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Uncle Frank – The Person You Decide to Be

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Family can be a place of pain or a place of healing. It can be the place we try to escape from or the place we need to return to. It is where we hear words that are like a knife in the heart or like the warmth of a hug. In Alan Ball’s Uncle Frank, it is all of those things.

The story is told from the perspective of Beth (Sophia Lillis), in high school when we first meet her. But the focus is really her Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany). During one of his rare visits to their southern family, Beth is fascinated by Frank and how different he is from the rest of the family. He lives in New York City where he teaches. Beth has no idea why her grandfather (Frank’s father) is so rude to him. When Beth talks with Frank he tells her, “You get to be the person you decide to be or the person everyone else tells you you are. You get to choose.” That conversation changes her life.

(L-R) Sophia Lillis and Paul Bettany star in UNCLE FRANK Photo: Brownie Harris Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Beth heads off to New York for college. When she crashes a party at Frank’s apartment, she discovers that he’s gay and has a long-time partner, Walid (Peter Macdissi). When Frank gets a call to tell him his father died suddenly, he and Beth drive down to South Carolina for the funeral. Frank doesn’t want Walid to come because he doesn’t want his family to know he’s gay. Walid, knowing that Frank will need his support, rents a car and follows them. In time the three of them are on a road trip.

As Frank talks with Beth on the trip, he recalls his youth and the discovery of being gay. It was young love, but it also carried a great deal of condemnation from church and home. After the death of his first love, Frank has carried guilt and shame all these years, even though outwardly he seems comfortable with his life (at least while he is in New York). But when his father’s will surprisingly and cruelly outs him, his emotional turmoil overwhelms him.

SOPHIA LILLIS, PAUL BETTANY and PETER MACDISSI star in UNCLE FRANK

It all goes back to that conversation between Frank and Beth about choosing who you will be. In New York, Frank is the person he has “decided to be”, but does not live that out when he comes home. His father has always looked at him with shame and loathing—that is what society says Frank should feel. When at home, that is who he becomes. That serves as a kind of demonstration of the way pride and shame often play out for LGBTQ people. They may go to gay pride events, but remain closeted to the people closest to them.

(L-R) Lois Smith and Margo Martindale star in UNCLE FRANK Photo: Brownie Harris Courtesy of Amazon Studios

However, Frank may be surprised by how his family responds to his sudden outing. The revelation may be hard for them, but these are people who have loved him his whole life. They may not be able to put that into words well, but it comes through clearly. There is a nice supporting cast that makes up this family, including Margo Martindale and Stephen Root as Frank’s parents, Steve Zahn as Frank’s brother and Beth’s father, Judy Greer as Beth’s mother, and Lois Smith as Frank’s Aunt Butch. While not everyone is welcoming to this news about Frank, there is grace that comes out in various ways.

Uncle Frank is available on Amazon Prime.

Photos courtesy of Amazon Studios.

Happiest Season: Everyone’s Story has a Place

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I’ll get right to the point: if you’re looking for something charming and funny as we cautiously look to the end of 2020, Happiest Season is everything you could possibly need.

Personally, I can handle about zero angst in movies right now. Call it a casualty of 2020, but my tolerance for anything overly serious or dramatic is essentially nonexistent, especially if it’s in a movie I’ve never seen. Now granted, there is the relational angst that is often the central conflict in holiday films, and Happiest Season totally has that covered. But it was a good angst, and I’ll explain why.

But first, let’s start with the cast. I have two words for you: Dan Levy. Yes, THAT Dan Levy of sweeping Emmy wins for Schitt’s Creek, one of People magazine’s Sexiest Men of Alive, and all around beloved by basically everyone these days. I don’t even know if he’s considered a main character or not as best friend John, but his presence alone is a reason to watch. Of course, stars like Kristen Stewart, Victor Garber, Mary Steenburgen, Aubrey Plaza, Mackenzie Davis, and Alison Brie (what a cast, amiright?) elevate this heartwarming story into something special.

Perfect couple Abby and Harper (Stewart and Davis respectively) make plans to visit Harper’s family for Christmas. But there is one *major* wrinkle in the plan – Harper’s parents don’t know she is gay and in a relationship with the “orphan roommate” she has brought home.  Compounded by her parents’ stress surrounding Ted’s bid for major (Ted and Tipper are played by Garbor and Steenburgen), Harper keeps Abby at arm’s length and back in the closet. Naturally some old flames of Harper’s show up, including her first girlfriend Riley (Aubrey Plaza). Between sisterly competition, pressure to impress, and secrets uncovered, everything compounds on Christmas Eve, and this seemingly perfect family explodes into disarray.

I’m going to leave it there as far as plot, because I’m hoping you will watch the film. (Make sure that you watch the credits too for the pictures that continue the story.) From here, I’m going to get a bit personal, so I hope you’ll stick around and indulge me for a moment or two.

