Female Film Critics 24/375
Advertised as an absurdist comedy, Noah Baumbach’s White Noise is neither fanciful nor funny. Adapted by Baumbach from Dom DiLillo’s minimalist satire, it revolves around how a Midwestern family in the 1980s copes with an environmental disaster and their fears of death.
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White Noise is just that – a bunch of white noise. Psycho babble. Constant talking over one another about the state of the world and the well being of one particular family in 1985 America. Jack and Babette are an existential Mike and Carol Brady. Divorcées with a blended family who must learn to get along with each other as well as the ever changing world. While grappling with consumerism on the home front, the tackle fear and the unknown when forced to evacuate their neighborhood due to an Airborne Toxic Event,
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In White Noise, Noah Baumbach again, and comically, proves he knows exactly how to excavate the dynamic inner workings of a family and the dysfunctional society which empowers its members. At face value, the ironically named Gladney family offers a spectrum of amusing individuals. Central is J.A.K. i.e., Jack, Professor of Hitler Studies at the College-on-the-Hill, proudly lectures in the classroom.
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Ridley Scott’s extravagant melodrama House of Gucci delves into what led to the 1995 murder of Maurizio Gucci, scion of the Milan-based fashion family.
This sordid saga of love, backstabbing and betrayal begins as Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), an accountant at her father’s trucking company, sets her sights on bespectacled Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), whom she meets at a disco party. Although he’s smitten, his suave, snobbish father Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons) spots her as a crass, social-climbing gold-digger.
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Every bit as plastique and fabulous as a knock-off designer handbag, House of Gucci is a wildly entertaining soap opera about people fighting over money, from director Ridley Scott. .Based on a real-life story of greed and betrayal and tragedy, in the telling here it is busy and beautiful to look at. There are a couple of leaps in the storytelling that don’t quite add up and a complaint might be lodged about some of the more melodramatic bits — but it’s all so visually dazzling and fun to watch that none of these quibbles add up to much.
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House of Gucci chronicles unpleasant events regarding this fashion brand. Based on Sara Gay Forden’s 2001 book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed, the four elements emphasized in her title pinpoint the essence of the drama. Announced on screen as “inspired by true events,” it has, nevertheless, received extensive Gucci family criticism, the book and the film. No wonder, for no one comes off admirably depicted.
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In 14th century France, a cleric stated: “Rape is not a crime against a woman. It’s a property matter.” The rape in this sprawling story is described from three distinct perspectives with a slashing duel-to-the-death looming as the inevitable conclusion.
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Annette is not wholly successful, but that’s all right because it’s wholly mesmerizing. It begins with the cast and crew introducing themselves and the film to follow in procession. The film is a collaboration between scriptwriters Ron and Russell Mael (the band Sparks) and director Leon Carax. This opening number is meant to throw you off. It’s a bumpy ride. Annette is also unforgettable as journey more than destination.
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Annette is an eccentric, hallucinatory rock opera about love, passion and celebrity, set in Los Angeles. It begins as a voiceover cautions viewers not to “sing, laugh, clap, cry, yawn, boo or fart,” adding “breathing will not be tolerated during the show so, please, take a deep last breath right now.”
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Part fantasy, part cheeky treatise on modern life, Annette is very much a film of extremes, one that struggles to reconcile its differences. Director Leos Carax deservedly won the Director’s prize at Cannes– this is certainly an athletic effort on his part – but Annette remains a frustrating experiment in form and content.
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