Tag Archives: Lucy Boynton

Biography, Drama, History, Independent Feature, Movie Reviews, Movies

REVIEW: “CHEVALIER” (2023) SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

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The life of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges is definitely one that needs to be told. He was an accomplished man, a scholar, fencer, a virtuoso at the violin, besting even the likes of one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, or so the story goes. Most of all, he was a composer and a much sought after one at that. All this took place from 1745-1799 to be exact, during Marie Antoinette’s reign. But because of who he was, his storied life was all but erased from history as we know it thanks to one little guy named Napolean Bonaparte’ when he reinstated slavery in France.

And this is where “CHEVALIER” the film steps into play boasting a based on a true story – screenplay by Stefani Robinson that doesn’t escape the predictability of the usual bio-pic story structure, as well as the possible taking of a few liberties here and there. Director Stephen Williams does turn this into a surprisingly captivating look at the life story of the composer who grew up the illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Joseph Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Bologne rises to improbable heights in French society hence him being crowned with the title of Chevalier, taking his suffix from his father, “de Saint-Georges”—named after a plantation in Guadeloupe—to become known as ‘Chevalier de Saint-Georges’. The film chronicles his talent, his supposed ill-fated love affair with Marie Josephine (Samara Weaving), and his falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court. Chevalier bucked the norm and competed to try to get appointed as the head of the Paris Opera at one point, but the Opera’s prima donnas, notably La Guimard (Minnie Driver), the Operatic Vocalist Queen of the time, went to Queen Marie Antoinette and halted his potential candidacy because they didn’t want to take orders from a ‘mulatto’ or Creole as he could be called. In the film, they show it as he would not bed the elder Guimard, again, possibly a small liberte’ taken here.

What is incredibly beautiful here is the music and the costumes. Both coming at you with such a vibrance with Harrison performing spectacularly on the violin in a fun opening moment. There is bound to be nominations for both of these, and Kelvin Harrison Jr., having been my one to watch a few years back, he has not failed me yet and delivers a ‘bonne performance’ here as well. Chevalier can feel drawn out at times and even predictable, and overall the pacing of the film is definitely a little strange occasionally, but the actors take it and make it the compelling story that it is.

Even with it’s ups and downs, It’s a sensitive topic, yet also tremendously inspiring narrative set to incredible classical music that allows it to have a powerful conclusion.

Grade: C+

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Review Screening: Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

“CHEVALIER” FROM SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES IS OUT IN THEATERS FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

Biography, Drama, Movie Reviews, Musical

REVIEW: “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY” (2018) 20th Century Fox

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‘Is this the real life?’ ‘Is this just fantasy?’ This is a big question to answer but I do know there is ‘no escape from reality!!’ – And I also know it’s taken me almost two weeks to write about this – even though I feel like I’ve been non-stop talking about it to others online and everywhere of how much I loved it. Even though it’s been a bit, I wanted to wait to release date here in the US to put the review out there. It’s clear at this point many do not, and each person definitely gets their own opinion. Haters are gonna hate and nitpick to find something wrong with anything. And because of the much publicized problems in the making of this movie, I think many are walking into it with the mindset of wanting to dissect it and hate it. But as Freddy would say – on with the show and here, for better or worse, is my two cents view/review!

Freddie Mercury is undeniably a legendary rock god of song. With his 4-octave voice and operatic performances, the artist made Queen, one of the most prodigious rock bands in the history of music. Not to mention Brian May’s riffs. The cinema world has been slow to to recognize this fact, and for me, remiss to tell the remarkable story of the oft blend of music they produced. A story of the band..and the person.. as a more beautiful or tragic tale of Mercury’s life has really never been told except in documentary style. Finally, we get Bohemian Rhapsody– where Rami Malek has the heavy task of playing this legendary and somewhat controversial singer.

