Nyad

Directors: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
Starring: Annette Bening, Jodie Foster, Rhys Ifans, Karly Rothenberg, Jeena Yi, Luke Cosgrove, Eric T. Miller, Garland Scott 
Running Time: 120 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)  

It isn't long into Netflix's sports biopic Nyad when we realize record breaking long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad has that same competitive itch most world class athletes can't seem to scratch, even long after retirement. Many are initially plagued by second thoughts for walking away, realizing later time will always catch up. In that respect, Diana's urge to return at age 64 to finish what she couldn't decades earlier isn't surprising. But the impossibility of her goal is, regardless of age, gender or physical conditioning. She can complete this grueling 110 mile swim from Cuba to Florida because failure isn't an option, even as her stubbornness and oversized ego frustrate those helping make it happen.

The burden Diana carries to be the best is heavy, and as pieces of her troubled past are shown in fleeting glimpses, that desire starts making more sense. Attempting this swim still seems crazy, but we get it, and much of why rests on Annette Bening's performance in the title role, which is defined by her willingness to explore unlikable places with Diana's prickly personality. Bening specializes in steely, determined parts, but the sports psychology angle here really distinguishes it, as does her pairing with fellow acting icon Jodie Foster, who's arguably even better in a welcome, exciting departure.

Shortly after her 60th birthday, former marathon swimmer and ABC "Wide World of Sports" correspondent  Diana Nyad (Bening) shocks longtime best friend Bonnie Stoll (Foster) by announcing plans to begin training for the brutal Cuba-Florida swim she failed to finish in the late 70's. With the assistance of a steel shark cage, she veered off course, eventually taken out of the water after nearly 42 hours. A reluctant Bonnie agrees to coach Diana, but it's soon clear this is as much a battle against nature's uncontrollable elements as it is a test of the latter's drive and limitations. 

Looking to avoid previous pitfalls, Bonnie recruits grizzled navigational expert John Bartlett (Rhys Ifans) and an entire team of divers and scientific experts given the thankless task of providing the defiant Diana guidance she doesn't want or listen to. Unsurprisingly, this isn't a feat she'll be able to accomplish her first try, or maybe any of them, but for her there's no quitting until reaching the Florida shore.

As someone who sucks up all the air in the room, Diana has to humble herself enough to let the people around her actually do their jobs. In that sense, five attempts at this seems about right, even if few athletes would have the endurance to withstand one. Compellingly, the notion is presented that Diana could be more mentally equipped to do this now than in her physical prime due to experience and motivation that only comes with age. Of course, this sounds great until you're in the water and all the damaging effects begin to take hold.

On top of unmanageable tides, volatile weather patterns, sharks and deadly box jellyfish, Diana must contend with physical challenges and hallucinations her famished, dehydrated mind conjures up. With a collection of familiar 60's music comprising the playlist in her head and clad in a custom silicon face mask and suit, she's flanked by numerous boats and a professional medic. The nighttime scenes are most effective, creating a sense of isolating terror despite the fact she's hardly alone out there. It isn't lost on anyone she could die at any moment, her odds only worsening with each subsequent try. During this, flashbacks of a traumatic childhood event are cut in, informing the woman she'd later become.

Dina's penchant for exaggerating her already impressive accomplishments is a flaw Foster's Bonnie pushes back against, calling out the swimmer's self-centeredness and aversion to the truth. Aside from that, Julia Cox's screenplay is mostly reverent in its depiction, as Bening and Foster naturally play off each other, conveying the rhythms of lifelong friends incapable of sugarcoating anything. Whatever Diana dishes out, Bonnie gives right back, with Foster doing great work as a warm but no-nonsense voice of reason. Rhys Ifans also impresses as an exasperated navigator more than willing to put Diana in her place when necessary.     

