Movies Of The Spirit - Page 20 of 25 -

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD

Gail Harris Getty (Michelle Williams) waits for father-in-law, J P Getty.

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

I understand why Kevin Spacey needed to be replaced. Director, Ridley Scott, needed a J P Getty, with whom the audience could be sympathetic.

Christopher Plummer, as J P Getty, fulfills the role of the American success icon, and his daughter-in-law, Gail Harris Getty (Michelle Williams,), walks a very fine line between the good mother and the gold digger.

Contrary to what the ending of this film leads the audience to believe, Gail Getty, married to one of Getty’s sons, John Paul Getty, II, does not end up controlling any of the inheritance money, at all.

Getty’s trust was overseen by his sons, Gordon and Ronald.

This is a pretty heavy-handed departure from the truth, which I suppose can be summed up as an accusation.

In the film, Gail is the one who suggests to her husband that they contact his father for financial help.

And, Gail is the one who contacts Getty for the 17 million in ransom money, to release her son, John Paul Getty III.

J P Getty died just three years after this kidnap incident. It pretty much took its toll on him and his status as an American icon.

After Gail’s son’s ear was cut off, after her son is freed, and after her son has a drug and alcohol stroke (not depicted in the film), Gail is also the one who requests funds to take care of him for the rest of his life.

Gail’s husband, John Paul Getty II, becomes an addict and divorces her for another woman, her son gets kidnapped, and then, her son becomes wheelchair bound, blind, quadriplegic, and unable to speak.

These events do not earn Gail Harris Getty any motherhood awards.

I do not believe that any of this was J P Getty’s fault.

J P Getty’s greatest crime was to be so focused on his career that he became the richest man in the world at that time, putting family and relationships, second.

If being married five times is a crime, he was guilty of that, as well.

Unconditional love was not a J P Getty strength. This imbalance in his life is what caused him a lot of strife and money.

“All the Money in the World,” written by David Scarpa, based on John Pearson’s 1995 book Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty,” is well worth the price of admission.

J P Getty Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Paul_Getty

J P Getty Jr. Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Getty_Jr.

True story:

http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a9173861/john-paul-getty-kidnapping/

Getty Family:

http://www.tatler.com/gallery/meet-the-getty-family-andrew-getty-history-fortune-getty-images

SYND 18-7-73 ABIGAIL HARRIS TALKS ABOUT THE KIDNAP OF HER SON

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdBDlBODjhw

What happened to John Paul Getty III?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eljSzWsaUIw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca3ODhI7dW8

The Real Story of “All the Money in the World” by Ridley Scott

http://www.rebelcircus.com/blog/the-real-story-of-all-the-money-in-the-world/

Getty leaves bulk of fortune to son Mark

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1446836/Getty-leaves-bulk-of-fortune-to-son-Mark.html

How Mark Getty grew from the child seen in ‘All the Money in the World’ to be one of Britain’s richest men

https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/mark-getty-all-the-money-in-the-world/

Court Refuses to Alter Inheritance Left by J. Paul Getty to Eldest Son

http://articles.latimes.com/1986-12-14/local/me-3291_1_j-paul-getty

How to Be Rich by J. Paul Getty

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/616693.How_to_Be_Rich

J Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer), I died on 6 June 1976, sitting in his favorite armchair at Sutton Place.

Charlie Plummer as J Paul Getty III.

2/4/2018 # All The Money in The World

MOLLY’S GAME

Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) uses her wits to run her own poker games.

MOLLY’S GAME

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

Birth order does matter. Molly Bloom was at most 4 years older than her two brothers, Jordan and Jeremy. For many years, she was older, brighter and stronger than they were.

Then in a curious twist of fate, she ends up with a serious back surgery around the age of twelve. Her edge, her leadership, her physical and mental advantage interrupted, but not forever.

Molly is now the subject of an Academy Award film, “Molly’s Game”, in the category of Best Adapted Screenplay, based on a biographical book that she wrote.

Females are not supposed to outshine their brothers, not in this world or even in an American culture. But, Molly started out ahead, and that has a built in confidence that is ingrained for life.

I hate to speculate on this, but society has its way of preventing such women from succeeding, and from keeping that confidence and advantage.

