The Way I See It Review TIFF 2020
The Plot
A documentary giving voice to former chief official White House photographer Pete Souza allowing him a platform to reflect on his lengthy career and express his views on his intimate time working in the Obama presidency and his clearly strong views on its aftermath
The Good
Throughout a lengthy and much lauded career working with several vastly different presidential administrations from Ronald Regan to Obama, Pete Souza is responsible for many highly iconic images that have consistently captured truly private moments for ‘the leaders of the free world’. The film serves as a very effective portrait of the daily reality of this truly unique role and the relationship Souza enjoyed with his Presidential masters.
The film showcase an astonishing archive of imagery and raw video footage illustrating the moments of presidential history and private triumphs & tragedy that his work captured. It’s an astonishing level of shared access and insight for history buffs. It’s also a very open reflection on the art and purpose of photography, particularly in the modern world. The film is very articulate in assessing the persistent value of still images in a world of 24hr video coverage and digital media.
The film is well composed and set against an upbeat soundtrack this is both jaunty and celebratory. It slickly takes audiences into the most intimate corners of the private corridors of political power. It’s shamelessly sentimental and particularly for those who already look back with nostalgic fondness for the seemingly optimistic Obama political era it will be a welcome escape from the worries of 2020.
The Bad
While Pete Souza has had a unique position and level of access to the highest levels of American political power it’s fairly clear from the opening moments of this documentary that he does have his own personal political views and that this documentary is very much a vehicle for him to express those views.
The film has barely begun when Souza immediately launches into strongly worded attacks on the Trump presidency. It’s perhaps not surprising to hear him express concerns echoed by half of American society, but it’s a clear choice to open the film with an explicit statement that this is a documentary designed primarily to show how a ‘real President should behave’. It immediately turns a shamelessly affectionate celebration of President Obama into an explicitly confrontational political statement. The persistent and explicit running attacks throughout the film on the Trump administration only really serve to make the film even more explicitly partisan.
Likewise while some will admire the work Souza produced, others in an age where every smart phone has a camera will be far less impressed by the simple act of constantly rattling off thousands of shots with a high speed digital camera. Souza’s steady stream of highly emotional often tear stained anecdotes also do risk being seen at times as somewhat self-aggrandizing. There’s only so many times you can proudly remind an audience of how special your job and access was before you start to sound a little too self-important.
It’s no accident that this film is being realised in a Presidential election year and it is undeniably an explicit act of political propaganda by one of President Obama’s most loyal servants. The films persistent overt political campaigning perhaps tarnishes the ability of the film to serve as a more apolitical portrait of the modern American history. In truth the film might as well actually be handing out Vote Biden stickers.
The Ugly Truth
The film serves as a valuable archive of intimate presidential images and footage. Those who admire former President Obama, especially those who loath the current administration will no doubt particularly welcome this shamelessly nostalgic love letter to those 8 years. Those who have a passion and fascination for politics and photography in a wider sense will also find plenty to captivate them. Though it goes without saying those of a different political persuasion will find Souza’s partisan personal opinions to be deeply off-putting.
Review by Russell Nelson
Enemies Of The State Review TIFF 2020
The Plot
A documentary following a seemingly ordinary American family from Indiana entangled in a bizarre web of secrets and lies after their son became a target of major U.S. government attention due to his allegedly criminal online activities, making them all in effect ‘Enemies Of the State’.
The Good
Enemies of The State is a very slickly polished production which delves headfirst into a murky online world exploding into mainstream public consciousness during the era of WikiLeaks and digital activist groups like Anonymous.
Pieced together from a well-crafted combination of dramatic re-enactments and actual in depth interview footage with the family and those connected with all aspects of their journey, it is a fully immersive portrait of Matthew Dehart and the world he inhabited.
What’s perhaps most important is that the film doesn’t merely promote a signal view of a complex case, or allow itself to serve purely as a form of propaganda for a particular political agenda. The film doesn’t shy away from presenting that the full range of allegations against Matt Dehart and presenting both sides of that story with absolutely equal vigour.
The film may be a documentary but at times, propelled by an ominous soundtrack and brooding visuals, it plays out more unashamedly like a wildly fantastic spy thriller that devolves gradually into a gritty crime drama.
The fact that it’s so well documented and coherently evidenced offer potential weight and credibility to at least some of the allegations made by the Dehart family. However the film is more mature and circumspect in reflecting on the evolving evidence in the case ultimately forcing audiences to confront their own preconceptions of guilt and innocence.
While showcasing the critical voices in the film about Dehart’s alleged treatment and the actions of government officials in pursing his case, it also presents enthusiastic argument that Dehart’s actions were legitimately illegal and his case mostly unconnected with any grand conspiracy.
The Bad
While the film offers a compelling documentation of one families journey it likely won’t change the wider opinions audiences will already have about the controversial subject matter of digital activism that ‘leaks’ confidential documents in the supposed greater public interest. Many people will instantly dismiss any legal pressure or consequence suffered by individuals even loosely involved in those actives as entirely self-inflicted.
