10 movies I am looking forward to in 2014

2014 is off and kicking now and even though I still have a lot of back log to clear, which I intend to spend most of January and February on, it is time to look forward to what 2014 might have in store for us in terms of cinema. I was planning on posting this earlier last week but I was under the weather almost whole last week. Now that I am back to the normal world once again and people are still in Golden Globe mode, lets get this ball quickly rolling.

Magic in the Moonlight: I am sure everyone is saying only one thing about this movie - looking at Woody Allen's recent track record, this is going to be a dud. I even agree with it but you can always hope, right? ore for the sake of Emma Stone than Allen really. Not that she needs a hit desperately but she is someone I think has a good sense of both comedy and drama. So she should work. 

Veronica Mars: Everyone remembers the legendary kickstarter project that, well, kick-started this production, right? I have seen every episode of this series and I liked snappy, intelligent,  wise-cracking detective of Kristen Bell. But I had my doubts about the whole thing from start, especially regarding how are they going to cope for all the years that passed. The trailer that just dropped took care of that. So, yeah, I look forward to meeting Veronica again.

The Grand Budapest Hotel: If there is any other director with more distinct style than Wes Anderson, I do not know about it. In truth, he is not even close to being one of favourite directors and he probably never will be and his style doesn't always work for me. But look how pretty! I wish I could offer you more substantial argument in it's defense but that's all I got. I want to see it because his films look pretty. I can do that, right?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Because first one was so awesome. They have made a few changes but I think Matt Reeves doesn't look like a bad option to help this project and Gary Oldman is always a welcome addition. No James Franco though. We will just have to assume he didn't survive that plague I guess.

Into the Woods: Initially I wasn't stoked for it or anything but as I found out more and more, it got me interested. First it is to have Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt in it, secondly they'll be singing. Third was that crazy picture of Streep as witch. Last straw was when I went to the IMDb page and saw Anna Kendrick among the cast. Yup, her singing sold this movie to me. I know this could very well be disaster but I am willing to give it a chance for her .

Transcendence: I know it is directed by Wally Pfiser. I know it has amazing cast of Rebecca Hall, Morgan Freeman, Cilian Murphy, Paul Bettany and Kate Mara. I know the trailer looks good and definitely has me interested in what it brings to the table. But to tell you the truth, what I really want to see this film for is to see Johnny Depp playing a regular guy. I mean, I've almost forgotten that he is a normal human.

Gone Girl: Next four films on this list are there for one and only one reason - the Directors. Everything else is secondary. I have seen every film all these directors have directed so far and I have no intention of breaking that streak. I am not over the moon for it's casting but it has David Fincher who certainly knows what he is doing and an interesting storyline to look forward to. And it has New Batman!!(I probably shouldn't have mentioned that. Sorry!)

Noah: Reason here is Darren Arofonsky. Once again, it has an amazing ensemble capable of taking any story to another level. Arofonsky has the capability to handle the scale of this project and from the first looks of it, it certainly looks like something worth waiting for. And it has Jennifer Connelly in it. It feels like she fell off the grid after... Blood Diamond(2006)? So it's nice to see her getting back into the game.

Inherent Vice: Paul Thomas Anderson! I really won't need to know anything more but I have been doing some reading and this story looks really interesting. Obviously, knowing PTA, he will write his own screenplay which gets me even more excited to see how he puts it on paper. The whole setting of 1970s, California, Drugs, none of it is new to him but makes for prospects of interesting film I will be waiting eagerly for this year.

Interstellar: It's "Directed by Christopher Nolan" right? Whatever else would you need?

Of the 10 movies I chose last year, I have only seen two so far. One of which is in my top 5 while other one might end in bottom 5. 2 more have been shifted to 2014 and I could have chosen them again for this list but what's the point, right? 4 are generating major awards buzz and I intend to watch one of them tomorrow. I have no idea what happened to the rest 2. So did I choose wisely? Only time can tell.

What are you looking forward to in 2014 people?  

