This film was one interesting ride.
Rick Dalton's (Leonardo DiCaprio's) career has seen better days and he's especially melancholy about it. Acting is basically all he has.
However, he does have a great bromance with his former stuntman and maybe wife murderer, Cliff Boone (Brad Pitt, who looks too good for his age). They have a great relationship and always have each other's backs. And it never waivers.
The film occurs over two days in February 1969 and then one day in August of 1969 and also involves the Mansion murders, with a twist. Cliff picks up a hitchhiker (Margaret Qualley) which leads him back to the old abandoned set of Rick's TV show where a bunch of hippies live.
Things come to a head on that hot night in August. While the film isn't particularily violent, the third act more than makes up for it. Despite being high and unarmed, Cliff still manages with the help of his ever loyal canine, Brandy, to kill two of them while Rick despite being drunk off his ass, takes care of the third and strikes a friendship with his neighbor Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) out of incident.
While the road is an interesting and well-written one, this film will not inspire you or anything of the sort, but with brilliant performances and impeccable acting, you believe that you have been transported to that time, fifty years ago. This film is without a doubt, one of the best films of this year and any year. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-As with a typical Quentin Tarantino film, there are cameos galore. Pay attention for Bruce Dern, Timothy Olyphant, Al Pacino, Julia Butters, Emile Hirsch, Brenda Vaccaro, Kurt Russell, Rumor Willis, Lena Dunham, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Dreama Walker, Austin Butler, Luke Perry and Damian Lewis, probably the only miscast person in this film. He has a cameo as Steve McQueen.
-Brandy, the dog, is hands down my favorite character. She is brilliant, loyal, sweet, fierce, and deadly if her master is in danger, which is everything you want in a dog.
-Sharon Tate is utterly beautiful and sweet. I hate her.
-There is also good scene with Cliff and Bruce Lee (Mike Moh), where Cliff flings Bruce into a car.
-You have to wonder if Cliff did kill his wife or not. It is one of the mysteries that will never be solved.
Monday, July 29, 2019
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Black Narcissus (1947)
This is a film worth watching, despite its deep flaws.
Here, a group of five nuns (likely Anglican, not Catholic) are reassigned, journeying far in the remote Himalayan mountains to restart a school and hospital. Though young Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) is in charge and the other nuns she has with her are characters, with flaws.
Though there are some initial problems with the main caretaker, Mr. Dean (David Farrar), and the fact that the locals are paid to come to them, they find success, until Sister Briony (Judith Furse) sends an ill baby home without any medication. He dies a short time later. The people refuse to come but there is no rebellion as there had been in the past. And then, Sister Ruth (Kathleen Bryon), always troubled, completely loses her mind and dies after nearly killing the pious Sister Clodagh. Yeah, it was actually a great death scene, though I knew Ruth would try to murder Clodagh and she did.
However, this ends the Sisters time at the palace, now known as St. Faith, living up to Mr. Dean's prediction that they would be gone by the time the rains came.
While the film is deeply flawed, with some big plot holes in the screenplay, the performances are nevertheless the great, though Bryon's is off the rails, and you don't know why. I thought she was struggling with her vows, not her mind. And the romance between the Young General (Sabu) and the misguided youth Kanchi (a good but grossly miscast Jean Simmons) is barely developed and showed almost completely off screen. Simmons's role needed to be larger. In fact, she never says a word in English in the whole film.
The editing, on the other hand, is very innovative. Despite my problems with the film, it is worth watching, with the fully fleshed out characters and strong women. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Instead of all the crops Sister Philippa (Flora Robson) was supposed to plant, she plants flowers. I wonder where the seeds came from.
-Also, when Sister Ruth loses her mind and flees the convent, where did she get her dress?
-There are some excellent flashback scenes with Sister Clodagh and her sweetheart, Con (Shaun Noble) who picks success over her even though she had shown him that she loved him (read: had sex with him). She escaped to the nunnery so she could leave first. It is a decision I don't think she regrets even though there is some smolder between her and the no first name Mr. Dean.
Here, a group of five nuns (likely Anglican, not Catholic) are reassigned, journeying far in the remote Himalayan mountains to restart a school and hospital. Though young Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) is in charge and the other nuns she has with her are characters, with flaws.
