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GIVEAWAY! Digital Copy of THE NEST! (Canada Only)

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Thanks to our friends at TARO PR, we, at ScreenFish, are thrilled to be giving away two digital copies of The Nest!

Recently selected as one of Canada’s Top Ten films of the year, The Nest is a powerful and unflinching look at the emotional termites that can eat away at the foundations of a marriage. Stars Carrie Coon and Jude Law are simply incredible as a couple who watch as the intimacy that they once enjoyed together gradually erodes at the hands of selfish ambition and pride.

Written and directed by Sean Durkin, The Nest follows Rory (Law) and Allison (Coon), a married couple who love their kids and enjoy a solid relationship built on intimacy and trust. Living in a New York suburb, they are the picture of middle-class success. Even so, when Rory receives an invitation to take a higher profile (and potentially higher paying) job back to his hometown of London, he convinces Allison that this will be best for them all. Renting an extravagant English country manor, everything starts out well for the family as they are excited to start their new lives. However, as time marches on and debt piles up, Rory and Allison’s unspoken frustrations begin to bubble to the surface and threaten their entire relationship.

In order to enter, simply like/share this post on Facebook and/or Instagram and tell us who the name of the director of The Nest!

Winners will receive a digital copy of The Nest.

All entries must be received by 12:00pm on Tuesday, December 15th, 2020.

The Nest was released in theatres on September 18th, 2020.

Special thanks to TARO PR!

The Secret of Their Success: 1on1 with Sean Durkin (THE NEST)

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When does a house cease being a home?

This question lies at the heart of The Nest, a powerful and unflinching look at the emotional termites that can eat away at the foundations of a marriage. Written and directed by Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene), The Nest follows Rory (Jude Law) and Allison (Carrie Coon), married parents who enjoy a solid relationship built on intimacy and trust. Set in 1986, Rory and Allison live in a New York suburb and are the picture of middle-class success. However, when Rory receives an invitation to take a higher profile (and potentially higher paying) job back to his hometown of London, he convinces Allison that this will be best for them all. Renting an extravagant English country manor, everything starts out well for the family. However, as time marches on and debt piles up, Rory and Allison unspoken frustrations begin to bubble to the surface that threaten their entire relationship.

As he reflects on where his vision for the film came from, Durkin says that the idea stemmed from his own childhood move and his desire to explore the effect that that can have on a family.

“When I was a kid, I moved from England to New York,” he begins. “It was early nineties and it was a very, very stark change in atmosphere. The two places are so different, much more so than now. Now, it’s very seamless. So, I think I was reflecting on that time and that very sudden life change and wanted to explore a family making that move in that time. As I started to dig more into it, I decided to focus more on the marriage and explore a marriage that was really two characters, like a 50/50 movie. It’s not some big tragedy. It’s just trying to get into how a family stays together through this move. It really grew out of that.” 

Having experienced the move between from America to Europe himself, Durkin had much to draw on in terms of the vast distinctions between the two worlds. However, when looking at the cultures today, he believes that those lines are to difficult to identify and that the differences between them were far more prominent during the period in which the film is set.

“I don’t quite feel comfortable boiling [the differences] down,” Durkin reveals. “I think, especially with this, they were very different places at that time, and they’re much more similar today. I think that moment in time I chose to set [the film in] was the beginning of that. From that point on, they began to become more and more similar. There are still big differences, but there’s also a lot of similarities.” 

Set in the mid-1980s, The Nest also reveals the tensions between gender roles that existed during that era. Though his characters are both strong and confident, Durkin feels that the ultimate struggle of their motivations stems from the expectations that they have been handed by their respective cultures growing up.

“What I wanted to look at here was you have two people in a relationship that are both handed a set of values,” he asserts. “You get a glimpse of what their family’s values are. You get a glimpse of where they came from. You get a glimpse of the time period. These ideas are given to them by their families and the society they’ve grown up in. They’re chasing these dreams. Within that, there are dynamics that they are both handed. What I wanted us to do is explore those dynamics. For Rory, it was the sense of being a father and being the man of the house and having the most success possible [which] meant giving your family the best life you can and being as successful as you possibly can. For Alison, the values given to her are ‘stand by your man’. Both things sort of go against their truer nature of their characters so the film is about them battling themselves and each other to get to a more truthful place. All the things I just mentioned were really at their height in the mid-80s., It was a really transitional time for those expectations in marriage in general.”

