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.                                                  

Money Monster

 
Director: Jodie Foster
Starring: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O' Connell, Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Denham, Lenny Venito, Chris Bauer, Emily Meade
Running Time: 99 min
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

In Jodie Foster's Money Monster, George Clooney plays the smarmy host of an over-the-top investing show in the vain of Jim Cramer's "Mad Money," but far worse and much more ridiculous. Within the film's first few minutes, it's abundantly clear that any viewer taking serious financial advice from this guy is of questionable judgment to say the least. But when such a viewer is allegedly screwed over by one of the show's "picks of the millennium," he makes his presence known in the network's studio with an explosive device and suddenly the show's a lot less ridiculous. If the film's opening scenes are purely set-up, then all the action that follows, unfolding in "real time" as the perpetrator takes an entire studio hostage on live TV,  are reminiscent of exciting of 90's thrillers like Nick of Time or Mad City (with which this shares a similar plot). This compares favorably to both, mainly because it's more skillfully made and doesn't go exactly where you'd expect, cleverly flipping the script to shift our allegiances and make a timely statement about media consumption that surely resonates stronger now than it would have in that decade.

The biggest hurdle the movie overcomes is the unusual casting of Clooney as slick, oily TV host. Luckily, this does only end up being an issue of casting since his performance overcomes it. He's tremendous in this as the situation escalates. And boy does it ever escalate, as Foster milks the most it can out of its single location premise and the chess game tenuously unfolding on national television between the host and a very unexpected guest. It's not damning with faint praise to say it's the best film she's directed since it's also a challenging one, requiring her to juggle a lot of balls in the air while simultaneously keeping a firm grip on tone. Could something similar actually happen? Given the current socio-political climate, it wouldn't be a stretch to say in some respects we're already there, with the line separating news and entertainment fuzzier than ever before.

Lee Gates (Clooney) is the flamboyant host of TV's "Money Monster," offering what he hypes as valuable advice to Wall Street investors as to which stocks they should buy and sell, and when. With a format more closely resembling a bad variety show, Gates raps, dances and dresses in crazy costumes while bloviating about the week's picks. All this chaos is controlled by his total pro of a director, Patty Finn (Julia Roberts), who not only has the daunting task of keeping things moving, but must constantly accommodate the needs of her egotistical host, who frequently goes off on tangents just to hear himself talk and shake things up. But when one of his "can't miss" stocks, IBS Clear Capital, tanks, disgruntled, working-class investor Kyle Budwell (Jack O'Connell) sneaks into the studio as a delivery man, taking the crew hostage and holding Gates at gunpoint on camera.

With Kyle equipping the host with an explosive vest set to go off whenever he chooses to release his handheld trigger, it's up to Patty to keep cameras rolling and make sure the suddenly humbled and fearful Gates keeps Kyle talking long enough for them to survive. As police Captain Powell (Giancarlo Esposito) and an antsy hostage negotiator close in, Kyle demands answers to how he and other investors were wiped out by IBS, and he's not appreciating the canned ones given to him on-air by the company's PR director Diane Lester (Caitrona Balfe) on behalf of missing CEO Walt Camby (Dominic West). There's more to this story and it's up to Gates and Patty to find out what, and the threat of an on-air massacre broadcasting live for the world to see is quickly becoming a very real possibility.

The pacing here is tremendous, with each passing minute containing its fair share of surprises as both men become increasingly desperate and irrational about their expectations of how this could be resolved, if at all. Clooney just might be our most likable star so seeing him as lying, conniving TV host is undeniably off-putting at first, but once it's clear what the situation is and the perilous danger Gates finds himself in, we're off to the races. It works for the actor that his character never quite buys into the persona either, and the longer he's on air with the volatile Kyle, the more he starts dropping his guard. This is where the casting of Clooney works magnificently, as the interaction he has with his uninvited guest changes with each new bit of information about him he uncovers.