Molly’s family wants her to become an attorney, but Molly talks them into a year’s delay. Her travels end up in Los Angeles, which is unauthorized and, at which point, her funds are discontinued.

For the first time in her life, Molly (Jessica Chastain) is doing what she wants to do. She is attracted to the film capitol of the world.

Suddenly, without funds, she gets a job as a cocktail waitress. A far cry from an attorney, but it enables her to stay in Los Angeles.

Seeing her comfort and confidence around men, a real estate agent, Dean Keith (Jeremy Strong) invites Molly to be his personal assistant in putting together underground poker games, in which a room full of Hollywood male stars and the elite are invited.

Suddenly, Molly is making $3000 dollar a night tips for her efforts.

Molly is his assistant in this business, and she can see that he is not making it work, but rather than helping him correct this, she betrays him.

Yes, he was verbally abusive to her, but when it comes down to where the rubber meets the road, the boys will always stick together.

Her next mistake is taking her poker games to New York City, which is an even more dangerous place for a woman to try to outshine the guys.

The mob must have seen her as an easy mark, when they saw the kinds of money that was changing hands in her multi-million dollar poker enterprise, all operated by women.

Molly should now be able to see the value of a tough Dean Keith as a partner, because addicts have no boundaries.

A career as a poker princess was not meant to be, but it was not right living anyway.

Skipping ahead, Molly is back in Hollywood, selling her book idea, “Molly’s Game” to screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin.

This is what Molly was meant to do, this is her future, if she chooses to take it.

I found this film to be very timely, considering the “Me Too” climate of today.

Jessica Chastain does a fabulous job of portraying her character, who gets emotionally abused, beat up and hammered by the justice system.

It is noteworthy to say that Jessica Chastain was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture at the Golden Globes.

Molly Bloom, post poker games.

History vs Hollywood:

http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/mollys-game/

Molly Bloom Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Bloom_(author)

The rise and fall and rise of Molly Bloom:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-of-molly-bloom-32sfw9fr7

Watch Author Molly Bloom Speak at MPW Next Gen I Fortune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyAghWuqyFY

Molly Bloom – Molly’s Game Movie Interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK8pbMeKnrI

Molly Bloom & Jessica Chastain Interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPojk2niG2M

MOLLY’S GAME Interviews- Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba and Aaron Sorkin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsnrc34g09A

Academy Conversations: Molly’s Game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grb_sYmqQsQ

Jessica Chastain Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Chastain

Aaron Sorkin Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin – From Addict to Academy Award Nominee:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObIfH4utYPU

Aaron Sorkin on the fears he faced in directing “Molly’s Game”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0mThA3kvEg

Aaron Sorkin sorts truth and fiction in his directorial debut, Colorado-rooted “Molly’s Game”:

http://theknow.denverpost.com/2017/12/22/aaron-sorkin-mollys-game-molly-bloom-colorado-interview/170666/

Mother, Char Bloom on board of Make a Wish:

https://wishofalifetime.org/about/board-of-directors/char-bloom/

Molly’s Bio with pictures:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5255519/Molly-Bloom-leads-quiet-life-poker-princess-days.html

Molly with her brothers Jordan (left) and Jeremy (right)

Molly on slopes with her two brothers.

1/26/2018 # Molly’s Game

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum surrounded by his circus performers.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

Film review by Marlene Ardoin

When P. T. Barnum was fifteen, he became head of his father’s household, which included ten children and his own mother, who was his hardworking father’s 2^nd wife.

In the mid-eighteen hundreds, there were no safety nets to catch you, if you fell off the trapeze of life.

The story told in the film, ‘The Greatest Showman,” touches up the rough parts of his story, but only focuses on a very simplified aspect of his life, which was his ability to create acceptance and dignity for individuals, who did not fit into society’s norm.

The real P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman), was a shrewd businessman, a store keeper, a lottery organizer, a newspaper publisher, an author, a speaker, a politician, and a showman, who re-invented himself many times.

He did not start the circus until he was in his 60s.

He had two museum buildings that burned to the ground, before he was forced to come up with the circus tent idea.

Barnum backed the Union during the civil war, which was most likely the reason his museum buildings kept catching fire, not because of what he was displaying in his buildings.

