WON’T BACK DOWN
RYAN: This new drama stars Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal and since it looks so semiprecious in the trailer and TV commercials, I wondered whether it would have enough actual meat to it to be a viable option for Viola since her eye seems to be on the prize lately. The Oscar prize. And she has some intense moments but it’s not an Oscar movie.
KIM: I agree. But she and Maggie both turned out good performances. And there are bigger names than I expected: Holly Hunter, Ving Rhames, Rosie Perez and Oscar Isaac.
RYAN: Can I just say Holly Hunter is starting to look like Joan Rivers. OMG her BPS, bad plastic surgery, is so bad I can’t even. She is stretched and pinched and botoxed within an inch of her life!
KIM: She does not look like she did just a few years ago on her TV show Saving Grace.
RYAN: And she’s rocking some funky soccer mom hairdo here which is awful on her. Appropriate for the character, but still.
KIM: Yeah it didn’t do her justice unfortunately. I liked this movie though. It’s very uplifting. The dialogue was good. I chuckled a bit but also felt for the characters. It’s a full two hours and I was never bored.
RYAN: I wasn’t bored either. It’s a good underdog story and that’s one of my favorite types; this of the union, teachers and school board variety. It’s okay but also preachy and annoying at times. There were no real subplots. Hints of them, but the movie basically just follows the main story and that’s a problem.
KIM: Oh yeah.
RYAN: And if you compare this to one of the greatest underdog movies ever, Erin Brockovich, it’s not great. This movie just had no follow through on subplots.
KIM: You’re right it didn’t. Some started but never finished. I just assumed where they went anyway. It’s a bit predictable but I still thought it was pretty good.
RYAN: Not an Oscar contender though, unless there isn’t much by way of female performances yet this year.
KIM: Yeah probably not.
RYAN: I remember leaning over to you at the beginning of the film and whispering about how desaturated the color was. It’s almost black and white early on but then the colors become more vibrant. I wonder why they did that.
KIM: Yeah I did notice that when you said it. And then there was a lot of green and red at the end.
RYAN: Also, I don’t know if you noticed but I was very uncomfortable during this movie because the woman behind me kept kicking the back of my seat.
KIM: [laughs’ Yeah I saw you kept turning around.
RYAN: So unacceptable! That awkward moment when you’re debating whether you’re going to turn around and ask the person behind you to knock it off… I didn’t. I suffered through it.
KIM: I really like Lance Reddick, who played Viola’s husband. I know him from TV and it was cool seeing him on the big screen.
— BOTTOM LINE —
KIM: I was anticipating a potentially boring drama but it was really good. Great performances and a nice, uplifting, predictable story.
RYAN: But this would be as enjoyable on the couch at home so it’s more of a rental. The ladies give great perfs for sure. Viola has a couple good speeches and Maggie actually shines best when she’s not speaking. She’s so expressive with her eyes and is a powerful female actor. She conveys much.
— RATING —
