Review: 'Pieces of a Woman' is one intense scene and a lot of cheap melodrama, all enlivened by Vanessa Kirby's performance

The drama “Pieces of a Woman” starts with one of the most harrowing scenes in recent memory —  so strong it won Vanessa Kirby a best-actress award at the Venice Film Festival and has her in the Oscar conversation.

But it’s all downhill after that, an average marital melodrama that can’t match that opening.

Kirby plays Martha, a successful executive who seems to have it all: A well-paying job, a luxury Boston apartment, and a good husband in Sean (Shia LaBeouf), a construction foreman on a major bridge project. And Martha and Sean are about to become first-time parents. 

Then comes that great high-wire act of a scene, a single-take 24-minute sequence that begins with Martha having contractions and Sean calling their midwife, who says she’s busy with another birth — so a substitute midwife, Eva (Molly Parker), arrives to assist in the home birth. By the end of that 24 minutes, Martha has given birth to her baby daughter, but then something goes horribly wrong.

Everything that follows in Kata Wéber’s script stems from that moment, and how the people around Martha — Sean, her sister Anita (Iliza Shlesinger), and her stern mother, Elizabeth (Ellen Burstyn) — don’t understand why she seems so emotionless in the wake of her tragedy. In the process, other problems that were submerged during Martha’s pregnancy flare up, including marital infidelity and Elizabeth’s long-simmering dislike of Sean.

These moments feel like they were cribbed from a weak TV melodrama, though with really good actors trying to milk something authentic from them. Kirby meets that acting challenge, tightly controlled and precise through all of Martha’s unfathomable grief and barely contained rage. But that early scene, where Kirby simulates childbirth and the rollercoaster of feelings that come from it, is a masterclass of in-the-moment acting.

Director Kornél Mundruczó (who worked with Wéber on the 2014 Hungarian canine thriller “White God”) provides a lush visual backdrop for Kirby and her costars to shine — and deploys Sean’s bridge project as a recurring metaphor for the span of time.

But there’s only so much Mundruczó or Kirby can do with the bargain-basement plot contrivances — including a rousing courtroom scene near the finish — that drag “Pieces of a Woman” down after the spectacular work at the beginning.

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‘Pieces of a Woman’

★★1/2

Available for streaming, starting Thursday, January 7, on Netflix; now playing at Megaplex Gateway (Salt Lake City). Rated R for language, sexual content, graphic nudity and brief drug use. Running time: 126 minutes.

Review: 'I Blame Society' an uneven mock-documentary horror story, but a good introduction to filmmaker Gillian Wallace Horvat

A Hollywood satire that isn’t as cutting as it wants to be, the mock-documentary “I Blame Society” nonetheless suggests first-time director Gillian Wallace Horvat is a filmmaker to watch out for — in more ways than one.

Horvat plays a variation of herself, a struggling filmmaker who can’t find a way into the hearts and minds of producers who tell her that her screenplay’s lead female character isn’t likable enough. When a couple of friends make an offhanded comment that she’d make a good murderer, Horvat decides the’ll make a documentary where she plots out the perfect murder.

In the opening scene, Horvat presents her plan to her friend Chase (played by Chase Williamson, Horvat’s co-screenwriter) — because Horvat’s intended target is Chase’s girlfriend, whom Horvat dislikes so much she’s given the girlfriend the nickname “Stalin.” Chase is repulsed, and cuts off ties with Gillian.

Flash-forward three years, and an underemployed Horvat, now with a film-editor boyfriend, Keith (Keith Poulson), decides to revisit the perfect-murder film idea. She decides some practice crimes — like a breaking-and-entering on an actress (Jennifer Kim) she sees on the street — will be a good warm-up for a murder. Then, after accidentally killing someone and getting away with it, she develops a taste for blood.

Horvat makes an intriguing argument — that killers and filmmakers both must be organized, detail-oriented and a little ruthless — and she displays the lo-fi cinematic chops to keep the faux-documentary format rolling longer than one might otherwise expect. The movie loses steam, though, in the final half-hour, as the body count and Horvat’s to-the-camera rationalizations get bigger and bloodier.

At the risk of sounding like the shallow Hollywood “suits” that Horvat skewers, “I Blame Society” is interesting and shows a lot of potential — but it didn’t grab me.

