The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Into the Past: 1996

Welcome to The Wasteland into the Past! Join this journey backwards in time as I take a cinematic look at years past. Each article will focus on a singular year and my Top 5 films from that year. Turn back the clock with me…and let’s get started! 

1996

Fargo

What are the Coen Brothers most known for when it comes to their films? They have two distinct speeds. There are the shockingly violent and brutal thrillers like No Country for Old Men then there are the silly and bonkers comedies like The Big Lebowski. But you do have films in their filmography that are able to balance both things. You do not have to look further than their iconic 1996 crime thriller that should have won Best Picture, Fargo. The Coens balance the perfect tone of awkward and silly humor with some truly shocking violence that is brutal as well as messy. They wholly understand the awkwardness and messiness of real life and that is seen throughout Fargo. This is a crime/thriller through and through as a down-on-his-luck car salesman with ambitions, but no backbone decides to get his wife kidnapped and steal the ransom money from his father-in-law. This plan certainly doesn’t go as expected and a series of unfortunate events unfold with a pregnant sheriff on the case. The film opens with a neo-western tinge as the camera (through Roger Deakins’ striking cinematography) captures the starkness of the cold climates of the northern mid-west. The music from Carter Burwell is weighty and full of mood and tension as well, which expertly sets the tone for this twisted dark tale. The tone does maneuver around the striking violence as well as the darkly comedic elements as well. One of the most notable comedic elements is the specific accents that so many of the characters have, including that “Minnesota nice” tone as well. There are also plenty of awkward and clumsy moments that play as both hilarious and unnerving (in a way that the Coens deliver on). The dialogue is sharp and can be quite biting as well (the Coens are certainly known for their great scripts and excellent banter amongst their characters). Fargo feels like a distillation of everything the Coens do so well and brought together into one cinematic experience. The visuals are stark and striking with the camera in the most intentional of ways. The story is a spider web of deceit, backstabbing, desperation, and crack detective skills on display. Jerry Lundegaard (our car salesman) might think that he has ideas and is clever, but he is sorely not. But he has a sharp, thoughtful, and clever detective, Marge Gunderson, on his tail. But Jerry also made the decision to hire a couple of inept and brutish criminals, Carl and Gaear, which leads to even more bloodshed, dead bodies, and a trunk full of money lost to the snow. The story is filled with funny interactions, clever detective work, and shocking thrills making the 100-minute run time just fly by. One of the most important pieces to this equation is the expertly cast ensemble that makes up this film. William H. Macy is as slimy and insecure as Jerry as he attempts to pull off this fraud well beyond his abilities. Frances McDormand is just pitch perfect as Marge with all of her charm, intelligence, and savvy shining through in the performance. Steve Buscemi is certainly funny looking and portrays Carl with the motor-mouthed annoyance that gets him at odds with his own partner. Peter Stormare is unnerving and intense as Gaear with the appearance of being on the verge of murder at any given moment. Like any Coen Brothers film. Fargo is stacked with plenty of perfectly cast character actors as well who just tie the whole experience together. Fargo does it all as it makes you feel, laugh, and cringe with a sharply written and impressively executed crime-thriller. 