Uplifting as it is, Nyad isn't a game-changer, but goes down easily under the skilled direction of Oscar-winning Free Solo helmers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. But unlike that documentary, this narrative feature about going to extremes will probably play better for those unaware of the end result and ensuing controversy. That the 2013 swim is noticeably absent from the record books is a detail the film doesn't touch for obvious reasons, instead showing real footage of Diana's media appearances over the closing credits. But even as all the attempts at completing this achievement sometimes keeps the action stuck in repetitive mode, it succeeds by emphasizing the failure and tireless work that led her there.                                                  

Dumb Money

Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, America Ferrera, Myha'la Herrold, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Seth Rogen, Talia Ryder, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, Kate Burton, Clancy Brown, Dane DeHaan, Olivia Thirlby, Deniz Akdeniz
Running Time: 104 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★) 

If The Social Network and The Big Short had a baby, you'd think it would probably resemble Craig Gillespie's Dumb Money, which begins hecticly, with numerous characters, real news footage, viral videos and a plot that seems destined to be more convoluted than necessary. But this adaptation of Ben Mezrich's bestseller detailing the infamous GameStop stock squeeze has a method of delivery we haven't exactly seen yet. A full-blown 2021 period piece, it succeeds by immersing viewers in the chaotic headspace of its players during that challenging year. It's the film's ace in the hole, dropping us in an easily recognizable universe that still feels jarring despite its recency.

Gillespie and writers Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo clear a high creative hurdle by framing this very specific event in a larger context, with those involved becoming inseparable from the madness surrounding them. Even when taking wild detours, it really grows on you, picking up steam by balancing some clever laughs with dramatic heart. But unlike the aforementioned Big Short, this doesn't assume audiences won't get it, instead telling an easily digestible story that works regardless of how familiar you are with the intricacies of what actually happened. And at its center is a likably eccentric Paul Dano performance that earns respect and sympathy for the brainy instigator behind this financial hysteria.

It's June 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when Massachusetts-based financial analyst Keith Gill (Dano) streams his stock market picks on YouTube under the name "Roaring Kitty" and posts on the WallStreetBets subreddit. After noticing the drop in fledgling video game retailer GameStop's stock, Keith pours all his savings into it, drawing eye rolls from his underachieving brother Kevin (Pete Davidson) and colleague Briggsy (Deniz Akdeniz). But assuming the chain will close, hedge fund firms like Gabe Plotkin's (Seth Rogen) have been short selling the stock, causing a price increase, as Keith's online followers pounce and start buying. 

Those buyers include financially struggling nurse Jennifer (America Ferrera), lesbian college couple Riri (Myha'la Herrold) and Harmony (Talia Ryder) and GameStop employee Marcos (Anthony Ramos). With the stock continuing to rise and investment CEOs losing millions by the day, Wall Street and the entire country take notice, with Keith emerging as a middle class hero to the masses. Scraping by to help provide for his wife Caroline (Shailene Woodley) and newborn baby, selling at the right time could make him a millionaire, but that becomes complicated when influential financial firms and the government start to catch on.

The film opens with a bang before going backwards, showing how this cat-obsessed vlogger rides a hunch based on experience and knowledge, in the process accomplishing what no one else was crazy enough to try. While you can quibble with how the script depicts him as a clueless nerd who stumbles onto a plan that was probably more calculated in reality, Dano's so engaging in the role it hardly matters. Once he was cast, it had to go in this direction, as the actor so accurately channels the type of quirky, painfully honest personality that catches fire on social media. 

Gillespsie's recreations of the headband, tie dye wearing Keith's videos are rivaled only by his take on the guru's loyal subscribers, who we follow through a series of individual side stories, none of which get the short shrift. They're all either financially struggling, excited about the risk or looking to screw over these greedy CEOs. Once this crack in the system is exploited, legal questions arise, as do ethical ones related to the tactics of Rogen, Nick Offerman and Vincent D'Onofrio's billionaires. They arguably opened the door for this and the eventual damage inflicted by Robinhood's shady chairman Vlad Tenev (Sebastian Stan), whose attempts to stop the bleeding land him in the government's crosshairs.

