Cyrus(USA) Directed by Mark Duplass; Jay Duplass  Written by Mark Duplass; Jay Duplass  Starring John C. Reilly; Marisa Tomei; Jonah Hill; Catherine Keener; Matt Walsh

The Duplass Brothers made their bones creating low budget, low tech films (The Puffy Chair; Baghead)  characterized by their examinations of socially awkward situations and an improvised-feeling, relatively plot-less, free flowing vibe. As two of the leading members of the Mumblecore movement, they have been the recipients of both the increased attention and exposure brought on by the publicity surrounding the discovery of a “new thing,” and also the backlash of pointed criticism emanating from those who feel these films to be generally unworthy of all the hype.

Regardless of what one’s feelings are about the Mumblecore aesthetic and its place in cinema, some degree of respect has to be given to these brothers, who have spent years making low budget cinema. Though they surely benefited from being part of a wave of DIY films that captured the imagination of the festival circuit, they have still managed to turn the opportunities presented to them into the reality of a bigger budget feature backed by Ridley and Tony Scott, who executive produce through their company, Scott Free productions. Here, they get to employ some exceptional, experienced actors, making good use of the benefits more money provides.

The promos would have one believe that Cyrus is something of a wacky revenge comedy along the lines of another John C. Reilly vehicle, Step Brothers, but this film is decidedly more dark and dramatic than your typical straight comedy. Though not uproarious, Cyrusis funny, and while requisitely uncomfortable (it is, after all, a Duplass brothers film) it isn’t overly or manipulatively so, and certainly the brothers have in mind a piece with an intricate emotional layering that extends beyond most big budget comic romps.

Despite the increase in said budget, the brothers remain true to their established methodology and style, shooting in sequential order, refraining from table reads, rehearsals, or extensive blocking, and though referring to a script, using healthy doses of improvisation and a kind of on-the-fly spontaneous style that allows them to continually shift gears and present scene and dialogue alterations to the actors as they shoot. Using multiple cameras, they also retain a mostly hand held look, which is perhaps the one technical area that may have benefited from some toning down. In an effort to reproduce the feel of their low budget offerings, they incorporate a plethora of re-framing, re-focusing, and zooms to mirror a verite, documentary-like feel, but though effective in places, there are times when the visuals feel somewhat forced, the devices unnecessary. There is no doubt that their look has improved some with more experience and the exponential increase in funds, but hopefully will benefit from further refinement as their careers continue.

Like all of their previous work, the story is a tightly compact one, encompassing only a handful of characters and rarely leaving the narrow focus on the three individuals who comprise the non-traditional love triangle at the center of the plot. We begin with John (John S. Reilly), a depressed, lonely, divorced forty-something freelance editor who meets single Mom, Molly (Marisa Tomei), at a party he has reluctantly agreed to attend. Things begin swimmingly, if oddly (John compares himself to Shrek in the forest at one point),  until John meets Molly’s twenty two year old live-in son, Cyrus (Jonah Hill), a portly, outwardly polite, neatly dressed nutjob who proceeds to surreptitiously engage the new suitor in a battle of wills for the prize of Molly’s attention.

The brothers do well giving us a fairly cliche set up, but refusing to walk a straight line down the expected path. Part of the films’ strength is its meandering quality, with a plot that strays from a typical structural framework. The skill of leads Tomei and Reilly is evident throughout as both actors obviously remained open enough to adapt to this way of working. Both of them continually surprise and enchant with interesting and naturalistic line readings and reactions. There very much exists the feeling of real people behaving in real ways, no small accomplishment given that this is, at heart, a comedy. Catherine Keener as John’s ex wife Jamie too gives another in a long line of excellent performances.  Only Hill, a less studied dramatic performer, is a bit one note; though, as an experienced improviser and comedic actor, he brings great timing to the table, and is, in part, responsible for some of the film’s funniest moments.

