Disc Reviews

A story about a man so desperate to prove his importance and rub elbows with the elite that he’s willing to kill for the privilege. I can see why Christoph Waltz made this film his directorial debut. Of course, it is also great that he also chooses to act in it as well, because as this film proves, Waltz is not only a tremendous actor, but he is quite capable in as a director as well. Based on the New York Times Magazine article, “The Worst Marriage in Georgetown,” Waltz stars as Ulrich Mott, an ambitious social climber that is willing to go to great lengths to obtain the status that he believes himself deserving of.  Too bad nobody else seems to see him in the same light, that is until Vanessa Redgrave’s Elsa Brecht, his wife as well as his subsequent murder victim. Brecht, who is a quite a few years older than Mott, helps him to discover his confidence and thanks to her own standing in the political community, manages to put him in the orbit of several powerbrokers. That is until she realizes that she created a monster, a monster that would eventually lead to her downfall. Rounding out the cast is Annette Benning as Brecht’s daughter whose disapproving of the relationship and Corey Hawkins as Mott’s lawyer during the murder trial.

While the film is based off the true story of the murder of Viola Herms Drath, several aspects are altered for the sake of the film. Such as the names; Waltz’s character is Ulrich Mott rather than Albrecht Gero Muth, while Redgrave’s character is Elsa Brecht instead of Viola Herms Drath. Another notable change is the age difference, as the real Muth was 44 years Drath’s junior, making him 26 at the time of their marriage. The story develops in an intriguing fashion, being broken up into several sections that essentially each tell a specific portion of the events that lead to the murder. Each section is intercut between flashback sequences and the story as it unfolds in real time. This manner of storytelling was very enjoyable because each portion felt self-contained while still feeding into the overarching plot and showing a clear descent into tragedy.

I like it when films limit themselves to one or two locations. I feel like it puts more emphasis on the acting. Of course when you limit yourself in such a fashion, it is important that the acting is of great quality. Thankfully, the actors of Wildcat are up to the task and deliver sound performances, especially lead actress Georgina Campbell of Krypton fame. Wildcat is a psychological thriller that follows Khadija Young (Campbell), an ambitious journalist stationed in the Middle East who is taken captive after her convoy is ambushed. With her and a young marine the only survivors of the convoy attacked, they find themselves at the mercy of militants led by a cold and calculating leader. The film does not shy away from the ugliness of captivity, establishing the use of torture against enemy combatants from the very first scene. Our protagonist finds herself locked away in a secure room, and the first thing that happens is that her captors remove one of her fingernails. That’s how the film opened up, so you could only imagine what other horrors she was forced to face. However, the trauma is not only of the body, but of the psyche.

This is where I must give praise to Campbell, because her panic is palpable. She really played up the weak and meager aspect. Initially, I was bothered by this, because I thought this would be the bulk of her performance; fear and despair, and there is only so much of that you can watch before you get desensitized. But then something happened; as the leader is probing her for information and accusing her of being a spy, she in a sense turns the tables on him. Not only does she show hidden depths, but she basically tells him that she knows exactly who he is and what he’s done. Granted, this essentially ruins her ability to claim that she is nothing more than a journalist; this scene carried weight because for a brief moment, we saw the power dynamic shift from the captor to the captive. Having this scene take place from the offset, adding depth and intrigue to the film. It actually made me sit up and pay attention more intently, because now I was really intrigued. Because it became clear that there was more to the Khadija Young character than meets the eye. That is something I love to see, for a character to show hidden depths and for the perceived weakling to show previously unknown strength.

I have often found foreign comedy films a bit dry. Comedy can be so specific to culture that it rarely translates the way it might be understood or perceived in its native language and culture. The same is often true of poetry. Something gets lost in either the translation or the lack of a common experience. There are exceptions to these films. I've found that the most successful way to make sure your comedy jumps language and cultural boundaries is to avoid the jokes. Let the comedy come through in the situations, actions, and body language of the performers. Because the one thing that crosses all human experiences is the human experience itself. Don't try so much to be funny. It doesn't even have to be foreign. Don't you hate it when you watch a movie that the cast and crew obviously thought was rolling on the floor funny and you just didn't get it? It's all inside jokes, and that's what most foreign comedies have felt like for me. There has recently been a very notable exception. Beate is an Italian film that you won't have to struggle to get. Oh, you might pretend you're not getting it. I guess I did. But is that a smile starting to find its way out of that stoic expression? You must have gotten a head start and begun viewing Beate, out from Corinth Films. Good for you.

Armida (Finocchiaro) works as a kind of foreman for a fashion lingerie designer in their small sewing shop. There have been rumors that the owner intends to lay them off and move the company to another country where she can use cheaper labor. Of course, this gets the ladies in a bit of an uproar. They don't want to lose their jobs, but that doesn't stop them from complaining to Armida about all of the shortcomings of their situation. The boss doesn't want them upset yet, because she has a big showing soon and wants them all to remain dedicated and on the job until after the show. But word gets out, and now the ladies don't know how they are going to make a living.

"Welcome to the unlimited possibilities of the Quantum."

It's a somewhat near future, and airport baggage handler Ray (Imperial) is in need of more money. He doesn't have the new Quantum computer, and he discovers that he isn't able to access accurate data on the net because everyone is now using the new format. He also has a brother Jamie (Howard) who is suffering from Omnia, which is a disease that makes you tired all of the time. It's considered by many to be fake, and "clinics" have popped up to treat the disease with odd ... and very expensive treatments. It's a scam, and Ray has bought into it. So he's going to need money.

"Months from now, if you’re ever asked where you were, what you were doing, on October 9, you’ll have the muscle memory of what you did. You won’t have to construct the lie, because you lived it."

We all live that day in somewhat excruciating detail. I'm talking about the opening 20 minutes of Showtime's limited series Your Honor, starring everyone's favorite high school chemistry teacher, Bryan Cranston. The ten-episode crime thriller/drama was developed by British television wunderkind Peter Moffat and took a rather long route to this American release. It's based on an Israeli series called Kvodo and was originally remade in India before finally taking a shot in America via a British writer. I have not had the opportunity to see either of the earlier incarnations, so I can't really comment on how faithful this version might have been. Beyond a strictly academic purpose, what's important is how this series stands on its own. And that analysis is just as complicated as the path the material has taken around the world to your television ... or, God help us, your phone.