Margaret

Director:  Kenneth Lonergan
Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, Kieran Culkin, J. Smith-Cameron, Matthew Broderick, Allison Janey, Jeannie Berlin, Jean Reno, Kenneth Lonergan, Michael Ealy, John Gallagher Jr., Rosemarie DeWitt, Olivia Thirbly
Running Time: 150 min.
Rating: R

★★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Filmed way back in 2005 and finally released late last year, Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret opens with one of the most emotionally intense death scenes I've seen in a movie. Three minutes seem to go on for an eternity. It's graphic, but that isn't why it's so difficult to get through. Wanting to look away but finding it impossible to do so, I hoped this isn't what really happens if someone's hit by a bus. I preferred thinking they couldn't be conscious long enough to carry on a conversation. That they just instantly black out and have no idea what's happened. That they can't possibly think there's a chance of making it. That their final minutes couldn't be in the hands of random strangers. As the scene wore on, I realized that this is probably exactly how it happens, and that's what made it so frightening. How could a sadistic scene like that be necessary? Lonergan spends the next two and half hours telling us. And this is the SHORTER, theatrical version.The longer director's cut runs three hours, and after seeing this, watching it seems almost mandatory.

The story of the making of Margaret is almost impossible to separate from the events that unfold onscreen, of which that opening bus accident and its aftermath serves as a catalyst for something greater. Sitting on the shelf for over six years entangled in a web of litigation, this little unknown film started popping up atop many "best of" lists last year with the word "masterpiece" floating around. While I'd like to say that word isn't used lightly, too often it is, but such a strong recommendation from so many credible sources was more than enough reason to check it out. And now that I have it's easy to understand the raves. It crawls under your skin in a way few movies today do, tackling issues even fewer successfully could. If it's a masterpiece, it's a messy one, and that feels entirely appropriate considering its depth and scope more closely resembles a great, lost American novel than any recently released dramatic film.

The protagonist's name isn't Margaret, but Lisa Cohen (Anna Paquin), a 17 year-old Manhattan high school student who witnesses that aforementioned bus accident that kills pedestrian Monica Patterson (Allison Janey), and comforts her in her final moments. But she also shares responsibility for causing it along with the driver Jason Berstone (Mark Ruffalo). She lies to the cops about what happened, both out of fear and guilt, before attempting to change her story. This leads to her becoming involved in a wrongful death lawsuit against the MTA, alongside the victim's best friend Emily (Jeannie Berlin).  Almost too intelligent for her own good, Lisa's already overdramatic streak is taken to to new heights as she attempts to cope with her role in what happened. The brunt of her lashing out is directed at her Broadway actress mom Joan (J. Cameron Smith), and as their vicious verbal exchanges prove, she's definitely her mother's daughter.Various sexual encounters and heated debates with classmates over terrorism become her outlet for frustration and expression, as she's plunged into a very real adult situation no girl her age could possibly be prepared for, even as all the real adults in her life constantly fail her. 

Lonergan (whose last film was 2000's You Can Count on Me) jams so much story in without it ever feeling that way, and in doing so really nails the experience of what it's like to be a hyper-sensitive, intellectual teen who thinks they've been through it all when they haven't even begun. Its title derives from Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, "Spring and Fall," which is read during the film by Matthew Broderick, who plays Lisa's high school English teacher. The poem is about an adolescent girl named Margaret and how coming face-to-face with mortality changes her, but what unfolds over the course of this film is about that and a lot more, cutting to the core of our failure to meaningfully connect with others. That it's such a tough movie to describe and pin down is a testament to all the unconventional routes Lonergan takes to reach its goal.