Hamlet

What is the best way to bring William Shakespeare’s iconic play to life? When you have a Shakespeare expert like Kenneth Branagh, you just trust his process. That is an important point…even if Branagh’s process is going to create a four-hour film. Hamlet is a sprawling achievement in theatricality and a wholly committed process of bringing Shakespeare’s play to life. This is a fully realized cinematic expression of this iconic play that features such striking filmmaking, impressive acting, and an excellent and all-encompassing adaptation of this tragedy. The story of Hamlet is as classic as they come. The Danish Prince returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarried to his uncle (the murderer). With such a horrible situation, Hamlet takes it upon himself to turn the kingdom upside down and free his people from the nefarious betrayal of his uncle and mother. Alex Thomson is an excellent addition to Branagh’s crew as he is able to capture so many striking frames throughout the film. Every shot is meticulously chosen with so many powerful visions. There is a thoughtful balance of scale with wide shots capturing the beautiful film with a healthy number of intimate close-ups that allow the actors to amplify their emotions on screen. The scale of the throne room is powerful and the sequences with Hamlet’s father’s ghost are haunting to the core. The production design is ornate and elaborate in the grandest of ways and those colors just pop on screen. The same can be said about the period dress which is awe-inspiring to look at. The make-up stands out (especially with the ghostly visage of Hamlet’s father) and the hairstyling (both facial hair and on top of their heads) is quite impressive and exquisite. For a four-hour film, there is some impressive pacing as Branagh brings so much passion and electricity to his execution of Shakespeare’s work. The dialogue pops and the camera move in dynamic ways to keep the story moving forward. There is propulsive energy for the editing (done by Neil Farrell) which does plenty of heavy lifting in making the film move. The music by Patrick Doyle is grand and powerful as it captures the pomp and circumstance that Branagh is going for with this impressive adaptation. With such a faithful and detailed adaptation, the audience is being treated to such a range of different tones, themes, and feelings. There are thrilling sword duels, hilarious banter amongst the comic relief, shades of romance, and plenty of pent-up emotion just ready to boil over with any of these impressive monologues or soliloquies. Branagh commits to the source material so fully that you get to be enveloped by the dialogue that Shakespeare wrote and intended. There is a reason a filmmaker would commit to such a bit…the writing is impeccable. The audience cannot escape the power and scale of Branagh’s work as this story burrows underneath and sticks with you. But the most immense element of this whole film must be the grand ensemble that Branagh assembled. Branagh takes the reins himself as the titular prince with plenty of power, confidence, rage, and physicality to bring Shakespeare’s iconic character to life. Derek Jacobi is an iconic performer and his turn as Claudius is villainous and engrossing in all the best ways. Jule Christie is not to be overshadowed either as Hamlet’s mother. When you need a powerful presence to bring the Ghost of Hamlet’s Father to life, you cannot go wrong with the boisterous power of Brian Blessed. The rest of the ensemble is a staggering assembly of talent with Richard Attenborough, Billy Crystal, Judi Dench, Gerard Depardieu, Rosemary Harris, Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon, Simon Russell Beale, Rufus Sewell, Timothy Spall, Robin Williams, and Kate Winslet. This is one of the grandest Shakespeare adaptations of all time and just might be Branagh’s magnum opus. 

Scream

What is the most iconic slasher of the last 30 years that redefined the genre and breathed fresh life into it? This is an easy one…Wes Craven’s Scream. Craven had already set the bar in the slasher genre with his work with A Nightmare on Elm Street but this time, he takes a meta lens to the horror subgenre that made him famous. The slasher is a beloved segment of horror with all the gnarly and brutal kills and iconic killers. You already had Michael Myers, Freddy Kreuger, and Jason Voorhees but there was room for a new killer icon to come onto the scene back in 1996. Instead of being defined by the killer themselves, the persona of “Ghostface” would go on and become the most iconic legacy killer in all the horror genre. This iconic killer is defined by the striking white, ghostly mask along with the black outfit and a nice big knife for his slashing. One of the most fun elements of Ghostface is that it is just a person so they can be clumsy, trip, and fall while trying to enact their damage. They also have that iconic voice modulator that has given all Ghostfaces to come to that voice. They are horror movie fans and know what their influences are. This first film executed the final reveal of Ghostface’s identity so well that it has become an essential piece of every Scream film since. From the opening scene, we know that Craven is going for something different. There is a great sense of humor and plenty of 90s vibes swirling about Drew Barrymore’s Casey as she must play a game with Ghostface and answer “what is your favorite scary movie?”. The brutality and clever subversions of the opening scene (with the biggest name in the film dying in the first sequence) has made this film so iconic and set the stage for plenty of great horror and humor to come. The most significant element that makes Scream unique is the meta-contextual commentary going on throughout the film. When there are horror fans as main characters, they look at the events of their lives through the lens of horror movies with plenty of fun and quotable dialogue along the way. The mystery works so well and there are plenty of iconic kills along the way too. Craven’s 90s slasher is an endlessly entertaining experience that is full of killer one-liners, a great soundtrack, and plenty of 90s personalities to go around. You might not say Scream has a traditional great cast from a purely acting standpoint, but this crew has such a vibe and brings so much personality to the film. Neve Campbell has solidified herself as one of the greatest “Final Girls” of all time. Courtney Cox brings so much flair, sex appeal, and snark to the local journalist Gale Weathers. Even a dopey performance from David Arquette becomes so likeable and endearing with Deputy Dewey. Barrymore plays the opening sequence with plenty of personality and commitment (which is essential to grabbing the audience’s attention). The intense performance of Skeet Ulrich and the huge and bombastic turn of Matthew Lillard make Billy and Stuart so iconic. Rose McGowan is certainly the attitude and cool of the crew as well. Jamie Kennedy might be the best character of all as the horror aficionado known as Randy. Then you have Roger L. Jackson. He will never get the credit he deserves but the voice performance of Jackson as Ghostface has become so iconic. There is a reason that Scream stands tall with icons like Halloween…it is a truly great slasher that brings a fresh and unique to genre. 

