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Brian Dennehy

3 Days with Dad: Finding Our Place

September 13, 2019 by Steve Norton

3 Days with Dad tells the story of Eddie Mills (Larry Clarke), a middle-aged man who must go home to deal with his dying Dad. However, after returning to his crazy family, Eddie finds himself slipping back into old patterns as he reconnects with old friends. Then, as he is confronted with the revelation that he himself is a father, Eddie is forced to deal with the past he has always tried to avoid.

Written, starring and directed by Clarke,?3 Days with Dad is an honest and earnest look at dealing with losing a parent. Based on his own family experiences during the passing of his mother and father, Clarke?s characters feel authentic, balancing humour and grief (sometimes simultaneously). Featuring veteran actors such as Brian Dennehy, Lesley Ann Warren, Tom Arnold and JK Simmons, the cast is experienced and has solid chemistry with one another. However, it?s Clarke?s role as Eddie that holds the film together. Though most often featured as a character actor throughout his career, Clarke?s humility brings an everyman quality to Eddie that is both endearing and funny.?

Of course, 3 Days highlights the challenges of negotiating family relationships in the midst of trauma. While they work through their own grief, Eddie and his siblings must also navigate their own personal issues with one another as they plan their father?s funeral. Issues such as individual faith, life decisions and their own interpersonal issues bubble to the surface as the four Mills children attempt to move on in the middle of their pain.

At its heart, however, 3 Days with Dad also paints itself as [almost] a coming-of-age story. Brought together with his siblings due to the death of his father, Eddie finds himself at a crossroads within his own life as well. Having come home for the funeral, Eddie is also struggling to find purpose in his own life. Though Eddie has happily taken a job as a doorman at ?a 5-star hotel?, Bob still barks at his son to take a civil service job or something else ?reliable?. As often happens in parent-child relationships, Eddie is reminded that his life has somehow missed their proverbial mark of success. Having always been the child in his parent?s house, his return home has placed him firmly into the role of an adult within his family, causing him to re-examine his relationships and life goals. When he discovers that he?s a father, this role becomes even more important, as he must decide whether or not he wants to take on the role.

In the end, 3 Days with Dad?s greatest value stems from its honesty and heart. There?s an awkward humour that stems from Clarke?s life experiences that help create relatable characters in the middle of heightened circumstances.

To hear full audio of our interview with director Larry Clarke, click here.

3 Days with Dad is in theatres now. 

September 13, 2019 by Steve Norton Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: 3 Days with Dad, Brian Dennehy, JK Simmons, Larry Clarke, Lesley Ann Warren, Tom Arnold

Knight of Cups: Finding the Pearl

March 4, 2016 by Darrel Manson

?The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come; Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream?

Those words open Terrence Malick?s Knight of Cups. They are the full title of John Bunyan?s seventeenth century allegory of Christian life. The film itself is not really allegory, but it does take the form of a journey in search of . . . .

First, it must be noted that Malick?s films, especially his last few, have a very esoteric quality. They are visually stunning, but many may find them difficult to understand because they are so different from most other films. This comes from being highly visual and often dreamlike films that care more about evoking emotional response than they care about storytelling per se. That is not to say that there is no plot to his films. However for Knight of Cups the story itself is of minor importance. The story actually exists as implied plots?we see bits of stories play out, but we may not be sure just what story we are seeing. Even within those stories, some of the dialogue really isn?t meant for us. It may be covered up by voice over that may seem like a distraction, but in fact brings new understanding to the experience Malick is creating.

KoC_14913_R_CROP

The film focuses on Rick (Christian Bale), a screenwriter working in Hollywood. It feels to him that he is ?living a life of someone I didn?t ever know.? Throughout the film he wanders through the affluent lifestyle and we see encounters with a variety of people. The supporting cast includes Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Brian Dennehy, Isabel Lucas, Imogen Poots, Freida Pinto, Wes Bentley, Antonio Banderas, and Cherry Jones. In press notes I?ve read who all these characters are, but the film never explicitly identifies them. Rather we just get these glimpses into Rick?s past and current life.

Early in the film we hear the tale of a prince sent to search for a valuable pearl. But when he gets to the city, he is given a drink that makes him forget who he is and what he is to do. That tale becomes the metaphor of Rick?s life?and perhaps of modern life in general. The opulence of Los Angeles and Las Vegas is not portrayed as empty, but neither is it fulfilling in itself. That life style is just where Rick has found himself, but is there something more to life than what he has found? The various encounters he has along the way are all bits that may show him a way forward–?from darkness to life??from forgetfulness to remembering who he is and why he is here.

KoC_03840_R

Rick?s wandering is essentially a spiritual search. He is directionless, without an idea where he is going. In that sense, he is lost, although he doesn?t seem to recognize that. This is a journey that includes pain and joy, hope and despair, dreamlike beauty and harsh realities. Malick peripherally brings in various spiritual traditions (Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu) as a part of this ?pilgrim?s progress.? All the experiences, the people, the concepts Rick encounters all serve as reference points for this existential journey. Rick?s journey is really a metaphor for our own lives. Perhaps we don?t have quite as many decadent trappings, but we do live in a world of wealth. And, like Rick (and the prince searching for the pearl), we also may be lost?having forgotten what the meaning of our sojourn here is really about.

As is often the case with Malick?s films, Knight of Cups is an immersive experience. It is best approached not with logic or by seeking symbols to interpret (at least not at first viewing). Rather viewers need to let go of the more cerebral parts of ourselves and just let the film surround us and overwhelm us. I believe those who are able to see the film in this way may find great meaning, but perhaps not meaning that can be put into words. It is the kind of meaning that may dwell deep within us and allow us to discover that we are all on the same kind of pilgrimage that Rick experiences.

March 4, 2016 by Darrel Manson Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Antonio Banderas, Brian Dennehy, Cate Blanchett, Cherry Jones. esoteric, Christian Bale, Frieda Pinto, Imogen Poots, Isabel Lucas, Natalie Portman, Pilgrim's Progress, Terrence Malick

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