It is no accident that Cyrusfeels somewhat different than anything we’ve seen before, perhaps because there is a kind of meld going on between the Mumblecore sensibility and style and the comedic elements of the Apatow-like comedies of recent years. It is impossible to say who or what is influencing who or what here exactly, but artists are constantly inspired and effected by the world around them, as well as their peers  working in a variety of mediums. In the same way that Noah Baumbach’s recent film, Greenberg,  clearly owed a tip of the hat to Andrew Bujalski, Joe Swanberg, and the Duplass brothers themselves (who have become friends with Mr. Baumbach), what we get here is an example of filmmakers maturing and hitting their stride, utilizing their talents to create on a bigger stage.

Next for Jay and Mark Duplass is Jeff Who Lives at Home, starring Susan Sarandon and Jason Segel, and produced by Jason Reitman. It will be interesting to see if the brothers continue to retain a substantive portion of what made them special in the first place, or if they will eventually be absorbed by the Hollywood monster. So far so good.

She’s Out of My League(USA) Directed by Jim Field-Smith  Written by Sean Anders; John Morris   Starring Jay Baruchel; Alice Eve; Lindsay Sloane; Mike Vogel; Nate Torrence; TJ MIller; Kyle Bornheimer; Jessica St. Clair; Krysten Ritter; Geoff Stults

Thirty one year old Brit Jim Field-Smith directs from a script written by the team of Sean Anders and John Morris (Sex Drive; Hot Tub Time Machine). She’s Out of My League (which was originally entitled Hard 10)stars the rail thin Jay Baruchel (Undeclared; Knocked Up; Tropic Thunder) as nerd-boy/TSA agent/under-achiever Kirk. His love interest is Molly, played by British actress Alice Eve, who struggles with her put-on American accent, but is at least fittingly gorgeous enough to inspire some of the fuss. The basic premise is that lovable loser Kirk has a shrewish ex, Marnie (Lindsay Sloane), who insists on bringing her new boyfriend around to visit Kirk’s horrible immediate family, a nowhere job, and a group of equally stalled friends. He has some aspirations to become a pilot, but his low self-esteem prevents him from taking the steps necessary to achieve his dreams. He bumps into the beautiful Molly while at work, does her a favor, and the two begin a relationship that seems doomed from the start. Kirk’s friends school him on the utter hopelessness of their mis-matched coupling, mainly because he’s a “five” and she a “ten” and one can never jump more than a few spots from one’s station. Tj Miller (Stainer); Nate Torrence (Devon); and Mike Vogel (Jack) make up Kirk’s odd group, and their collective advice ranges from horrible to sound. The film has a number of funny moments, and several over the top gross out gags one would expect from a modern comedy aimed at younger viewers. As it reaches its conclusion, however, the enterprise begins to devolve into predictable standard fare, hitting many of the usual notes covered in films occupying this new genre territory. The best of these Apatow-like films manage to transcend the foolishness of their premise by establishing relatively plausible characters and story-lines we can buy into. Though not without its charms, She’s Out of My League fails to sustain the momentum it establishes early on, rendering it an entertaining, but ultimately unmemorable addition to a growing collection of the type.

Burma VJ (DAN) Directed by Anders Ostergaard

There are rare documentaries (Sorrow and the Pity; Harlan County USA; The Tittcut Follies; Shoah, et al) that contain subject matter so compelling and universalthat their importance as a teaching mechanism virtually eclipses any would-be conversation about structure, or for that matter any other technical detail one might normally critique when examining non-fiction work. Burma VJ (Video Journalist) is one such film.

Documentary film, like the best of written, photo, and tele journalism, has the power to advocate for politicaland social change. Burma VJ  endeavors to provide a context for the grouping of footage shot during the protests in Burma that occurred mostly in September 2007. The unrest was originally brought on by a hike of some 500% in oil/gas prices in August that immediately caused massive hardship for the poorest of the country’s people.

Burma, or officially, Myanamar, has long been the subject of worldwide controversy due to a fascist military leadership responsible for countless human rights violations throughout the history of the regime. It had been almost twenty years since the country experienced any significant organized protest, a period replete with countless state sanctioned arrests, imprisonment, beatings, kidnappings, torture, and murders. This time also included the house arrest (for fourteen of these years) of opposition leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi, who has become a martyr of sorts for the Burmese people. In a country that spends less on public health care than any other in the world, there are 488,000 troops in Burma, and the Junta essentially maintain a constant police state that strictly outlaws all unsanctioned speech in any form.    