Shot primarily inside the walls of a stunning Victorian manor, the proverbial ‘nest’ almost becomes a character unto itself within the film. Though awesome to behold, the building increasingly becomes less of a home and more of a prison as the characters are slowly swallowed by their surroundings. When searching for the right manor, Durkin and his team wanted to ensure that the environment exhibited the proper balance of daunting and inviting.

“We wanted to find a place that was overwhelmingly large, far beyond the wealthiest traders working in London… and somewhere that then has this atmosphere of [being] too big [and] scary.,” he explains. “[We wanted to] create and use genre elements without going into genre [where it’s] scary to live in this house and what’s haunting it is this ambition is this sense of unrest that’s within her and the family. So, it was really, it was really important to find the right blend and to not show up and it be a castle… It was really beautiful, but certainly more in that normal, trader commuter realm.”

“My production designer James Price, is just an expert at British architecture and understanding where those lines were and when a house was built. This house is 700 years old and the amazing thing about these places is that the people who live there, their families have been in there for 400 or 500 years. So, they actually know all about their ancestors and all of their family stories. It’s a very strange history involved, but you can really feel that history in these places. The atmosphere is thick.” 

With its emphasis on crushing one another for financial gain, The Nest is an exploration of the roots (and flaws) of our personal and professional dreams. Asked what he thinks the true nature of success may be, Durkin states that he believes those values are socially constructed and potentially misleading as well.

“Success is a construct of wherever you come from and what you’re given and what you think,” he argues. “It’s not really real. I think that’s what the film is trying to get at. The funny thing is that, when the movie starts, life in America is completely successful. That’s the joke, right? They’re living in this very cozy home. The kids are settled. What more do you want there? So, it’s about this dream, and I think everyone creates different dreams. Societies create different dreams and [I’m] just looking to ask the question of what really is success? Is it just stopping and eating breakfast with your family?” 

As relationship between Rory and Allison begins to freefall, Durkin reveals the pain that can be caused when our selfish ambitions take hold of our souls. Nevertheless, he also wants the film to offer a sense of hope to his audience by showcasing the ebs and flows that every marriage must endure.

“Life and success are cyclical, right?,” Durkin considers. “We all go through ups and downs, [be it] professionally, emotionally, family, [or] health. All of those things are in constant cycles and I think the thing that the characters in this movie are guilty of thinking that there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Life isn’t like that. The film itself operates in a cycle of family breakfast to family breakfast in a way, you know? I definitely hope that there’s hope in that. My intention is to make something about a family staying together and how they stay together.”

To hear audio of our conversation with director Sean Durkin, click here.

The Nest is now playing in theatres and is available to rent on VOD.

Captain Marvel: Nothing to Prove

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There’s a lot to be said about longevity. Over the last ten years, Marvel Studios has released twenty-three films. Halfway through, many talked about superhero fatigue and yet, they’re still a seventeen-billion-dollar juggernaut that has fans coming out in numbers for the next wave.

As we drew closer to the much anticipated Avengers: Endgame, Marvel sent us back in time to the nineties for Marvel’s next origin film, Captain Marvel. After Infinity War, one of the biggest questions was, if Fury knew her beforehand, where was she? That question is definitely answered in this film (among others, like Fury’s lost eye). However, the film came with some early (and unwarranted) controversy. We now live in a world where taking to the interwebs and bashing a film one has not seen because of ‘made up’ reasons is okay.

Now, what about the movie itself?

First and foremost, thank you Marvel for that wonderful opening tribute. And THANK YOU STAN LEE!

As a film, Captain Marvel doesn’t land in the top five of Marvel films. It’s an above-average origin film that has funny moments and some good action scenes. Some of the CGI could have been better, but overall it is definitely a good film to watch. There are some tender and heartbreaking moments as well. Like all other origin films, Captain Marvel contains a message where the hero must find themselves and choose which path to take. This one stands out in that story because her path to get there was different. The twist is both expected and surprising at the same time. Though not perfect in terms of film making, this is easily the second most influential film Marvel has released.

