Sir (2018)

[**** stars /*****]

Understanding and empathy in movies and 100% efficacy in COVID vaccines are a rarity, lately. 

What if you confessed your love to your housemaid? How would the housemaid react? 

How would a movie made on such a subject usually pan out? 

Bold scenes and what not? No attempt to explore characters, thoughts, hearts? 

Most probably, yes. 

Writer-director Rohena Gera's Sir is surprise, surprise, not that movie by the long shot.

Ratna (Tillotama Shome), widowed at 19, works at soon-to-be-married Ashwin (Vivek Gomber) and Sabina's spacious high-rise Mumbai apartment. 

An independent woman supporting her younger sister's education and family at her village, Ratna is asked by Ashwin's mother (Divya Seth) to rejoin work. 

Apparently Sabina has cheated on Ashwin, the marriage has been called off. 

Ratna doesn't mind working for a single man, she is unaffected by what others may think.   

Ashwin's continuing gloom over weeks causes her to remind him that life goes on despite setbacks, citing her own life as an example. 

Ratna also aspires to be a fashion designer, Ashwin encourages her to pursue her passion. He sees her as an equal, never as a servant.    

Gently, gradually like the changing of seasons, love blooms.   

Nuanced, sensitive take

An Indian housemaid is at the deep end of India's ruptured social fabric. Life is fragile, and loving someone from the so-called higher class, unthinkable. 

Gera channels this brick-hard premise through Shome's splendid, sparkling lead act, Gomber's controlled play, with some great supporting turns, Geetanjali Kulkarni as Laxmi is excellent. 

The nobility and intent of Sir won my heart.

The makers keep it real, the screenplay barely striking any cluttered notes. 

The pacing is lovely, no melodrama, understated tone elevates proceedings. 

A realistic, steady mirror to class disparities, affluent city life, dreams and passions, Sir is a rare flower, seeking-depth cinema. 

As seen on Netflix  

The Shining (1980)

[**** stars/*****]

There is a job vacancy at the remotely-located 1909-established Overlook Hotel, Rocky Mountains. 

Wanted: A caretaker during the off-season snow-drowned winter months. 

For aspiring writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) the job might offer just the solitude he needs to work, with wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) for company.

Jack seems to have aced the interview. Manager Stuart Ullman (Barry Nelson) adds just one little detail. The previous caretaker, Charles Grady, got a wee bit restless during his stay. Grady ended up killing his wife and two little daughters in the process. 

Jack is unaffected and says that his wife loves hearing horror stories. The job is his. Meanwhile, back at Jack's home, Danny has a blood-flowing nightmare about the hotel. 

The Torrance family moves in soon after, days began to pass, snow begins to gather and things start to unravel at the good old Overlook Hotel.   

A master at work 
Apart from extracting incredible performances from the three main cast members, director Stanley Kubrick literally weaves a maze of visual and audio intricacies to terrify the audience. 

The overbearing sense of location, the maze, eye-catching use of geometrical shapes, I can't get my mind off the sublime John Alcott cinematography, the terrific score by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind. 

The Shining is a learner's guide to making a timeless horror movie. 

The hypnotic use of enclosed spaces, of movement, sound, colours and textures is unbelievably precise. The wolf and the three pigs story is twisted about for axe-pounding scares.   

The strong green paleness of Room 237, shroud white curtains, calculated lighting, lingering tense pace, ominous use of red...how the hell did Kubrick get Danny Lloyd to give such haunting expressions?

Nicholson's highly enjoyable act in the final parts is a prelude to his Joker in Tim Burton's Batman (1989). Shelley Duvall is a great horror movie face, that's how a scared-to-death woman should look.  

I saw The Shining on my cell phone screen, and its distinct imagery has stayed with me for over two days. I wonder what a late evening big screen experience would have done. 

This is a magnificently orchestrated horror masterpiece.  

If you love horror movies (otherwise the genre has gone redundant lately), among the clutter of jump scares and cheap tested tricks, The Shining is what Lionel Messi is to football...unspeakable brilliance...something else.  

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

[*** stars/*****]

What does monogamy in marriage mean? Surely fantasizing about another person is not betrayal? 

