HAMILTON: 4 ½ STARS
In the now-shuttered world of musical theatre, the name 鈥淗amilton鈥� is said in hushed reverential tones. The groundbreaking show, which mixes-and-matches hip hop, R&B, pop, soul and traditional show tunes to tell the story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, was called 鈥渢he phenomenon of the season, perhaps of a generation,鈥� by Forbes.
Its appeal to a younger audience, who packed NYC鈥檚 Richard Rodgers Theater night after night, gave Broadway a desperately needed shot in the arm and at one point the show was responsible for more than 5% of the Broadway districts total gross.
A new, filmed version, headed by creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, offers up a chance for people who couldn鈥檛 afford to blow a mortgage payment on tickets to the original production to watch the show from the comfort of their Disney+ stream.
The movie, shot in June 2016 at the height of 鈥淗amilton鈥�-mania is anything but hushed or reverential. The show, which features a diverse cast including Black, LatinX and Asian actors to tell the story described as being about 鈥淎merica then, as told by America now,鈥� is passionately political, raucously rebellious and emotionally deep.
鈥淛ust like my country, I鈥檓 young, scrappy and hungry,鈥� Miranda sings in a phrase that could be about the musical as much as it is Hamilton鈥檚 personality.
A toe-tapping history lesson, the show details the American Dream life of Hamilton, from an outsider born to unwed parents on the Caribbean island of Nevis to war hero to George Washington's Revolutionary War aide, and, as first Secretary of Treasury under Washington's administration, the founder of America鈥檚 economic system. It鈥檚 a bootstrap story about legacy, reputation, honor and if that wasn鈥檛 enough, there鈥檚 an extra-marital affair and, of course, the fateful duel with Aaron Burr.
Director Thomas Kail, who also directed the show鈥檚 Off-Broadway and Broadway productions, keeps the camera work to a minimum, simply and effectively capturing the show from a front row center perspective. It鈥檚 handsome work that tries to preserve the integrity of the live presentation while still creating a kind of cinematic experience.
As far as the show goes, what the filmed 鈥淗amilton鈥� presents is a moment in time when the musical lived at the very center of pop culture. The original cast, including Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs and Jonathan Groff among many others, are working in peak form.
As a document of a special show the filmed version doesn鈥檛 add anything to the presentation, but perhaps that鈥檚 the point. Miranda鈥檚 daring, genre busting show speaks for itself, often with beautiful tongue-twisting wordplay, and doesn鈥檛 need flashy cinematic theatrics to bolster what is already a provocative and timely story of creating a union where none existed.
SHIRLEY: 3 ½ STARS
When reclusive author Shirley Jackson died in 1965 she left behind a body of work, including 鈥淭he Haunting of Hill House,鈥� a supernatural horror novel sometimes called one of the best ghost stories ever written.
An influence on two generations of speculative fiction writers like Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Sarah Waters and Richard Matheson, she is brought to vivid life in a new fictionalized drama, now on VOD, starring Elisabeth Moss.
Set just after the publication of 鈥淭he Lottery,鈥� a controversial short story about the ritual sacrifice of a town citizen to ensure good crops, published in a 1948 issue of The New Yorker, the film sees Shirley (Moss) paralyzed by the expectations that hang heavy over 鈥淗angsaman,鈥� a novel she is struggling to complete. Prickly and quick with a line, she is less than pleased when Stanley (Michael Stuhlbarg), her college professor husband, arranges for his new assistant Fred Nemser (Logan Lerman) and his pregnant wife Rose (Odessa Young) to live in their house while the young couple searches for a place of their own.
As the days and weeks stretch into months the relationship between the two couples becomes a blend of art and reality, a claustrophobic rabbit hole where Rose becomes the model for Shirley鈥檚 new main character, a college student who went walking on Vermont's Long Trail hiking route and never returned.
鈥淪hirley鈥� uses elements of Jackson鈥檚 life but places them in context of one of her novels. The result is a psychological drama; a haunting look at a person driven to agoraphobia by the weight of her success and a domineering, philandering husband.
Moss is fascinating as the title character. Her take on Shirley is that of a woman who has lived under years of oppression by her bullying husband, a man whose misogyny has left her embittered, desperate and anxious.
鈥淭o our suffering,鈥� Stanley says as a toast to his wife. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not enough Scotch in the world for that,鈥� Shirley snorts, in a line that could have been borrowed from 鈥淲ho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?鈥� She鈥檚 vulnerable and filled with rage, compassionate and spiteful, often in the same scene.
Shirley and Stanley, as compelling as they are as characters, do not comprise the film鈥檚 defining relationship. Director Josephine Decker feeds on the psychological aspects of Jackson鈥檚 work to tease out a story of Shirley and Rose, two women drawn together by frustration, talent and obsession over the missing woman at the heart of the new novel.
"Let's pray for a boy,鈥� Shirley says to the pregnant Rose, 鈥淭he world is too cruel for girls.鈥� Their time on screen together is complicated, occasionally unsettling as reality and imagination meld. It鈥檚 fascinating work in a film that is a slow burn.
