It may be over thirty years old, but this comedy still packs a punch. And with a musical adaptation taking Broadway by storm at the moment, the original story is back in the public consciousness again.
Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geneva Davis) are a young married couple living in an enormous house in Connecticut. With no children yet, they are under constant pressure from a local realtor to sell the property, but they have no interest in doing so.
While driving back from town one day, their car comes off the road and falls into the river. They find themselves back in their house some time later, and it isn’t long before they realise what has happened: they died in the accident and are now confined to their home, unable to leave.
Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton).
Now that the house is presumed unoccupied, it is quickly sold to New Yorkers Charles (Jeffrey Jones) and Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara). The newly married couple, along with Charles’s teenage daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder), begin making the house their own, or more specifically, Delia makes it her own, with the help of her assistant, decorator Otho (Glenn Shadix).
Adam and Barbara, furious with this invasion of their privacy, and still a little new and naive to the afterlife, enlist the help of a bio-exorcist named Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton). Betelgeuse is a demon of the worst possible kind, however, a perverted narcissist at best, and at worst, well, something much worse.
Together, the three of them set about trying to scare the Deetzes out of the house, to varying degrees of success as the film goes on.
Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis).
The screenplay, by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren, is clever enough, at least for the time in which the film was made. There are plenty of gags relating to life and the afterlife, and a healthy amount of jump scares and sight gags as well. The characters are relatively well-defined, again at least enough considering the era of the film and the comedic nature of the story. There aren’t a lot of twists and turns to the plot, though; it is instead a little cliched if anything, and certainly more predictable than one would have hoped.
Danny Elfman’s score is - by now - iconic, and certainly filled with themes and leitmotifs (as the majority of his work has been). At times, the film does feel a little overscored, but somehow, the brilliance of the music seems to cover over this heavy-handed ness well.
The cinematography is quirky and unique, thanks to Thomas E. Ackerman. Of course, as this film has the distinctive stamp of director Tim Burton all over it, quirky, unique camera angles and lens lengths should not really come as a surprise.
Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder).
Another result of Burton’s unique viewpoint, the production design - by Bo Welch - is definitely a large part of this film. In fact, the design and look of the film seems to be the main driver of the story in many ways, perhaps more than the performances of the cast, or of the plot itself.
Speaking of performances, there are some great performances in this film. The clear standouts are definitely Keaton and Ryder in their respective roles, while the rest of the cast give adequate - though not brilliant - performances.
Director Tim Burton has made a decent-enough film here, one that has certainly stood the test of time. The fact it has been adapted for the Broadway stage seems proof enough that the story - and the film - continue to resonate with audiences, and will do so for years to come. If you haven’t seen it yet, I would certainly suggest you check it out, or better yet, have a listen to the Broadway cast recording of the musical.
I had been looking forward to seeing this film since seeing the trailer while watching something else a couple of months earlier. While this may not be the directorial debut of Emilio Estevez (who also wrote the screenplay and starred in the film) - he has written and directed a few films already, as well as a fair amount of television - he is certainly best known as an actor. Any time someone known as an actor moves behind the camera on rare occasions, it piques my curiosity enough to want to watch the results. And this film certainly delivered in my opinion.
Estevez plays Stuart Goodson, a librarian at the public library in Cincinnati. A man with a deep love of books (he mentions at one point that books saved his life), and an even deeper love of helping people, the job suits him to a tee.
He works on the third floor with a young woman named Myra (Jena Malone), who wants to transfer to another department. It is unclear how much of her desire to transfer is based on the type of books and variety of patrons, and how much is based on her general dislike of Stuart (nothing terribly personal, they just don't seem to gel well together).
Stuart Goodson (Emilio Estevez).
Issues often arise in the library - in fact on a daily basis - as the patrons of the library's services are predominantly the homeless population of the city, who come to the library to keep warm (the film is set in one of the coldest winters in recent memory) and to use the computers and to read books to keep their minds active. But on the flip side, they can sometimes have mental health issues and particular needs that are not generally suited to the environment of a public library, somewhere where people want things to be quiet and peaceful.
But Stuart loves his job. He has fostered close friendships with the regular visitors, and treats them with a great deal of respect, something that has often resulted in deeper issues with his superiors.
Stuart and Ernesto (Jacob Vargas) - one of the security guards at the library - are under investigation for their handling of a patron, who is now suing the city for a significant amount for his treatment as a result of his personal hygiene issues. District Attorney Josh Davis (Christian Slater), who is also running for mayor in the upcoming elections, has no time for Stuart's explanations, and sees him as nothing more than a troublemaker.
Stuart (Emilio Estevez) being threatened by Josh Davis (Christian Slater).
Everything comes to a head one night when one hundred homeless people refuse to leave the library one night - it is below freezing outside - and they barricade themselves in. Stuart and Myra stay behind in support, and this puts them in direct opposition to Davis and local detective Bill Ramstead (Alec Baldwin).
The screenplay is exceptionally well written by Estevez, with all the characters filled with their own conflicts, both internal and external. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot, and plenty of drama to keep the audience riveted from beginning to end. It is no doubt difficult to maintain audience interest when a film is almost exclusively located in one single set, but Estevez has managed to do this, not only with his writing, but his directorial choices throughout.