The film centers on “Joshua,” one of the leaders of the DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma), a group dedicated to exposing the government’s many abuses by employing camcorders, the Internet, and satellite TV to shoot and smuggle the video out of the country. During the 2007 protests they were directly responsible for providing the BBC, CNN and multiple media outlets across the world with up to date evidence of the historical events unfolding on the streets of Rangoon. 

With his face obscured, Joshua is filmed mostly in a single room where he speaks with various VJs and others by cell phone and email about the events as that are unfolding, mostly in realtime. Obviously, there was some creative license that went into the shaping of Joshua’s communication, which is clearly dramatized for the purposes of the film, but these kinds of details are fairly inconsequentialal when one considers the gravity of what is at work here.

The VJs are literally risking their lives as they film, and the danger escalates as they further expose themselves over repeated days. In fact, some will wind up facing life in prison for their “crimes”. The imagery they manage to obtain, though often shaky in quality, is compelling, with scenes of government sanctioned beatings and shootings occurring on the main streets of the city. There is a feeling of being there with the camera person as often they narrate what they are filming, including some harrowing moments when they themselves are in imminent danger of being exposed.

Perhaps the most compelling visuals though are those of the protesting Buddhist monks, who also risk their lives to take a stand against an unjust government. The sight of hundreds of maroon robed monks marching and chanting protest slogans, some holding overturned alms bowls over their heads, is one that is difficult to erase from the memory bank. With 400,000 in their ranks, the monks knew that they were the only ones with enough leverage to attempt to stand up to the oppressors.

The bravery displayed by the monks, students, and average citizen alike is an incredible thing. Given that 3,000 were reportedly killed in 1988, the last time the Burmese people took to the streets, there is no doubt in any of the protesters minds that they might be shot or thrown in prison at any moment.  They march to speak for those who have previously died for the cause, for their children, for future generations, for their country.

This Academy Award nominated film, which is now available on DVD, is as important as anything one is likely to see this year or any other.

The Killer Inside Me(USA) Directed by Michael Winterbottom   Written by John Curran  Starring Casey Affleck; Kate Hudson; Jessica Alba; Elias Koteas; Ned Beatty; Simon Baker; Bill Pullman; Tom Bower; Jay R. Ferguson

Michael Winterbottom is one of modern cinema’s most interesting directors, though defining his perspective as a filmmaker proves no easy task. One reason for this is that he keeps floating from one seemingly disparate project to another, the eclectic list of films on his growing resume characterized by little more than a decided lack of discernible linkage. Here he takes on Jim Thompson’s first person novel, a book that has been adapted before (a little seen 1976 version directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Stacey Keach).

Casey Affleck does not spring to mind as an obvious choice for the lead, small town deputy sheriff Lou Ford, but stranger still are the casting of Kate Hudson as girfriend Amy, and Jessica Alba as prostitute Joyce, with neither actress exactly known for art house drama roles. Alba looks beautiful and manages to get through her scenes, while Hudson reminds us that once upon a time (see Almost Famous)she actually acted. Affleck is fittingly disaffected as Ford, doing a version of a character who is nothing if not polite and amiable on the surface, but with the exception of the sly, slightly deranged smile that occasionally slips across his lips, shows us his dark nature only in the spankings he enjoys administering in bed, and later in bursts of violence that arise from the depths of his soul, from what he terms in the novel as “the sickness”. Speaking of which,  Affleck’s Lou Ford is little like the one of the novel, a man perceived by the local citizenry as so dimwitted as to be nearly above suspicion.

Lou Ford is a reader who listens to classical music. With a history of childhood abuse (as victim and victimizer), we are shown glimpses of the source of his sexual depravity through flashbacks that are interposed with a developing sadomasochistic relationship with the gorgeous Joyce, and his ongoing one with local good girl Amy Z, which is also tinged with Ford’s predilection toward rough sex. Affleck’s Ford is a weasley sort, and despite the bits of narration, we simply cannot connect to him in the way it is possible to as reader. Thompson’s Ford sucks us in with his warped logic and unreliable depiction of events, making his acts, as abhorrent as they may be, seem somehow vaguely plausible. Winterbottom’s/Affleck’s Ford is almost entirely unlikeable, his boyish looks, reedy voice, and overall countenance translating as just as whiny and sneaky as Affleck’s other Ford character, Robert, in The Assasination of the Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Somehow, the matter-of-fact nature of the sociopathic protagonist’s actions that set the tone in the printed version gets lost, or at least altered, in this film account.