Though there are some initial problems with the main caretaker, Mr. Dean (David Farrar), and the fact that the locals are paid to come to them, they find success, until Sister Briony (Judith Furse) sends an ill baby home without any medication. He dies a short time later. The people refuse to come but there is no rebellion as there had been in the past. And then, Sister Ruth (Kathleen Bryon), always troubled, completely loses her mind and dies after nearly killing the pious Sister Clodagh. Yeah, it was actually a great death scene, though I knew Ruth would try to murder Clodagh and she did.
However, this ends the Sisters time at the palace, now known as St. Faith, living up to Mr. Dean's prediction that they would be gone by the time the rains came.
While the film is deeply flawed, with some big plot holes in the screenplay, the performances are nevertheless the great, though Bryon's is off the rails, and you don't know why. I thought she was struggling with her vows, not her mind. And the romance between the Young General (Sabu) and the misguided youth Kanchi (a good but grossly miscast Jean Simmons) is barely developed and showed almost completely off screen. Simmons's role needed to be larger. In fact, she never says a word in English in the whole film.
The editing, on the other hand, is very innovative. Despite my problems with the film, it is worth watching, with the fully fleshed out characters and strong women. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Instead of all the crops Sister Philippa (Flora Robson) was supposed to plant, she plants flowers. I wonder where the seeds came from.
-Also, when Sister Ruth loses her mind and flees the convent, where did she get her dress?
-There are some excellent flashback scenes with Sister Clodagh and her sweetheart, Con (Shaun Noble) who picks success over her even though she had shown him that she loved him (read: had sex with him). She escaped to the nunnery so she could leave first. It is a decision I don't think she regrets even though there is some smolder between her and the no first name Mr. Dean.
Saturday, July 13, 2019
The Aftermath (2019)
At least this film kept my attention the whole time.
Based on a book (as there was no other reason for this to become a film), Rachael Morgan (the always great Keira Knightley) arrives in Hamburg, to join her army officer husband, Louis (Jason Clarke) in his post-war position, trying to regain control of a broken Germany.
Germany suffered greatly, as did every other country in Europe, and Rachael is not happy to be there, sharing a mansion with a former architect, Stefan Lubert (Alexander Skarsgaard), a German. Stefan is also healing from a broken heart, as his wife was killed by a bomb. Rachael and Lewis also have a broken marriage, though not mentioned until more than an hour into the film, it is heavily implied earlier, Rachael and Lewis's young son was killed by a bomb also, in London. And Lewis went back to work right after the funeral.
Rachael goes from not talking to Stefan and being downright rude and pissed that she has to share a house with him and his daughter (Flora Li Thiemann), to having table sex with him which turns into a full on illicit affair.
That is not the problem with the film. The problem is Freda, Stefan's teenager daughter, who for whatever reason, starts skipping school and hangs out with a bunch of orphans who believe Hitler's propaganda and secretly plot to kill the British officers.
So everything comes to a head when Freda's new rebel boyfriend, Albert (Jannik Schumann) tries to assassinate Lewis but misses.
Despite her role as Freda likely helped with the conspiracy, nothing is done to punish her. Instead, the following day, as planned Stefan and Freda leave to go to Switzerland. Rachael nearly goes with them, but changes her mind at the last minute and goes back to her husband. Personally, I felt that she shouldn't have gone with either of them. Sure, Lewis was in deep pain and could barely look at his wife as she reminded him so much of their dead son, but he wasn't there when she needed him and didn't voice his feelings until the last moment.
Now, while this film did hold my attention and was well done, I didn't like the teenager romance subplot as it wasn't given the time and attention it deserved and surely Stefan would realize Freda wasn't attending school. That plot hole is just too big to ignore. And while all three lead performances are good, Stefan sometimes looks at Rachael as though she's a piece of meat, waiting to be devoured by him. Which is a shame. Keira Knightley deserves better than both of these men. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-That one scene takes coitus interruptus to a whole new level.
-Rachael certainly has a lot of clothes in that one little suitcase. She never wears an outfit twice.
Based on a book (as there was no other reason for this to become a film), Rachael Morgan (the always great Keira Knightley) arrives in Hamburg, to join her army officer husband, Louis (Jason Clarke) in his post-war position, trying to regain control of a broken Germany.
