Hammering Away for 20 Years

One Yank’s memories of following West Ham for two decades

I became a Hammers fan on September 16, 1999.  It happened when my future wife and I attended the UEFA Cup first-round match against Osijek (Croatia) at the Bolyen Ground. The West Ham squad on the night was Shaka Hislop, Steve Potts, Igor Stimac, Javier Margas, John Moncur, Steve Lomas, Frank Lampard Jr., Marc Keller, Trevor Sinclair, Paulo Wanchope and the magical Paolo Di Canio.  The atmosphere was electric.  The Hammers breezed to a 3-0 win with goals from Wanchope, Di Canio and Lampard Jr.  By the final whistle, I was hooked.  

Over the next two decades, I would attend just two more matches.  The first was a dreary 0-0 draw with Charlton Athletic on Easter Sunday 2006.  The second was an away match (my first) at Arsenal last August.  We lost 3-1 despite playing pretty well.  Otherwise I’ve been following the Hammers from across the pond.

Since that fateful night in 1999 (for me, not so much the club), I’ve been through the ups and downs with West Ham.  I’ve witnessed both the ridiculous and the sublime.  Although there has been more pain than pleasure (fortune’s always hiding), I wouldn’t trade my 20-year odyssey with the Hammers for a similar experience with any other club.  What follows is a year-by-year summary of the events and individuals, which struck me as significant.  I hope you find it interesting, informative and entertaining.

1999/2000  The club won the pre-season Intertoto Cup (3-2 on aggregate over Metz in the final).  That triumph got them into the UEFA Cup, where they were eliminated in the second round by Steaua Bucharest (0-2 on aggregate).  The team lost a quarter-final replay with Aston Villa in the League Cup after fielding a cup-tied player, Emmanuel Omoyinmi, as a late substitute in the original tie.  West Ham finished ninth in the league.

2000/2001  The club struggled to stay in the top flight after selling Rio Ferdinand to Leeds for a record £18 million; the highest price ever paid for a defender in world football.  West Ham finished in 15th place.  Harry Redknapp, who had spent the fraction of the Rio proceeds he was given poorly, was fired in May along with his assistant Frank Lampard Sr.  This led to the sale of Frank Lampard Jr., who went to Chelsea for £11 million.

2001/2002  Glen Roeder took over as manager and West Ham finished seventh in what was a fairly successful but uneventful season.

2002/2003  A poor start to the season and Roeder’s inability to deal with veteran players landed the team in a relegation scrap.  Roeder was stricken with a brain tumor in April and Trevor Brooking stepped in as caretaker manager.  The club legend was unable to steer the Hammers clear of relegation despite the team finishing with 42 points.  Top players such as Joe Cole, Glen Johnson, Paolo Di Canio and Trevor Sinclair were sold or left the club.  West Ham remains the only EPL club to be relegated with more than 40 points.

2003/2004  After a slow start to life in the second tier, players mutinied by refusing to use the dressing room at Rotherham.  Roeder was fired and Alan Pardew was brought in but only after completing a non-compete clause in his contract with former club Reading.  Trevor Brooking filled in again during the interim.  Jermaine Defoe forced a transfer to Spurs after receiving several red cards.  The team made it to the playoff final but lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace.

2004/2005  In August Michael Carrick, the last of a golden generation of players from the academy system, was sold to Tottenham.  Teddy Sherringham was signed prior to the start of the season.  He scored 20 goals and was named the Player of the Year in the Championship.  A teenager from the academy named Mark Noble broke into the senior team. The club reached the playoff final again. This time around they defeated Preston North End 1-0 on a goal from Bobby Zamora. 

2005/2006  The Hammers finished ninth in their first season back in the EPL.  Dean Ashton signed for a club record £7 million from Norwich City in January.  Cult hero Tomas Repka left West Ham midseason to reunite with his family in his native Czech Republic.  The team reached the FA Cup Final, where they lost on penalties to Liverpool in one of the most exciting FA Cup Finals in recent memory (3-3 AET, 1-3 in the shootout).