Top 5: Actors directing themselves

With the Oscar season picking up since last month, we are getting ready for many movies that are sure to play some role in the award season. We have seen some of the big players release already. With the release of Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master(2012) last month, which is almost sure to get nominated in all the three acting categories as well as it seems to have a good chance for Best Picture, Director as well as Screenplay. Another movie that we have already seen and is sure to play big role is Ben Affleck's Argo(2012). Based on real event in 1980 where CIA and Canadian Intelligence worked together to extract six Americans working in American Embassy in Tehran, Iran as things get crazy after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It is almost guaranteed a nomination for Best Picture and Best Director and it also looks good to get through Screenplay nomination as well as Alan Arkin getting into Supporting category. When I saw it couple of weeks ago, it immediately jumped very high in my this year's list as well. Probably even the Best. It asserted the fact that Ben Affleck is turning out to be a fine director. I loved his first movie, Gone Baby Gone(2007) and is one of my favorites, Amy Ryan is the force to be reckoned with in it. Even The Town(2009), his sophomore effort, albeit not as good as first one it was still decent. However with the success of Argo, it should be safe to assume that he has made his transition from in front of camera to behind it and looking at his acting career, it's probably for better. However, this got me thinking about actors directing themselves on screen. I kept on thinking about the pros and cons of it and the fact there probably aren't too many to judge from wasn't helping either. I still don't know if it's for better or for worse but I knew one thing for sure. I have an idea for another post.

So, this is a list of 5 actors that have directed themselves and in my opinion are the best examples of it. I have tried to think of as many as I can and have come to finalize this list. If I have missed someone noteworthy, please remind me in the comments. What I have also done is to try and bring it to one performance rather than their whole careers which would make it easy for me and made sure they play significant part in the movie, playing at least supporting role in it(so none of the Hitchcock appearances qualify).

Honourable Mentions: 

Jackie Chan in Project A(1983) - Some of you probably know that I have an immense respect for this man for his dedication and effort that he usually puts into his movies considering the fact that he does all his stunts by himself and then he also directs stuff.

Aamir Khan in Taare Jameen Par(2008) - Aamir Khan is kind of a rarity in Indian Industry since he is one of the very very few acting superstars. It does not lack either superstars or actors but being both seems to be off the table. He certainly isn't as good director as any one on the list and has done only one feature but being an Indian myself, I never loose an opportunity to gloat.

Getting into the final five, in alphabetical order -

Woody Allen in Manhattan(1979) - I don't think anyone making such list will not have Allen on it. He is just that good. To tell you the truth, I have him in very high regards as a director but not so much as an actor. To me all his characters look just the same and more often than not very good in getting under my skin. Take Crimes and Misdemeanour(1989) for example. For the record, I like this film and will probably rank it in 10 Best movies he did in his career but if there is one problem in it, that's Allen's character and his storyline. I swear you can edit whole of his story out and show it to someone, he wouldn't even notice something is missing. But in Manhattan, which not so incidentally is also my favorite Allen movie, everything works so wonderfully starting from that unforgettable opening monologue. It's not just that the story of multiple love triangles which otherwise easily might have failed works here because of the interwoven characters but it actually fascinates me here. 42 year old middle aged man who was married to a lesbian previously, now dating a 17 year old high-school-er and falling for his best friend's mistress - definitely something I will have problem with but I LOVE it when he goes running back to Tracy in the end. Oh and I haven't even mentioned probably the most fascinating thing - crisp, clear and Black and White Cinematography. That thing alone is enough to make you fall in love with New York City.

Charlie Chaplin in City Lights(1931) - Another contender that has to make this list, no exception. I have been watching Chaplin run around and do his thing even before I was old enough to know who he was. Only real problem for me here was narrowing it down to one single performance since there are SO MANY. There is Modern Times(1936) with some of the most memorable gigs, then there is The Great Dictator(1940) and that last speech. There is also The Gold Rush(1925) and The Kid(1921) and The Circus(1928) and plenty more that I don't even know. Only reason that always tips the scale a little towards City Lights whenever I think about Chaplin is that amazing last scene. If ever there was so earnest, so sublime scene anywhere else, I do not have any knowledge of it. There is a reason why this movie took the top spot in inaugural Sight and Sound poll, right? What's more is it expertly balances some of the most humurous gigs that Chaplin was most famous for - boxing match in City Lights is just as hilarious as Lunch feeding machine in Modern Times or Chaplin eating his own shoe in The Gold Rush(1925) or any other routine he did in any of his other movies that made you laugh out loud - with some of the most heartfelt, emotional scenes. It is this mixture with just the right proportions that probably has kept this wonderful movie just as fresh even 80 years after its release. It's an absolute bliss !!
 

