Liberal Arts, a film by Josh Radnor, with Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins

Showing all posts about Richard Jenkins

Liberal Arts, a film by Josh Radnor, with Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins

10 December 2012

Say what you will about Liberal Arts degrees, ridiculed by some as glorified courses in general knowledge that effectively leave students without a real education, but like it or not, life, or the university of hard knocks, eventually makes degree holders out of us all. Even if our alma mater is one we never really graduate from.

This is something Jesse (Josh Radnor), discovers in Liberal Arts, trailer, also Radnor’s second directing effort following 2010’s Happythankyoumoreplease, when he returns to his former college for the retirement dinner of Peter Hoberg (Richard Jenkins), a professor he greatly respected during his days as an under-graduate.

Now 35, trapped in a job in New York that offers no fulfilment, and single again after another woman walked out on him, Jesse is delighted to be back on his leafy old stomping ground, at Ohio’s Kenyon College, once more. While dining later with friends of Peter’s, Jesse meets Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen), a 19 year old sophomore at the university.

In the days and weeks that follow, Jesse and Zibby discover, despite their age difference, that they have numerous shared interests through the hand written letters they exchange after Jesse returns to New York. And while both realise that a romantic attraction is forming, Jesse is reluctant to be any more than a friend to Zibby.

It is the reticence to see Jesse and Zibby, who, when in her element, appears to be wiser to the world than her older would-be beau, form a serious relationship, that takes away much of the substance Liberal Arts could have had. The question is though, was this out of a fear of offending certain viewer sensibilities, or not?

Otherwise Radnor’s second feature, even if it gets a little muddled along the way, bestows something of a general knowledge education in itself, and of course more, even if it regards so-called May to December romances as unheard of. But you haven’t lived, or languished, unless you’ve studied the Liberal Arts, and dated beyond your years, and that much it gets right.

Originally published Monday 10 December 2012, with subsequent revisions, updates to lapsed URLs, etc.

Let Me In, a film by Matt Reeves, with Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee

15 October 2010

Let Me In, trailer, is American director Matt Reeves’ take of the 2008 Swedish film Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in), about a lonely twelve year old boy who befriends a vampire girl of apparently the same age, after she moves in next door.

Let Me In is the latest in a line of Hollywood remakes of European films. It follows on from the likes of this year’s Neil LaBute version of the 2007 British made Death at a Funeral, or David Fincher’s upcoming interpretation of The Millennium Trilogy book series. This includes a re-rendering of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which is slated for release in late 2011.

Twelve year old Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) lives with his separated mother (Cara Buono) in the New Mexico town of Los Alamos, but has few friends. Life at school isn’t much fun either, he is often the target of taunts and assaults from a group of older bullies. But Owen finds some solace playing puzzle games, or drifting in and out of an imaginary world in his mind.

He is intrigued by the arrival of a girl, Abby (Chloe Moretz), who seems to be his age, and a man who appears to be her father (Richard Jenkins), in the apartment next door. But Abby has a few quirks Owen can’t make sense of, such as walking around barefoot in the snow. Or the ability to quietly appear, without warning, where ever he is.

While Abby tells Owen on their first meeting they cannot be friends, they nonetheless become close. Meanwhile the town is the grip of a macabre series of murders, which has local police detective (Elias Koteas) thinking a satanic ritual killer is on the loose.

As the murders become more frequent, and begin occurring ever closer to his home though, Owen begins to realise Abby is no normal twelve year old girl. In fact he begins to suspect she might be involved. But does he report her, the only friend he has ever had, or does he instead help her?

The prospect of a remake of any reasonably highly regarded film is enough to strike dread into the minds of many film-goers, something Reeves was acutely aware of, but here, in the director of Cloverfield, is a safe pair of hands. While I haven’t seen the Swedish original, there’s little to fault.

Perhaps there have been a few teen vampire romance films too many recently, but Reeves strikes the right balance between suspense and action, horror and romance/friendship. There are plenty of moments that make Let Me In feel like another sort of story all together.

Originally published Friday 15 October 2010.