Where Dreaming Is Believing
Does the second half of Stephen King’s sprawling, epic horror story live up to the promise of 2017’s It? Would it sink or float? After all, “they all float down here,” right? Unfortunately, It Chapter 2 is an overlong, bloated, messy, loud, often silly movie.
Continue reading “‘It Chapter Two’ Review: Stephen King’s Horror Tale Sinks With Silly Execution”
Continue reading “Sophie Turner Praises “Character Driven” Dynamic Of ‘Dark Phoenix’”
Continue reading “Diana Silvers Talks “Empowering” Aspect Behind Cautionary Horror Tale ‘Ma’”
Moreno, whose diverse body of work includes Maria Full of Grace, Che, and the critically acclaimed A Most Violent Year, delivers a sublime and heartbreaking performance as the mute matriarch who is emotionally suffocated by her beautiful (yet desolate) environment.
Though Pallaoro fills his sparse narrative with visually arresting compositions that evokes the early work of Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) and David Gordon Green (“George Washington”), Medeas is a singular work from a talented filmmaker. One of the director’s bold creative strokes was to shoot his project sans any music score, as he aimed for a more naturalistic and less manipulative approach to storytelling.
During our phone interview, Moreno was effusive in her praise for Medeas (she was immediately drawn to the project after checking out Pallaoro’s book of images which inspired the storyline). Our chat with the Oscar nominated actress, who is also featured in the upcoming season of Falling Skies, is below:
It was so dry – we shot it near L.A. But it was so far from everything. We were by ourselves. It was just our little location. It’s so much better to shoot on location than on a set. It makes it easier to get into character and feel isolated from everything.
The drive from L.A. (to the location) was 45 minutes. And it’s so different. Thirty minutes in, you get into a desert like feel – it was magical. It was a great location and it helped all the actors get into these characters that are very secluded and alone. They are different people living in a big house and the interactions between them are so strange but so realistic too – because you have so much freedom.
It’s so vast – they can do whatever they want. They play outside – it’s a normal childhood and it’s not like they’re living in a building with 50 apartments where they play downstairs with a couple of kids. They just have to play by themselves and their imagination is always there. That location was perfect for what Andrea wanted to do.
Yes, well of course. Every time you hear Andrea talk about movies and what this movie means for him – it’s so inspiring. And I’ve (rarely) felt this with a lot of people.
He wanted everything to be organic, real, and delicate but at the same time very raw. He knows what he wants. The camera is suddenly at a weird angle and we’re like ‘What?’ And he says (to us) ‘Just trust me, do what you want to do, this is your space, feel free to do whatever you want and then the camera will find you.’
He doesn’t do movies by the book, and he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted to do. It helped everyone see his kind of vision.
I feel so proud of this movie. You do this movie in 30 days and you never know how it’s going to come out. And it’s just fantastic – it’s great.
I was very fortunate to know Oscar Isaac from another project (“For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada”) we worked on a couple of years ago. I’ve known him for a while and he told me about this project with Jessica Chastain and J.C. Chandor.
His character was Colombian and he had to speak a little Spanish. I (said) ‘Oh my God, of course I’m going to help you with the Spanish part. I would love to help you.’
I never thought I was going to be doing that part but then my agent told me, ‘There’s a part here where she speaks Spanish – do you want to do it?’ So it was a no-brainer. I’m a big fan of J.C. Chandor’s work. As an actor, you want to keep learning from actors that you admire and be surrounded with people you want to work with. It was great.
I met with Oscar two days before we shot the film in New York and we went through our dialogue and changed a couple of words that I thought was more Colombian than the ones that were written. He’s such a great actor and when you’re doing a scene, he’s so giving. It’s amazing. And I’m so happy that this movie is doing so well.
Do you see your acting in the same way as you did when you started?
I’ve changed my point of view on films actually. Before “Maria Full of Grace” I thought films were very entertaining and I really enjoyed watching these movies with explosions and people jumping from one building to another.
But after I went to festivals and traveled around the world, I realized how important film is. I saw people reacting to “Maria Full of Grace” in such unexpected ways. That changed something inside of my head and I’ve been trying to make movies that matter.
