On the first Saturday of the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF), I was fortunate enough to meet two kind, generous and talented individuals who were in town from Germany to promote their movie “Zurich”. I met director Frederik Steiner and his lead actor Liv Lisa Fries in the lobby of the JW Marriott and after introductions were made I was immediately struck by their friendliness. They stated how thankful they were for my write-up of their film and I must say – seeing a wonderful film and then a week later being told from the director and actor that they’re grateful for my favorable review of their film was pretty surreal. It doesn’t happen often. It’s actually never happened to me before, but I would wish the experience on any hard-working film critic.
CIFF 2014 – IN REVIEW, part 1
Happy Anniversary to the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF), which turns 50 this year! It is North America’s longest running competitive international film festival. The festival organizers have been celebrating all year, with various screenings and events, but it all comes down to the two weeks in October, from the 9th through the 23rd. This is where the real celebration takes place. While there are special commemorative screenings such as “Breaking the Waves” and “Fanny and Alexander” as well as special guests like directors Taylor Hackford, Oliver Stone, Liv Ullmann and actors Kathleen Turner and Isabelle Hubert, the primary focus of CIFF remains the same as it has been for the past 50 years. That is, to provide an opportunity to discovery new talent from different lands or from right here in Chicago. This is where film enthusiasts in Chicago congregate with anticipation and excitement.
CIFF 2014: Opening Night – MISS JULIE
The Chicago International Film Festival commences tomorrow night with Liv Ullmann’s drama “Miss Julie”, leading to an impressive and exciting number of films from talents both new and old alike. Films begin screening to the public Friday, October 10th, and will continue to the festival’s closing night film, Jean Marc Vallée’s (“Dallas Buyers Club“) latest film “Wild” starring Reese Witherspoon. The fall film festival circuit is a thrilling time of the year, not only because they often yield exciting early-looks at the films destined for Oscar glory (READ: “The Imitation Game”), but because of the magic of discovery. There’s a singular thrill to walking into a film with a name you’ve never heard before, made by unknown artists, and leaving the theater feeling like you struck gold. Witnessing the cinematic eye take form in unknown artists is gratifying, strangely hope-filled and central to what makes the festival experience so special. Enjoy the festival!
THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010) review
(With the recent release of David Fincher’s new film, “Gone Girl”, Brendan Hodges went through the director’s filmography….)
written by: Aaron Sorkin (screenplay) and Ben Mezrich (story)
produced by: Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca & Ceán Chaffin
directed by: David Fincher
rating: PG-13 (for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language)
runtime: 120 min.
U.S. release date: October 1, 2010
At what point do you know you’re watching a masterpiece? Did it hit the 1941 movie-going audience while watching “Citizen Kane” that it was one of the greatest movies ever or after? Was it on the first viewing, the second, or maybe the tenth for the tastemakers to whisper “masterpiece”? Famously, it took “Citizen Kane” a while to be deified as the greatest film of all time, growing in the collective consciousness of, well, just about everyone who saw it. However, some films are so epic in their scope and thematic volume that their greatness is instantly registered, like “Lawrence of Arabia” or “Chinatown”, both of which won rave reviews and plentiful Oscar attention. All three of these films consistently rank highly on best ever lists, and in fall 2010 they greeted a new member: David Fincher’s masterful “The Social Network“.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (2008) review
(In anticipation of David Fincher’s latest film, “Gone Girl”, Brendan Hodges is going through the director’s filmography….)
written by: Eric Roth (screenplay/story) and Robin Swicord (story)
produced by: Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin
directed by: David Fincher
rating: PG-13 (for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking)
runtime: 166 min.
U.S. release date: December 25, 2008
Few types of stories are more inviting than the coming-of-age tale. They have all the hallmarks of a universal narrative punctuated by moments that are instantly familiar. Titles like The Catcher in the Rye, “Stand by Me”, and “The Breakfast Club” capture the nervous excitement of a first kiss, the pang of heartbreak, and the red-faced embarrassment of making mistakes. Part of their allure is that they beg us to remember and to relate, a handshake with everyday life. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button“, the closest thing David Fincher’s made to an Oscar drama, seeks to measure the grip of that handshake.
ZODIAC (2007) review
(In anticipation of David Fincher’s latest film, “Gone Girl”, Brendan Hodges is going through the director’s filmography….)
written by: James Vanderbilt
produced by: Ceán Chaffin, Brad Fisher, Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer & James Vanderbilt
directed by: David Fincher
rating: R (for some strong killings, language, drug material and brief sexual images)
runtime: 157 min.
U.S. release date: March 2, 2007
Some films, it is said, have enough depth and dimension to the story and the style that multiple viewings aren’t just possible but required. There are famous examples, like Stanley Kubrick’s cipher-esque puzzles “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “The Shining”, which are teeming with so many symbols and cognitive tricks the full picture is incomprehensible at first. But other than David Fincher’s “Fight Club”, a famous contemporary example for a film where repeating viewings led to a drastic reevaluation of the movie, the complexity of Fincher’s films is not always immediately obvious. One ironic example is his serial-killer saga “Zodiac”, which many critics agree is his best film.
PANIC ROOM (2002) review
(In anticipation of David Fincher’s latest film, “Gone Girl”, Brendan Hodges is going through the director’s filmography….)
written by: David Koepp
produced by: Ceán Chaffin, Judy Hofflund, David Koep & Gavin Polone
directed by: David Fincher
rating: R (for violence and language)
runtime: 112 min.