Gates slowly undergoes this epiphany in front of a national TV audience that doesn't seem the slightest bit forced under Foster's direction, but rather a natural progression resulting from the predicament he's in. With lives on the line, the show becomes a truth serum of sorts and with each new revelation comes shades of complexity and doubt as to whether Kyle's necessarily wrong, even as his actions are. What's happening proves itself to be bigger than both of them so it's only fitting it plays itself out on the biggest stage of all.

If Clooney's nuanced performance invisibly guides us across the film's more treacherous narrative waters, just as much credit goes to Julia Roberts, who does it all through a headset, her interplay with him crucial to keeping the tension high. Some of the best scenes involve Patty trying to keep Gates from doing something stupid while simultaneously directing a live TV show that thrives on chaos for ratings. The running joke is that she seems more competent at handling this tenuous situation than the law enforcement professionals actually tasked with the job. Until the final act, there's very little involvement from them at all and what's sure to be a disappointment for Breaking Bad fans, Giancarlo Esposito isn't given much to work with in an underwritten, perfunctory walk-on. He can't be faulted for failing to leave a lasting impression in a role clearly not written to, even if it's a relief that this cinematic hostage situation depends more on the psychology of the participants than police intervention.

The film contains two legitimately jaw-dropping scenes certain to grab viewers' attention and hold it. The first involves the shocking appearance of someone important in Kyle's life while the second is an unusual appeal to the public by Gates. Both come from a script that proves to be smarter than expected, even going so far as to give Balfe's corporate character a believable moral awakening on par with the two leads. While the plot ties together a little too neatly in the end with all the characters converging in one of those big, showy scenes where everything's spelled out with expository information, at least this time there's a reasonable excuse: They're on live TV. Considering all the crazy events that occur in Money Monster, it's a credit to the underlying truth behind them and the intensity generated by the actors, that we rarely stop to question it.

The Beaver

Director: Jodie Foster
Starring: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence 
Running Time: 91 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Attribute its lack of commercial success to its controversial star or the fact its story centers around a man who communicates with his beaver hand puppet, but you couldn't pay audiences to turn out for Jodie Foster's high-concept dramedy The Beaver when it was released in May. With a studio seemingly ashamed to have it on their release slate and understandably unsure how to market it, the film came and went in the blink of an eye with some reviewers openly expressing their disgust in even having to discuss it. And that's the biggest shame because there is actually a lot to talk about and if it didn't star who it stars and it wasn't about what it's about, Mel Gibson wouldn't just be receiving high praise for his performance, we might have been be talking about his Oscar chances. He's that good. While the film isn't as effective on the whole as his work in it, there are very few problems and it's equally funny and dramatic, with Foster somehow keeping tight control of tone under some challenging circumstances. The only drawback is once you take away its central gimmick, you're left with another suburban family drama, but at least it's a smart one that doesn't pull any punches and takes an original approach that's both oddly moving and believable. In other words, it's much better than you'd expect.

Walter Black (Gibson) is the manically depressed CEO of nearly bankrupt toy company Jerry Co. whose wife Meredith (Foster) has just kicked him out of the house, much to the delight of their eldest son Porter (Anton Yelchin) who compulsively writes post-it notes describing all his similarities to his father. After moving into a motel and twice unsuccessfully attempting to kill himself, Walter uses a beaver hand puppet he found in the trash to communicate, creating what seems to be an alternate personality with a fake British accent and a wickedly sarcastic sense of humor. Coming up with the lie of this being a form of treatment from his psychiatrist, Walter uses the Beaver to become the outgoing, confident person he couldn't, leading to enormous success at work and a second chance with Meredith and young son Henry (Riley Thomas Stewart). But it's clear he's not healthy and as the Beaver starts to become more of a harmful crutch, the harsh reality sets in that he has to get rid of this puppet and get some actual help, or risk losing his family again. Meanwhile, as Porter becomes increasingly mortified by his father's behavior and struggles with a complicated relationship at school, it's clear Walter isn't the only one in the house with issues.

