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Elizabeth Olsen

WandaVision Episode 7: “Would You Rather Be Feared or Loved?”

February 23, 2021 by Heather Johnson Leave a Comment

I’ll keep this short and sweet. 

I haven’t had a show that has kept me in a perpetual state of “what the heck is going on and what the heck will happen” since season 5 of Bones the way WandaVision has. (To be fair, that’s actually the last season I watched – another story for another day.) Most of my conversations over the weekend involved episode 7: “Breaking the Fourth Wall,” and, if they didn’t, I was googling #allthethings.

Friday’s format was my favorite yet. The show’s use of The Office and Parks and Rec interview style and direct character-to-audience engagement was hilarious. Kat Dennings’ Darcy Lewis gets funnier by the minute, and I squealed at those scenes with Monica. Of course, the ending blew me away (I’m still humming the tune), and be sure to stay tuned during those credits as the powers that be finally pulled a classic MCU move with a bonus scene. There was just so much to watch.

And so I ask one question: if you aren’t tuning in to WandaVision, just what are you doing?

While it’s no secret that this is leading up to the next phase of movies, there is still so much to enjoy on its own merit. Elizabeth Olsen’s acting is phenomenal, especially when Wanda’s control is slipping and sliding. Her comedic delivery in this most recent episode is just one more example of Olsen’s ownership of this character and personifying the depth of complication and humanity that is within Wanda’s psyche. So often we talk about what she is doing to others and her motivations, but these past two weeks especially have shown us the toll it’s having on her.

Now we know that she isn’t the only player involved, but it’s her relatability that makes her such a powerful character for me. We’ve talked a lot about her losses and grief and just how powerful she is, but something I don’t think we talk about is how normal Wanda can be. No matter how or why she is in Westview, at her core she just wants a happy life. She loves Vision. She loves her boys. She’s stressed and tired from being on her guard 24/7. Super human or not, she just wants peace. 

As we fly forward into the final two episodes that are sure to be even more riveting than the ones we’ve seen so far, I’m hopeful we remember this side of Wanda. I don’t think she wants to be feared. I think she just wants to be loved.

WandaVision is now streaming on Disney+

Filed Under: Disney+, Editorial, Featured, Reviews, SmallFish Tagged With: comedy, Elizabeth Olsen, Modern Family, NBC, Parks and Recreation, Paul Bettany, the office, WandaVision

WandaVision Episodes 5 & 6: Coming Back from Cancellation

February 15, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

[Caution: This post contains spoilers for Episodes 5 & 6 of WandaVision.]

Grief is a strange thing.

Whenever we lose someone that we love, our feelings can fly all over the place. Misplaced anger, sadness, relief or even joy can come at us in waves without prompting. We can fight with ourselves in disbelief or simply crumble under the weight of our emotions. Because everyone grieves differently, these feelings can be scary, causing us to ask whether or not what we’re experiencing is normal (or even acceptable). 

But WandaVision has taken this to a whole other level.

For those who aren’t keeping up (and, seriously, why wouldn’t you be?), WandaVision follows the marital bliss of beloved Avengers Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). Playing out through the lens of classic television sitcoms, everything seems right in the world for the couple until cracks begin to appear in the façade that point to something more sinister.

Since it began, the show has literally stormed the globe. (Current reports suggest it’s the #1 series in the world.) What began as a history lesson in television nostalgia has edged ever closer into true horror with a conspiracy angle that’s driving the story forward. All this has blended together into something truly magical that has drawn in new audiences while connecting with those already heavily invested in the MCU. Regardless of your previous interest in Marvel, WandaVision has all of us asking the same question right now…

What’s going on with Wanda?

The most recent episodes have really leaned into the fact that Wanda is heavily involved in the machinations of this world. Neighbours ask her if she wants them to ‘take it from the top’ when things don’t go as planned. She can clearly control elements such as time and repair what’s broken when needed. She’s even brought back her brother from the dead (even if he’s not who she remembers). For her, Westview is a safe space where she has ‘everything that she wanted’ (as she indicated in her brief appearance to the S.W.O.R.D. installation).

But it still seems entirely connected with Wanda’s grief.

In the last few episodes, the series has specifically referenced Vision and Pietro’s deaths (even throwing Ultron’s name into the mix). When confronted with questions about her reality, Wanda attempts to ‘roll the credits’ in an effort to skip to the end of the episode and ignore the conversation (to no avail). And, of course, the sixth episode saw Vision almost vaporized in a Truman Show-esque attempted ‘jailbreak’.

What has become clear though is that Wanda can’t seem to bring people back from the dead. After the death of their dog Sparky, Wanda is called out by Agnes and the twins to ‘fix it’ yet she says she doesn’t have the power to do so. Although her resurrected brother and, of course, Vision seem free to live within the Hex, Wanda seems powerless (as of right now) to be able to keep those she loves from dying.

Apparently, in the Hex, there are rules about death. 

Rules we don’t understand, but rules nonetheless.

In many ways, there’s a strange comfort around death in this way. Though our grief may plead with us to keep people alive, there’s also a sense of freedom that comes from being able to let them go. Although he’s thriving within Westview, Vision feels trapped. Neither Vision nor Wanda seems at peace with this arrangement, even though Wanda seems the most willing to try to maintain the pretense of marital bliss. The loss of a loved one is never an easy experience but, assuming that Wanda is running this show, she seems to have lost all sense of objectivity. If she can have her husband and brother back, she is determined to make it happen. (Admittedly, this is still unclear. While the series is leaning this direction, I’m not convinced this is entirely her decision.) 

