ADULT WEEKEND AT THE MULTIPLEX
Watched 'Magazine Dreams' and 'Black Bag'
Had a Saturday and Sunday cinema weekend for the first time in a while. Maybe because spring is creeping in or perhaps because there were two adult movies at my favorite multiplex. Aside from the gang of kids and parents coming in and out of ‘Snow White,’ the lower east side theater was full of grown people, including many gray beards like myself.
Saturday afternoon I went to see 'Magazine Dreams.' Incredible performance by Jonathan Majors anchors a film that can't quite stick the third act landing. Despite that Majors and director/writer Elijah Bynum have made a mostly successful 21st century ‘Taxi Driver’, but updated to depict contemporary INCEL culture. Not an easy film to recommend to folks who aren't used to challenging work, particularly since the black male protagonist doesn't conform to any of the "positive" imagery so many black viewers seek. But ‘Magazine Dreams’ nails the spiritual emptiness, the desire to be "seen" in a sea of digital images, and obsessive nature this breeds in all its neediness and brutality. Majors, who’s career has been derailed by a domestic violence conviction, is a thoughtful, gifted and bold actor. Whatever demons he has were clearly channeled into this dysfunctional character. This film was shot before his downfall and shelved because of it. His character’s two interactions with a women in the film are awkward and odd, defined by the mental and chemical chains on his mind created by his body building obsession. There’s a homo eroticism in ‘Magazine Dreams’ that reaches its logical conclusion and almost drives the character over the edge. A strong work, but definitely not a first date movie. In fact the audience I saw the film was mostly dudes either alone or in packs, who sat quietly throughout the film.
On Sunday my wife and I went to see 'Black Bag' at a 5pm showing. The crowd was mostly thirty plus with lots of married couples, like my wife and I. I mention this because 'Black Bag' is the kind of adult film that rarely ends up in mainstream cinemas now away days and that it found immensely satisfying. Clever script, excellent actors and the masterful Steve Soderbergh shooting, editing and directing. A big plus was the wardrobe. The women were beautifully turned out and the men looked crisp in sharp suits. Love that bespoke British tailoring. I want to steal Michael Fassbender's combinations of turtlenecks and muted color suits. Cool shades too. The script had an nicely used "MacGuffin" to move things along and establish the stakes. Nice homage to 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' (Fassbender’s name is George like John Le Carre’s protagonist) in the hunt for a double agent. But in Le Carre’s books George’s wife is an off-camera agent of chaos. Here the love between Fassbender and Cate Blanchett is the glue that cements the narrative. In fact it is screenwriter David Koepp’s observations about the nature of relationships that held the whole thing together. After the film ended a few older couples started chatting about the film and joking about marriage as they walked out. My wife and I ended up having a long talk about our love story and relationships that night. Kudos to the cast and crew for inspiring that.