The Kids Are All Right

"The Kids Are All Right"
Starring: Annette Benning, Juliane Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson
Directed by: Lisa Cholodenko
106 minutes

The latest indie that faired well and garnered attention during its Sundance film festival run is a film of good intention, but strives for too little. It's about a modern day lesbian couple living in LA, both parenting two adolescent teens who wish to seek out their birth father. A-listers were cast in the pivotal roles of the film. Annette Benning plays Nic, an ambitious doctor to Juliane Moore's somewhat misguided Jules, they play the believable off beat couple. It's no secret that Benning is older than Moore, but they're age difference is of only two years. They work well together as the film quickly establishes that they're a well off couple.

The kids are played by Mia Wasikowska, the same girl who starred in "Alice in Wonderland," here she is a soon to be college freshman, littered with all the anxiety and hormones a normal girl of her age possesses. Her younger brother, played by Josh Hutcherson skateboards, snorts pills, and gets into trouble with his unbalanced best friend, much to his "mom's" dismay. The two kids seek out their father Paul, played by the excellent Mark Ruffalo. Paul never graduated college and now runs a successful restaurant. He's drawn to the willingness of the kids attempt to seek him out, and it looks for a while a healthy relationship could be established.

Nic wears the pants in the family, she overlooks and corrects Jul at any desirable moment, Cholodenko's believes this serves as a fresh and intriguing dynamic among the couple. The film actually puckers up anytime Ruffalo is one screen, he's always easy on the eye, and his look and style matched with his honest eyes make him intriguing even if he's a tad underwritten. The triangle of the three adults is unquestionably the backbone of the film, if only Cholodenko's screenplay could have offered more insight rather than the usual jousting of sexes, "The Kids Are All Right," could have been worthy of its adult cast.

Now, movies are movies, and once Paul meets Nic and Jules, something happens that throws off the balance of this newly formed semi-family. One of the problems with the film is that it prides itself upon being  real and honest, but the motivations and actions of certain characters rubbed me the wrong way in which I felt cheated. This isn't to say that whatever takes places can't happen, it certainly can, but from what we know about the characters and their universe, I wasn't pleased with what occurred.

Due to the actions of the adults, the children begin to rebel in their own ways. Confrontations arise, arguments ensue, and you can basically tell where the film is headed. When the end comes around, it's been a hard and rigorous journey for the characters to reach the end point and beginning of a new future, I wasn't interested or fulfilled when those moments came. Lessons are learned, and the films' message of love, friendship, and family having no clear definition is stamped on the film like it was run through an indie film assembly line with 100 movies concentrating on the same theme.

I'm reminded of a film which also starred Mark Ruffalo called "You Can Count on Me," here is a film where the characters flaws and actions are played out more realistically and with subtlety. The audience feels for these characters at the end. I prefer that film much more than "The Kids Are All Right."

In the end, the modesty of the writing, directing, and the performances is enough to not dislike the film, but to shrug it off once the credits start rolling. I imagine it will charm audiences who think that a film about two lesbians is something of risk these days.

Grade: 2.5/5

I Am Love

" I Am Love"
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbrielinni, Alba Rohrwacher, Pippo Delbono
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
120 minutes

The nagging truth about "I Am Love," is that it would rather exist as a rapturous and elegiac postcard, rather than a film containing raw feelings and emotion. But see, the filmmaker Luca Guadagnino tries to have it both ways, and near the end of the film, "I Am Love," nearly suffocates under its own melodramatic intake.

This is not your average love story, there are moments where I was reminded of other films, but the beauty of  "I Am Love," is that it contains its own tragic and intense identity which propels it past the tired familiarity one might feel with a film of lesser surprise. The film, shot by Yorick Le Saux is exquisite, we're following a wealthy family and all its inhabitants, but the shots feel just as wealthy as the family.

The family is the Recchi's, the patriarch of the family is about to retire, and looks to name successors to the family's massive industrial company. We first meet these luxurious faces as they eat dinner, and await the announcement of the heir to the company. The Recchi's live in Milan, but the daughter in law of the head of the family is originally from Russia, this is Emma, played by the gorgeous Tilda Swinton. Emma and her husband Tancredi (Delbono) have two children. One is the handsome Edoardo (Parenti) and the other Elisabetta (Rohrwacher), now a student in Paris.  This is the kind of family always surrounded by glamor and global intrigue. They're the perfect little unit, but something is about to change all that.  Swinton's Emma is the showcase of the film, her character is perfectly comfortable with her role in the family and seems content to be involved in the lives of her kids. She seems distant from her husband, and is looking for an experience, if any, to sweep her away.

There are other significant characters as well. Edodardo has a friend named Antonio (Gabrielinni), who  concocts exotic and passionate dishes for parties and dinners that the Recchi's host. Antonio and Edodardo have intentions of opening their own restaurant. Early in the fillm, Antonio catches Emma's eye, we know from this moment that Emma's life has changed forever. Continually seduced by his looks and culinary love, Emma and Antonio embark on a romantic affair that could threaten to isolate from her family and her once comfortable life.

" I Am Love," moves along at a decent pace throughout, we are exposed to Emma's vulnerability and hopes for true, passionate love, Antonio offers this. The film contains dozens of gorgeous shots, kudos to Le Saux for taking beautiful advantage of the locales and sights. It's a film so gorgeous, that it could exist as a silent film and carry the same impact. One can't forget the overwhelming and sometimes draining score by John Adams, it's used to accompany Emma and Antonio's intimate affair, but as times it drowns out the beauty of Le Saux's photography.

Swinton's performance in general is what keeps us intrigued. Her effortless portrayal of basic emotions combined with her telling gestures and exotic look is how she has made her name. Swinton could easily grab an Oscar nomination for her work here. Aside from her character, there are few worth caring about in this picture. Swinton's Emma gets the full treatment in Guadagnino's screenplay, the rest are off to the side admirably representing their roles, but adding no additional insight or intrigue.

Late in the film, a plot twist occurs that may  have some viewers rolling their eyes in utter disbelief. It's a nearly preposterous event that sends the film in another direction. Loaded with melodrama in the last third, "I Am Love," fails to keep its identity intact, and by the end we're left wondering if we care at all about the fates of the main characters.

Grade: 3/5