But, by being unable (or unwilling) to process her own grief and release her loved ones from her fantasy world, I would argue that Wanda’s really the one in prison. While her time with Vision and Pietro may have been cut short—saving the world comes at a cost—it is the time that she did have with them that matters most.

Like Wanda, we cannot control life and death… but we can celebrate the people in our lives when we have them.

Though the MCU has never hinted (officially) at any belief in an afterlife or specific faith, what seems clear is that Vision is being prevented from taking those next steps by being held on to by his beloved. In the same way, Wanda seems to have become a victim of her own marital façade. For her, hope appears to be deeply connected to her ability to release those she loves from her will by accepting the truth that they have already gone. Like any great series, there comes a time when the show needs to be cancelled. Though she cannot bear the thought of life without them, neither can she keep them alive by forcing them to stay in her fantasy world. In fact, this  release may be the greatest act of love that she can offer them (or herself).

When she does, maybe then the healing can begin.

Maybe then she (and they) can truly be free.

The first six episodes of WandaVision are currently streaming on Disney+ with new episodes airing each Friday.

Filed Under: Disney+, Editorial, Featured, Reviews, SmallFish Tagged With: Elizabeth Olsen, Evan Peters, grief, Marvel, MCU, Paul Bettany, WandaVision

7.11 Tuning In to WANDAVISION

February 14, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

After a long absence, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally made its triumphant return. Streaming exclusively on Disney+, WandaVision tells the story of beloved characters Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) who finally have the lives they’ve always wanted. However, as the white picket fence starts to show its cracks, the facade seems to point to something more sinister. Told through the lens of classic television sitcoms, WandaVision is a wild ride that pushes the Marvel Universe into the weirdest of places, giving it a charm and darkness that have kept audiences glued to their sets. Tune in this week as we’re joined by SF’ers Heather Johnson, Miriam Ibrahim and newcomer Dina Hamdia to talk about tv as a place of safety and the power of grief. 

You can stream the episode on podomatic, Alexa (via Stitcher), Spotify or Amazon Podcasts! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts!

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

7.11 WandaVisionDownload

Filed Under: Disney+, Featured, Film, Podcast Tagged With: Disney+, Elizabeth Olsen, Kathryn Hahn, Kevin Feige, Marvel, MCU, Paul Bettany, WandaVision

WandaVision Episode 3: It’s a Colorful Life

January 24, 2021 by Heather Johnson Leave a Comment

For what it’s worth, I’m not a Marvel super fan or anything. I haven’t read the comics, I don’t know the backstories, and I’m often dependent on the kindness and knowledge of internet strangers that can point me to all of the Easter Eggs that I typically miss. 

So, in a somewhat bizarre way, I think this may make me an ideal audience for WandaVision. If anything, it has my husband intrigued, and he’s not one to show interest in well…any kind of movie or series… So, what is it about the newest series streaming from Disney+ that has the two of us so entranced – along with the other million viewers? If we aren’t Marvel “super-viewers” how can we be the right fit for such a concept as WandaVision?

For the first two episodes it was obvious – the nostalgia. We both grew up with old Nick-at-Nite shows so the subtleties and throwbacks to our childhood evenings got us to sit down in the first place. Drawing us in was actually pretty easy. And because of that, we are absolutely hooked. Maybe it’s because we really don’t know what to expect. Since we don’t know all the tips and tricks of the MCU upfront, it’s really easy to keep us engaged. Now while waiting last week for episode 3, I of course did some digging to learn more about the little Marvel-esque moments and hints dispersed throughout, which helped ground me into the nuance of the story of Wanda’s abilities and her relationship with Vision. And my theories developed. I’ve gone from engaged to entranced.

And then this week’s episode 3 threw me a bit. I thought I knew who was controlling whom and now I’m not so sure. Glitches, awkward dialogue and interactions, and Wanda’s increasing awareness of something “out there,” are leading me down a new direction. And I’m not sure if it will be as colorful as the psychedelic and groovy updates WandaVision gave us this week.

However, I do know this. With its blend of sitcom humor and Marvel wonder, WandaVision, like its lead couple, is unlike anything I’ve seen. And if it can get my reticent husband to ask “when does the next episode come out,” I think’s fair game that with this show, Disney+ and Marvel are now reaching a previously untapped audience.

WandaVision‘s first three episodes are now streaming on Disney+.

Filed Under: Disney+, Featured, Reviews, SmallFish Tagged With: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, WandaVision

WandaVision: Reviving the MCU in the Past

January 15, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

To an extent, the Marvel Cinematic Universe reminds me of the old song that says, ‘How Can I Miss You If You Won’t Go Away?’

It goes without saying that, after 22 movies (including the highest grossing film of all time) that have dominated the box office to the tune of over $22 billion, the MCU has become the premiere cinematic franchise in the last decade. Like many others, I’ve thrilled at watching a series of films where alien invasions, magic powers and even time-travel have become realities in a universe that seems to have no limits. However, after Avengers: Endgame destroyed all box office records and essentially wrapped up all their active storylines, my enthusiasm for their never-ending commitment to ‘the next phase’ was waning. Frankly, I needed a break.

In this way, the pandemic was definitely good for something.

After the worldwide shut-down forced the MCU (and most other things) to go on hiatus, the break has allowed the dust from the series’ dramatic conclusion* to finally settle. After 18 months—the longest gap without new Marvel material in over a decade, if you can believe it—the emergence of Disney’s streaming empire has allowed the MCU to slowly wind up the gears for its much-needed reset. So finally, with Friday’s launch of their new Disney+ series WandaVision, the MCU has officially returned. 

And it’s about to get weird(er)… in the best of ways.