Religious-wise, Barnum was a Universalist and had a solid marriage, which lasted for forty years. He fathered four daughters with his first wife.

When his first wife, Charity (Michelle Williams) died, he married a 2^nd time to a woman, Nancy Fish, who was 20 years his junior, and that marriage lasted another twenty years.

In the film, his partner Zac Efron’s character, Phillip Carlyle, is purely fictitious .

In real life, he met up with James Anthony McGinnes, who had been orphaned at eight years, then adopted by another circus owner, who gave him the name, James Anthony Bailey.

When the two circus’s merged, it became Barnum and Bailey’s Circus. The real Bailey died in his fifties of a horrible skin disease. And, he was about 20 years younger than P.T. Barnum. Not too romantic for a Hollywood film.

The reason I am giving you all of this information, is because, even though I loved the film, “The Greatest Showman”, the real story was so much greater.

So, do the filmmakers go for beauty and romance, or what would happen if the filmmakers attempted to tell the real story in its context? If they had, I think it would have been Oscar worthy.

P.T. Barnum Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/phineas-taylor-barnum-2499.php

https://connecticuthistory.org/p-t-barnum-an-entertaining-life/

History vs hollywood

http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/greatest-showman/

James Anthony Bailey Bio:

http://www.circusesandsideshows.com/owners/jamesbailey.html

Universalist Church:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalist_Church_of_America

Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) falls in love with the beautiful Anne Wheeler (Zendaya).

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1/13/2018 # the Greatest Showman

WONDER

The Pullman family walks together in confronting a school bully. (l to r) Owen Wilson, Gidget, Jacob Tremblay, Izabela Vidovic and Julia Roberts.

WONDER

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

Even though “Wonder” takes place during the Halloween season, I found it to be the perfect holiday season film.

Only the hardest heart will remain unmoved by this story. The silent tears spontaneously started about mid-way for me, not because of the degree of bullying meanness, but because of the humor, kindness and open-heartedness that evolves in its storytelling.

Jacob Tremblay plays August “Auggie” Pullman, Isabel (Julia Roberts) and Nate’s (Owen Wilson) son who was born with Treacher Collins syndrome.

After I was exposed to Auggie’s humor, intelligence, and humility, he starts to look like the normal kid, and the bullies start to look like grotesque, fractured souls.

Bullying is one of the unfortunate side products of a competitive system. The losers need to feel superior to someone, and that someone is usually the kid or individual who looks different.

However, standing out from the crowd is what makes one a winner in real life. Who wants to be like everybody else?

Mandy Patinkin as Mr. Tushman, could easily play one of the benevolent Harry Potter wizardry professors.

Mr. Tushman is the dean who confronts the parents of the main bully, Julian (Bryce Gheisar).

Patinkin models how school officials should respond to bullying in the school setting.

Unfortunately, bullying happens everywhere, at school, at work, at home and even in government.

Please see this movie. It could save your job, your family, your community or your children.

The film, “Wonder,” teaches the power of kindness.

Mandy Patinkin Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandy_Patinkin

Bullying:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/bullying

Auggie sits with his friends at school.

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12/11/2017 # Wonder

VICTORIA & ABDUL

Judi Dench as Queen Victoria and Ali Fazal as Abdul Karim

VICTORIA & ABDUL

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

The true story of Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim is used to illustrate every facet of ageism, racism and sexism as it existed in Victorian England.

In 1887, Karim meets Queen Victoria when she is 68 years old, and has been queen for fifty years. She was tired, bored and ready to die.

As I see it, Karim was not about to let that happen, not on his watch. It was a time when sexual liaisons were popular, but I do not think that this was what was happening.

Her eldest son, and heir apparent, Edward VII, was a notorious womanizer, and probably assumed this of his mother.

What attracted Queen Victoria to Abdul Karim, was his positivity, devotion and kindness to her. Karim was the son that she wished she had.

Reading the history of this era, I discover that there was bad blood between Victoria and her son, Edward VII.

Two weeks after Edward was reprimanded by his father for being a womanizer, the Queen’s beloved husband, Albert, dies. This is not something a wife or mother forgets.

After her husband Albert’s death, with whom she bore nine children, Queen Victoria expressed her deep grief by wearing black for the rest of her life.

