Can You Ever Forgive Me?

There were three Academy Award nominations this year for the sobering, yet entertaining film, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Melissa McCarthy was nominated for Best Actress playing writer Lee Israel, Richard E. Grant was nominated for Best Supporting Actor as her friend and partner in crime, Jack Hock, and a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay based on Lee’s memoir of the same name rounded out the accolades.

The film is rated R for language, including some sexual references, and brief drug use. It is based on the true story of Lee Israel, an author who had some success in publishing, but later very much lost her way. I enjoyed watching this film. It was very well done, and didn’t minimize the troubles Lee found herself in due to drinking, depression and poor choices.

Melissa McCarthy has made her career shine as a comedic actress, yet in playing Lee, she fully embraces the serious side of her abilities. She plays Lee bravely and without making her seem like a pathetic person. Lee was fully aware of her choices, and came out in the end without paying too much of a price for her deceptions and the forgery she excelled at.

The film depicted the times of the early 1990’s true to the era, and the relationship between Lee and Jack is believable and complete. I highly recommend Can You Ever Forgive Me?

How would you feel if you were a writer and suddenly couldn’t get published anymore? Probably you wouldn’t go to the lengths Lee did, but where would you draw the line to make ends meet? Did you see the film, and what did you think of it?

Can You Ever Forgive Me? - Official Trailer

The Florida Project

The Florida Project resulted in an Oscar nomination of Best Supporting Actor in 2018 for Willem Dafoe. He played manager Bobby at a motel just on the outskirts of Disneyland in Florida. One where the clientele are the down and out and rooms are rented by the week or month. Not for the traveler actually going to see Disneyland, this motel is for those who have no other choices for housing.

The film is rated R for language throughout, disturbing behavior, sexual references and some drug material.

Halley (Bria Vinaite) and her six-year-old daughter Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) are residents at the motel, and although Halley tries her hardest to provide for Moonee, she has few skills in being a single Mom and sole breadwinner. Halley relies on scamming any way she can, on the generosity of others in her “community,” and ultimately on her body.

Bobby doesn’t put up with anyone not following the rules in his motel. He has superiors he has to report to, and rules to follow himself. He does have a heart for the children though, innocent victims of birth and circumstances. In one very compelling scene, he creatively and effectively deals with a would-be child molester, who surely won’t return to prey on the unsupervised children again.

I watched this film several months after its release with a friend of mine who is a social worker. Having been a child and family therapist myself years ago, I saw the reality of what these families were going through all too well. My friend and I agreed that Halley was trying her best, but unfortunately it simply was not enough. Why some people have kids is simply a tragedy for them and their children.

Did you see The Florida Project and did it change how you think about the disadvantaged in America?

The Florida Project - Official Trailer

Period. End of Sentence.

I was delighted to discover that the Academy Award winning film for Best Documentary Short is currently on streaming Netflix! Period. End of Sentence.

I had not seen the nominated films in this category, so eagerly watched this excellent short film that is just 26 minutes long. The film was made in India, and the Hindi language is dubbed in English, so the dialogue is easy to follow.

In a rural village just outside of Delhi, India, young girls found it difficult to stay in school due to no easy access to sanitary napkins to use during menstruation. Many would drop out of academics completely. With the help of The Pad Project the women in this village began manufacturing and selling safe, hygienic pads. As I was watching this inspiring film, I realized how privileged I’ve been to live in a country where feminine hygiene products are available virtually everywhere, in sharp contrast to the lives of females in underdeveloped countries who have to resort to old clothing and rags during that time of the month. The income made by manufacturing these pads makes a big difference in the female workers' lives, and the easier access to feminine hygiene products brings more choices for the young women who purchase them.

I encourage everyone to watch this film, especially if you are a woman. It is wonderful to see that there is such an initiative because we know that the education of women makes the difference between a life of few choices, and one where opportunity abounds. 

Period. End of Sentence. Watch the film and come back and tell me what you thought of it. Were you inspired to take any action?

Period. End of Sentence. Official Trailer

The Wife

Glenn Close was nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her role in The Wife (regrettably she lost to Olivia Colman in a horrible movie, The Favourite), and so I was very interested to see her performance. I thought I knew what the film The Wife would be about after I saw the trailer. I did not guess the twist to the plot that is the big reveal near the end of the story which made it that much more satisfying to watch. The film is rated R for language and some sexual content.

Joan (Glenn Close) and Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) have been married for about 40 years. Joe is a well known writer who has been chosen to receive a Nobel prize for literature. Flying to Stockholm, they run into journalist Nathanial Bone (Christian Slater). Nathanial wants to write a biography about Joe, and stirs up their seemingly perfect life with some well founded claims about the real relationship between Joan and Joe.

Also on the trip is their son David (Max Irons) who bears some resentment towards his father. The interactions between the three family members and Nathanial really stir things up as they prepare and rehearse for Joe’s participation in the Nobel Prize ceremony. The fact that women give up their lives in support of their husbands is not news. What is interesting in this film is the lengths to which narcissistic Joe and long-suffering Joan go to keep up their charade and deceit.

Glenn Close gives a stellar performance, Jonathan Pryce is convincing as her self-centered husband, and Christian Slater is perfect in his role as the biographer researching the family secrets.

Did you see The Wife? What did you think of Joan’s decision at the end of the film?

The Wife - Official Trailer