Mass (2021)

 This was a tough film to watch but it presented us with three of the best acting performances I've ever seen.

It's been six years since the shooting, and with the necessary waivers signed and in place, the parents are finally meeting with each other, without the lawyers or filters present. Jay (Jason Isaacs) and Gail (Martha Plimpton) remain mourning their son while Jay is also an activist, trying to change the world so this doesn't happen again and Gail wants her son's life to have mattered. Richard (Reed Birney) and Linda (Ann Dowd) aren't together anymore, and both are still somewhat in denial, though they know they've both made plenty of mistakes. Not telling the school about the pipe bomb was one of them, for sure, believing that any friends are better than no friends, is another, especially when one has access to weapons. 

While the couples start out at being overly polite to each other, the anger and feelings come out, in the most realistic and subtle ways and we learn how deeply troubled Hayden (the murderer) was and was good at manipulating his parents so they'd back off their attempts at getting him therapy. On the other hand, we don't learn much about Evan (one of the victims), other than he was struggling to survive and Hayden had to stop by that room again and finish him off. Evan seemed to be just a typical teenager, normal but not someone who knew Hayden as Hayden's victims weren't targeted (I don't know if that is better or worse). 

In end, somehow, Gail manages the impossible, forgiveness while Linda doesn't regret having him and Richard, the coldest, most unfeeling of the characters, someone who would be so stringent that he'd plan out his life to only include one child, something that he actually admits in public, which is just so shocking, says chillingly, "The world mourned 10, we mourned 11," and the stigma that happened when he had to beg a church to bury Hayden. Hayden was also a victim, but not in the same way as the others. Rather, he is a victim of the poor mental health care system our country has and how uncommunicative the protocols are, not telling one hand what the other is doing. This was a tragedy which could have been prevented. 

Despite the minimalistic set, the performances manage to fill up the room, and you learn that while there were so many warning signs, the parents were also just blinded by their love (or guilt) they had for their son that they wanted to believe that he was capable of being the child of their dreams, while Evan was cruelly denied that opportunity. This will haunt you for some time to come. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-It's true, no amount of money will bring Evan back which is why his parents opted not to sue.

-The lawsuits must have stripped Richard and Linda dry.

-Judy (Breeda Wool), the church manager is far too perky and desperate to accommodate the couples. 

-Though the film takes place mostly in a church, religion is rarely mentioned. 

Munich-The Edge of War (2022)

 This film was neither as interesting or thrilling as it should have been.

The concept was all there, stealing a document from Munich which would prove to the world how evil and uncompromising Hitler (Ulrich Mattes) actually was, but instead, the film fell flat. Now, to be fair, to be remotely historically accurate, it would mean the document wouldn't be released but instead it indicates that that document allowed Britain time to breath and prepare because they knew war was on the horizon and Chamberlain (Jeremy Irons) didn't care if it made him a fool as it would also show what a liar Hitler was. 

George Mackay received star billing as Hugh Legat, one of Chamberlain's private secretaries who was also a German major in college and has several good friends, former classmates in Munich, namely Paul von Hartmann (Jannis Niewohner) who was initially a Hitler supporter, believing that Hitler just wanted to make Germany great again (Germany was cruelly punished after World War I) but immediately changes his tune when his former girlfriend, Lena (Liv Lisa Fries) is beaten unconscious and will have to spend the rest of her life in a vegetative state, so he works for the rebellion. 

It is hardly a happy reunion for the two classmates but it finally appears to give Hugh a purpose in his otherwise unhappy, mundane life, though that also means putting it in danger, which happens. Also, I feel he would have wiped his bloody nose with a handkerchief rather than his tie, but I nitpick. 

My main problem with the film is the inconsistency of the ending. Sure, it is a relatively happy one as the two main characters somehow manage to make it to the end of the film alive. Paul is with his girlfriend, Helen (Sandra Huller) and Hugh goes back to his wife, Pamela (Jessica Brown Findlay), though that is where the problem comes in. At the beginning, he insists she take their son to her parents' house where it will be safe so either she doesn't go or they don't follow through with that plotline as she's there when he gets back and swears he'll change and put more of a focus on his family, as he should, though he was also on a mission of greater importance. 

Still, the acting was pretty solid but this film still didn't leave much of an impact on me, which is just a shame as the actors deserve better. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Though Jessica Brown Findlay was a scene-stealer, she received far too little screen time in the end, just three short scenes, though she put Hugh far more on edge than anyone else.