Representation in film is something that I am becoming increasingly aware of because I believe that film is for everyone. Everyone should be able to look up or at a screen and see themselves. As a straight, Christian woman, I am not at all offended by a lesbian-centric storyline. It’s about telling the stories that are happening every day all over the world. It’s totally ok for good stories to be just that – good stories. And those stories aren’t limited to heterosexual relationships.

Maybe there wasn’t necessary anything “new” per se in Happiest Season but it was genuine and sweet. But, most importantly, the film is about loving your own story and those who are a part of it. And that’s a lesson we can all embrace. 

Happiest Season is available on Hulu now.

The Mystery of D.B. Cooper: Mythologizing Our Villains

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There really is something fascinating about true crime stories. W

From Unsolved Mysteries to Tiger King, there is something truly engaging about listening to stories that seem too wild to be true. However, in the history of mysteries, one man stands out as the biggest question mark of all. Known for his daring robbery from 10 000 feet, D.B. Cooper remains the only unsolved airplane hijacking in FBI history. 

Now, almost 50 years later, Emmy-nominated filmmaker John Dower (Thrilla in Manilla, My Scientology Movie) revives the epic enigma in his latest documentary, The Mystery of D.B. Cooper. Focusing on four primary suspects, Dower gives voice to family and friends who believe passionately that their friend or relative is the same man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Portland, OR, stole $200, 000 and four parachutes, daringly jumped out of the plan and disappeared forever.

Wisely, Dower steps back and allows the stories of his witnesses to take centre stage. With each parallel revelation and conflicting confession, the mystery grows as each testimony claims to know the truth behind the FBI’s most famous wanted man. Rather than attempt to conjure up some conclusion or lean towards any one particular voice, Dower allows each potential suspect the possibility that they are (or were) the infamous Cooper. Like the most captivating mystery stories, this one intentionally leaves more questions than answers as it leans into the many unknowns about this particular case. In D.B. Cooper, truth is relative and highly subjective to the point that it’s impossible to separate fact from fiction.

Though, perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the documentary does not even stem from the testimonials themselves but from the fact that every one of them (and many others) want to be known as the escaped criminal. Like Robin Hood or Butch and Sundance, Dower points out that the legend of DB Cooper has been mythologized within our culture as some form of folk hero. Despite the fact that he  broke the law and terrified his victims, Cooper has become celebrated for his ability to get away with his crime. (Interestingly, Dower likens this alternate view to the fact that so many struggle financially and therefore view him as one who broke free from ‘the Man’.)

In many ways, it also seems strange. After all, let’s not forget that people were actually in danger during the heist. Yet, at the same time, there seems to be something culturally cathartic about pulling off ‘the big heist’ which creates a sense of wonder around their wrongdoings. As the legend of these ‘heroes’ continues to grow, it’s fascinating to watch public opinion surrounding men like Cooper shift from angst to awe and villainy becomes heroism.

In the end, like the shadowy man himself, there’s something enthralling about The Mystery of DB Cooper. While the film offers no answers regarding his identity, those unanswered questions are entirely the point of the film. Though the crime may have taken place almost 50 years ago, John Dower prudently allows the conflicting voices that claim to know the whole story to take centre stage and, in doing so, gives even greater weight to the enigma that is D.B. Cooper.

The Mystery of DB Cooper is now playing on HBO Max. 

Fatman: Santa Shoots from the Hip

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Written and directed by Eshon and Ian Nelms, Fatman begins when Santa (Mel Gibson) decides to give a spoiled 12-year-old a piece of coal for Christmas. Feeling slighted by the Fatman, the boy decides to hire a deadly hitman to kill Kris Kringle and have his revenge.

The film takes an interesting look into the realistic problems that Santa Claus would face by giving billions of children gifts for free, making him the biggest economic stimulus in the world. In a world driven on greed, profits, and capitalism, Santa Claus is getting frustrated by the state of the world. But more than this, Santa regrets not selling his image for royalties. With the Christmas season generating over $3 billion each year in the U.S alone, Santa can’t even afford to pay for his own electricity. Realizing that ‘altruism isn’t in their bottom-line’, Santa decides to ‘sell out’ and begins taking on a government military weapons contract for the money.

In doing so, however, Santa becomes the very thing he hated. Being the greatest social service on the planet has given him nothing in return, except unbearable poverty for him and his elves. In this way, Fatman becomes a metaphor for how commercialized Christmas has become in our culture. Once a celebration of giving and family, the holiday has become a barbaric season where businesses push their products on consumers. Everything about the Christmas season is monetized. 

