Sundance ’18: White Fang

Jack London’s bestselling animal adventure novel has been adapted as Japanese anime, a 1970s Italian franchise starring Franco Nero, a Disney live-action movie, a 1926 Hollywood silent featuring Strongheart the Dog, and a 1946 Soviet version Red Jack probably would have liked best. Clearly, the story’s popularity has never flagged, but the most visually accomplished take now happens to be a Francophone production (subsequently dubbed into English). The Yukon Territory is still a savage environment for London’s titular wolf-dog, but he will adapt and survive in Academy Award-winning animator Alexandre Espigares’ White Fang, which screens during this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

White Fang grew up under the watchful eye of his mother Kiche, a former sled dog gone wild. The winter has already been hard on the dogs, when an encounter with a lynx leaves Kiche badly injured. Nevertheless, White Fang will nurse her back to sufficient health for her to seek out and rejoin the pack dogs driven by Native trapper Grey Beaver. Although the other dogs resent White Fang’s strength and spirit, he will eventually claim his place as top dog. Unfortunately, he will also attract the unwanted attention of Beauty Smith, a nefarious dog-fighter intent on swindling him away from Grey Beaver.

Smith’s brutal training will mold White Fang into a ferocious fighter, but as we see in the in media res opening, the wolf-dog never develops a taste for fighting. Eventually, he will cross paths again with Weedon Scott, an honest lawman, with whom he had a brief encounter years ago, while he was still just a pup.

In a way, White Fang was like the Dog’s Purpose of 1906, following the wolf-dog as he changes hands and passes through metaphorical lives, except it features animal savagery in place of New Age spirituality. Espigares’ animated feature debut (he won the Oscar for his short, Mr. Hublot) is a manageable ninety minutes, but it feels pretty epic and remains relatively faithful to the source novel. However, the trio of screenwriters, Serge Frydman, Philippe Lioret, and Monique Monfrey water-down the abuse Grey Beaver metes out in the novel. While that might sound like a politically correct decision, it is wise to give younger viewers a respite from London’s harshness.

Espigares’ animation is indeed superb, merging a lush, painterly style with motion-capture technology. His wolves and dogs look scrupulously realistic, but exhibit distinctive personalities. The vibrant landscapes and vistas also evoke N.C. Wyeth’s great James Fenimore Cooper illustrations.

For the English dub, the voice of Paul Giamatti is perfectly cast as the scheming Smith. Nick Offerman and Rashida Jones are fine as Weedon and Maggie Scott, but probably the most distinctive vocal turn comes from Eddie Spears as Grey Beaver.

Espigares and his team have produced a White Fang that is lovely to look at, but is still quite tough minded. They have simplified London’s narrative to a minor extent (sorry One-Eye, maybe next film), but they definitely retained its essence. Enthusiastically recommended for adults and older kids, White Fang screens again this Saturday (1/27) in Park City, as part of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Sundance ’17: The Hero

Have you heard the awkward outtakes from Orson Welles radio spot for frozen peas? Lee Hayden could relate to them. He too must record multiple takes of a lame radio commercial, but at least barbecue sauce better fits the faded cowboy movie star’s image. His career is on life-support, but he experiences an unlikely surge of interest at an inopportune moment in Brett Haley’s The Hero, which screens during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Hayden is best known for playing the titular gunslinger in an early 1980s hit called The Hero. Since then, he has become as western icon for his drawling voice and silver moustache. In fact, he will soon receive the Western Icon Award to prove it. Hayden’s only friend is his drug dealer Jeremy, a former actor with whom he worked on a short-lived television show. While struggling to decide whether he wants to do anything about a recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, Hayden happens to make the acquaintance of Charlotte, one of Jeremy’s other customers.

This is not exactly a meet-cute, but Hayden is too old for that sort of thing anyway. Regardless, they seem to enjoy each other’s company, especially when they both arrive at the Western Icon Awards slightly stoned. That turns into Hayden’s best career move in years when his idiosyncratic acceptance speech goes viral. However, issues with his resentful grown daughter and the looming cancer might overshadow his sudden internet fame.

Beat for beat and note for note, Haley’s screenplay might be the most predictable, script-by-numbers narrative you will ever forgive. This is the sort of film that is all about the performances—and they are genuinely awards-caliber. Sam Elliott truly embodies Lee Hayden. He has the grizzled look and laconic drawl, but he invests the character with enormous dignity, while simultaneously exposing all his regret and self-loathing.

It is still January, but there is a good chance Elliott will be in awards contention for his turn in/as The Hero. However, maybe the greater surprise is how terrific Laura Prepon is portraying Charlotte. She is a smart, sultry, sarcastic presence, who truly lights up the screen. Nick Offerman’s Jeremy is also amusing in a lowkey kind of way. You could almost say he gets to play the film’s Sam Elliott character.

If Haley had deviated from the formula a bit more, The Hero might have become a Western Icon in its own right. Instead, we have what we have—and it is still well worth seeing, thanks to the stellar work of Elliott and Prepon (plus Offerman’s rock solid support). Despite the obvious manipulation, the emotional payoff is hugely satisfying. Recommended for nostalgic fans of Elliott and the western genre, The Hero screens again today (1/23), Thursday (1/26), and Saturday (1/28) in Park City, as part of this year’s Sundance.

Somebody Up There Likes Me: Sorry, No Paul Newman in this One

Pizza and ice cream are a good combination.  Slacker man-children and family responsibility—not so much.  There is your take-away from Bob Byington’s emotionally frozen comedy Somebody Up There Likes Me (trailer here), which opens tomorrow at BAM.

Max carries his father’s legacy in a suitcase.  Whenever he peeks inside it glows.  Whether or not it is Marsellus Wallace’s soul, it seems to keep him looking youthful.  Unfortunately, he is not exactly young in spirit, having largely disengaged from the world around him.  He makes a stab at patching things up with his ex-wife, but her rejection hardly fazes him.  For the next thirty-five years, his life will revolve around people he knows from his crummy steakhouse job, including his best (and only) friend Sal, and Lyla, the “breadstick girl” whom he will eventually marry.

Time flashes forward in chunks.  Max has a son he is not interested in and passively watches his fortunes rise and fall (including the establishment of a chain of pizza and ice cream restaurants).  Fundamentally a jerkheel, he will even start carrying on with the nanny, which would be something of a cliché if he were not so indifferent to everything and everyone.

Essentially, Somebody is like the indie version of Adam Sandler’s Click, except Max really wants to fast forward through family life.  It is also mordantly witty at times.  Not surprisingly, Parks & Recreation’s Nick Offerman scores most (if not all) of the laughs as the sardonic Sal.  Jess Weixler adds a rather odd texture, portraying Lyla in an apparent state of arrested development.  Character actor Marshall Bell does his thing, glowering and growling as Lyla’s corrupt copper father.  However, as Max, Keith Poulson is only required to hit one note—extreme detachment—and hold it from start to finish.

It seems bizarre that Somebody would chose to re-use a title with such strong associations.  After all, Robert Wise’s 1956 Oscar winning film was the original Rocky.  Regardless, there are some wryly amusing lines sprinkled throughout Somebody, particularly those delivered by co-producer Offerman and Kevin Corrigan (making the most of an early but memorable cameo).  Yet, the consistently cold, cynical tone will leave most viewers scratching their heads, wondering just what exactly was the point of all that.  Still, nobody can accuse Somebody of falling into the indie sentimental quirkiness trap. Deliberately distancing, Somebody Up There Likes Me will only satisfy hardcore hipsters when it opens tomorrow (3/29) in Brooklyn at the BAM Cinematek.