The film isn’t the “social justice warrior” hogwash that “those people” will have you believe. It is, however, a film that inspires and empowers women, and rightfully so. It’s no coincidence that Marvel/Disney decided to release it on International Women’s Day. As a male, I cannot begin to fathom this era in films. But as a father to an eight-year-old young girl, I am thankful that, for her, there aren’t just princesses that need a prince or damsels in distress. My daughter now has princesses that are strong and courageous. She has leaders, Jedi, rebels and warriors in a galaxy far, far away. She has  Wonder Woman. She was warriors and tech genius in Wakanda that look like her. And she now has a Captain.

All these heroes have something in common and is what stands out in Captain Marvel. They have nothing to prove. They are strong and don’t need affirmation from men to prove it. They remind me of Queen Esther, as they are here ‘for such a time as this’. Forget the “rules” of the past. Kick open the door and present yourselves as worthy because your people, the next generation, needs you. This doesn’t mean that men are not wanted or that we are inferior. But as men we need to support and empower the women around us. The world is a better place with both strong men and women. When we value others by their own merits and not the standards that we place based on ours, we as a society can overcome.

Captain Marvel is a fun film that serves a deeper purpose than just film. Men, see it and enjoy. Appreciate that it isn’t for us, and that’s ok.

Again, THANK YOU STAN LEE….this film embodied your spirit.

Special features on the Blu-ray/Digital combo pack include commentary on the film, six deleted scenes, and a gag reel. But fans of the film will enjoy the special features about the heroine and heroes, “Becoming a Super Hero,” “Big Hero Moment,” and “The Origin of Nick Fury,” as well as a few bonuses, “The Skrulls and the Kree” and “Hiss-sterical Cat-titude.”

Captain Marvel – Putting the Super in Human

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“There is nothing more dangerous for a warrior than emotion.” (Yon-Rogg)

A new superhero comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain Marvel brings us the MCU’s first woman superhero, a soldier in the midst of an intergalactic war who ends up on earth and becomes ground zero for that war. Ah, but all may not be as it seems at first.

We first meet Vers (rhymes with fears, played by Brie Larson) in her dream. She seems to be haunted by some dreams that come from her past, which she doesn’t remember. All she knows is that the last six years she has been training as a warrior for the Kree. She trains with her commander and mentor Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) who keeps pushing her to not use her ability to throw proton beams, except when needed.

She is being sent on her first mission to rescue another soldier from the enemy Skrull. But before she goes, she has to meet with the Kree’s Supreme Intelligence (Annette Benning). Vers ends up captured, tortured as the Skrull leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) seems to mine her mind for information from her past (which triggers bits of memory in her), escapes from their ship and crash lands in a Blockbuster store on earth in 1995.

Once she communicates with Yon-Rogg, who starts a rescue mission, she is discovered by young S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Eventually Vers realizes that she must team up with Fury to trace back the mystery of her past. She discovers she was an Air Force pilot named Carol Danvers who was part of a secret project and was killed in a crash. She traces down her friend Maria (Lashana Lynch) who was also a pilot. But Talos is also trying to find Vers again. At this point the twists start coming into play. Oh, and there’s a cat (sort of).

The journey from Vers to Captain Marvel requires her to rediscover who she is and what she is. It also requires that she come to terms with the very emotions that Yon-Rogg has been trying to have her bury. It is only after she finds her human side that she is able to make the transition from soldier to superhero. It is not so much a matter of power as it is of confidence, attitude, and compassion.

A part of that transformation is not just discovering her humanity, but embracing it. That means accepting the emotions that come so naturally to her—including fear, compassion, and even love. These are things that Yon-Rogg tried to suppress in her, but they become a kind of liberation as Vers becomes more than she knew she could be—and discovers that she has already been more that she knew.

The phrase “only human” comes up at one point, but for Captain Marvel the idea of being human is not about being “only” human. Her humanity opens up for her a new range of possibilities. It is only in being human that she becomes superhuman. This is emphasized visually near the end when Captain Marvel hangs in space in a pose very similar to paintings of the Ascension.

