Middleburg Review: 'Low Down' starring John Hawkes and Elle Fanning

The story of jazz pianist Joe Albany is one we've heard before: talented in music, not so successful in life. The drug-addicted musician was one of the few Caucasian pianists respected in the genre, but his personal demons held back would could have been an even greater career. With Low Down, debuting director Jeff Preiss recreates the dying jazz music scene of 1970s Los Angeles in faithfully despairing tones, matched only by a bleak and stagnant mood that is a complete and utter drag.

The film isn't so much about Albany as his daughter, Amy-Jo (Elle Fanning), whose memoir inspires this tale of a troubling tale of drugs, bad parenting, and stunted childhoods. The always-great John Hawkes plays Joe, the father she loves even though he will do nothing but disappoint her forever. When the film begins we see him being arrested, slammed up against a car right in front of her eyes, just after a fleeting moment of happiness. Such moments continue to be fleeting on the rare occasions they occur in this desolate picture. Told mostly from Amy-Jo's perspective, there's also very little actual jazz to be heard, or at least not enough for those who appreciate the genre and know Albany's music. Drugs and a weird assortment of afflicted characters populate Amy-Jo's world, which is just the rundown crack den of an apartment complex she calls home. Joe's "friends" stop by all the time for a visit; him awkwardly coming up with excuses to duck out and get high. Amy-Jo adores her father to a fault, or as she puts it early on her love for him is "out of proportion". She will forgive him anything, he loves her but not enough to change his ways. Her estranged mother (Lena Headey) is far worse; an alcoholic with a poisonous attitude. Only Amy-Jo's battle ax of a grandmother (Glenn Close) and brief fling with an epileptic boy (Caleb Landry Jones) offer a brief glimmer of hope. Don't count on it to last. Not even strange appearances by Peter Dinklage, Flea, and Orange is the New Black's Taryn Manning can uplift this film's dank spirits.

On the flipside, though, that was probably what Preiss was going for. Clearly, he knew Albany's story was going to be one long wet blanket, but did he have to go quite so far? The audience is rarely given a moment to stop and breathe, to steady themselves for the latest awful twist of fate to occur. Shot with painstaking detail in naturally dark undertones by cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt (The Bling Ring), he nails the mood Preiss was aiming for, even if it's not the most pleasing to the eye. Then again, Low Down isn't meant to be a pleasing movie; the producers admitted as much during a special Q&A after its screening here in Middleburg. So that begs the question, "Who is this movie for?" Maybe those who appreciate the talents of Hawkes and Fanning, who are both predictably good here, but too bad you'll be too miserable to care. Low Down is a terminally depressing, low-key film that will leave anyone who sees it in a complete funk.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Read More

John Hawkes and Elle Fanning get Jazzy in Trailers for 'Low Down'

Sundance films first screened at the festival in January continue to make their way into theaters, but they don't carry the same level of positive buzz. One that made a lot of noise, both good and bad, was Low Down, the jazz music biopic on bebop pianist Joe Albany. John Hawkes, who was at the at the festival two years ago for The Sessions, plays Albany as he struggles with a heroin addiction that derailed a promising career. The story is told from the perspective of his daughter Amy Jo (Elle Fanning), who wrote the memoir the film is based on.

Reviews out of Sundance were mixed although, including one from my Addicted to Film pal Tim Gordon who called it one of the most depressing movies he ever saw. But the response was strong to both Hawkes and Fanning, and with a release right around the corner now could be when Low Down starts getting some attention again.

Directed by Jeff Priess with  Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Glenn Close, Tim Daly, Taryn Manning, Billy Drago, River Ross and Flea co-starring, Low Down opens in limited release on October 24th.

Read More

Review: 'Life of Crime' Starring John Hawkes, Jennifer Aniston, and Yasiin Bey

The works of famed crime novelist Elmore Leonard are a popular source for directors looking to dip their toes in the genre, but few are able to fully capture the author's snappy narrative voice. A few managed to get it right; Quentin Tarantino with Jackie Brownand Steven Soderbergh's sexy Out of Sight, and some would probably say Get Shorty although for me that film has always been somewhat overrated. Dan Schechter, whose last film was the lively indie, Supporting Characters, brings that same creative energy to Life of Crime, easily the best Leonard adaptation since Out of Sight steamed up theaters sixteen years ago.