For many people no matter what allegations of torture or unlawful abuse are levelled on the US government it will be swiftly dismissed as a justified response to deliberate actions of people choosing to deliberately break the law under the guise of ‘journalism’ or other forms of sell styled cyber activism.
It will be particularly easy in this instance for people wanting to dismiss any supposed concerns Matt Dehart’s case may raise by focusing on the fact he was supposedly guilty of online grooming and sexual abuse of minors in addition to his work with the loosely defined online entity Anonymous. These child pornography charges make it immediately harder to generate any meaningful sympathy for Dehart, whatever their actual validity.
Though the documentary works hard to show the family’s persistent outspoken belief that these are false charges politically motivated for national security reasons, it also features the FBI agent involved in those charges articulating them equally strongly and with apparent evidence.
Those charges combined with the family’s involvement with the US military and their admitted contact with foreign governments makes the case against Dehart far more complicated than a simple debate about the merits of whistleblowing. Though the film is fully self-aware of this fact, it may disappoint those hoping this film will purely serve as a critique of the US government and defence of heroic activists.
The Ugly Truth
Enemies of The State is a totally riveting piece of documentary cinema that captures a deeply complex portrait of the reality behind the often dramatized and sensationalised online world we now inhabit. It challenges audiences to ask difficult question about who to truly believe in confusing highly publicized and politicised cases such as this. This is must watch viewing for anyone who has previously found themselves hooked on Making A Murderer or films such as The Imposter.
Review by Russell Nelson
Mr Jones Review TIFF 2020
The Plot
An aspiring young welsh journalist travels to Moscow in the hopes of uncovering the truth behind the apparent utopia of Stalin’s Soviet Union. The discoveries he makes will forever change him and the world.
The Good
Recent years has seen a glut of films released finally exploring history’s most infamous ‘forgotten genocide’ the Holodomor, Stalin’s man made famine in the Ukraine. It’s a crime that killed millions but has only gradually become an accepted historical fact by a world that long found it politically inconvenient to acknowledge the true weight of this particular atrocity. Of the many films seeking to shine a light into that particular dark corner of human history Mr Jones is perhaps one of the most effective and well executed.
Permanently rising star James Norton delivers a compelling performance as real life British political aid and journalist Gareth Jones. His quest to expose the truth behind the incredible tales of soviet prosperity under Stalin’s brutal regime take him form the comfortable safety of Lloyd George’s offices to the desolate snow covered wastelands of the Soviet Union. Speaking softly in a perfectly honed welsh accent Norton captures the spirit of a man determined to seek the truth but swift traumatized by the horrifying reality he uncovers.
It’s always difficult to approach issues like the Holodomor on screen, because the sheer scale of suffering is not easily captured on screen. Following Mr Jones path to confronting this is a good way of easing audiences gradually into confronting this and putting them in a position to truly feel like an observer of mass starvation. Accompanying him on his nightmarish descent is deeply impactful.
Strong supporting turns from the excellent talents of Vanessa Kirby and Peter Sarsgaard also inject particular urgency into the film’s poignant rumination on the question of what it means to be a journalist and what price is worth paying for the truth. Jones’s own dilemma in whether to reveal his grim discoveries to the world, knowing it would lead to inevitably murderous repercussions from the regime, are effectively dramatized on screen.
Ultimately further tying the film’s narrative together by setting it against the backdrop of George Orwell drawing upon Mr Jones exploits to inspire his literary classic Animal Farm places the importance of his determined truth-seeking in further cultural context.
The Bad
The film’s uncompromising bleakness can be difficult viewing at times and this is certainly not a film for those who prefer to be merely entertained by cinema. While the film’s early portions offer a soft spoken comfort and appealing political intrigue, the grim shift in tone as Jones quest for the truth proceeds is equally traumatic for the character and audiences alike.
Obviously those horrifying revelation is the true purpose of the film, but it is perhaps only fair to warn audiences what kind of journey they are embarking on and the truly dark places it will force them to go. Confronting evil and human tragedy on an unimaginable scale is never easy, no matter how well told the story is.
The Ugly Truth
Mr Jones is an unflinching reminder of the true human cost of one of the worst acts of political evil of the 20th Century. It is a poignant tribute to one man’s fearless integrity and the millions of lives cruelly extinguished by the unimaginable evil he sought to expose. It is difficult but compelling viewing.
Review by Russell Nelson
Shiva Baby Review TIFF 2020
The Plot
While attending a Jewish funeral service with her overbearing parents a college student runs unexpectedly into her secret sugar daddy with increasingly awkward consequences.
The Good
Shiva Baby bursts with neurotic energy and a raw nervous wit. The film’s simple premise unfolds gradually with the irresistibly captivating appeal of a surprisingly well catered car crash. It’s a cringe worthy delight to be vicariously thrust into small intimate rooms with a constant array of shamelessly pushy parents, overachieving friends and judgmental relatives
Rachel Sennott is by turns alluring and deeply awkward as Danielle, the young woman struggling to hold it together while being slowly crushed under the constant weight of well-intentioned meddling criticism. She manages to maintain audience’s sympathy for her character, despite her own painfully obvious flaws. It quickly becomes clear that her seemingly listless selfishness is largely a response to the neurotic pressure cooker she inhabits. Giving her bad decisions and their painfully amusing consequences a little more of a sympathetic edge. It’s easier to tolerate anyone’s vices and immature behaviour when you’ve spent time in the company of their persistently overbearing family.
