A look at letters through the camera's lens

When the NYT published an OpEd about the death of letter-writing the other day, many commentators engaged in a collective eye-roll. It isn’t the medium that matters, they countered, so long as we’re still writing (“obviously” was the implied addendum). Others waxed nostalgic about their cache of love letters and cited the personal immediacy, as opposed to the temporal immediacy of email, of holding a letter that had once been touched by the person who wrote it.
   
Unsurprisingly, Hollywood has long made use of the romantic and psychological aspects of letters. They can provide a glimpse into a character’s thought process without the use of a narrator, they can serve as a convenient plot point, they can even help illuminate character through a quick shot of his or her handwriting. The latter was of great importance to the 1940 crime film The Letter, in which Bette Davis’ acquittal or condemnation hinged upon a letter written in her hand. Not to hop aboard the Luddites’ horse-drawn bandwagon, but being caught via an email trace doesn’t quite match the ironic richness of a baddy who has literally sealed her own fate.

Even with their growing archaism, letters continue to play a cinematic role beyond mere props or plot devices in Victorian novel adaptations. Whether it’s Wes Anderson building the foundation of his runaways' love story through an epistolary correspondence in Moonrise Kingdom, or David Lowery using letters as a link between Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck in a film that otherwise sees the lovers in just three scenes together in Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, or Briony (Saoirse Ronan) abusing her role as a letter-carrying messenger in Atonement, letters have yet to be narratively discarded.

Our latest list is a look at some epistolary highlights in both classic and recent films. It’s a brief one, so let us know what we’ve missed in the comments below:

The Letter (1940)
Available on Netflix
A wealthy, married woman (Bette Davis) murders a well-to-do man in the middle of the night in Malaya. She claims the man was the aggressor and she shot him to save her honor. But when a damning letter addressed to the victim, written in the woman’s hand, surfaces, the woman and her lawyer must do everything they can to keep the evidence from coming to light.
 

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Available on Netflix
Co-workers at a gift shop in Budapest, Alfred Kralik (Jimmy Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullivan) simply cannot get along. Each finds the other insufferable, and certainly not nearly as cultured and amiable and generally wonderful as their respective pen pals – right? Based on the play Parfumerie, the same source material for 1998’s You’ve Got Mail.
 

Vertigo (1958)
Available on Netflix and streaming on Hulu
Detective Scottie Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart) has been having a rough time of it ever since he watched a criminal fall to his death. Now Scottie’s got a bad case of vertigo, though that doesn’t stop him from taking what should be an easy if odd case: trail a friend’s wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak), because the friend (Tom Helmore) fears she’s suicidal. His concern proves tragically justified when Scottie, too afraid to pursue Madeleine to the top of a tower, watches her throw herself to her death. When he finds a woman who looks just like Madeleine, whom he had begun to love, months later, he forces her to dress up and adhere to his ideal. But this new woman has secrets of her own – which she explains in a letter that helps out the audience a great deal, even if she rips it up before poor Scottie can catch a glimpse.
 

Atonement (1997)
Available on Netflix
The worst little sister of all time, Briony (Saoirse Ronan) is charged with delivering a love letter from Robbie (James McAvoy), the son of a family servant, to her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley). Briony has a crush on Robbie, and is both confused and angered when she witnesses a moment of sexual tension between the two. She soon finds an outlet for her jealousy when an assault is committed later that night. Briony accuses Robbie, using the explicit letter he’s given her as proof of his deviant mind. Her lie has resounding repercussions.
 

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Available on Netflix
Two kids in love exchange a series of letters as they plot to run away together. A serious crowd-pleaser.
 

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (2013)
Available on Netflix
Bob Muldoon (Casey Affleck) breaks free from prison four years after being found guilty for a crime he perpetrated with his lover, Ruth (Rooney Mara). He swears he’ll come back for her and their daughter, expressing his love first as an inmate, then as a fugitive on the run, through letter after letter.
 

