Movies about diseases are difficult to pull off -- they are either too sappy, too serious, or too casual. 50/50 attempts to tackle the subject from a comedic point of view, and the result is mixed.
Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a young profession living in Seattle who seems to have it all together. He has a good job, a best friend (Seth Rogen), and a beautiful girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard). His world crumbles when he finds out he has a rare form of cancer. His survival instinct kicks as he closes up and puts up a wall around him. Even his new therapist, Katherine (Anna Kendrick), can't get through to him.
Just when he feels like he can manage it, he discovers his girlfriend has been cheating on him, and he realizes his best friend is using him to hook up with women. He shies away from his smothering mother. Adam becomes so isolated that his only connection is with Katherine, who shows genuine concern and care for him despite his wild mood swings and grim outlooks.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) has proven himself a new type of leading man: not particularly tall, dark and handsome, but charismatic and down to earth. As Adam, he shows a good range of emotions and character depth. Adam is cautious, guarded, and a bit of an idealist, and Gordon-Levitt plays the role with heart and a keen understanding of what the character must be going through.
Seth Rogen (Green Hornet) is playing a role that is written specifically for him. The happy-go-lucky, loud-mouthed stoner of a best friend. There's not much depth to the character, although you know he truly cares. He just has a different way of showing his affection and coping with personal tragedies. The obnoxious character isn't easy to love, but through his loyalty to Adam, and Rogen's energetic performance, we come to accept him as a good soul.
Anna Kendrick (Up In the Air) is sweet and kind as Katherine, the rookie therapist who falls for her patient. She and Gordon-Levitt have a cute chemistry together, but her character is somewhat too introverted to make a big splash. Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help) has a showier role as Adam's girlfriend. It seems like Howard has carved out a niche for herself, playing conniving bitches. It's great to Anjelica Huston (When in Rome) in action, and she plays Adam's overbearing mother with grace. Many of us have mothers like her.
Writer Will Reiser uses his own story as the basis for this comedy. Like Adam, Reiser was diagnosed with cancer at a young age and had to go through the whole ordeal. However, Reiser chooses to tell the story as a comedy. It's an aggressive undertaking, to tackle a serious subject such as cancer with laughter, without being offensive and crass. To some extent, he's succeeded. His brand of humor and comedy resembles the raunch of Judd Apatow, most often delivered by Seth Rogen's character. The dialogue is light and the situations amusing.
However, soon the plot dives into the territory of contrivance and melodrama. And the tone takes a sharp turn into the dreary as Adam becomes sick and depressed. Where is the comedy? Where are the laughs? It doesn't help when Kyle -- the source of most of the humor in the movie -- retreats into the background as Adam stumbles and struggles through his ordeal. The story becomes too heavy. It also focuses too much on Adam's struggles that it forgets to develop the other characters. What about Adam's mother? What about Katherine? What about Kyle, who seems to just clown around and hook up with as many chicks as he can.
Director Jonathan Levine (The Wackness) seems a bit lightweight to direct this comedy-drama. Don't get me wrong. There's nothing truly defective in this production or his direction. Just that it is rather "TV movie of the month." The first act is rather good, when the comedy is front and center. Once the story delves through the gravity of coping with cancer, the pacing seems to drag, and the execution borders on cliches.
The idea behind 50/50 is a noble one, and the concept is promising. But the execution lacks certain quality to pull it off. Like I said, movies about diseases are very difficult to do. This proves my point… success rate is less than 50/50.Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston, Serge Houde, Andrew Airlie, Mitch Frewer, Philip Baker Hall
Director: Jonathan Levine
Writer: Will Reiser
Distributor: Summit
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexual content and drug use
Running Time: 99 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 7
Direction - 7
Cinematography - 7
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 7
Production - 7
Total - 7.0 out of 10.0
Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) has a tough season ahead: his budget has been slashed, and he has to replace three star players. With the lowest salary constraint, Billy must find a different way to build a team that will keep the club alive, if not to win the World Series. His revelation comes in the form of a Yale graduate named Peter Brand (Jonah Hill).
