Maggie's Plan

**Spoiler Alert

Director: Rebecca Miller/Starring: Ethan Hawke, Greta Gerwig, Julianne Moore, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Wallace Shawn, Travis Fimmel and Mina Sundwall

Rebecca Miller's Maggie's Plan is a difficult film to review (I still consider my posts more impressions than reviews) because it seems to have strengths and weaknesses in equal measure. Its flaws aren't necessarily crippling but they keep an otherwise interesting movie from being totally satisfying. It's pleasing to know a female director has been able to make films on her own terms without having to compromise her vision or standards, but I have to admit, I've never been a fan of Miller's films. They always seem important for a moment but never leave a lasting impression. In fact, I can't remember the titles of any of her former films and chances are, I'll forget this film in a few months time too but I also have to admit her latest is one of her better efforts. It doesn't always work but her cerebral characters are well-drawn, with distinctive personalities that betray insecurity and weakness. If the situations, characters and the story feel too much like vintage Woody Allen filtered through Noah Baumbach, it mimics their films well enough to be entertaining. Maggie's Plan isn't as funny as Woody's best work but its humor is subtle; aiming for sophistication and wit.

The film doesn't waste a moment establishing character as Maggie Hardin (Greta Gerwig; uncharacteristically non-irritating) meets her close friend Tony (Bill Hader) on the street. In their exchange, we learn Maggie's search for a sperm-donor has born fruit though Tony is disdainful of her choice; a pickle-entrepreneur by the name of Guy who was also their college classmate. We also learn Maggie--by her own admission--has never been able to maintain a long-term relationship; hence her need for a sperm donor.

When Maggie later shows up at the school where she serves as a liaison to the business community for artistic students looking to market their work, she learns her paycheck is delinquent. She meets another faculty member who shares a similar last name; John Harding (Ethan Hawke) who is also short a paycheck. They suggest to the difficult clerk their similar names may be responsible for the mix-up. The clerical error allows them to meet and make small talk. During their conversation, we learn John is a highly respected academic in the esoteric field of ficto-critical anthropology. Later, during a lunch in the school cafeteria, Maggie catches sight of him then again in Washington Park, where they stroll and become more acquainted. In the course of their conversation, John talks about a novel he is writing and when Maggie shows interest, he asks her to read the first chapter, to which she eagerly agrees. After Maggie praises Tony's novel to the heavens, their friendship and the story thickens.

In a subsequent scene, we get a taste of John's home life, where we meet his wife and colleague Georgette (Julianne Moore, having fun with a thick, Icelandic accent); an icy intellectual who seems indifferent to her husband's creative pursuit.

One night, after the pickle entrepreneur, Guy (Travis Fimmel), visits Maggie sans the sperm sample she requested, he suggests impregnating her the old fashioned way, which elicits a polite rejection. Having selected Guy as a donor because of his mathematical background, he explains to Maggie why he rejected a life as an academic to operate his own business. He expresses what he finds beautiful about mathematics--and though it sounds poetic; it also sounds unconvincing as movie dialogue. When he steps out of the bathroom, sample in hand, he sees her dance around her apartment and watches, enchantedly; his adoration of her palpable.

His visit precedes John's as the academic/writer-manque arrives to say he's been inadvertently locked out of his house. During his visit, he professes his love to Maggie and mentions the end of his marriage. Following their mutual declarations of love, the two act on their passion and shortly after the film moves forward a year as we see Maggie with her small child, her motherhood secured.

Though the film is described in ads as being screwball, it's hard to see the film as such. There is no shortage of comedy but the story's poignant, dramatic moments make the film's screwball appellation seem strange. The humor is also far too subtle at times to be legitimately screwball. Screwball tends to not be very subtle. But let's move on.

The story becomes a triangle of sorts as John and Georgette's kids spend time between two homes, while his daughter with Maggie brings a tangle to the equation. Though Georgette accepts the situation, she naturally sees Maggie as a homewrecker.

The triangle becomes a quagmire when Maggie begins to see John as self-involved and selfish; his novel an excuse to avoid his family and parental duties. She accepts the sad truth that he was most likely better off with Georgette and sets about concocting a plan to return him to his former wife, thus extricating herself from her unhappy marriage. Of course the plan involves Georgette; who wants nothing more than to have him back. The story's third act involves the plan's impact on both families.

But another issue, hinted at earlier, addresses the question as to who Maggie's daughter's father might truly be.

I thought Gerwig was quite good as Maggie. Though her character bears a close resemblance to many others she's played in films past, she seems more real here. What is particularly interesting about Maggie is the dubiousness of her victim status. As much as John seems to blame for their unhappy marriage, her claim about not being able to maintain a relationship for longer than six months makes us wonder if she is indeed an agent of her own misery.