Much of the film's immediacy stems from its pandemic timeline, allowing the opportunity to capture these working people struggling in a stressed economy they're on the bottom rung of. But unlike other projects that very reluctantly covered the era with kid gloves, this has the conviction to visualize its effect on everyday life, masks and all. Scenes with the buyers play almost as episodic vignettes with Gillespie jumping from one character to the next, each bringing a different energy that helps unify the plot. 

As an essential worker at the end of her rope, America Ferrera might be even better here than in Barbie while Anthony Ramos' GameStop employee brings the laughs in a hilarious ongoing feud with his passive aggressive supervisor played by Dane DeHaan. Pete Davidson also knows exactly what to do, when, and how much as Keith's loud, irritating freeloader of a brother. At the other end of the spectrum is the latter's supportive but realistic wife Caroline, who Shailene Woodley plays with pragmatic perfection, offering up a necessary dose of reasonableness.  

There's a big speech lifted from Keith's actual hearing testimony that hits its mark in the final act and Dano's delivery makes it soar, driving home the point they were all cheating a rigged a game. Incorporating actual news footage, real message board posts and memes throughout, it's fun anticipating what happens to everyone involved, mainly because they all have such different endings, a few more favorable than others.

Those completely unaware or uninterested in the stock market can not only follow this, but should be hooked, knowing it touches on something bigger and more relatable than dollars and cents. Investment firms may have considered the general public "dumb money," but Gillespie's film is anything but, proving that whatever creative liberties taken resulted in a more entertaining version of actual events.    

The Killer

Director: David Fincher
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard, Kerry O' Malley, Sophie Charlotte, Emiliano Pernía, Gabriel Polanco, Sala Baker, Endre Hules, Monique Ganderton
Running Time: 118 min.
Rating: R

★★★★ (out of ★★★★)  

The title character in David Fincher's The Killer prides himself on not being sloppy, or at least that's what he'd have us believe, as this unnamed assassin painstakingly walks through the steps of his job with enough precision and synchronicity to make Dexter look like a clueless hack. Just take his word for it, with a hypnotic voice over narration that not only runs down his static routine, but the skills and life philosophy needed for it. "Stick to the plan." "Don't improvise, anticipate." "Trust no one." "Forbid empathy." 

While those mantras are repeated throughout as we hang on every word, many his actions will eventually contradict them. He has the pre-kill ritual down to a science, eating, practicing yoga, and listening to The Smiths while waiting for his heartbeat to drop under 65 beats per minute before pulling the trigger. There's no room for trepidation or errors, until he actually misses and the fallout causes him to make some unexpected adjustments. Out for the revenge he can't admit to craving while carrying a guilt he's incapable of expressing, it's suddenly personal now.  

The killer (Michael Fassbender) hauls up in any empty office building across the street from a Parisian hotel, preparing to take out his latest target with a sniper rifle. But despite his obsessive preparation, the job goes horribly wrong, causing him to fall out of favor with his handler Hodges (Charles Parnell). Fleeing the country, he arrives back at one of his secret homes in the Dominican Republic to find girlfriend Magdala (Sophie Charlotte) viciously attacked by assassins sent by Hodges to satisfy the client. 

With vengeance in mind, the killer sets his sights on those responsible for ordering and carrying out the attack, targeting Hodges himself, the thuggish "Brute" (Sala Baker) living in Florida, the New York-based "Expert" assassin (Tilda Swinton) and billionaire client Claybourne (Arliss Howard). The question now becomes whether he can remain as calm and coldly proficient in his technique when the stakes are this high.  

Following a quick but transfixing opening title sequence and that meticulous setup, the killer missing his target hits particularly hard given all the precautions taken in avoiding this exact scenario. Wearing his bucket hat and Hawaiian shirt, he informs us his disguise is that of an easily avoidable German tourist, acknowledging the impossibility of going unnoticed in this day and age, aiming instead to be unmemorable. And he is, with everyone too busy, distracted or self absorbed to notice there's a murderer in their midst, providing valuable cover from his increasing carelessness.