Bound to be divisive, WandaVision’s refresh is an intentionally wild and unique re-introduction to the world of the MCU. Set in the world of classic television sitcoms, WandaVision is a limited miniseries that follows the marital bliss of the MCU’s beloved power couple, the mystical Wanda ‘Scarlett Witch’ Maximoff (Ashley Olsen) and the cybernetic Vision (Paul Bettany). As the two attempt to fit in to their unconventional suburban life, Wanda can’t help but sense that a darkness lurks that threatens their utopian world.

While not their first foray into the world of television (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter), WandaVision is the first of their truly integrated series that is supposed to blur the lines between cinema and streaming content. Stars Bettany and Olsen are clearly revelling in the opportunity to portray their relationship with a fresh lens and the results are palpable onscreen. Bouncing around with enthusiastic energy, the duo make good use of their chemistry from previous Marvel films as they bring revive a bygone era. (Though, arguably, the real MVP of this MCU property is veteran Kathryn Hahn who is simply delightful playing an endless string of ‘best friend’ tropes.)

With its bizarre concept and style, it goes without saying that WandaVision is Marvel’s greatest ‘risk’. But, frankly, that’s always when they’re at their most interesting. Without any mention of the Avengers, ‘the Blip’ or other MCU tropes (so far), WandaVision feels like the fever dream of Marvel’s super-couple after falling asleep on the couch watching ‘Nick-At-Nite’. Having said this, that same separation is what also makes make the series work. While it feels inevitable that WandaVision will edge towards the superhero epic, this classic sitcom diversion is simply stunning to behold. With each episode, the miniseries fully leans into a different decade of the early years of television. Whether it’s the static sets of 1950s comedy ala I Love Lucy or the more mischievous whimsical atmosphere of early Bewitched, Shakman and his team have managed to recreate television history without fully losing the sense that there’s a greater Marvel story lurking underneath. Small details like separate beds for the married couple, charming theme songs and commercial breaks help build authenticity with a playful wink. (In fact, they even recorded the first episode of the series in front of a live studio audience.) 

Of course, this is a Marvel product and the premiere episodes carry with them the bubbling undercurrent of a much larger conspiracy. Though this tv world feels ‘perfect’, Wanda clearly is experiencing some form of ‘bad reception’. There’s a certain level of fragility within their suburban utopia. Mysterious messages from outside the world break through the innocence of the black and white world. 

But who is in control? Without giving away any spoilers, this tv reality seems like the type of environment that one might create to avoid dealing with the darkness of the real world. Within the heart of classic sitcoms lies a certain level of distance from cultural (or personal) change. One does not have to look any further from the (far too) gradual developments within television’s early age regarding issues of gender, race or sexuality to see that they reinforce cultural ideas designed to reinforce ideas of the dominant culture of their era. Is it possible that there’s a certain level of safety in these spaces or is something more nefarious going on with Wanda and her digital spouse? (Knowing the MCU, it’s possible that it’s both but answers have been sparse thus far.)

With a fresh tone and absolutely bonkers concept, WandaVision is a welcome re-introduction to a cinematic (do we use that word in this case?) universe that seemed to be running out of ideas. Thankfully, with the gift of time and, more importantly, creativity, WandaVision shows that Marvel is willing to experiment in their quest for content when the opportunity rises.

And, when Marvel takes risks, that’s something worth tuning in for.

The first two episodes of WandaVision are available on Disney+ on Friday, January 15th, 2021, with weekly episodes to follow.

*For what it’s worth, its fair to say that the last Marvel film was technically Spider-Man: Far From Home. However, that film was ultimately considered an epilogue on a story that ended the film prior, Avengers: Endgame.

Filed Under: Disney+, Featured, Reviews Tagged With: Disney, Disney+, Elizabeth Olsen, I Love Lucy, Kathryn Hahn, Kevin Feige, Marvel, MCU, Paul Bettany, WandaVision

Wind River – Hunting for Justice

August 4, 2017 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

The modern American frontier has been a subject that Taylor Sheridan has been coming to from different angles in recent films. Wind River represents his “conclusion of a thematic trilogy” that includes Sicario and Hell or High Water. Three very different films, but each considers the discrepancies between the myth of the American West and the realities of modern America. In Wind River he confronts us with what he calls “America’s greatest failure—the Native American reservation.”

When professional hunter/tracker Cody Lambert (Jeremy Renner) discovers a young Native American woman’s body in the snow, he becomes involved along with the Reservation police chief (Graham Greene) and rookie FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) in the murder investigation. Cody has personal connections on the reservation and a history of a murdered daughter that haunts him. He is not the law. His interest is not so much an arrest as justice—perhaps even personal satisfaction and revenge.

The film concentrates on the dark side of life on the reservation: drug addiction, hopelessness, poverty, exploitation by corporations and whites. Yet it also points to the humanity that is seen even amidst the suffering. That is especially true with Cody’s interactions with the victim’s father (Gil Birmingham) as they share the pain of grieving.

But it is also heavy with the dark side of humanity. This is a film that is filled with flawed men and women. That is not to say there is no nobility demonstrated, but even when that appears, it is tinged with anger and revenge. The film seems to see humanity as basically deprived, that only rarely rises about our animal nature to act more virtuously.

Since this is part of Sheridan’s American Frontier trilogy, what does this film say about his view of the modern American life and the underlying myth of the American Dream? All three of the films deal with different aspects of the flaws in our society: violence, the inequality of wealth and power, exploitation and victimization. There is something of a prophetic voice in the films that calls us to pay attention to the sinfulness of our culture—not so much in our actions as in what we are willing to overlook all around us.

Yet, taken as a whole, they do offer a glimpse of hope that perhaps we can overcome these flaws that the films show as systemic to our culture. There are people who are not satisfied with society’s problems going unaddressed. Perhaps the ways they choose to address those issues may be equally as flawed, but they still are working toward an ideal of justice. It is that absence of justice which represents the trilogy’s greatest indictment against American culture.

