The Last Days of Emma Blank

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:55:00 +0000

Emma Blank believes death is eminent. Surrounded by a sulky if compliant staff in her large home near the Dutch dunes, she shouts absurd orders in between bemoaning her fate. “Don’t worry,” she assures her impatient employees. “Before winter, I’ll be dead.”

Emma’s character is frustratingly distempered. Seemingly with no idea what is good for her, she demands an eel for breakfast, then violently vomits while her staff stands around shaking their heads with annoyance. It’s clear no one in the house has any sympathy for her condition, whatever mysterious ailment it may be. Meijer, the houseboy, expresses his hatred by mowing a swastika into the front yard. In cyclical fashion, Emma returns their collective disdain, at one point exclaiming, “It’s as if I’m surrounded by a bunch of toddlers with brain damage! Do your work with devotion, with a smile. Is that too much to ask?”

For much of the film, it is difficult to discern the relationship between Emma and her staff. Gonnie could be her daughter, or it could be a case of Emma’s misplaced affection. Meijer could be Gonnie’s cousin, or her boyfriend. In the beginning, Haneveld appears to be Emma’s husband, lying beside her in bed when she requests and adhering a fake moustache to his upper lip when she demands that he do so. Yet Bella, who appears to be the head of the waitstaff, also makes snide comments to Haneveld. “I’m not giving you another hand job for a while,” she threatens. Are they having an affair? What’s really going on here? How do these people know each other, and what the hell does it all mean?

Most alarming and the one truly humorous aspect of the film, Theo (played by director van Warmerdam), a fully-grown man, acts the part of the household dog, alternately bringing in dead peasants, humping Emma’s chair, and shitting in the yard. Does he think he’s a dog? Is this poor casting? Is it some sort of allegory about the plight of enslaved humans?

The central plot device—if, like me, you are unable to decipher what’s happening before it is actually revealed—happens roughly an hour into the film. With less than thirty minutes left to tie up loose ends, including Emma’s inevitable demise, the film rushes to an end and leaves several major storylines intentionally up in the air. Will the hired help inherit the house? Will their relationships survive in the wake of their time with their she-devil employer?

In Dutch with English subtitles, this truly bizarre, dark, situational comedy isn’t for everyone; frankly, I find it a stretch to label The Last Days of Emma Blank a comedy at all. But if you like feeling ill at ease, a bit discombobulated, or even thoroughly annoyed by what people will do for money, this bewilderingly strange film is for you.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, July 19th 2010

Against the Current

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:01:00 +0000

Directed by Peter Callahan

Fortissimo Films

As Paul Thompson in the surprising and moving Against the Current, Joseph Fiennes has the deep, burned out eyes of a man who no longer cares for life and yearns for his misery to end. Yet he still has a dream: to swim the length (150 miles) of the Lower Hudson River. He also has another goal when he completes the first one: to make a decision whether or not to kill himself.

It’s not easy to pull off a film about a thirty-something, handsome man like Paul who is still wallowing in excruciating despair five years after the tragic death of his wife and child. Director Peter Callahan wisely lightened up the film’s mood by choosing to send a couple of fun, cool friends along with the bummed-out widower for the big swim: Jeff (Justin Kirk) and Liz (Elizabeth Reaser). Their job, along with providing emotional support, is to drive a boat alongside Paul as he swims. Paul climbs aboard for rest periods after pushing himself to meet daily mileage goals.

Philosophically, the film asks the questions: do some people get more pain than they can bear? Is there a point at which a person knows the struggle to overcome is fruitless? Played powerfully and nobly by Fiennes, Paul needs to swim the river to prove he tried to swim through the tears of his grief. After that, he will know in his heart what he must do.

But it is Justin Kirk who makes the movie come alive: every gesture, remark and expression add up to a totally riveting performance. As Jeff, Kirk plays a sarcastic realist who also has a heart of gold that he keeps under wraps by cranking out lots of wisecracks and indulging in childish silliness. A solid loyal friend, he offers Paul a generosity of spirit and empathy while simultaneously brooking no pact-breaking nonsense. (After the death of Paul's pregnant wife, Jeff made Paul pledge not to kill himself for at least five years.) Jeff hopes Paul will work through his pain and get to the other side of it. It is now five years later and the pact will expire as soon as Paul finally emerges from his watery trial onto land in Manhattan.

Also along for the ride is Liz, a woman Paul met at a bar. She is searching for direction in life and, without knowing fully the extent of Paul’s inner turmoil, agrees to accompany the guys to help on the boat. She wants to have a fun adventure and just plain have a get-away from the limbo-like life she is leading. Little does she know what lies beneath the surface of this trip.

As the boat moves further along the Hudson, the friends decide to make a pit stop at Liz’s mother’s house, as she lives close by. The mother, played by the vivacious, triumphant Mary Tyler Moore, is all manic energy, nosiness, advice and fist-pumping optimism. Moore enters the tragic tale with a bang and speed-delivers a refreshing dose of comedy.

The metaphor of river as life could have been yawn-inducing, but in this director’s hands, it is beautifully and richly alive. The murky darkness of the river matches Paul’s mood while the summer sky overhead seems like a call to the brightness of hope and better times.

Written by: Cheryl Reeves, January 4th 2010