Because we're so fully immersed in the killer's procedure, it's only more jarring when the wheels fly off, causing him to step outside a very familiar comfort zone. The assault on his partner is turning point since he could have just disappeared under one of his many fake names (a great running gag), sheltering himself and her from any further fallout, never to be seen or heard from again. Instead, he opts for payback, evolving from someone who despises improvisation into the rashest of improvisers. Either way, it's apparent he's much better at this in his head than reality.

Anything that can go wrong almost does, and multiple times, especially during a spectacular mid-film fight where the target's fate takes a backseat to his probability of survival. It may have been a lie at the beginning, but now the killer truly doesn't care, his recklessness most evident when confronting Tilda Swinton's previously untouchable assassin. Their extended one-sided conversation is the closest he gets to any kind of emotional connection, as it nearly breaks him discovering just how similar they actually are. 

The only quality differentiating him from Swinton's character is her ability to enjoy what appears to be a normal life in plain sight, free from the idiosyncrasies he leans on to do the job. She may have been worse at it this time, but it's not lost on him that their roles could have easily been reversed. And she won't let him forget that, regardless of her fate. None of his targets should really stand a chance since they're loose ends, but the unthinkable notion someone could be spared creeps through the further off course he veers, discovering buried pieces of himself along the way. 

Fassbender drolly delivers the unreliable but endlessly quotable voiceover, while also allowing each little movement, twitch and expression to do all the talking when he's not. An ideal fit for such oddly specific material, he quietly plays this without so much as a shred of humanity, squashing any chances the character will be experiencing any kind of epiphany or redemption.

Clinical to a fault, Fincher's chief interest lies in the process itself, with help from cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt's impressive location shooting, a propulsive, anxiety inducing score from Trent Rezor and Atticus Ross and a Smiths' soundtrack that humorously clashes with what unfolds. There isn't an ounce of excess fat here, with every scene and episodic stretch visually advancing Se7en writer Andrew Kevin Walker's script. Fincher's best in years, it also shares some of the same thematic elements of technical obsession contained in Zodiac and his brilliant but prematurely cancelled Mindhunter Netflix series.

The Killer is about a perfectionist suddenly left twisting in the wind, more desperate than ever to maintain his illusion of control. Skirting the line between genre exercise and art film, every move he makes feels compulsively purposeful, causing many to cite it as the definitive commentary on Fincher's own work. But it's also thoroughly rewatchable, finding the master again in top form, filling each frame with an abundance of details viewers experience entirely through the eyes and mind of an assassin who might be too fastidious for his own good.

Infinity Pool

Director: Brandon Cronenberg
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman, Jalil Lespert, Amanda Brugel, John Ralston, Jeffrey Ricketts, Caroline Boulton, Thomas Kretschmann
Running Time: 118 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

Following Mia Goth's bizarrely brilliant turns in X and Pearl, many wondered what would be next for one of the most compulsively watchable actresses working today. Of course, we always knew it would be something unhinged and off-the-wall, making Brandon Cronenberg's disturbing Infinity Pool the ideal follow-up for her. Goth may be the best reason to see it, but there are others, as this stylistically made, psychedelic journey into human depravity begins normally enough to hide the fact it comes from the mind behind 2020's twisted, even more ambitious Possessor. 

With a reach often extending its grasp, what starts as a psychological thriller flies off the rails in mixing body horror with social satire, exploring original ideas that wouldn't seem out of place in a season of Black Mirror. Skewering the wealthy on screen has become increasingly derivative of late, but a high concept sets this apart, successfully overcoming its sometimes uneven execution. Almost equal parts awful and exhilarating, this isn't an easy one to take.  