Using his sharp analytic skills and a computer-generated model, Peter advices Billy to forget about all the traditional factors but focus only on the numbers. Billy is impressed with Peter's approach and hires him as his assistant. They have a hard time selling their system, however. Especially coach Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who believes Billy is out of his mind and trying to run the club, and his own career, to the ground.
Brad Pitt (The Tree of Life) is charismatic and down to earth as Billy Beane, a former Major League top pick who flamed out without reaching his potential and fulfilling the expectations. The character is smart (he did, after all, get accepted by Stanford) and thoughtful, but carries plenty of baggage with him. Pitt is able to convey the complexity and his portrayal is careful and earnest.
Jonah Hill (Get Him to the Greek) surprises in a role so unlike his previous. No, he doesn't get to play a handsome romantic lead, but as egghead Peter Brand, he actually shows some range. His performance is measured and convincing as the reserved, shy and intelligent young man. Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Ides of March) is solid as the A's head coach. His resistance to change and resentment leap off the screen, but you know his reasons and you get to sympathize.
Robin Wright (The Conspirator) is good as Billy's supportive and understanding ex-wife, offering a nice counterpoint to the male-heavy drama. Chris Pratt (Jennifer's Body) is excellent in his role as Scott Hatteberg, a seriously undervalued baseball player who desperately needs a confidence boost. Stephen Bishop (The Town) also impresses as a "has-been" who wants to prove that he's still got it.
Written by Stephen Zaillian (All the King's Men) and Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network), the script is gritty and serious, reminding me of yet another great sports film also adapted from a top nonfiction book, Friday Night Lights. There are enough baseball terms and concepts that would delight the fans and confuse the non-fans, but the writers keep the story relatively simple and comprehensible. You don't need a degree in baseball to know what is going on. What is most affecting is the characters' struggle to prove themselves and survive, if not to win. That's something universal; we can all relate.
The plot unfolds slowly and organically, with enough twists to keep us on edge. Yet the story doesn't subscribe to the tiresome trademarks of a crowd-pleasing "triumph." There are no mood-lifting anthems or trite morale-boosting speeches. Instead, it's filled with smaller, intimate human moments that keep the story real and relatable.
Bennett Miller's (Capote) direction also helps to keep everything real. His no-frill direction focuses on the characters and the experiences, instead of being rousing and glorified. What has transpired is a solid film about obstacles, perseverance and doing what is right vs. what is expected.
Kate is smitten and seduced by the fast track to success and exciting life in New York, but her heart remains with her husband Richard (Greg Kinnear) and children. However, with her new hectic schedules, she can't keep up anymore. She spends less and less time with the kids and the burden now rests on Richard, who just got a promotion, too. The couple struggles to stay together and keep the family together, but it becomes more and more impossible for them to have it all.
Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City) seems to be stuck playing two types of characters: her Carrie Bradshaw alter-ego or a serious, dull dramatic role. Here, she's in her Carrie mode, altered slightly as a mother of two. While her character is ernest, her perky portrayal of Kate's awkwardness is unsettling at times; it's like watching a 45-year-old woman acting 25. Christina Hendricks (Drive) is fun and perky as Kate's best friend, but her role is trivial and obligatory. Olivia Munn (Iron Man 2) has a better role as Kate's assistant Momo, and she makes the best of it.
The men are basically window dressing in this chick flick. Greg Kinnear (Thin Ice) tries his best to play the loving, supportive and understanding husband. The problem is the character seems neutered. Even during some of the tenser and angry moments, he barely raises his voice. Pierce Brosnan (The Ghost Writer) can play the suave, handsome, sophisticated gentleman in his sleep. No surprise here. Kelsey Grammer (Fame) has a few brief scenes but not much to do. And Seth Meyers (Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist) plays the requisite slime ball with no real significance.
Based on Alison Pearson's novel and written by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada), the screenplay takes a flawed approach: it uses way too much voice-over narration and interviews for characterization and moving the plot forward. The result is a clumsy device and makes us wonder if there's enough plot and character to sustain this story (there really isn't). I like the premise, and there are nuggets of wisdom about working mothers, women, and the inequality between the sexes.