-Paul's original excuse for supporting Hitler is that he didn't think the racism wasn't going to be much of a problem and would have just faded out. America made the mistake with a former president and our country is still paying the price.

-Hitler has 27 bodyguards, that's excessive even for a crazy man. 

-Coming home and seeing my child wearing a gas mask would have terrified me as well. 

Kitty Foyle (1940)

 I'm not entirely sure what to make of this film. It managed to keep my attention the whole time (which is no small feat these days) but it was odd, yet another love story.

After the bizarre introduction of women moving up in society, finally getting their rights (aka: the right to vote), we are introduced to Kitty Foyle (Ginger Rogers, quite good) who is a shop girl and has a great doctor boyfriend, Mark (James Craig) and then her ex, Wyn (Dennis Morgan) shows up and wants to whisk her away though he refuses to divorce his wife, jerkface. So, she's left with a choice and then through a series of flashbacks, we find about her true history with Wyn, whom she meets through her father. She's working class, he has a trust fund but is also an idealist and wants to break away form living under the family's thumb, but he somehow can't manage it. 

They do get married but in order for Wyn to get his money, he has to remain in Philadelphia and Kitty can't bear the class differences between them and won't go to finishing school so she leaves and they promptly get divorced, he gets engaged to someone else and she discovers that she's pregnant, all in record time. She doesn't tell him about the baby and he dies at birth (which is lame and no explanation as to why is given) but she soldiers on. Along the way, she meets kind but poor doctor, Mark who adores her but she dumps him abruptly to go back to Wyn, though fortunately, they somehow meet up again in the end and luckily (thanks to the ever present Hays code), she choices Mark in the end, which is absolutely the correct choice. 

So, yes, the introduction was odd and didn't relate to Kitty's story whatsoever and yes, it is weird that nothing is mentioned about her mother or how she reconnects with Mark (because the last time we see him before the beginning is that she lets him know that she's still in love with Wyn) but Rogers is a revelation (though Hepburn, Davis and Fontaine gave equally great performances), while I'm glad she picked Mark, I just felt that this was another film with a woman falling in love above their station and while it could have been different, it was typical and the couple refused to work together as a team, which constantly frustrates me to no end. Still, I'm glad I watched this film as it is always great seeing a strong female character at its center. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Kitty has meet-cutes with both Wyn and Mark. She is introduced to Wyn through her father, in nothing more than her petticoat and she is faking being passed out when Mr. Mark arrives on scene. 

-Kitty's boss is very understanding about the pregnancy and she's the one who ends up telling Kitty the truth. 

-Other than the Hayes code, being in effect, we don't fully know why she ends up picking Mark, other than Wyn will continue to drag her along, until she looks up one day, with a life full of regret. 

-Kitty's roommates didn't get enough screen time as they added some necessary comic relief to the melodramatic romance. 

-Also, as for the last actress nominated for Best Actress in 1940, Martha Scott in Our Town, is a film that I haven't seen of as yet. 

-The subtitles spell actor Ronald Colman's name incorrectly, they added an 'e'. 

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

 This was a better film the second time around except that well, the fact that Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) ends up with her ex-husband, C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) who pushed her down during one of their fights before they divorce.

Fast forward, two years later and Tracy's engaged to the kind, safe but boring George Kitteridge (John Howard) who didn't come from money, unlike Dext. And while she's worried about having a perfect wedding, she doesn't want the press there. Too bad the editor has other ideas and she's forced to go along with it because there is some dirt on her father, Seth (John Halliday) so complications ensue with the arrival of Macaulkey 'Mike" Connor (James Stewart) and photographer Liz Imbrie (the snappy Ruth Hussey).

While everything is largely improbable and Mike is too nice of a guy to take advantage of a drunk Tracy, the point she makes to George the next morning is great. She wants her fiancé to think better of herself than she does, which is accurate. And then, partly to save face but also because he's been in love with her the whole time, Dext proposes to her so they end up getting re-married, which I don't approve of. 

Originally a stage production, it translates well to the screen though the dialogue is too snappy and the witty comebacks aren't realistic. Still, the performances are great and I found at least part of the ending message great, so I'm glad I re-watched it, given more glad it was an option on HBOMax. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-While I utterly adore Jimmy Stewart, he should not have beaten Henry Fonda at the Oscars.

-Hepburn and Hussey were also nominated and while they gave the two best performances in the film, they failed to win.

-Virginia Weidler portrays Tracy's younger sister, Dinah, and she's a wild scene stealer. 

