Culver City Observer -

As we head into the final days of the pre-Christmas week, the movie blockbusters we’ve been anticipating all year are hitting theatres nationwide. While the scope of each of the films reviewed here this week are larger than life on many levels, it is the intimacy of each story - two of which are based on world-shattering true events - that remind us of the importance of family, friends and freedom, the latter as both a nation and as individual expression.

ZERO DARK THIRTY

We know where it began and we know how it ended, but what happens in between that leads to the end of the greatest manhunt in world history, is what Academy Award winners Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal deliver with ZERO DARK THIRTY. With breathtaking precision, Bigelow, directing a masterful script by Boal, takes us in a procedural fashion, through the red tape of hunting down Osama bin Laden in one of the tensest and most riveting films of the year.

Virtually void of politics and emotion, ZERO DARK THIRTY opens with static and a black screen as we hear an audio montage of voices on phones crying for help in the Twin Towers in NYC. Effectively chilling, your heart will go cold when the voices stop. And then the journey begins two years later with early water boarding interrogation of a captured nephew of bin Laden (which, quite honestly, are rather tame to watch) with novice field agent Maya in attendance as a spectator. Hopscotching through the years, the world and various agencies and departments within Homeland Security, FBI and CIA with pinpoint precision as Maya doggedly determines to capture and kill bin Laden. Although Bigelow provides title cards for time and location jumps, it is the depiction of seminal terrorist attacks that do more to trigger time and place recognition. So powerful is the imagery that one is immediately taken back in time recalling where they were when first hearing of the 2004 attack in Saudi Arabia, the 2005 bus bombing in London, the 2008 attack on the Karachi Marriott and, ultimately, the 2009 bombing at a CIA base in Afghanistan. But it is through Maya’s eyes that we see the world and the manhunt unfold as her dialogue, her narrative, takes us through the minefield of the manhunt, connecting the dots of not only the players, but the scope and magnitude of the undertaking and its cost - cost in terms of lives lost, manpower expended, money expended.

Bigelow and Boal embed the audience in the journey thanks to the film’s immersion in the Muslim world. This story isn’t being told from the safety of Langley in the United States. This is balls to the wall, feet on the ground in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda territory, heightening the sense of danger and foreboding. Key is that Maya (a real individual with the CIA who Boal has carefully altered sufficiently to protect her identity without altering the investigative facts) realizes the way to reach bin Laden is through his couriers which serves as a perfect springboard for intense field tracking.

When Seal Team Six ultimately raids the bin Laden compound, even knowing how the story ends, so invested and involved are we as an audience that we hold our collective breaths with Maya waiting to see and hear the raid play out. This one sequence is one of the single most impressive and impactful in movie history.

Jessica Chastain delivers on the best performances of the year - by anyone - male or female. Staying effectively emotionless, Chastain lures us into her own steel trap, firmly investing us in Maya’s convictions while evoking sympathy and tacit encouragement, as if the audience is willing her along. Overall, the entire cast reads like a “Who’s Who” - Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke, Mark Strong, Mark Duplass, Kyle Chandler, Harold Perrineau, Chris Pratt, Frank Grillo, Jennifer Ehle and even, James Gandolfini as Director of the CIA.

As comes as no surprise, Bigelow technically dazzles. Joining forces with cinematographer Greig Fraser and co-editors William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor, the visuals are as compelling as Boal’s script itself, and never moreso than with the climactic 40 minutes when Seal Team Six moves out at ZERO DARK THIRTY hours. Effectively moving between night vision and “real life” cover of darkness, Fraser’s visuals transport us into an emotional eeriness that hangs heavy and bodes fear. With rapier precision, Goldenberg and Tichenor give us eyes to every aspect of the bin Laden compound, cutting between each team as they move with cautious and controlled methodical deliberateness, daring anyone watching to even breathe. And then turning on a dime, rapid-fire dialogue, mid to close camera angles and quick, sharp edits, kick up the adrenalin as its time to move the body, grab the computers and get out of the house and onto the stealth choppers. To say this is dramatic is an understatement.

And again, as she did with THE HURT LOCKER, Bigelow ratchets up the authenticity and overall experience by shooting in Jordan, India and other Middle Eastern locations which are more than sufficient substitutes for Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.