The film that I work with Oscar it was about the revolution in Mexico. I didn’t know anything about their revolution and as an actor, you have to prepare for that. It’s a way to keep learning.
(cont.)
Right now I’m doing “Falling Skies” which is great because I’ve never touched the sci-fi part of anything. So going into that (role) I’ve learned different things. Right now I’m being more open to everything.
If you asked me that question eight years I would say, ‘No, I’m not interested in anything else. I just want to do movies that matter to people.’
You have to combine those two. I think you have to have a balance or else you get tired. I did “Maria Full of Grace” and then “Fast Food Nation” and then I did something else. And I was playing the same kind of – not the same kind of character – but it was very . . .
Going through the same kind of themes or rhythms?
Yes it was very political or very social. As an actor you just want to challenge yourself. One of my challenges was to be in “Medeas” and make people believe that I was a mute person. Those are the kind of the challenges I want to take on.
Thank you. I’m so happy you liked the film. Thank you so much.
Medeas is playing at the Village East Cinema in New York. For Details, please go to www.medeasthefilm.com.
Although she’s done solid work in both films, Chastain is getting the most awards talk for her work in the upcoming films A Most Violent Year and Miss Julie.
Opening December 5, Miss Julie is directed by Liv Ullmann, whose illustrious career includes starring in the Ingmar Bergman classics Persona, Cries & Whispers, and Scenes of a Marriage. With Ullmann behind the camera doing her interpretation of August Strindberg’s renowned play, it’s easy to see why Colin Farrell and Jessica Chastain signed on the dotted line.
The movie’s official boilerplate is below:
Miss Julie depicts a fierce battle between a man and a woman, a struggle for power and dominance enacted through a cruel and compulsive game of seduction and repulsion.
A country estate in Ireland in 1880s. Over the course of one midsummer night, in an atmosphere of wild revelry and loosened social constraints, Miss Julie and John, her father’s valet, dance and drink, charm and manipulate each other. She, all hauteur longing for abasement; he, polished but coarse – both united in mutual loathing and attraction.
By turns seductive and bullying, savage and tender, their intimacy leads to desperate plans and vision of a life together… Unsure if the morning brings hope or hopelessness, Julie and John find their escape in a final act as sublime and horrific as anything in Greek tragedy.
Miss Julie opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 5. The trailer is below:
Also included is a previous Jessica Chastain interviewed I did several years before, as she talked about the joy she gets in fighting for her movie roles:
Clocking in at 110 minutes, A Most Violent Year centers on an immigrant (Isaac) who is doing whatever it takes to keep his family safe, sound, and prosperous in 1981 New York City. The teaser trailer, which has just been released, Isaac resembling a young Al Pacino in a narrative that could have been directed by late filmmaker Sidney Lumet – the craftsman behind such Big Apple crime dramas as Serpico and Prince of the City. The man behind the camera is J.C. Chandor, who previously directed the first rate flicks All Is Lost and Margin Call.
Will A Most Violent Year rack up its share of Oscar nods, or will it get lost in the shuffle? Tell us what you think below!
Most movie fans will see the 122 minute theatrical cut The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them starting September 12. If you’re absolutely entranced by Them, you can also check out the flicks Him and Her when they are both released in select theaters October 10. Both Him and Her (and for that matter Them) have different tones and points of view (Her’s concept originated when Chastain wanted a bit more depth to her character, so Benson wrote a new script which devoted more time to Eleanor’s life).
The project also features wonderful supporting work from Ciarán Hinds as Conor’s celebrity restaurateur father, as well as Isabelle Huppert and William Hurt as Eleanor’s parents. Although each actor have their moments in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, their respective roles should deepen in Him and Her.
Chastain, who’s received Oscar nods for her work in Zero Dark Thirty and The Help, may land her third nomination for The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (especially since Weinstein Films know how to mount a high profile awards campaign).
For Jessica Chastain, a huge element of filmmaking is creating a strong bond with the director (she and Eleanor Rigby director Ned Benson have known each other for years, before her star making turns in Tree of Life and The Help).
Click on the Soundcloud bar below as Chastain explains why fighting for movie roles is a gratifying part of her process (she mentions her previous films The Debt and The Help in the clip).