Photos courtesy of The Weinstein Company

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Elizabeth Olsen, Gil Birmingham, Graham Greene, Jeremy Renner, Native Americans, Taylor Sheridan, trilogy

Captain America: Civil War — Conflict Breeds Catastrophe

May 5, 2016 by J. Alan Sharrer Leave a Comment

#TeamCap FightsLet’s get the basic questions out of the way before we begin the review.

Is Captain America: Civil War any good?  You bet it is!
Is it a perfect film? 
Nope.
Is there lots of fighting? Oh yes. And then some.
How’s Spider Man?
Well . . . He needs some practice.
Does the film leave the door open for future movies?
I think you know the answer to that one.
So who wins the Civil War?
Uh . . . I’m not going to tell you that. Why are you asking me?

Feel better?  No? Okay, then let’s review the film (with minor spoilers, if that).

If you’ve been under a rock for the last few years, Marvel Studios has been building a comic book-based empire on the strength of The Avengers, Iron Man, and Captain America. Captain America: Civil War adds to and builds on the previous movies, offering moviegoers a rollicking, fast-paced thrill ride that may take more than one viewing to adequately enjoy.

The story begins with the Avengers attempting to ward off a potential crisis in Nigeria.  However, something goes awry and innocent lives are lost.  This seems to be a theme of past films (New York and Sokovia, for example), so the governments of the world have decided it’s time for those with superpowers to have limits. Thus, the Sokovia Accords are drafted, giving the Avengers a choice: submit to governmental control or retire.

Avengers at Headquarters

If you’re a fan of the comics, you know there will be disagreements as to what should be done. Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) feels that limits will only breed more limits and make their jobs more difficult. Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) says that without limitations, they’re “no better than the bad guys.” Both are stubborn and won’t budge on their positions, gathering various Avengers to their separate points of view. Your favorite characters are all here: Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johnasson), Vision (Paul Bettany), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Ant-Man (Paul Ruud), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), and War Machine (Don Cheadle).  The addition of Black Panther/T’Challa (Chad Boseman) makes the situation more difficult (but man, is he an incredible character to watch on screen).

Meanwhile, the Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is dealing with a lot of things that spin the other part of the plot in motion. Captain America has a tie to him and this comes into play as the film advances to an inevitable clash held at the airport in Berlin. There’s lots of fighting, lots of gadgetry, and a few surprises along the way. But as Vision notes, “Conflict breeds catastrophe.” The question is whether the Avengers, Captain America, and Iron Man will figure this out before it’s too late.

Captain America Meets Spider-ManOh yeah, and there’s Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland).  He has a role in the fight in Berlin, but seems more in awe of the others than anything.  He’s also learning about his superpowers—with mixed results. One part of the film that irked me involved Aunt May (Marisa Tomei)—don’t go in expecting her to be old like in the comics. In fact, guys might even be smitten by her.

In the end, the themes of vengeance, love, family, and loyalty come into play, though I’ll leave it to you to figure out how and in what manner it happens. Suffice it to say that the words of Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 mean something in Civil War.

The film is nearly 2 ½ hours long, but it doesn’t feel that way due to the hyperkinetic pacing by directors Anthony and Joe Russo. Fight sequences are everywhere, surprises abound, and details are peppered throughout that help drive the plot forward. I do wish the villain (played by Martin Freeman) had been fleshed out a little bit more, but that’s nitpicking when events are unfolding so rapidly. The music isn’t overpowering but adds little to the whole scheme of affairs.  You’re there for the action, so that’s what you’re going to get.

And you’re going to like it.

(PS – Stay for the credits, as there are not one but two additional scenes that will leave you talking on the way out of the theater.)

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Ant-Man, Anthony Mackie, Anthony Russo, Aunt May, Avengers, Berlin, Black Widow, Bucky Barnes, Captain America, Captain America: Civil War, Chris Evans, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Falcon, Family, Government, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Jeremy Renner, Joe Russo, Love, Loyalty, Marisa Tomei, Martin Freeman, New York, Nigeria, Paul Betteny, Paul Ruud, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlet Witch, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Sokovia, spider-man, tom holland, vengeance, Vision, War Machine, Winter Soldier

Captain America: Civil War – Whom to Follow

May 5, 2016 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Before the screening I attended of Captain America: Civil War, the screen was filled with a message encouraging people to take part in the social media strategy of the film by tweeting either #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan to designate which side they favor. Welcome to the political edition of the Marvel Universe. I’ll save my vote until later.

The film is built around a division within the ranks of the Avengers. After an Avenger mission in Lagos, Nigeria creates severe collateral damage, the governments of the world reach an agreement by which the Avengers will come under the authority and control of a U.N.-like body. Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) supports the proposal as a step to keep the Avengers working for the good. Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) thinks that the Avengers’ work is too important to allow for government interference. The others tend to fall behind one or the other of these leaders.

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When the accord is due to be signed, a bomb goes off near the site, killing several. It appears to be the work of The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers childhood friend Bucky Barns. Captain America sets out to keep Bucky from being killed by those sent to capture him, putting himself on the wrong side of the law. Soon the Avengers are divided into two camps (with a couple of notable non-Avenger additions from the Marvel Universe), one seeking to save and exonerate Bucky, and one determined to bring him to justice. In the meantime, a new superhero, Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), an African prince (now king) whose father was killed in the blast, operates in neither camp, but is seeking to bring his own form of justice to the man who killed his father. In time this leads to a battle royal as the two teams face off, eventually to a showdown between Captain America and Iron Man to save Bucky.