Set in West Texas in the late fifties (the book was published in 1952), though filmed in Oklahoma and New Mexico, the soundtrack is composed mostly of upbeat period country tunes, juxtaposed, often too closely, with the action on screen. Regardless of whether the music is intended as ironic, or even offered as some sort of inside joke/meta commentary, it fails to add much to the aforementioned tone, which plays as flat as Lou Ford’s demeanor, punctuated only by the extreme moments of sex and graphic violence, with one beating scene in particular standing out for it’s brutal, unflinching refusal to look away.

Winterbottom and screenwriter Curran have managed to remain faithful to Thompson’s source novel, though this is perhaps one of the main issues here. The versatile British director has made a career out of mixing elements of documentary and fiction, but has never established a specific point of view as an artist, and similarly there is perhaps a failure to express a commanding one here. Though one can appreciate fidelity to original material, especially an iconic piece of pulp such as this (though opinions of its literary merit vary), it is possible to stay true when adapting another’s work and still miss out on the essence of what made the piece special in the first place. 

Though appealingly shot, the film fails to hit the shadowy notes of black and white period noirs, or even of a brilliantly rendered neo-noir like The Coen Brothers Blood Simple, which had a wicked sense of humor related to the genre it was mirroring. Here, the noir is played straight, losing some of Thompson’s  playfulness, the standout feature being the graphic violence and rough sex on display. This modern handling plays in direct opposition to the period setting and otherwise straightforward telling, though in and of itself fails to make much of a statement and/or elevate the material.

In a piece that would seem rife for some tasty character turns, none of the minor players manage to stand out, with the possible exception of Bill Pullman’s Billy Boy Walker, who shows up a little late to have much of an effect. In fact, Simon Baker’s Howard Hendricks and (an over the top) Elias Koteas’ Joe Rothman, present to question and prod Ford about his dastardly deeds, prove as annoying (or worse, dull) to the audience as they presumably are to the man they are intent on provoking. One can recall M. Emmett Walsh as the detective in Blood Simple as an example of an actor relishing the playing of a sleazy misanthrope.

The end is something of a departure, and similar touches throughout the rest of the film might have dually set the groundwork for such a denouement, while assisting in formulating a cinematic interpretation that ascended beyond a mere well-handled visual representation of the source.

Get Him to the Greek  (USA) Directed by Nicolas Stoller  Written by Nicolas Stoller  Starring Jonah Hill; Russell Brand; Rose Byrne; Colm Meaney; Sean P. Diddy Combs; Elisabeth Moss; Aziz Ansari

Director Nicolas stoller’s Forgetting Sarah Marshallwas one of the best comedies of 2008. With Jud Apatow again producing and writer/director Stoller reprising the offbeat duo of Russell Brand (as Sarah Marshall  rock star Aldous Snow) and Jonah Hill (here playing Aaron Green, a different character), there was every reason to believe we might be in for another entertaining romp. Not so fast.

Get Him to the Greek is based on the kind of boys on a road trip behaving badly scenario constituting the plot of The Hangover. Perhaps it’s not coincedental either that, like The Hangover, much of this film takes place in Las Vegas. Like many of the offerings that comprise the recent Apatow produced and directed spate, Get Him to the Greekrelies on the premise of a lead nerd boy character who, though in a long term, committed relationship with a domineering woman, has never understood how to relate to members of the opposite sex and thusly harbors some degree of regret over the sexscapades he imagines missing out on.

