The latest film releases include Hard Truths, Vermiglio, Diane Warren: Relentless, and The Last Showgirl. Weighing in are William Bibbiani, film critic for the Wrap and co-host of the Critically Acclaimed Network, and Christy Lemire, writer for RogerEbert.com and co-host of the podcast Breakfast All Day.
Hard Truths
Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays a woman whose untreated mental health issues have made her angry and paranoid, leaving a huge impact on the people closest to her. This is English filmmaker Mike Leigh’s first film in six years.
Bibbiani: “Mike Leigh can be a very harsh filmmaker. He can look very frankly at people's relationships in very uncomfortable ways. … Marianne Jean-Baptiste is, frankly, just an incredible artist as an actor. To watch her work in this film is to see someone who is absolutely uncompromising in their depiction of someone going through something that is hard to understand. If you've never been through it, or known anyone who has been through it, she is not trying to make the character more sympathetic. … You're going to get a lot of truth, and it's going to be incredibly difficult. … The supporting cast is impeccable as well. … This is a devastating character piece. It is an absolutely brilliant film, but even in the best of times, it can be a hard watch.”
Lemire: “The totally organic portrayal of daily life seems mundane in the beginning, whether it's just conversations around the kitchen table, people talking about their lives, it feels like nothing is really happening, and there's no real driving narrative. But then you realize by the end that you have witnessed this full life, and it happens in totally organic ways. And [Bibbiani] makes this movie sound really hard to watch, which it is, but it's also really funny at times, like the awkward comedy that you see on Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Vermiglio
From Italian director Maura Delpero, this centers around an army deserter who causes a stir when he moves into a remote mountain village in 1944.
Lemire: “It is shortlisted for the Oscar. It is a gorgeous, gorgeous film. … It's just the day-in, day-out life of this huge family living in this small mountain town called Vermiglio … at the end of World War II. And what Maura Delpero does in just indicating these relationships is so subtle and so exquisitely observed. … You really got to pay attention to what is happening, because big dramatic things occur, but they don't occur in big, dramatic ways. And it really rewards you for paying attention and allowing yourself to just get subsumed into this atmosphere.”
Diane Warren: Relentless
This documentary is about the legendary songwriter best known for the Aerosmith song “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”
Bibbiani: “We see how she started off as a kid listening to music and not getting good grades, putting herself out there. … It's an incredibly interesting and inspiring documentary for a variety of reasons, to see her overcome some of the really tragic things that we learn about her, to discover that she wrote so many of these classic love songs, like “Because You Loved Me” or “Unbreak My Heart” … and she's had almost no love life her entire life.”
Lemire: “She's from Van Nuys. And she grew up getting into trouble and going to parties. And the person that she was then really informs who she would be the rest of her life, in terms of just not caring what people think, for the most part. It's interesting to see how her career has evolved as music has evolved. Even as the industry changes, she remains a really fascinating figure because she is so hard working, she's really idiosyncratic and profane. … And the reasons that she's so regimented are very interesting. She's very candid about the work, but not very candid about herself, and that makes her an elusive figure throughout.”
The Last Showgirl
Gia Coppola’s film is about the dying culture of Vegas showgirls, starring Pamela Anderson.
Lemire: “I think the story behind the casting of Pamela Anderson in this film is more compelling than the actual performance. But what she's doing here feels very raw and very true, and there's a sweetness to her that is very engaging. … She plays this longtime showgirl named Shelly in a very old-fashioned, razzle-dazzle showgirl thing with the headdresses. … It is shot beautifully and vividly and richly. And you really feel like you are part of it. It’s not the glamorous side of Las Vegas that we so frequently see in films. It is very middle class, modest homes and the seedy side of Vegas.”
Bibbiani: “I love this film as a metaphor for the working class entertainers of Hollywood as well, of which Pamela Anderson was one. I mean, she was cranking out episodes of Baywatch and not getting a lot of respect for it. … I don't think people appreciate just how many people who make the entertainment world run are barely eeking by. … I think this is a lovely performance of Pamela Anderson, and it feels earned. The whole movie feels earned. I like it a lot.”