Movie Diary

1) The Red Riding Trilogy: So, I knew I remembered a rave review in the New Yorker for these three films made for English television, but for some reason I thought it was by Anthony Lane, not David Denby. It kind of makes more sense the way it is. He's right to point out how beautiful they are and how dark. These are three bleak movies, and the depiction of police brutality, while no doubt accurate, calls to mind our own country's recent crimes. It's worth the trouble to get through the Yorkshire accents, and while there are flaws here and there (relying on the murder and assault of children is a little too easy to create shock value) there are also excellent performances and atmosphere like crazy. The three are streaming on Netflix, and if you find yourself drawn to true-crime stuff, you would do well to check them out, not because of their tenuous connection to real murders but because they produce a similar feeling of fascination mixed with nausea.

2) Dad's in Heaven with Nixon: Not uninteresting, in the way that pretty much any documentary is, but this doesn't really do more than present a guy's family as inherently interesting. Yes, he has an autistic brother who turns out also to be artistic, and he has a history of alcoholism and anger and early death. It's quite possible his dad killed himself (although the family never brings this up as a possibility--due to life insurance?). I'm not saying you shouldn't watch it, but don't go out of your way.

3) Alice Neel: This, on the other hand, is much better, not only a good subject (the fascinating, rude portrait painter who lived a life of ups, downs, tragedy, and love affairs), but a smart refusal to romanticize her. It's not down on the life of the artist, and it recognizes her genuine achievements (being as much of a jerk as Jackson Pollock was a feminist gesture), but it has clear eyes. She ended up somewhat acclaimed, with a big show at the Whitney, but she also lived on welfare for many years, and her relationships with her children seem to have been somewhat (and understandably) strained. Probably worth watching even if you're not that into art.

4) Death Race: Not all that bad, although sadly disappointing if compared to the original, which has so many things this dour remake does not: cheerfulness, a sense of humor, coherent camerawork. There's a lot of plot here, which isn't necessary. The reason we watch is not to see a narrative played out but to watch cars get crushed and explode and people do likewise. There's plenty of that, but you do have to sit through rather a lot of exposition, like watching the movie sections in a video game. Plus, there's Joan Allen for an inexplicable reason, with a tight doll face, not being very convincing and certainly no Mary Woronov. Jason Statham is, however, his usual straightforward, watchable self, and while the cinematographer seems to be epileptic at times, it's not as annoying and dumb as I expected it would be. Big praise!