There have been many films that explore the uniquely painful uncertainty of people struggling to find their place in the world as college draws to a close and the daunting prospect of the real world and inescapable adulthood beckons. Perhaps The Graduate is the best known example of this and most clearly established just how much sexual identity and misadventure forms a part of this experience. Shiva Baby continues that tradition but with a uniquely Jewish twist.
In a very literal sense Sennott’s character Danielle is being confronted by her past, in the provocative form of her flirty former best friend Maya, and the embarrassing uncertainty of her own future. Watching her flail helplessly between the two and reach misguidedly for validation and affection is compelling viewing.
Molly Gordon is a an excellent fit for Maya, providing both the perfect confident overachieving counterpoint to Danielle and inject fresh dimension of awkwardness with the pairs simmering sexual history. It adds even more nervous tension to scenes already crammed with it by the unexpected and inescapable encounter with her shameless sugar daddy, played Danny Deferrari.
Likewise Polly Draper and Fred Melamed are sensationally effective as Danielle’s parents, embodying the very best and worst clichés Polly Draper perhaps deserves most praise for treading a fine line to make Danielle’s fast talking and relentless mother by turns both shamelessly demanding and genuinely caring. That careful balance between tactless outspokenness and actual best intentions is perhaps the most easily identifiable spirit of quintessentially Jewish comedy.
The Bad
For some people Rachel Sennott’s character might be just a little too much the architect of her own misfortune. The more unsavoury and inescapably selfish aspects of her character might push more squeamish audiences away. Likewise the film’s constant barrage of social anxiety and awkward situations might not appeal as much to those with less of a natural appetite for witnessing the misfortunes of others. There’s a rich vein of comedy to be mined from such situations but it’s also genuinely uncomfortable viewing.
The Ugly Truth
Shiva Baby is a rampantly sensuous and anxious slice of filmmaking that throws audiences into a rollercoaster of social awkwardness and uniquely Jewish culture. Provocative performances and tight scripting make it a compelling ride.
Review by Russell Nelson
One Night In Miami Review TIFF 2020
The Plot
A fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and NFL superstar Jim Brown gathered to discuss their roles in the civil rights movement and the monumental cultural upheaval of the 1960s.
The Good
Capturing the rare magic of this instantly recognisable collection of the most important cultural figures in African American history is a weighty responsibility. In 2020 under a climate of rising global tensions and growing uncertainty there is a particular sense of urgent significance to collectively examining and celebrating these figures.
One Night In Miami instantly succeeds in not just providing cliché impersonations of these famous men, but in giving them each a nuanced and fully human portrayal. Weaving together the lives of four men each remarkable in their own right but each speaking from very different places.
Eli Gorre is devastatingly charismatic as Cassius Clay, capturing the physical prowess and uniquely flamboyant wit of a young 22 year old Muhammad Ali. Kinglsey Ben-Adir likewise offers a variously soft spoken and fiery sincerity to his portrayal Malcolm X. Leslie Odom Jr and Aldis Hodge round out the astonishing quartet of performances as musical master Sam Cooke and Jim Brown. They each add a different flavour of passion and combine to create a genuine warm friendship full of wry charm and earnest affection.
There’s an innate fascination to seeing these landmark historical figures sharing even imagined intimate moments. These invented exchanges casually explore profound and complex subject matter in exactly the way the best late night conversations among close friends often seems uniquely capable of.
The film delves into the complex spectrum of attitudes and ideals existing in the African American community during a time of immense struggle and turmoil. Each of these figures reflect a different perspective on the struggle to change the lived experiences of a community, at times flaring into genuine angry tension and conflict. It’s perhaps more important today than ever to see four different men locked in earnest debate and exchange of deeply passionate ideas.
The Bad
One of the few criticisms you can make of One Night in Miami is that it’s perhaps a little reckless to invent so many private moments for people whose lives have been so extensively publicly documented. You could make the same criticism of almost any other historical biopic though and the film is very clear in its intention to capture the spirit of these men and what they represent rather than to speak explicitly on their behalf.
It’s may also be a little too tempting for audiences to immediately treat the period of history being explored on screen as completely interchangeable with the present day. Obviously much of the subject matter and themes explored seems deeply pertinent to an increasingly traumatic current climate, but our world today is not without its own unique myriad complexities. The voices of history speak to us vividly today but they cannot answer all our questions for us.
The Ugly Truth
One Night In Miami is well-crafted, poignant and powerful. Four sensational leading performances capture a nuanced snapshot of historical icons and a turning point in modern American history. It’s a celebration of that legacy of change packed with valuable wisdom and heart.
Review by Russell Nelson