Bigelow and Boal have done it again. A film destined to become as much a part of the fabric of America as the hunt for Osama bin Laden itself, ZERO DARK THIRTY is relentless and unshakable. And now, having finally seen all there is to see this year, I can say with all certainty it is unequivocally BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR.

THE IMPOSSIBLE

Moving on to another telling of a global event, we go from the mountains and deserts of the Middle East to the lush tropical setting of Thailand and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that decimated the entire region. With a script by Sergio Sanchez based on the true experiences of the Belon family, director Juan Antonio Bayona floods us with emotion and horror, and joy, of reality with THE IMPOSSIBLE.

Maria and Henry were vacationing with their three young boys, Lucas, Simon and Thomas, in Kha Lok, Thailand for Christmas. With a stunning ocean view from their suite, the vacation was idyllic. Christmas morning was filled with all the wonder and surprises that the holiday should hold for a family. But on December 26, all that wonder and childlike innocence disappeared when a massive tidal wave swept across the region, destroying everything in its wake. One minute, Maria is relaxing in a poolside chair, waving to her husband and sons who are in one of the hotel pools; the next, a wall of dirty brown, rushing water was slamming into them and everything in its path like a ton of concrete being poured over them.

With raging fury, we are swept under the waves with Maria. Far below the surface, her lungs ache for oxygen as her body is tossed about like a limp rag doll, being hammered and tortured by trees, cars, electrical poles, everything that also fallen victim to the tsunami. Finally giving in to what she believes is her ultimate fate, she stops struggling, but then is suddenly thrust to the surface, caught in a torrent of rushing water. Calling out for her family, suddenly she sees her eldest son Lucas. Like a mother lion bent on protecting her cub, adrenalin and a mother’s love kicks into high gear and she struggles to reunite herself with him and save him from what she is certain is death. Fighting currents, waves and structural objects in their paths, the two reach each other. But Maria has little fight left in her. She is badly injured, bleeding profusely. But a miracle happens, Lucas starts to take charge. He is determined for them to survive and before Maria’s eyes, he becomes a little man. Pushing her when she can go no further, helping save a toddler stranded from the water, salvaging a can of Coke and then finding help for them, Lucas assumes the responsibilities of head of the household as Henry, Simon and Thomas are nowhere in sight.

With Maria taken to a hospital, we see the chaos and turmoil the disaster has caused. Displaced families, the dead, the injured, not enough doctors or supplies. Death and destruction are everywhere. Maria, a doctor, knows how bad her own condition is and asks Lucas pointed questions about her body. The boy lies, wanting to keep his mother fighting. And while Maria and Lucas pray for their survival, we are then taken to another part of the region to see Henry walking barefoot among the dirt and debris frantically searching for Maria and Lucas. Miraculously, Simon and Thomas are also alive. Determined to not give up on Maria and Lucas, Henry puts his two youngest on a truck of refugees bound for the safety of higher ground while he stays to search.

And so the frantic journey begins for a hoped reunification of this family with neither knowing if the other is still alive.

As Maria, Naomi Watts stuns. Battered and bloodied, in the aftermath of the tsunami, she is essentially immobile in a hospital bed but through her eyes and feeble manipulation and movement of her lips and fingers, she makes you feel as if death is lingering. Powerful. Ewan McGregor captivates with his eyes and speech cadence, eliciting a frantic fear that is palpable. But it is Tom Holland who catapults to unseen emotional heights as the young Lucas that commands this film with the force of the tsunami. Holland IS the reason to see this film. A tour de force performance, he captures the emotional gravitas of the situation, making you want to reach out, grab him and hold him close. Particularly touching are Holland’s scenes when trying to help reunite people in the hospital as he runs from floor to floor, wing to wing, taking names and searching. There is nothing scripted about the emotion of Holland.

Director Bayona and his cinematographer Oscar Faura hold us captive for the first half of the film, and especially the first 15-20 minutes, as they meticulously recreate the onslaught of the tidal wave, assailing the senses with terror, horror and shock. And this is not a CGI tidal wave, although there are some CGI enhancements. Utilizing the second largest water tank in the world and 35,000 gallons of water plus multiple underwater cameras and cranes, the wave, torrents and underwater sequences are actually lensed with Naomi Watts and Tom Holland strapped into spinning chairs underwater that toss them amidst the waves and debris. The fear on their faces, particularly Watts, is real and unyielding, hammering the emotional impact of the situation as fiercely as the tsunami. Shooting at the actual hotel where the Belon family stayed and at one of the area hospitals, in cathartic fashion, survivors and residents of the area participated in the filming of THE IMPOSSIBLE.

