee’s vigilance and persistence,” writes Pat Mullen at POV Magazine. “If it seems occasionally self-congratulatory, the doc reflects the layers of stacked access in entertainment by its DIY design, which can be seen as Lee brings the story to Nashville.”

 

Studio One Forever (dir. Marc Saltarelli)

 

“For those gays who are older now and used to look young and pretty and used to do the club scene (myself definitely included), watching Studio One Forever reminds one of the times past when one was young and pretty and could pick up a new lover every night at the club, least of all make it on the dance floor or even have sex in the toilets,” shares Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

 

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (dir. Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui)

 

“From the opening clips of the Superman film to Christopher Reeve’s accident and his fight with recovery, the doc is extremely well thought of and put together with the conclusion of not who the hero is but what a hero is, showing that the hero is not a super mighty being but a human being as witnessed in the life and work of one Christopher Reeve,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

 

Woman of the Hour (dir. Anna Kendrick)

 

“Kendrick presents a perfect recreation of the time, a world with no internet or cell phones and a world in which gender lines are still carefully drawn. The Dating Game, like so much of film and TV of the era, objectified women; what should we make of the steep rise in true crime drama streaming now, everywhere, all the time? Discuss,” advises Liz Braun at Original Cin. “This is an auspicious directing debut for Kendrick. Woman of the Hour has a big impact and may prompt viewers to search out more information about the Rodney Alcala case. It will certainly inspire some viewers to thread their car keys through their knuckles on the walk back to the car afterward.”

 

“Kendrick’s interesting take as a director shows us some of his known murders in a grim, realistic, barebones style, putting us directly beside the action, fascinating and revolting, lying next to the couples. Kendrick has a gift and an eye for style suitable to her material in this debut,” notes Anne Brodie at What She Said. “She plays Bradshaw with minute attention to detail, a woman who stepped below what she saw as her social rank just to be seen on TV who unwittingly opens herself to fate. Watching her in the process of understanding the horrific mess she’d strayed into, and what was to unfold before her is shockingly real and not to be missed.”

 

“Actress Anna Kendick’s Woman of the Hour is an engrossing and compelling watch based on the true story of a serial killer who appeared on the famous TV reality show The Dating Game,” writes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

 

“[T]he film establishes Kendrick as a new director to watch, much like Greta Gerwig (Barbie, Lady Bird) before her,” notes Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “Taking a serious turn away from the comedies that made her an A-list actor, Kendrick presents the main facts of a bizarre-but-true story, adapted by screenwriter Ian MacAllister McDonald, of a time in 1978 when a serial killer named Rodney Alcala made it onto the long-running Dating Game TV show. He’s played in the film by look-alike actor Daniel Zovatto (Lady Bird), who is creepily effective.”

 

TV Talk/Series Stuff: Disclaimer’s Disclaimers

 

At the Toronto Star, Peter Howell navigates a minefield of spoiler caveats and speaks with auteur Alfonso Cuarón about the eclectic cast and why viewers should refrain from easy judgments. “We are so immersed in our own historical moment that we tend to think it’s something that is way more timeless, the way in which people judge,” Cuarón said. “There’s a certain pleasure connected with judgment, a certain moral stance about being righteous versus the others…Obviously, now it takes its own shape and form; it’s also exacerbated by social media. But it’s nothing new.”

 

At What She Said, Anne Brodie has high praise for Citadel: Diana: “Love this tough, smart woman in a position of power, trained and armed to the teeth with old and new weaponry who believes in herself.” Meanwhile, CBC’s Joan “is an incisive portrait of a 20-something woman whose beauty, charm and ability to manipulate are chosen tickets to a better life.” Passenger “is somewhat overwhelming, packed and needs breathing room,” says Brodie, “still, it’s a worthy idea and [Wunmi] Mosaku is nothing short of phenomenal.”