Happiest Season (2020)

When it comes to cinema releases, the beginning of December can only mean one thing: holiday movies. And this film does not disappoint. Treated once again to a private cinema screening of a film about which I knew next to nothing going in, I discovered this hidden gem of holiday movies, a film with an incredible balance of comedy and drama, sure to take its audience through a roller-coaster ride of emotions.

Abby (Kristen Stewart) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis) have been a couple for several months. Christmas is coming, and Harper wants Abby to come with her to meet her family.

However, Abby has no interest in celebrating Christmas, since losing her parents during the holidays ten years ago. But Harper is insistent; her family will make Christmas a time to celebrate for Abby again.

And so, leaving her many pets with best friend John (Daniel Levy), Abby agrees to Harper’s plan. Little does she know that Harper is still yet to come out to her parents, and Christmas doesn’t seem like a good time to do it, either.

Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and Abby (Kristen Stewart).

Harper’s father, Ted (Victor Garber), is about to begin his campaign for Mayor, and anything that would rock the boat at this point is most definitely to be avoided. Her mother, Tipper (Mary Steenburgen) is incredibly conservative, and news like this could potentially destroy her.

So, Harper and Abby must pretend to be nothing but “roommates”, making the next week virtually unbearable for Abby at least.

Harper seems to be fine with this charade; she has her two sisters Sloane (Alison Brie) and Jane (Mary Holland) as a buffer between her and her parents. And to top it all off, Tipper is trying to get Harper back together with her high-school boyfriend Connor (Jake McDorman).

I’ll leave the plot there, you can discover it for yourself; I don’t need to spoil it any more.

Ted (Victor Garber) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis).

The screenplay – by director Clea DuVall & Mary Holland (who, as you will recall, also plays Harper’s sister Jane) – is quite an achievement, balancing, as I mentioned earlier, comedy and drama exceptionally well. Yes, the film is primarily a comedy, and there are indeed plenty of laughs throughout. But the film also has some really good themes within it about being true to yourself, and about the coming-out process, which is anything but a cookie-cutter experience; it is different for each and every person who has had to go through it, and even different every time you do it.

Watching this film – and perhaps even more so due to Daniel Levy being in the cast – feels like watching the final season of Schitt’s Creek in a lot of ways, most of them good ways.

Yes, on the one hand, the film feels like many other holiday films; a fair amount of storyline comes from the events that surround this time of year, especially in North America. But the added tension of the strained relationship between Abby and Harper, as they both try to hide their true selves, gives the film an added dimension and unique truth that is missing from other films in this space.

And when you throw in another of Harper’s ex-partners, Riley (Aubrey Plaza), who has also struck up a friendship – or at least passing acquaintance – with Abby, you know the stage is set for some major drama at that point in the film that will inevitably come.

John (Daniel Levy) and Connor (Jake McDorman).

The performances of the cast are superb throughout, but I want to make particular mention of the two leads, Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis. Not only is their relationship incredibly believable, but the growing split between them as the film progresses is absolutely heart-breaking. Again, I don’t want to spoil the film for you, but you must have guessed there would be difficulties, given the difficult situation in which they both find themselves.

Another note on the cast: those of you who keep up with all the gossip out of Hollywood (not that this is what my reviews are about, mind you) will have noticed the unique position of this film in terms of its casting. Several members of the cast – if you don’t know which ones, I’m not going to out them, that’s not my place – are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and no doubt took their roles because they believed the film had and has something unique to say to not only the LGBTQIA+ community, but to those outside the community by way of education and understanding.

However, it is – in my opinion – Daniel Levy, and more specifically, his character, that makes this film what it is. It is his character that has a lot of the best lines, and features in many of the film’s best scenes.

I would advise any interested party to see this film on the big screen, purely for the reason that it means you would see it sooner, rather than having to wait for a DVD release.

8 1/2 out of 10.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

A beautiful film that shows the strength of the bonds of family.

Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) has a pretty rough life. Living in a small town in the middle of nowhere, Iowa, most of his day is taken up with working in the local grocery store, as well as looking after his younger, profoundly disabled, brother Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Sure, he has help from sisters Amy (Laura Harrington) and Ellen (Mary Kate Schellhardt), and the love and support of their mother Bonnie (Darlene Cates). But given that his mother hasn’t left the house since their father died many years earlier, and has become more and more overweight to the point that she doesn’t even leave the couch, she isn’t as much help as he would like.

Add to this existence a sordid affair with married woman Betty Carver (Mary Steenburgen) and being a friend to handyman Tucker (John C. Reilly), and it seems that his life couldn’t get any more difficult.

And Arnie is incredibly difficult to care for. His eighteenth birthday is fast approaching, and yet he is unable to do virtually anything for himself.

It isn’t until new girl Becky (Juliette Lewis) and her grandmother come to town - after their camper breaks down just outside the city limits - that Gilbert’s life starts to look like it may have some good in it after all.

The screenplay - written by Peter Hedges and based on his own novel - is very good. The characters are all clearly defined and all have a very rich history with one another and with the town. The pacing of the film is just right, and nothing feels as though it doesn’t absolutely need to be there.

Sven Nykvist’s cinematography is incredible, with beautiful sweeping shots of the scenery throughout, and unique shots and camera angles abound. The whole film - despite some of these wide shots of the Iowa landscape - feels incredibly intimate, and the viewer feels very much a part of the action, with plenty of close shots and moving camera.

Björn Isfält’s music is used very sparingly, and to great effect. There is a theme - or leitmotif - that is used several times throughout the film, any time that Gilbert and Arnie are sharing a particularly tender moment. The theme varies in its instrumentation each time, but it is nevertheless the same, and serves to ground the entire story around these two brothers, whose love for one another is one of the strongest central themes of the film.

The performances of the entire cast are absolutely incredible, in particular Depp and DiCaprio. DiCaprio was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and with very good reason. Sadly, he missed out on the award, as it was given instead to Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive, which I believe was a mistake; this performance was far superior. He did, however, win a Golden Globe for his portrayal, which is so incredibly realistic, but also is pulled off without the slightest hint of caricature or mockery.

Another standout performance is that of Darlene Cates, playing the mother to this family. Her love for all her children, but particularly Arnie, is shown so strongly at various moments (I won’t go into detail, I’ll let you discover those for yourself if you haven’t already seen this film) that it brings tears to your eyes.

In fact, I must confess I spent most of the film in tears; the performances of the entire cast are just so realistic and heartfelt, and the script is just so damn good.

Lasse Hallström - who I must admit I only knew previously from the film Chocolat, though he has directed many other great movies - has made an amazing film here, a film that should have received many more awards and accolades than it did. I for one know I will be watching this many more times, and I would advise you to do the same.

9 out of 10.