Gotham Awards favor 'Beasts of the Southern Wild,' but 'Moonrise Kingdom' wins top prize

The first awards results are in. At last night's Gotham Awards, Beasts of the Southern Wild won two prizes. Both were for director Benh Zeitlin, who won both the Breakthrough Director award and the Bingham Ray award, which comes with a check for $25,000. However, the top prize for Best Feature went to Moonrise Kingdom.

Both films have the potential to grab a Best Picture nomination in the Oscar race. On GoldDerby, Beasts of the Southern Wild appears more frequently than Moonrise Kingdom in the critics' top ten picks for the Best Picture nod. Both pictures generally appear in the last few spots, below heavyweight frontrunners like Silver Linings Playbook, Argo, Lincoln and Les Miserables. Last year's co-winner for Best Feature at the Gotham Awards, The Tree of Life, earned a Best Picture nomination, so Gotham Awards can predict what happens at the Oscars. The question is if Beasts and Moonrise will end up with a spot on the Best Picture list, or if just one will prevail.

From a story standpoint, both Anderson and Zeitlin have a narrative that fits with a nomination. Moonrise director Wes Anderson has been nominated twice before, once for "Best Animated
Feature" for Fantastic Mr. Fox and a decade ago for his screenplay for The Royal Tenenbaums. His latest was a summer hit, earning $45 million and reinvigorating his reputation. What better time for the Academy to reward him? In contrast, Zeitlin made his debut feature completely outside the Hollywood system, and the result astonished critics and audiences. For Zeitlin and Beasts, a nomination would be a feel-good story about a rise to fame. But will the Academy want to embrace something done on such a shoestring budget, with no guilds or Hollywood professionals involved? For both the movie and the outside story, my money's on Beasts of the Southern Wild, not Moonrise Kingdom. But enough people disagree with me that this year's Best Picture picks will be a nail-biting surprise.

Hidden gems populate Gotham Independent Film Award nominations

Oscar nominations won't be announced until January 5th. The Gotham Independent Film Award nominations, which come far before the Oscars, Globes, or the multitude of critic association awards, stand apart not only on the calendar, but in content. If you look at IndieWire's current list of potential Oscar nominees, for example, there's almost no crossover with the Gotham Awards. In the list of nominations below, I provide links to Film Journal reviews, and give a few recommendations of my own.

Best Feature
Bernie: This arthouse feature has earned $9 million to date, with steady returns week after week. It's also nominated for "Best Ensemble Performance," with the unlikely trio of  Jack Black, Shirley
MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey sharing the screen.
The Loneliest Planet: This one hasn't released yet, but it's about an engaged couple (one half of which is the handsome Gael Garcia Bernal) who go on a hike, and bad things happen. If the Gotham people like it, it must be good.
The Master: This is the only one of Gotham's nominations that's also polling high in the Oscar race. Though our critic Chris Barsanti felt it lacked some of director Paul Thomas Anderson's "characteristically thunderous panache," this Scientology-esque biopic is high-profile enough everyone should see it in order to weigh in.
Middle of Nowhere: The story of a woman "who cares for her imprisoned husband while struggling to keep her true self afloat," as described by critic Tomris Laffly, "reinstates one’s at times
diminishing faith in independent film," refusing to give out "louder
statements about social injustice" but instead letting the audience draw its own conclusions. Participant Media helped finance, and they only back "socially conscious" films.
Moonrise Kingdom: One of director Wes Anderson's most successful films in recent years, the charming story of young love is a natural fit for the director's reflexive, nostalgic style. Some think this one can slide into the Oscar race, with at least some chance of picking up nominations. Another nominee for "Best Ensemble Performance," this movie will likely do even better in critics' awards and the Spirit Awards.

