Jane Heller

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

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Movie Day: “Spotlight”

November 15, 2015

spotlight poster

I so wanted to be a journalist by the end of this movie. As the credits rolled, I kept thinking what a noble profession journalism is when it’s not about sensationalism and how maligned it’s become, especially during this presidential campaign season. Which is another way of saying I loved “Spotlight.” Finally, a film that more than deserves all the accolades and prizes it’s garnered. The acting, the writing, the direction – all first rate.

Based on true events, it’s the story of the investigative unit of the Boston Globe that, in 2001, spent many months getting to the truth of the sex abuses by Catholic priests and exposing not only the guilty priests but the monumental cover-up at the highest levels of the church. The so-called spotlight team won a Pulitzer for their work, and in this movie we see why.

Michael Keaton leads the team, and as good as he was in “Birdman,” he’s even better here because the part is less showy. He and his reporters, played by Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo, among others, are as committed to their jobs as they are to the Catholic church having been raised in it, so their conflicts abound. Their investigation is boots-on-the-ground hard work, overseen by their new editor, played by the always good Liev Schreiber, and by “Mad Men” star John Slattery as Ben Bradlee, Jr. There’s no romanticizing of the investigation, no glamorizing and, best of all, no speechifying. These journalists speak like real people, not characters from a screenwriter’s imagination. And the result is surprisingly suspenseful – a thriller without the car chases and snarling villains. It’s a straightforward exercise in filmmaking, and it’s all the more engrossing for it.

And yes, I’m putting “Spotlight” on my Best Picture list for Oscar time – a no-brainer.

Filed Under: Mainly Jane, Movies, News stories Tagged With: John Slattery, Liev Shreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

Movie Night: "Birdman"

November 10, 2014

Birdman poster

Finally, a 2014 Oscar contender I can unequivocally say I loved. LOVED. “Birdman” may not be for everyone – it’s experimental in form and structure and cinematography – but this writer with her short attention span wasn’t bored for a single second. It was riveting. I literally don’t think I took a deep breath during our two-hour Cinema Society screening.

It’s the story of Riggan Thomson, a comic book action hero of the “Batman” variety (the casting of former “Batman” Michael Keaton was inspired and perfect), who, after turning down yet another fatuous sequel, has suffered a career crash. He’s washed up, no longer relevant – not to his once-adoring public or his ex-wife (a terrific Amy Ryan) or his angry just-out-of-rehab daughter (Emma Stone as we’ve never seen her). His only friend is his lawyer and now producing partner (Zach Galifianakis, who more than holds his own) in an all-or-nothing venture on Broadway that Riggan is writing, directing and starring in – all in an effort to prove he’s not just his feathered movie character but rather a serious actor. Stuff happens, to say the least, and I won’t give any of it away.

Alejandro Inarritu, who directed “Babel,” one of my favorite movies of the last few years, managed to shoot “Birdman” in what appears to be one long continuous take – and in a mere 29 days, we learned at the Q&A. What he didn’t have in budget he made up for in creativity. The setting is the cramped quarters of the St. James Theatre on Broadway and we see Keaton moving from stage to dressing room back to stage in one swooping motion. Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, who, along with Keaton and the others, worked for scale, are great as actors Riggan casts for his play.

I could blab on and on about this movie – whether Riggan lives or dies at the end, whether he gets his act together, whether he stops hearing the Birdman voice in his head, what it means to be a celebrity versus what it means to be an actor – but I just hope the Academy voters recognize the brilliance in it all. It’s probably too edgy for a Best Picture statue but Keaton is about as close to a lock for Best Actor as it gets.

And just as a P.S., there was a reception for him after the screening and he was as accessible and friendly as could be. I like when that happens.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Mainly Jane, Movies Tagged With: Birdman, Cinema Society, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts, Santa Barbara

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About Jane Heller

Jane Heller is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her fourteen breezy, witty novels of romantic comedy and suspense are now entertaining millions of readers around the world, along with her two books of nonfiction.

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