The beginning of the film is a kind of prologue consisting of a series of faux interviews and clips from celebrity/entertainment shows, using some of the actual reporters from the real programs themselves to aid the authencity factor. These are combined with similarly constructed Aldous Snow music videos and concert footage. There are a couple of laughs sprinkled into the mix, and all of these re-creations are well designed and shot, but though the music too is skillfully created, none of it is that funny. As far as parody goes, the content of the songs aren’t satirical enough to make anything but the most cursory of social commentary, and while vaguely absurd, they’re not (unfortunately) that far away from actual pop songs.

Mario Lopez; Lars Ulrich; Christina Aguilera; Billy Bush; Kurt Loder; Tom Felton; Rick Schroder; Pharrell Williams; Meredith Viera; and Paul Krugman are some of those who show up playing themselves, though none of them stand out as being particularly funny or surprising. Snow’s latest single African Child  is purposefully offensive, though even this abomination feels somehow watered down, and we as audience are perhaps far less outraged than we should be.

There are plausibilitiy issues in Get Him to the Greek, starting with the notion that a multi-millionaire tycoon who owns a record company and twenty two Koo Koo Roos would allow his underling to escort a huge rock star with serious drug issues on a commercial flight when he had big money riding on said star’s impending appearance. Moguls own private jets, or at least have access to them, and these kinds of gaps in logic tear away at the walls of believability necessary even in the most absurd of comedies. The eventual abrupt shift in character made by Aaron’s uptight girlfriend Daphne also feels unrealistic, or at least like an adolescent’s plot-line solution, although admittedly the utter lack of sexiness helps to undercut this fact some. Still, the film’s young, clueless nerd perspective again feels at worse misogynistic, and at best severely arrested. Whatever “learning” takes place at the end comes across as a flimsily concealed attempt at actual drama - infused, like the rest of the more serious aspects throughout, to make us buy these broadly drawn characters as human beings.

To his credit, Sean P. Diddy Combs as boss man record exec Sergio Roma, allows his image to be subverted, and his playing against type fuels several of the films best bits. Supporting players Elisabeth Moss (as Aaron’s girlfriend ,Daphne); Colm Meany (as Aldous’s father, Jonathan); and Rose Byrne (as Aldous’s ex wife and fellow pop star, Jackie Q.), are all fine, though their characters are one dimensional and the few dramatic moments they participate in mostly fall flat. The film is at its best in small exchanges between the two leads and also during stretches when the pace is amped up, ala the hotel set piece, which careens from one ludicrous moment to the next. However, even during the best of these sections, one can’t help but recall similar set ups in a host of recent comedies, and much of the plot feels both telegraphed and warmed over.

Apatow is something of a master of the type, but he isn ‘t the director here, and the alchemy of these films is of an acutely precarious nature, with a mix of elements that require precise tonal massaging. The film has enough laughs to keep it out of flop territory, but ultimately fails to hold together as anything more than a lightweight diversion.

Shutter Island(USA) Directed by Martin Scorcese  Written by Laeta Kaligrodis  Starring Leonardo DiCaprio; Mark Ruffalo; Ben Kingsley; Max Von Sydow; Michelle Williams; Patricia Clarkson; Emily Mortimer; John Carroll Lynch; Elias Koteas; Jackie Earl Haley