Best Documentary
I've seen a number of docs this year, but none of these are among them. Here's a roundup of these films, and hopes that they'll be in a theatre near you or on Netflix soon.
Detropia: "A tone poem soaked in the
blues," as described by Barsanti, about Detroit's continuing decline from its manufacturing glory days, is a haunting look at what forty plus years of recession
looks like.
How to Survive a Plague: A victorious look over how AIDS has gone from a death sentence to a treatable disease.
Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present:  A countdown to the performance artist's solo show at New York's Museum of Modern Art.
Room 237: Reviewed here as part of a NYFF recap, Room 237 interviews "a handful of die-hard [Stanley] Kubrick fans and scholars
who make largely preposterous, hilarious and only sometimes sober
arguments for symbols that permeate his work." Anyone who's speculated about the blood coming out of the elevator doors might find this movie a worthy follow-up to Kubrick's masterpiece.
The Waiting Room: A fly-on-the-wall look at an ER waiting room.

Among the other nominations, there are two for Beasts of the Southern Wild, "Breakthrough Director" for Benh Zeitlin and "Breakthrough Actor" for Quvenzhané Wallis. I recommend it as one of this summer's best and most successful indies. The "This American Life" crowd may take a shine to Sleepwalk with Me. Star/writer/director Mike Birbiglia was nominated for his performance in the "Breakthrough Actor" category. Everyone I know who has seen it found it sweet and recommended it to others. Awards frontrunner The Silver Linings Playbook grabbed one nomination for "Best Ensemble Performance," which is probably only a small precursor of what's to come. The Gotham Independent Film Awards are on November 26th, right in the midst of the awards releases onslaught.

'Ted' mines comedy gold with surprise $54 million weekend

Nearly doubling industry estimates, Ted scored big with a $54.1 million gross this weekend. In comparison, 2009's The Hangover debuted to $44 million. That means Ted has set the new record for an opening of a non-sequel, R-rated comedy. Not only did it earn a lot of money, audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore. I'm sure Universal will want to follow up this comedy's $50 million weekend with a sequel, so there may be a Ted 2 a couple of summers from now.

For the first time ever, two R-rated comedies opened above $20 million. Magic Mike beat that figure by a lot, earning $39.1 million crumpled one-dollar bills in just three days. Channing Tatum stars as a male stripper with big dreams in this Steven Soderbergh-directed flick, which appears to have delighted both critics (78% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences. Both Ted and Magic Mike are set up for strong follow-up weekends thanks to the Fourth of July holiday.

Most expected Disney's Brave to spend a second weekend in first place, but instead the feature dropped 48%, on the high side for animated movies. That left the princess movie with $34 million over the three-day period. Still, with kids out of school this feature will perform well on weekdays. In fact, it's already earned double its opening weekend (for a total of $134 million) due to strong performance Monday through Thursday.

In fourth place, Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection grabbed $26.2 million, also on the high side of expectations. Lionsgate reported that Perry's audiences are normally 80% black, but the casting of Eugene Levy and Denise Richards made the comedy more of a crossover hit, with the figure plateauing at 70%. One thing remained the same. Perry's pictures are beloved by females, who represented around 70% of the audience.

Squeaking into tenth place, the family drama People Like Us earned just $4.3 million. Audiences gave it a so-so B rating in exit polls.

Critical darling Beasts of the Southern Wild averaged $42,000 per screen in four locations over the weekend, a robust start for the Louisiana-set tale.

Moonrise Kingdom, which made a national, 854-screen push, brought in $4.8 million. This made the Wes Anderson-directed film his second-highest grossing feature to date. The Royal Tenenbaums earned $52 million in 2001.

Tomorrow, The Amazing Spider-Man will get a head start on Fourth of July crowds. The 3D concert doc Katy Perry: Part of Me will follow on Thursday, and Oliver Stone's Savages will open on Friday.

Audiences dazzled by 'Madagascar 3,' 'Prometheus'

The first animated release in three months, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted took advantage of pent-up demand to earn $60.3 million. The other two Madagascar films opened just above $60 million, meaning the third film held on to 96% of its audience. Many other animated sequels (Kung Fu Panda 2, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Happy Feet 2) suffered huge drops from the previous installment, so this shows Madagascar 3 has something special the rest of the films don't. That just might be the great reviews, marketing, and positive audience response ("A" CinemaScore in exit polls). However, the zoo-themed picture will have just one more wide-open weekend before Disney's Brave opens on June 22.