Multiple storylines and sub-plots are juggled effortlessly, with everything always returning to Lisa and the accident's aftermath for all those involved, directly or not. But for Lisa, everything is always about her, and it's a credit to the writing and Paquin that we don't judge her for it and at times even empathize with her self-centeredness. She's in over her head and the more she does to make make things better, the deeper the hole she digs. Whether it's calling a bad boy classmate (Kieran Culkin) over to lose to her virginity, stringing along her would-be boyfriend (John Gallagher Jr.), hitting on her geometry teacher (Matt Damon), or meddling in the bus driver and victim's lives to absolve her conscience, Paquin makes it all seem somehow refreshingly human and relatable. She's not altogether a detestable character so much as a confused one, making it excusable for us to go from hating to loving Lisa (or vice versa) within the confines of a single scene.

No stranger to playing intellectually advanced and sexually curious New York high school students in the 25th Hour and The Squid and the Whale, this role feels like Paquin's ultimate payoff on those two characters had they been given their own showcases. What she did then and achieves again as Lisa is nail down a certain cadence and inflection of speech that you'd only find amongst the intellectual community in Manhattan. Words are a a weapon and the arts their primary means of expression (the film contains at least three scenes with either plays or operas). Had the movie been released when scheduled and with the proper marketing push back in '06 or '07, there's a decent chance Paquin could have won her second Oscar.

J. Cameron Smith is equally powerful and convincing as Lisa's mother, struggling with instability issues of her own and making it easy to see how the two can barely get through a conversation without it ending in a screaming match. Her own romance with sophisticated European, and borderline anti-Semite, Ramon (a superb Jean Reno) seems self-sabotaged from the get-go. The mother-daughter dynamic is just one example of Lonergan's pitch perfect writing, as the two central characters emotionally wound one another in ways each is too selfish to see. Lisa's relationship with her absent father,--played really well by Lonergan and seen only during long-distance phone calls-- is the worst kind of estranged parent. The type who continuously makes promises he has no intention of keeping. It's painful to watch and realize what Lisa doesn't: She's low on his list of priorities.

In pretty much only a single scene, Mark Ruffalo is frightening as the bus driver who encounters Lisa. You want to despise this man, until the actor playing him makes you realize that his biggest crimes (besides accidentally killing a woman) just might be desperation and stupidity. In an unforgettable supporting turn,  Jeannie Berlin comes out of semi-retirement to conquer the complex role of the Monica's tough best friend Emily and executor of her estate, sent into a tailspin when this teen shows up at her door pushing for a wrongful death suit and talking like she knew the victim. Berlin and Paquin have a scene together late in the film that's just brutal in its raw honesty, forcing the viewer to pick a side in the most awkward of situations where both are right. Or maybe wrong. But aside from philosophy, the film navigates tricky legal scenes with astonishing clarity so even someone completely unfamiliar with law could easily comprehend the complicated details of the case. Michael Ealy helps a great deal in that regard with his laid back performance as the lawyer who realizes he too might be in over his head, but offers up reasonable solutions nonetheless. 

Without even knowing beforehand, you'd still be able to tell just watching it that the film's been sitting on the shelf for six years. It really looks and feels like 2005, giving the entire picture the aura of a post 9/11 period piece, despite now arriving over 10 years after the tragedy. The wounds are fresher on screen, especially in the tumultuous, realistically written classroom scenes. Stranger still is seeing New Yorkers walk the streets without texting, a pre-True Blood, 23 year-old Paquin passing as a high school student and a much younger looking Matt Damon before he turned the corner as a major acting force. The germ of that transformation is evident, even if his storyline seems like the biggest casualty of the editing war that delayed the film. You can sense that certain scenes are cut-off or feel incomplete with a few jarring transitions, yet miraculously none of that hurts the narrative or lessen the story's overall impact. In many ways, it seems to strengthen it. There are also a few "blink and you'll miss them" cameos from actors who would go on to become bigger names, like Olivia Thirlby and Krysten Ritter. In fact, you could argue that most of the cast is more well known and successful now than when this started filming.

There's a line in the film where a character states that you're more likely to respond favorably to something you've already heard is good. That idea especially applies to the experience of watching this, and because of that, it'll likely take some time to fully estimate its value. For some reason critics also tend to respond more favorably to New York-set movies, possibly because they so often resemble the characters that populate those types of films. This time though, they're right. There's nothing quite like watching intellectuals tear each other apart so we have something to think and talk about for days and weeks after the credits roll.

