These I Like: 2020, Day Eighteen

And we're back, with five more 2020 releases, and filks - all of these are at least a 3.5/5 for me. Recommended!

Vitalina Varela

dir: Pedro Costa

pr: Abel Ribeiro Chaves

scr: Pedro Costa & Vitalina Varela

cin: Leonardo Simões

An Ivory Coast woman arrives in Lisbon to find her husband's died; she remains to piece together who he was and what now. Based on a true story, played out by the people who lived it. Predominately set in an endless night, buildings and people lit like they exist in an infinite void - I've not seen a Costa film before, but it appears to be his "thing," and it's very effective in visualizing the feeling of loss and of trying to get your bearings after. A waking dream, one that's stuck with me since I first watched it. On Criterion Channel.

Mank

dir: David Fincher

pr: Ceán Chaffin / Eric Roth / Douglas Urbanski

scr: Jack Fincher

cin: Erik Messerschmidt

Screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz reflects on his years in Hollywood and possible influences he can use while writing Citizen Kane. The story of a man in search of redemption, and all the reasons why. Thrilling when focused on the 1934 gubernatorial race and the insidious ways in which people with resources can manipulate information to sway things their way. Beautiful depiction of "platonic romance" between Mank and Marion Davies. Great performance, glowing cinematography, dazzling costumes, sets, makeup... Ironically, for a film about one of the greatest screenplays ever crafted, the writing is the weakest element: it limps to a conclusion, clumsily interrogates Welles' contributions, undercuts a tale of humility and close-enough redemption. On Netflix.

The Personal History of David Copperfield

dir: Armando Ianucci

pr: Armando Ianucci / Kevin Loader

scr: Simon Blackwell & Armando Ianucci

cin: Suzie Harman / Robert Worley

Young man's life from destitute orphan to success. Gets into the details not just of the author as a writer, but the then-practice of author as public speaker. Energetic, almost manic, at times; through that, it conveys a breathless joy of life, always moving yet never missing a detail, seizing the cup of life and drinking it in one go, memorizing the rich flavors passing the tongue. Dev Patel's at his floppy-haired winningest. Great fun.

Let Him Go

dir/scr: Thomas Bezucha

pr: Thomas Bezucha / Mitchell Kaplan / Paula Mazur

cin: Guy Godfree

A retired couple go to save their newly-married former daughter-in-law and grandson from an abusive family. Patient, reflective of the sturdy performances from quiet Kevin Costner and watchful Diane Lane. Uneasy throughout, a thriller of set jaws and cautious conversation, of violence and terror waiting to strike. Doesn't rest on rescue and revenge, either, but observes the strains of family and survivors of tragedy and trauma. Subtle period detail. Meat-and-potatoes filmmaking.

Ammonite

dir/scr: Francis Lee

pr: Iain Canning / Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly / Emile Sherman

cin: Stéphane Fontaine

Fossil hunter Mary Anning trains a wealthy young married woman in her work; they end up having a steamy affair. Kate Winslet's giving one of her best performances: she's focused in her work, possessed of an intense but highly-guarded well of emotions, not what you'd think of as happy but there's a certain steadiness to her, a kind of...well, she's more than you expect, let us say. Camera captures a prehistoric, perhaps even alien beauty in the slate and mud of the Dorset coast, reflected in the deceptively simple production design of the village: sparse, off-white, one with the rock. Adore the costumes. 

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