The Cinema Guy usually has little interest in horror/ghost stories. Further, being no fan of the latter part of Martin Scorcese’s career, the concept of Shutter Island seemed to bode little promise from this viewer’s narrow perspective. Given Scorcese’s difficulties in regard to location and accent in the highly over praised The Departed, the fact that this, his follow-up film, was also set in the Boston area seemed to portend major problems. Surprise, Scorcese returns to creating something that feels like more than a bid for immortality in the form of Oscar gold. Rather than a paint by numbers biopic, or an action cartoon posing as crime or historical drama, we get an artistically rendered, gorgeously photographed (by consummate pro Robert Richardson) psychological exploration using well-handled touches of surrealism. There are shades of Scorcese’s Cape Fearpresent, but the film is at once more tightly contained, and also riskier in its evocation of the supernatural, than that re-make. Using Dennis Lehane’s source novel (who gets exec producer credit), a writer who shares with Scorcese a deeply rooted Catholic perspective, Scorcese takes on the personal ravages of war as it relates to memory, enhancing the better elements of the book, and (with the help of long time partner, designer Dante Ferretti), respecting Boston native Lehane’s feel for the history of the area. Set in 1954, Scorcese’s visuals are suberb, and no one would question the master’s ability to authenticate period. In DiCaprio, he has found his new age Deniro, and while their partnership has thus far yielded a selection of inferior films when compared to the incomparable former pairing, the actor’s performances have not been the problem. While DiCaprio struggled with an inconsistent (though far from the worst) Boston accent, here, as agent Teddy Daniels, he does a surprisingly solid job, improvement demonstrating continued work as he rolled into the next film, a credit to a gifted actor with an obvious drive to be better. The youthful looking DiCaprio is starting to fill out physically as an adult male, the age lines and added weight now an asset to his embodiment of individuals with lived life under their belt. While he seemed intermittently uncomfortable playing a tough guy in The Departed, here he is perfectly at ease as a WWII combat vet and federal agent. No American actor with the exception of Sean Penn and perhaps Benecio Del Toro does pain as well as DiCaprio, and his performance lives and breathes in his eyes and well modulated facial expressions. The film is well cast with an exceptional roster that includes an embarrassment of riches in the form of Max Von Sydow, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson, Michelle Williams, John Carroll Lynch, Elias Koteas, and Jackie Earl Haley. While the story is open to criticism surrounding twists that could be deemed derivative, the film does well maintaining the logic within the frame of the plot. While decidedly a genre entry, and somewhat limited by its scope, it is also Scorcese’s best work in years, and hopefully promises more future creative offerings from one of America’s greatest film historians and decorated living directors.

1. Milk (USA)

2. The Wrestler (USA)

3. The Class (FR)

4. I’ve Loved You For So Long (FR)

5. Happy-Go-Lucky (UK)

6. The Visitor (USA)

7. Wendy and Lucy (USA)

8. Flight of the Red Balloon (TAIW/FR)

9. Chop Shop (US)

10. Ballast (US)

11. Waltz With Bashir (ISR)

12. Doubt (USA)

13. The Reader (UK)

14. Synecdoche New York (USA)

15. Trouble the Water (USA)

16.  Frost/Nixon (USA)

17. Slumdog Millionaire (UK)

18. Surfwise (USA)

19. The Bank Job (UK)

20. Frozen River (USA)

21. Che (USA)

22. Still Life (HK/CHIN)

23. Silent Light (MEX/FR/NETH)

24. Hunger (UK)

25. In Bruges (UK)

26. The Duchess of Langeais (FR)

27. Stop-Loss (USA)

28. Paranoid Park (USA)

29. The Duchess (UK)

30. Tell No One (FR)

31. Encounters at the end of the World (USA)

32. Towelhead (USA)

33. Let the Right One In (SWE)

34. A Christmas Tale (FR)

35. Shotgun Stories (USA)

36. Boy A (UK)

37. Gomorrah (IT)

38. Blueberry Nights (USA)

39. Vicki Cristina Barcelona (SP)

40. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (USA)

The Messenger(USA) Directed by Oren Moverman  Written by Oren Moverman   Starring Ben Foster; Woody Harrelson; Samantha Morton; Jena Malone; Eammon Walker; Steve Buscemi

