Author: Cliff Gold

Rocketman (Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard) – Elton John has been sober for 28 years.  But for the great bulk of his career, he was an alcoholic, pill addicted jerk.  Or at least that is what he tells us in Rocketman, a mostly accurate biopic starring his incredible body of music.

Rocketman tells all about Reginald Dwight’s childhood as recounted by the elder Elton Hercules John from his rehab facility in the early 1990s.  Reg was a prodigy growing up in a largely loveless home. He loved music of all types from Dizzy Gillespie to country & western.  His talent got him into the London music academy.  But his incredible facility for turning Bernie Taupin’s lyrics into song made him an international superstar.

The shy Dwight became John when he hit the stage, first in clubs in London but more importantly when he landed in LA to play the Troubador in 1970.  Although his first hit was the beautiful ballad, Your Song, he was all the buzz in the emerging music capital of the U.S. (in the ‘60s, the music world was centered in New York and London). His calling card soon became his gaudy, totally outlandish costumes even as his music screamed mainstream pop.

Rocketman is a jukebox musical with an honest retelling of his brilliance, his devolution into addiction, his sexual awakening, and his complicated relationships.  Despite taking some license with how he chose his stage name (it was not from looking at a picture of John Lennon) and the timing and sequencing of his songs (Crocodile Rock wasn’t written yet, let alone performed, at the Troubadour) (https://news.behealthyfornow.in/2019/06/e f01/rocketman-fact-checking-the-elton-john-biopic-rolling-stone/), the movie is exceptional.

Its star, Taron Egerton, who made a splash in the Kingsmen films, was an inspired choice to play John.  He has the look, the singing chops, and the acting range to portray the enigmatic John.

Elton John’s fans, about a billion of us, won’t find much new here (I saw him for the first time in 1974).  But we may be surprised by the depths to which he tumbled during the many years we admired him and attended his raucous concerts.  The fact that he describes himself as a jerk (not exactly the word he used) starting in 1975 until his stint in rehab in the early ‘90s doesn’t diminish his musical legacy but it sharply contrasts with the humanitarian, devoted husband, and doting father he has become in his later years.  As the John/Taupin song, Someone Changed My Life Tonight, aptly expresses: “Thank God my (his) music’s still alive.”

If you love Elton’s music, head to the theater right away.

The White Crow (Oleg Ivenko, Ralph Fiennes, Adele Exarchopoulos) – Rudolf Nureyev was the finest male ballet dancer of his time.  Dancing in his native Soviet Union, he was ticketed to international stardom, a symbol of USSR superiority in the world of ballet during the Cold War.  Nureyev was apolitical but he found himself at the epicenter of political intrigue when he defected to France at the airport in Paris in 1961.

His early life is beautifully depicted in The White Crow, director/actor Ralph Fiennes’ most stunning work behind the camera.  On camera, he is very impressive, too, as Nureyev’s nurturing teacher, Pushkin.  Fiennes spoke fluent Russian in the film.

The film starts with Nureyev’s birth in 1938 on the Trans-Siberian Express and progresses through his early childhood and eventual training as a dancer.  Told in flashbacks (often in black-and-white) and flash-forwards, some of which are a bit hard to follow, The White Crow depicts Nureyev as driven, fascinated, determined, bold, fun-loving, immature, supremely talented, and cocky.  Even as a child, he was quiet, different, and reflective – a “white crow” as his family called him.

On the first tour of Paris and London since the end of World War II, the Kirov ballet company thrills audiences.  When he gets the chance to perform, Nureyev is spellbinding.  Paris is a playground of freedom and history for young Rudi, and he makes the most of his time there.

He befriends a young socialite, Clara Saint, who recently lost her fiance in a car accident.  She is attracted to Rudy’s talent and sense of wonder.  He is attracted to her social circle, her support, and her sense of freedom.  The relationship, clearly platonic, needs greater development than Fiennes provides because it serves at the heart of the film.  That relationship greatly concerns the KGB officers traveling with the company.  They fear that Nureyev is falling under Clara’s spell, tasting too much of freedom and potentially infecting him with a love of the West.

When the company is about to embark on its trip to London, the movie reaches its height of tension.  Rudy has pushed his handlers too far and he is told he is to be returned to Moscow.

The Nureyev story is virtually unknown to anyone under 65 or outside the world of ballet.  Many of us knew he defected but nothing about the reasons, consequences, or his early life.  He became a symbol of Russian oppression and set the stage of other high-profile defections, including Mikhail Baryshnikov 13 years later.

The White Crow is presented with subtitles.  Its star, Oleg Ivenko, dances with the Tatar State Academic Opera and Ballet Company in Kazan, Russia (not exactly the Bolshoi), and this is his first film.  Fiennes originally targeted Hayden Christenson (Stars Wars I & II, Shattered Glass) to play Nureyev but a chronic ankle injury forced the director to change course.  Christenson’s modest star power may have helped The White Crow at the box office but Ivenko’s authenticity and ballet talent carries the film.