Germany suffered greatly, as did every other country in Europe, and Rachael is not happy to be there, sharing a mansion with a former architect, Stefan Lubert (Alexander Skarsgaard), a German. Stefan is also healing from a broken heart, as his wife was killed by a bomb. Rachael and Lewis also have a broken marriage, though not mentioned until more than an hour into the film, it is heavily implied earlier, Rachael and Lewis's young son was killed by a bomb also, in London. And Lewis went back to work right after the funeral.
Rachael goes from not talking to Stefan and being downright rude and pissed that she has to share a house with him and his daughter (Flora Li Thiemann), to having table sex with him which turns into a full on illicit affair.
That is not the problem with the film. The problem is Freda, Stefan's teenager daughter, who for whatever reason, starts skipping school and hangs out with a bunch of orphans who believe Hitler's propaganda and secretly plot to kill the British officers.
So everything comes to a head when Freda's new rebel boyfriend, Albert (Jannik Schumann) tries to assassinate Lewis but misses.
Despite her role as Freda likely helped with the conspiracy, nothing is done to punish her. Instead, the following day, as planned Stefan and Freda leave to go to Switzerland. Rachael nearly goes with them, but changes her mind at the last minute and goes back to her husband. Personally, I felt that she shouldn't have gone with either of them. Sure, Lewis was in deep pain and could barely look at his wife as she reminded him so much of their dead son, but he wasn't there when she needed him and didn't voice his feelings until the last moment.
Now, while this film did hold my attention and was well done, I didn't like the teenager romance subplot as it wasn't given the time and attention it deserved and surely Stefan would realize Freda wasn't attending school. That plot hole is just too big to ignore. And while all three lead performances are good, Stefan sometimes looks at Rachael as though she's a piece of meat, waiting to be devoured by him. Which is a shame. Keira Knightley deserves better than both of these men. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-That one scene takes coitus interruptus to a whole new level.
-Rachael certainly has a lot of clothes in that one little suitcase. She never wears an outfit twice.
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Despite the all-star cast and solid performances, this film lacked the magic and pizzazz of the original.
MIchael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is all grown up and having struggles. His beloved wife died the year previously and he's deep in debt, dangerously close to losing his family home. Enter Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt). She arrives just when she's needed though the Banks children are largely self-sufficient as they have been forced to grow up fast.
But they are determined to save the house and Mary is there to watch them. While Emily Blunt does well, her performance is nothing remarkable. Lin-Manual Miranda is great despite being extremely miscast as a lamplighter (apparently, they still had those in 1930s London) and his crush isn't Mary Poppins but Jane Banks (another Emily, Emily Mortimer), a unionizer. That being said, though he is good in a part that was written especially for him, his character is largely unnecessary and he deserves better.
And it is far too predictable that Colin Firth's character is actually a bad guy. He works at the bank and is determined to have the family house.
While the musical numbers are delightful and a highlight, the film itself is nothing special despite having a shiny exterior. And that is unacceptable. Everyone in this film deserves far better material. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to some great cameos from Meryl Streep, Dick Van Dyke and the indefatigable Angela Lansbury.
-Julie Walters is also solid in her role as the family maid, Ellen.
-We never find out how much the family bowl heirloom is worth, in fact, the children never retrieve it from Meryl Streep, so I guess that's a plot hole.
-Mixing animation with live action is never not astonishing.
MIchael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is all grown up and having struggles. His beloved wife died the year previously and he's deep in debt, dangerously close to losing his family home. Enter Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt). She arrives just when she's needed though the Banks children are largely self-sufficient as they have been forced to grow up fast.
But they are determined to save the house and Mary is there to watch them. While Emily Blunt does well, her performance is nothing remarkable. Lin-Manual Miranda is great despite being extremely miscast as a lamplighter (apparently, they still had those in 1930s London) and his crush isn't Mary Poppins but Jane Banks (another Emily, Emily Mortimer), a unionizer. That being said, though he is good in a part that was written especially for him, his character is largely unnecessary and he deserves better.
And it is far too predictable that Colin Firth's character is actually a bad guy. He works at the bank and is determined to have the family house.
While the musical numbers are delightful and a highlight, the film itself is nothing special despite having a shiny exterior. And that is unacceptable. Everyone in this film deserves far better material. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to some great cameos from Meryl Streep, Dick Van Dyke and the indefatigable Angela Lansbury.
