Toronto International Film Festival 2018 - UPDATE #8
American Woman
Directed by Jake Scott
USA/111 MINUTES/SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Spanning several years, American Woman follows Sienna Miller's Deb as she confronts a wide variety of personal and professional concerns - including her ongoing search for her missing daughter, her relationship with Aaron Paul’s Chris, and her efforts at establishing a new career. There’s little doubt that American Woman improves considerably (and steadily) as it progresses, as the early part of the picture, directed by jake Scott and written by Brad Ingelsby, comes off as a fairly standard, almost paint-by-numbers portrait of an irresponsible single mother - with the movie’s heavy emphasis on the central character's less-than-savory existence certainly perpetuating the familiar vibe (eg an early subplot detailing Deb's relationship with an abusive jerk is overly familiar and thoroughly tedious). It’s equally clear, however, that the movie benefits substantially from Miller’s stirring and frequently electrifying performance, while the inclusion of a decidedly shocking twist at around the half hour mark injects he proceedings with a much-needed jolt of energy. American Woman, past that point, slowly-but-surely morphs into a seriously engrossing little drama, with the ongoing presence of unexpectedly moving sequences certainly perpetuating the picture's increasingly compelling feel. The movie's impressively absorbing final stretch cements its place as a much more accomplished and rewarding endeavor than one might've anticipated, and it goes without saying, ultimately, that Miller's striking turn as the progressively sympathetic protagonist deserves the lion's share of credit for the film's success.
out of
Clara
Directed by Akash Sherman
CANADA/106 MINUTES/DISCOVERY
Clara casts Patrick J. Adams as Isaac Bruno, a tenacious astronomer who, with the help of his new assistant (Troian Bellisario's Clara), discovers what might just be a life-supporting planet - with the narrative detailing Isaac's ongoing efforts at proving his hypothesis and also his growing fondness towards Bellisario's character. Filmmaker Akash Sherman initially does an effective job of capturing the viewer's interest, as Clara kicks off with a compelling sequence in which Isaac provides scientific proof that love doesn’t work - with the effectiveness of the scene heightened by Adams’ compelling turn as the morose central character. From there, however, the picture segues into a stagnant and somewhat tedious midsection devoted to Isaac and Clara's less-than-enthralling work exploits - with the majority of this stuff certainly not quite as fascinating as Sherman clearly believes it to be. The well-intentioned but ineffective vibe is perpetuated by a growing emphasis on the protagonists' tentative relationship, as the pair’s dynamic ultimately comes off as so egregiously hackneyed that it becomes more and more tiresome as time progresses (ie the whole quirky-girl-saves-a-grieving-protagonist thing is almost impossibly stale). And although the film ends with an admittedly stirring climax (to the extent that one can’t help but wish that stuff had occupied more screen time), Clara is, in the end, an earnest misfire that squanders its various positive attributes (including genuine chemistry between Adams and Bellisario's respective characters).
out of
Her Smell
Directed by Alex Ross Perry
USA/135 MINUTES/PLATFORM
Written and directed by Alex Ross perry, Her Smell details the less-than-savory exploits of a hard-living rock star named Becky (Elisabeth Moss) - with the film unfolding over a very small series of scenes encompassing everything from a raucous concert to a tense recording session to a quiet afternoon at home. Filmmaker Perry kicks Her Smell off with a long and somewhat interminable sequence detailing the behind-the-scenes happenings within the aforementioned concert - with the loud, context-free atmosphere ensuring that this stretch is, mostly, off-putting and headache-inducing. The viewer is subsequently (and persistently) prevented from connecting to either the material or the characters by Perry’s aggressively overwhelming, in-your-face modus operandi, and it’s worth noting, too, that the change of scenery every 20 minutes or so does little to alleviate the pervasively uninvolving atmosphere - as the filmmaker infuses every inch of Her Smell with a repetitive feel that's compounded by a heavy emphasis on acrimonious arguments and shouting matches. (And it certainly doesn’t help that a large portion of the movie’s dialogue is rendered unintelligible by the muddy, wall-of-sound audio design.) Moss' ferocious but meaningless performance is ultimately unable to pack the visceral punch Perry has obviously intended, and it’s certainly impossible to work up any real interest in her character's hopelessly uninvolving arc - which ultimately confirms Her Smell's place as an ambitious trainwreck with few attributes worth embracing.