So the first political issue is whether government oversight is a good thing or a hindrance. The Avengers have done some serious damage in their attempts to save the world from whatever menace they have been facing. As a group of people with enhanced powers, they are something of a global superpower in themselves. How are they to be held accountable for all that collateral damage that accompanies their fight for the right? But if a government power is involved, won’t that reduce their effectiveness; maybe even prevent them from doing what needs to be done? Iron Man thinks that the team has to be held accountable and that government is necessary for that to happen. Captain America thinks that the government will only get in the way. How do you vote on that issue? TeamCap or TeamIronMan?

Then comes the idea of how we know what is right in a given situation. For Captain America, his loyalty to his friend Bucky transcends even the possibility that he has resumed his role as Winter Soldier. Even if Bucky is responsible for the attack, is he truly responsible or is it a matter of mind control? Should he be summarily done away with in the name of justice and vengeance? For Iron Man, it is just a matter of capturing (or killing if need be) the person who has done this. It’s not his job to wade through the facts beyond what seems obvious to all the world. Does loyalty to a friend (Cap) take precedence over loyalty to what all the world sees as justice (Iron Man)?

And then there is the whole issue of personality. Don’t we often pick our leaders based on some sort of personality cult? Let’s face it, Tony Stark is a bit arrogant, but he still believes in doing what is right (and if it turns a profit, all the better). Steve Rogers comes across as the incarnation of virtue. Yet, as the story plays out, it is Rogers who becomes the criminal and Stark who serves as the sheriff of superherodom. Which side of the law do you want to be on? Vote accordingly.

While I call this the political edition of the Marvel Universe, I do not mean that this is some sort of parody of the current election cycle. However, it is not hard to use this as a lens to consider how it is we pick sides in the election. Worse, we may even be willing to be combative, even with friends, over our visions of the world and those who we think should lead us.

Actually, I’m not willing to cast my vote for either Captain America or Iron Man. Both of them are utterly convinced of the righteousness of their cause. That makes it almost impossible for them to find common ground, but even worse, it makes it impossible for them to find any transformation for their character. Repentance is outside their vocabulary. Without some sense of flexibility, they are doomed to end up in those battles that make up much of the film. In short, neither of them really grows in the course of the film.

Beyond that, I don’t think either of them is the person who best represents the options that need to be considered in the film—nor even the most interesting characters. There are two minor characters that really drew me to them. I understand that this is a superhero blockbuster that uses broad strokes (sometimes too broad) to tell the story. But within that there should be room from some subtle looks at character growth and to give us people we can truly connect with because in spite of their superpowers they are like us.

The first of these characters is Wanda/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). She is consumed with guilt over what happened in Lagos. She is conflicted over the use of her powers. Her vulnerability as a character grows out of seeing the damage that can be done even with the best of intentions. As the Avengers discuss whether to agree to the new proposal, she is pretty much paralyzed by grief. She never really chooses a side, she is just brought in to one of them. Yet in the process, she begins to discover that her power is not her enemy. It would have been nice to know just how that happened.

They key character for me in the film was Black Panther. He has vowed vengeance on the man who killed his father, and like the two main characters he is convinced of the righteousness of his mission. But he is reflective enough to see the problems that come along with vengeance and can be transformed—and even repent of the course he set out on. This is the character who has the most growth and transformation in the story, but we see far too little of it. (The good news is that Black Panther will be getting his own franchise in the future.) So for me, when it comes to #TeamCap and #TeamIronMan, I say a curse on both your houses. Put me down for #TeamPanther.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Ant-Man, Avengers, Black Panther, Captain America, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Evans, Disney, Elizabeth Olsen, Iron Man, Marvel, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlet Witch, spiderman, superheroes, vengeance

I Saw the Light – Filmmakers Meet with Press

March 31, 2016 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

I Saw the Light writer/director Marc Abraham and stars Tom Hiddleston (who plays Hank Williams) and Elizabeth Olsen (who plays Audrey Williams) met with press in Hollywood to discuss the film. These are some of the gleanings from a forty-five minute press conference.

Hiddleston was asked how making the film changed his perspective of country music.

Tom Hiddleston: What I find interesting about American country music is essentially, as I understand it now, folk music. Folk music wherever you are is an expression of the authentic soul of a country—whether that’s Scottish folk music or Irish folk music or English folk music or Spanish folk music. When you get under the skin of a country’s folk music you begin to understand their instinctive rhythm. When I went to Nashville and spent some time preparing for this, I came to understand country music is America’s folk music that comes from the blues. The blues is so deeply engrained into the American soul. And I had a whole new appreciation for it which is really thrilling, especially because Hank is right in the center of it. He’s a cornerstone in the history of it. He was taught the blues and he made it his own, then people who came after him took him as an inspiration to make their own music—Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash—all these people for whom Hank is the brightest star in the firmament.

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The group was asked about the tools they used to bring their own talents into the film’s emphasis on authenticity.

Elizabeth Olsen: You have a lot of responsibility and you’re also trying to make more of a three dimensional person than what the legacy or stories have. You also have the gift of a lot of original source material. You start there. You start with photographs. You start with personal belongings. You start with books, documentaries. Then there comes a point where you’ve done all your work and you just have to bleed into the character, basically. It’s nice to have all the original material though because that gives you a lot of inspiration. And what I discovered was that with Audrey, how much of a business woman she really was. Even as they got more money she created more of an image—everything was monogramed, she made sure their suits were suits as opposed to hillbilly/country denim. These were all things that she decided as a business woman that contributed to an image. That was surprising. That might also have given her a bad reputation as well, because being a formidable woman in 1946, I’m sure, wasn’t the most welcomed personality trait.