Prometheus performed comfortably above its cautious $40 million expectations, earning $50 million. The adult-minded picture offers more questions than answers, and that's created huge post-film buzz on social networks. The sci-fi prequel to Alien also enticed a sub-audience of superfans. People looking for the ultimate movie experience turned out for IMAX (18% of ticket sales) and 3D (54%, which includes all 3D-equipped IMAX screens). I think the power of social networking will add to the film's momentum in coming weeks. I've seen more chatter about this film on Facebook and Twitter than any other release in recent memory. Its equally mature, much-hyped competition, The Dark Knight Rises, won't hit theatres until July 17.

Moonrise Kingdom made its way into the top ten with $1.5 million and a high $16,000 per-screen average. That puts the Wes Anderson film slightly behind last summer's hit, Midnight in Paris. However, Moonrise outperformed the Woody Allen film in its first two weeks, so it's still too soon to tell. Since each platform picture has expanded their release at a slightly different rate, it will be difficult to compare the two indies until they expand nationally.

Last week was a busy one for specialty releases. In a crowded field, our best-reviewed film triumphed. The "inspired original" Safety Not Guaranteed, as described by FJI's Michael Sauter, averaged $11,000 per screen at nine locations. That's not great, but it's better than the performance of other indies with similar assets, like the Greta Gerwig-starring Lola Versus ($8,500 per screen on four screens) or the Jane Fonda-led Peace, Love & Misunderstanding ($3,400 per screen on thirty screens).

This Friday, Adam Sandler does his man-child thing in That's My Boy and Tom Cruise plays an aging sex symbol guitarist in Broadway adaptation Rock of Ages.

Memorial Day weekend puts 'Men in Black 3' on top

In Hollywood, you can't win everything. Men in Black 3, the first new installment of the sci-fi comedy franchise in a decade, earned $55 million over the three-day weekend and $70 million including Monday. Still, the return fell short of some predictions, which had the Will Smith/Tommy Lee Jones/Josh Brolin picture earning at least $80 million. Smith's star power is considered untouchable, but the less-than-thrilling opening has slightly diminished his reputation, at least in the opinion of some in the industry. Smith hasn't even been in a movie since 2008's Seven Pounds, though he's currently filming the sci-fi picture After Earth with his son Jaden.

Low-budget horror film Chernobyl Diaries made a disappointing $7.9 million over the weekend, which rose to just $9.3 million including Monday. At one point, it seemed like making a horror movie guaranteed a return on investment, but for every hit like Paranormal Activity or Insidious there are also flops like Apollo 18 and The Darkest Hour. Chernobyl Diaries falls into the latter category.

Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom broke the record for per-location average (for a non-animated film), finishing with $130,000 per screen. The film played in two theatres in NYC and two in LA. Judging by the hourly showtimes, the nostalgic story of young love was playing in more than one theatre in each location. Anderson's reputation undoubtedly assured a high opening weekend, but the record-breaking numbers mean this film has already been drawing in less committed Anderson fans. The release will expand into hundreds of theatres by June, but I wonder if the exceptional opening weekend will change Focus' distribution plan.

Weinstein Co.'s The Intouchables had a strong $25,000 per-screen average over the three-day weekend. The French-language, uplifting story of two friends hits straight at many indie film sensibilities, but there are already a couple of films angling to be the "indie hit of the summer," and that list won't include The Intouchables. Bernie (which averaged $85,000 per screen its opening weekend) topped $1 million for the first time this weekend, playing in 194 theatres and averaging over $5,000 per screen. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which expanded into over 1,200 theatres over the holiday weekend, did even better. The retirement-age comedy earned $6.3 million.

This Friday, Snow White and the Huntsman will attempt to unseat MIB3, and a few smaller films will aim for niche audiences.