Julianne Moore is able to find pathos and humor in her role, which was no mean feat considering her accent evokes memories of her character in The Big Lebowski. Georgette seems more like someone we would find in a Woody Allen movie; a character we might laugh at for her lofty, intellectual pretensions. Georgette comes awfully close to being cartoonish but Moore is able to make us forget the accent and focus on the character.

Ethan Hawke has done some fine work in film lately. He was terrific in Born to Be Blue and is again as an academic who believes he has a great novel in him and is prepared to sacrifice his and everyone else's happiness to achieve his goal.

The film made me smile at times and chuckle once or twice but the its best quality are its dramatic moments, which are at times very compelling.

Like the characters in Noah Baumbach's films, Miller's aren't people I feel I would want to know but they aren't tedious either. Tiresome sometimes, but not tedious. I think Miller had the good sense to restrict her story to a 90 minute running time so as to not give us too much of their company. She does a great job satirizing the intellectual world without making her characters seem buffoonish. Maggie's Plan is her most accomplished work yet, in my opinion. It's certainly her most enjoyable movie to date.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Francis Lawrence/Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Donald Sutherland, Liam Hemsworth, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Dormer, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson

Did this series really begin in 2012? Have we really seen four films in a mere three years? And where has the time gone? Seems like yesterday since I first heard about Katniss Everdeen; a name that is now as familiar to movie audiences as Harry Potter. Well, almost. But it seems like she's always been with us.

The series comes to a definitive end with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2 and though I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected, it's still a relief to see the saga finally coming to rest. I found the ending to be satisfying (I don't know how those who read the series feel) and because I can be as sentimental as the next sentimental person, I'm kind of sorry to see Katniss go. It isn't often a major action franchise features a woman in a lead role. With Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, the character became someone could we could care about.

The last film in the series poses many questions, which we know will be addressed before the final credits. Will Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) overcome the brainwashing to which President Snow (Donald Sutherland) has subjected him, rendering him dangerously hostile to Katniss? Will the rebellion topple the government and if so, who will be the leader in a new world order? What will become of the Katniss/Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth)/Peeta triangle? Is President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) all that she seems? Will she be the best choice for president if the rebellion succeeds? Because this is the final film in the installment, all questions are answered forthwith. And as the story dispatches them, it manages to move along at an exciting clip, with brief stops for exposition and plot development.

If you were expecting a series of pitched battles between the rebels and Snow's army, you will be pleasantly surprised to find the movie avoids that obvious plot-line. Instead, Katniss' obsessive quest for revenge and Snow's assassination supersedes Coin's directives, which demand the face of the rebellion become a PR tool in uniting the districts against the Capitol. Of course we know Katniss will never sit passively as the war is about to rage. Escaping from the rebel base, she commandeers a combat unit; effectively lying to them about a Coin-mandated operation to kill Snow. The unit, ostensibly led by Boggs (Mahershala Ali), become unwitting accomplices in Katniss' personal operation, which becomes increasingly dangerous the closer they come to their objective.

Utilizing a holographic map of the Capitol, the unit plots a course through the vast array of deadly traps-known as pods-that lay hidden in every street. Using a pod-locating device in Bogg's possession, the unit, which includes Boggs, Katniss, Gale and Peeta, make their way through the city streets, hoping to avoid sudden death and the the Capitol's military forces. The group encounters frightening obstacles, like a searing wall of flame and later a terrifying deluge of what resembles crude oil. Adding a wrinkle to their mission is Peeta, who has yet to shake off the conditioning that makes him liable to kill Katniss at any given moment. Finding the pod-deployed streets too much to overcome, the group enters the city sewers to bypass the horrors above, only to encounter other nightmarish foes below.

As they come within sight of the palace gates, Katniss and Gale don cloaks to disguise themselves but find Capitol security checking refugees entering the compound. The rebellion arrives in time to divert attention away from Katniss and Gale, which makes it possible for her to enter the palace. After Snow is apprehended, he divulges secrets about Alma Coin's pursuit of power, which are confirmed during a round-table meeting between Coin and the principle players of the rebellion. Any hopes Katniss embraced for a just, free society ruled by Coin become instantly dashed.

In the execution scene that follows, the story takes a twist not entirely unanticipated. As Katniss stands ready to be Snow's executioner, she fires and arrow that irrevocably alters Panem's future and gives the plot yet another twist. In the aftermath, we see Panem's future clearly laid out. And in the epilogue that follows, we see what becomes of Katniss Everdeen; a conclusion that seems almost inevitable.