There are those who view this a simply frustratingly superficial biopic of the rock-band Queen, one that glosses over the more complex and decadent aspects of lead singer Freddie Mercury’s life. Then there are others who embrace what the makers clearly intended it to be – a warm-hearted crowd-pleaser that revels in the band as a creative force, with emphasis on its charismatic frontman. I’m in the latter portion of this group. I went to a media screening almost two weeks ago and – while acknowledging some of its detractors’ points – I had an undeniably great time along with a whole theatre of people who laughed, cried, got chills and were ROCKED to the soles of our feet.

Plot-wise the film is standard, charting Queen’s stellar ascent, while providing a degree of insight into the lead singer’s turbulent live, both personal and with his band. It kicks off around the time the young Farrokh Bulsara aka Freddie Mercury who is living with his immigrant Parsi family in Middlesex at the time, meets lead guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) and in the most cheeky of ways, invites himself into their band ‘Smile’. The evolution of Smile into “Queen” and Farrokh into magnetic stage performer Freddie is charted ever so swiftly in the first part of the film, as is the vocalist’s relationship with girlfriend Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) – the woman who would end up being his closest lifelong friend. But there are tensions too. Mercury’s conflict regarding his sexuality throws his personal life into turmoil, while excess and ego put him at odds with his bandmates and record company.

But make no mistake as to what the film is. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a big, brash entertainment that hits all the highlights of Queen’s career – from the creation of the movie’s title song to the band’s triumphant Live Aid performance in 1985. With Dexter Fletcher having replaced Bryan Singer as director partway through the shoot, it still manages to be a slick and seamless piece of film making, at its most thrilling during the dynamic on-stage sequences. There’s an easy and often funny sense of camaraderie between the Queen members, although the others are really only sketched – May for all his iconic guitar sound is the calm voice of reason, Taylor gets the womanizer label and bassist John Deacon the quiet endearing one. Meanwhile the band’s lawyer Jim ‘Miami’ Beach (Tom Hollander) a sort of ‘5th member’ adds some scene-stealing deadpan humour that breaks up the some of the more tense moments giving you a chance to have a laugh also.

I’ve always believed the true essence of success of any band and/or great artist isn’t always the multi platinum albums or the record deals or the fame, but it’s quite possibly that moment when a crowd of a hundred thousand people sing back your song in unison which must be totally euphoric and empowering feeling to have. Watching that, as I did during the Live Aid concert gave me chills and fill with glowing warmth to the point that I will never see it the same view again.

But this show belongs without argument to Rami Malek as Mercury. Malek physically and vocally transforms himself into the singer. When he struts about the stage wielding his mike-stand and hyping up the crowd, it feels less an impersonation and more a channeling of the actual Freddie – intoxicating and joyous like the real deal. He convinces as the character elsewhere too. His wrangles with his band-mates nicely convey the clash between middle-class student rockers and this flamboyant working-class immigrant. And the scenes with Mary are heartfelt and at times painfully sad. If the script only hints at Mercury’s isolation and at his fear once HIV becomes a part of his life, Malek’s performance does much to convey the rest. All the supporting cast do so well. Gwilym Lee as Brian May, made me feel at times while watching that he was May – that is how astoundingly much he looked the part. Mazello and Hardy as Deacon & Taylor – were simply icing on the cake of how much they came across as this legendary band.

The production’s pursuit of a ‘friendly rating’ admittedly also means that much of Freddie’s crazy lifestyle is only alluded to, and that’s fine. And while the film does convey the tragedy of his illness and early passing, it does forego much of his most probable in-depth AIDS battle in favour of a victorious concert ending. But I get it, it’s not a film about that or that he broke my heart by not informing us till two days before his passing. Bohemian Rhapsody never pretends to be anything more than a celebration of the man and the band – a music-heavy reminder of what a potent and quite ingenious combination they were, whatever the personal conflicts of their lead singer. I have a few wonderful stories of my own of Freddie & Queen and this brought everyone of those fantastic memories back for me.

And while I am aware that this wasn’t the ‘digging deep’ movie that some might have wanted – and honestly if you want every moment in there, this film would be 5 hours long, but instead it swept right along pacing each moment with something you needed to know.. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it gave me chills and most of all – it made me miss Fred and it damn well rocked me.

