ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Amy Ryan

Strange But True: Life, Death and Nothing in Between

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When Phillip (Nick Robinson) receives a visit from Melissa (Margaret Qualley), the former girlfriend of his late-brother Ronnie, old wounds are re-opened when she claims that his brother is also the father of her unborn child. Since Ronnie’s death was over five years ago, Phillip and his mother, Charlene (Amy Ryan) are rightly enfuriated and hurt by the seemingly ridiculous scenario. Even so, Melissa’s earnestness causes Phillip to begin to question the truth of her claim and sets out on a quest to unravel the truth about her child and, potentially, spiritual realities as well.

Directed by Rowan Athale (The Revolt), Strange But True has a stellar cast and high concept that unfortunately never really settles on what type of film it wants to be. Despite featuring such incredible talents as Blythe Danner, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan and more, the film simply doesn’t come together. Opening with an engaging premise that the unborn child may be that of the long-deceased Ronnie, the film sets itself up as an exploration humanity’s relationship with the unknown. However, as the film progresses, Strange gradually moves away from its more complex themes and settles in as yet another generic thriller. 

Without question, the strongest aspect of the film is its interest in grappling with the nature of belief. Guilt-ridden by the death of her lost love, Melissa’s decision to approach Charlene about the child’s potential parentage seems reckless and even unkind. Nevertheless, her claims have a ripple affect within the family, especially within Phillip’s heart. A skeptic himself, the potential of supernatural birth seems absurd to Phillip yet her steadfast belief causes him to question his own understanding of the universe. As he steps out on a journey to understand the spiritual realm, Phillip recognizes that his own personal blinders may be keeping him from understanding something more. In moments such as these, Strange seems to be opening the door for deeper conversations about the space between life and death.

Nevertheless, without offering spoilers, the film is quick to shut the doors on these potentially powerful conversations, opting for the more standard approach that the ‘truth brings pain’. In doing so, Strange tries to balance two conflicting arguments. On the one hand, the film points out that holding belief is an acceptable way of life that can provide hope. However, it also argues that hope in the beyond often serves as a way to merely distract us from the horrors of reality. As a result, Strange attempts to walk the line between hope and horror but struggles to maintain its stability in the process.

Without question, the most frustrating aspect of Strange But True is that it simply feels like a wasted opportunity. Filled with a quality cast of Oscar notables and young talent, Strange has the potential to be something truly special. However, with a meandering script that settles for less, Strange misses the mark and leaves its audience with answers that leave them in the dark.

Strange But True is available on VOD now.

Beautiful Boy: Everything

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David Sheff (Steve Carell) dabbled in his share of drugs as a youth but seemingly grew out of that phase and developed into a responsible adult. On the other hand, his son, Nic (Timothee Chalamet), didn’t have the same luck in his experimental drug phase. Although experimenting with numerous drugs, Nic specifically became addicted to crystal meth, a highly addictive and dangerous drug that is nearly impossible to quit.

Directed by Felix Van Groeningen, Beautiful Boy is based on the true story of Nic Sheff’s addiction, David’s heart-wrenching struggle to save his son, and the family dynamic surrounding this difficult situation.

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When Nic wasn’t home, David seemed to live a picture perfect life with his newer family; his second wife, Karen (Maura Tierney), and their two children. They seemed happy and lived in a generous and well-kept home. David cooked and Karen made art. But when Nic was around, everything seemed heavy. David began to devote his life to helping his son, not only by being there for him and taking him to rehab, but by researching the drug and what was actually going on inside of Nic’s body. This was clearly a large time commitment and was very emotionally draining, not only on David but on his family as well.

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Throughout the film, we see numerous flashbacks to when Nic was a young boy. Not only does this highlight the special relationship between Nic and David, but it humanizes him as an addict. All too often, I think that addicts are portrayed as less than others or looked down upon. Some people have no pity for them because they “did this to themselves” and have to live with the consequences. Sometimes people may see them as pathetic. Perhaps some people wonder what drove them to drugs in the first place. Do they have an undesirable home life? Were they abused? That may be the case for some, but not all. Everyone that has an addiction came from somewhere. They have parents. They were an adorable baby and a cute kid. They had (and still do have) potential. A lot of them just took a wrong turn somewhere. I appreciate that this film humanizes the addict because it arms us with more sympathy to help as opposed to scoffing and ignoring the problem.