The White Crow is really quite an achievement for Fiennes (Liam Neeson is top credited as executive producer) but you will have to look very hard to find it in theaters.  If it shows in your town, see it quickly before it leaves.

Free Solo (Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin) – This guy is crazy!  Alex Honnold is now the king of climbing, traversing impossible peaks with no ropes.  His quest to climb the daunting El Capitan in Yosemite National Park is captured in Free Solo, this year’s Academy Award-winning documentary.

When this film beat out RBG for Oscar, a lot of us were disappointed.  But there is no doubt that the making of this film was a monumental achievement.  Honnold is an odd duck, an obsessed, fearless athlete with nerves of steel and focus beyond humanly possible.  As crazy as this all seems, Honnold’s commitment is grudgingly compelling.  His girlfriend’s fear is palpable.  His film crew’s skill level is off the charts while their fear of seeing their friend die is undeniable.

All this plays out as drama.  Just as we think we’re about to experience the climb to summit or death, Honnold “bails” part way up the mountain.  As an audience, we’re both relieved and saddened.  Then, a few months later – after winter intervenes – we watch as he tries again.

Free Solo is a photographic masterpiece.  It is a human drama and an agonizing journey.  For athletes, it is a challenge of immense proportion. For the rest of us, it is craziness documented.

The Biggest Little Farm (John & Molly Chester) – In limited release*, The Biggest Little Farm is an impressive documentary about sustainable farming and the price a couple pays to resurrect dead land and make it a paradise.  As boring as that sounds, Farm is actually a tense drama about dreams, fears, commitment and the power of nature.

John and Molly Chester got tired of city life and decided to follow Molly’s dream of owning a farm to raise her family.  But they go way more than they bargained for.  The land they bought in Ventura County, California, was dead, the victim of drought, neglect and a poor economy.  With the help of an agricultural guru who truly believed that sustainable farming and a return to basics was the formula for resurrection, the couple poured everything into their big, little farm.

Through physical and mental challenges, they imported animals, planted various crops, and fought fire and rain to make the dream come true.  In the process, they encounter nature’s wrath and unanticipated barriers, eventually prevailing (please excuse the spoiler) and present to the audience a formula for global hope.

As a film, this is almost as good as a documentary gets.  On the surface, it looks like a relentless quest with a satisfying, if difficult, journey.  It has been very popular on the film festival route, premiering at Telluride and making a splash at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival.

But I was left with several questions.  The film starts with animation telling us how the couple decided to seek their dream.  It mentions that they finally attracted the money to fund their quest.  But it doesn’t say how, from whom, or from what source.  Why not? Where did their funding come from – not only for the project but also for the film?  Were those dollars tied to the production of the documentary?  Is there an agenda?  Maybe the answers aren’t sinister but why the secrecy?

For production value and certainly as an interesting documentary, this movie is worth the time and effort.  There are ways that this could have been turned into a feature film rather than a documentary.  But it likely would not have attracted much commercial success.  If you get a chance to see this movie … or when it eventually makes its way to Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime … you should see it.

*(Opened May 10 in Los Angeles and New York; May 17 in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington D.C. Additional markets throughout May and June)

Long Shot (Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen) – Range.  Some actors spend their whole professional careers playing characters for which they were seemingly born.  Jimmy Stewart is the best example I can think of. Stewart was a wonderfully likeable actor whose dozens of roles never strayed too far from his personal image. Contrast that to Tom Hanks who played everything from silly to sorrowful.  Hanks defines range in an actor.

So does Charlize Theron, whose roles have ranged from her Oscar nominated performance in Monster to mysterious in Sweet November to sweet in The Legend of Bagger Vance and, now, to her funny, sexy turn in Long Shot.

While pairing Theron with Seth Rogen seems unusual, she was Rogen’s first choice to play Secretary of State Charlotte Field in this hysterical comedy.  Field is the workaholic globetrotter managing the nation’s foreign relations while Rogen is a crusading journalist with no emotional governor and no sense of fashion or respect for authority.  After quitting his job following a buy-out by one of those heartless media conglomerates, he serendipitously finds himself at the same party as Field, who had been his babysitter when he was a kid.

He always had a thing for his babysitter (so would you if your babysitter had been Charlize Theron) and she always liked the nerdy kid.  Now, she is looking for a speechwriter and he re-ignites her passion for climate change without compromise.

The rest is just good fun with a touch of danger, raunchiness, and a merry mix-up or two.  The leads make the film irresistible.  There is surprising chemistry between Theron and Rogen, mostly because of Theron’s performance.  After all, you always get the same character with Rogen (no range, just fun).  Theron really seems to have fun with the Charlotte character and so do we.

I only saw this film because it was raining in Seattle and this was the only movie worth paying money to see.  I’m glad I did.  It was the most fun I have had at the theater in a while thanks to the range of Theron and the vision of Rogen.