Dramatic and unwavering, THE IMPOSSIBLE will make you believe that anything IS possible.

ON THE ROAD

Who hasn’t read Jack Kerouac’s iconic ON THE ROAD? Since its first publication in 1947, ON THE ROAD, has become a touchstone for generations - and a long anticipated and hoped for screen adaptation. Director Walter Salles and screenwriter, Jose Rivera, have now taken Kerouac’s novel (which was edited from his original 120 foot scroll. Yes, Kerouac scribbled out the novel over the course of 3 weeks on a scroll of paper) and delivered it in all of its period-perfect glory to the big screen. With an almost episodic feel and tone of Hunter S. Thompson meets Charles Bukowski, ON THE ROAD is glossy, slick and emotionally gritty and garners an impeccable standout performance by Sam Riley as Sal Paradise aka Kerouac in the novel.

We all know (or should know) the story. Sal Paradise (aka Jack Kerouac) is a young writer whose life gets turned on its head with the arrival of hipster con-man, Dean Moriarty (aka Neal Cassady). With a silken Texas drawl, Dean could sell snow to the Eskimos, but as it is, convinces Sal to take part in his free-spirited Benzedrene-fueled lifestyle, complete with sexual exploration, petty theft, con jobs, and experiencing the “true” America over the course of several years. With an odd assortment of characters from all walks of life, we meet Dean’s girlfriend Marylou (aka LuAnne) , his eventual wife Camille (Carolyn Cassady), Carlo (aka Allen Ginsberg)- “best friend” of Dean and Sal, Old Bull Lee and his wife Jane (William S. Burroughs and Joan Vollmer), and Galatea and Ed Dunkel (Helen and Al Hinkle).

While many believe that Dean is the film’s protagonist, I beg to differ and see it as being Sal who serves as our eyes not just visually and psychologically in the story, but into the character of Dean. As Sal, Sam Riley brings a tacit and observant nuance that draws us into Dean's juvenile frat boy mind set. He also serves to keep us at arm's length lest we fall prey to Dean's charms and lies. Riley is riveting. But then so is Garrett Hedlund. Gorgeous, hunky, sexy. On the one hand a charmer as Dean, but on the other, reckless with complete disregard for everyone and everything except himself, and even then, he has no respect for himself. Hedlund makes Dean unredeemable and by film's midpoint, unlikeable. You stop even rooting for him. He is the one character that stagnates. He never grows. He only wallows. Kristen Stewart, attached to the project for many years, brings a promiscuous naivete and freedom laced with sadness to Marylou, while Tom Sturridge, as Carlo, takes me by surprise, showing his range as an actor, delivering a unique and flawed character.

Adapted for the screen by Jose Rivera, interesting is that while all of the characters are emotionally flawed, it is these 4 principals that each hides behind a false sense of bravado. We see the armor chink and reality set in with 3 of them as they grow and mature, while the 4th, Dean, just denigrates further and further, but still blustering with false dreams. Fascinating structure.

The real star of ON THE ROAD, however, is cinematographer Eric Gautier whose lighting and framing presents a lush rich tapestried travelogue of America and life. So visually textured, there are moments you feel as if you can smell the sweat and smoke in the car, the stale tequila and smell of sex and whores mixed with the dust of the road in Mexico. Visuals are so impactful they engage the other senses. Lensing and framing is such that while there is a great sense of freedom and the open road of life, you also feel the intimacy and claustrophobic nature of the walls of life bearing down and closing in on each character. And going hand in hand with Gautier’s work is that of production designer Carlos Conti who, thanks to impeccable research, perfectly captures the era right down to a 1940's Hudson while the work of editor Francois Gedigier is instrumental in defining the emotional and psychological insight and intimacy of each character as well as the emotional freneticism of ringleader Dean.

ON THE ROAD takes you on a visual and emotionally visceral experience of freedom and freedom of expression.

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