The Wind In The Widows

11. Apr, 2008 0 Comments

The Visitor
Cause In America They Only Take Visa
Trailers & Mo

Thomas McCarthy may not be known for his acting (although we’re sure you’ve seen him before… he’s Scott Templeton on The Wire and the son searching for the flags of his father), but the dude definitely understands what the craft is all about. As the writer and director of the affecting Station Agent (or as our forgetful mother calls it, The Station Master), he perfectly captured and put on display pure human emotions. Take the character of Finbar for example. It was so well written and portrayed by Peter Dinklage that his career as ‘that surly acting dwarf’ has forever been changed to one where he’s a go-to actor for a role of any size (pun sorta intended?). McCarthy’s follow-up, The Visitor, works the same magic mojo, and this time it’s Richard Jenkins turn to take center stage and break outta ‘that guy’ roles (probably best known as Nate Fisher, Sr)

Jenkins plays widowed professor Walter Vale, who has lost all lust for life. That is of course until he meets two illegal immigrants, Tarek and Zainab (Haaz Sleiman and Danai Jekesai Gurira, also emoting quite well), who have taken up refuge in his barely lived-in Manhattan apartment without his knowledge. At first he wants to send the two packing, but then he changes his mind and allows the two to stay. Good thing for him, cause Tarek teaches Walter how to play drums, which in turn opens up his long dormant heart. A whole movie could have been made of juss drum circles and smiling, but the film doesn’t take the easy way out. Tarek is nabbed by the cops and sent to a detention center for illegal aliens. Walter takes it upon himself to do anything he can for his new friend, but in a post 9/11 world, nothing is easy, especially for an unwelcomed visitor from an Arab nation. McCarthy is surely making a statement about our country, but he avoids hitting us over the head with it. He’s more interested in the simple kindness of people than the complexity of politics, and that’s one of the main reasons why the film is more effective than all those Iraq warish terroristish duds that remind us how awful our country is. Who wants to be riddled with such despair when one can be offered hope?

Netflix Dis: Jenkins is franztastic in anything he’s in, but you mos def should czech out his work in the little seen North Country [TWS review]

John Grisham’s Jizzum (aka Verdict): breast film of the year thus far and thus, BREAST IN SHOW

Smart People
IQute
Trailers & Mo

Overly quirky Juno [TWS review] and Little Miss Sunshine [TWS review] are seen as little engines that could, and actually did. So why is everyone so blind to the fact that those two films tried really darn hard to be special, yet they weren’t really all that special? Yeah, what’s up with you people? Does FoxSearchlight send trucks to your homes filled with cash and force you to worship these movies like they were the greatestist thang since Wild Cherry Pepsi? Anywho, Smart People, another Sundance product that should have had ‘quirky’ written all over it, is a movie that doesn’t really try hard at anything and turns out to be something quite special. OK, the way that self-absorbed bearded widow (yes, another widow!) Dennis Quaid parks his car at an angle for no reason is a bit quirky and his adopted dopey brother Thomas Hayden Church’s mustache may be a tad ironic, but it’s not like they’re driving around in a giant yellow van or talking to horseface on a hamburger phone. Speaking of Juno, Quaid’s smarty jones daughter is played by none other than Ellen Page. It’s a breast of fresh air to hear her speak English and not in Diabloisms. We really didn’t tell you anything about the film, but it comes down to this: if yer a Little Miss Juno freak, you probably won’t think too much of Smart People, but if yer a playa (bill) hater like us, you’ll enjoy these peoples