-I wonder if Tracy ever checked out Mike's book from the library or if she just lifted it. 

The French Dispatch (2021)

 This was a film that packed a ton into it, with a time span lasting less than two hours. With a plethoria of stars, the film details three of the stories detailed in the last issue of the fancy, elite magazine: The French Dispatch, as the head editor (Bill Murray) has passed away, at his desk and it is dying wish to take the magazine with him.

Now, the stories are inconsistent, both with the star power and roles they are given, while some shine (such as Benicio Del Toro's brilliant but homicidal maniac and Frances McDormand's sexually repressed journalist), others fade into the background and their roles are so small you blink and you might miss then (Edward Norton, Saiorse Ronan and Willem Dafoe), but the film is still great as Wes Anderson is a genius and auteur having paid attention to every single, solitary detail in this film from the art direction to the cinematography switching from black and white to color effortlessly, the film is nevertheless worth watching. That all being said, you will certainly need a second viewing to pick up on all the nuances the film portrays which is annoying to say the least and I did find the two animated scenes a bit bizarre, so the film is far from perfect but it still manages to be great. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Anjelica Huston is apparently the narrator.

-The second scene, where the city is described, sort of comes back later on.

-The stars in this film are Elisabeth Moss, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Timothee Chalomet, Tilda Swinton and cameos from Henry Winkler, Christoph Waltz, Lois Smith, Griffin Dunne and Bob Balaban, so that's far too many stars in one picture.

-While the stories are interesting, I don't think they have much to do with their intended purpose. 

None but the Lonely Heart (1944)

 This film earned Cary Grant one of his two Oscar nominations and it was a very different role for him. Gone is the worldly, suave, successful man and replace him with a genuinely talented but adrift, lonely and oddly uncaring person, who wanders around England, performing various menial jobs to get by. And even after he returns home, the only reason he stays is because his mother (Ethel Barrymore), whom he's quite fond of, is dying. 

He tries to settle in, selling furniture at the family business and even falling in love with movie ticket girl, Ada (June Duprez) who is the ex-wife of a gangster whose specialty is illegal business dealings. Bored or broke, Ernie (Grant) gets involved despite Ada's pleas for him to do otherwise. But then after a near brush with death and his mother getting arrested (for fishy reasons), Ernie finally decides to let Ada go (mainly because she leaves him) and reform his life. 

So yeah, while it was nice seeing Grant in a different sort of role, I found this film boring, mainly because while the film was supposed to be a character study on Ernie, it held him at arm's length, treating him with kid gloves, not allowing him to be himself (thanks to the Hays code). It is a safe film, when it could have been good. And I couldn't get behind the romance mainly because Ernie wasn't a catch and neither was Ada. The better option would have been the cello playing neighbor, Aggie (Jane Wyatt), who he seeks comfort from at the film's end. While Barrymore won an Oscar for her role, and though she's the best thing about this film, this is another classic that I could have skipped and not regretted it. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-While this film is set in the Cockney section of London, the accents are all over the board.

-Barry Fitzgerald gives support as Ernie's only friend, Henry, though it sounds like he calls him 'Dad'. 

-Though Ernie's mother refuses to buy or sell stolen goods, she doesn't argue when she's arrested and in fact, apologizes to her son for embarrassing the family. 

-The score oddly swells at the end. That was weird to me. 

-On the other hand, the set was relatively gritty and realistic, all things considered. 

Going My Way (1944)

 Well, this was a delightful trifle of a film.

Father Chuck O'Malley (Bing Crosby) arrives to save Saint Dominic's parish as they are in financial straits and the elderly Father Fitzgibbons (Barry Fitzgerald), Irish born and bred, is out of touch with his parish. And thanks to his song writing abilities and sheer dumb luck, Father Chuck helps them settle up with the bank, only to have the church burn to a crisp. Yet, Father Chuck is still transferred elsewhere (settling the film up for a sequel, which would happen the following year) but Father Fitzgibbons is rejuvenated and all is still somehow right in the world.

There are several subplots including Father Chuck taking a bunch of borderline juvenile delinquents and getting them to form a choir, not to mention helping a homeless team refine her singing skills and helping the mortgage broker form a heart, sympathy for others. And there are plenty of opportunities for Bing to show off his brilliant singing chops, but he still manages to give a subtle, effective performance though Fitzgerald is the scene-stealer. Both would win Oscars for their roles. Despite this film not having a deep message or even being extraordinary, it is still solid and it is worth your time if just to hear Bing sing. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Fitzgerald was nominated for both lead and supporting actor for the same role. He won, deservedly so, for supporting actor.