Grade: A-
@pegsatthemovies

Media Review Screening: Monday, October 22, 2018 ~ Courtesy of 20th Century Fox
BOEHMIAN RHAPSODY IS NOW PLAYING WORLDWIDE – SEE THIS MOVIE

1930's, Crime, Drama, Movie Reviews, Movies, Mystery

REVIEW: “MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS” (2017) 20th Century Fox

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CHOO CHOO!! ALL ABOARD..ALL ABOARD THE ORIENT EXPRESS! Murder! Mayham! Suspense!

Yes..If you’ve read Dame Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel “MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS” or have seen the 1974 version you know the storyline. If not, or like me, couldn’t remember all of it – what’s left to deal with then, is how well this one is done and of course the big ‘whodunnit’ reveal at the end.

The story of master detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) who is hoping for a break after numerous years of solving cases, jumps onboard The Orient Express thanks to friend Bouc (Tom Bateman) who was able to secure him this spot. While onboard, Poirot ends up having to solve a murder committed while traveling with 12 other passengers on The Orient Ecpress – a train that made traveling in style from West-East axis and back again, very popular.

Director and lead actor Branagh takes on the popular story, with a nod to nostalgia in three ways. First, the flair of the train travel at that time, which was associated with adventure, pleasure and discovery, must be brought back to life. Second, the charm of the detective-witty inquiry that the character is closely linked to that era. And thirdly, a remake must also pay homage to the original film and the book itself, because Agatha Christie stories are still hugely popular and it’s 1974 version brought much critical and acting acclaim. Thus, Branagh with his well-known cast, recognizes this and with a good but alas not perfect effort, tries to retain that feel. Its highlights include dazzling production design, period costumes and of course I would be remiss to not mention the highly distracting signature moustache! The opening portion of the train journey is spent as you would expect – introducing us the characters on the train. But it’s the last 30 minutes of the film where the detective really gets into why each character is there and what part they play in the film which make that the most interesting part of the film.

Branagh as Poirot, does a fine job mixing in the brilliant detective with the comedic, witty sarcasm the character is known for. It’s always a kick to see Dame Judi Dench, here as Russian Princess Dragomiroff, and the wonderful Olivia Coleman (one of my personal favourites) as her besieged maid, Hildegarde Schmidt. But they have literally nothing to do and are almost shamefully underused. Leslie Odom, Jr. as Dr. Arbuthnot is the racial switch in the casting – as Sean Connery had the role in the 1974 film – shows welcome daring for a remake that plays things stodgily by the book.
Michelle Pfeiffer shines in perhaps the meatiest – certainly the cheekiest – role as Caroline Hubbard, but those such as Daisy Ridley as Miss Mary Debenham shows that even her secret relationship with another passenger can’t give Ridley’s character enough boost to make it stand out as much as Pfeiffer does with her role – though both of these characters have a bigger chunk of the many supporting roles. Derek Jacobi as Edward Masterman & Willem Dafoe as ‘Austrian scientist’ Gerhard Hardman, both have secrets but can’t help but appear simply there for the ride. There’s a decent dramatic turn from Josh Gad as Hector MacQueen, though it might be because you only know his work as a comedian so his drama performance get a tick of notice. Also underused are Lucy Boynton and Sergei Polunin as Count & Countess Andrenyi who have a brilliant scene with Branagh but never really do anything else. Johnny Depp plays that typical smarmy-charmy type crook here which completely works for his character Edward Ratchett. Penelope Cruz on the other hand, has it worse as the religious introvert Pilar Estravados. It hard as I always find her work to be sub-par in English movies as she excels so well in the Spanish ones, I end up feeling a bit of a let down by them and here she is barely a blip on the Orient Express. So for all the resplendence of this cast, it’s hard not to feel that Branagh isn’t really pushing any of them to work.

Conclusion: Branagh’s staging of this famous crime thriller tries to do justice to the charm and the time-frame of the original with visual charms, a well-known cast and a little humor. However, this succeeds less convincingly than hoped.

Grade: C+
@pegsatthemovies