With Karim by her side, Queen Victoria gets a second wind, and becomes a popular, benevolent mother figure to her subjects and to Karim for another 14 years.

The argument of which culture was the more civilized of the two, English or Muslim, is another part of this film.

Edward VII is anxious to take over the throne. Here’s where the ageism part comes in.

Edward tries everything under the sun to make that happen, short of taking a gun to her head.

After thirteen years of service, Karim takes a year off to return to India. When he returns, he finds Queen Victoria is markedly aged and feeble. She dies three months later.

The kind and considerate queen did make provisions for Karim. She arranged for him to be given property and a pension in India, which director Stephen Frears and writer Lee Hall did not mentioned in the film.

Karim’s estate was in Agra, where his family resided until the Indian independence.

Karim died eight years after the queen, he did not have any children.

While this film was being made, there were protesters in Agra. They tried to stop the resurrection of the statue of Queen Victoria, which was taken down after the independence revolution.

This is a fascinating story and I am so glad I was able to catch it.

Judi Dench deserves to get a best actress nomination for her role in “Victoria & Abdul.”

Queen Victoria Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria

Abdul Karim (the Munshi) Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Karim_(the_Munshi)

Edward VII’s Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VII

Right wing group stalls shoot of Ali Fazal’s ‘Victoria and Abdul’ in Agra over Queen Victoria’s statue:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Right-wing-group-stalls-shoot-of-Ali-Fazals-Victoria-and-Abdul-in-Agra-over-Queen-Victorias-statue/articleshow/55497083.cms

Queen Victoria and the Munshi in 1893.

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12/3/2017 # Victoria & Abdul

A BAD MOM’S CHRISTMAS

A Bad Moms Christmas

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

There is plenty of guilt to go around in “A Bad Moms Christmas.”

And, in my opinion, that is why the newer generations are dropping out of religion, in general.

This film, brings in the big guns, the grandmothers, played by Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski and Cheryl Hines.

If the mothers thought that other mothers were critical, that pales when compared to their own mothers.

What these grandmothers need to realize is that they need to not only bribe the grandkids, but they should also bribe their own daughters.

Their daughters need their support and goodwill.

And, unless the grandmothers happen to have really good Long Term Care policies in place, they need to have their daughters like them, not compete with them.

The main problem appears to be that the grandmothers do not have lives of their own.

One shows up to sponge, another to compete, and the third grandmother wants to be her daughter.

The standouts of this film for me were Susan Sarandon as Carla’s (Kathryn Hahn) hippy mom and Wanda Sykes as Kiki’s (Kristen Bell) psychiatrist.

Mila Kunis should never have agreed to let her mother, or the directors (Jon Lucas and Scott Moore) of this film, talk her into wearing that ridiculous nose while caroling.

What may work for guys in a Hangover film, does not translate well for a woman in a female role. It is just not funny.

I did like this film, and cried happy tears at its ending.

Mothers, make even the undertaker sorry to see you go.

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11/13/2017 # A Bad Moms Christmas

LBJ

Lyndon B. Johnson (Woody Harrelson) gets sworn in after Kennedy’s death.

LBJ

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

If you were around when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, you may remember that Lyndon B. Johnson was not exactly a welcome replacement.

I witnessed these events during the last years of high school and my first years of college during the 1960’s. This film is correct with the charge that his physical appearance was a factor in his not being accepted.

I remember family members referring to LBJ as “Shit-face.” However, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t exactly a show horse, either.

The distance of time does help to clearly see what LBJ did with his time in office. He was a very productive United States president, who committed himself completely to carrying out Kennedy’s vision.

LBJ created an impressive array of benefits, with his war on poverty, which we now enjoy and pretty much just take for granted.

In the film, Woody Harrelson, as LBJ, illustrates that it wasn’t his good looks, but (I prefer) his big heart and hard work that got it done.

Another film that Harrelson pulled his weight in as lead actor was as Larry Flynt in “The People vs. Larry Flynt.”

LBJ’s accomplishments included the Civil Rights Act, Medicare, Medicaid, the 9-1-1 system, Food Stamps, the Social Security Acts, the Bilingual Education Act, and he was the president who put the Black attorney, Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court.

This is just a short list of his long list of political accomplishments.