Novelist James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are vacationing in the fictional seaside country of Li Tolqa as he seeks inspiration for his next novel. At the resort, Gabi (Goth), an admitted fan of James' work invites him and Em to dinner with her husband Alban (Jalil Lespert). After hitting it off, the four spend the next day driving in the country side when James accidentally runs over and kills a local. Gabi warns it's too dangerous to call the corrupt police department, only for James to later be apprehended and interrogated by Detective Thresh (Thomas Kretschmann).

Death is the punishment for James' offense, but this country has a unique method for dealing with criminals, enabling the perpetrator to walk away while the government lines its pockets. It turns out he'll have to witness an execution where he'll see his duplicate murdered instead. Released but hardly free, a traumatized James soon finds himself part of a club consisting of criminal tourists who shared the same experience. Indoctrinated by the mysterious, seductive Gabi, he'll soon fall into a dark world of orgies, hallucinogenics and violence from which there's no return.

Its setup distracts viewers into thinking this will be some sort of erotic drama, with an early emphasis on the strain in James and Em's unbalanced relationship. That she comes from money and her father's literary connections enabled him to get his flop of a novel published is a particular bone of contention. Between this and Gabi's aggressive flirting, it's safe to assume where we're going, until Cronenberg pulls the rug out, using the accident as a gateway into headier territory that goes well beyond the bad habits of bougie vacationers. 

This notion of someone having to watch the murder of their double suggests even deeper implications than the film has the capacity to fully examine. Still, Cronenberg does quite a job, going so far as to present this life altering experience as a twisted form of addictive entertainment. And casting Skarsgård was a masterstroke since he's the last actor anyone associates with characters this helplessly insecure or pathetic. James is so miserable that watching his own death feels like an escape, before eventually proving to be the ultimate release. And that's when the real sentencing for his crime begins. 

Whether these people did witness their clones' murders or are actually the doubles themselves are the kinds of existential questions the film's best at exploring. But when James becomes immersed in the hedonistic practices of Gabi's group, the lines between nightmare and reality blur, with volatile consequences. Some viewers might feel like abandoning ship when the gang (clad in grotesque Twilight Zone inspired masks) run roughshod over unsuspecting victims in a primitive display of violence and nudity that invokes A Clockwork Orange or Eyes Wide Shut. 

The last half of the movie is a mess, but a compelling one, as the tables turn when Goth's chaotic performance takes the wheel. From quirky, mysterious English hotel guest to wide-eyed, unpredictable lunatic, she gives a tour de force, somehow still managing to shock and mesmerize in the kind of role we've grown accustomed to her nailing. And yet it's also a complete departure, providing the perfect foil to a shaken, lower-key Skarsgård, whose whose inner animal is literally and figuratively unleashed during his character's ugly descent. 

This is strong sci-fi if you can withstand the copious amounts of practical gore and explicit sex acts that monopolize the last third of the picture, occasionally to its detriment. While leaving less to ponder than you'd expect given its rich premise, this does further establish Cronenberg as a unique visionary whose best filmmaking days are ahead. And that's not such a bad thing since Infinity Pool still comes with his eccentric, skin crawling stamp affixed. After a while you just surrender to its detours and imperfections, knowing that's the price for venturing into these wild waters.              

Fair Play

Director: Chloe Dumont
Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan, Rich Sommer, Sebastian de Souza, Sia Alipour, Brandon Bassir, Geraldine Somerville, Patrick Fischler
Running Time: 113 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Chloe Dumont's thought provoking psychological thriller Fair Play starts with one of the more unusual marriage proposal scenes you'll see, largely indicative of the chaos and sexually charged turmoil that follows. It's all downhill for this couple from there as a major job promotion suddenly challenges everything they think and feel about each other. But the most intriguing aspect of Dumont's debut feature is how it suggests anything else could easily have been the trigger. It just so happens to be a seemingly pleasant surprise that unravels their relationship, exposing him for who he is as she struggles to hold herself together.

