I sit with Deb Hiutton on NewsTalk 1010 to go over some of the week’s biggest entertainment stories and movies playing in theatres. We talk about how influencers and Onlyfans models dominate elite US artist visas, Spencer Pratt’s run for mayor of Los Angeles, how “Once Battle After Another” broke an awards season record and I review Ralph Fiennes in “The Choral.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I join the CTV NewsChanel to talk about the Lucy Liu heartbreaker “Rosemead,” the historical drama “The Choral” and the family dynamics of “Father Mother Sister Brother” and the feelgood divorce movie “Is This Thing On?”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the Lucy Liu heartbreaker “Rosemead,” the historical drama “The Choral” and the family dynamics of “Father Mother Sister Brother.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “The Choral,” a new historical drama starring Ralph Fiennes, and now playing in theatres, a controversial choirmaster takes the reigns of a Yorkshire choir, whose ranks have been devastated by World War I conscription.
CAST: Ralph Fiennes, Roger Allam, Mark Addy, Alun Armstrong, Robert Emms, and Simon Russell Beale. Directed by Nicholas Hytner.
REVIEW: “The Choral” is an old-fashioned, often witty diversion about music’s ability to bridge societal gaps, buoyed by a terrific lead performance by Ralph Fiennes.
Set in 1916 Yorkshire, the story is set against the backdrop of World War I, and the bloody battles of the Western Front. Their ranks depleted by conscription, the Choral Society in (the fictional town of) Ramsden is determined to continue, but first they’ll need new members and a new choirmaster.
As the locals and patients from a nearby military hospital audition for a spot in the choral, the Ramsden elders make a controversial choice by recruiting Dr. Henry Guthrie (Fiennes) as choirmaster. A gay atheist, his worst trait is that he’s also a Teutonophile; a fan of German culture.
When he chooses a piece by Bach for the choir he’s greeted with a brick is thrown through the rehearsal room window with a note calling him a “Hun muck.”
Shifting gears, Guthrie suggests staging Elgar’s oratorio “The Dream of Gerontius” instead. Although usually performed with 200 singers and a full orchestra, Guthrie persists, casting a Salvation Army worker (Amara Okereke) with a beautiful voice and Clyde (Jacob Dudman), a war veteran and talented tenor.
As the war rages, and choir members are called to battle, the choral society overcomes difficulties to provide Ramsden with a much-needed sense of harmony, both musical and societal.
There is much to enjoy in “The Choral.” As an ode to the redemptive power of art to create community and bring people together, it hits the right notes. “A man should hear a little music,” Guthrie says,” read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful that God has implanted in the human soul.”
It’s a lovely message, one at the heart of the film’s story, but when Alan Bennett’s screenplay expands to include repressed emotion, sexual awakenings and class divisions it becomes bloated with underdeveloped ideas.
Luckily, Fiennes, in a restrained but powerful performance, is the glue that holds everything together. His presence at the center of the story acts as a sounding board for the film’s various themes. Through him “The Choral’s” thoughts on community, human connection and repression come into focus, grounding the story with his humanity.
“The Choral” may try and play too many notes thematically, but when it sticks to the power of music, it strikes a chord.
Opening in 1938 Germany, “The Book Thief” begins with a child’s journey.
Liesel Meminger (French-Canadian actress Sophie Nélisse) is sent to live with foster parents, the kind-hearted World War I veteran who has refused to join the Nazi Party Hans Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush) and his stern wife Rosa (Emily Watson). The little girl can’t read or write, but carries with her The Gravedigger’s Handbook, a book she “borrowed” after finding it on the ground at her brother’s funeral.
The unintelligible words in that book set Liesel on her path. Hans, who calls the girl “Your Majesty,” teaches her to read, igniting a love of words and storytelling that ultimately changes the life of a young Jewish man named Max and helps Liesel make sense of life in Nazi Germany.
Closer in tone to “A Beautiful Life” than “Schindler’s List,” “The Book Thief” is a touching, if somewhat melodramatic look at Liesel’s life. Jam-packed full of big moments, with kids forced to grow up too fast and confront the harsh realities of life, it’s a tearjerker that earns most of its schmaltzy, salty drops, but not all.
Based on the international best-selling novel by Markus Zusak and directed by Brian Percival of “Downton Abbey,” the film finds its main strength in the web of relationships that intertwine around Liesel. From tow headed neighbor Rudy (Nico Liersch), who loves Liesel at first sight, to the instant connection between Hans and his new daughter, to the bond that forms between Max and the girl as she reads to him, these links (and performances) bring humanity to the story, preventing it from being overwhelmed by the film’s dramatic tendencies. I’m mean, the movie is narrated by Death (Roger Allam) and set, primarily on a street called Heaven. You just know this isn’t going to be subtle.
Some moments work very well.
Kristallnacht, set to a soundtrack of young, angelic voices singing anti-Semitic Hitler Youth songs while the soldiers attack Jewish citizens and destroy their homes and shops, is chilling.
Others feel over-the-top, no matter how deeply the camera focuses on Nélisse’s soulful blue saucer eyes. (MAJOR SPOILER!!!!!!!!) Rudy’s final moments almost play like a “Monty Python” sketch, regardless of how attached you have become to the character.
Luckily Rush is a lovely and touching presence. He’s terrific as Hans, a compassionate, light-hearted man who understands the gravity of the situation. Watson, as his wife, is a tough nut, but compassionate one, but it is Nélisse who is at the core of the film.
She hands in a delicate, natural performance that rarely succumbs to the film’s melodrama.
“The Book Thief” doesn’t always trust the story to work on its own, so it wedges in a few too many big moments—and one egregious bit of product placement—but when it relies on the performances, it works.