Making the choice to depict Fatman as a hardcore action movie was hilarious and unexpected, especially due its extreme contrast of not only the Christmas season but the standard image of a jolly Santa as well. Personally, I thought it was a good choice as the action makes great use of the Christmas environments such as the elves’ workshop. (Besides, there’s not many movies where you see toy-making elves and Santa in a bloody shoot out.) The ridiculousness of the violence is pushed to the extreme when Santa “toughens up”, by dressing in a red pimp suit and turning his classic “see you when you’re sleeping” line into a threat. In moments like these, there’s some great dark humour throughout the film.

Overall, I enjoyed the world-building of Fatman. By portraying a more realistic image of Santa Claus and the real-world implications of acquiring the resources necessary to operate his magic toy shop in a capitalism world, this is an absolute blast for those who have been yearning for a ways to have their Christmas mixed with hardcore violence.

Fatman is available in select theatres and on demand now.

Last Call – Dylan Thomas Rages

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“You think your self-destruction is grand theater…. You’re just a performer in your own pathetic vaudeville show.”

Legend has it that on November 3, 1953, famed Welsh poet Dylan Thomas spent the day at The White Horse Tavern in New York. When he got back to his hotel, he claimed to have had 18 double whiskeys, which he considered a record. Soon he collapsed into a coma from which he did not recover. Last Call is a dark, yet poetic fictive version of that last day (and via flashbacks his family life and the weeks leading up to that fateful day). It should be noted that this is not meant as a biographical film in any factual sense. This is much more about trying to capture “the truth of the person” rather than events.

Thomas (Rhys Ifans), one of the most influential poets of the 20th century, is in the US for a lecture tour. At various colleges he is worshipped by the crowds (mostly young women). Yet, he is far from happy. He is a mixture of insecurity, narcissism, and alcoholism. On the day in question, he goes to the White Horse at 9:00 am and orders a double. When it comes he begins to tell the bartender Carlos (Rodrigo Santoro) and others at the bar that drinks need to have names to be more than just a drink. So with each of the 18 double shots that Carlos pours for him through the day and night, he christens it with some aspect of life. Drink number one is innocence, number two is enthusiasm, and he continues hitting on hope, faith, disappointment, death, resurrection, success, disappointment, and many other bits of wisdom. As he names each drink, he pontificates to those present about each aspect of life—and especially about how his life is playing out as a tragedy.

Between these various scenes in the bar, we flashback (and occasionally forward) to episodes either on the tour or with his wife in Wales. (One of the affectations of the film is that everything in the US is in black and white, everything in Wales is in color. That leads to a few interesting hybrid scenes when he hallucinates his wife, who is still in Wales, speaking to him in the bar.) In those scenes various supporting characters show us much of the failure in Thomas’s life.

Writer/director Steven Bernstein say the film is “a kind of long poem”. Other than when Thomas is reading his poems on the tour, the words all come from Bernstein, but they are written with the same kind of free verse cadence as we might expect from Dylan Thomas. We first note the poetic aspect of the film when in the first scene we hear Dr. Felton (John Malkovich) tell his friend “I’m not one for poetry.” Yet as he explains why he doesn’t care for poems, he is being very poetic. Bernstein fills the film with such poetic language.

There is also a bit of visual poetry, most noticeable in scenes where Carlos dances (once with a mop in the background as Thomas speechifies and later a bit of a tango with a young fan of Thomas’s) or during a scene where Dr. Felton performs an autopsy on Thomas as various onlookers pass out.

The use of color scenes amidst all the black and white scenes is also a kind of visual poetry. Those color scenes, all set in Wales, reflect Thomas’s concept of home and love. Yet, it is something he struggles to accept and to give. Those scenes include times of intimacy with his wife, but also of distance, such as his wife’s letters to him begging him to send money for the family.

While the film shows us a variety of relationships that Thomas has, for me the most interesting side character is Carlos. He serves not just as the one who keeps filling Thomas’s glass, but as a foil to his ideas. Thomas obviously thinks of him as an uneducated servant. But it turns out he is very well educated, quoting Shakespeare and Aquinas freely. While others look at Thomas with awe, Carlos sees him as a fraud. He tells Thomas that for all his words, there’s nothing there. For all his fame and success as a writer, he is a failure as a human being.

There is a certain irony of watching Thomas seemingly drink himself to death. One of his most famous poems is “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, which speaks of fighting against impending death. (We hear the poem being read on the lecture tour.) Yet the man we see in this film seems to be challenging death to take him. In one scene with Dr. Felton, the doctor asks him “Do you want to die?” over and over. It is a question Thomas fails to answer. Unlike the words of Dylan Thomas in the poem, the character in this film is far from raging “against the dying of the light”. He rages, but seemingly at life itself.

Last Call is showing in select theaters.

Photos courtesy of K Street Pictures.