How many of us assume that faithfulness in marriage is natural ...or as Bill puts it - woman are loyal to their partner by nature?  

Dr. William "Bill" Harford (Tom Cruise) and Alice Harford (Nicole Kidman) seem happily married, and live in New York with Helena, their seven-year-old daughter. 

Then one Christsmas eve, the handsome, beautiful, and well-off couple are at a party hosted by one of Bill's affluent patients, Victor Ziegler (Sydney Pollack).

Bill ends up running into good friend Nick Nightingale (Todd Field), medical school dropout and now pianist. 

Meanwhile, a Hungarian businessman Sandor Szavost (Sky du Mont) attempts to unsuccessfully seduce Alice. 

Bill is flirted at by two young models, then abruptly called in by his host to help Mandy (Julienne Davis), who apparently overdosed on a drug while having sex with Ziegler. 

Mandy recovers, thanks to Bill's timely intervention. 

The next evening at home, Bill and Alice smoke marijuana, and idly discuss monogamy and temptations. 

Bill sounds traditionally righteous, that he is never jealous of other men hitting on Alice, as a women's nature is to be faithful. 

Alice laughs at this remark, and reveals how she fantasized having an affair a year ago. 

She was charmed by a naval officer whom she never met, during their summer vacation hotel stay back then. 

Alice casually admits that she considered leaving Bill and Helena for the officer.

The disclosure shakes up Bill, and in a turn of events over the next couple of days, he strongly considers having sex outside marriage, leading to dangerous, alarming events.  

Kubrick's last hurrah 
Though Eyes Wide Shut limps to its last act, turning into a mitigated, ambiguous social satire (hence the title) from an erotic mystery thriller, I was blown away by the sheer visual power. 

The Larry Smith cinematography, the Jocelyn Pook score and eerie use of classical music, including a Tamil song in the shocking mansion scenes, director Stanley Kubrick lured me unblinkingly deep into the half-baked conflict.  

Every frame is magnificent and painstakingly clean in detail, the art direction is exemplary. 

Adapted, with many major changes, from Traumnovelle (Dream Story), a 1926 German novella by Arthur Schnitzler, Stanley Kubrick last film (he died six days after a director's cut screening to Warner Brothers and the lead cast) is undone by its writing and boxed characterization. 

Prominent questions are seldom confronted or juggled around with. 

The one-track journey of Bill's search for sexual encounters, required a varied voice of Alice to build up the drama. 

But Alice's side in largely muted by Bill's journey, which, despite the shock, doesn't add up. 

Bill is played up as a Hollywood hero, rather than a person, creating a detached feel - Cruise only lacks a superhero cape.  

Eyes Wide Shut is muted in voice and reason, neither does it deliver on its dark and potentially devastating premise. 

The resultant nudity, sexual imagery and orgy scenes end up as gimmicky, having no bearing on the story. 

Eyes Wide Shut is worth a watch for its incredible visual charisma, the Cruise-Kidman and ensemble acts, despite the failed yet assured attempt at cinema immortality as in Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987) and The Shining (1980). 

Wonder what more lethal worlds Kubrick would have conjured, if he had lived a decade more. 

(Eyes Wide Shut is streaming on Netflix.) 

Uncut Gems (2019)

[***1/2 stars/*****]

Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) is a bumbling, restless, shrewd, gambling-crazy New York City jewelry store owner. 

We first meet Ratner on the brink of cracking a huge deal, in his street-smart rambling 'Sandler lazy casual-drawl' manner.

But life is not a bed of priceless gems.  

Ratner has a huge gambling debt to pay off, including over $100,000 to his menacing brother-in-law Arno (Eric Bogosian). 

But that doesn't stop Ratner on his roller-coaster madcap ride for infinite wealth...even when Arno sends over his men to the jewelry store - short-tempered Phil (Keith Williams Richards) and Nico (Tommy Kominik) to physically intimidate and embarrass Ratner before his customers. 

Things come to the head when a black opal, a rare priceless gem extracted by Ethiopian miners reaches Ratner, setting off a chaotic chain of events. 

Already, Ratner is on the verge of divorcing his separated wife, barely has time for his children, and is having an affair with his employee Julia (Julia Fox). 

