Film
SPOTLIGHT
Breaking The Cult Of Secrecy
Surrounding Sexual Abuse
“If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one” M. Garabedian Secrets are damaging. The film, Spotlight, directed by Tom McCarthy, tells the story of one very pernicious secret uncovered by an investigative team, named Spotlight, at the Boston Globe. That secret, the widespread sexual abuse by Catholic…
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THE REVENANT
Humanizing Revenge
As much as I loved Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, I can’t say I felt the same about The Revenant. I know the film won big at the Golden Globes and has received Oscar nods for Best Picture and Best Actor. Perhaps that’s because a fantasy lives deep inside us about exacting revenge where we believe revenge…
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THE DANISH GIRL
Barren Trees & A Divided Self
Director Tom Hopper’s beautifully conceived film, The Danish Girl, begins and ends with artist Einar Wegener’s paintings of barren trees. The barrenness in these trees tells volumes about the lonely depletion of a self when the real self is split off and hidden. Artist Einar Wegener’s courageous transition from male to female, together with Eddie…
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TRUMBO & The Dynamics Of Fear
It’s Ravages, Ruins, & Undoing
“Now the truth of the matter is that there are a lot of things people don’t understand. Take the Einstein theory. Taxes. Love. Do you understand them? Neither do I. But they exist. They happen.” – Dalton Trumbo Dalton Trumbo is right. Things we don’t understand do happen. And, some things we don’t understand invoke…
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WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?
No Rest For
A Love-Starved Girl
What Happened, Miss Simone, Liz Garbus’ documentary of the brilliant and troubled Nina Simone’s life, ends by diagnosing Miss Simone with bipolar disorder. Does that explain her outrageous behavior? I don’t think so. Those with bipolar disorder are taken over by extremes of moods. But, in my experience, there’s much more to being bipolar than…
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AARON SORKIN’S STEVE JOBS
Written As An Artist
(With A Psychoanalyst’s Sensibility)
Steve Jobs, the recently released film, beautifully written and conceived by Aaron Sorkin, and directed by the gifted Danny Boyle, is brilliant and unexpected. A MUST SEE. I saw a screening at the Director’s Guild on Saturday, October 10th. It is without question Best Picture worthy. I can’t give enough accolades to the director and…
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