Secrets & Lies

Who is the most naturalistic and unique filmmaker working today? Mike Leigh. The approach to making a “Mike Leigh Film” is certainly not what you expect from the filmmaking process. Leigh engages with his actors (who he chooses to work with), and they craft the characters from scratch together (in a collaborative process) and bring the story to life in an organic and authentic way. This is the opposite of most films which present a story and the filmmaker must piece together a cast who will understand the story and embody these characters. Leigh has tackled some period dramas before, but his true approach is delivering deeply human dramas that live in the space of relatable and authenticity. The characters you generally see on screen are wholly realized human beings that happen to be crafted for the screen. That is the absolute truth when it comes to the powerful drama that is Secrets & Lies. At the core of this film, you have a story centered around identity, family, and connection. A young black woman (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) loses her adoptive parents and begins the journey of seeking out her biological mother. Her mother (Brenda Blethyn) is a lonely white factory worker in East London. The mosaic of humanity that makes up Secrets & Lies is quite engrossing and engaging. Hortense seeks out Cynthia (her mother), Cynthia’s brother, Maurice, has his own struggles that he must navigate in his marriage. Leigh’s films are not the type that you watch for the dynamic filmmaking behind the camera. They are raw and naturalistic to accentuate the humanistic approach to storytelling that Leigh values so much. There is a raw and organic feel to Secrets & Lies that makes you feel like you are peering into someone else’s home videos. But the camera does move in an intimate and engrossing way that puts us into the conversations, confrontations, and key moments between these characters. The only fantastical element of this film is just how deeply moving and emotional the whole experience is. The film builds excellent tension as the journeys of these characters slowly build together to a climactic moment of tension and drama. This is not a film that is flashy, but it is one filled with emotion and empathy for its group of human beings going through so much. The performers rise to the occasion with Jean-Baptiste, Blethyn, and Timothy Spall all delivering engaging and enthralling turns as these characters. You just might even pick out a few more recognizable faces along the way as each performer dials into their character with perfection. Secrets & Lies is a powerfully moving experience that drops you into the lives of strangers. By the end, you feel like they are your family too. That is how organic this whole cinematic experience truly is. 

Big Night

What do we love to see come to life on the silver screen? Food. The idea of “food porn” has been thrown around regarding films and series highlighting the beauty and deliciousness of food. There are many films out there that not only work for their stories, filmmaking, and characters but also for how they capture the elegance and art of preparing food. Cooking is a unique mix of science and art and films like Big Night capture that essence of perfection. Let’s set the stage, shall we? 1950s. New Jersey. Italian Americans. Two brothers. A restaurant. That sounds like a winning combination for a joyful cinematic experience. This is a film that is wholly a passion project for acclaimed actor Stanley Tucci. Co-director. Co-writer. Co-lead. Tucci is Secondo, the manager of a fine Italian food establishment while his brother, Primo (Ton Shalhoub), is the head chef. Their food is excellent and ambitious, but they are struggling financially. Their woes increase as they must face a rival restaurant that puts money above the art of food. This is a tale about two brothers and business owners who must decide if they will sell out for success and who continue to follow their passions. The period setting of Big Night resonates so much with plenty of rich trappings from the technical side of things. Cinematographer Ken Kelsch finds the right amount of texture to the visuals that help accentuate the vintage feel of the film. This does not feel like a 90s film made about a story 40 years ago. This could even be mistaken for being a film made in a prior decade. To match the visuals, the costumes and hairstyling are exquisite as well. The whole atmosphere that Tucci and Campbell Scott produce is just excellent. Throw in a beautiful and culturally infused score from Gary DeMichele, and you understand the feeling and tone that this film is attempting to embody. And yes…it succeeds with flying colors. The story has a strong balance of romance, drama, tension, and conflict as well. The film takes place over one day and each of these brothers have themselves women to impress and connect with. They also have such an effective heated rivalry with Pascal from this other restaurant. But this game-changing night for them might not go exactly how they want but it is a beautiful, human, and intimate night full of connection and delicious food. The way they are able to highlight this delicious feast is second to none. But the performers in front of the camera do some amazing work themselves. Tucci has a refined charisma that is both respectable and charming. Shalhoub goes in the direction of a bigger and bolder performance that makes him the more energetic and mercurial brother. There are plenty of gorgeous and talented women who fill out the film as well with the likes of Minnie Driver, Isabella Rossellini, and Allison Janney. Ian Holm is doing some excellent character work as their Italian rival (Holm always enjoyed putting on an accent in his career). A charismatic and charming cast like this could only help elevate this wonderfully engaging film and that is certainly the truth. Big Night might not be one of the biggest films of 1996 but its charm and humanity is the size of a mountain making this an infectiously engaging experience.