Is there a rainbow waiting for Ratner as he spirals out of control, curving down his adrenaline rush for money, money, and more money? 

Fast-paced entertaining drama 
Writers Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie (also co-directors) and Ronald Bronstein churn a madcap, hypnotic, feverish drama thriller, symbolically pinning the black opal, and channeling insatiable greed through Ratner's circling fetish for gambling.

The turbulent celebration in Daniel Lopatin's brilliant background score is magnetic, as is the constant deliberate busy shift in Darius Khondji's cinematography.    

Adam Sandler is a revelation, superb and immensely compelling as Howard Ratner. 

Sandler's intonation and body language to create a man consumed and not in control of himself is unforgettable. 

A city beast throbbing in a unabated blood rush, this is a career-defining performance.

I won't ever take any competent typecast actor for granted, thanks to Sandler's wolfish, trippy act.   

Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, basketball player Kevin Garnett (as himself), Idina Menzel, Eric Bogosian and Judd Hirsch make a good support cast. 

The Jewish-American community representation steers clear of stereotypes. The directors ensure that it is only incidental to the pulsating drama. 

Striking tension-induced mood settings makes up for the sketchiness, Uncut Gems is a whirlwind manic thump of a drama. 

(Uncut Gems is streaming on Netflix.) 

The Sweet Herafter (1997)

[***3/4 stars/*****]

Once upon a time on a snowy day in the little town of Sam Dent, British Columbia, a school bus driven by the experienced Dolores Driscoll (Gabrielle Rose) cuts across a road barrier and falls into a lake, killing 14 children. 

Mitchell Stephens (Ian Holm), a lawyer fending off personal issues with his separated drug-addict daughter Zoe (Caerthan Banks), descends vulture-like on the town folk and grieving parents, literally manipulating them to ask for damages. 

Stephens plans to build a case based on alleged negligence of the bus manufacturer and the road barrier makers. His condition is to keep one-third of the damages won, and take no fees if he loses the case. 

As Stephens goes around craftily persuading affected parents to fight the case, the quiet town is divided for and against filing charges. 

Billy Ansel (Bruce Greenwood) who was driving his car behind the school bus as usual to wave at his children when the accident occurred is furious with Stephens, threatening to bash him up for good. 

Meanwhile Stephens wants Nicole Burnell (Sarah Polley), 15, accident survivor, now paralysed from the waist down, to make the 'right' statement to win the case. 

But there is more to the grieving and tragedy - an illicit affair, child abuse, daddy issues, unashamed need for money, guilt and greed. 

Haunting moments 
Based on the 1991 novel, The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks, a book loosely inspired by the Alton, Texas bus crash that killed 21 students, the screenplay by Canadian director Atom Egoyan is a near-masterpiece. 

The events go back and forth, cutting across timelines, Egoyan keeps us guessing and intrigued, building up the drama like a snow sculpture, that gradually shapes into coherence.  

The recently deceased Ian Holm is particularly terrific as the immoral lawyer. 

This may be the act that won him the role of Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is a seething, nervy act. 

Bruce Greenwood as the righteous angry dad and Sarah Polley as Nicole are excellent, the rest of the ensemble is superb too. 

The Pied Piper analogy 
The haunting bits involve Nicole's reading of 'The Pied Piper' fairy tale to Billy's children, emphasized and revisited in effective voice-overs to match the tragedy of the tale and the bus tragedy.

How the fairy tale ominously runs parallel to the tale are parts that elevate the drama in The Sweet Herafter.  

The part about the dying baby and the implications of what a father needs to do to save its life - the telling is pure cinema.    

The Sweet Herafter cuts above many, similar, slow-burner movies, for its haunting, snow-lush quality, despite the absence of anything overtly dramatic, apart from the accident scenes. 

Cinema lovers will find a lot to admire. 

My take - this is how you make a sensitive fictional drama based on a real-life tragedy.  

To Catch a Thief (1955)

[***3/4 stars/*****]

Francie: "Do you want a leg or a breast?"

Robie: "You make the choice."

John Robie (Cary Grant), a former master cat burglar enjoys a leisurely retired life in a splendid, airy French villa. 

But when a string of  jewel robberies occur at the French Riviera, Robie is the main suspect, forcing him to go on the run.  