I felt as though lighting played an important role in this film. When Nic was with David, particularly at home (but also in diner scenes) everything seemed quite dark. Despite their home being larger than average, there also seemed to be more claustrophobic spaces when Nic and David were together. I found this surprising given that their father/son relationship initially seemed strong, and it didn’t feel as though David was any sort of trigger for Nic when it came to his addiction. Outside of the home, we are met with stunning, bright, and vast landscapes with the rolling green hills, as well as the ocean. When Nic is in LA with his mother, Vicki (Amy Ryan) on the other hand, everything seems much lighter and airy. Also surprising given the relationship between Nic and Vicki was much less strong.

I was also impressed by the sound mixing and score which did a great job at conveying the emotion and tone of any given scene.

In the end, Beautiful Boy felt somewhat flat in terms of story arc – there was no specific climax or rise and fall. However, because it is based on a true story, I can understand why it came across that way. A lot of the scenes felt like an extended montage of the family dancing through this battle.

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This film left me with the question of ‘how much can we really help?’ How can we help our family or friends with addiction without being overbearing, accusatory and perhaps driving them right back to their vice? There is a scene in this film where David and Karen attend a family support group. On the wall, there is a sign referring to the ‘3 C’s’. I didn’t Cause it, I can’t Cure it, and I can’t Control it. Addiction is scientifically proven to be a chronic disease. It is beyond you and beyond the addict. When you grasp that, I feel as though it becomes just a bit easier to understand their struggle and how placing blame or trying force a change often has adverse effects.

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, here are some references that may be of assistance:

Canada: http://www.ccdus.ca/Eng/Pages/Addictions-Treatment-Helplines-Canada.aspx

USA: http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/addictions

Beautiful Boy – Love in the Time of Addiction

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Addiction can tear apart families and ruin lives. Often the bonds of love lead people to try to help in whatever way they can. But those bonds can be fragile. Beautiful Boy is the story of a family that had to deal over a period of years with an addict who just couldn’t seem to be able to break away from his dependency. The film is based on two memoirs by father and son: Beautiful Boy by journalist David Sheff and Tweak by Nic Sheff.

Oakley Bull as Daisy Sheff, Maura Tierney as Karen Babour, Timothée Chalamet as Nic Sheff, Christian Convery as Jasper Sheff, and Steve Carell as David Scheff star in BEAUTIFUL BOY

David (Steve Carell) and Nic (Timothée Chalamet) are a happy and loving father and son. Nic is about to leave for college, but decides to take some time off first. The family is well off and there are firm bonds with Nic’s stepmother Karen (Maura Tierney) and young siblings. Soon, it is discovered that Nic is addicted to crystal meth. The rest of the film chronicles Nic’s and the family’s struggle with that addiction. It takes place over a period of years and many rehabs, relapses, promises, and deceptions. At times Nic is close to death, but that fact in itself is not enough for him to overcome his addiction.

Because the film is based on the two memoirs, it becomes essentially a father and son movie. Although there is also a good deal of interaction involving Nic’s siblings, stepmother, and birthmother (Amy Ryan). The relationship between David and Nic is the driving force of the story. David would do anything to help Nic. But as the story progresses he learns that there is really nothing that he can do to help Nic conquer this demon—except to love him. That is not said lightly or as saccharine. To love Nic in the midst of his addiction is a challenge. How does one continue to love someone who lies to you, steals from you, and deceives you year after year? Even when David turns down Nic’s pleas for “help”, we can see it is evidence of David’s real love for Nic.

Maura Tierney as Karen Barbour and Steve Carell as David Scheff star in BEAUTIFUL BOY

Screenwriters Luke Davies and Felix von Groeningen (who also directs) have made a seamless story of the two perspectives. It never seems like just David’s story or just Nic’s story. The two stories are not just different viewpoints, but a whole that reflects the bond between father and son—a love that runs so deep that even when it seems it must be beyond salvaging, it continues to hold them together in some way.