TH: The most fascinating aspect of acting is finding the common ground between yourself and the character. That becomes even more fascinating when the character is so far away from you as Hank was from me. I did all my academic research into his life, into his circumstances, all of my physical training, changing the way I looked and the way I sounded, but then at a certain point the challenge is to commit yourself to experiencing the intensity of his emotional life—his joy, his pain, his loneliness. And that is the actor’s duty, to inhabit those universal feelings through the filter of the character. That’s the fun part.

Marc Abraham: I never worry about whether or not we can get the right looking stove or we’ll get the right costumes, because I’m very fastidious about that as a director. But I think for me, what is authentic is who the people really are—not what date this happened, but who are the people. What that requires is you have to find someone, in this case Tom and Lizzie, and you have to be able to talk to them in a way that you find you’re in sync with what they are understanding the job is. Then somewhere inside of you, you have to believe that even though that character is nothing like the person you’re sitting talking to, having a cup of coffee somewhere in Hollywood or somewhere in London, that inside of them, based on what you’ve seen them do and what they’re expressing to you is the ability to actually become that person. They’re never going to be that person; they’re going to become the version of the person that they best believe in. Then you have to get very lucky. And that’s what happens someone like Elizabeth and Tom, who are so honest about what they believe they can do and what they feel they can bring to it that they do. And they bring everything—everything—that there’s nothing that they leave behind. When that happens, to me, they have found real authenticity.

They were asked about the tumultuous relationship between Hank and Audrey and how they had to deal with fame at such a young age. How did the actors bring that to their work?

EO: For me I think the hardest thing that I kept trying to fight Marc on was “Can you say fewer lines about her wanting to sing with him?” It just makes her seem so awful. The truth is that after he passed away she still worked at it. She put [her daughter] Lycrecia on stage and Junior on stage and she was on stage as well. There are videos of her on YouTube a few years before she passed away of her still singing on a show. So I had to just embrace it, even though it’s kind of an unlikable characteristic. With their relationship, we talked a lot about that specifically, about how young they were. Also coming from not the best educated background. So no one’s there to help them deal with an extreme lifestyle change with money and fame, increased just with attention, men and women, drugs, and excess. I always have thought of their relationship as just fiery—whether it’s fiery love or fiery hate. I think those two things have always walked a very thin line, because you can’t really fiery despise someone that you don’t fiery care about. So I just kind of felt like they’re always tearing between that. I think Marc wrote that really well. We really wanted to make sure that their love came across just as much as their arguing did because so much of their arguing is part of the story that we’ve heard when you look into their relationship. But there had to have been so much love for him to write the lyrics that he wrote out of such sincerity.

TH: To me the great appeal to Marc’s conjecture in the screenplay was that he was drawing together the power of Hank’s songs, and the marriage of Hank and Audrey, and suggesting that the genius in his writing and the endurability of his legacy comes from that authenticity and sincerity in those lyrics. In Marc mind and in my mind there is no question that the authenticity of that writing comes from that relationship largely. They were young and they were going places and they were energetic and I think they fell so very deeply in love, but they were poor and they were impetuous and strong-headed and impulsive. And they were the kind of couple that fought as much as they were kind to each other. I think Hank wouldn’t have become Hank Williams without Audrey because Audrey had the head for business and she kept him on the straight, she kept him on time, and she introduced him to various business contacts and his managers, and he wouldn’t have gone to the Opry without them. But at the same time it was difficult because she wanted to share in that success and he loved her and tried to get her up there with him, and his producers and band mates would say “Your wife can’s sing with us,” and he’d have to tell her that, and she interpreted that as a huge break in loyalty. So it was obviously a very complex, difficult relationship, but it is the center of the film and it is the center of his songwriting. As you said, they were young, and it’s difficult to be young. I enjoyed playing it very much. Passions run high. The freedom to commit to their passions as an actor was very exciting.

Olsen and Hiddleston were asked about doing a film based on a true story after having done Marvel blockbusters.

EO: There’s a lot of original source material in the Marvel land. They may be true stories.

TH: Honestly I think the interesting thing about this question is that I think for the audience the difference is greater than for actors. Our job, our obligation, and our duty is to step into characters and play them truthfully, whether that’s a Norse god of mischief or a real life American icon. So in terms of that commitment of empathy and psychological excavation, to me there is actually no difference. I’m flexing or exercising the same dramatic muscle. But of course it’s different in process. We were able to go, the three of us, down to Shreveport and find real locations and inhabit those locations without any supplemented green screen or visual effects. So in that regard it’s different. But the acting part of it, the extension of compassion and understanding, to me, is the same.

EO: I agree that the way you approach characters is very similar, but for me it is a breath of fresh air to be on an intimate set and have momentum and have speed and to not wait around and not be waiting in a trailer for six hours, and you have thirty seconds to save the world. That’s a lot of pressure. To me it’s a lot more fun to have a creative argument about how we are blocking or overstepping each other’s lines in a hallway, and how we’re going to film that and how we’re going to change it. And you do get to try things out when you’re in Marvel, but there’s so many more elements that you’re a piece of. With this, this centerpiece is the moment to moment work between two people. There’s so many other things that have to go right when you’re doing a scene from Marvel. People have to pick up their cues, and for some reason that’s hard for eight people. I don’t know why. Those scenes would be terrible without editing. Or there’s an explosion that’s got to be timed at the right time. Camera moves are very complicated. There is a freedom in not being responsible to all these other pieces. I enjoy that immensely, and then I enjoy going back to the family of Marvel. It’s the only time I’ve felt like I’m a part of a community of actors. They’re a great group of people. They’re a lot of fun to work with. You still keep in touch with everyone that you work with, and you get ready for the next one. I enjoyed that aspect immensely.

