Stories are a big part of the rhythm of my life.  Stressful days call for The Dick Van Dyke Show, depressing ones need Terry Pratchett books and every holiday of any significance has a number of books and movies I pair with it.  So when the world rocked and grew unsettled in recent weeks, it’s not surprising I turned to movies.  Today, two that I’ve found helpful.

Suffragette

Released in 2015, this looks at the militant suffragette movement in England in the early 1900s, through the eyes of Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan).  A factory worker, she’s gradually drawn into the movement for women’s rights, growing more and more fervent and giving up more and more in the process.  Helena Bonham Carter has a powerful role as Maud’s mentor, and Meryl Streep makes a brief cameo as legendary Mrs. Pankhurst.

This is a hard movie, and you have to be in the right mental space for it.  It is gripping and grim, showing the horrors these women lived with, and the hell they went through trying to secure their rights.  We see how hard Maud’s life is and how little anyone seems to care, and watch as she’s drawn into a circle of women fighting to be heard.  Their methods are at times questionable, but their motivations are extremely compelling.

I’ve loved Carey Mulligan ever since she was Sally Sparrow in the Doctor Who episode “Blink,” and have really enjoyed watching her career grow.  Helena Bonham Carter is powerful here in a role that is, for her, almost restrained.  And Meryl Streep is simply an institution unto herself, perfect casting for the leader of the movement.

This movie did for me exactly what I wanted it to do.  It reminded me of how far we’ve come in the last century, and how far we still have to go.  It inspired me with the stories of how hard women of the past fought and all they gave up.  It made me want to carry the torch forward, though I’ll admit I’m still exploring what that means.  But I’m thinking of it at least, and every time I’ve worn white since, I’ve thought, “White–like the suffragettes.”

All the President’s Men

I might be the first to put these two movies together, but while they are divergent in time and focus, they both feel highly relevant right now.  Another historical piece, it follows Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) as they investigate and eventually break the Watergate story–and bring down a presidency.

In all honesty, I didn’t follow all of this.  Watergate was well before my time, and this delves into details of individuals involved and legal lines crossed that grow obscure and convoluted.  But I didn’t really care.  I can’t follow all of the conspiracy, but I can follow Woodward and Bernstein as they chase down the next clue, the next detail, the next interview or “non-denial denial.”  There’s corruption in the government and they’re tracking it through higher and higher levels, and that’s what counted for me, not every detail of what that corruption looked like.

The scene that has resonated with me for weeks after watching this movie was the last one.  It’s the Washington Post office.  The television is on, showing Nixon being sworn into office amidst tumultuous applause.  But at the Washington Post, Woodward and Bernstein have their heads down at their desks, typewriters clattering away.  They’re coming, Mr. President.  They’re coming.

Just as an aside, The New York Times homepage recently added a link with information about how to submit a confidential news tip.  I’ve read them for years so I know that’s new.  You can also find a “SecureDrop” link on the Washington Post‘s homepage.

Women’s rights and freedom of the press are both values near to my heart, and which I believe are integral to a free and just society.  If you need a story from history to inspire you, I found both these movies effective.

Continuing my Shakespeare challenge this year, I’ve done all comedies so far and so decided to go for a tragedy.  I’ve been intrigued by Coriolanus for years, but never actually explored it–so this seemed like the time!

I tried to read this, somehow never found the time, so I finally sent the paperback back to the library and got the DVD instead.  The only version available, so the fact that it starred Gerard Butler was just a bonus!  The story recounts the tragedy of Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes), a wildly successful Roman general who sees his fortunes take a desperate spin downwards when he tries to go into politics.  Exiled from Rome, he seeks out his most hated enemy, Aufidius (Gerard Butler), and joins with his army to seek revenge.

I’d heard a little about this one, and what intrigued me was that idea of two enemies in war becoming allies, the idea that your adversary may actually be the one you’re most like.  I still love that concept.  I didn’t see it developed here quite as much as I would have liked–though I don’t know whether that was Shakespeare or just this version! Continue reading “Movie Review: Coriolanus” →

I’ve been working my way through the movies I didn’t watch last year, and picked up The Walk on impulse from Redbox the other day.  I finally found one I wish I’d seen in theatres!

The Walk recounts the story of Philippe Petit, real-life daredevil and stuntman who in 1974 hung a high-wire and walked between the World Trade Towers.  Philippe is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (with a slightly awkward French accent, but I adjusted), telling the tale while standing in the Statue of Liberty’s torch.  He recounts his days performing stunts on the streets of Paris, of falling in love with a photo of the Towers, and of gathering accomplices to help him achieve his dream of walking the wire between them.

Basically, this is a heist movie.  Only instead of a robbery, Philippe is trying to achieve a dream.  They have no permit, no permission to do this, and he has to figure out surveillance of the towers, find an inside man, and orchestrate a complicated plan to make all this happen.  Because it’s his dream.

Philippe goes up to the roof of the Towers earlier on in the movie, and Philippe as narrator describes it, “But somehow I gather the strength to whisper, whisper so the demons won’t hear.  ‘It’s impossible…but I’ll do it.’ ”  And that’s really what the whole movie was about—doing the impossible. Continue reading “Movie Review: The Walk” →