George Clooney in Ides of March(2011) - He is the youngest in the list and I hope there isn't any second guessing about his acting prowess but if you look at his directorial record, probably even the least experienced. But then again, look at his track award and tell me if he doesn't deserve his place on this list. I haven't seen the Leatherheads(2008) yet but based on just the other three, I am pretty assured that he will turn out just fine. Look at the line-up he has assembled for his next. With his strong political inclinations which are pretty evident even in his real life as well, he also has equally strong sense of morality full-on display in many of his projects. As for the performance in question, let me tell you first that I consider Good Night, and Good Luck(2005) to be a better film based on David Strathairn's singular, central performance alone (I even have a proof here) but George Clooney has a considerably minor role in it. Ides of March(2011) probably isn't as solid as the former but it has one of the best ensemble cast of Ryan Goslin, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei and even more importantly, particularly strong performances from every single one of them. Since I am pointing out single performance for each director with more focus on acting(Title of the post is 'Actors directing themselves' and not the other way around), Ides takes precedence over Good Night, and Good Luck.

Clint Eastwood in Million Dollar Baby(2004) - Will you be surprised if I say that my introduction to Clint Eastwood wasn't with his classic days with Sergio Leone and his cowboy stuff? It actually started with his much more modern work, more precisely his directorial work like Letters From Iwo Jima(2006), Unforgiven(1992) and most importantly, above mentioned Million Dollar Baby(2004). I now have seen a lot more movies he did either as a director as well as an actor but still except for the Dollar trilogy and Dirty Harry(1971), I still haven't seen much in his filmography before Unforgiven, more specifically Mystic River(2003). However even with this limited view, he was the first person I thought of while thinking about this post and once again, only real problem was to narrow it down to the single performance to highlight here. It finally came down to either Unforgiven or Million Dollar Baby, two movies he promised will be last where he will direct themselves and ended up breaking his own promise both the times. But as much as I like slow burn of Unforgiven and it's feat as modern western, Million Dollar Baby should have to take the cake, once again if nothing else for the last 20 minuets or so. I do not understand much about boxing but even then, this movie goes into so many technicalities of it that I have to agree there has to be some authenticity to it. It can well be a coincidence that both these movies have Morgan Freeman in them. But I think Not.

Buster Keaton in The General(1926) - Ever since I was a little kid, I have been watching Chaplin and his movies and have always loved him. You can say that I have been brought up on them in every sense of the word. Up until a year ago, I didn't even know who Buster Keaton was. Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden, I see people comparing this unknown personality with someone as great as Chaplin. Some even went ahead to say he was even better than Chaplin. I was infuriated. I thought have they even seen Chaplin's work? Well, the real fact was I had not seen any of Buster's work. Even right now when I am writing this I have only seen 2 of his movies, one of which i.e. Sherlock Jr.(1924) I didn't even care about and two more, Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) and Our Hospitality(1923), sitting pretty in my Netflix queue. But just from the first Buster Keaton that I saw was enough to convince me that this man has a real talent. The General convinced me that people who compare him with Chaplin, who say Buster was even better than Chaplin have a strong case; even though personally I still hold Chaplin in higher regard. The best part of The General is it has a story from start to end, it has a direction and it has superb flow. Even though there are a bunch of gigs in it, some of them 'laugh out loud' funny, they come while story progresses. So the story wasn't written to make room for the them, his antics were designed to suit the story. Add to the fact that Buster Keaton did them all by himself and with real locomotive.

P.S.: A Little over week ago, Leith Aitken at Ramble Film put his own spin on the same list. Go, Look.

Wrapping it Up: June

It has been quite an eventful month. I completed a year of blogging U, Me and Films this month. Once again, I will say Thank You to everyone who commented on the post that day, or tweeted me or re-tweeted me. It really was overwhelming and definitely is one of the reasons that has helped me keep writing. I also put up '1001 Movies' page this month, as I promised few months ago. If anyone is interested, you can see it on the top bar. However, let us get right into what did I see over month of June.

JUNE

The Double Life of Veronique(1991): I am not really sure if it is Kieslowski or Irene Jacob but there is something transcendental about Jacob's face, about expressions on her face that keeps me staring at her face ardently. Kudos to Kieslowski to bring it on screen as a complete package with gripping story and palpable emotions. It surely was a great start of month.

Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar(1991)(Re-Watch):This has a lot of nostalgic value. One of the movies that I loved as a kid, even before all this movie geekery started. It hasn't aged too well and feels too formulaic now but sometimes you have to listen to your heart and not your brain. 

