Starring: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton, Cory Michael Smith, Elizabeth Yu, Gabriel Chung, Piper Curda, D.W. Moffett, Lawrence Arancio...
'Secretos de un Escándalo', el cinismo del entretenimiento
En 'Secretos de un Escándalo', Todd Haynes critica prácticas deplorables de la industria del entretenimiento actual.
Secretos de un Escándalo sigue a Elizabeth, una actriz de renombre que planea realizar una película acerca de la relación entre Gracie y Joe Yoo, cuya relación comenzó cuando ella tenía 36 años y el 13. Para poder interpretar a Gracie, Elizabeth decide visitar a la pareja y su familia en su hogar durante varios días para conocer más de su relación a lo largo de más de 20 años para tener…
Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
Maybe the important observation to be able to somewhat able to "enjoy" watching the movie is that with the use of kitschy filters and an at times deliberately, overly dramatic score the film seems to tell the viewer not to take much of this seriously. But even then it was not very appealing to me given its story and the lead characters not being exactly likable.
Gracie is unwilling to acknowledge that what she did back then was wrong, and seems to be a controlling menace. Joe still looks and behaves like a kid. Which makes the story even weirder.
Elisabeth is not interested in objectively researching her role, going to extremes at the pet store, possibly actively trying to spend a night with Joe, and we can already hear her winning awards for her performance.
And given the whole meta level of an actress playing a role based on a real person, who then gets visited by another actress who wants to play her in a film, does the movie mock actors who perform in (award-baiting) bio-pics? All the while this movie itself clearly being awards-bait. I guess it's all up to the viewer to decide.
Writer: Samy Burch (story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik)
Mini-review:
I have to say this movie deserves all the hype. Its mixture of soapy melodrama, weird humor and psychological drama proves to be a surprisingly effective way to handle such a dark, disturbing topic. It definitely won't suit all tastes, but I found it engaging, haunting and spellbending. Its main strength is probably its cast, with the three leads giving spectacular performances. I must particularly highlight Charles Melton's work, since he pretty much outshines two legends like Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman (but they are fantastic too, as I said). The script is brilliant as well, and I loved the metaphors and symbolisms used to signal the evolution of the characters. On top of that, the movie looks lovely, and Todd Haynes displays his mastery once again. So yeah, May December is a fascinating movie (but make sure to check out trigger warnings, even if they are full of spoilers).
Written and Directed by Orson Oblowitz, Showdown at the Grand stars Terrence Howard, John Savage, Piper Curda, Amanda Righetti, and Dolph Lundgren. It follows a proud movie theater owner, George Fuller (Terrence Howard), who must defend his family business from corporate developers alongside a legendary action star, Claude Luc Hallyday (Dolph Lundgren) as art imitates life in a showdown for the…
May December ('15'): Dredging Up the Facts about an Under-age Sex Scandal.
#onemannsmovies #filmreview of “May December” (2023). #LFF. Todd Haynes melodrama with a fabulous turn by Natalie Portman. 3.5/5.
A One Mann’s Movies review of “May December” (2023) (from the London Film Festival).
“May December” is the latest from Todd Haynes who directed, for example, “Carol” and “Dark Waters”. This was, again, a film I caught at the London Film Festival, several weeks ahead of its UK release date.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Famous star of film and TV, Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman),…