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On the surface, the film is all about Woody Grant (Bruce Dern), an elderly, not-always-genial drunk whose grasp on reality is slipping. He has received one of those comeon adverts that suggests you have won a million dollars. In reality, of course, it’s an attempt to sell magazine subscriptions. But Woody cannot be persuaded that he hasn’t actually won the million. Worse, he refuses to entrust his claim to the mail and insists on making the trip from Billings, Mont., to Lincoln, Neb. — no matter that he no longer has a driver’s license and his old truck hasn’t started in years. He’s even willing to walk to Nebraska — if only the family wouldn’t call the cops on him when he tries. His wife Kate (June Squibb) thinks he ought to be put away. In an act of desperation, his younger son, David (Will Forte), opts to drive him. After all, David’s own life isn’t going all that well and Best Buy can surely do without him for a few days. Naturally, things do not go well. Woody is hard to control. He tends to get drunk and get into scrapes. Occasionally, he loses his teeth. The idea to stop in Woody’s hometown — the mythical Hawthorne, Neb., — isn’t an especially good one. Woody’s family and old friends are mostly cold, taciturn and slightly ossified. They only come to any kind of life when they learn that Woody has won a million dollars — and their morelively reactions aren’t pretty. These folks are apparently firm believers in trickle-down economics and they expect Woody’s nonexistent windfall to trickle down on them — by making up nonexistent loans that need to be repaid and other attempts to bamboozle the confused old man. Like Woody, they can’t be convinced that the money isn’t real, and when they do find out, they’re hardly improved. If this was all of the film, it would just be ugly and it wouldn’t amount to much. Thankfully, as I said, it’s only one side of the story. The other side — where David and his brother, Ross (Bob Odenkirk), learn more about their father than they ever imagined (mostly from an old girlfriend of Woody’s and from their outspoken mother who steps in to fill in the blanks and put Woody’s “friends” and family in their places) is another matter altogether. None of this — including a sort of bittersweet, happy ending — erases the nastiness, but it does shrewdly balance it. Shot in often-gorgeous black and white, which gives the decaying small town a stark look, the film is a small gem. It’s a beautifully acted gem, too, espe-
cially Dern’s performance as the befuddled (but not entirely gone) Woody. You should see this one. Rated R for some language. reviewed by Ken Hanke Starts Friday at Carolina Cinemas and Fine Arts Theatre.
Saving Mr. Banks HHHHS
DiREctoR: John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) pLayERs: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman fact-BasED comEDy DRama RatED pg-13 thE stoRy: Highly colored version of Disney getting the rights to make Mary Poppins. thE LowDown: Realistic? Hardly. Factual? Only in its barest outline. First class entertainment? Oh, my, yes. And Emma Thompson is superb.
I genuinely resent Saving Mr. Banks. If ever there was a movie I was primed to dislike, this was it. I am not a fan of Walt Disney and am completely resistant to his Magic Kingdom. I am not especially keen on the 1964 film, Mary Poppins. (In some regards, that’s an understatement.) I have not been impressed by John Lee Hancock’s previous movies. And the whole thing just looked like saccharine sweetened, treacly rubbish. What I resent, however, is how very much I liked Saving Mr. Banks. I spent the entire time knowing I was being lied to — or at least being fed an incredibly glossy and highly fictionalized story that never let pesky facts get in the way of its agenda. I never for one moment felt like I was watching anything other than Tom Hanks with a mustache playing a cozy, fantasy Uncle Walt, or that Emma Thompson was really anyone other than Emma Thompson playing a crowd-pleasing construct of author P.L. Travers. Despite it
staRting wEDnEsDay
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Three terrific movies hit town on Friday, so the Wednesday opening of this sequel to the unaccountably popular 2004 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy will give you time to get it out of your system. This is assuming you haven’t reached Burgundy burnout from Dodge commercials and the character showing up on what passes for real newscasts. You already know if this Will Ferrell comedy is in your future. (pg-13)
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Walking with Dinosaurs There are two — equally overemphatic — trailers for Walking with Dinosaurs. One suggests a semi-serious computer-animated attempt to “document” the life of dinosaurs. The other looks like the usual anthropomorphic kiddie-movie with an empowerment message — only with talking dinosaurs. My guess is that the second interpretation is nearer to the mark. Check out the array of voice actors like Karl Urban, John Leguizamo and Justin Long, not to mention dinosaurs named Ricky, Uncle Zack, Alex and Patchi. You have been warned. (pg)
Saving Mr. Banks See review in “Cranky Hanke”
American Hustle See review in “Cranky Hanke”
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Jimmy stewArt Film series All films are shown at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. All events are free unless otherwise noted. Info: 250-4700. • TU (12/24), 3pm - It’s a Wonderful Life
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modestonc.com Grove Arcade 828.225.4133 DEcEmBER 18 - DEcEmBER 24, 2013
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