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CINEMA
Friday |September 13 - September 19 | 2019
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TOP 5 MOVIES of the week
HSJC | Staff Writers
4.The Pianist (2002) A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II.
5. The Thin Red Line (1998) Adaptation of James Jones’ autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.
3. Schindler’s List (1993) In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
2. Apocalypse Now A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
1. Saving Private Ryan
WAR MOVIES
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
HUSTLERS REVIEW
Jennifer Lopez delivers one of her best performances in this true crime film JOI CHILDS |CONTRIBUTED
T
he whole country is a strip club: you’ve got people throwing the money and you’ve got people doing the dance,” Jennifer Lopez’s Ramona says at a pivotal point of Hustlers; a simplistic but apt way of describing the search for power and control that drives this layered and unexpectedly weighty heist movie. Inspired by the 2015 New York Magazine piece “The Hustlers at Scores,” the Lorene Scafaria-directed and written film explores a group of strippers who brazenly embezzle money from rich club attendees. We follow the group starting in 2007: Destiny (Constance Wu) is new to the club with the desire to take care of her ailing grandmother. She becomes entranced with Ramona, an ambitious veteran of the club whose entire focus is providing for her daughter, who soon takes Destiny under her wing. Things are going well until the 2008 recession: with powerful CEOs and stock brokers feeling the squeeze, they’re less likely to splash their cash in the club, prompting the enterprising Ramona to mastermind a new way of getting paid: drugging these powerful men and stealing their money. On its face, this would be a perfectly serviceable story if it focused on the act of embezzling. But where the
HILLBILLY from D1
mom?” “She’s sleeping in, not feeling so hot. It’s just you and me pal. Hungry?” “Sure.” I was always hungry in the morning. I thought little else about it until sometime before noon. Mom never slept that late, so I sneaked into the bedroom to see if she was awake yet. The bedside light was on, and mom was just layin’ there in the bed, awake, but looking like death warmed over. “You all right mom?” “Sit down here. I have something to tell you.” She patted a spot on the bed. I did as asked, wondering what was going on. Did she
film elevates a potentially cliched Robin Hood story is in showcasing the bonds and motivations of the women, thanks to Scafaria’s one-two punch of script and direction. Behind the camera, Scafaria guides the scenes to avoid making the strip club look oversexed - not to say that the film is lacking in allure, but Scafaria approaches the performances with an artistic lens more than a voyeuristic one. Stripping is equally sensual and athletic, and both are celebrated in Hustlers - a highlight of this is Ramona teaching Destiny some of the more difficult moves in a dancer’s repertoire to help her drum up tips. Getting instructions around the “tabletop” and the different “hooks” you can do with your leg is unexpected but welcomed, reinforcing the authenticity that’s been built. As for the script, it’s clear Scafaria prioritized the complexity and friendship of these characters - and it pays off. One standout scene that highlights this pay-off is when the women celebrate Christmas together. It’s a time of celebration and extravagant gifts, not only amongst the women but their extended families as well. Moments like Ramona and Destiny’s grandmother swapping stories shine through as the soul of the piece. Both elements wouldn’t
work without the right actors breathing life into these words. Constance Wu conveys the emotional weight needed to carry this story and serves as the conscience of the operation. But it’s Jennifer Lopez’s driven performance as Ramona that steers the ship. Deploying some of the best acting in her expansive career, Lopez is particularly inspiring as the gang’s ring leader – able to flip from cons i d e r at e to cold on a dime. Wu and Lopez’s chemistry on screen is electric with a friendship that feels so genuine, you’re almost disappointed this bubble they’ve crafted isn’t real.
and Robert have an argument? I could tell she’d been crying. Her eyes were red and watery looking. “About the brother, I promised you.” “What about him?” “I hate to disappoint you. Robert and I are also disappointed. Sometimes these things happen, and there’s nothing anybody can do about it.” “What are you talking about?” “There will be no baby brother this time.” She started crying again. “What do you mean? Is it going to be a girl?” One day there’s a brother coming, the next day zip. “You’re old enough now,” she said. “Look in the bowl.” There was what looked
like a porcelain baby potty with a lid on it by the bed. I stared at it but didn’t move. “Go on. You need to see what happened.” I gently slipped off the side of her bed and lifted the lid. What I saw made me want to vomit. In the bowl was a lot of blood and tissue mixed. “What’s that?” It looked like something grandpa might throw up after a weekend of drinking with his buddies at the river.” “That’s the brother I promised. I had a miscarriage during the night. I’m so sorry.” I’d heard about miscarriages, but never really conceived what they might look like, and I don’t think I would ever like to see another one.
well-executed heist, Hustlers is an entertaining ride with something meaningful to say about power and control.
VERDICT Thanks to Lorene Scafaria’s assured writing and direction, this often sensationalized profession is dimensionalized in fascinating ways without falling back on tired tropes. With a nuanced script, standout performances, and the adrenaline of a
It took a few minutes for it to sink in. My baby brother was nothing but a rotten looking mess in a slop jar? I must have let out the most god-awful scream, and I didn’t remember anything after that until I came to on the couch with grandma at the house and a cold washcloth on my forehead. Robert, not knowing what to do, left me there with mom and went to get grandma. I have lived with the memory of the baby brother I didn’t get for all of my life. That scene is etched in my brain. For weeks I blamed my mother. A lesson like that sometimes hardens a person to live. That’s when I learned that you couldn’t be sure of anything until it happens.