TH: On I Saw the Light if you wanted to have an opinion on the film, you were on the set. There was nobody who had a creative influence on the film who wasn’t in Shreveport, in Louisiana, with us on the day. The three of us and [Director of Photography] Dante Spinotti and the other actors—if you wanted to have an opinion, you had to be there. With Marvel sometimes, because you’re part of this huge universe, sometimes there are people who have hugely important opinions on a day’s work, but you can’t be there in person. So decisions have to go through decision making processes and approval, which can slow things down a bit.

Hiddleston was asked about the singing and if he reached a point where he was no longer concerned about the technical issues of imitating Hank William’s voice and started to feel the songs.

TH: We had to prerecord certain tracks because the way we were going to shoot them. If Marc was covering a concert performance he was going to be cutting between wide shots to close-ups to hand-held, which meant that we had to be very precise about the musical track, and therefore couldn’t play it live in order for it to cut in. So we had to prerecord the track and I would sing along to myself, but he had to lay down a couple tracks before we started. They each had to have different atmospheres because some of them are radio station tracks, some are studio tracks, some are live concert performances. There were some that came very quickly and very easily to me, and some that didn’t. I recorded “Why Don’t You Love Me” in an hour. It took me about ten days to record “Lovesick Blues”. I can’t explain why. Rodney [Crowell, Executive Music Producer] and I used to say that it was like swimming in the ocean and that I would have to swim for miles and miles through seaweed in order to get to clear water. That’s how it felt vocally. There would be cracks and strains in my voice, because singing is a physical exercise; it’s a physical thing. Once your body and your resonance and your lungs are sufficiently warm, you can actually get to a place where you feel like you feel like you’re up at altitude and you’re finally in control of the airplane. It’s a fascinating experience for me because I still believe singing is the most naked form of emotional expression. Actors can hide behind characters. Writers can hide behind their writing. Painters can hide behind their painting. Singers are purely open. The reason we revere the greatest singers is because we feel there is a raw power to the transmission of their emotion, whether it’s Johnny Cash or Amy Winehouse or Nina Simone or Hank Williams or whoever it may be. That was challenging, because even though there was a technical discipline to it in manipulating my baritone voice to sound like Hank’s tenor, there was still a commitment to emotional sincerity which was really new for me.

MA: I just want to add something to that, because it was a big deal when we decide how we were going to do the music. From the very beginning, from the very moment I wrote the script and decided to make a movie, I was intent that we were not having lip syncing of the songs. Whoever played the part was going to have to sing it. I didn’t know if they would be able to do as well as Tom did—I was hoping that would happen. But what’s important to understand and that Tom understood, and even Lizzy to some extent when she was pretending to sing badly, even though she gets mad at me for saying she can sing well, she can—Tom and I both knew from the very beginning that he would never sound exactly like Hank Williams. I know Hank Williams like my mother knows her kitchen. I can hear one line of Hank Williams, and know whether it’s somebody. And there are people who imitate Hank Williams better than Tom Hiddleston can imitate Hank Williams, because he’s a natural baritone and Hank’s a tenor and that’s just reality. What Tom was able to do was to create the feeling not just in his voice and replicate the sounds and the modulations and get close enough for us, but to inhabit the character so in the end it didn’t matter that he didn’t sound exactly like Hank Williams. What we wanted was for you to feel that he was Hank Williams. That was the magic. The magic was that he got so close in the music and put so much energy and time and devote himself so deeply to becoming that character and bring his vocal representation that close—knowing from the very beginning that he couldn’t be that. It’s not possible. That was what was really important. And that’s why we didn’t lip sync, because then you’re watching it and you see that character play and you see Hank sing “Your Cheatin’ Heart”—which was done live—that’s Hank Williams.

Abraham was asked when he became interested in Hank Williams

MA: Well, I’ve always been a country music fan. I grew up listening to country music. My father was in the radio business. So I grew up listening to country music. Hank obviously preceded me, but if you listen country music, if you listen to George Jones or Merle Haggard or any of those guys, eventually you’re going to hear a Hank Williams song. You’re going to hear Patsy Cline sing it or you’re going to hear Willie sing it or you’re going to hear Hank sing it. So I was always a Hank Williams fan. As I got older and I learned Hank’s story I thought it was fascinating. I couldn’t believe how young he was. I couldn’t believe how much it mirrored what we see every day what takes place in show business. It’s a real show business story. So I was always motivated by that. And I thought that the fact that they were so young—they’re not Romeo and Juliette young, but they’re young—they’re 19, 20, 21, 23 years old when we’re talking about. So I loved the story and I love the music. I think he’s one of the most important literary figures of the Twentieth Century. I do. I think he’s one of the great poets. I think that’s borne out by the fact that if you look and see that Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen or Neil Young has his guitar or Kurt Corbain. He’s mentioned in a Leonard Cohen song. Mick Jagger. It doesn’t matter. These often are our poets. So I was really motivated by, and inspired and excited by that idea of Hank. I didn’t want to make a movie about when he was born and when he learned how to play guitar and how he wrote his songs. I definitely get to the human condition and the human condition was what Elizabeth and Tom and Bradley [Whitford] and Cherry Jones brought. I still love country music, the classic stuff.

Abraham was asked of the actors gave him additional insight into the characters.