This six million dollar effort did very little business at the box office, but along with recent quality films like The Hurt Locker (2009); In the Valley of Elah (2008); and Stop Loss (2008),gives us a different perspective on Americans involved in the conflicts in the middle east. The always watchable Ben Foster, who has mostly been regulated to amped up character roles, here plays Army staff Sergeant Will Montgomery, a young man still recovering from Iraq combat injuries to his eye and leg. Will is considered a hero, though his perspective on his own exploits differs greatly from the official version of events. With three months of service obligation remaining, Will finds himself stateside and assigned to The Death Notification Squad and partner Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), a now sober alcoholic and unit veteran prone to dispensing a rambling litany of stories, advice, and life lessons. Tony shows Will the ropes, stressing the vital time crunch involved given the nature of modern technology. The pair goes on multiple notifications, demonstrating the horror of informing someones N.O.K. (next of kin) they have been killed. Fathers; mothers; and wives react with a mix of horror; shock; anger; sadness; and despair. Will has some obvious psychological and emotional issues related to his war experiences, as well as some unresolved feelings for former girlfriend Kelly (Jena Malone), who is now involved with another man. Despite the rules outlined to him by Tony, Will also engages with one of the family members, Olivia (Samantha Morton), who has recently lost her husband. This is a “small” story, built around a few characters, but the writing, and, especially, the acting, are superb. Hand held visuals from DP Bobby Bukowski help with the gritty, verite look. While the plot meanders a bit, Moverman refuses to rely on cliche, and the free flowing feel of The Messenger harkens back to some American classics from the 70s, including another military story, Hal Ashby’s The Last Detail. Though the specific material has been explored to some extent before (e.g Coppola’s Gardens of Stone) this is a valid examination of the complicated business of sending men out to kill and be killed. Despite the fact that a few of the visits seem a bit over-dramatized (perhaps simply in the interest of time), this a solid, well-made drama. Harrelson, who has stated he was loathe to ever play a soldier, gives one of the finest performances of his career.

Looking for Eric(BRIT) Directed by Ken Loach  Written by Paul Laverty  Starring Steve Evets; Eric Cantona; Gerard Kearns; Stephanie Bishop; John Henshaw; Greg Cook; Smug Roberts; Stefan Gumbs; Lucy-Jo Hudson

Seventy three year old Ken Loach is one of modern cinema’s masters of social realist drama, the majority of his oeuvre consisting of stories about citizen workers on the lower rung of the economic ladder. Though Loach has a fondness for casting British comedians in supporting roles, and interlacing moments of humor into the mix, essentially his plots are of a more serious nature, and he is not shy about allowing his staunchly held political convictions to play out in his narratives. The director has therefore come under some degree of criticism over the years for his steadfast commitment to socialist ideals, which can, at times, manifest as verging on the didactic.

The past decade though has shown a more versatile Loach than at any time in his career, and his output has included a romantic comedy of sorts (Ae Fond Kiss) and an historical drama (The Wind That Shakes the Barley). Long forced to fight to get his films made, he has struggled through several dry periods, but has benefited from major festival awards and positive critical response, and during this, the latter part of his career, has been quite prolific - Looking for Eric being his fourteenth feature in the last twenty years.

Teaming with regular collaborators screenwriter Paul Laverty, producer Rebecca O’Brien, and cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, this time out Loach gives us a comedy, and for good measure he even includes some surrealistic touches, clearly breaking from his long established comfort zone. The story focuses on depressed middle-aged postman Eric, who lives with his two stepsons Ryan (Gerard Kearns) and Jess (Stefan Gumbs), the children of his unseen second wife, who left them seven years previous. Eric is a nice guy, who enjoys a pint at the pub with his work mates, but he’s also a pathologically passive sort who gets walked on by his two rather unruly wards.

Early on we learn that the famed Manchester United footballer Eric Cantona is Eric’s hero. The Frenchman (played by Cantona himself) even begins appearing to him as kind of advice giving sage (think of Bogie in Woody Allen’s Play it Again Samor Elvis in Tarantino’s True Romance ). The forty four year old Cantona is actually a legitmate actor, having appeared in a number of French films since his retirement from soccer in 1997. He does a solid job, though the accent is thick and subtitles might have been appropriate.

As the story unfolds, we learn about Eric’s past, which includes the fact that he abandoned his first wife and love of his life, Lily (Stephanie Bishop) and daughter Sam (Lucy-jo Hudson). He maintains a relationship with the adult Sam, however, and his assisting her efforts to balance school exams and a new daughter, Daisy, leads him to a meeting with Lily, whom he hasn’t seen in many years. The regrets and sadness Eric has lived with coalesce when he is forced to confront his past actions. Loach uses flashback to good effect, recalling beautifully photographed glimpses of the young couple’s time together. 

A subplot having to do with Ryan’s trouble with a local hard case is less effective. Though it infuses the story with tension and danger it also takes valuable time away from the relationships that are the heart and soul of the film. It’s as if Laverty/Loach are afraid to explore the deeper emotional ramifications of complicated human interaction, and resort to a conclusion that, while amusing, falls a little flat.  