It is astonishing to consider the ensemble cast; the many actors and actresses whose talents have been enlisted for the series. To see Phillip Seymour Hoffman is both eerie and a pleasant illusion. The end of the series means we have unfortunately seen the last of him onscreen.

I like that the story carries a bit of realpolitik. Novelist Suzanne Collins and film-makers are wise and maybe cynical enough to understand that revolutions and revolutionaries are often as reactionary as the regimes they hope to supplant. Katniss and her soldier colleagues discover this hard fact in post-uprising Panem. And in earning this wisdom, the ending becomes downbeat, rather than a buoyant, ecstatic celebration.

The film's opening weekend receipts exceeded $102 million; a staggering amount for a film featuring a female lead. It is worth mentioning that the film's opening weekend figures dwarf both Spectre and Mad Max: Fury Road; two other action franchises with male leads (though one could argue MM:FR featured a female co-lead). If Hollywood gleans nothing from this factoid, then we can safely say progress is still a work in progress. Maybe the new Star Wars series should take heed. From what I've seen of the trailers for that film, the story features a female co-lead. Future film-goers may look back to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2 as the film that first ushered in a trend for strong female leads in cinema. I guess Katniss Everdeen is a revolutionary outside the story too.

So we say goodbye to Katniss Everdeen; the Mockingjay and her heroic exploits. It has mostly been a pleasure. May her bow ever be supple and her arrows ever aim true.

Freeheld

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Peter Sollett/Starring: Ellen Page, Julianne Moore, Michael Shannon and Steve Carell

Films that deal with contemporary issues are emotionally charged and often timely but they also tend to not be very cinematic. They also would seem to be more suitable for television.
Freeheld; a new film about the late Laurel Hester; the police officer who fought the Ocean County Freeholders in New Jersey to allow her partner to receive her pension, is the latest "issue" flick to make its way to screens nationwide. Don't get me wrong; her struggle for equality is an important subject but its artistic ambitions are stubbornly modest. The film elicits tears but it feels so much like a small screen production one might instinctively reach for a remote.

We see Hester (Julianne Moore) and her partner Dane Wells (Michael Shannon) making an undercover drug bust in the opening scenes. In the rough and tumble process, Hester is knocked to the ground. The scene effectively captures her courage and willingness to risk her life for her job; a fact that later becomes paramount.

Later, we see Hester at a women's volleyball game, where her lack of adroitness hardly escapes the notice of a young player on the opposing team; Stacie Andree (Ellen Page). Sparing Hester further humiliation, Stacie gently serves the ball to her, which earns her thanks from her opponent afterward. Standing in the parking lot after the game, Stacie asks Hester for her number, which progresses to a relationship from a series of dates.

We see a little of the sexism and homophobia the two woman face in their jobs and in public as the story unfolds. In one scene, three toughs take exception to the couple's public display of affection, then aggressively demand their money, only to be driven off when Hester pulls her gun. The act takes Stacie by surprise, as Hester is forced to reveal her occupation; much to her partner's dismay.

As the two become closer, they decide to buy a house. Wells himself becomes aware of his partner's orientation one day while delivering a house-warming gift. After meeting Stacie, he becomes angry with Hester for not trusting him enough to share her personal life with him.

As the two women settle into their domestic partnership, Stacie becomes aware of a chronic pain that Hester mentions one day while the two dance in their living room. Stacie urges her to see a doctor and in a heartbreaking scene that follows, the women learn of Hester's terminal lung cancer. Undaunted by the grim news, Stacie is unfailingly optimistic until they learn Hester's condition is incurable.

Certain of the hopeless situation, the couple realize that without Hester's income, Stacie will be unable to keep the house. Recognizing her partner's need for extra income, Hester initiates the process which will allow Stacie to receive her pension. Aware that local and state laws ensure Hester can pass on her pension to a domestic partner, the women learn the Ocean City Freeholders have decided otherwise. Several bigoted members reject her formal request. Weakened by her therapy and illness, Hester makes a formal plea to the Freeholders during a public meeting, only to be rejected again.
A reporter present at the meeting writes an article on the story and as it attracts local and regional attention, a gay activist named Steven Goldstein (Steve Carell) decides to take up her cause; organizing demonstrations and flooding the Freeholder meetings with protesters.

Stacie and Hester's struggle and Goldstein's efforts are widely known and public record, so it's hard to actually spoil the ending, though I will still refrain from mentioning it here.

One would have to be heartless or Republican not to be moved by Hester and Stacie's story. It is astonishing to consider how much has changed since the story made national headlines. The fact that the Supreme Court only recently ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right makes the film's arrival very timely. But though the Supreme Court's decision is a legal victory, the film shows how virulent opposition has been and is. Of course it would be difficult to not think of recent headlines while watching the movie and the controversial case of Kim Davis, which makes Hester's story all the more relevant.