Jennifer Jason Leigh does an outstanding job of portraying Lady Bird Johnson.

Leigh not only looks and sounds like Lady Bird, but she illustrates how his wife single-handedly healed LBJ’s wounded ego and self-destructiveness, so he was able to ignore all the negativity surrounding him.

When I graduated from college, I went to Hawaii, and while on a tour, the local guide complained and blamed LBJ for the flowering bushes along Hawaiian freeways. Another one of LBJ’s agenda items was beautifying the National Freeway System. At the time, he just could not do anything right.

If you get anything from this film, it is, leaders with big hearts, need to also have thick skins.

Bio of Lyndon B. Johnson:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson

Bio of Woody Harrelson:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Harrelson

Bio of Jennifer Jason Leigh:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Jason_Leigh

Lyndon B. Johnson versus Woody Harrelson.

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11/11/2017 # LBJ

MARSHALL

(l to r) Josh Gad, who plays the Jewish attorney, Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall and Sterling K. Brown as Joseph Spell, the man accused of rape.

MARSHALL

Film review by Marlene Ardoin

Of all the landmark trials that Thurgood Marshall was involved with, why do the filmmakers of “Marshall” pick a rape trial?

Thurgood Marshall won the case for integration of schools; he overthrows the South’s “white primary;” he strikes down legality of racially restrictive covenants; he demolishes legal basis for segregation in America; he ends the practice of segregation on buses, which ended the Montgomery Bus Boycott; he successfully defends civil rights demonstrators; and he becomes the first African American named to U.S. Supreme Court (1967–1991).

Are these accomplishments too boring for us to understand? I really don’t want to learn about them in the footnotes at the end of this film.

Director, Reginald Hudlin, has amassed an impressive cast, but his film seems overly concerned about the manhood issues of black men and Jewish men.

I feel that the script’s humiliating jabs at Jewish manhood were uncalled for. I don’t care what your ancestors went through, you get to carry your own bags.

Josh Gad, who plays the Jewish attorney, Sam Friedman, is Jewish in real life. Most practicing Jews are strong, but humble, and make a point of giving back to the community. They are very sensitive to homelessness, which is part of their ancestral baggage.

Marshall’s accomplishments give him his manhood, not (spoiler alert) winning a rape trial.

The script was written by Michael Koskoff, a successful, practicing attorney and his script-writing son, Jacob Koskoff.

There is a lot of interesting detail, like what to look for when picking a jury, but had they chosen to write about one of Marshall’s more history-making trials, they may have had a shot at an Academy Award.

In “Marshall,” perhaps without realizing it, the filmmakers illustrate, arguably, how women are the most oppressed group.

Kate Hudson plays Eleanor Strubing, the trapped, abused wife. She gets royal care as long as she doesn’t have any feelings, ideas or aspirations of her own.

Eleanor is the white version of Marshall’s own wife, Vivian (Keesha Sharp), who keeps miscarrying her pregnancies, which appear to be stress related.

The juror, Mrs. Richmond (Ahna O’Reilly), shows us the female leadership potential, when allowed freedom.

When was it that women got the vote? August 18, 1920, was only about 20 years before Mrs. Richmond is leading this jury.

Did Mrs. Richmond have a happy marriage; did she have an education; did she have her own money; her own property? Power was not something women during the 1940’s were used to having.

And, last, but not least, how was it that Thurgood Marshall was so successful as a trial attorney, winning 29 out of the 32 Supreme Court cases? One possible reason was that he could easily pass for White.

He does get a good education and he is very motivated to right the wrongs of his race. But, his physical appearance allowed juries and judges to identify with him and his objectives. That is my theory, and I am sticking to it.

Thurgood Marshall in 1936 at the beginning of his career with the NAACP.

Bio of Thurgood Marshall:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurgood_Marshall

Bio of Chadwick Boseman:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadwick_Boseman

Bio of Josh Gad:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Gad

Bio of director Reginald Hudlin:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Hudlin

Bio of Michael Koskoff (Jacob is his son):

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm7817658/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Kate Hudson as Eleanor Strubing

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10/20/2017 # Marshall

9/11

(l to r) Wood Harris, Olga Fonda, Charlie Sheen, Luis Guzmán and Jacqueline Bisset, moments before the disaster.

