Attention Must Be Paid to "Denial"

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Rachel Weiscz Giver Her All in “Denial”

By Skip Sheffield

Rachel Weiscz is one formidable actress. She pours her body and soul into her role of a lifetime in “Denial.”

Weiscz plays Deborah Lipstadt, upon whose 1993 book the David Hare screenplay is based.

Lipstadt was a professor of Jewish Studies at Emory University in Atlanta. David Irving (Timothy Spall) was a self-styled British historian and avowed admirer of Adolph Hitler. Furthermore he had published books claiming that the Holocaust never happened; that there were no gas chambers or crematoriums.

The Nazis covered their tracks very well in World War II. The most notorious concentration camp, Auschwitz, was leveled. We meet Irving in Atlanta, interrupting Lipstadt’s class and defiantly offering anyone $1,000 cash if they could prove the Holocaust happened. Lipstadt responded by branding Irving a charlatan and bogus historian. He responded in 1996 by suing her for libel and defamation of character.

The legal system is different in England. For one thing judges wear those silly silver wigs. More importantly the burden of proof is on the accused, not the accuser. To save her reputation and discredit Irving and others like him, Lipstadt would have to provide solid proof the Holocaust happened.

A courtroom- particularly a British one- is not very exciting. “Denial” builds its case slowly and methodically, with Tom Wilkinson’s Scottish lawyer Richard Rampton as the star player.

Timothy Spall usually plays lovable buffoons. In this case he is a buffoon all right, but a reprehensible lying villain. Evil comes in many forms. Sometimes it is from the jovial guy next door. David Irving had to be brought down. His positions on the Holocaust were indefensible. That Deborah Lipstadt had to prove the obvious shows what a brave woman she was. For that reason “Denial” is an important film.

A Supercharged "Rent" 20th Anniversary

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A Memorable, Supercharged “Rent” at Broward Center

By Skip Sheffield

“Rent” is back for a very limited time in a supercharged 20^th anniversary edition through Sunday. Oct. 9 at Broward Center for the Arts.

“Rent” had a unique, star-crossed genesis as a creation of Jonathan Larson, who died of an aortic dissection the night before the musical’s opening Off-Broadway in 1996. The show won the Tony Award for Best Musical and eventually a Pulitzer Prize. It ran for 12 years on Broadway and had multiple national and international tours.

Loosely based on Puccini’s tragic 1896 opera “La Boheme,” “Rent” is an early 1990s time capsule of would be artists, drag queens and dreamers who are squatting in a tenement on New York’s Lower East Side. The show began in 1988 as a collaboration with playwright Billy Aronson as a “musical for the MTV generation.” In 1991 Larson took sole control of the show.

The two main characters are Roger Davis (Kaleb Wells), a struggling songwriter who is HIV positive, and Mark Cohen, a struggling Jewish filmmaker from a prosperous family in Scarsdale. Roger’s girlfriend is the sickly but alluring “exotic dancer” Mimi (Skyler Volpe). Mark has a girlfriend named Maureen (Katie Lamark) who will leave him for a woman named Joanne (Jasmine Easler).

The most flambouyant scene-stealer is a petite drag queen named Angel (David Merino), who loves Tom Collins (Aaron Harrington), a large black man who is a part-time teacher at NYU. The nemesis of this ragtag bunch is Benjamin Coffin III Christian Thompson), who owns the building and would like to redevelop it. The action takes place over a year, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Eve.

“Five Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes… Moments so dear, How do you measure a year?,” go the lyrics of the most memorable song, “Seasons of Love.” Seeing “Rent” is a memory you will cherish.

Call 954-462-0222 or go to www.browardcenter.org for ticket information.

All Your Favorite Older Actors in "Silver Skies"

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Golden Years in “Silver Skies”

By Skip Sheffield

“Silver Skies” is the name of an older adult rental complex in Los Angeles. It is also the title of a movie written and directed by Rosemary Rodriguez (“The Good Wife” TV series 2009-2016).

This movie was the centerpiece attraction at the 2016 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. The choice was appropriate, because we certainly have plenty of retirees in our area.

“Silver Skies” also afforded work to actors who are past their prime. The principal one is George Hamilton, who plays an actor named Phil who is entering early stages of Alzheimer’s dementia. Phil lives with Nick (Jack McGee), who works at a local horse race track.

I initially assumed Phil and Nick were a gay couple, but no. Nick develops a crush on Ethel (Valerie Perrine).

The essential dilemma of “Silver Skies” is that the building is being sold to be converted to condos. Residents can either purchase (at a greatly increased price) their apartments, or get out. They have just 30 days to make a decision.

One tenant, Harriett (Mariette Hartley) has the wherewithal to solve the problem. But the building’s attorney (Heather McComb) and its seedy manager (Micah Hauptman), are rigid.

Just when you think all is lost, there is a last-minute plot twist that saves the day.

It is great fun seeing actors we grew up with, such as Alex Rocco, who died July 18, Howard Hesseman, Barbara Bain and Dick Van Patten (playing himself). The Boca Raton/Delray Beach market is ideal for this film, but younger people might learn a thing or two if they give it a look.

Seeing "The Birth of a Nation" From the Other Side

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“Birth of a Nation” From an Opposite point of view.

By Skip Sheffield

Nate Parker didn’t just remake the notorious film “The Birth of a Nation.” The writer, director and star totally re-envisioned it, and did a 180-degree turn from the 1915 silent film, which glorified the Ku Klux Klan and vilified African-American slaves.