-Julie Walters is also solid in her role as the family maid, Ellen.
-We never find out how much the family bowl heirloom is worth, in fact, the children never retrieve it from Meryl Streep, so I guess that's a plot hole.
-Mixing animation with live action is never not astonishing.
Saturday, July 6, 2019
I Remember Mama (1948)
This film tells a story of a different time, told through the eyes of the eldest daughter, Katrin (Barbara Bel Geddes) and tells a variety of little vignettes of her immigrant family.
Irene Dunne shines as the title Mama, Martha Hanson, making sacrifices for her family. She acts a cleaning lady so she can sneak in to see her youngest, animal-loving Dagmar (June Hedin) after having surgery and when Katrin wants a dresser set, Mama sells her family heirloom, her mother's brooch, just so Katrin can get what she wants.
There are also some crazy parts, such as the scenes with Mama's extended family, including her boisterous Uncle Chris (Oscar Homolka) and her crazy aunts (it is not truly specified if they are her sisters or aunts), including a stand-out performance from the youngest, Aunt Trina (Ellen Corby), who somehow falls in love with the funeral director.
At its heart, its just a simple story about a family with daily triumphs and struggles, such as being jilted by their beloved border, Mr. Hyde (Cedric Hardwicke), who would read classic novels to them and inspired Katrin to become a writer. They scrim and save so the oldest, Nels (Steve Brown) can go on to high school.
Despite Irene Dunne being a huge star, she makes the role of Mama so utterly believable. Bel Geddes makes everyone that she was young teenager, not someone in her twenties, already married. And though the film is packed with characters, each, especially the children, have their own personalities, which is so lovely to see. While the plot is non-traditional, the film is truly great nevertheless. I also really liked it as it showed the working man compared to many Hollywood films of the day and demonstrates a great example of co-parenting. Philip Dorn deserves more credit for his understated performance as Lars, the Papa of the family. This film is not to be missed. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Uncle Chris secretly married his housekeeper, Jessie (Barbara O'Neil) and doesn't tell anyone mostly to piss them all off.
-Though he acts like a bully and curmudgeon, Uncle Chris truly had a large heart, donating money for the operations of young children.
-I couldn't believe the hospital policy of not allowing the parents to visit the child directly after surgery, its just barbaric.
Irene Dunne shines as the title Mama, Martha Hanson, making sacrifices for her family. She acts a cleaning lady so she can sneak in to see her youngest, animal-loving Dagmar (June Hedin) after having surgery and when Katrin wants a dresser set, Mama sells her family heirloom, her mother's brooch, just so Katrin can get what she wants.
There are also some crazy parts, such as the scenes with Mama's extended family, including her boisterous Uncle Chris (Oscar Homolka) and her crazy aunts (it is not truly specified if they are her sisters or aunts), including a stand-out performance from the youngest, Aunt Trina (Ellen Corby), who somehow falls in love with the funeral director.
At its heart, its just a simple story about a family with daily triumphs and struggles, such as being jilted by their beloved border, Mr. Hyde (Cedric Hardwicke), who would read classic novels to them and inspired Katrin to become a writer. They scrim and save so the oldest, Nels (Steve Brown) can go on to high school.
Despite Irene Dunne being a huge star, she makes the role of Mama so utterly believable. Bel Geddes makes everyone that she was young teenager, not someone in her twenties, already married. And though the film is packed with characters, each, especially the children, have their own personalities, which is so lovely to see. While the plot is non-traditional, the film is truly great nevertheless. I also really liked it as it showed the working man compared to many Hollywood films of the day and demonstrates a great example of co-parenting. Philip Dorn deserves more credit for his understated performance as Lars, the Papa of the family. This film is not to be missed. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Uncle Chris secretly married his housekeeper, Jessie (Barbara O'Neil) and doesn't tell anyone mostly to piss them all off.
-Though he acts like a bully and curmudgeon, Uncle Chris truly had a large heart, donating money for the operations of young children.
-I couldn't believe the hospital policy of not allowing the parents to visit the child directly after surgery, its just barbaric.
Friday, July 5, 2019
Yesterday (2019)
This film is a high concept film, one where the Beatles and several other things don't exist, except to Jack Malik (Himesh Patel).