9/11

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

I feel the pressure to review “9/11” quick, before it disappears from the theaters. The anniversary of this infamous event is over, but with all the current disasters in the news, this story is still relevant and timely, and worth seeing.

Some people are not seeing it because Charlie Sheen fell off their pedestal. I am here to tell you that in this film, I can verify that he has kicked the coke, prostitute and “winning” reputation.

Charlie Sheen is believable as a billionaire stock trader, who effectively defends his right to be.

Based on the stage play, “Elevator” by Patrick Carson, it covers every angle of human behavior in a disaster.

Whoopi Goldberg is solid as the faithful elevator surveillance operator, who will not budge from her position, because she knows that people are depending on her help in the crisis.

Luis Guzmán plays Eddie, the custodial engineer, who becomes indispensable to the survival of the five individuals trapped in the elevator together.

Jacqueline Bisset is Diane, the billionaire’s estranged wife, who is reminded of all his good qualities during the disaster. One minute, she wants him to sign the divorce papers, and in a twinkling of an eye, she is defending him to his critics with vivid examples.

But, the billionaire (Charlie Sheen) earns his right to live. An avid reader, he cites examples of how they can survive a disaster in an elevator.

He points out that he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he sacrificed his own health, his own marriage and his own family, for his success.

Wood Harris is Michael, a Black courier, who reveals his own prejudices and Olga Fonda plays Tina, a Russian mistress, who has reached her limit in such a relationship.

All of these people ultimately realize that if they are going to survive, they need to drop the assumptions about each other and work together.

I appreciated the poetic touches in this film, such as the elevator worker passing the desperate wife without recognition of each other as ashes fall all around them.

The ending is abrupt, but it allows each filmgoer to decide for themselves, who deserves to live or die.

I highly recommend “9/11,” and I am planning to pick up a DVD copy of it for my collection.

Above and beyond worker, Whoopi Goldberg as Metzie.

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9/19/2017 # 9/11

WIND RIVER

Rookie FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) enlists the help of game tracker, Cory (Jeremy Renner).

WIND RIVER

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

Taylor Sheridan, writer/director of last year’s “Hell or High Water,” appears to champion women in “Wind River.”

Sheridan points out how young, American Indian women get raped and disappear regularly, with no records to verify the crimes.

In the film, we discover that there are at least three young women, who have met this fate. There appears to be a serious cockroach infestation in the area.

So, who do the FBI send? A female FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) from Las Vegas, or is it Florida, is sent to Wyoming.

Jeremy Renner plays Cory Lambert, an effective and sharp-shooting U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker. It appears that wild animals, who prey on livestock, are kept better track of than rapists and murderers on the reservation.

Rookie FBI special agent Jane Banner (Olsen) needs lessons on how to survive in the brutal Wyoming winter weather, and Cory (Renner) helps her out, so she enlists his help in her investigation.

The investigation leads us to an oil rig community, who are raping the reservation lands in yet another way.

The brother of the raped girl, Chip (Martin Sensmeier), is an addict, living in a trailer on the reservation. The impotence of the American Indians appears to be generational. Wyoming lands are a brutal and a hopeless place for the offspring.

In the script, Cory (Renner) chastises Chip for not doing more with his life. He tells him that he could have gone into the services or to college.

His sister, Natalie (Kelsey Chow) , seemed to have a happy high school life, according to the pictures of her.

But, as soon as she leaves school, at 18, she is released from any adult instruction or direction. I guess this is what happened to her brother, Chip, as well.

Back to our female FBI agent, she proves that she has as much grit as she has humility in her situation.

The one thing that rubbed me the wrong way, was the graphicness of the rape scene as it unfolded. The situation was believable and just a little bit too pornographic for my taste, which seems to be a Sheridan signature move.

Is Sheridan suggesting that the American Indians are to blame? Or, is there something wrong with how the US government deals with the American Indian population?

Either way, the American Indians are portrayed as victims. Why can’t they be the heroes in this story? And why does the director choose non-American Indians to play their roles?

By hero, I do not mean running six miles barefoot in the snow.

If there is one thing the American Indians do not need, it is another tale of how badly they have become victims.

Bio of writer/director Taylor Sheridan:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Sheridan

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9/12/2017 # Wind River