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Review by Sean Boelman
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (L-R) YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II as BOBBY SEALE, BEN SHENKMAN as LEONARD WEINGLASS, MARK RYLANCE as WILLIAM KUNTSLER, EDDIE REDMAYNE as TOM HAYDEN, ALEX SHARP as RENNIE DAVIS. NICO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX © 2020.
The newest film from master screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, and his second time in the director’s chair, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is arguably the filmmaker’s most restrained work yet. Still packed with plenty of his signature quick dialogue but with more intricate character work than expected, it is as good as one would expect.
The movie tells the story of a group of men who are tried for charges related to a protest-turned-uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Sorkin takes the structure of a fairly standard courtroom drama and makes it his own into something more riveting and emotional. Most of the story is told through the frame of the court case, with flashbacks during the testimony serving to provide the necessary context for the story. After an absolutely killer introduction that uses archive footage and character introductions to establish the stakes, Sorkin throws the audience right into the trial to exciting effect. Admittedly, the film does fumble some of its weightier themes. The portion of the movie exploring racial injustice is interesting, but is solved by the midway point. And given the context of recent events, complaining about the shortcomings of the justice system for seven white characters, while still affecting, feels like too little too late. 
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (L to R) SACHA BARON COHEN as Abbie Hoffman, DANNY FLAHERTY as John Froines, EDDIE REDMAYNE as Tom Hayden, JEREMY STRONG as Jerry Rubin, MARK RYLANCE as William Kuntsler in THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7. Cr. NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX © 2020
That said, the film does a very good job of developing most of its nine main characters. Unfortunately, the most compelling aspect of the story, involving Bobby Seale, the co-founder of the Black Panthers, is the most underdeveloped. But when it comes down to the actual Chicago 7 and their lawyer, the movie is very well-done.
The single biggest thing working in this film’s favor, though, is its tremendous ensemble. All of the performances in this are amazing. Recent Emmy winner Jeremy Strong is arguably the biggest standout, giving the most nuanced performance of the bunch. Eddie Redmayne is a close second, having the most powerful scene in the movie. And Sacha Baron Cohen, John Carroll Lynch, and Mark Rylance are all excellent as well. As was the case with his debut, Sorkin shows here that he isn’t quite as strong of a director as he is a screenwriter, but he brings a lot of energy to the table regardless. But there are some decisions made that were somewhat distracting. The wig worn by Mark Rylance, for example, is terrible. There are some scenes that cut too early before the emotion of the performance can really set in. And Daniel Pemberton’s score often feels a bit heavy-handed. Despite a few small issues, Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a brilliant thriller with one of the year’s best ensembles. It’s both a movie of the moment and a great historical work, offering the best in both social commentary and crowd-pleasingness. The Trial of the Chicago 7 streams on Netflix beginning October 16. Rating: 4.5/5
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Review by Sean Boelman
Image courtesy of TIFF.
The Midnight Madness section at the Toronto International Film Festival is known for bringing at least one entry that is so bonkers and off-the-wall that one can’t help but enjoy it. And despite the category being slimmed down to only three selections this year, it definitely delivered with Roseanne Liang’s badass action-horror Shadow in the Cloud.
The film follows a young female pilot travelling onboard a WWII cargo flight with a classified mission involving a sensitive package as she and the plane’s crew discover that there may be an unexpected stowaway throwing a hitch into their plans. Starting with a tongue-in-cheek introduction, this feels like the creature features of yore in all the best ways. Liang’s film is a very minimalistic thriller, and it’s enormously entertaining for the entirety of its brief runtime. The first forty-five minutes trap the audience mostly in a small chamber with the protagonist with dialogue delivered through the radio, before the last half-hour goes absolutely nuts in a chaotically energetic way. Apart from a few shots that very obviously used green screen effects, the film looks pretty great. Even the CGI for the monster looks really cool. But the more impressive elements of the execution are the ways in which Liang takes advantage of her limitations, by creating tension within the confined location of the cargo plane. There are definitely some issues with the script, like a third act twist that is rather anticlimactic, but for the most part, it’s a ton of fun. The over-the-top misogyny and machismo is probably the scariest thing in the film, but it’s also some excellent satire and a wonderful way for Liang to reclaim her film given its origins. The character development in the film is one of its greatest weaknesses. Disappointingly, there isn’t much of an arc, with the protagonist going from a mysterious drifter to a powerful heroine in what seems to be an instant when a reveal is made. And all of the supporting characters are basically caricatures (albeit in a funny way). That said, Chloë Grace Moretz absolutely owns this film. She made her big break with a performance in a cheeky action flick, so it’s nice to see her getting to return to the genre. Her screen presence is phenomenal, and she handles the action sequences, especially the last one, in a way that is awesome. Shadow in the Cloud may not be the most intelligent film to come out of this year’s festival circuit, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun. It’s a popcorn flick that has a ton of rewatch value because it’s mindlessly enjoyable. Shadow in the Cloud screened as a part of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival which ran September 10-19. Rating: 4/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Image courtesy of TIFF.
A food doc that isn’t really a food doc, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s The Truffle Hunters is a surprisingly hilarious film. Shot in a spectacular and almost narrative-like fashion, this documentary uses the eclectic personalities of its subjects to create an absolutely captivating story.