2006/2007  Dean Ashton’s ankle was broken by Shawn Wright-Philips while training with the England Squad.  The striker would never fully recover from the injury and would be forced to retire in December of 2009 at the age of 26.  On the final day of the summer transfer window, Carlos Tevez and Javier Macherano joined West Ham from Corinthians.  The move seemed to upset the squad and they crashed out of the UEFA Cup in the first round to Palermo (0-4 on aggregate).  A group of Icelandic investors, led by Eggert Magnússon, bought a controlling interest in the club in November.  The team’s league form was suffering and Pardew was fired in January.  Former West Ham player Alan Curbishley replaced him.  Macherano was sold to Liverpool during the January transfer window.  The deal that brought Tevez and Macherano to West Ham was investigated by the League and the club was eventually fined £5.5 million for not owning the players’ contracts outright.  With several January signings, Curbishley resurrected the team and they won seven of their last nine games.  The Hammers’ Great Escape from relegation was completed on the last day of the season with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford  Tevez scored the only goal of the game.

2007/2008  Sheffield United, who were relegated at the end of the previous season, claimed that they suffered unfairly because West Ham had used a player whose contract they did not entirely own (Tevez).  They claimed (almost certainly correctly) that he was instrumental in the Hammers avoiding relegation at Sheffield’s expense.  After a long, drawn-out process, a commission agreed with Sheffield United and the Hammers were forced to pay the Blades £25 million over several years.  The team had a lackluster season and finished tenth.  Another lengthy process to determine who actually owned Tevez’s contract was resolved in August and the player moved to Manchester United.

2008/2009  After two defenders (Anton Ferdinand & George McCartney) were sold out from under him as the summer transfer window was closing, Curbishley quit and was replaced by Gianfranco Zola, the club’s first non-British manager.  The new gaffer guided the team to a ninth-place finish. 

2009/2010  A League Cup tie, with local rivals Millwall in August at the Boleyn Ground, resulted in rioting, a pitch invasion, a Millwall supporter being stabbed and a £115,000 fine from the FA.  West Ham won the tie 3-1 AET.  In January, David Sullivan and David Gold bought the club from the cash-strapped Icelanders.  On the pitch, the team struggled through most of the season but in the end were almost singlehandedly rescued by Scott Parker.  His heroics however were not enough to save Zola’s job and the Italian was replaced by Avram Grant.

2010/2011  Grant never settled at the club and the Hammers struggled all season.  Despite strong performances from Parker, who won the FWA Footballer of the Year Award, and Demba Ba, who signed from Hoffenheim in January, West Ham finished bottom of the league and was relegated.  Grant was fired prior to the final game of the season. 

2011/2012  Sam Allardyce was hired as manager and brought in several of his former players, including Kevin Nolan, who was appointed captain.  Scott Parker was sold to Tottenham before the summer transfer window closed.  The team performed well all season and only narrowly missed automatic promotion.  The club would gain promotion via a 2-1 playoff final victory over Blackpool with goals from Carlton Cole and Ricardo Vaz Te.

2012/2013  The Hammers generally performed well upon their return to the top flight and finished tenth.  Andy Carroll joined the club in late August on a season-long loan from Liverpool.  At the end of the campaign, the move was made permanent in a club-record £15 million deal.  The big striker signed a lucrative six-year contract.  In March it was announced that West Ham had been awarded a 99-year lease at the Olympic Stadium starting in 2016.

2013/2014  Carroll injured his heal in preseason and was out of action until the new year.  Injuries were a recurring theme for the club, resulting in some nervy moments before the Hammers eventually finished the campaign in 13th position.  Fans became exasperated with Big Sam’s defensive tactics, which saw West Ham score just 40 goals in the league.  Additionally, embarrassing defeats to Notts Forest (0-5) and Manchester City (0-9 on aggregate) in the FA Cup and League Cup Semi-Finals respectively, saw many West Ham supporters calling for the manager’s ouster.

2014/2015  A slew of summer signings, including Aaron Cresswell, Carl Jenkinson (loan), Cheik Kouyate, Alex Song (loan), Morgan Amalfitano, Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho, breathed new life into the squad as the Hammers flew up the table after a stuttering start.  West Ham were in forth place on Christmas Day.  However, a lack of depth in the squad saw them slide down to mid table during the second half of the season.  Andy Carroll was again plagued by injuries, playing in just 16 games and scoring five goals.  Despite the early success, a large section of supporters were still calling for Allardyce to be sacked.  The board agreed and a few days after the season ended, Big Sam was out after four seasons in charge.