So let's talk about 'Moonrise Kingdom'

Despite some recent films that disappointed more than they charmed, the fans haven't left Wes Anderson. Since his trailer for the upcoming release Moonrise Kingdom (May 25!) was posted last week, I've seen plenty of people repost it on Facebook. People I thought would have been jaded about the director were expressing excitement. Why?

 

Personally, I was most charmed by Anderson's style when it was still novel. Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums are my favorite Anderson films, and the rest of them felt like rehashes of his earlier work. If it's possible to OD on irony,  an Anderson film can provide that dangerous dose. Fantastic Mr. Fox was something of a rebound for the director, but I still found myself wearied by his stylized dialogue rather than energized by its arch formality and preciousness.

Moonrise Kingdom has a couple things going for it. One, its 1970s-esque feel. Anderson's always been nostalgic, and at least this time the cast members that look like they are wearing thrifted clothing will be doing so since they're actually supposed to be part of another era.

Two, Anderson's once again returned to children. The story centers on two pre-teens who run away together, sending their small town and the staff of a summer camp on a wild chase in order to find them. At this age, children are often trying to be adults unsuccessfully, so hearing adult words put in their mouth rings true to me. The irony of their statements and actions only underscores what it's like to grow up, during that period when your adult and children parts are all jumbled together.

As a footnote, it's worth noting that Anderson has included some bigwig action stars (Bruce Willis) as well as an arthouse darling (Tilda Swinton). Swinton has one dashing scene where she bursts in and declares "Where is the boy? I am told that he has just been struck by lightning." This is quintessential Anderson, but it also reveals one of the weaknesses of his work. If a scene like this is played for comedy instead of drama, it undercuts the emotional impact of the narrative.

When I think about Rushmore, I think of the sadness and betrayal Max Fischer (played by Jason Schwartzman) experienced after he found out Bill Murray's character was having an affair with his teacher crush. The heart of The Royal Tenenbaums was Royal's (Gene Hackman) isolation after he was abandoned by his family. Though Anderson's other films had characters designed to provoke empathy, it didn't stick. In order to work for me, Moonrise Kingdom can't just charm me with its wit. It will have to make me care.

Wes Anderson grabs stellar cast for 'Moonrise Kingdom'

By Sarah Sluis

Focus has announced that it will distribute Moonrise Kingdom, writer/director Wes Anderson's latest project. The low-profile movie has already started filming, with a pretty incredible cast. Anderson film veterans Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman will appear, along with Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, and Frances McDormand. I'm particularly excited about seeing Willis in an Anderson movie. I think he should be able to rein in Anderson's quirk and provide a good foil for the other characters.

Set in the 1960s, the action starts with a 12-year-old couple (fresh faces Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) who decide to run away together. The folks in their small New England town (which is also on an island) notice, predictably. Willis plays the sheriff orchestrating the search, and McDormand and Norton play the kids' parents. Anderson knows how to use ensemble casts. Even Fantastic Mr. Fox was filled with a menagerie of rats, weasels, badgers, and otters. Anderson has also created memorable child characters, from the flashbacks to the Tenenbaum children to the incredibly human Max Fischer in Rushmore. Like Fantastic Mr. Fox, this film might be another chance for Anderson to shed his title as "Most Imitated Director in Student Films."

Since 2005, I've been convinced by this Slate essay that Wes Anderson's best work came when Owen Wilson co-wrote his screenplays, giving the work a more common touch and grounding the quirk. For Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson has teamed with Roman Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay for The Darjeeling Limited. Wilson may make his mark on the film, but probably in a cameo, since he's been a bit cagey about his involvement in the press.

Anderson's previous three films were distributed through Fox Searchlight, so this will be the first chance for Focus to take a crack at marketing to Anderson's audience. Since the film's already in production, it will come out in 2012 at the latest, giving Anderson fans plenty of time to hope that his next film will be a home run, and not some of the doubles and triples he's been hitting lately.