MA: Of course. First of all, neither one of them is that shy. Honestly, it was a real collaboration. It’s what I love. It’s what the job is as a director. There’s the facts and beyond the facts there’s a lot that we have to know. Everybody’s got a version of the story.My grandfather always said to me when I was a kid, fighting with my sisters, “Don’t forget, son, no matter how thin you slice it there’s always two sides.” They brought, it wasn’t so much information we didn’t know, because we all shared the same information. What they brought was their instincts. They brought their intelligence. One of the things I loved about Elizabeth the first time I met her was that Audrey could easily be construed as a shrew. She’s very difficult. She’s pretty bitchy, you know? She’s pushy and difficult. But Elizabeth talked about it—and I think this is what really makes that character so interesting—that she sort of forces you as a viewer to go, “Okay, I know, but I’m pretty rough, but you think it’s easy to live with this guy?” I think that’s really important. So they brought timing to a scene or where they felt that I as a writer did not convey exactly what I thought I’d conveyed. Tom and I once took a walk—the three of us were always trying to get beyond what is this movie about—to me it was not about this is what happened to Hank Williams. It was about show business and the vagaries of that. It’s about the human condition and people were inspired to write things and to create things based upon what’s going on in their lives. I have a nine year old daughter who was listening to Adele’s music the other day and was explaining “Hello” to me. But Tom and I had a conversation one day where we were really digging in to what’s this movie really about? I’d been looking at a Scorsese movie—Casino, not one of his greatest movies, it was certainly a good movie, everything he does is pretty damn good—but I talked about it being about capitalism. It’s not just about Vegas. We started talking about that and we came to this thought as we walked around outside in this beautiful countryside that this was a lot about what cathartic experiences that a performer is able to bring to an audience. And Tom brought up some conversations that he had with another actor at one point and what that actor who’d often played some pretty nefarious characters would value that. Out of that sprang a conversation that had already had been written but it became deeper. That was the conversations with the reporter and that became from a collaboration of the two of us really digging into that.

TH: It was an amazing, defining moment for Marc and I. It was a beautiful day in Tennessee and I took a break from the scene and we took this walk. We were both really trying to give ourselves a center so through the shoot we would always be able to come back to the center and find out what we were going to do. I found myself telling a story about Anthony Hopkins and something he had told me which was—We were shooting the first Thor film, I was obviously playing the antagonist. He very sweetly invited me to his house for breakfast. He said [shifting to Anthony Hopkins-esque voice], “I know what you’re doing. I’ve played antagonists. I’ve played lots of parts in my life. I’ve played kings and princes and poets and thieves. People out in the street always ask about one man. Who do you think that man is?” I knew who that man is, you know who that man is, I don’t even have to say his name. But it begins with H and ends with Annibal Lector. And he said “It’s interesting because it’s my experience that people want their lives to be full of love and laughter and friendship and family. They want to have nice lives. They want to have happy lives. But when they listen to music, when they go to the theatre, when they go to the cinema, they want somebody who’s brave enough to lean into the darkness. They want someone who can express the darkness that they feel in their own lives, they feel in their own hearts, but they don’t want it at their front door. That’s what they want. That’s what they want from art. That’s what they want from actors and musicians. They want people who can lean into the darkness and I just flirt with the most powerful thing.” It’s a very strong memory. It became a touchstone for us because I realized that’s what Hank was doing actually. That was the role he served. People connected to the power of his songs because he wasn’t afraid of leaning into that darkness. That’s what sometimes great art expresses.

Photos courtesy of Sony Picture Classics

Filed Under: Film, Interviews Tagged With: Elizabeth Olsen, Hank Williams, Marc Abraham, Press conference, Tom Hiddleston

I Saw the Light – Hank Williams’s Demons and Darkness

March 25, 2016 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“Everybody has a little darkness in ‘em.”

Hank Williams is one of the names that is synonymous with country music. He has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriting Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There are so many songs associated with him that it’s hard to believe that he died when he was only 29. I Saw the Light is a celebration of Williams and his music from writer-director Marc Abraham.

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The film shows us Williams’s (Tom Hiddleston) life from the mid-1940s, when he is playing on a local radio station and in road houses, until his death from a heart attack on New Year’s Day 1953 on the way to a show. Hiddleston, who does his own singing in the film, does a wonderful job of creating a persona that evokes the legend of Hank Williams. The opening song, sung by Hiddleston standing alone in the spotlight, sets the stage for an admiration of this music. The film follows his meteoric career, his tempestuous relationship with his wife Audrey (Elizabeth Olsen), the domineering influence of his mother Lillie (Cherry Jones), and his struggles with alcoholism and pain medication to treat his spina bifida.

While the film has a good deal that will appeal to audiences (especially the performances and the sampling of Williams’s music), the film is a bit superficial. I came away from watching this feeling like I didn’t really get a chance to know him and to appreciate the demons he was dealing with. Those demons are more than just his addictions. We see a glimpse of his ambition, but not really the struggle to achieve his goals—nor the reasons he let it all begin to slip away while he was on top. His relationships with women—Audrey and Lillie especially—were never easy, but we aren’t really sure why.

I saw light 1

We also don’t see anything of the spiritual side of his life. The one line in the film that points to that is when he says “I made a little poem to the Lord. It might turn into a song.” The implication is this is the genesis of the song that lends its name to the title of the film—although we only hear him singing that song quietly to his infant son as a lullaby. (The song does come up again at his death.) Williams was a man who knew about the dark side of life, but who also had a foundation that gave him hope even with all the troubles in his life. His saw his songs not only as the darkness that everybody has within, but also as an expression of the joy that also is available to us. This combination of a flawed life and the understanding that there was something that could overcome those flaws, I think, is a side of Williams’s life that could have been examined a bit. He is, after all, the one who penned:

I wandered so aimless life filed with sin
I wouldn’t let my dear savior in
Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night
Praise the Lord I saw the light.

Photos courtesy of Sony Picture Classics

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: addiction, alcoholism, biography, Cherry Jones, county music, Elizabeth Olsen, Hank Williams, Tom Hiddleston

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