Per usual, Loach elicits naturalistic performances from a mix of experienced and non-experienced actors. Evets and Bishop are particularly good as older people who have endured all that life has thrown at them.

Parenthood (NBC) (10pm)

There is a definite dearth of quality scripted drama on broadcast TV nowadays. Gone are the West Wings and ERs - hour long programs that became long term mainstays for their networks. While Parenthood  is in no way close to being in the same league as those modern classics it does contain some compelling characters played by a top-notch cast, and writing that is a step above standard tube fare. 

Parenthood aired its 13th and final episode (Lost and Found) of season one on Wednesday night. The show highlighted both the positives and negatives of a freshman season that has, at times, artfully walked the line between serious and more lightweight humor infused drama, but has also been hampered by some overly pat episodic conclusions that periodically undercut the edgier aspects of subtley developed familiar complications.

The cast, as noted, is a good one. Though Maura Tierney was forced to drop out for health reasons (necessitating the re-shooting of the pilot), Lauren Graham proved to be an adequate replacement as 40-ish single Mom/bartender Sarah Braverman, who returns to her childhood home with her two teenagers and hopes of making a new go of things. The Braverman siblings include uber responsible shoe company exec Adam (Six Feet Under’s Peter Krause); perfectionist corporate attorney Julia (Erika Christensen); and free spirited music producer Crosby (Dax Shepard).

This is a true ensemble, however, and parents Zeek (Craig T. Nelson) and Camille (Bonnie Bedilia); significant others Kristina (Monica Potter), Joel (Sam Jaeger), and Jasmine (Joy Bryant), and kids Amber (Mae Whitman) and Haddie (Sarah Ramos) all play prominent roles in the family dynamics that define the show. Issues include father Zeek’s financial woes; the surprise appearance of a son Jabaar (Tyree Brown), who Crosby didn’t know he had; Sarah’s affair with Amber’s teacher, Mark Cyr (Jason Ritter); Kristina’s issues with daughter Sydney’s (Savannah Paige Rae) friend’s catty mother, Racquel (Erinn Hayes); Adam and Kristina’s child Max’s (Max Burkholder) autism diagnosis; and a controversy between cousins Haddie and Amber having to do with a boy. Additional season guests include Mike O’Malley and Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights).

The family contretempts mostly seem true to life. When the show is cooking it even feels as if it could turn into something… well, more. But the final episode illustrates the essential dilemma. Audiences who have watched the likes of Weeds; Six Feet Under; The Sopranos; Dexter; Deadwood; Mad Men; and Breaking Bad  have come to expect multi-faceted characters and psychologically complex, colorfully nuanced storylines. While one can understand the limits of network series, which don’t have as much freedom with language or sex, and also have imposed upon them the pressure to appeal quickly to wide reaching demographic categories, the show too often feels the need to make individual episodes and sub-plots work out neatly and happily.    

This holds true in a final episode that begins with great promise. After amping up the drama with Amber running away from home; Crosby’s pain and confusion over dancer Jasmine’s sudden move to New York; and Zeek’s financial mess and continued quest to get his wife back, we get an ending that includes Zeek serenading his wife in front of the whole family and then all of them joyfully attending Sarah’s son Drew’s (Miles Heizer) high school baseball tryouts. While the scene with Zeek singing to his wife pulled at the heartstrings, at best it was a schmaltzy way to bring a complicated, ongoing plotline to conclusion. Immediately after the song Camille is seen attending the baseball tryouts with Zeek and the rest, something she had adamently stated minutes before wasn’t going to happen. And oh boy, the tryouts - a musical montage obviously harkening back to the first show of the season when the family attends Max’s little league game, but a serious mis-step nonetheless. First, baseball tryouts last multiple days; second, virtually no outsider attends them, let alone an entire cheering and shouting extended family. While this might seem a small quibble, show writers and producers should know better, especially with something as important  as the wrap-up of your inaugural season.  

Based on the film of the same name, the series was brought to the small screen by the team of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, who know their way around audience pleasing/middle of the road material. One can only hope that the showrunners will build on its strengths and stay away from the cliched cloying moments that threaten to sink the Braverman ship.