The movie follows a group of older men who live in the forested areas of northern Italy searching for rare (and expensive) truffles with the aid of their canine companions. But there is a lot more to this story than people foraging for fungi — it’s about a culinary artform and the unexpected economic market that sprung up around it. The pacing of the film is certainly unorthodox, but in a very good way. It’s a story that, on paper, seems like something people wouldn’t care about. Outside of the upper class or those who are deeply interested or trained in the culinary arts, few would know about this delicacy, much less care about how it is harvested. And yet Dweck and Kershaw are able to milk some interesting drama out of this story. Some of the most interesting portions of the movie explore the relationship between the different foragers and how they each have their own methods of hunting. Some of them are surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly, given how valuable each truffle is) territorial over their “hunting grounds”. Other portions of the film that are fascinating explore the impact of the truffles after they hit the market. One of the best scenes in the movie shows some people as they describe the smell of different truffles as if they are sommeliers describing a distinctive bottle of wine. This only goes to show how absurd this truffle culture really is. Of course, a big draw for this film for mainstream audiences will be the dogs that the harvesters have trained to locate the rare truffles. Although the relationship between the animals and their caretakers is treated as secondary to the main focus on the truffle market, it’s still compelling and very cute. What really pushes this film over the top, though, is how beautiful it is. Yes, the offbeat sense of humor and the intriguing world it explores are the cake itself, but the icing is the gorgeous cinematography. Even in the most straightforward of moments, such as two people sitting at a table, the framing is impeccable. The Truffle Hunters does a lot within its short runtime, and it’s extremely interesting as a result. It’s a deliciously funny documentary with a unique method of storytelling and some breathtaking visuals. The Truffle Hunters screened as a part of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival which ran September 10-19. Rating: 4/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Image courtesy of TIFF.
One of the most magical things about cinema is that it can offer audiences from around the world a unique glimpse into parts of other cultures that they would otherwise never get the chance to see. A fascinating love letter to the African storytelling tradition, Philippe Lacôte’s Night of the Kings may be messy, but it is also extremely charming.
The film follows a young boy who, newly arriving at a prison in the Ivory Coast, is selected by the convicts’ leader to be his successor, beginning a ritual in which he must tell a story to maintain the order among their ranks. It’s an intriguing concept rooted in ritual, and while it may be a bit too impressionistic to appeal to general audiences, it’s undeniably poetic. The narrative structure of the movie is definitely intricate. The film weaves between the story of the prisoners and the story that the protagonist is telling, and while the latter is more entertaining, the former is the part of the movie that is much more alluring. Still, Lacôte finds a solid, if not perfectly even, balance between these two moving parts. There is some commentary on the prison system and how a stratification naturally forms amongst the inmates, but this theme is often eschewed in favor of Lacôtes cultural musings, and these work better. Storytelling is an art in and of itself, and this culture obviously has a deep respect for it, which Lacôte hopes to impart on the audience. 
Image courtesy of TIFF.
If the film does have a significant shortcoming, it is its character development. The unorthodox structure of the movie is ultimately the cause of many of its issues in this regard, but it will leave viewers feeling disconnected from the characters. Still, by the end of his story, it is impossible not to at least admire the protagonist.
Koné Bakary’s lead performance is excellent. He does a great job of delivering his story in a way that is captivating, even when he is simply talking. He’s an exciting young talent who shows the obvious potential to be a breakout. Steve Tientcheu also gives a powerful turn in his pivotal supporting role. The film is at its best visually when it is depicting the more ritualistic elements of storytelling. The cinematography by Tobie Marier-Robitaille will make the viewer feel as if they are a part of the crowd hearing this story being orated. For something that initially wouldn’t seem very cinematic, it’s surprisingly immersive. Night of the Kings is a very ambitious movie, and most of its efforts pay off in droves. Not everyone is going to connect with its unusual pacing and content, but it’s also hard not to respect the level of passion on display. Night of the Kings screened as a part of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival which ran September 10-19. Rating: 4/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Image courtesy of TIFF.
Although we would like to think we know everything there is to know about the past, there are some things that have embarrassingly been kept secret. Sam Pollard’s documentary MLK/FBI attempts to fill in some of the blindspots regarding the eponymous civil rights icon to disturbing and distressing effect.
In the film, Pollard uses recently declassified files to explore the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights Era. And although most viewers will likely know that the activist faced plenty of opposition in his time, the role that our own government played in the situation is pretty shocking. Some of the movie plays out in a bit of a paranoid way, never crossing the line into conspiracy theory, but still a bit too on-the-edge to be easily embraced. Other portions, especially those which use hard evidence as opposed to secondhand to back them up, are riveting and create a real-life spy thriller. Pollard obviously has a great deal of respect for Martin Luther King, Jr. for the enormous contributions he made to make the United States a safer place for people of color. But there’s more to the story than the history books say, some of which isn’t particularly flattering to him, and even more that isn’t flattering to the American government. The film really questions the ethics of government surveillance. The public has and had a particular image of King, and while some of his actions ran counter to these ideas, is it really the public’s business to judge him based on his personal life? And even more pressing, is it within the government’s rights to manipulate someone based on these actions? It’s obviously frustrating to think that this man who is now considered to be among the most influential people in all of history was once seen as a troublemaker, but it’s outright horrifying to think that our government would do this. And given recent events in which people are speaking out (for good reason), it brings to question the entire institution of American democracy. Pollard had some phenomenal access to archive materials to construct his movie to go along with the revelatory information he was able to get his hands on. He edits the film in a way that is thrilling and suspenseful. And to supplement the archive footage that tells the story visually, he uses contemporary interviews with various experts and historians that are quite interesting. MLK/FBI is a documentary that manages to be both extremely exciting and unsettlingly informative. And in a few years when even more information about these events becomes declassified, audiences should be prepared to be even more disgusted. MLK/FBI screened as a part of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival which ran September 10-19. Rating: 4/5 |