Foster's film is unusual for how it puts the audience in an awkward position. On one hand, we we want this guy to get better, but on the other, it's so entertaining and funny watching Walter talk through The Beaver it's tough to root for a full recovery knowing it could possibly result in the the puppet's extinction. Gibson is sensational not just in his mastery of ventriloquism and puppetry, but how he can seemingly flip the emotional switch at will between the somber, dull, depressed Walter and his happy-go-lucky beaver persona. The word "crazy" is thrown around a lot in the film, but what's interesting is how we're presented with the possibility that such a description is unfair, even when we realize the extent of Walter's problems were far worse than initially suspected. He seems almost acutely aware of his actions, even coming up with a reasonable lie that this is all part of a treatment recommended by his psychiatrist. The brilliance in Gibson's performance and the script is how it briefly creates this world where we really want to believe Walter's form of coping is okay since some of the early results at work and at home falsely indicate that it is. He makes us want to get on board and support the barrier Walter puts between himself and everyone else, but only when his mask is taken away (briefly, in an electrifying restaurant scene opposite Foster) does it becomes completely clear how incapable the character is of functioning in everyday life without the aid of this puppet. When it starts becoming a crutch things aren't so funny anymore. But the movie wisely doesn't judge him. And since so little time is spent on the background of Walter Black or exploring why exactly Meredith kicked out it becomes impossible for us to either, which is probably for the best since Gibson carries with him enough personal baggage and preconceived notions that an excessive backstory would only serve as a hindrance.

The teen sub-plot has been cited by many as the weak link when it's actually one of the film's stronger aspects. It could have easily come off as a throwaway but doesn't and much of that has to do with how the actors playing them refuse to let their high school-age characters fit into a box, making them both more and less than they appear. You expect Anton's Yelchin's Porter to be some kind of a geek or misfit which isn't necessarily any more true than Jennifer Lawrence's Norah is the hot, popular cheerleader and both bring more to their roles than what's on the page, especially Lawrence. After her gritty turn in last year's Winter's Bone made her an Oscar nominee, seeing her as a regular teen takes some getting used to, but she still displays a mix of toughness and vulnerability that proves why she was one. All these characters are pretending to be someone they're not. Walter pretending he's a beaver. Meredith pretending he's getting better. Porter and Norah pretending they're okay when they really have no clue what they are. The idea that everyone uses a mask of some sort in their life is a fascinating one, but Walter's mental illness has literally taken control of his. It's clear Foster did actual research for this (whereas Gibson has probably lived it) and when things go from funny to dark the transition is seamless, making some interesting directorial choices as to when it's appropriate to show close-ups of the beaver or Gibson. All those creative decisions matter and quite a few of them are so subtle they're hard to catch on an initial viewing, even if it's tough to imagine watching this repeatedly. And anyone who's ever wondered who would win a fight between Mel Gibson and a beaver hand puppet will finally get their answer.

As much that goes right, something does seem to be holding the film back. Whether it's the relatively brief running time or the inescapable feeling we're watching another take on a familiar genre, this time with a hand puppet as a stand-in, it isn't the kind of movie you can't wait to watch again and recommend to all your friends. Toy beaver puppets won't be flying off the shelves this holiday season but that's fine. With or without Gibson as the lead this kind of material is a tough sell, and with a lot of obstacles in its path it came out as good as possible, deserving of a better chance at finding an audience. It's okay to hate the person but praise the performance and it seems the studio was unwilling to take a gamble that audiences would be willing to separate the two, or felt guilty capitalizing on its star's issues. That's understandable, but they can't change the results on screen, reminding us Gibson was an actor first, and still remains a very good one when he wants to be. If anything, those who really hate the guy and refuse to see anything he's in will get the biggest kick out of watching this, given the nature of the story. The Beaver is a thoughtful, funny examination of mental illness that's sometimes gimmicky, but at least Foster skillfully uses that gimmick to deliver something of substance.