The Hand of God (2021)
Directed by Paolo Sorrentino
While Paolo Sorrentino’s weirdly cruel and perverse film The Hand of God may feature more than a few flashes of inspired filmmaking, it ultimately proves an unsatisfying experience. At its best moments, when Sorrentino is successfully channeling Fellini, The Hand of God is a raucous slice of Italian family life in the 1980s, featuring a myriad of odd characters, petty grievances, and lustful teenage insecurities. The flipside is that, unfortunately, the bulk of the film meanders around a point that never seems to come. What’s more, Sorrentino continually teases a resolution to his wandering story, but then inexplicably adds more scenes that further muddy the waters. The result is an exercise in tedium that feels like it will never end. And when the credits do finally roll, it’s difficult to remember what, if anything, there was to like about what we’ve just seen. Fellini references can only carry a film so far, and if you’re unfamiliar with the Italian master, they likely carry no weight at all.
Passing (2021)
Directed by Rebecca Hall
A small-scale, well-acted, and incredibly stylish film, Passing proves Rebecca Hall a director to keep your eyes on. Shot in high-contrast black and white, and in the old-school Academy ratio, Passing tells the deceptively psychological story of a young black woman (Clare, played brilliantly by Ruth Negga) who passes for white in 1920s New York. The bulk of the story, though, is told through the eyes of Irene (or “Reenie,” an equally stunning Tessa Thompson), a doctor’s wife and pseudo-socialite living in Harlem who becomes both perplexed and fascinated with Clare, her life, and her future. As the two women’s lives become more and more intertwined, a subdued and cerebral tension grows between them, as does the threat of being caught by Clare’s husband (Alexander Skarsgård), a white businessman and clueless bigot. By the time we reach the film’s shocking climax, our own eyes may deceive us, despite both our own expectations and Hall’s many subtle, well-placed clues.
Inception (2010)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Overall, I generally like Christopher Nolan’s films more than I don’t, but he’s so often such a snob about his perceived weighty concepts and flamboyant techniques that he winds up turning me off to his upcoming projects before I even see them. Even Inception, a film I like very much, is often bogged down by Nolan’s wannabe high-mindedness when it should instead be embraced for what it truly is: an above-average sci-fi action thrill ride. Where Nolan so often loses me is when he feels the need to fully explain every damned thing with blathering, nonsensical techno-babble, but then does so with so much condescension (and just the right amount of ambiguity) that it loses most of its meaning. I don’t think many would argue that Tenet is his biggest offense in this regard, but Inception can’t be far behind. At least the latter has enjoyable set-pieces, a likable cast, and palpable, believable tension. Inception may be fluffy popcorn pop-culture dream psychology nonsense, but at least it’s fun fluffy popcorn pop-culture dream psychology nonsense.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.