The background on this one is as twisty as one of Leonard's plots, although knowing the history isn’t necessary to enjoy the madcap criminal shenanigans at play. Seeing as Leonard's book, The Switch, is the inspiration, and is a prequel to Rum Punch, which Tarantino adapted into Jackie Brown; Life of Crime follows the early exploits of characters we already know pretty well. Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and John Hawkes are the young Ordell and Louis (played by Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro in Jackie Brown), and the petty crooks have happened upon their next "get rich quick" scheme. That eerily familiar plan involves kidnapping Mickey (Jennifer Aniston) the socialite wife to rich Detroit businessman Frank Taylor (Tim Robbins), and scoring a hefty ransom. But the duo, who we know will have a long history of not thinking things through, didn't bother to research their target. It seems that Frank has been skipping town often under the guise of business trips, when he's actually down in Florida vacationing with his mistress, Melanie (Isla Fisher, played by Bridget Fonda in Jackie Brown), who he plans to marry.

So what does that mean for their hopes of extorting $1M in cold cash to return Mickey to her "loving" husband"? It means things are only going to get more complicated, especially as Mickey comes to realize that her supposedly wedded bliss may not be all she thought it was. As her relationship with the clearly-smitten Louis deepens, tensions arise between the two old buddies when Ordell begins to suspect the jig has been compromised. Does he trust his friend to see their scheme through to the end? What if things get ugly and there needs to be violence? The question of just how far Louis is willing to go proves to be the film's driving force, with Hawkes turning in yet another terrific performance. Those used to De Niro's later portrayal may take a little time getting used to Hawkes' quirkier approach, but by the end of the film you can see how and why Louis evolves as he does. Hawkes and Aniston trade barbs and emotional exchanges in equal measure, and while they have good chemistry together comedically they don't share much in romantic chemistry. Schechter, who wrote the script on spec in hopes Leonard would approve (he did obviously), has his sights set on laughs rather than stirring up passion. The film's best bits are the funny ones, and many of them center on Mark Boone Junior as Richard, a racist, Nazi-loving dufus (he likes Ordell, though, just enough) who can't get anything right. He's stupid but dangerous, and when the stakes suddenly ramp up it's because of his dim-witted actions. Ultimately, it's Mickey's beauty that becomes the biggest obstacle as Will Forte plays a wimpy friend whose crush on her threatens to blow the plan up before it's even started. Schechter leans hard on the '70s soundtrack and authentically dated outfits, perfectly fitting for the era even if they seem a little weird on the decidedly modern Aniston.

As much fun as Life of Crime turns out to be it does struggle to conjure up fresh surprises due to the familiarity of a plot we've seen far too often. The characters keep it light and engaging, a testament to the strength of Leonard's writing and Schechter’s direction. The author himself may be gone, but as long as enjoyable films like Life of Crime are out there his work will endure.

 Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Read More

Jennifer Aniston and John Hawkes Have a 'Life of Crime' in New Trailer

Okay, try to keep it all straight. Life of Crime is an adaptation of famed crime novelist Elmore Leonard's book, The Switch, which is a prequel to Rum Punch, adapted for the screen by Quentin Tarantino as Jackie Brown. So that makes Life of Crime a prequel following many of the same characters seen in Jackie Brown but played by totally different actors. Got it? Good, because the first trailer has been released to help put it all together.

John Hawkes and Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) are younger versions of career criminals Louis Gara and Ordell Robbie (played by Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson before), who come up with a plan for one big score. Jennifer Aniston is the wife of a wealthy Detroit developer, making her the perfect target to be held for ransom, except that her husband has a mistress and no intention of paying to get her back.  It looks like director Daniel Schecter did as much as he could to get some distance from Tarantino's film, which is probably the right way to go about it.

Also starring Isla Fisher, Tim Robbins, and Will Forte, Life of Crime opens August 29th.

Read More

Amanda Seyfried Joins 'Pan'; 'Legend' Adds Emily Browning; Zooey Deschanel Boards 'Driftless Area'

* Filming on Joe Wright's Pan kicks off Monday, and so the cast has been firmed up. Amanda Seyfried will take on the role of Mary, joining Levi Miller as Peter Pan, Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard, Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily, Adeel Akhtar as Smee, and Garrett Hedlund as Captain Hook. Also coming aboard are Jack Charles, Kathy Burke, Taejoo Na, Nonso Anozie, Kurt Egyiawan, Lewis MacDougall, and newcomer Leni Zieglmeier as Wendy Darling.

