MOVIE - Norman

R (1:58)

Limited release 4/14/2017

Viewed June 1, 2017 at Downtown Carlisle Theater
IMBd: 6.2/10

RT Critic: 89   Audience:  57
Critic's Consensus:  Norman's elegantly told story is brought brilliantly to life by a quietly powerful performance from Richard Gere.

Cag:  3.5 

Directed by Joseph Cedar

Sony Pictures Classics

Richard Gere, Michael Sheen

My comments:  I was a little confused at first, which unsettled me a bit.  So it took me about the first half of the film to get into it and relax.  Once I completely realized what was happening, I went with the flow.  There was some interesting cinematography, juxtaposing conversations in two different places on the same screen in a really interesting way.  Quickie, almost cameos, by some really good actors.  All in all, I'm glad I went.  I also realized that this beautiful old theater in downtown Carlisle must have been created by the same architect that created the Critereon in Bar Harbor, Maine.  They are so alike!

RT/ IMDb Summary:   Norman Oppenheimer is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman's life dramatically changes for better and worse.

MOVIE - The Dinner

R (2:00)

Limited release 5/5/17

Viewed 5/8/17 at The Majestic Theater in Gettysburg, PA
IMBd: 5.5

RT Critic: 53   Audience:  17
Critic's Consensus:  The Dinner's strong ensemble isn't enough to overcome a screenplay that merely skims the surface of its source material's wit and insight.

Cag:  3/ Liked some of it a lot, didn't like some of it a lot....

Directed by Oren Moverman

Chubbco Film Company

Based on the novel by Herman Koch

Richard Gere, Laura Linnley, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, Chloe Sevigny

My comments:  This was one bizarre movie.  And what will follow contain spoilers, I'm sure. Because you can't talk about this movie without mentioning spoilers.  Mental illness is not the biggest theme in the movie. Overprotecting children, total and complete selfishness, "bad" kids, and good politicians - all the major themes are almost polar opposite of what we would like to think we believe - as "good" people of the world.  And as I let this movie sit, and sink in, and stir inside my head, I'm incredulous.  The only sane, good person, was the politician.  The rest were so totally flawed that that the only redemption might come to the brother with mental illness.  But not unless he rids himself of his ridiculous wife.  Mental health issues are a sickness, and this point is made abundantly clear (thank goodness) in this movie.  But the director really copped out when it came to the ending.
     I can't believe that I watched this movie in a theater in Gettysburg, not knowing that part of it was set in Gettysburg. That was quite a surprise. A great surprise.  One of the shots was the exact same shot I took a couple of weeks ago! The actors were superb.  But I think the story was confusingly woven in a way that the majority of viewers will get really confused.  I know that for me not to have someone to discuss it with is a huge downfall.  I need Sheila!
     And after the cop-out ending, the music BLARING from the screen was "Don't let them fuckers get you down."  The whole experience was a bizarre one.  I know that all the other people in the theater with me (about a dozen) left the theater complaining and/or scratching their heads.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  When Stan Lohman (Richard Gere), a popular congressman running for governor, invites his troubled younger brother Paul (Steve Coogan) and his wife Claire (Laura Linney) to join him and his wife Katelyn (Rebecca Hall) for dinner at one of the town's most fashionable restaurants, the stage is set for a tense night. While Stan and Paul have been estranged since childhood, their 16-year- old sons are friends, and the two of them have committed a horrible crime that has shocked the country. While their sons' identities have not yet been discovered and may never be, their parents must now decide what action to take. As the night proceeds, beliefs about the true natures of the four people at the table are upended, relationships shatter, and each person reveals just how far they are willing to go to protect those they love.