鈥淪hirley鈥� takes its time to get where it is going, building an atmosphere of oppression slowly and carefully. Decker鈥檚 distorted dream-like visual approach is often beautiful, as though we鈥檙e watching the film through a psychological prism. It creates atmosphere but doesn鈥檛 provide the thrills that Jackson herself might have been able to infuse into the telling of this tale.
AMERICAN WOMAN: 3 STARS
鈥淎merican Woman,鈥� the first feature directed by 鈥淢ad Men鈥� producer and writer Semi Chellas, is a fictionalized version of real events. A series of title cards set the stage. The year is 1975. 鈥淎fter multiple investigations, the President of the United States has been forced to resign.鈥� 鈥淎merica鈥檚 disastrous involvement in the war in Vietnam is finally coming to an end.鈥� 鈥淪ome radicals still believe a revolution is necessary.鈥�
Amid this time of political turmoil is Jenny Shimada (Hong Chau), a bomb maker who once blew up a draft board office. On the run, she is hiding out in upstate New York, working as a house keeper for a rich, conservative woman (Ellen Burstyn). She comes out of her semi-retirement when a publisher and old colleague-in-the-cause contacts her with a new mission. He wants her to look after three fugitive Symbionese Liberation Army members, Juan (John Gallagher), his wife Yvonne (Lola Kirke), and Pauline (Sarah Gadon), the kidnapped daughter of a newspaper magnate, as they write a book about their experiences.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just sit around waiting to die or be caught,鈥� she tells them. 鈥淵ou have to start writing. Write the book, make the money. It鈥檚 the only way you鈥檒l survive underground.鈥� Jenny鈥檚 reward? Enough cash to leave the country.
The basics of the story are borrowed from the well documented kidnapping and radicalization, of American heiress Patty Hearst. Pauline is an obvious surrogate for Hearst while Jenny is a fictionalized version of Wendy Yoshimura, the woman who was with Patty Hearst when she was apprehended.
The names have been changed and some of the details, but this sharply written story isn鈥檛 a history lesson. It鈥檚 a study of people who have chosen a radical path in life. It showcases Jaun鈥檚 ideological rantings but also wonders aloud if Pauline truly converted to the cause or was simply trying to survive. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be an outlaw,鈥� she says. 鈥淥utlaws always die at the end of the story.鈥�
Add in themes on toxic masculinity鈥擩uan may be a free thinker but his behavior toward women is anything but enlightened鈥攕exuality, class, gender and race and you have film big on ideas while leaving the action scenes for other movies.
鈥淎merican Woman鈥� is a movie that values words. Some may find the storytelling a bit too low key for such an explosive subject, but the performances, particularly Chau, give the story layers. Chellas, who wrote the script in addition to directing, uses the main characters, Jenny and Pauline, as conduits to help us understand a complicated and slow-simmer story of survival.
STRANGE BUT TRUE: 3 ½ STARS
鈥淪trange But True,鈥� a neo-noir thriller on VOD starring Amy Ryan and Margaret Qualley, examines grief in the context of an ordinary family thrown into extraordinary situations.
The action takes place against the backdrop of loss. Five years ago Ronnie Chase (Connor Jessup) and Melissa鈥檚 (Margaret Qualley) prom night began as they all do, with a rented tux, a frilly dress and proud parents taking photos. It ended in tragedy, with Ronnie dead in a car crash, an event that sent shock waves through the family. Stricken, his folks Charlene (Amy Ryan) and Richard (Greg Kinnear), split under the weight of their grief. Younger brother Philip (Nick Robinson) hightails it to NYC to pursue his dream of being a photographer and girlfriend Melissa is wracked with guilt, left with only her dreams of her late boyfriend.
Cut to present day. Charlene鈥檚 life has fallen apart. Her husband and job are gone, so when Melissa shows up, five years after the fateful night, claiming she is pregnant with Ronnie鈥檚 baby, she is not met with hugs and congratulations.
鈥淚f you think about it,鈥� says Phillip, home recuperating from a badly broken leg, 鈥渢here鈥檚 a chance what she said is true. If, and it鈥檚 a big if, if Ronnie鈥檚 sperm was somehow frozen before he died there鈥檚 a chance Melissa could have used it and impregnated herself years later.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 ridiculous,鈥� Charlene snarls. 鈥淗e was a teenager with his whole life ahead of him. Why would he do that?鈥�
She sets off to find a rational explanation while Phillip grasps at straws, consulting psychics and leaving no possibility off the table. 鈥淚 might not believe that this is Ronnie鈥檚 baby,鈥� he says to Melissa,鈥� but I believe that you believe it and I believe that Ronnie would have too. If that makes me an uncle, so be it.鈥�
That search is the bedrock for a story packed with secrets and intrigue. Adapted from John Searles鈥檚 2004 novel, 鈥淪trange But True鈥� is a bit of a nesting doll of mysteries. Everyone has a backstory and a different relationship with the intrigue that forms the plot and the action toggles between past and present. That means there鈥檚 a lot to wade through in the film鈥檚 tight ninety-minute running time but director Rowan Athale manages it. He weaves psychological drama, a hint of paranormal, suspense and even some gothic horror into the story.
In the end, the pregnancy is a McGuffin, simply a device to put all these elements into motion, but the result is a tightly wound thriller that leads to a gripping and satisfying conclusion.