There are plenty of great characters populating the film, from homeless man Jackson (Michael K. Williams) to local news reporter Rebecca Parks (Gabrielle Union) who is twisting everything and using this story to further her own career. Then you have Angela (Taylor Schilling), the property manager of Stuart's apartment building, who is quickly becoming close friends with Stuart, a man she thinks she knows, but who has plenty of secrets in his past.
Protestors barricade themselves inside the library. On the far left is Jackson (Michael K. Williams), with Stuart (Emilio Estevez) on the right.
This entire ensemble cast are brilliant in their respective roles, with particular standouts being Schilling and Williams. Of course, Emilio Estevez is great, but he is not the primary focus of the film. He may be the protagonist, but the majority of the action and plot is furthered by other characters.
The score, by Tyler Bates & Joanne Higginbottom, is incredibly understated, but perfectly suited to the on-screen action.
David J. Bomba's production design is flawless, with the main set of the interior of the library being an obvious standout (as most of the film's action takes place here). However, every other set is beautifully designed and suited to the characters who inhabit them.
This film may not have a wide cinematic release - it seems to be playing only in selected cinemas - but if you get the chance, it is well worth a look. Estevez's direction is brilliantly executed, with lightness and subtlety seeming to be his forte here.
Based on the novel by Lisa Genova, this film follows the lives of a close-knit family pushed to near-breaking point by tragedy, and earned an Academy Award for lead actress, Julianne Moore.
Alice Howland (Moore) is a linguistics professor at Columbia University, and has enjoyed great academic success with her textbook 'From Neurons to Nouns', which has quickly become the most-used text by institutions worldwide.
When she starts to forget words and concepts in her lectures, and gets lost one day while jogging around campus, she makes an appointment with a neurologist, Dr. Benjamin (Stephen Kunken).
After a series of tests and scans, it emerges that Alice - who turns fifty at the beginning of the film - has a rare form of early-onset Alzheimers Disease which is genetically inherited.
Alice (Julianne Moore).
Distraught, she finally opens up to her family - eldest daughter Anna (Kate Bosworth), son Tom (Hunter Parrish) and youngest child Lydia (Kristen Stewart) - urging them to be tested, as the disease is genetic. Anna - who is trying to get pregnant via IVF with husband Charlie (Shane McRae) - turns out to have the affected gene. Tom doesn't have it, and Lydia - a struggling actor living in LA - chooses not to know.
Alice's deterioration increases by the day. Always by her side, her husband John (Alec Baldwin) is ever supportive. But it is daughter Lydia who seems to be the most affected by her mother's diagnosis, and the two of them grow closer than they have ever been before.
The screenplay, written by co-directors Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland - adapted from Genova's novel - is, in a word, brilliant. Every single character is filled with their own conflicts, both internal and external, and the reality of the story and drama experienced by the characters is intense and palpable. There are occasional moments of humour, but overall, the story is a tragedy, but one that shows the strength of familial bonds and love, and the power of the human spirit.
John (Alec Baldwin) and Alice (Julianne Moore).
The score has been masterfully composed by Ilan Eshkeri. The power of the score is twofold: there is a theme that plays at several points throughout the film (a relatively simple piano theme), and there are moments where the music is clearly reflecting the intense psychological ups-and-downs of Alice's personal struggle. The aforementioned piano theme changes ever so subtly over the course of the film, which also reflects the changes in the lives of all the characters, most strongly the changes and deterioration of Alice's faculties.
Denis Lenoir's cinematography is beautiful; it helps that the landscapes of the location shoots are incredibly photogenic. But his command of light and dark, and contrast thereof, is magnificent. There are several moments where the camera transitions to Alice's point-of-view, and these become shakier and more unsettling as the film goes on.
But it is clearly the performances of the cast that make this film as powerful and affecting as it is. Julianne Moore is amazing in the titular role, and performs with such tenderness and realism that I found myself being drawn into the story from beginning to end. The high standard of her craft was acknowledged when she was not only nominated for, but won, the Academy Award for Best Actress. Not only that, but she earned the so-called Quintuple Crown: Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Critics' Choice Award and the BAFTA Award.
Lydia (Kristen Stewart).
There are brilliant performances from all the rest of the cast, but the other clear standout of this film is without a doubt Kristen Stewart, who is magnificent as Lydia, the daughter who becomes closer than ever to her mother while supporting her in her struggle. Before seeing this film - first on the big screen when it was released, and subsequently on many repeat viewings - I had only encountered Stewart in her portrayal of Bella Swan in the Twilight series. It is this film that in my mind establishes her as a serious actress, and a talent powerhouse; her role is so different from anything else I have seen her in before or since, and she treats the material with such deep respect, bringing her character to life in the most realistic way.
Directors Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland have made a truly beautiful film here, one that I have now seen more times than I could care to count (and will probably watch for many more times in years to come). Their handling of the subject matter is respectful above all else, and they both display knowledge and experience of appropriate pacing, tension and drama.
You absolutely must see this film as soon as possible if you haven't (or even if you have).
