ISLE OF DOGS: 4 ½ STARS
Ever wondered what would happen if stop motion master Ray Harryhausen and Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa went to see 鈥淏enji鈥 and then decided to make a movie? With the release of 鈥淚sle of Dogs鈥 Wes Anderson, director of live action wonders like 鈥淩ushmore鈥 and 鈥淢oonrise Kingdom鈥 and the stop motion hit 鈥淔antastic Mr. Fox,鈥 offers up an idea of what that might have been like.
Once again working in stop motion, Anderson creates a fictional world, the Japanese city of Megasaki, twenty years from now. An epidemic of dog flu prompts the fear mongering Mayor Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura) to forewarn that snout fever is about to spread to humans and order all dogs deported to a toxic wasteland called Trash Island.
Dog-zero is Spots (voiced by Liev Schreiber), the beloved pet of the mayor鈥檚 orphaned ward 12-year-old Atari (Koyu Rankin). When he is deported, the boy makes the dangerous journey across the river in a prop plane to look for his dog. With the help of newfound mongrel pals, including the good-natured Rex (Edward Norton), former baseball mascot Boss (Bill Murray), King (Bob Balaban), the gossipy Duke (Jeff Goldblum), Chief (Bryan Cranston) and Nutmeg (Scarlett Johansson), Atari takes on the corrupt government.
鈥淚sle of Dogs鈥 is a fairy tale with a bite. Anderson, one of the most distinctive directors working today (or any day for that matter), brings a child-like wonder and unfettered imagination to bring this boy-and-his-dog story to vivid life. Gorgeous, soulful stop motion animation and Anderson鈥檚 trademarked banter combined with a timely story of deportation and exile makes for an unforgettable film.
The usual complaints about Anderson鈥檚 work, that it鈥檚 too detailed, too eccentric, will be levelled at this movie but I鈥檇 argue it is his obsessiveness that brings the creative magic. Subplots and flashbacks take the viewer on a wild journey but Anderson鈥檚 attention to every element, visual and narrative, guarantees the rambunctious story never loses itself in its own elaborate style.
There jokes throughout鈥攅ven the title is a playful take on 鈥淚 love dogs鈥濃攂ut just as important are the messages of tolerance. You will not see another film like 鈥淚sle of Dogs鈥 this year. So effortlessly cinematic and inventive, it鈥檚 best in show.
UNSANE: 4 STARS
Steven Soderbergh's new movie asks a simple question, Is Sawyer Valentini鈥檚 greatest fear real or a delusion? Starring Claire Foy and Jay Pharoah, it takes the legendary director back to basics. Shot entirely with an iPhone camera, it only cost $1.2 million to make.
Foy plays Valentini, a businesswoman with an unhappy life. After a bad one-night stand leads to a panic attack, she consults a head-shrinker at a facility called Highland Creek Behavioural Health Facility. In their meeting she divulges something that has been plaguing her, a former stalker. Even though she moved 450 miles away he still haunts her mind. 鈥淩ationally I know this is my imagination, but I鈥檓 alone in a big city and I never feel safe,鈥 she says, 鈥渘ot for one minute.鈥 Tricked into committing herself鈥斺淭here鈥檚 some more forms you need to fill out, it鈥檚 just routine鈥濃攕he is thrust into a house of horrors, surrounded by troubled patients鈥攍ike the belligerent Violet (Juno Temple)鈥攎any, like her, who are there against their will. Her pleas for release fall on deaf ears. Worse, her stalker David (Joshua Leonard) works in the psychiatric ward as an orderly. Or does he? 鈥淭his man, he鈥檚 followed me all the way here from Boston. I鈥檓 calling the cops and I want him arrested!鈥
鈥淯nsane鈥 is a nightmare that stems from not reading the fine print. 鈥淭hey got meds,鈥 says fellow inmate Nate (a terrific Jay Pharoah). 鈥淵ou got insurance. You talk, they find a way to get you committed and you stay as long as your insurance will pay. When they stop paying, you鈥檙e cured!鈥 Sawyer鈥檚 situation is a political comment on insurance scams and locking up people for profit. It鈥檚 a #MeToo thriller鈥攏o one believes her stories of stalking鈥攂ut really, at its heart, 鈥淯nsane鈥 is a Gothic b-movie that owes a debt to 鈥淭he Snakepit鈥 and 鈥淪hock Corridor鈥 with some 鈥淕aslight鈥 thrown in for good measure. It鈥檚 an examination of women鈥檚 voices not being heard of a crumbling medical infrastructure but mostly it鈥檚 about Sawyer鈥檚 world falling apart and her frustration at not being able to do diddly-squat to put it back together.
Foy is in almost every frame, bringing a frail yet steely presence to the role. She is more than a damsel in distress. By turning charming, cunning, ruthless and jittery, she鈥檚 a character designed to keep us guessing. Does she belong in the facility or not? 鈥淭he Queen鈥 star navigates Sawyer鈥檚 personality shifts, zigging and zagging, keeping the audience tantalizingly in the dark as to the truth of her mental state.
鈥淯nsane鈥 has a few clunky moments that detract from the overall feeling of paranoia Soderbergh builds throughout. Beautifully composed and edited 鈥淯nsane鈥 still looks like it was shot on an iPhone. Often blown out or bathed in inky blacks it鈥檚 an aesthetic we鈥檝e become used to from Instagram and social media videos and it brings and naturalism to the surreal story.
鈥淯nsane鈥 may be low tech but it鈥檚 not amateurish. Soderberg expertly builds tension to the point where Sawyer鈥檚 frustration is palpable.
FLOWER: 2 ½ STARS
鈥淔lower鈥 is a coming of age story in reverse. When we first meet the adolescent main character Erica (Zoey Deutch) she is already jaded by life. Her father is in jail and she is involved in a very dubious plan to earn his bail money. Over the course of time, she regains her innocence, flip flopping the usual teen movie formula.
Erica lives with her mom (Kathryn Hahn) and the latest of mom鈥檚 new boyfriends-turned-fiancées (Tim Heidecker) in the San Fernando Valley. A hellraiser, Erica and her pals Kala (Dylan Gelula) and Claudine (Maya Eshet) target older men to blackmail. When she has enough cash she hopes to buy dad his freedom. Her rebel-with-a-cause life is turned upside down by the arrival of Luke (Joey Morgan), her troubled soon-to-be stepbrother. Luke brings with him a dark secret that could change everything in Erica鈥檚 life for better and for worse.
No spoilers here.
The beauty of 鈥淔lower鈥 is less in its wonky storyline and more in its effervescent performances. The down 鈥榥 dirty indie鈥攊t was shot in just 16 days by Henry 鈥淭he Fonz鈥 Winkler鈥檚 son Max鈥攆ocuses on Erica鈥檚 journey which rests comfortably in Deutch鈥檚 capable arms. The actress, best known for turns in 鈥淏efore I Fall鈥 and 鈥淲hy Him?鈥 navigates the film鈥檚 uneven tonality, hurtling over its implicit quirkiness to find the qualities that make us feel for Erica. Do we care about Erica the blackmailer? Not particularly. But we can care about why she resorts to blackmail and that鈥檚 where Deutch shines.
鈥淔lower鈥 is all over the place. In its quest to be unconventional it covers a lot of ground. It鈥檚 part quirky family drama, part rebellious teen comedy and even part 鈥淏onnie and Clyde鈥 but Deutch and cast, including Morgan as sad sack Luke and the always fantastic Hahn, breathe life into it.