In a perfect world, fiancés and spouses would be entirely supportive of their partner's accomplishments, chalking it up as a team win. And yet from the moment we meet this entirely relatable couple, it's clear they're built a little differently, though cut from a similar cloth. Both are competitive, highly ambitious financiers working together in a pressure cooker environment where one decision can push you out the door or into a comfy corner office with a raise. Everything revolves around what you've done lately, any misery balanced out by the monetary benefits. She's the better end of the deal, especially as his sanity gradually slips away, culminating in a finale where only one can be left standing. 

Emily Myers (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke Edmonds (Alden Ehrenreich) are analysts at the high-powered Manhattan hedge fund One Crest Capital and recently engaged, keeping their romantic relationship secret from co-workers. Despite rumors Luke may be replacing a recently fired portfolio manager, Emily is informed by the firm's cutthroat CEO Campbell (Eddie Marsan) that she'll be receiving that promotion instead. 

After initially offering his congratulations, Luke's jealously surfaces, putting a serious strain on their relationship as he continues to obsess over advancing his career, potentially at Emily's expense. Even her attempts to advocate for Luke backfire when it's clear just how little the higher-ups think of him, potentially numbering his days at the firm. Filled with guilt and uncertainty, Emily forges forward as Luke's erratic behavior threatens to destroy their relationship and careers. 

Ehrenreich does a masterful job portraying Luke as completely diminished by Emily's promotion, seemingly overnight made to feel three quarters less of a man than he thought. Never mind that she runs circles around him and everyone else at the firm, he takes it personally, as if her advancement is the ultimate betrayal. It also speaks volumes that his first excuse and allegation is that she must have slept her way to the top or gotten the job due to being a woman. 

Over the course of the film we realize just how little Luke's allegations mean, and not just because her performance is head and shoulders above her co-workers. Because the firm appears to be such an exclusive men's club, it's hard to believe they're just granting women unearned promotions when the financial stakes are this high. And if they wanted to ogle Emily or treat her as their "hooker" as Luke insinuates, it would have been easier to dish out that harassment when she was an analyst. Played by a great Eddie Marsan, the intimidating Campbell is an egomaniac, but he clearly promotes Emily for all the right reasons, revealing Luke's shortcomings and insecurities as the problem. 

This kind of three-dimensional shading of the characters is why Dumont's script works so well, as Luke gaslights Emily with terrible advice, backhanded compliments and even leverages her into helping him while pretending to be insulted by the gesture. Desperately clinging to a self-help guru to improve his standing, he casually tears Emily down, planting doubts in her head about how she looks, acts and dresses. Lingering in the back of our minds is what could happen if he totally snaps, exposing their relationship and blowing up everything she's worked for.

To a degree, Dumont seems to sympathize with Luke's plight while Ehrenreich subtly turns the volume up and down on Luke's behavior at just the right moments, keeping him out of sociopathic territory as long and believably as he can. It's easily the best performance he's ever given, making you wonder if reactions to Disney's Solo would have been the same if he was permitted to give us a little darker, more roguish version of the title character. He was better there than most acknowledged, but this confirms he may have been more stifled than originally believed. 

Even better is English actress Dynevor, who unexpectedly shifts gears when Emily's forced to quickly toughen up and overcome Luke's escalating mind games. It's her journey and that the two have such an intense physical connection further complicates matters, establishing how sex is as important to the equation as office or gender politics. This proves especially true in the controversial last act, prompting us to second guess whatever we assumed was obvious. 

Superior to the trashy, erotic 90's thrillers to which it's being compared, Fair Play is sleek and suspenseful, with Dumont's depiction of the finance world and tight screenplay solidifying it as more than a mere guilty pleasure. And with workplace scenes that invite comparisons to the underappreciated Margin Call, it effectively exposes the types of characters that populate such a setting. What happens isn't beyond the realm of plausibility in toxic relationships, but amped up, making for a gripping, insightful trip into the psyche of someone whose entire identity hinges on power and control.