-Jean Heather may have been able to sing but she gave a far better performance in Double Indemnity. 

-It is heavily implied that Father Chuck used to date the opera singer who never knew he entered the priesthood. That subplot should have been explored more. 

-For the record, you can throw like an atheist. 

On the Rocks (2020)

 Okay, so there isn't much to say about this film. Laura (Rashida Jones) feels that she's grown boring since marrying Dean (Marlon Wayans) and when she lets it slip to her father, Felix (Bill Murray) that Dean's been traveling, he immediately assumes Dean is cheating on Laura and sets out to prove it, nearly take down her marriage with his wild hunch. But they do get to know each other better along the way. Felix is a giant child, suave and sincere but a giant child nevertheless, cheating on his wife because she no longer looked at him with her dreamy eyes, exhausted and busy with the kids, he wanted to have that glow again and so he sought it elsewhere. So yeah, scumbag. Fortunately, Dean is not cheating on Laura, thank goodness, and he manages to forgive her for buying into her father's crazy theory and Laura even manages to forgive her father because all he wanted was to spend time with her. 

So yeah, a pretty basic plot, but it was interesting at least because there was enough proof to believe that Dean was cheating on Laura though his reasons were also always plausible and the three actors deliver subtle but solid performances in a little trifle of a film. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-It must be nice having a babysitter in the same building as you.

-Theo is apparently a girl's name in this film, at least.

-Felix is an art dealer and it's true, he flirts with absolutely every woman he meets, even men to get out of a reckless driving ticket. 

Cry Freedom (1987)

 This film contains Kevin Kline's best performance, far better here than he was in A Fish Called Wanda which would win him an Oscar.

Here, he's liberal newspaper editor Donald Woods in 1975 South Africa, a country still filled with wretched racism and oppression. Donald may not be a big fan of Steve Biko (the brilliant Denzel Washington) but at least he is for progression, wishing for better integration. However, he befriends Steve Biko who is just trying to make lives better for Black South Africans, starting a medical center and community center for them though everything is shot to hell when the police attack it, leaving Donald pleading for an investigation only to have him charged for not naming the witness. 

And then Steve dies in police custody as he was traveling outside of his allowed area so he was arrested and dies, by either hunger strike or suicide by hanging on September 12, 1977 (my dad's twenty-fifth birthday, by reference) but we know they had him killed. Donald then tries to get a book published on Steve's life but then he is censured so the bulk of the film is about him escaping to Lesotho so he can seek alyssum and be free to live and speak out for those who did not have the same rights as he. It is a harrowing, thrilling bit of cinema and both Kline and Penelope Wilton (pre-Downton Abbey days, shining as Donald's loyal wife, Wendy) deliver great performances, portraying inner strength as characters fighting for their lives, escaping with little more than the clothing on their backs. 

Now, while the film is great, though the massacre at the end is both brilliantly shot, devastating and a bit out of place, given the majority of the film is about Donald escaping, it is also mainly about Donald Woods, the white hero of the story and not Biko, who should be the hero of the story but instead, he's killed only about a third of the way through the film. Still, the film tells two stories that need to be told and two names I hadn't heard of before, which is a shame given that my minor in college was history. Please go see this film now. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-The best scene was when the police, watching the Woods house, hear that he escaped on the radio. That was utterly hilarious.

-The end credits play all the names of the victims who died in police custody after they were arrested without cause or without an official investigation into their deaths.

-Mandela's name is mentioned and this was filmed long before he was released from prison and elected president of the nation, no longer a nation of apartheid. 

-Poor Charlie, getting left behind, like that. But it was the best thing for them to do. Charlie's the family dog, for the record.

-It is only after the Woods children receive pro-Biko t-shirts with some sort of poison on them which causes burns and a rash on the littlest one's face that inspires her to flee the country with Donald. That is low, going after the children like that. 

Wall Street (1987)

 Okay, I must say it. Charlie Sheen was the lead in this film but still, he didn't receive top billing, that went to Michael Douglas as the rich, greedy and malicious Gordon Gekko who is also a chain-smoker. I also think that's gross. But Bud Fox (Sheen) admires him and manages to get in, giving him some good tips to earn Gordon even more money. He's a broker and a damn good one and with Gekko on his side, finally Bud is making the money of his dreams, buying and renovating a building on the upper east side, which is his dream location only to have everything blow up. 