Jack is a struggling musician and most of his friends aren't truly supportive except for his tireless manager/BFF, Ellie (the great Lily James) and the epic loser and bumbling idiot Rocky (Joel Fry), though he means well.
But then, for whatever reason, the world's power goes out for a mere 12 seconds and he gets hit by a bus. As he wakes up in the hospital, determined to go back to teaching (a truly normal position), he soon discovers that no one else knows who the Beatles are, in addition to the band Oasis, the drink Coca-Cola and cigarettes. So Jack's music career takes off rapidly. But he knows he's a fraud and Ellie can't or doesn't want to come with him, refusing to leave her teaching position, though she seems to enjoy it. She wants him to become famous for both of them.
Despite Jack becoming an insta-star, with established stars such as Ed Sheeran (himself), giving him credit for being the best, he's deeply unhappy.
Where the film starts to slightly go off its rails is when Jack meets two others (one Russian, one British), who also remember the Beatles though an explanation is never given. They aren't pissed at him for doing what he's doing but glad that the rest of the world can know the Beatles. And they unearth John Lennon's (Robert Carlyle's) address. He wasn't assassinated and Jack goes to meet him. John may not have been successful, but he was happy and that in itself is success.
This inspires Jack to give up his music, releasing the songs for free and getting a mundane job teaching but he has Ellie, which is all that matters to him. He's happy, that's more important than money and fame.
While the film is good, with great performances, I just found parts just odd. Like the lack of explanation on how the two others also remembered the Beatles, where they also knocked unconscious during the power outage? I need to know these things. If John Lennon is still alive, wouldn't he know and recognize that these songs told his story? How come someone hadn't invited the liquid Coke and cigarettes? It's just odd. How did the writers decide what to keep and what to take away?
Despite these glaring omissions, I still really liked the film, filled with natural performances and some witty lines tossed in. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to some good cameos from Kate McKinnon (as the nasty, greedy manager), Poldark's Elise Chappell, and Lamorne Morris.
-Harry Potter also was never written. Seriously, J.K. Rowling, what happened?
-Though Jack is of Indian descent, his nationality is not a plot point or even mentioned, which is so refreshing to see in itself.
-Jack's father (Sanjeev Bhaskar) is super annoying and never realized Jack's talent and doesn't even recognize Ed Sheeran in his own house.
-Jack's true talent is memorizing all those songs, that is no small feat.
-I'm glad Ellie and Jack didn't have a one-night stand, as that is just so cliche.
-The studio where Jack records for the first time has the greatest name: Tracks on the Tracks.
Jack is a struggling musician and most of his friends aren't truly supportive except for his tireless manager/BFF, Ellie (the great Lily James) and the epic loser and bumbling idiot Rocky (Joel Fry), though he means well.
But then, for whatever reason, the world's power goes out for a mere 12 seconds and he gets hit by a bus. As he wakes up in the hospital, determined to go back to teaching (a truly normal position), he soon discovers that no one else knows who the Beatles are, in addition to the band Oasis, the drink Coca-Cola and cigarettes. So Jack's music career takes off rapidly. But he knows he's a fraud and Ellie can't or doesn't want to come with him, refusing to leave her teaching position, though she seems to enjoy it. She wants him to become famous for both of them.
Despite Jack becoming an insta-star, with established stars such as Ed Sheeran (himself), giving him credit for being the best, he's deeply unhappy.
Where the film starts to slightly go off its rails is when Jack meets two others (one Russian, one British), who also remember the Beatles though an explanation is never given. They aren't pissed at him for doing what he's doing but glad that the rest of the world can know the Beatles. And they unearth John Lennon's (Robert Carlyle's) address. He wasn't assassinated and Jack goes to meet him. John may not have been successful, but he was happy and that in itself is success.
This inspires Jack to give up his music, releasing the songs for free and getting a mundane job teaching but he has Ellie, which is all that matters to him. He's happy, that's more important than money and fame.
While the film is good, with great performances, I just found parts just odd. Like the lack of explanation on how the two others also remembered the Beatles, where they also knocked unconscious during the power outage? I need to know these things. If John Lennon is still alive, wouldn't he know and recognize that these songs told his story? How come someone hadn't invited the liquid Coke and cigarettes? It's just odd. How did the writers decide what to keep and what to take away?
