Friday, May 24, 2013

A Few, Outstanding Independent Films


“Win-Win.” Paul Giamatti in his latest rendition of a beaten-down, American Everyman. This time, he’s a lawyer struggling to maintain a faltering practice whose money-making scheme leads to an improbable foster parenthood to a champion high school wrestler. The film is emotionally engaging, and carried by an amateur teenage actor who was cast for his wrestling prowess.

• “Liberal Arts.” Written, directed by, and starring Josh Radnor, an actor best known for his lead role in a television sit-com series, the film explores the age-old wish to ditch a miserable career and recover the verve and idealism of college life. Elizabeth Olson plays a fetching co-ed who is part of the attraction, as is the gorgeous campus of Kenyan College where Radnor went to school. A classic film of mid-life awakening.

• “Take This Last Waltz.” A visually stunning, Canadian film set in Toronto, written and directed by the talented dramatist, Sarah Polley, who grew up there. The film showcases the depth and range of Michelle Williams in the lead role of a sort-of-comfortably-married woman who becomes infatuated with a budding artist who lives across the street. Comedian Seth Rogen works well as the faithful/boring spouse. Polley’s film is mesmerizing, using magic realism to draw us into the inner life of Williams’ character and engage us with some powerful feelings that may be all too familiar, if forgotten.



And a Couple of Rare, High-Quality Features From Major Studios

• “The Best, Exotic, Marigold Hotel” – a triumphant story of starting over in elder years.

• “Side Effects” – Steven Soderbergh’s final film explores the underside of the medical, pharmaceutical, and financial industries, with many twists of plot, insights into the contemporary human condition, and another incredible performance by Rooney Mara.

Bill Charland