2015/2016  Silvan Bilic, the former West Ham Defender, was appointed as the club’s 15th full-time manager after bids for Jürgen Klopp and Rafa Benítez fell through.  Bilic made several brilliant signings, bringing in the likes of Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini, Angelo Ogbonna and Michail Antonio.  Payet, in particular, was a revelation.  He produced the kind of brilliant play, which had not been seen at the Bolyen since the days of Di Canio.  The Hammers had found their way into the Europa League via the Fair Play Rule.  However, the club failed to advance beyond the qualifying rounds, often fielding young teams and, in effect, using their participation in the competition as an extended preseason.  This approach paid off as the Hammers got out to a fast start in the league, winning away to Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City.  The win at Anfield was the club’s first since 1963.  The Hammers were in the top four again at Christmas and very well might have stayed there had it not been for a series of poor officiating decisions that cost the club valuable points.  West Ham also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup before going out to Manchester United in a replay.  The Hammers bid farewell to the Boleyn Ground with a memorable 3-2 win over Man U before finishing the season in seventh place.

2016/2017  A slow start to the season saw the Hammers bounced out of the Europa League for second year running during the qualifying stage.  On both occasions, Romanian minnows, FC Astra Giurgiu, were the team to knock West Ham out of the competition.  The poor form carried into the league as the Hammers struggled to settle into the Olympic Stadium.  Poor signings and injuries saw West Ham slip into the relegation zone but a string of victories over the festive period moved them up to mid table.  Dimitri Payet forced a move back to his former club Olympique de Marseille, much to the ire of the fanbase.  The team’s form continued to be uneven, highlighted by some heavy home loses.  A 1-0 win over Spurs, toward the end of the season, ended Tottenham’s title hopes and eliminated any lingering fears of the Hammers being relegated.  West Ham ended the season in 11th place.

2017/2018  Despite some impressive summer signings, West Ham started the season utterly unprepared.  They lost their first three games.  The Hammers righted the ship somewhat in September but Bilic was under constant pressure.  After falling into the relegation zone after a 1-4 home defeat to Liverpool, the Croat was sacked at the beginning of November.  David Moyes was brought in as the new manager but the club’s fortunes were slow to improve.  It would be more than a month before the Scot recorded his first win, at home to Chelsea (1-0).  Things gradually improved over the festive period.  However, progress was not constant.  After a couple of 4-1 defeats away to Liverpool and Swansea, a home fixture with Burnley became a critical.  Angry supporters threatened a protest before the match.  The protest didn’t take place but fans invaded the pitch midway through the second half, when Burnley scored the opening goal after a strong first half performance by West Ham.  Things fell apart after that with more pitch invaders.  The owners were forced to flee their seats amidst rioting in the stands.  Burnley won 3-0.  After some warm weather training in Miami, Moyes was able to get things back on track with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Southampton at the end March.  West Ham achieved survival with two games to spare and finished the season 13th on 42 points.

2018/2019. The summer started with news that David Moyes would not be retained and former Man City boss, Manuel Pellegrini, would take charge.  The arrival of the veteran Chilean manager was followed by a slew of big-name signings, including club record Felipe Anderson (£36 million) from Lazio.  However, these changes initially had no effect in terms of results as the Hammers lost their first four matches of the season.  Starting in mid September, results started to turn around as the reshuffled squad gelled and Pellegrini was able to implement his style of play.  The team enjoyed a productive December, winning five of seven matches.  During the January transfer window, Marco Arnautovic and his brother, who serves as the player’s agent, pushed for a big-money move to China.  The uncertainty about the future of West Ham’s top striker seemed to unsettle the squad and they suffered a humiliating defeat in the FA Cup to Wimbledon; a club sitting rock bottom of League One.  With relegation no longer a possibility and a series of injuries, the season started to drift away during the final months of the season.  However, the team rallied over the last five weeks, winning their last three games to finish 10th.