U.S. release date: March 29, 2002
At no point in “Panic Room”, David FIncher’s thrilling follow-up to “Fight Club”, is it ever less than explicitly obvious this is a B movie. It proudly wears its pulpy heart on its sleeve, and everything, from the screenplay to the meticulously designed visuals, has been strategically designed to suck the air out of your lungs. At some point, “Fight Club” stops being fun and starts to sucker punch you with its themes instead; this never happens in “Panic Room”. The thin narrative and non-complex characters are proud machinations of Friday night movie fun, making “Panic Room” Fincher’s most accessible film to date. Playing off on yet another fear felt by most people, this is a story of home invasion. It’s a master artisan elevating B movie material, making a film that’s at once a perverted reverse of “Rear Window” and a more lethal “Home Alone”.
FIGHT CLUB (1999) review
(In anticipation of David Fincher’s latest film, “Gone Girl”, Brendan Hodges is going through the director’s filmography….)
written by: Jim Uhls (screenplay) and Chuck Palahniuk (story)
produced by: Art Linson, Ross Grayson Berll and Ceán Chaffin
directed by: David Fincher
rating: R (for disturbing and graphic image of violent anti-social behavior, sexuality and language)
runtime: 139 min.
U.S. release date: October 15, 1999
No other film is like David Fincher’s revolutionary, mad, incendiary “Fight Club”. It was a tectonic shift in film aesthetics and moral value, a The Graduate for the millennials, constantly attacking the status quo. It’s hard to leave “Fight Club” without rethinking what controls you and why, and how loud of a voice you are in your own head. It’s too bad it’s only as mature as an adolescent’s wet dream.
THE GAME (1997) review
(In anticipation of David Fincher’s latest film, “Gone Girl”, Brendan Hodges is going through the director’s filmography….)
written by: John Brancato and Michael Ferris
produced by: Steve Golin and Ceán Chaffin
directed by: David Fincher
rating: R (for language and some violence and sexuality)
runtime: 128 min.
U.S. release date: September 12, 1997
Brain twisters like “Memento”, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, and “Videodrome” are part of a popular subgenre known for their creativity and ability to tingle the mind. It’s the premiere form of filmmaking that paints over reality with a big question mark, turning the act of watching a movie into a sort of puzzle. It is here we go down the rabbit hole, and the threat of delusion is immediate. After the psychologically bracing “Se7en“, it’s easy to see what attracted David Fincher to his 1997 followup, “The Game“. It’s a puzzle film that uses its style to mimic many of the sensations felt in Se7en two years before: paranoia, fear, and loss. It’s Fincher’s most surreal film by far, implanting us in a world we become frightened of, and, worse, start to doubt. Fincher has a bottomless bag of tricks to make us question if what we’re seeing is really real. He’s the Mary Poppins of effing with you.
SE7EN (1995) review
(In anticipation of David Fincher’s latest film, “Gone Girl”, Brendan Hodges is going through the director’s filmography….)
written by: Andrew Kevin Walker
produced by: Arnold Kopelson and Phyllis Carlyle
directed by: David Fincher
rating: R (for grisly afterviews of horrific and bizarre killings and for strong language)
runtime: 128 min.
U.S release date: September 22, 1995
What it must have been like to see “Se7en” in 1995. After the diatribe that was “Alien 3”, David Fincher’s serial killer follow-up must have struck as a revelation. Certainly, that would have been my reaction; “Se7en” is one of the finest films of the 1990s. Hell, it’s one of the finest films ever made, period, mastering genre tropes and knowing which to keep and which to tweak. Without necessarily knowing the disastrous production troubles that had befallen the second “Alien” sequel, audiences and critics might have expected another insipid offering, with pulp thrills and little else. It’s true the first goal of “Se7en” is to entertain – however twisted that may seem given the film’s constant urge to disturb – but it’s also a vital cultural artifact, using the serial killer genre to unshackle the deep moral problems of today. But hindsight is 20/20, and alas, the critics of 1995, some of whom are still the critics of 2014, embraced the film as entertainment but dismissed it as art.
For those that don’t know, “Se7en” is a 1995 crime film about two detectives (Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman) chasing a mysterious serial killer who designs his kills to “turn each sin against the sinner.” These sins, the older and more thoughtful of the detectives explains, are the Christian seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. We are later told by the serial killer himself that he’s doing God’s good work, and that he’s exacting vengeance on a city in a state of moral decay.
Though it was shot on location in and around downtown L.A, the setting of “Se7en” famously goes unmentioned. Instead of hearing Chicago, Manhattan, or L.A., we hear the ominous “city”, which is constantly barraged by a moody deluge of heavy rainfall, referred to as “This place.” The refined but apathetic Detective William Somerset (played with wisdom and grace by a rarely better Morgan Freeman) is sick of his unpleasant existence living in a wicked city, and is set to retire. His replacement is the total opposite: Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt), a tousled, crude (a neck tie adorned with basketballs does not go unnoticed), and of considerable annoyance to Somerset, idealistic up-and-comer.
The killings are creatively perverse and perversely creative, and are capable of significant shock value. One of them, which I won’t specify here, features one of the best jump scares I have ever seen. Over the years, I’ve seen “Se7en” with many groups of people in many different settings, and each time viewer’s bodies shiver with nausea. The audience’s orientation to the seven deadly sins need not delay, since it isn’t long before the detectives are called to investigate a private residence, in the center of which is a 400 pound fat man. He’s seated, face down, with his head implanted in gigantic bowl of spaghetti sauce. Gluttony. Almost as though he’s warning unwitting audiences to leave, Fincher does us a friendly courtesy in the opening minutes of “Se7en”.
Unlike the disgustingly elaborate sadism shown in the rest of the film, the first crime scene (which isn’t tied to the seven deadly sins) is merely of a marriage dispute that ended with a husband’s brains and blood on the wall. Cue offended moms leaving with their disgruntled teenagers.