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‘I Blame Society’

★★1/2

Available starting Friday, January 8, at virtual cinemas, including SLFS@Home. Not rated, but probably R for violence, gore, some sexuality, nudity, and language. Running time: 84 minutes.

Review: 'News of the World' lets Tom Hanks take us across the Old West for a journey of regrets and renewal

There are few pleasures in moviegoing — even if “going” is only to the couch — that are as pure as watching Tom Hanks. The embodiment of America’s moral compass, Hanks is never better than when he’s burrowing into a meaty role, as he does as a war-weary traveler in the soulful Western drama “News of the World.”

Hanks plays Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a former Confederate officer who now — now being 1870 — journeys from town to town across Texas, reading stories from the out-of-town newspapers to audiences. Those crowds, for a dime apiece, learn from Kidd about floods a few counties over, the discussions of the state legislature, or heartwarming stories from such far-off lands as Pennsylvania.

Read the full review at sltrib.com.

Review: Pixar's 'Soul' is a warm-hearted, happily surreal look at how humans become who they are

The latest film from Pixar, “Soul,” is a witty, warm and music-focused story about a jazzman learning the secrets of how the creative spirit works.

It also confirms director Pete Docter as perhaps the greatest surrealist filmmaker since the Japanese legend Hayao Miyazaki.

Read the full review at sltrib.com.

And here’s my interview with two Utah natives who worked on creating the look and animating the moves of the Joe character.

Review: Bloated 'Wonder Woman 1984' makes you wish for one less villain

As bold and exciting as Patty Jenkins’ 2017 superhero adventure “Wonder Woman” was, her sequel, “Wonder Woman 1984” (or simply “WW84”) is a drab disappointment.

Gal Gadot returns as the Amazonian warrior turned all-American hero, disguised by day as Diana Prince, working a day job in Washington, D.C., as a researcher of antiquities at the Smithsonian Institution in 1984. Diana also thwarts the occasional crime, like the shopping mall heist in which Gadot’s Wonder Woman makes her first appearance here — which leads to the discovery of a trove of ancient artifacts.

Read the full review at sltrib.com.

Review: In 'Promising Young Woman,' Carey Mulligan makes a stunning statement as a woman seeking revenge on predatory men

The thriller “Promising Young Woman” may not be the #MeToo-era movie America wanted, but it’s the one we deserve — a heart-stopping, confrontational tale of revenge and retribution.

Carey Mulligan stars as Cassie, who we first see in a club, apparently too drunk to function. A “nice guy,” Jerry (Adam Brody), offers to help her out by calling her an Uber and escorting her home. First, though, they’ll stop at his place, where he offers her another drink and, when she seems almost unconscious, starts attempting to have sex with her.

Read the full review at sltrib.com.

Review: A new version of 'Pinocchio' is visually inventive, and a lot darker than the Disney version

If your knowledge of “Pinocchio” is limited to Walt Disney’s 1940 animated version of the story, then Italian director Matteo Garrone’s live-action rendition will be disturbing — and for that, you can only blame Carlo Collodi and his 1883 novel.

Garrone is best known to American audiences for his sprawling 2008 Mafia epic “Gomorrah.” (People should also check out his 2012 satire “Reality,” about a man obsessed with getting on the Italian version of “Big Brother.”) So having Garrone tackle a beloved children’s character seems like a stretch, but it turns out to be right in his wheelhouse.

The origin is familiar: The old and poor woodcarver Geppetto (played by the Italian comic actor Robert Benigni) is given a large log by his aged mentor, Mastro Ciliega (Paolo Graziosi) — who wants to be rid of it because the log seems to have a will of its own.

Geppetto, inspired by a traveling puppet theater, carves a marionette from the log — though he’s shocked to find the wooden figure has a heartbeat. Then the puppet springs to life, and Pinocchio (played by young actor Federico Ielapi) calls Geppetto his “babo.”

Pinocchio turns out to be a handful, good at heart but easily distracted by ne’er-do-wells. First he’s taken in by the touring puppet show, but is shown mercy by the owner, Mangiafuoco (Gigi Proietti). Then Pinocchio runs into Cat (Rocco Papaleo) and Fox (Massimo Ceccherini), grifters who try to trick the wooden-headed lad into “planting” his gold coins in the “field of miracles.” Meanwhile, Geppetto leaves their village to search far and wide for his missing little boy.

