Real to reel

Local observations from a movie, music buff

A look at ‘The Visitor’ and ‘Snow Angels’

Reviews of the latest by two top indie American filmmakers: Tom McCarthy, David Gordon Green

By Dan Ochwat

Tom McCarthy and David Gordon Green aren’t recognizable names to multiplex movie audiences (though Green will change that in August when his Judd Apatow-produced stoner comedy is released). At present, the two writer/directors are small, unique storytellers of American life — apropos of those apple pie names — relegated to limited-run theaters.

Both have released new films, Green’s “Snow Angels,” a small town tragedy, is in theaters now but leaving soon, and McCarthy’s “The Visitor,” a look at immigrant detention, opens in theaters April 18. While neither movie quite reaches the level of their previous work, they are very good films and solid examples of their style and craft.

 

“The Visitor”
McCarthy, a bit-part actor for years, introduced us to the filmmaker in 2004 with his brilliant debut, “The Station Agent.” The film, beautifully scripted and simplistic, follows three unusual friends (a sullen dwarf, a grieving mother and a chirpy barista), set around an abandoned New Jersey train depot.

Similarly, “The Visitor” charms us with characters from different worlds that wildly collide and build a genuine friendship, even romance. The difference here is the film is set around the social injustice that can occur in immigration detention centers. The film stars Richard Jenkins, a native of Dekalb, Ill., and a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan. He is probably best known as the father in HBO’s “Six Feet Under,” though he has done a lot of great supporting film roles: My favorite being in David O. Russell’s hysterical “Flirting With Disaster.”

Here, Jenkins gives his career performance. He plays a well-off, widowed professor who has been phoning it in for almost 20 years. Returning to a New York City apartment that he’s practically left dormant, he finds an impossibly sexy immigrant couple (one from Syria and the other Senegal) living there. With African drumming being the friendship vehicle (where train chasing was in “The Station Agent”), an unusual friendship is bonded, so much so that Jenkins’ character, Walter Vale, opens his apartment to his new friends and shells out cash to hire a lawyer when one of the immigrants, Tarek (played by Haaz Sleiman), gets falsely arrested and detained by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

From there, the film tends to collide itself, being one part McCarthy’s style of authentic, “this American charming life,” and another part being a docudrama on the randomness and inept immigration detention system. For me, that’s just a bit too much going on. I’d prefer almost an entire movie of part one (much like “The Station Agent”), but I can’t fault a filmmaker for bringing to light an important issue and doing so through a challenging, tactful story. Especially considering that in the wrong hands, this film could easily have been maudlin and preachy. This is a pretty well done.

What is consistent is Jenkins’ performance. It’s the glue to the movie and the dual storylines. It’s a perfect, subdued play. I rarely say this, because awards are meaningless, but it’s an Oscar-worthy performance (Richard Roeper’s head might have just exploded). The emotional rise and fall of Jenkins is excellent — apathetic teacher to joyful Central Park drummer to desperate, lovesick, angry subway drummer. And who doesn’t love a character who drinks wine with cereal?

 

“Snow Angels”
In 2000, the gorgeously shot and poetic film “George Washington,” displaying black life in an industrial, run-down town, announced David Gordon Green. Green, still not yet 30, followed it up in ’03 with a love story called “All the Real Girls” — again poetic and gorgeously shot in a Southern industrial setting. Both films are two of my all-time favorites.

“Snow Angels” is Green’s fourth film (his third film, “Undertow,” wasn’t well received), but sadly it may not be in theaters for much longer. I highly recommend trying to catch it. This is an excellent movie.

In “Snow Angels,” tragedy shakes a nameless, faceless small town to the core — and when tragedy strikes in a Gordon Green film, such as “George Washington” and here, it is hauntingly real. Orbiting around the tragic event are love stories of multiple ages, a mid-life marriage fighting off separation, a young-life divorce fighting off the struggles of child visitation and even a young teen love fighting off its innocence — and when young love sparks in a Gordon Green film, such as “All the Real Girls” and here, it is pitch-perfect.

This is the first Green film with top actors, and for me, Kate Beckinsale, Nicky Katt and Amy Sedaris were a bit distracting in their roles. Beckinsale too beautiful, Katt too Katt and Sedaris too Sedaris. One excellent performance comes from Sam Rockwell, frenetic as ever, and really venturing into some method-acting pain. The film itself carries on its shoulders a very heavily dramatic plot, and along with the big actors, flirts with losing us. But overall, Gordon Green corrals it and makes it his own.

Up next, he directs the “Superbad” writers’ (Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen) “Pineapple Express,” a stoner comedy starring Rogen that looks absolutely hilarious. This could be the summer’s big hit, and maybe that Barrington 30 audience will just know who David Gordon Green is after all.

In concert
The new album isn’t as played and a bit more straight rock, but it’s a dandy — Tapes ’n Tapes play the Metro on 4/11. On 4/16, insane horn posse Man Man plays Logan Square Auditorium with the brilliant Yeasayer. The next night, three great acts play: Destroyer at the Logan Square Auditorium; The Dodos at The Note; and Hot Chip at the Vic Theater.

Playing two shows at Schubas on 4/18 and 4/19, Rogue Wave shares stage time with the excellent female-lead-singing-drummer Grand Ole Party. Also on 4/19 The Fiery Furnaces head to the Lakeshore Theater. On 4/20, a powerhouse double bill of The New Pornographers and Okkervil River play the Riviera Theatre.

On 4/21 Colin Meloy, lead of The Decemberists, strums a solo show at Park West. The angelic bearded one Iron and Wine plays both 4/21 and 4/22 at the Vic Theater. Punk rockers Enon play Empty Bottle on 4/26, same day a solo Peter Moren of Peter, Bjorn & John visits Schubas. Coldplay offshoot, but a lot more dour, Elbow plays Park West on 4/29.

Young Canadian spaz band Tokyo Police Club plays the Metro on 5/5. New Order-esque Cut Copy plays the Abbey Pub with Black Kids and their handful of songs, but what a damn good handful. On 5/9, Devotchka plays with songstress Basia Bulat at the Vic Theater. A beautiful voice leads El Perro Del Mar at Schubas on 5/12, and a hip-hop triple play visits the Abbey Pub with EL-P, Dizzee Rascal and Busdriver.

Keep sending me your music or anything else on your mind at danochwat@hotmail.com. I’ve also joined the MySpace army, so give The Real Chicago some love at http://www.myspace.com/danochwat

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