But as a story, it just doesn't engage me. The dialogue is amusing enough, but the situations are mundane and dull, and the supporting characters have nothing to do. As a comedy, it doesn't make me laugh. In fact, the contrivance makes me cringe. The plot is predictable with almost no surprises or twists at all, and the conclusion is trite and contrived.
Douglas McGrath's (Infamous) direction is light and brisk enough, which is rather a nice fit for such a light comedy. The production is fine. There really isn't anything wrong, just not a whole lot to commend. It doesn't drag, but it also doesn't lift the film from its material.
There are chick flicks that I enjoyed, but this one panders so much to a specific demographic that it leaves me with a slightly icky feeling. I don't know how to get rid of that feeling.
When Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) returns from a business trip in Hong Kong, she gets gravely ill with flu-like symptoms. She's dead within a few days, and when her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) returns from the hospital, he discovers that his stepson has died as well. Mitch discovers that he's immune, but he can't take a chance with his daughter as she may not have inherited his immunity.
Meanwhile, multiple people have also died in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Chicago from a new, highly contagious virus. The outbreak quickly draws the attention of the CDC. Dr. Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) sends specialist Dr. Mears (Kate Winslet) to investigate. Meanwhile, Dr. Orantes (Marion Cotillard) connects the dot and suspects that Beth Emhoff is, in fact, Patient Zero and must have contracted the virus at a casino in Macao. Cheever and his staff are trying to find the cause and a way to come up with a vaccine as quickly as they can, as the outbreak continues to wipe out large populations at a frightening speed. He's also under pressure from Homeland Security to keep the information from the general public to prevent a global panic and meltdown.
Meanwhile, freelance journalist Alan Krumweide (Jude Law) is skeptical about the government's involvement. He makes a name for himself when he cures himself online using an already-available drug. The news causes massive looting and pits Alan in direct conflict with the CDC and Homeland Security. Little do they know Alan is profiting from his new fame and visibility. As millions of people continue to die every day and societies crumble, Cheever and the world are racing against time to find a real cure.
The star-studded cast includes Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man 2) in a brief but pivotal role as Patient Zero. Her journey to death is disturbing and frightening, signaling what is yet to come. Matt Damon (Hereafter) is solid as her grieving husband, who has to deal with his wife's infidelity and the deaths of her and his stepson, as well as the well-being of his teenage daughter (from a previous marriage). Laurence Fishburne (Predators) has a sizable role as Dr. Cheever, and he handles it with grace and sincerity.
Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) is effectively slimy and unethical as the rogue journalist, even though you know he speaks the truth (sometimes). Marion Cotillard (Midnight in Paris) is lovely but she doesn't have much to do in the movie. The most sympathetic character belongs to Kate Winslet (The Reader) as Dr. Mears: a kind, compassionate, devoted scientist who succumbs to tragedy because she cares so much.
The screenplay by Scott Z. Burns (The Informant!) takes on a lot with a huge cast of characters. It reminds me of yet another Soderbergh's movie, Traffic. Fortunately, the story here follows a logical plot that unfolds organically, with the characters being in the middle of it. Burns focuses on their parts in the story but doesn't shy away from making it personal for the characters as well. It is not an easy task to develop these characters and make us care about them given the number of characters and how their lives intertwine with one another's (or not).
At times, though, the plot seems contrived and loses focus. There are some threads that can easily be cut without sacrificing the clarity of the story and the flow of the plot. Dialogue seems tight but a bit superficial at times, and there are minor characters that are as flat as cardboard. Over all, however, Burns keeps the focus on just a handful of characters and how they help move the story along. At the end, it feels like we've just watched a few short stories that are linked together by a core thread, and the resulting storytelling is quite effective and dramatic.
Director Steven Soderbergh (The Informant!) is no stranger to thrillers involving multiple characters and a complicated plot structure (think Ocean's 11 or Traffic). His direction is swift and precise, masterful in its pacing and tension building. The editing is exceptionally effective as it intercuts between the multiple characters' story lines while keeping the core story intact. Soderbergh also slows things down to reveal characters and makes us care, and that's very important in a story like this. Otherwise, we'd just be bored while watching the body count goes up.