Bud wants to buy and save dying little airline Bluestar and at first, it appears that Gordon has the same idea but Bud's father, Carl (Martin Sheen) sees right through that and bad mouths the plan in front of Gordon, embarrassing him so he cancels his plan, and instead plans to tear up the business to make him even more money so Bud double crosses him and pulls Gordon's plan out from under him. So Gordon retaliates and gets Bud arrested and then Bud double crosses Gordon and gets him to admit he is guilty of insider trading so now, they are both probably headed to jail so at least there is some justice in the world.

While the film is decent and well-acted, I found Sheen to give the better and more relatable performance while Douglas is given less to do while he does it well, it was a role down before as it isn't layered but rather a surface performance. Still, it paved the way for the brilliant masterpiece Wolf of Wall Street so I must give credit where credit is do. And it was realistic and the screenplay was tight so while it was far from a bad film, I wouldn't recommend it. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Daryl Hannah is an interior designer who apparently dated Gordon at some point and is also in a deep relationship with Bud but in the end, picks money over love. While her performance wasn't spectacular, I didn't think it was bad enough to earn her a Razzie.

-Because of Hannah's Razzie win, this is apparently the only film to win both an Oscar and a Razzie. That is not a compliment. 

-The supporting cast also included Sylvia Miles (the funky real estate agent), Sean Young (Gordon's hot wife and mother of his young son), Millie Perkins (Bud's mother), Hal Holbrook (Bud's older, wiser co-worker), James Spader (a young lawyer friend of Bud), and Terence Stamp (Gordon's main rival). 

-Despite Bud's attempts to get his father to quit smoking, he nevertheless picks up the habit by the end of the film, even after his father flicks the cigarette out of his mouth in his hospital room no less. 

Mrs. Parkington (1944)

Well, this was a giant misfire for Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. This was their fourth pairing (though I've only seen Mrs. Miniver, so far) but I found this one ineffective.

Sure, the plot line of servant girl catches the eye of a man above her station and they get married has been done numerous times and this one was a missed opportunity. My biggest issue had to be with Major Augustus Parkington (Pidgeon) isn't a likeable character. His mine is in poor shape and instead of listening to his workers, he scoffs at their requests and urges them to gamble just as he does. Even when the mine collapses, killing Susie's (Garson's) mother, he marries her, even though he's an admitted rake (Harlequin term for man whore), but he does marry her out of pity, which is a partial truth. 

Susie fits in well with high society, including Gus's old flame, Baroness Aspasia (Agnes Moorhead) who becomes Susie's confident while Gus still is good at making enemies, isolating the rich who snub him at a lavish (far too lavish) party. He undercuts all those who betrayed him and Susie is blissfully unaware, until she isn't. Forgiving him too quickly, she vows that they will be partners instead of being at odds with each other.

Too bad we don't see any of this partnership as the film flashs forward again, twenty years, just after the death of their young son, his cause of death never revealed. Instead, each parent deals with grief in their own way which for Gus is traveling to England, going on hunts and taking a mistress. Fortunately, Susie snaps out of it and gets Prince Edward (Cecil Kellaway) to get the mistress, Nina (Tala Birell) to become a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria herself. And the two reconcile, yet again.

And then there is the present-day plot, which includes grandson-in-law, Avery (Edward Arnold) having inbezzled stockholders money and Susie decides to ruin the lives of her spoiled daughter and granddaughters and bail Avery out, so no one else has to suffer for his crimes. It is one of the few times the less fortunate than them are mentioned or thought of. 

So the plot line and screenplay is an utter mess, with gaps and plot holes abound, a huge pet peeve of mine. This is yet another one of Garson's films that would have made a better mini series (Valley of the Decision is another) and MGM should have splurged and filmed this in color. Still, Garson was solid and managed to look even younger here (at when she was supposed to) than she did earlier in Mrs. Miniver and Moorhead is such a scene stealer and the accents are realistic this time. Too bad the screenplay is disastrous. Grade: B-

Side Notes:

-This film also uses gaslights as a symbol only here it is status symbol, not a sign that someone is losing their mind, or being made to lose their mind.

-Gus blames the lack of guests for Susie's miscarriage, when he's actually to blame or it was just a tragic accident. 

-Peter Lawford receives supporting billing but he never utters word. 

-It is unclear as to how all the relatives are related to Susie. 

-I can't believe that she married him after he inadvertently caused her mother's death. 