As discouraging as the film's anonymity is, we should thank our lucky stars that an intelligent, gripping human drama about real people struggling with real problems came out at all, much less this well considering all its post-production nightmares. And thankfully now with more outlets to see lesser known independent titles than there were five or six years ago, it can possibly find an audience. When writing, directing and acting all come together in a way that has something important to say about life, that combination usually proves to be an unstoppable force. At two and a half hours, Margaret still feels like it has a lot more left to say, even if what's there is more than enough.   

Trick 'r Treat

Director: Michael Dougherty
Starring: Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, Brian Cox, Leslie Bibb, Lauren Lee Smith, Rochelle Aytes, Tahmoh Penikett, Quinn Lord
Running Time: 82 min.
Rating: R

★★★★ (out of ★★★★)

At the risk of overstating matters, Michael Doughtery's 80's style horror anthology film Trick 'r Treat is the best Halloween-themed picture since John Carpenter's Halloween. To even call this the best horror movie of the year would be selling it short. This is one of the best movies of the year. Period. Horror or otherwise. And in resurrecting a feeling I didn't think I'd have again while watching a movie in this genre, Dougherty has done the unthinkable in making a film that could be considered a great deal more interesting and technically superior to the classics he intended to pay homage to.

A couple of years ago when I sat in a darkened theater waiting for Saw IV to begin, I saw a trailer for this movie and could tell just by those two minutes it was something very different than what we're used to. From the visuals to the story it appeared that the person who made it may have actually had a brain. "Torture porn" this was not. That brief preview stuck with me more than anything I saw in the feature presentation following it. Then two years passed. Trick 'r Treat was never released theatrically. I eventually forgot about it....though not completely. What happened during that time is something of a legend with the story being that the studio was intentionally trying to bury a movie they had no idea how to market in an era of pointless slasher remakes and sequels.

I was always secretly afraid that if a truly great work of horror were made no one would even acknowledge it because the genre has been beat up on and spit at so often by critics and moviegoers, sometimes justifiably. That fear has officially been realized as now the best horror film in years has been shuttled straight to DVD, where we can only hope it finds the audience it deserves. But regardless of its popularity, Dougherty's achievement still stands and he can now go home, look in the mirror and no longer see the man who co-wrote the messy Superman Returns, but instead the filmmaker who gave us a holiday classic that deserves be enjoyed as a annual viewing ritual for many Octobers to come.

After a prologue in which bitchy wife Emma (Leslie Bibb) finds out the hard way what happens if you blow out a jack-o'-lantern before midnight, we're presented an animated comic book- style opening title sequence introducing us to "4 Tales of Terror," all occurring in the small Midwestern town of Warren, Ohio during All Hallows Eve.

1. School principal Steven Wilkins (Dylan Baker) moonlights as a serial killer while hilariously struggling through some major parenting issues with his annoying son Billy (Connor Christopher Levins).

2. Shy, virginal "Little Red Riding Hood" Laurie (Anna Paquin) is dragged by her older sister (Lauren Lee Smith) and friends to a party where she just might get lucky.

3. Four kids return to the scene of a legendary school bus massacre that took place over thirty years ago to play a prank on their nerdy classmate.

4. The old, cranky Mr. Kreeg (Brian Cox), who wants nothing to do with Halloween, is paid a visit by an unlikely intruder.

Unlike most anthologies, the stories aren't presented one after another but are instead interwoven like Pulp Fiction, which is much more difficult to pull off and puts an added strain on the writing. Dougherty proves he's more than up to that challenge and the stories come together in surprising ways. The tie that binds them all is Sam (Quinn Lord), a bulbous-headed trick-or-treater with a burlap sack over his head who sporadically appears throughout the tales to punish those who break Halloween's sacred traditions. In appearance and presentation, the pint-sized Sam is an unforgettably iconic character on par with the Freddys and the Jasons of the horror world and every bit as fun. It's so difficult to create a villain that's instantly recognizable but what's most impressive about Sam is that he isn't given much screen time until the end, yet Dougherty makes sure his presence is seen and felt at just the right moments throughout.