Robie seeks help from his old (now restaurant-managing) gang, who are on parole for their World War II heroics as part of the French Resistance. He is met with hostility, as they are now prime suspects too. 

Robie escapes the police again, and schemes to catch the elusive burglar in the act. 

He arranges to meet H. H. Hughson (John Williams), an insurance agent who trusts Robie enough (and can't afford more robberies of insured jewels) to disclose the list of the wealthiest jewel-owning Riviera folk. 

American tourists, rich widow Jessie Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis) and daughter Frances (Grace Kelly) incidentally top the list. 

Engaging romance, screeching car chases, sunny French locales and throbbing rooftop chases ensue. 

Not Hitchcock's best, but utterly enjoyable
The cat analogy, superb French locales, trademark witty Hitchcock remarks, breathtaking locations, the uncanny Cary Grant-Grace Kelly chemistry, stirring, timely background score - To Catch a Thief  is a breezy suspense drama, low on thrills and surprises, compared to other superior Hitchcock suspense movies. 

The stretched climax threatens to derail the fun, the buildup to the final rooftop chase makes up for it, even if the gun-shooting part is a tad lame. 

Just when it seems to lag, there are enough twists and character development that keep To Catch a Thief engaging. 

Grant and Kelly sparkle like priceless jewels. 

Their jovial presence allowed me to largely ignore that To Catch a Thief  is robbed of the usual Hitchcock bounce.   

The graceful, elegantly beautiful Kelly was half of Grant's age during filming, nowhere do their flirtatious scenes seem sleazy or awkward. 

It's a pairing of a lifetime.  

The clever dialogue interplay, the implied sexuality, relationship dynamics that run smooth with the main plot - elements we sorely miss in modern crime thrillers. 

Take the final unexpected dialogue, "Mother will love it here," and Grant's startled expression to top it off. Superlative, fun cinema despite the lightened proceedings. 

To Catch a Thief  is not vintage Hitchcock, but a happy vacation-mode, hard-to-ignore sunshine of a drama, a lovely rush of springy energy and charm. 

Black Narcissus (1947)

[***1/2 stars/*****]

When the forces of nature take hold upon you, there is no escaping it. 

A psychological drama with a hint of erotica, Black Narcissus stands for allure, and a deep, relentlessly rising foreboding attraction. 

Caught off guard
A group of nuns are sent high up into the Himalayas at a Rajput king's request. 

It doesn't help that the place allocated for the nuns formerly housed mistresses of the king's father - a harem. 

Previously, a group of monks tried setting up their establishment at the place, but left soon after.  

Will the nuns succeed where others of their kind have failed? 

What is it about the mountains, the inhabitants, in the light of repressed desires, and disciplined lives in the service of the lord? 

Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), the appointed 'Sister Superior' along with five more nuns, is determined to educate the local Indian villagers, provide free medical treatment, set up a vegetable garden, and to teach lace-making to the local girls. 

But there is something overpowering about the Himalayas, the rich clean breeze and its people. 

A raw sensuality pervades the surroundings, and soon Sister Clodagh and the other nuns struggle to control their senses to the sheer beauty and allure of the place. 

It is on the troublesome Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) that the locale has its most alarming effect, leading to envy, sexual tensions, murderous intent and tragedy. 

Mountain air, repressed souls 
Based on Rumer Godden's 1939 novel Black Narcissus, co-directors and screenplay writers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger deftly embroider this drama.

Kathleen Byron is a steal as Sister Ruth, a forceful character who powers this psychological drama. 

Deborah Kerr is good too, as is Jean Simmons as the beautiful Kanchi, Sabu as the curious young general and David Farrar as Mr. Dean - the general's agent.    

Balanced take, largely...
Though most of the film was shot in-studio and not in India, the makers convey the sense of location competently. 

Even if you make out the painted mountains in some shots, the elevation conveyed in the ringing of the bell scenes is commendable.

The characters are relatable, the screenplay rushes on skillfully, there is no overplay, but for a touch of British dominance and superiority, compared to the 'natives.'

The unprecedented climax scenes curve this drama up several notches. 

Black Narcissus is a good entertaining British drama, lit with exceptional moments - a cautionary and discreetly insightful tale on self-denial, repression and cultural divides.