Notable Statistics from the Past 20 Seasons:

• Ownership Regimes:  3 (Terry Brown, the Icelanders and the Davids as well as CB Holdings during the    Icelanders’ bankruptcy process)

• Managers:  10 (Harry Redknapp, Glen Roeder, Alan Pardew, Alan Curbishley, Gianfranco Zola, Avram Grant, Sam Allardyce, Silvan Bilic, David Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini plus Trevor Brooking and Kevin Keen, on two occasions each, in a caretaker capacity)

• Club Captains:  9 (Steve Lomas, Paolo Di Canio, Joe Cole, Christian Dailly, Nigel Reo-Coker, Lucas Neill, Matthew Upson, Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble)

• Promotions & Relegations:  2 of each

• Cup Finals:  1 (2006 FA Cup)

My WHU Team of the past 20 seasons (1999-2019)

Goalkeeper:  Robert Green

Defenders:   Tomas Repka, James Tomkins, Winston Reid, Aaron Cresswell

Midfielders: Trevor Sinclair, Scott Parker, Joe Cole, Mark Noble, Matthew Etherington

Striker:    Paolo Di Canio

Honorable mentions:  Christian Dailly, Teddy Sherringham, Carlos Tevez, Dimitri Payet, James Collins

With Hail Ceasar!, the Coen Brothers Give a Tip of the Hat to Old Hollywood

With Hail Ceasar!, the Coen Brothers Give a Tip of the Hat to Old Hollywood

Having made films for over 30 years, one can safely say the Coen Brothers are now part of movie history.  So it seems rather appropriate that with their 17th feature, Hail Ceasar!, Joel and Ethan Coen have decided to pay homage to the industry in which they have found so much success.

For this playful romp through post-war Tinseltown, the Coens assembled several of their previous collaborators (Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson and Frances McDormand) as well as several well-known actors, who they haven’t worked with previously (Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swindon, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill).  

Brolin plays Eddie Mannix, the central figure in this campy tale.  Mannix is a big-time executive at an archetypical, behemoth of a studio known as Capital Pictures.  His days consist of rushing around putting out one fire after another, thus ensuring that things keep running smoothly on the studio’s numerous productions.  A real three-alarm blaze breaks out when one of its stars, Baird Whitlock (Clooney) is kidnapped by a group of communist screenwriters.

While all this is going on, Mannix is being courted by the aeronautics industry, which is offering a lucrative position and the promise of being home for dinner each night.  The demands of his current gig have him stretched to his limits.  So much so that he reluctantly enlists the help of up-and-coming, cowboy star Hobie Doyle, who’s ably portrayed by the multi-talented Alden Ehrenreich.  In Doyle, Mannix recognizes a kindred spirt; someone who believes in his beloved industry as much has he does.

Working separately, these two devotees of Hollywood Magic manage to get their star back and keep the studio’s dirty little secrets a secret. When the dust finally settles, Mannix realizes that he can never leave his studio job because making movies is just too damn important.  So while he may miss dinner and his kid’s baseball games, he’ll ensure that the American public have a steady supply of films to distract them from the troubles of their everyday lives.

A person takes a considerable risk when they try to decipher what the Coen Brothers are saying with their often cryptic films.  So I’m trying not to let my hands shake too much as I type this review.  With the satirical way in which they depict Hail Ceasar!, the Biblical movie within the movie of the same name, I believe the Coens are saying that all systems of belief and devotion are inherently foolish pursuits.  And yet people undeniably need to believe in something.  So why not devote oneself to something joyful like making movies?  It’s as good a way as any to spend a lifetime and the Coen Brothers are living proof.

Iñárritu’s Birdman Pushes the Envelope in Every Direction

In talking about Birdman, it’s hard to know where to start.  If you were to encounter a time traveler from the 18th Century, where would you begin describing the complexity of the modern world?  Such is the challenge this film presents.  It’s an almost excruciatingly intense journey through four days in a has-been actor’s life, culminating with the opening night of his Broadway play; probably his last chance to resurrect his career and find meaning in a squandered existence.

The assault on conventional filmmaking by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, who directed, co-wrote and co-produced Birdman, begins in the opening scene, where we encounter the protagonist, Riggan (played by Michael Keaton), levitating in a lotus pose in his dressing room at the Saint James Theatre.  Once he concludes his meditation, he begins a conversation with a menacing, bodiless voice while practicing telekinesis on objects in the room.  He’s then summoned to the stage for a rehearsal that is interrupted when a light falls from the overhead grid onto another actor’s head.  However, this is only a momentary respite as we start to realize that the camera never seems to cut and the drama never stops.