But as much as the subject matter moves me, I never felt I was watching a movie. I was emotionally involved in the story but I could see little reason for the movie to be projected on a large screen when a Samsung flat-screen would serve as well.
I have no quibbles with the performances, which one would expect to be top-notch. Both Ellen Page and Julianne Moore were quite terrific as was Michael Shannon though Steve Carell seemed to belong in another movie. The scene I found to be the most powerful is Wells' appeal to his colleagues to lend their support to Hester at a crucial Freeholder meeting. To see Shannon, who concurrently plays as a stone-hearted real estate speculator in 99 Homes portray someone more sensitive is startling and refreshing.

Freeheld is so heavily character-driven, the look and direction seem to be an afterthought. Director Peter Sollett has made better movies; one of which comes to mind is Raising Victory Vargas. But it is difficult to make movies about true stories that carry a social message and make them not seem like true stories that carry a social message. Try as he might, Sollett can't elevate screenwriter Ron Nyswaner's script to something cinematically poignant, as Jonathan Demme did with his script for Philadelphia.

Despite the film's sense of urgency, it can't shake its tee-vee-ness. It will play better on DVD, which should better accommodate its low-scale, visual ambitions. If nothing else, Laurel Hester's courageous story is never trivialized or made quaint. Her struggle for equality is still gripping a decade later.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 1

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Francis Lawrence/Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci and Liam Hemsworth

The penultimate Hunger Games installment arrives and with it come some new though hardly surprising developments. Director Francis Lawrence, who is now an HG veteran; brings us a story that is well-paced, with plenty of action action scenes to mingle with a few interesting character developments.

Jennifer Lawrence has now lived in Katniss Everdeen's skin for a few films and wears her character well. Eschewing an auto-pilot performance, she makes us care about Katniss with her compassion and her Greek-goddess-of-the-hunt heroism.

It's safe to say the HG films have eclipsed and buried the Twilight series in terms of adolescent popularity. Thank goodness; who could stand one more movie about narcissistic bloodsuckers who stood around looking like they were waiting for a Vanity Fair photo shoot.

The film wastes little time starting where the last story left off. Katniss has been rescued by the rebel government, who occupy a well concealed and well-fortified base underground in District 13. While she laments the loss of her best chum, Peeta Mellark, the rebel leader, President Coin (Julianne Moore), and her adviser/assistant Plutarch Heavensbee (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, in his last role) attempt to wheedle a reluctant Katniss into becoming the face of the rebellion. Katniss balks but when she sees a broadcast of Peeta--alive and well--being interviewed by Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci), she changes her mind. She recognizes that Peeta has become a government pawn and propaganda tool. Her agreement comes with conditions, the most salient being Peeta's rescue from the government.

Katniss learns that being the face of the rebellion means being exploited and having her image manipulated by digital media to make her appear more heroic and leader-like. It is interesting that both Peeta and Katniss become pawns of opposing political bodies. One of the major themes in the series has been media and governmental manipulation.

Helping Katniss along with her image is stylist Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), who has been exiled from the capitol. And equipping Katniss and her ad-hoc rebel unit is Beetee (Jeffrey Wright); who performs a service for the rebellion the way Q does for MI6 and James Bond.
Though Coin initially refuses to allow Katniss to fight for fear of losing the rebellion's most potent symbol, she also finds she has little choice when Katniss places herself in harm's way. As Katniss witnesses the devastation the Capitol has wreaked on the districts, she becomes more amenable to rebellion imperatives. And as both sides exchange hostilities, Peeta's rescue becomes the narrative focus.

Though it isn't hard to tell where the story will lead, Director Lawrence shows he has a nice touch at keeping the tension tightly wound and demonstrates sound story-telling instincts when he prevents Katniss' budding romance with Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) from crowding out the story.

The film could have made President Coin and the rebel leaders appear saintly but the story is nuanced enough to show the rebellion's propaganda techniques to be much like the government's.

While watching the film, we know the last installment is yet to come, which means the audience will be left with an Empire Strikes Back-like cliffhanger. We discover something about Peeta I won't mention here; something to be addressed in the next and last installment.

Though I've enjoyed the series, I feel I'm ready to see it wrapped up and brought to a definitive conclusion. It hasn't worn out its welcome--yet--but it might have if the producers had decided to drag it out to 5 or 6 iterations. And do we really need the last installment to know how it will all end? The only surprises will come from the characters--mainly Katniss and Peeta.

And do I really need to say more about a series that has been cloned by its lesser successor, Divergent? No, nothing more need be said.

I may miss Katniss Everdeen when it's all said and done...or I may be eager to move on.

Yeah, that's more likely.