* Emily Browning will get to star with not one but two Tom Hardys in the period crime thriller, Legend, in which he plays twin gangsters Ronny and Reginald Kray. Directed by Brian Helgeland, the film will chronicle the brothers' criminal exploits and celebrity hobsnobbing throughout the 1950s and '60s. Browning will play "a young woman who tragically falls for Reggie and marries him, hoping he will change his gangster ways." [THR]

* Zooey Deschanel, Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Ciaran Hinds, and John Hawkes will star in Zachary Sluser's directorial debut, Driftless Area. Adapted from Tom Drury's novel, the film has Deschanel as "an enigmatic woman while Yelchin portrays a bartender who returns to his hometown after the death of his parents. When he falls in love with her, he is unwittingly pitted against a volatile criminal played by Hawkes." [Variety]

Read More

Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Jason Clarke, and Jake Gyllenhaal May Climb 'Everest'

After taking us on a harrowing sea journey in The Deep, director Baltasar Kormakur is taking on another man vs. nature tale in Everest, and he's been aiming high in looking for a star. Christian Bale had been eyed to lead the film, which is based on Jon Krakauer's novel Into Thin Air about a doomed 1996 expedition, but now four more big names are set to play the explorers.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, and John Hawkes are in talks to join Everest, with Bale appearing to be out of the picture. The film will be based on a number of sources, including interviews with survivors recounting the climb that claimed the lives of eight experienced climbers.

If all goes to plan, filming will begin this November.

Read More

Sure Shots: John Hawkes; Eric Bana; Sean Penn

* Some might call this a lateral move, but to me this is trading up. With Mark Ruffalo out, Oscar-nominee John Hawkes has stepped in to take his place in Low Down, a biopic on jazz musician Joe Albany. Hawkes will take on the lead role of the troubled jazz/bebop pianist who played alongside the likes of Charlie Parker and Benny Carter. The film is based on his daughter's memoir Low Down: Junk, Jazz, and Other Fairy Tales from Childhood and will be told from her perspective as she watches her father struggle with heroin addiction in the 1960s and '70s. Jeff Preis will make his directorial when production begins next March. [Variety]

* Following up on the success of Sinister, Scott Derrickson is already prepping his follow-up, and he's just landed Eric Bana to lead it. Bana will star in Beware the Night, which Derrickson will direct and co-write alongside The Exorcism of Emily Rose's Paul Boardman. The story follows an NYC cop who investigates the paranormal, including werewolves, exorcisms, and demon possessions. Does he do this all on company time? I like Bana, and we've never seen him do this sort of thing before so this is a win-win as far as I'm concerned. [The Wrap]

* Sean Penn: action hero? Hey, it's one of the few challenges left for the actor to tackle, and he's taking his first steps towards it by entering talks to star in Prone Gunman, an adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette's French crime novel. Written by Peter Travis, the story follows hitman Martin Terrier, who is betrayed by the organization he works for when he decides to leave the killing business behind. While it sounds generic on its face, Manchette's bore resemblance to the French New Wave of films and were existential examinations of the human condition. Come on, you didn't really think Penn would sign on for any old thing, would you? A director is still being sought, but obviously this is one that has to be kept an eye on. [THR]

Read More

John Hawkes to star in indie thriller, 'Too Late'

How can I put this: If John Hawkes is in a movie, I'm paying to see it. Period.  The respected character actor made a dramatic turn with his fearsome performance as Teardrop in Winter's Bone, and has been energizing films like Martha Marcy May Marlene and Higher Ground ever since. He's managed to do all this while sticking mostly to the indie scene(except for his recurring bit on Eastbound & Down), and now he'll do it again as part of the indie thriller, Too Late.

Hawkes will lead the ensemble cast which includes the great Peter Bogdanovich(The Last Picture Show), Natalie Zea, Rider Strong(Cabin Fever), Dichen Lachman. Dennis Hauck will make his feature writing/directing debut with the non-linear story of a private investigator(Hawkes) and the tangled relationship he has with the woman he's been hired to track down.

This one's kicking off pretty fast, beginning later this month. From there, Hawkes will jump straight into Switch, the prequel to Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch, which was then adapted by Quentin Tarantino into Jackie Brown. I think the next big film for Hawkes will be The Surrogate, a festival darling in which he plays a paralyzed poet in an iron lung with aspirations of having his first sexual experience. Fox Searchlight bought the rights for the surprising crowd pleaser after Sundance, and we should see it later this year. You can find my review of it here. [THR]

Read More

Mos Def and John Hawkes to star in a prequel to 'Jackie Brown'

Well, when it comes to prequels of Quentin Tarantino movies, I'd much rather it be Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction, but oh well. Then again, Jackie Brown isn't truly a "Quentin Tarantino joint", as it was based on Elmore Leonard's crime novel, Rum Punch. There's been movement on a film adaptation to the book's prequel for quite some time, with Dan Schecter coming on back in 2010 to write and direct. Now it looks like production is gearing up as two pretty big names are set to fill some even bigger shoes.

John Hawkes(Winter's Bone) and rapper/actor Mos Def(The Italian Job) are set to star in The Switch, which takes place about 15 years before Jackie Brown. They'll play younger versions of Louis Gara and Ordell Robbie, played previously by Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson, in a story that has the two criminals hitting it off in prison and deciding to team up one one big score after they're released.