Modern Times(1936)(Re-Watch): I was almost sure that I have seen this as a kid but I could only remember this in parts. It all came back to me while watching but I am happy that I saw it once more as you can almost never get it wrong with Chaplin.

Jules and Jim(1962): To tell you the truth, in the first 15 minutes I felt like Trauffaut was being a little too intellectual, on the verge of being pretentious. With the entry of Catherine, however it warmed up to me in the middle part until the end. But again in last 15-20 minutes, Catherine's behaviour had me pretty much turned off. There is a lot to like about this movie, in direction, story and technical aspects of it but if you do not care about the way it ends, especially being such a dramatic end, I don't think bodes well overall.

Police Academy(1984): I have no freaking idea why did I see it ? To tell you the truth, for some reason I always thought this was Jackie Chan movie and I usually love most of them, if nothing else for some great action. This was nothing like it, not even 'so bad it's good' way, just plain BAD.

Notorious(1946)(Re-Watch): Because it is my favorite Hitchcock and one of my all-time favorites and because of this.

Fallen Angels(1995): I haven't seen any other Kar Wai Wong since In The Mood for Love(2000) which I loved. So, I jumped on it when I saw it available on Netflix. But, this was a little too weird for me, especially the part with the mute guy even though all the usual Kar Wai Wong stuff like beautiful cinematography and very distinct background score was all there.

Belle De Jour(1967): Another Bunuel after The Discreet Charm of Bourgeoisie(1972) and That Obscure Object of Desire(1977). It wasn't as good as Discreet Charm but God, Catherine Denueve was amazing. I will probably never understand the whole surrealism thing, even this idea of housewife spending her weekday afternoons as a prostitute because she is bored didn't go down easily but it was so bizarre and I mean it in a good way.

Much Ado About Nothing(1993): This movie has caught me in dichotomy. On one hand, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit and thought Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh were really good in respective parts and I liked twists in the end too. While on the other hand, couple of things irritated me to no end like that language - I know that probably was authentic Old English but did they really have to use it? Also, I am no Shakespearean expert but who in this freaking world thought of Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington as Brothers ??

Election(1999): My third Alexander Payne after The Descendants(2011) and About Schmidt(2002) and this surely was best so far and this is coming from someone who loved The Descendants(2011). Check out my review here.

Breathless(1960): Let me first start with saying that I quite liked it, especially lengthy conversations between Michel and Patricia. But there were few things that did bother me like that jump Cutting which may have been revolutionary then but it bothered me. And first 10-15 minutes of it - too much randomness. But, it settled down really well with Jean Seberg's entry. In the end, this will probably a movie that I understand and appreciate the importance of but do not get the appeal of.

2 Days in Paris(2007): It is completely inappropriate, way over-sexed and even racist at times, ohh and sexist too. But it was Hilarious !! Adam Goldberg was perfect for this kind of role and Julie Delpy seems to be getting hang of it after Before Sunrise/Sunset. I think I am now ready for 2 Days in New York(2012).

Iron Man(2008): And this is not a Re-Watch. I had never seen this before and I have seen Iron Man 2(2010) in theater. My room-mate wanted to watch all the Avenger movies after watching it since he has seen none of them. I sill haven't seen any of hulk movies yet, but otherwise probably the best of the lot yet.

L'Avventura(1960): Continuing my 'Foreign movies made in 60s from 1001 movies list', I ventured from French New Wave into Italian existentialism with Antonioni. For some reason, I could connect with this a lot more than any of the French movies I saw this month. It seemed much more plausible, much more natural, controlled.

Gods Must Be Crazy II(1989): Last month I saw first part of this movie and it was probably the most hilarious movie I have seen - I said that I never laughed so long and so hard in my whole life. I went into second part with little less expectations. It wasn't LOL kind of movie that the first one was but it was still very innocent, genuine and still good for few laughs.

The Audrey Hepburn Story(2000): Even though every single person that knew Audrey Hepburn was as enamored, as devoted by her charm as I am is little hard thing to digest but that's what this film tells me. However personally that is not the biggest success of this movie. It is the fact that despite my devotion, I have actually never written anything about her is soon to change. I really don't have much to say about this movie as I kept imagining real Audrey Hepburn at that place and once she is there, there is almost nothing I think is wrong with it.