Pinocchio learns the hard way that Fox and Cat are not to be trusted — through mishaps that must have horrified Walt Disney back in the day, which is why they’re omitted from Walt’s animated telling. (Word to the wise: Take the PG-13 rating seriously.) Pinocchio is rescued and taken under the care of the Blue Fairy (played by Alida Baldari Calabria as a little girl, and French star Marine Vacth in adult form), who promises him he can become a real boy. The fairy also shows Pinocchio what happens when he lies: His nose grows like a dowel coming out of his face.

Garrone and Ceccherini co-wrote the screenplay, which remains faithful to Collodi’s plot. This means plenty of fantastical things happen to Pinocchio, and the special effects and make-up have to keep pace with his transformation into a donkey or the inclusion of many animal/human hybrids. The visuals are inventive, though not as spectacularly scary as Disney’s depiction of the fish as Monstro the whale. And Garrone neatly captures the grim existence for an impoverished 19th century woodcarver, caught on film in drab browns and grays, contrasted by Pinocchio’s traditional red jacket and pointed hat.

Benigni — who played Pinocchio in a 2002 version he directed, when he was 50 and too old for the role — is in fine form as Geppetto, bringing some physical humor to his early scenes but never forgetting the sadness at the heart of the character. He’s a fine foil and mentor for young Ielapi, who deftly captures Pinocchio’s mischievous spirit and his inner longing to be a good boy.

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‘Pinocchio’

★★★

Opens Friday, December 25, in theaters where open. Rated PG-13 for some disturbing images. Running time: 125 minutes; dubbed into English.

Review: 'Sylvie's Love' is a sumptuous period romance propelled by the chemistry of stars Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha

Everyone deserves a swoon-inducing, deeply felt romantic melodrama, especially if it’s as refined and emotional as writer-director Eugene Ashe’s “Sylvie’s Love.”

The always radiant Tessa Thompson plays Sylvie, who in 1957 is working in a New York record store, owned by her father, known to all as Mr. Jay (Lance Reddick). She knows a lot about music, especially jazz, but her real passion is television. 

Sylvie is also engaged to a young man serving overseas, which makes things complicated when Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha) walks into the store, looking for a Thelonious Monk album and a job. Robert is a promising saxophonist, the engine of the quartet he’s in, made up of the musicians he grew up with back in Detroit. 

Despite her better judgment, Sylvie falls in love with Robert, and vice versa. But Robert’s musical ambitions, boosted by a benefactor who calls herself The Countess (Jemima Kirke), send Robert to Europe just as Sylvie learns she’s pregnant. Sylvie marries her fiancé, Lacy (Alano Miller), has a daughter, and that would be that — until five years later, when Sylvie, working on a TV cooking show, sees Robert by chance.

Ashe and cinematographer Declan Quinn get the period details perfect, from the cars to the smooth jazz music that gives way to rock ’n’ roll. We also feel the sting of racism, though subtly, like when Sylvie learns Lacy’s prospective new clients are bigots. And we experience the march of history, obliquely, when Sylvie’s cousin Mona (Aja Naomi King), a civil-rights activist, calls in discussing her exploits.

Much of Sylvie and Robert’s love story is told through music, both in the precision of the needle drops and in a lush score by composer Fabrice Lecomte that is as full as the main characters’ hearts.

In an ensemble cast that includes Eva Longoria as a jazz scene den mother and Wendi McClendon-Covey as the cooking show’s host, this movie belongs first and foremost to Thompson and Asomugha. Their chemistry together is sizzling, and separately they convey both the longing of their lost loves and the need to create that fuels their ambitions. “Sylvie’s Love” seems destined to be one of those timeless romances that we’ll be talking about years from now. 

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’Sylvie’s Love’

★★★★

Available for streaming on Prime Video, starting Wednesday, December 23. Rated PG-13 for some sexual content, and smoking. Running time: 114 minutes.

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This review originally appeared on this site on January 29, 2020, when the movie debuted at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.