Leonard is on board as a producer, even though Schecter apparently adapted the book without his permission. Pretty ballsy! Adaptations of his work have been pretty hit or miss. For every Out of Sight or Get Shorty, there's a Killshot or Be Cool. Some would even put Jackie Brown in the negative category, as it's always been one of Tarantino's more polarizing films. Personally, I dig it, and despite not knowing squat about Dan Schecter, I'm pretty excited for the prequel.

Read More

Sundance Review: 'The Surrogate', starring John Hawkes and Helen Hunt

It's going to be hard for some people to reconcile the magnetic, jovial John Hawkes we are treated to in The Surrogate with the psychologically twisted characters he's mastered in Winter's Bone and Martha Marcy May Marlene. The Surrogate sees him throwing off the supporting actor shackles under which he's been confined for too long. A smart, funny, poignant film dealing with sex from a perspective that has rarely been explored on screen, and with it's clear lust for life the film seems destined to be a player at the Academy Awards next year. Hawkes might want to start booking his flight now, as well.

Based on the life and writings of Mark O'Brien, a witty and intellectually curious man whose body has been paralyzed by polio. Unable to breathe on his own, Mark spends nearly every hour of the day in a massive iron lung, which looks basically like a big metal coffin. The similarities aren't lost on Mark, either, but he's not one for doom and gloom. Self pity isn't in his vocabulary, and he's managed to get along well, graduating from college in 1978. A romantic at heart, as well as a natural flirt, Mark is easily attracted to the opposite sex, but with his condition he has never known physical love. Although he has virtually no movement over the bulk of his body(he types and makes phone calls using his mouth), he's still able to be aroused, although has no opportunity to put it to good use. Getting older, and reaching an age where people like him tend to die off, Mark decides now might be the time to finally lose his virginity.

A deeply spiritual man who believes God has a "wicked sense of humor", he reaches out to his priest(William H. Macy) for advice. Given a reluctant thumbs up(God will "give him a pass"), Mark doesn't just send his attendants(Moon Bloodgood and W. Earl Brown) to go trolling for prostitutes. He's instead pointed in the direction of a sexual surrogate named Cheryl(Helen Hunt).

What is a sexual surrogate? Basically, it's someone who is paid to teach another about the act of having sex. Not a prostitute exactly(Cheryl explains it plainly and emphatically why), but more like a therapist. Their initial sessions are awkward, with Cheryl not only acclimating Mark to the body of a woman, but also how to value his own. Always having viewed his own twisted form as some sort of curse, Mark's struggles to learn to love himself prove to be the biggest hurdle. Cheryl only allows six total sessions with any client(part of the "not a prostitute" rule), giving a need for steady and consistent results each time.

The word "brave" is thrown around a lot when actresses of a certain age dare to show their naked bodies on screen, and if that's the case then Helen Hunt is made of sterner stuff than anybody in Hollywood. She's stark naked for about half of the film, and it's that comfort and ease with being so open that we see reflected in Cheryl. It's a completely necessary piece of the puzzle.

Hawkes as well, gives what is a rousing, charismatic performance. In Mark, we have someone who has never felt completely whole, not just because of his handicaps but because of what he feels it's taken away from him. Not just an ability to be loved by others, but to be able to demonstrate love in the ways a man should. As he grows more confident, the bond between them strengthens, and as you might expect, emotions start to get a little fuzzy. What doesn't change is the dramatic impact they have on one another's lives. They force eachother to live life to the fullest and in any way that makes you happy, whatever that may entail.

While the film does deal with issues regarding orgasms and erections with maturity, there are times it seemed like something was being held back. Maybe it's my desire to see a unique film like this push some boundaries that would make the MPAA squirm. Tonally, and in terms of story, The Surrogate is likely to draw some comparisons to The King's Speech, as it's about one man overcoming a debilitating handicap to achieve some measure of greatness with the help of a unconventional mentor. It's that similarity that led Fox Searchlight to buy the rights to the film for a hefty sum, and with it's obvious mainstream appeal there are some questions how the MPAA is going to treat it. The nudity and sexual content will almost certainly net it an 'R' rating, but if perhaps the envelope had pushed just a little further it'd be interesting to see what would have happened.

Far too often it seemed as if achieving widespread appeal was the goal, and so we get only the happy, squeaky clean version of Mark's fight. This is even more apparent in the film's final act, where something unavoidably terrible happens, and rather than deal with it, we get weak voice overs designed to pluck a few heartstrings. Writer/director Ben Lewin has found something funny, honest, and thoughtful in The Surrogate, but falls just short of finding something profound.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Read More