Things are complicated for Riggan, his family, the cast and crew of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, the short story by Raymond Craver that Riggan has adapted into a play.  Relationships are messy.  Egos and insecurities are big and real.  Broadway is a tough place to make it, even if you were once a big-time movie star, whose heyday was 20 years ago playing a comic book character in a bird suit (thus the title of the film).

If we, the audience, were given a moment to contemplate any of the blistering scenes where these problems are offered up and contested, we might be able to find our feet in this narrative.  But that would seemingly work against Iñárritu’s plans for us.  He wants us to be on the roller coaster ride with Riggan as he tries to make it to opening night and hold his tattered life together.

It’s appropriate that this film is about a play and set in a theater because it probably had to be shot like a series of theatrical performances.  The takes are long, really long and the editing is clever enough to make the whole movie seem like one, continuous shot.  In order to pull this off, not only do the actors’ performances have to be spot on all the way through a scene but the ever-moving camera has to dance with the thespians while all the technical aspects of filmmaking (lighting, sound, focus, etc.) need to be right as well.

The supporting cast (Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough, Emma Stone, Amy Ryan and Zach Galifianakis) are all strong in dealing with a script that strains credibility at times.  Director of Photography, Emmanuel Lubezki (Academy Award winner for last year’s Gravity), is sure to get consideration again come award season for the way he shot this film.

Leaving the theater after seeing Birdman, I struggled to know whether I’d liked the film or not.  Such was intensity of the viewing experience.  I knew I was impressed with Iñárritu’s skill, imagination and ambition in taking filmmaking in a new direction.  He also brought in elements of magical realism to the story as Riggan seemingly maintained the powers of his former Birdman persona.  Casting Keaton as a kind of parody of himself was also an artful way of taking a swipe at the movie industry and the films it churns out year after year.  Ultimately though I think Iñárritu is trying to say something profound about modern life:  In some way, we’re all Riggan.  We’re all performers trying to pull something off and hold things together in a 21st Century world where everything is instantaneous.  If that is what modern life is about then Inárritu is making it look easy.

Wes Anderson Sucked Me In Again At The Grand Budapest Hotel

Of all the directors currently working in Hollywood, there is perhaps no one who personifies the term “one trick pony” more than Wes Anderson.  His seven live-action features to date have all been remarkably similar.  At their center is a weird character or group of weird characters on some kind of fanciful quest.  They’re often portrayed by actors who you might consider too big to be playing such a role and yet there they are.  The look of these films is always kitschy, cutesy and detailed to the extreme.

I enjoyed Mr. Anderson’s earlier works (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and Bottle Rocket).  I was less impressed with some of his later efforts (The Darjeeling Limited and Moonrise Kingdom).  Yet I decided to give him another chance with The Grand Budapest Hotel.  I was glad I did.

The movie focuses on one M. Gustave, wonderfully portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, the concierge at the Grand Budapest Hotel.  The hotel is not located in Budapest, as the name might suggest, but in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka.  Zubrowka could be a stand in for Hungary or perhaps the Czech Republic except for the fact that everyone speaks English.

M. Gustave is very popular with the wealthy, elderly widows who frequent the Grand Budapest.  When one of these grande dames dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, M. Gustave gets entangled in the distribution of her estate with her wicked heirs.  Assisting the suave concierge in these adventures is the dutiful lobby boy, Zero Moustafa, ably depicted by Tony Revolori.  The action plays out as the storm clouds of World War II are gathering.

Since all of Anderson’s films are so remarkably similar, it’s hard to say why this one falls into the category of “the ones that worked” rather than “the ones that didn’t”.  Ultimately, I believe it comes down to the central character.  Can they carry off the whimsical tale or can’t they?  Jason Schwartzman was able to do it in his acting debut as Max Fisher, the protagonist of Rushmore.  Gene Hackman also succeeded as the charlatan patriarch and title character of The Royal Tenebaums.

Ralph Fiennes prevails here with his energetic portrayal of a wonderfully contradictory and outmoded character.  M. Gustave personifies his hotel and the high standards it represents.  He lords over his domain with an iron hand but is still prone to flights of fancy and even immoral acts when they suit his needs.  Gustave is something of a Don Quixote as he struggles to preserve a rapidly disappearing world of style and civility that is about to be stamped out completely by the impending war.