Timothée Chalamet as Nic Sheff and Steve Carell as David Scheff star in BEAUTIFUL BOY

It must be said that this is a painful movie to watch. There is a raw emotional honesty to all the relationships in the film. Emotion is a key element of the story. At one point David is doing everything he can to intellectually understand addiction. But Nic’s addiction has a very emotional center to it. It is only by entering into the emotions within the relationship that we understand just how painful this is for all involved.

Photos courtesy of Amazon Studios.

Louder Than Bombs – Finding Ways Through Grief

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In Louder than Bombs, when noted war photographer Isabelle Reed (Isabelle Huppert) dies on the eve of an exhibition honoring her work, her husband Gene (Gabriel Byrne) and two sons, Jonah and Conrad (Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Druid), must deal with their grief. Each has a different approach to the difficult time. Each must come to terms with the way their relationship with her evolved.

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For Gene, it is a time of struggling to connect with Conrad, who has taken refuge in video games. Jonah, a new father, takes leave from his career and new family to catalogue his mother’s photos. There are many ways that these characters are all hiding from the grief that they must deal with—and also from the fears of what life may become for them. Their memories are sometimes painful and at other times joyous. They will discover secrets about one another and about their mother. Eventually they must choose on how they will deal with their grief and how to move from this time of death and darkness to a way back to life.

One of the issues that all must deal with is that Isabelle was somewhat detached from them all. She would be gone for long periods to war zones, where she would be in danger, leaving her family behind to worry. Even when we see her pictures of women in those war zones, the faces seem blank, as if reflecting Isabelle. We can’t tell if faces reflect boredom, anger, or oppression. It is that same kind of detachment that seems to be growing within Jonah. With a newborn baby at home, he spends his time at his father’s house dealing with the massive number of his mother’s pictures. He seems to be avoiding his own role as husband and father, just as his mother may have been avoiding her role with the family.

Grief is one of the universal themes that film can address. As we watch the Reed family deal with the grief in their life, we feel a connection with them because we have been there as well. Even in relationships that may not have been all we might wish they had been, the loss of one who holds an important place in our lives is a struggle that is so difficult that many may look for ways to avoid it. But in time, it must be faced.

Photos courtesy of The Orchard.

Don Verdean: Digging Satire

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Don Verdean_1.186.1.T“I just wanted to give people a reason to believe.”

In Don Verdean an archaeologist and dueling pastors seem to be trying to find ways to bolster people’s faith, but it all finally boils down to feeding their own egos. We have to keep in mind this is very broad satire from Jared and Jerusha Hess, the creative team behind Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. Here, the satire centers on that facet of religion that is so open to criticism because they focus not so much on the message as they do on trying to prove themselves.

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Don Verdean (Sam Rockwell) is an itinerant, and for the most part untrained archaeologist who goes around to churches with his admiring assistant Carol (Amy Ryan) showing his discoveries and selling his book. He connects with flashy pastor Tony Lazarus (Danny McBride) who commissions him to find Goliath’s skull. Don fabricates the discovery, but Tony is pleased to have something that will bring people flocking to his church. Tony’s rival, Pastor Fontaine (Will Forte), begins to create doubt in the discovery, but by then Don is after “the Holy Grail of biblical artifacts”—which is, of course, the Holy Grail. When a Chinese billionaire gets involved, Don again begins making things up.

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The character Don Verdean doesn’t seem quite fleshed out. His goal really does seem to offer people something to believe in, yet he is so morally weak that he really only gives us more reason to doubt the truth he wants us to believe. Don’s weakness is a terrible flaw, but we may be willing to forgive that weakness when we compare him to the two pastors in the story who for all their religious platitudes are really all about self-aggrandizement. It is this that the filmmakers use for the basis of the satire in the film.

While I agree that there are many charlatans in the religious world, these are just a bit too easy to make fun of. Those who seek to bring others to faith, whether pastors or lay, have their own sets of frailties. While those flaws may seem to negate the very message they bring, sometimes they may become examples of grace. There is a sense in which the film tries to do that with Don’s shortcomings, but it doesn’t quite get there.