“Birth of a Nation” is told from the point of view of Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a black slave in Virginia in 1831. Nat was a supremely intelligent young man who knew how to read in a time when black people were denied an education. Nat had a teacher in Elizabeth Turner (Penelope Ann Miller), wife of plantation owner Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer) who was relatively enlightened compared to most Southern slave owners and The Bible as a textbook.

Make no mistake; “Birth of a Nation” is hard to endure. It is quite graphic in its depiction of the hate, violence and hypocrisy of “genteel” Southerners. Nat is allowed to preach to fellow slaves with the hope he can keep them calmed down.

Instead as witness to repeated atrocities, Nat became a radical abolitionist, who recruited a small band of slaves to rise up against their masters, and slaughter them.

This is not a made-up story. Nat Turner really existed, and it was his sad story that fired abolitionists nationwide to abolish the institution of slavery. While this movie is bloody and violent, it is only a foreshadowing of the War Between the States, aka the Civil War. Violence begets violence. This movie is as biased as the original “Birth of a Nation,” only from the opposite point of view. It is an impressive debut by first-time director, writer, star and producer Nate Parker.

"Tanna" Romeo & Juliet in the South Pacific

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“Tanna” is Romeo and Juliet in the South Pacific

By Skip Sheffield

In an increasingly “civilized” world, it is getting harder and harder to find indigenous people who live their traditional ways.

“Tanna” is about a remote civilization of indigenous people who live on an island off the coast of Australia. “We resisted colonials, we resisted Christians,” declared the tribal chief. “But we must find a way to make love marriage part of Kastom,”

“Tanna” is a kind of Romeo and Juliet story set on a remote South Pacific jungle island. Wawa (Marie Wawa) and Dain (Mongou Dain) are from opposing tribes on their island. The tribes have a tradition of arranged marriages. Dain is the grandson of one of the tribal chiefs. Wawa is a member of the opposing tribe. For diplomatic reasons Wawa’s chief has matched her with a member of the opposing tribe, but not Dain. Instead of going through with the marriage, Wawa flees with Dain into the jungle.

“Tanna” reminds me of the National Geographic documentaries I used to see as a child. All the females are bare-chested. The men are naked except for a penis sheath. Life revolves around animal sacrifice and drinking a brew made with Kava, which is a mild psychedelic. Life continues much as it did when Capt. James Cook discovered the islands in 1774. Dain and Wawa’s defiance of the tribal elders shakes the very foundation of Kastom, or tradition. None of the actors are professionals. Filmmakers Martin Butler and Bentley Dean spent seven months living among the natives to make this movie. It is not exciting but it is beautiful; including the active volcano which dominates the island. The story is based on actual events that occurred in 1987. The main lesson learned is that all tradition is not right or just. It sometimes takes sacrifice to break out of that straitjacket.

"Deepwater Horizon" a Disaster Movie That Could Have Been a Cautionary Tale

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“Deepwater Horizon” a Disaster for all Living Creatures

By Skip Sheffield

“Deepwater Horizon” dramatizes the disastrous explosion and subsequent oil spill of the oil rig of the same name, off the coast of Louisiana in April of 2010.

“Deepwater” concentrates on events leading up to the big bang; not on the even more horrendous after effects of one of the largest oil spills in history, polluting the Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana to Florida.

Mark Wahlberg plays our everyman, Mike Williams and Kate Hudson is his concerned wife, Felicia. Kurt Russell is the senior rig worker and safety officer, “Mister” Jimmy Harrell.

The rig has a crew of 126. It is located about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Workers are transported by helicopter. For dramatic effect you need villains. In this case it is BP (British Petroleum) officials who pressure the workers to keep drilling on the floating rig; despite the fact the integrity of the cement is unknown. The project is $53 million over budget and more than a month behind schedule. Head BP official Vitrine (John Malkovich) insists the men press on; despite ominous warnings this is “the well from Hell.”

That pretty much it in the way of plot, based on news articles by Matthew Sand and Stephanie Saul. What is not covered in this movie is the number of casualties (11), though the number of injuries (17) is inferred.

What is not covered was the aftermath of this disaster, which amounted to the worst oil spill in the history of the world. People on the Gulf Coast of the USA are still dealing with the consequences. “Deepwater Horizon” is a disaster movie, but it could have been more. In our mania to drill for oil, the consequences are daunting. In this sense this movie could be a call for clean, renewable energy sources.

A Mass Exodus in "Come What May"

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War Invades France in “Come What May”

By Skip Sheffield

There are approximately 8 million stories of the Holocaust. If I live long enough I may learn about of all of them.

“Come What May” is another entry in the genre. It is set in France, just prior to the German invasion in the summer of 1939. On Sept. 3, 1939, France declared war on Germany. It was a rather futile gesture, as Germany was geared up to conquer all of Europe. “Come What May” is the story of ordinary French people and their desperate attempt to flee south to safety in Dieppe.

Writer-director Christian Carion grew up in the north of France. His mother grew up and survived the German invasion. This movie is a fictional account of the mass exodus. It centers on a German boy, Max (Joshio Marlon), whose father (August Diehl) opposed the Nazi regime. Paul, (Olivier Gourmet), the Mayor of the small town of Pas de Calais, urged his people to drop everything and follow him south to safety.

Acting as a scout for the troop and protector of Max is a schoolteacher named Suzanne (Alice Isaaz). Since this is a movie, she is extraordinarily pretty.

The movie features a score by Oscar-winner Ennio Morricone. The action doesn’t really crank up until the final half-hour, but it reminds us as Gen. U.S. Grant so succinctly noted, that war is Hell, and World War II was one of the most hellish of them all.