A 40's British mini-classic.  

Psycho (1960)

[****1/2 stars/*****]

Marion Crane and her boyfriend discuss the financial costs of getting married (during office lunch hour in a secret hotel room meeting) and find that they don't have enough. 

Crane returns to her employer's real estate office and is entrusted with $40,000 of the client's money. 

On impulse, she hits the road with the loot, exchanges her car for a used one, until rain causes her to stop for the night at Bates Motel. 

Here she meets the young, nervous yet pleasant motel owner, Norman Bates. 

Bates tells her of his mentally ill mother and is appalled on the suggestion of sending the mother to an institution. As they talk, our thief has made up her mind to return the loot. 

Thus relaxed and assured, the now 'righteous in the eyes of the audience' Marion Crane, decides to take a shower...  

Psycho is Alfred Hitchcock at the height of his film making powers. 

Shot effectively at a modest budget, this horror-suspense thriller stands the test of time for its chilling atmospherics, skilled storytelling and slow-burn dark poetic use of black and white. 

The film was a business risk for its unconventional story line, absence of any crowd-pulling star cast, and daring depiction of voyeurism and sexuality. 

Hitchcock’s genius lay in placing dark elements in scenes of daily life - toying with our minds and making it scarier and unforgettable. 

The house adjacent to the motel, the forbidding feelings it evokes just by its appearance, Hitchcock is one director who seemed damn sure of what precise effect each scene will have on the audience. 

Go watch the unusual six-minute long trailer featuring Hitchcock and you will find a magician at ease with his art.  

Bates Motel, a car disappearing into dark water, chilling background music, and the final sinister smile are stuff of cinema legend now.   

I have played Psycho once for a family member, just to relish the person's reaction during the shower scene. It was totally worth it. 

If you love suspense thrillers, there are few as compelling, shocking and believable as Psycho.  

Duel (1971)

[**** stars/*****]

It's just another day, another business trip for California salesman David Mann (Dennis Weaver).

Now put yourself in David's shoes. 

What would you do if, out of the blue, a monstrous truck driver starts obstructing your vehicle and then deliberately tries to cause your death? 

David is at first stunned at the possibility - is this really happening? The day otherwise seems ordinary and David is clearly one who has lived a fairly routine life. 

Why would a stranger want to kill him? Who is this truck driver and what does he want?   

Truck vs. Car is the brilliant premise of Steven Spielberg's impressive road trip action thriller Duel (1971), inspired by a Richard Matheson short story (Matheson wrote the screenplay).  

The theatrical version is available on YouTube, at the time of writing.     

Consider it from Spielberg's perspective now. 

How does the director ensure constant audience engagement throughout this unusual one-track 89-min (theatrical running time) action adventure?     

Years later, in an interview to legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan, Spielberg spoke on how Duel was treated like a monster movie. 

The ace director went on to credit the sound effects editors in creating the truck's menacing personality - something like a Godzilla on wheels. 

Jack A. Marta's cinematography and the Frank Morriss edit powers this turbocharged experience. The visuals from the driver's perspective, the doctored engine sounds make the experience personal. 

Billy Goldenberg's impressive background score adds measured weight to the relentless face-off. 

David's 'ordinary working man in danger' aspect connects instantly. You want David to be safe, he's like a typical colleague you know from work.  

The strength is in the writing, the stark Mojave Desert setting that adds authenticity to the scary proceedings, and the tank truck's unpredictable, absorbing audio-visual traits - we never see the truck driver, an aspect that adds to the thrill of the chase. 

Duel review 
If Duel is a lesser movie, it is in the budget constraints - resultant scale limitations in production quality, cinematography and sound effects - Duel was initially a 74-minute made-for-TV ABC network special.

Would Duel be a better movie if attempted on a larger budget (probably later in the 90's) with upgraded technology and equipment?  

There is no end to the ifs and buts, and incredibly Duel remains extremely watchable and untarnished by time. 

Spielberg's first feature film is impressive for the director's near perfect execution of an unusual, challenging premise. 

Go watch Duel, a robust reminder of how the most influential director of our times (arguably) began enthralling audiences around the world.