Last Year at Marienbad(1961): I had no idea what was I watching for 90 minutes. It seemed to be getting somewhere by the end, but my brain was completely turned off by then to process anything. It just felt too tedious and laborious to reach from where it started. It might be my own loss that I could not keep my attention as I could not connect the dots in the end, but even that incessant background music was annoying the hell out of me by then. I don't want to call it a bad movie though - it was stunning visually, even the idea and execution was very unique but maybe next time I will have little more patience to understand it.

Doctor Zhivago(1965): I first heard of Doctor Zhivago and Boris Pasternak in an article about how he was harassed by the soviet government. I have been meaning to read/watch this ever since. It also spent quite a bit of time in my queue only because of its 199 minuted of running time. But, I am really glad to have finally seen it. I am still sure that if I read the book, it will affect me much more deeply but even movie touched me somewhere deep down.

Judgement at Nuremberg(1961): I usually don't but DVDs without watching a movie first but I have been looking for this for a long time and one day while I was waiting for The Hunger Games(2012) to start, I found it lying in one of the discount bins at one store. I am really glad that I bought it then because even though it was lying around for few months, I am sure that this will be in my top 100 list very high whenever I decide to revise that list. However, I will refrain from saying much further as it is difficult to say anything without getting into the politics of it for which I don't think this is right place.

Crazy, Stupid, Love(2011): I was little skeptical about it since I usually can not stand Steve Carell, especially when he is being himself. But I really like all the three other leads and I had heard lot of praise for it. So, I gave it a go and it is just what name suggests Crazy, Stupid and Fun and lot of it, even Steve Carell was so much better, not at all like him.

Arsenic and Old Lace(1944): I am little confused as to how to describe this. I didn't think it was a terrible movie but for some reason, I was infuriated by the end of it. You know Cary Grant in it in the end, I was feeling just like him - I wanted to charge up the stairs, scream at the top of my lungs, hit people, break things and I swear I am not like that usually. I guess it was little too much slap-sticky for me to take but then again, I really don't think it was a terrible movie.

Driving Miss Daisy(1989): Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy were both solid and it was absolutely pleasant otherwise. I had couple of small issues with it like in the end when she starts to deteriorate, it felt like it happens out of nowhere and I had no idea of any timeline. But, still worth watching for two leading performances.

Videodrome(1983): I usually don't say this foe any movie, but I HATED this movie passionately. There wasn't a single thing I liked in this movie, all around boring and pathetic. I wasn't scared, I wasn't least bit intrigued, I was only appalled and disgusted. It did become a little better in second half of it but once there comes a point where I stop watching a movie and start finding out flaws in it, and after that it is really difficult to get me back into it.

Broadway Danny Rose(1984): Another movie that warmed up a bit in second half whereas first half was stupid and very predictable. Woody Allen was being himself once again and there are very few occasions I can bare him alone for one and half hours and this wasn't one of them. Mia Farrow was saving grace here, very different from what little I have seen of her. I don't mean to sound acerbic as in the end I wasn't really disappointed because of second half but I am not really singing praises of it either.

Can on a Hot Tin Roof(1958): Tennessee Williams certainly knew how to make portray dysfunctional families in his provocative plays. It still isn't Virginia Woolf(1966) or even Long Day's Journey into Night(1962) but Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl Ives just kill it. Dialogues certainly got to be the best aspect of this play but you know what, turn it off completely and I still can look at Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman all day long.

Pineapple Express(2008): It is got to be one of the most completely ridiculous, no-brainer and just outright stupid stoner comedies - Seth Rogen and Company doing what they can do best. Most of the times it just disgusted me but it really was so bad that it was good. Half the time I had no idea if I was laughing because I thought it was funny or because it was just plain bad and I had enough of it but I seem to have enjoyed it.

La Notte(1961): It's little too early to comment properly on it as I saw it less 2 hours ago and there is a lot to contemplate. Most important thing I need to think about is what makes it a part of trilogy with L'avventura(1960) and L'eclisse(1962) which I haven't seen yet, as there aren't many common elements that jump out, maybe except theme of alienation and longing. But if there was one thing that I admired about it, it was it didn't seem to be in any hurry to reach to any conclusion and despite that kept me interested in it all the time. All the three leads gave beautifully restrained performances, even Antonini's direction was stand-out.

Total Count:27. 24 First Time Watches and 3 Re-watches.

2012 YTD Count

Total Count:154. 146 First Time Watches and 8 Re-watches.