There’s precious little new ground covered in this movie, aside from the evil specters of fascism and war always lurking on the edge of the frame.  However, if you’re a Wes Anderson fan, you’ll enjoy The Grand Budapest Hotel.  The director trots out many familiar faces as he always does.  The look of the film is also unmistakably Andersonesque.  So if you’re so inclined, go out and enjoy this latest peek into the mind of America’s most singular filmmaker.

Packing A Lot Into The Weekend; A Review Of Labor Day

If the emotional scars that people carry around with them were visible, many of us would be a mess.  Yet the fact that this damage isn’t apparent doesn’t make it any less real or debilitating.  We try our best to cope with it or treat ourselves to the extent that we’re able.  We continue through life with these wounds, telling ourselves and others that we’re alright.  Occasionally, there are times of healing, when real strides can be made toward recovery.

Labor Day, adapted for screen and directed by Jason Reitman, is the story of such a period of rehabilitation.  The film recounts a long weekend in the late summer of 1987 when the injuries of the past are undone to a greater or lesser extent for three damaged individuals.

Henry, portrayed by Gattlin Griffith, is the 12-year-old son of Adele (Kate Winslet).  He’s stayed with her and done as much as a kid can to help his mom after his father has left them for his secretary.  The two are limping through their isolated lives together in a small New England town when they come across an escaped convict named Frank (Josh Brodin) while out shopping.  He convinces them to take him back to their house so he can lay low until he has the chance to slip out of town.  Inevitably, Frank ends up staying longer than he’d initially planned and the time the three of them spend together is cathartic for everyone.

Reitman’s adaptation of Joyce Maynard’s novel has its strengths and weaknesses.  While the idea that people thrust together by fate can be a salvation from one another is appealing, the scenario where a mother, no matter how lonely or vulnerable, would give a ride to a strange man she’d just met in a dollar store strains credibility.  I found myself going along with this development and others, realizing that they were necessary to move the story along.  This brings up another flaw; the predictability of the narrative.  I kind of knew where things were headed and kept getting the feeling that I’d seen parts or variations of this tale before.  That being said, there were still enough positive aspects of the story to make it moderately enjoyable.

At the center of Labor Day are these three characters; Henry, Adele and Frank.  Their interactions and the development of their relationships are the interesting aspects of the film.  The boy is the protagonist and the story is recounted from his adult point of view.  He’s angry at his dad for leaving them and needs the reassurance a father provides.  Adele and Frank have suffered tragedy in their lives.  Their backstories come out sporadicly in flashbacks throughout the movie.  They relate to each other in a way that only those who’ve experienced great loss can.

Kate Winslet, Josh Brodin and Gattlin Griffith all give solid, understated performances.  Brodin’s Frank probably leaves the strongest impression with his assertiveness, physical presence and profound decency.  None of the secondary actors in the film really have a chance to shine as their roles are generally small and their characters one-dimensional.

I commend Jason Reitman for keeping things low-key.  Other directors might have felt that such a situation called for more drama and bigger performances.  Reitman seems to realize that characters nursing emotional wounds are more prone to muted discourse than spirited theatrics.

There’s nothing particularly eye-catching or memorable about Labor Day.  It hasn’t received a tremendous amount of critical acclaim or done a ton of business at the box office.  What I can say for this movie is that it makes a concerted effort at quiet, ernest sincerity.  The extent to which it achieves that will vary from viewer to viewer but I appreciate the attempt.  For certain individuals, who can identify with these characters, that might be enough.

Labor Day is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned) for brief violence and sexuality.

Imagination Lives in Hollywood in the Person of Spike Jonez; A Review of Her

How closely connected to machines will mankind become in the future?  What will that society, those relationships and the machines be like?  These are the questions that Spike Jonez takes on in his new film Her.  Jonez, his cast and crew investigate these questions with intelligence, compassion and, above all, imagination in what I think is the most original movie since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

In a not so distant future, Theodore, wonderfully portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is a man whose marriage has recently fallen apart.  He’s living alone in Las Angeles and works for a company that writes personal correspondence on behalf of its clients.  His life is pretty lonely until he installs a new operating system on his computer.

