Technique trumps story in disappointing Presence
Steven Soderbergh has always struck me as an artist who’s
easily bored. His latest, Presence, is a Jekyll-and-Hyde exercise, an
initially intriguing take on the ghost story genre that ultimately falls victim
to its clichés. Shot with one camera, the perspective of the entire movie is
seen through that of a tortured spirit. It’s simple change, but as seen with
the recent In a Violent Nature, a small adjustment can completely alter the
way in which a story is told and perceived. Initially, Soderbergh’s approach
proves unnerving, yet in service to David Koepp’s hackneyed script, it soon
becomes tedious.
The film begins with an open house, the realtor, Cece (Julia
Fox), scurrying about, confident she’ll be able to move the spacious, classic
Victorian in question. As the agent takes Chris (Chris Sullivan), Rebekah (Lucy
Liu) and their teen children, Chloe and Tyler (Callina Liang and Eddy Mady), on
a tour of the home, this allows Soderbergh the opportunity to familiarize the
viewer with the space, the spirit following them about, going from room to
room, getting familiar with those it will be living with.
Throughout, scenes fade to black and jump ahead to
indeterminate times in the future. We see the family move in, detect tension
growing between the adults, see Rebekah engage in some dubious business
practices, witness her dote on Tyler, resulting in Chole feeling alienated and
seeking solace with her father. We witness all of this from the perspective of
the ghost, who travels indiscriminately through the house, eavesdropping on the
family at will.
Initially, this approach proves effective as Soderbergh
often moves the camera in and lets it sit next to the characters. Their
ignorance of the entity’s close proximity to them proves unnerving, as we wait
for it to make its presence known. As their actions become more and more
intimate, the voyeuristic nature of this exercise leads to genuinely tense
moments.
However, that’s as far as it goes, the director content with
making the viewer uncomfortable and nothing more. A hoary subplot concerning
two of Chole’s friends having died under mysterious circumstances is
introduced, a development that comes off as labored rather than inspired. What
develops for it is not a horror story but a rather tepidly executed thriller
which, due to the film’s omniscient perspective, never generates any suspense.
Scenes in which Chloe finds herself in peril never seem all that dire, as it
becomes obvious early on where the threat lies and the household spirit will
somehow intervene. In the end, Koepp employs a “Fantasma ex machina” that lands
with a thud.
When all is said and done, Presence is not so much a
movie as it is an exercise. Focusing most on the technique used in making it,
Soderbergh has delivered a half-baked diversion, its narrative foundation not
strong enough to support its overt stylistic approach. In theaters.
Flight soars above cliches
Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk is a collection of cliches
that plays much better than it should.
Elevated by committed performances from its cast, its snappy sense of
pace keeps you from questioning the logic of it all. That being said, Jared Rosenberg’s script is
smart in the way it answers the many nagging questions its premise is freighted
with, though it can’t avoid some third-act developments that should be taken
with a grain of salt.
Madolyn (Michelle Dockery) is an air marshal with something
to prove. After having had an assignment go horribly sideways, she’s been given
the chance to redeem herself. She’s been assigned to track down Winston (Topher
Grace), an accountant with information that could put a mob boss named Moretti
behind bars. She tracks him down in, of all places, the wilds of Alaska and
before you can say “Let’s make a deal,” the numbers-cruncher decides to cut a
deal with the Feds.
However, the problem is he needs to be in New York in less
than 48 hours to testify or his ex-boss walks. As a result, Madolyn is forced
to hire a bush pilot, Daryl (Mark Whalberg), to fly them back to civilization.
The agent realizes something’s amiss from the start and she’s proven right when
her hired hand attacks her and tries to kill Winston. Seems Moretti’s reach
extends beyond the Big Apple.
What plays out is essentially a chamber play in the air, the
three principals confined in the flying death trap, Madolyn ultimately forced
to pilot the plane once Daryl is contained. Along the way, her background as well as
Winston’s is revealed, the two performers’ committed turns helping
these familiar stories seem fresh.
Dockery is put through the ringer, both physically and
emotionally. As Madolyn’s hardened exterior begins to crack, the actress
conveys a sense of vulnerability that only makes her ensuing displays of
tenacity and strength more impressive. Meanwhile, Grace is playing a variation
of a role he’s honed to perfection over the years. Unctuous and cowardly, the
actor manages to ease the tension with much-needed levity throughout. As their
situation becomes increasingly dire, Winston’s long-suppressed sense of morality
comes to the fore, a believable change due to Grace’s sincere approach.
As for Wahlberg, he’s having a good time, rending the
interior of their small setting with an over-the-top performance that’s great
fun to watch. Sporting a good ole boy
persona, his overbearing personality is repellent from the start, only getting
worse as Daryl’s true nature is revealed. Wahlberg understands the assignment,
giving us a villain we love to hate.
A couple of lapses in logic mar the finale, but give
Rosenberg and Gibson credit for wrapping things up quickly. In the hands of so
many contemporary directors, this would have become a bloated, redundant
actioner that would have overstayed its welcome. As it is, Flight is
tightly rendered piece of popcorn entertainment that delivers the sort of
thrills that are enjoyed in the moment, forgotten by the time you get to the
parking lot. In theaters.
Back a slick piece of been there, done that
I’m going to give writer/director Seth Gordon the benefit of
the doubt and assume that he wrote the script for Back in Action on a
dare. I’m imagining it involved a challenge of coming up with a movie that did not
contain a single original idea. If that
were the case, then he completely succeeded in accomplishing this dubious goal.
The other thing I am going to assume is that a very large check was dangled in
front of Cameron Diaz or that she was extremely bored. Those could be the only
two reasons why the actress would come out of her 10-year retirement for this
lackluster affair.
Though Action is nothing more than a retread, at least it
doesn’t have an air of desperation about it. It’s obvious all involved are
having a good time and the sense is that a page was taken from the Adam Sandler
production playbook. That’s when a performer gathers his family and friends
together to make a movie that takes place at various destination locations. In
a sense, it’s a vacation the studio pays for.
Joining Diaz is Jamie Foxx, the duo playing Emily and Matt,
a pair of married spies who have gone into hiding after faking their deaths.
Their suburban bliss is disrupted when an altercation they’re involved in is
recorded and put on social media. Before you know it, their old foes come
knocking on – actually smashing in – their front door. Suddenly, they find
themselves on the run, their two teenage children, Alice (McKenna Roberts) and
Leo (Rylan Jackson) in tow, confused and surprised by seeing their mom and dad
kick butt and take names with impunity.
Ostensibly a remake of Mark Wahlberg’s The Family Plan, the movie hums along, hitting every expected beat with, it must be said,
professionalism and energy. The action sequences, of which there are many, are
imaginatively rendered, while the cast is invested in this ludicrous exercise,
bringing a sincerity to the material it doesn’t deserve.
On that note, Foxx and Diaz are very good together, their
chemistry natural and easy, their repartee snappy and fun. Equally effective
are their interactions with Roberts and Jackson, the child actors smart,
responsive and appealing. The likability the quartet exudes helps the film over
its rough spots and had me wishing they’d be reunited in a movie with a better
script.
Back in Action is the very definition of a popcorn
movie. Slickly produced and disposable,
it’s the sort of film you’ll find yourself glancing over at while working on
your laptop or stopping to occasionally chuckle over as it plays in the
background. That it’s hardly memorable will prove useful to the next filmmaker
who decides to recycle its plot once again. Streaming on Netflix.
This post was originally published on here