Usual division of this month comes out to be 12 classics and 15 new. 8 Foreign, 18 English and 1 Hindi. Considering how hectic this month was personally, especially first 15 days, I am actually surprised that I saw more movies this month than last two and it has been very peculiar too in a sense that I finally saw many movies that have been in my watchlist for a long time. Some of them turned out to be better than I expected(The Double Life of Veronique(1991) and Judgement at Nuremberg(1961)) whereas others left me tad disappointed(Last Year at Marienbad(1961) and Breathless(1960)) but that's always part of trade. 

I was actually planning to see quite a few of 60s foreign movies this month but I ended up watching only 6. I am going to continue it in the next month as I have got hold of quite a few by now and if Netflix didn't expire 5 movies off my queue by 1st July, I would have seen them this month itself. It also brought my foreign movie numbers down as I wanted to compensate for 3 foreign movies last month but it wasn't to be. I am also going to try and watch few 2012 movies this month as I have seen only like 4 till now and half of the year is already gone. Hopefully, there will be couple of trips to theater as well, one is already booked(The Dark Knight Rises(2012) off course) and second one looks pretty set too(The Amazing Spider-Man(2012)).

So, how was your month ? Did you see anything interesting ? What do you think of the movies I saw ? Any favorites ?

An American Crime

For last few months, I have started listening to Reel Insight Pod-casts by Rachel and Jess. I must say I am quite enjoying it. Last week, they joined the forces and started new site Reel Insight. Give it a go. Since I was a late starter, once in a while when I have time, I find myself listening to few of the old episodes featuring some of my favorite actors. The other day, I was listening to their Anniversary episode. In that episode, I heard a very small Indie movie called An American Crime(2007) mentioned. Rachel spoke quite highly about it. And it stars Ellen Page, one of the actors I want to see more of. So, I decided to give it a watch.

An American Crime is a story of atrocities two teenage sisters - Sylvia and Jenny - faced when their parents, traveling carnival workers, left them with single mother Gertrude Baniszewski and her six children for couple of months. Times are tough for her as Gertrude is sick and very much pushed against the wall to feed her family. Her daughters meet Sylvia and Jenny in Church and hit off instantly. Their parents are planning to go away for carnival but their problem is how to accommodate girls. This prompts Gertrude to come up with an idea of taking care of girls while they are away in hope of picking up some extra cash. Initially, everything goes well. Gertrude's oldest daughter Paula and Sylvia become good friends as well. However, her financial instability is checking Gertrude's limits and first brick comes loose when girls' parents send their cheque a little late. However, since this is very first event of many more to follow, girls even try to reason that it is not like we have never been punished before and their parents will take care of it. However, one thing after another, all hell breaks loose.

It is an extremely disturbing movie to watch and even though director Tommy O'Haver keeps viewer's discernment in mind and avoids being extremely graphic; it is pretty much clear from the narrative. And in my opinion, it makes it even more disturbing. Gertrude even tries to validate her behavior with big words, like once she tells Paula that sometimes you need to do certain things which you are not comfortable with, but they are necessary. Many of Gertrude's own children are shown to be the part of these atrocities "because mama told them to". They also involve kids in the neighborhood punishing Sylvia for her so called bad behavior, giving her cigarette burns and using her as punching bag. Being based on a true story that happened in Indianapolis in 1965, it is very uncomforting to imagine that an actual, living human being suffered all this through hands of another human besides the fact that most of those involved were just kids, except Gertrude of course. And shockingly, she denies all the charges in the court. 'She sacrificed me to save her children and then sacrificed them to save herself' as Sylvia would say.

Most of the actors involved do a great job. Catherine Keener as Gertrude seems despicable, Ari Graynor as Paula goes well through all her transformations. Even James Franco has a small part as Gertrude's ex-boyfriend Andy. However, highlight of the whole story remains to be Ellen Page as Sylvia Likens. I remember watching her first in Hard Candy(2005), another strange little movie that has an ability to disturb you deeply. I remember watching it with a Friend. Even though we both just wanted it to finish so that the outside world will once more look like a Happy Place, it was so gripping that we did not dare to stop till the end however uncomfortable we were. She seems to have to have gone through a phase of psychotic roles during that period. Mouth to Mouth(2005), though I haven't seen it, from the word of it, does not look much comforting. Ellen Page was brilliant in all of them though. And as we know it, she has come a long way now with Juno(2007) and Inception(2010). With the latest release of trailer for Woody Allen's To Rome, With Love(2012) and with her pairing to Jesse Eisenberg, I will wait eagerly for it too.

Rating(out of 5):