The OS, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, calls herself Samantha and is a breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI).  This AI allows Samantha to quickly develop a very close and intimate relationship with Theodore.  It’s fairly easy to understand how the human can be drawn in by the machine but what’s interesting is that the OS seems to need the human as well.

From here on, the film follows the arc of Theodore and Samantha’s relationship.  They go on dates, they travel, they have sex (scandal!).  Some friends approve of their relationship and support them.  Others are less enthusiastic.  And like most relationships, this one too comes to an end but I won’t go into the how and why here.

Other than being incredibly original, the thing I liked about Her is that it’s a film for adults.  It moves slowly and really makes one think.  In writing the screenplay, Spike Jonez had to imagine the computerized consciousness of a super-intelligence machine that doesn’t currently exist.  That’s no small feat and yet he pulls it off in a way that I found very convincing.

The dialogue scenes between Theodore and Samantha are the most interesting for me.  Normally, we’re accustomed to seeing a wide shot of the two participants at the beginning of such a scene, followed by single shots of each character speaking and sometimes reacting to what the other has said.  In Her there is only the physical presence of Theodore so the camera has to stay on him the whole time, usually tight on his face.  Watching his engagement and subtle reactions to their authentic dialogue is wonderfully insightful.

Ultimately I suppose Her could be viewed a precautionary tale of the dangers of relying too heavily on machines, especially for emotional support.  The film seems to be telling us to go forth and bravely interact with our fellow man.  Yet Her is more than this and I struggle to say exactly what.  I guess that’s the beauty of something truly original.  There isn’t already a category you can put it in.  What I can say is that the film has stayed with me, made me think and contemplate what it means to be human.

Inside Llewyn Davis: The Coen Brothers Come Up Empty

Toward the end of this movie, the protagonist is auditioning for a club owner who tells him that another artist is successful while he isn’t because the other guy connects with the audience.  Such a connection was missing for me while watching Inside Llewyn Davis.  There wasn’t enough of a story for me to follow and the title character, ably portrayed by Oscar Isaac, was too frustrating to identify with because he’s one of those people who just can’t get out of their own way.

Llewyn Davis is a folk singer in 1961 New York.  He was once half of a duo until his partner committed suicide.  Now Llewyn is struggling to make it on his own.  As the film begins, he’s couch surfing, broke and has a tendency to alienate most people he comes in contact with.  He tries to kick start his flagging career but poor decisions, his abrasive personality and plain old bad luck foil his efforts.  A cat at one of the apartments he crashes at regularly escapes and he feels compelled to care for it until he can bring it back.  A married friend, with whom he’s had a fling, is pregnant and he agrees to help her out despite the fact that she heaps all the blame and an ample helping of scorn upon him.  His manager is a well-meaning but incompetent old man, who’s unable to offer Llewyn much help.

Given these difficulties in the City, Llewyn decides to get out of town when he hears about a ride share heading for Chicago.  He hopes to get a regular gig at a folk club there but like everything else in his life, this aspiration also comes to nothing.  He returns to New York so disillusioned that he plans to go back to sea with the Merchant Marine but even this effort at capitulation is thwarted.  Finally he settles back into his old routine and the chain of unfortunate events that define his life starts anew. 

What is the viewer meant to take away from this little tale of futility?  Is it that some people are beyond help?  Are some of us destined for failure no matter how hard we try try to succeed?  I don’t know.  I’m a huge fan of Joel and Ethan Coen.  I know that they love to end their films with ambiguity and uncertainty.  If they get it right, I can leave the theater satisfied with not knowing exactly what happened in the end.  If they get it wrong, I go home feeling confused and uneasy.

I think what I needed from this film was backstory.  What was Llewyn’s life like before his partner’s tragic death?  His manager’s secretary gives him a box of the duet’s unsold records at one point so we know they weren’t a big, commercial success but was Llewyn a happier person when his partner was around?  Did he have a home?  Was he better liked by others or was his life just as sad and ineffectual?

We never find this out.  The movie is loosely based on the career of folk singer Dave Van Ronk but this fact doesn’t offer any real answers.  The bleak, desaturated look of the film enhances its mood and there are some good cameos by a strong supporting cast that includes Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, F. Murray Abraham and, of course, John Goodman.  However, these elements do not make a complete film in my opinion.  If this is all that is to be found inside Llewyn Davis then I think his story is one that would have been better left untold.