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    Film Reviews: Office Xmas Party, Manchester by the Sea, Nocturnal Animals & More

    Oh glorious day! There are so many great movies hitting CBUS screens this weekend, it’s like holiday magic. Whether you’re in the mood for a raunchy Christmas flick, some gorgeously pulpy noir, a bit of colorful feminist horror, a Beltway badass or one film guaranteed to be remembered come Oscar season, you will have your pick this weekend. Nice!

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    Office Christmas Party

    Clay (T.J. Miller) is a branch manager at a big tech company, and he just wants to throw a Christmas party like the ones his Dad threw back in the days when employees “got drunk before noon.” Trouble is, since Dad died, Clay’s sister Carol (Jennifer Aniston) is CEO and she wants to fill Clay’s stocking with budget cuts.

    The premise (from the guys behind The Hangover) seems a perfect fit for this talent-laden ensemble. I mean, if you need a wisecracking nice guy, a mean-spirited boss with sarcastic bite, and a Tommy Boy for today, Jason Bateman, Jenifer Aniston and Miller should be on speed dial.

    And Kate McKinnon? There may not be a better scene-stealer around, as you’re afraid to look away for fear of missing even the subtlest of gags.

    Directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Blades of Glory, The Switch) and their team of writers manage some passing nods to cutthroat corporate culture and political correctness, but thankfully don’t try to overthink things. Just let these ponies run. And though I’m guessing there was plenty of inspired improvisation (stay for the in-credits gag reel), even their best efforts can’t hide some lulls in the script.

    You’ll laugh at Office Christmas Party, but like that end of the year bonus, you may end up wishing for a little more.

    Grade: B-

    Manchester by the Sea

    Manchester by the Sea will put your emotions in a vice and slowly squeeze, buffering waves of monumental sadness with moments of biting humor and brittle affection. Writer/director Kenneth Lonergan crafts a film so deeply felt it can leave you physically tired. A very good kind of tired.

    Casey Affleck is a sure Oscar contender as Lee Chandler, a quiet, moody soul content to live in a one room apartment and work as a janitor in suburban Boston. But his brother’s will specifies that Lee is to become guardian of his 16 year-old nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges in a cracking, breakout performance), a responsibility Lee is not expecting nor particularly interested in.

    Sketches of a narrative take shape without regard for any strict linear structure, and the dense fog of grief within the Chandler family becomes palpable, anchored in Affleck’s tremendous performance. More than just a moody loner, Affleck crafts Lee as a soul unsure if he seeks punishment or absolution, and seemingly content to remain undecided.

    The entire supporting cast is uniformly excellent, highlighted by an unforgettable Michelle Williams as Lee’s ex-wife Randi. Williams’s small but mighty performance pierces the film’s admittedly male-centric worldview. The other female characters are more broadly drawn in negative lights, yet this re-enforces the sad cycle of emotional immaturity in danger of being passed on to another Chandler man. In the end, Manchester by the Sea is a hopeful ode to breaking these barriers, and enduring in the face of the worst that life can bring.

    Grade: A

    Nocturnal Animals

    Nocturnal Animals follows present-day Susan (Amy Adams) who’s surprised to receive a manuscript written by her first husband, Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal).

    We flash occasionally to the Susan of 20 years ago (also played by Adams), just settling into a nurturing romance with sensitive writer Edward. But most of the film is dedicated to Edward’s novel, Nocturnal Animals.

    Unlike the over-the-top style of the film’s “real world,” the novel-come-to-life has its own aesthetic – dusty, sunburnt and chaotic. As the novel’s hero Tony – also played by Gyllenhaal – drives through West Texas with his wife and daughter, he runs afoul of three not-so-good-old-boys.

    Gyllenhaal and Adams – two of the strongest actors in film today – work wonders. But the strength across the film – and also its weakness – is the way the internal narrative informs and is informed by the real world of the characters. It is meticulous, but there’s a tidiness in the manufacturing of the movie that makes the way themes play out feel too orderly.

    It’s a minor flaw, but it’s enough to keep Nocturnal Animals from reaching noir/pulp/arthouse mash-up heights of Blue Velvet or Drive. It’s not enough to keep it – particularly its many award-worthy performances – from being remembered at the end of the year, though.

    Grade: B+

    The Love Witch

    Anna Biller, everybody. Holy shit.

    Wes Anderson with a Black Mass fetish and a feminist point of view, Biller wrote, directed, produced, edited, set-designed, costume-designed, and music-supervised the seductive sorcery headtrip The Love Witch.

    Shot in dreamy 35mm and produced in lurid Technicolor, the film achieves a retro aesthetic unparalleled in modern cinema. And yet, a mid-film cell phone and third act DNA evidence pulls you from the hip Sixties spell of burlesque shows and tea rooms – but don’t mistake this for anachronism. Instead, it fits perfectly into a narrative that sees deranged lunatic Elaine (Samantha Robinson – demented perfection) embrace archaic gender roles with the rage of one already ruined by them.

    The orgy of colors, textures and dessert treats signifies the sensual madness eating away at poor, narcissistic Elaine.

    Expect a loose confection of a plot, as Elaine molds herself into the ideal sex toy, winning and then tiring of her trophies. This allows Biller to simultaneously reaffirm and reverse gender roles with appropriately wicked humor.

    Grade: B+

    Miss Sloane

    First time screenwriter Jonathan Perera’s much-lauded screenplay documents Elizabeth Sloane, DC super-lobbyist. Driven and single-minded to a nearly sociopathic degree, Sloane finally finds a line she’s unwilling to cross when the gun lobby wants to hire her to make guns more appealing to women.

    Though far from flawless, Miss Sloane has a lot to offer. Mainly, Jessica Chastain. Her fierce performance and comfort with ambiguity come together in a turn that mesmerizes. This is an anti-hero, and Chastain gives her enough savvy, contempt, drive, self-loathing and vulnerability to make her fascinating. Not knowable, but forever provocative.

    Though no other character in the film is nearly so fleshed out, a game supporting cast – including the welcome Michael Stuhlbarg and a pitch-perfect Mark Strong – help balance Chastain’s blistering presence.

    What’s exceptional about the film, aside from Chastain, is the way its core plotline and its greater themes work together. The us-versus-them battle, with each lobbyist one-upping the other in the most unconscionable (yet clever) ways, commands attention. But beneath all that Miss Sloane clarifies the way in which the American public is never privy to true information.

    Grade: B-

    Also opening in Columbus this weekend:

    • ALI AND NINO (NR)
    • THE BOUNCE BACK (PG-13)
    • EVOLUTION (NR)
    • FRANK AND LOLA (NR)
    • NOTES ON BLINDNESS (NR)

    Reviews with help from George Wolf.

    Read more from Hope at MADDWOLF and listen to her weekly horror movie podcast, FRIGHT CLUB.

    Looking for more film events in Columbus? CLICK HERE to visit our Events Calendar.

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    Hope Madden
    Hope Maddenhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Hope Madden is a freelance contributor on Columbus Underground who covers the independent film scene, writes film reviews and previews film events.
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