From a storytelling perspective, none of the four tales are break new ground but the style and impact with which they're delivered do. If I had to pick a favorite I'd go with the school bus massacre which features witty, realistic dialogue, strong child performances (especially from Samm Todd as idiot savant Rhonda) and gives us a flashback sequence as terrifying as it is visually stunning. Thanks to cinematographer Glen MacPherson and production designer Mark Freeborn every scene is literally dripping with Halloween and autumn atmosphere.

It's of little surprise that the art director for this film (Tony Wohlgemuth) was also responsible for 2006's Black Christmas remake, which, no matter what you may think of its story, did a far better job than the original in visually capturing the yuletide spirit. He outdoes his work on that here and in a shocking development I couldn't be happier to report, we're not bombarded with the fake-looking CGI and music video slickness that's ruined so many films in this genre over the past few years. It's a welcome throwback to a time when horror filmmakers were smart enough to know that more meant less and you trust enough for the story and characters to be the main attraction. If there's one complaint it's that it only runs a very quick 82 minutes because I wanted even more.

The acting is top notch across the board with Dylan Baker the most memorable (and getting the most screen time) as Principal Wilkins. That this film is a "horror comedy" is nearly all his doing since he provides most of the dark humor. A pro at playing unassuming average joes concealing a dark secret, it's easy to believe this character was written with him in mind. Anna Paquin is sensational in her smaller role while a practically unrecognizable Brian Cox seems to be having the time of his life playing a part no one would have ever expected to see him in. These are all accomplished actors elevating already strong material, not the usual D-level talent we're accustomed to seeing in Direct to DVD labeled horror features or even the latest Saw outing. What's most interesting about the the characters are their ages, which range from pre-teens caught up in the thrill of trick-or-treating to a bitter old man who no longer wants anything to do with it. In that way the stories all capture what Halloween means to each of us at different stages and childhood memories of the holiday will likely come flooding back for many who watch this. I know they did for me.

I have a love-hate relationship with horror. When it's good, I love it. When it's bad, I hate it. That's exactly how it should be. This is an example of how great this genre can be when its firing on all cylinders. After John Carpenter wrote Halloween 2 he came up with the idea of dumping the character of Michael Myers to instead release a sequel each October focusing on an aspect of Halloween tradition with the hope that the series would become an anthology. On paper, it was a brilliant idea. Unfortunately, it resulted in the disastrous Halloween III: Season of the Witch and the whole plan was aborted. This very much feels like the realization of that vision and what would have happened if Carpenter's original idea was executed to its fullest potential. Once you set aside that film's godawful story, you could argue that it did have a profound effect on this at least in terms of set and costume design (specifically the masks). Other influences, such as Creepshow, Tales from the Crypt, Evil Dead and It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown are more obvious, if not directly referenced at times.

The biggest horror is really how the studio shelved a film that could have had costume clad moviegoers crowding the streets in front of their local multiplexes this Halloween. Despite what they may have thought, this was an easy sell. I love the Saw movies and look forward to them every year but wouldn't dare attempt to convince anyone that they should be classified as "horror." I always thought of them as suspense thrillers meant to disgust rather than scare. There would have been room for both since this is so wildly different in its approach and philosophy. Even worse, while this was collecting dust, Paquin's career gained enough traction that she could have easily opened this movie...and the studio still pulled it. Rumors of the film's inflated reputation while sitting on the shelf for two years should go ignored and you should instead believe the hype. That it's been doing so well on DVD should bode well for potential sequels and marks the rare arrival of a horror franchise I'd actually like to see continue. Trick 'r Treat does more than just capture the true spirit and essence of Halloween. It is Halloween.