Gaslight (1944)

 This is basically a six-person drama. Ingrid Bergman won her first Oscar as the victimized wife Paula Alquist, striving to follow in her aunt's footsteps as being a famous singer (and yes, Ingrid Bergman can sing) but instead she falls in love and marries the pianist, Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer) and then returns to her aunt's home in London where her life slowly falls apart, mainly because Gregory manages to convince her that she's losing her mind. 

Yeah, he convinces her that she's losing things (previous things) and doesn't let her leave the house or allow guests to come and visit her. Fortunately, that's where the third lead comes in, detective Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten). He used to adore Paula's aunt and can't believe that her house is being occupied again and wants to know more about the niece. But he's deprived of that opportunity time and time again, even when Paula finally goes out, Gregory slips his watch into her bag and then lets her think she's taken it. He's demeaning to her about a moved picture from the wall and lets her believe that the noises she hears at night are all in her head. 

Fortunately, everything works out, as Cameron saves Paula and gets her to believe that she was right all along, which was true. However, I did not find it believable that Gregory was looking for the lost gems in the attic every night for months on end and not find them until the night Cameron finally lets himself in to visit Paula, especially since the gems (the real reason auntie was killed) were in plain sight. But at least then Paula gets to turn the tables on Gregory (who murdered her aunt), giving him a taste of his own medicine before he's arrested, leaving her free to end up with Cameron, so happy ending, yay.

So, while the film was great with its twists and turns, I really wanted Paula to stand up for herself instead having to be 'saved' by a man. But while the young maid Nancy (Angela Lansbury, making her screen debut), she didn't receive it, mainly because Nancy and Gregory where flirting both behind the scenes and back Paula's back. Still, the acting was top notch, every emotion being etched on both Bergman's and Boyer's faces and they truly do have juicy roles, having to show a range of emotions, yet also keep their true selves to themselves. Though this film might be horribly dated (unlike the timeless Casablanca), it is still a must-see Ingrid Bergman film. Grade: B+

Side Notes: 

-The accents are all over the place. Boyer is supposed to be Serbian but has a French accent, Bergman is Swedish but speaks with a non-descript accent (she was raised in England) while Lansbury has a Cockney one but May Whitty (delightful as the noisy neighbor) and Cotten have American accents, when they are supposed to be British citizens. 

-Of course Joseph Cotten is also more attractive than Boyer so it makes sense that he gets the guy.

-The romance between Gregory and Paula is poorly developed and they even sleep in separate bedrooms. Who does that?

The Lost Daughter (2021)

 This was another solid film proving that Maggie Gyllenhaal  is a force to be reckoned with. 

With a rather simple plotline, this film portrays Leda (Olivia Colman) as she vacations on a Greek island, trying to work on her next book as she's a scholar of Italian translation. Here, she interacts with young mother, Nina (Dakota Johnson) who has her struggles with both her husband, Toni (Oliver Jackson Cohen) and young daughter. While Leda largely watches them from afar, that all changes when Nina stops paying attention to young Elena and Elena wanders off. Fortunately Leda finds her, not in the ocean and alive and well, playing in the sandy rocks. But the story doesn't end there as Leda has taken Elena's beloved doll and the young child is distraught without it. Perhaps Leda needs to mother something. 

The film also includes numerous flashbacks to younger Leda (Jessie Buckley, great) as she struggles with motherhood (even losing her oldest daughter, Bianca temporarily) and her constant thirst for knowledge and the two don't mix well at all. You learn that she abandoned her daughters, needing the room to breath only to go back to them. 

Now, the ending is a little wonky but Leda finally comes clean and gives the doll back and Nina thinks it was sick that Leda took it just because. I don't know if she meant to stab Leda with the hat pin or not, but that's what happened. Leda then leaves, and either crashes her car (which I think happened) leaving her whole waking up on the beach and peeling an orange while talking to her daughters scene a fantasy, or she drowns in the ocean. So either way, she was never able to fully atone for the sins of her past. 

Despite the squishy ending, Colman once again proves that she's a force to be reckoned with and while she's abrasive and inflexible but she's also strong and brave, calling out a group of young men for being assholes, something which I never be strong enough to do. Still, her personality rubs many the wrong way. Buckley is also great as the younger Leda. And this film will force you think on how harshly society judges mothers. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Paul Mescal, Ed Harris and Jack Farthing provide excellent support as a variety of men who interact with Leda at various stages of her life. 

-Leda was quite young when she had her children. 

-I wonder what Elizabeth Taylor film the theater was showing.

-Bianca often was a little brat, but Leda might not have handled the situation great either. 

-If Nina was truly happy, she wouldn't be having an affair with Will (Mescal).