Within the Judeo-Christian creation story, humankind is created in the image of God. It just seems wrong to think “just human” when we have that understanding. Instead we should consider that fully understanding our humanity allows us to see the divine within ourselves—the superhuman.

Note: There are two scenes embedded in the credits. The first, midway through the credits, sets the stage for Avengers: Endgame. The second, at the very end, is a humorous scene, which may or may not have something to do with Endgame. There is also a montage of Stan Lee at the very beginning of the film, which got a bit of applause at the screening I attended.

Photos courtesy Marvel Studios

Vox Lux – Losing Innocence, Personal and National

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Vox Lux is a story of the loss of innocence. It is also a reflection on the possibility of losing one’s foundational values along with that innocence. While we see this play out in the life of a girl and the woman she becomes, it may also give us pause to think about society and nations and what we all may be becoming.

The story is told in two acts. The first begins in 1999 at a school on Long Island. A student comes into the classroom where Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) is studying. The other student has a gun and when it is all over, Celeste is the only survivor in the classroom, but with a bullet lodged by her spine. When she performs a song at the wake for those who were killed, it goes viral. Soon she is involved in the world of music and traveling with her older sister Eleanor (Stacy Martin) and manager (Jude Law) to Europe to make music videos. Eleanor introduces Celeste to clubs and all that goes with them. Slowly the nice, religious girl she was before the shooting erodes. The first act ends with news of 9/11.

Act 2 jumps ahead to 2017. Celeste (now played by Natalie Portman) is an international pop star. After a few troubled years she is seeking to make a comeback. The day of the opening concert there is a shooting in Europe in which the gunmen wore masks from one of her videos. This brings a new level of chaos into the schedule for the day with press and some time to be with her daughter Albertine (Raffey Cassidy, now playing her own daughter). We soon see that Celeste exhibits every negative stereotype of a celebrity: she is self-absorbed, rude, abusive to those close to her, and on the edge of falling apart.

One might think this is a story of the Faustian allure of celebrity. While everyone seems to kowtow to the adult Celeste, she also has to put up with paparazzi (a love/hate relationship), loss of privacy (which feeds her ego), and demands from press, her manager, and others. Albertine is raised by Eleanor and Celeste’s parents, because Celeste is incapable of caring for anyone but herself. As the day of the show winds on, she spirals out of control. Is it because of the shooting or is this just her celebrity drama being lived out? In the end, we see it is all about living with fear of failure, and if she can overcome that fear.

While the sixteen year jump leaves out a lot of history from Celeste’s life (some of which is filled in during conversations), we know that the road to where she is now started when she allowed herself to be lured by the pleasures that she was not yet equipped to deal with. She loses the very values that made her who she was—and who the world wanted to know and hear.

But this is not just a story about celebrity debauchery. It reflects the way society may change when it loses itself through chasing after illusory goals or descending into fear. The specter of 9/11 is only mentioned at the end of Act 1, but that helps us put the timeline into perspective. The terrorism of 9/11 was in effect the end of innocence for the world, but especially for the U.S. We didn’t change suddenly as a result, but if we look at the fearful, angry portion of society that seems to be prevalent now, it traces back to that loss of innocence. As such Celeste represents what we as a society are in danger of becoming. Like Celeste if we give rein to our fears, we as a people risk losing ourselves to anger and malice. Have we already abandoned the foundations that have made us the people we believed we were, or can they be regained to help us become again the people we wish to be?

Photos courtesy of Neon

teenFish#2 – Counting THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD

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Have you ever really wanted to know what goes on in the mind of today’s teens? Not just ‘what are they thinking?’ but how they feel about life’s issues? About truth? About where God is in the world today? At long last, ScreenFish is proud to announce teenFish, a new podcast series that lets teenagers speak about media that matters to them in their own voice. Hosted by Daniel Collins (Infinity Warm-Up), teenFish will be air the first Sunday of every month and invite local youth to engage the truth and lies of the shows and films that excite them.

The Wizarding World expands again with the release of the next chapter in the FANTASTIC BEASTS saga! In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans of raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. This month, Daniel welcomes Riley and Mackenzie to count THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD as they talk about all things from the world of Harry Potter, the lies we tell and what makes the villain evil.

You can stream the episode above, on podomatic or on Spotify! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or more!