Johnny Simmons

The entirety of Conviction depends on us believing that Betty Anne Waters is so devoted to her brother that she spend her life studying to get him out of prison. In theory, it seems like something any sibling would do, but it’s a special sort of devotion and though Sam Rockwell’s charisma suggests that he’s the type of rebel that people want to help I hate that Goldwyn does a disservice to his story by providing us with a stronger clarification for that arc. The occasional flashbacks touching on them as children don’t suffice, although I give him (grudging) credit for it. And, it’s not that he errs in not devoting enough time to it – it’s just one of the (many) ways that Conviction doesn’t sell itself as a cinematic entity. Compare that relationship to Becca and Izzy in Rabbit Hole. That relationship isn’t at the forefront of the film, but in two short scenes Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell give us the strengths and weaknesses in that liaison – of course, buoyed by the good work being done by Blanchard and Kidman (more on Tammy). Filial love is probably a disingenuous title for this article, though I’d intimate that in any sort of rapport between siblings could be traced back to filial love – let’s examine 2010’s crop.

One of the singular deficiencies in Animal Kingdom, which I’m even wary of calling an actual deficiency, is the relationship that J’s mother had with her siblings and mother. “Mum kept me away from her family” is striking in its vagueness, and Janine’s bit on why they stopped talking is obviously a smokescreen for something else – but what? I often found myself thinking what sort of a relationship she had with her brothers. It’s a bit difficult to extrapolate anything close to love among the three brothers. Craig, in his sincerity, grieves for Baz – but Baz isn’t a brother. And in that subdued scene where Darren and Pope prepare for the funeral the dejectedness seems less about grief for Craig and more of a general discontent with their lives. Aaron Johnson’s Graham – the eponymous Greatest of his film – dies and leaves a grieving family, and a wayward brother, and I feel a bit awful for not even mentioning Johnny Simmons as a semi-finalist for his work here. He’s still an actor learning the ways, but it’s interesting watching the way he decides to show grief for his brother.

        

Thandie Newton is all sorts of fabulous in For Colored Girls, and there’s an arc where she sees her sister (Tessa Thompson) heading down the same path as she did. Newton has always had a natural prickliness in her performances and that makes her work even more striking here as she responds not with sympathy but with a laugh at a key moment in the narrative. It’s the sort of bottling of emotions that defines most of the women in For Colored Girls, but Newton’s Tangie is especially dangerous because these emotions burst out at the strangest points. In a way, that way in which she cares for her sister by not caring is indicative of Dicky and Micky in The Fighter. I keep getting the urge to give The Fighter a new and more interesting title (The Family, Brothers) and the second one especially would suffice here. It’s not incidental that the very first image of the film is Dicky and Micky together, since it’s that relationship that functions as an impetus for every other plotpoint in the film. And by omission you could probably say the same of the sisterly rapport between Anne-Marie Duff and Kristin Scott Thomas in Nowhere Boy. It’s difficult to deny that the two women are golden opposite each other, and it’s wrong to hope they had more scenes to do so – it’s not their story. But Mimi’s attitude towards Julia (and by extension John) is a significant arc of the story.

           

One of my favourite running arcs in Scott Pilgrim vs the World is those phone calls Stacey makes to Scott in his lowest points. I still don’t buy Stacy as Scott’s little sister – but the chemistry between Kendrick and Cera sell what should be an example of a terrible sibling relationship, but in actuality is not really. And, I sort of don’t want to say that Bertie and Edward have an awful relationship in The King’s Speech though that significant moment at Edward’s party where Pearce so wonderfully imitates his stutter is almost horrific – not because of its teasing way, but because it’s so glibly done – as if it’s the usual way to treat Bertie (wish that arc could have been examined more). And then I think of The Kids Are All Right. Hutcherson and Wasikowska are so obviously on the same wavelength – another example of how brilliant this cast is. It’s difficult for me not to call them my favourite sibling relationship of the year even though they have few actual scenes together – those moments when they’ll catch each others’ eye across the table for a slight roll of the eyes underscores – perfectly, and promptly – that tenuous thing called filial love.