Contagion is a slick, fast-paced thriller that doesn't forget the human stories. One gripe, though: even though it was shot all over the world with an international cast, the story is predictably US-centric (and it takes an American team to save the day, of course). It could be even more frightening if we were shown the devastation in third-world countries, for example. Still, the filmmakers have given us a realistic portrayal of a global outbreak of a deadly virus. It's frightening and disturbing, because this could really happen. While it's highly entertaining (have popcorns ready), the fear can be contagious.
On the eve of the release of a biography detailing her life as a celebrated Mossad agent in the 60s, Rachel Singer (Helen Mirren) receives the devastating news from her ex-husband Stephan (Tom Wilkinson) that their mutual friend David (Ciarán Hinds) has committed suicide. She also discovers David has left a significant piece of information concerning their mission in 1966 that made them, especially Rachel, national heroes. More important, it urges Rachel to reveal a secret they all have been keeping for 30 years.
Back in 1966, Rachel (Jessica Chastain), David (Sam Worthington) and Stephan (Marton Csokas) are a team of agents about to carry out a secret mission in East Berlin. They've tracked down a Nazi criminal, Dexter Vogel (Jesper Christensen), and plan to abduct him and bring him back to Israel to stand trial. Stephan is an ambitious, aggressive ass, while David is quiet, mysterious and introspective. They have been working together for two years, and their new partner Rachel instantaneously alters the dynamics.
Together they carry out the well-thought out plan. However, due to unforeseeable circumstances and mixed-up emotions, the mission fails and they are forced keep Vogel their prisoner until they find another way. Vogel is able to manipulate Rachel and David enough to create for himself an opportunity to escape.What happens next would go on to haunt Rachel, David and Stephan for years to come.
The three veteran actors are excellent in their respective roles. Helen Mirren (Arthur) does a fine job as the older Rachel as she contemplates the past, the future and the right thing to do. Her nuanced performance is thoughtful and emotional. Tom Wilkinson (The Green Hornet) is solid as Stephan -- he shows enough ruthlessness and ambition behind his concerns and regrets to match his younger counterpart. Ciarán Hinds (The Rite) only has a few scenes but conveys David's turmoil and yearning for Rachel effectively.
The young actors who portray the same characters have meatier roles as their story, told in flashbacks, is the centerpiece. Sam Worthington (Avatar) excels in playing solitary but sensitive David, and his chemistry with his costars lifts the film to a higher plane. Marton Csokas (Alice in Wonderland) exudes great charisma and sensuality as ruthless, ambitious and seductive Stephan. But the true star of the film is Jessica Chastain (The Help), who dazzled as Celia Foote in The Help and then turns 180˚ to play frightened but resourceful and determined Rachel. Her star has risen immensely.
Written by Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass), Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass) and Peter Straughan (The Men Who Stare at Goats), the screenplay is based on the 2007 Israeli thriller Ha-Hov. It is taut, suspenseful and intriguing, effectively using the frame story to weave the flashbacks to tell one cohesive story. While the "secret" isn't difficult to guess, how the characters got there is intriguing enough to propel the plot from 1966 to 1997, where the characters must face the ghost of their past.
The plot unfolds gradually, leaving us with pieces of information and lots of characterization. The story really takes off when we meet the characters again in East Berlin, 1966. The suspense and tension are palpable. Most impressively, the characters come to life and their relationships are front and center. At the core of this thriller is a tragic love story, but the screenwriters skillfully keeps everything under control. The movie falters somewhat when it returns to 1997 for the retribution. The third act isn't bad by itself, but the pacing and tension pale in light of what happened before.
John Madden's (Shakespeare in Love) direction is masterful, keeping us at the edges of our seats at all times. The editing serves the narrative structure superbly. The camerawork helps create the tension. And the production is solid. It's top-notch all the way.
Despite its relatively flat third act, The Debt is an outstanding character-driven thriller that should please fans of suspense and lovers of the human conditions. 