Despite these glaring omissions, I still really liked the film, filled with natural performances and some witty lines tossed in. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to some good cameos from Kate McKinnon (as the nasty, greedy manager), Poldark's Elise Chappell, and Lamorne Morris.
-Harry Potter also was never written. Seriously, J.K. Rowling, what happened?
-Though Jack is of Indian descent, his nationality is not a plot point or even mentioned, which is so refreshing to see in itself.
-Jack's father (Sanjeev Bhaskar) is super annoying and never realized Jack's talent and doesn't even recognize Ed Sheeran in his own house.
-Jack's true talent is memorizing all those songs, that is no small feat.
-I'm glad Ellie and Jack didn't have a one-night stand, as that is just so cliche.
-The studio where Jack records for the first time has the greatest name: Tracks on the Tracks.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Hotel Mumbai (2019)
Despite the top-notch cast, this film had very few meaningful performances.
The film details a truly wretched day in Mumbai, when terrorists attack the city and the city is dreadfully unprepared, with no tactical squad in the city whatsoever.
Though Armie Hammer gets top billing, he's never been more annoying or foolish than here, insisting on a beef hamburger for dinner, and he's married to an Indian Muslim. He's truly a dumbass and his character is almost an insult. Yes, he absolutely just wants to protect his family but he makes careless decisions throughout and ends up dead, as he is held hostage.
Dev Patel, the far more noble of the characters, settles for second billing as Arjun, a waiter at the hotel, struggling in substitute shoes, far too small for his feet. Despite having a wife and young daughter at home, he stays at the hotel and selflessly helps to save the guests who are, just like the staff, sitting ducks.
While the film is long, it also focuses far too much on the inner workings of the terrorists and how they are all being controlled by a voice in their ears, which leaves too many characters without the chance for any of them to truly develop a real personality though Patel's Arjun comes the closest. His is a good acting performance along with Nazanin Boniadi as Zahra, Armie Hammer's wife, and Tilda Cobham-Hervey as their nanny Sally.
It is unfortunate that this film isn't better, as it has all the pieces of what makes a great movie, a real story, with tragedy to spare but the suspense isn't there. The film should have gotten rid of some of the excess characters and focused on a select few which would have elevated the film greatly. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Nitpick: you can't do this to me. In the one scene, filmed from two different angles, Armie Hammer is not wearing his wedding ring but then as the camera angle switches, he is. That is an unacceptable mistake and inconsistency, which disgusts me.
-Jason Isaacs's character is bizarre, a Russian businessman who develops a fatherly-crush on Zahra. He also dies.
-I knew when Arjun forgot his shoe, it was going to be bad.
The film details a truly wretched day in Mumbai, when terrorists attack the city and the city is dreadfully unprepared, with no tactical squad in the city whatsoever.
Though Armie Hammer gets top billing, he's never been more annoying or foolish than here, insisting on a beef hamburger for dinner, and he's married to an Indian Muslim. He's truly a dumbass and his character is almost an insult. Yes, he absolutely just wants to protect his family but he makes careless decisions throughout and ends up dead, as he is held hostage.
Dev Patel, the far more noble of the characters, settles for second billing as Arjun, a waiter at the hotel, struggling in substitute shoes, far too small for his feet. Despite having a wife and young daughter at home, he stays at the hotel and selflessly helps to save the guests who are, just like the staff, sitting ducks.
While the film is long, it also focuses far too much on the inner workings of the terrorists and how they are all being controlled by a voice in their ears, which leaves too many characters without the chance for any of them to truly develop a real personality though Patel's Arjun comes the closest. His is a good acting performance along with Nazanin Boniadi as Zahra, Armie Hammer's wife, and Tilda Cobham-Hervey as their nanny Sally.
It is unfortunate that this film isn't better, as it has all the pieces of what makes a great movie, a real story, with tragedy to spare but the suspense isn't there. The film should have gotten rid of some of the excess characters and focused on a select few which would have elevated the film greatly. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Nitpick: you can't do this to me. In the one scene, filmed from two different angles, Armie Hammer is not wearing his wedding ring but then as the camera angle switches, he is. That is an unacceptable mistake and inconsistency, which disgusts me.
-Jason Isaacs's character is bizarre, a Russian businessman who develops a fatherly-crush on Zahra. He also dies.
-I knew when Arjun forgot his shoe, it was going to be bad.
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