           

I’m shamelessly slow on the uptake. It wasn’t until I watched Scott Pilgrim vs the World that I finally put the pieces together regarding Johnny Simmons who’ve I’ve already seen in two movies this year – but didn’t realise. He was rather impressive in the relatively underrated Jennifer’s Body and I remember Ryan praising his turn in The Greatest. I kind of glossed over his performance in the latter, but despite the definite inadequacies in the script the acting in The Greatest really is all-round goodness and Simmons is a good addition. What with the trimester of Aaron Johnson (also in the The Greatest, then Kick-Ass and Nowhere Boy) it’s good seeing some good young men coming up in the business since they’re almost always overshadowed by the women.

People seem to be taking to Andrew Garfield recently and Josh Hutchinson seems like another one to watch out for. I’m still holding out that Shia LeBoeuf will someday impress me (though I used to think the same thing about Freddie Muniz, so who knows)? I’ve managed to come around on Michael Cera owing to him being perfectly casted in Scott Pilgrim vs the World even if I think he’s a cheap doppelganger for Paul Dano. I struggle to find good very young male actors – thespians like the Bens (Whishaw and Foster) and James McAvoy are already cemented as impressive actors for me – and they’ll soon be over thirty, whereas the younger women are constantly impressing from the very young like Saoirse and Abigail (even though I wonder if her turn in Little Miss Susnhine) was a fluke. I don’t care for Ellen Page or Chloe Moretz at all, but they’re both still considered a relatively valuable commodity. Mia Wasikowska is making waves, Evan Rachel Wood and Jena Malone (twins separated at birth) were impressing as children, though they’ve both been in slumps lately and Keira and Scarlett and Carey are still young despite each having done impressive work already.

            

I don’t know why the odds seem to be in favour of the women, perhaps I’m just prejudiced towards them...either way, let me return to my original point. I’m hoping Johnny Simmons has a strong career ahead of him (look at all that digression).

I won’t lie that after having been thrilled by Carey in An Education I was anxiously awaiting her next film – I’d only had Never Let Me Go and Wall Street 2 on my radar so in a way The Greatest snuck up on me. The film was filmed some time ago, awaiting distribution for some time. He film was the story of Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan (a surprisingly believable couple) and their journey through and out of grief. Carey Mulligan plays the girlfriend of their dead teenaged son, and the mother of his unborn child. It’s a plot as run of the mill as a hundred, and the attraction of The Greatest is not its story. The thing is: there are some sweet moments in it though. The tale of the reluctant romance between Carey and Aaron Johnson as Bennett (the dead boy) is handled nicely. Sometimes their story – told in flashbacks – resonates more than the present story.

   

I’ve been lamenting that Susan Sarandon deserves a good role. This is not quite it, but she does her best here. She’s always been a valiant actress and the role of the grieving mother is grossly underwritten her, to some effect she’s relegated to playing a stereotype. Shana Feste (who writes and directs) misses the point between subtlety and too little information. The thing is, though, Susan makes the role work. A cringe worthy portion has her ringing a bell whenever she misses her son (a conceit that she manages to sell) and there’s an underdeveloped portion where she loses the bell. The scenario is ridiculous, but she sells the grief and trauma her perfectly. She has a moving scene with Michael Shannon (a cameo) as she tries to retrace the final moments of her son’s life and though it could use some work, it doesn’t occur to me as I watch because Susan is so talented.

Though Susan is a favourite actress of mine, my interest was more piqued at the thought of seeing Carey in a different role. With her pixie haircut (that looks consistently dishevelled) she brings a certain innocence to Rose. The role is devoid of the routine abrasiveness of Jenny, and perhaps of the prodigious way too. She is a bit wise beyond her years and there’s a luminosity about her that’s decidedly attractive. Rest assured, Carey’s no one hit wonder. True, the film is clunky and it prevents from being truly excellent. She’s not. But she manages to excel in a number of scenes. Opposite Susan and especially Pierce she excels, and there’s a particular call a friend pays to her mother where here reactive skills seem on point.

The thing is, The Greatest still isn’t very good. I didn’t feel any disappointment after seeing it, and I didn’t feel as if I’d wasted my money. It’s a harmless film, and I won’t NOT recommend. But it’s not “unmissable”. But it boasts good performances from the entire cast, it’s just not certain what type of film it wants to be.