The Girl on the Train

I have to confess that I was not a big fan of Paula Hawkins’ novel The Girl on the Train. I read a lot of thrillers and, as a fan of David Baldacci, Jo Nesbo, Steve Berry, James Rollins and John Verdon, I didn’t feel it stood up to their caliber of storytelling.

However, I did want to see what Screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson and Director Tate Taylor would do with it.  And, I must say I was thoroughly delighted with the result.

With Cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen’s images and the ace editing of Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker, not to mention Emily Blunt’s brilliant performance, the film is a much better than the novel at telling of the story of an intensely depressed alcoholic, who envies the life she lost.

 The vociferous audience seemed to be in agreement with screams and yells in the right places.

I give The Girl on the Train a 4 out of 5.

The Accountant

In 1999, Director Gavin O’Connor made an absolutely wonderful film called Tumbleweeds that brought him substantial financial rewards from its sale, but not the fame he deserved due to poor marketing decisions by its distributor.  I’m hoping that his new film The Accountant will, finally, give him his fame.

This is an absolutely brilliant film that will definitely vie for my favorite of the year.

Not only is it a taut thriller of the first degree, but the script by Writer Bill Dubuque is first rate, bringing humor and pathos into a story that has both grim and sweet surprises up to the very end.

Ben Affleck as accountant Christian Wolff, a man suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome who grew up under the thumb of a tyrannical father (Robert C. Treveiler), is a savant with a clientele that includes terrorists, drug traffickers, assassins and others of ill repute. Under pursuit by the Treasury Bureau, he takes a legit client (John Lithgow) to go underground, but that turns out to open him to even more danger.

Affleck gives possibly his best performance to date, Anna Kendrick is perfect as a savvy, young accountant and the balance of the cast, including J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey Tambor, Jean Smart, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson and all the backup actors show that Casting Directors Nicole Abellara and Jeanne McCarthy are at the top of their game.

Production values led by Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey are superb, as well.

The Accountant is a must-see for action fans, but will, also, be enjoyed by all film viewers.  I give it a 4.9 out of 5.

Denial

 

It makes me happy when a film is even better than I anticipated it would be. 

That’s the case with Director Mick Jackson’s Denial, which is the most intelligent film of the year, so far. 

Screenwriter David Hare’s artfully crafted script coupled with brilliant performances by Rachel Weisz as writer Deborah Lipstadt, Tom Wilkinson as her barrister Richard Rampton and Andrew Scott as her solicitor Anthony Julius all work together to produce a riveting story about the 1998-2000 libel suit regarding the reality of the Holocaust. (What’s more, it’s an enlightening primer on the differences between the American and British judicial systems.)    

The story has strong parallels to present day politics with sociopathic liar and Hitler-lover David Irving (Timothy Spall) claiming his reputation has been defamed by Lipstadt’s writings about Nazi atrocities.  Here, the judge (Alex Jennings) asks if a man can be condemned for his lies even if he believes they are true?

See this excellent film and find out.  What’s more, learn the clever double meaning of the title.

I give Denial a 4.7 out of 5.