Review: ‘I AM MICHAEL’ places James Franco on emotional seesaw in this true-life story.

A film by Justin Kelly

Starring: James Franco, Zachary Quinto, Emma Roberts
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY:
Justin Kelly (King Cobra)
Based on The New York Times article “My Ex-Gay Friend” by Benoit Denizet-Lewis

EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY:
Gus Van Sant (Milk, Good Will Hunting, To Die For)

PRODUCED BY:
Rabbit MandiniJames Franco and Vince Jolivette (Palo Alto, Spring Breakers, Lovelace), Michael Mendelsohn (I Am Wrath, Lord of War, Air Force One) of Patriot Pictures, Scott Reed and Ron Singer of That’s Hollywood.

I AM MICHAEL is the incredible true-life story of Michael Glatze (Franco), a high-profile queer youth activist who created a national controversy when he claimed to no longer be gay and became a straight Christian pastor. The film follows Michael from his life in San Francisco with his boyfriend Bennett (Quinto), where he pursues political activism, a journalist career at XY Magazine, social awareness, and sexual exploration, to his days of personal self-discovery. After a traumatic scare, Michael is plagued by doubt and paranoia, and begins a religious reawakening. Michael renounces his gay lifestyle, rejects his friends, and endeavors to find his “true self.” He explores Buddhism and Mormonism, yet ultimately lands at a Christian Bible school in rural Wyoming where he meets his girlfriend, Rebekah (Roberts), and becomes the pastor of his own church. This powerful new film captures one man’s haunting journey through modern concepts of love, denial and redemption.

Crisis of conscience, fear, confusion, exploration, self-loathing, and everywhere in between. I Am Michael follows the unusual journey of Michael Glatze, a man whose inner turmoil pulls him every which way. Emotional tethers bring Glatze back and forth between his intellectual desire to live in God’s light and path, or whatever that means to him at any moment in time, and the natural desires that come with being a human being. Not wanting to be labeled as a gay man, his oftentimes outwardly offensive exploration comes at the cost of personal relationships. The story rolls along at a rapid pace, which never takes away from the tumultuous up and down in Michael’s life. Franco, is brilliant, as per usual. If you haven’t delved into the huge range of his work, you are genuinely missing out. The man is a PR genius and I still wonder when he has time to sleep. Quinto, as boyfriend Bennett, also bring a beautifully grounded performance and is the perfect foil for Franco’s energy. Emma Roberts plays what some might call a tragic role, as Glatze’s eventual fiance’. A young Christian girl willing to look beyond the past and love Michael for who he claims to presently be and believe. The film features the song “Crucify” by Tori Amos (Which I’ve conveniently shared underneath the trailer!). Its placement is both poignant and perfect in tone and lyrics. Overall, I am Michael gives us a glimpse into a place where religion and sexuality collide and perhaps illustrates the intolerance from both angles. The film comes to theaters and on VOD today, January, 27th.

 

Opening in Theaters and VOD on January 27th

Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Frameline Film Festival, Provincetown International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival.
RT: 101min

Review: ‘PATCH OF FOG’ will engulf you in its plot.

XLrator Media will be releasing A PATCH OF FOG on VOD and iTunes on January 24th.  The film stars Stephen Graham (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”), Conleth Hill (Lord Varys in HBO’s “Game of Thrones”) and was directed by Michael Lennox.  
Fame. What are the inherent risks we take to remain in the spotlight? And for those who want to attain the same status, how do we crack the upper echelon if our station begs to differ? In the new film, PATCH OF FOG, famed author and television host is caught shoplifting and the security guard who snags him uses blackmail to kindle a relationship that spells danger for both parties.The plot seems relatively straight forward, but writers John Cairns and Michael McCartney take us on a journey with more clever twists and turns than perhaps any mystery novel on the shelf. Conleth Hill, known for his role as Lord Varys in Game of Thrones, shows a completely different side. Living life with a compulsion for the old grab and run, he is in a constant state of putting his renown on the line. It is his high. On the other end of the spectrum, Stephen Graham, who made quite the name for himself as Al Capone on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, wishes nothing more than to be lifted from his mundane obscurity and leverage power over the his victim. The chemistry between Hill and Graham is electric and unnerving. Don’t be fooled by the baseline description of the plot. Patch of Fog is a clever game of sociopathic cat and mouse. The film feels like a novel brought to life on the big screen. With stellar direction from Michael Lennox and a fantastic storyline that doesn’t  give up until the very final shot, Patch of Fog will quickly engulf you.

 TITLE:  A PATCH OF FOG
AVAILABLE ON VOD AND iTUNES: January 24, 2017
DIRECTOR: Michael Lennox
WRITERS: John Cairns and Michael McCartney
CAST: Stephen Graham, Conleth Hill
SYNOPSIS: A security guard catches a famous writer/TV host shoplifting and blackmails him into becoming friends.
GENRE: Thriller
DISTRIBUTOR: XLrator Media

Review: ‘CLAIRE IN MOTION’ stars Betsy Brandt in a desperate search for her missing husband.

Breaking Glass Pictures will release the upcoming psychological drama/thriller 

CLAIRE IN MOTION

 in theaters and On Demand January 13, 2017. 

CLAIRE IN MOTION is the second feature film by filmmaking team Lisa Robinson and Annie J. Howell (Small, Beautifully Moving Parts) and stars Betsy Brandt (CBS’ “Life in Pieces,” AMC’s “Breaking Bad”) in a breakthrough performance that twists the missing person thriller into an emotional take on uncertainty and loss.

Three weeks after Claire’s husband has mysteriously disappeared, the police have ended their investigation and her son is beginning to grieve. The only person who hasn’t given up is Claire. Soon she discovers his troubling secrets, including an alluring yet manipulative graduate student with whom he had formed a close bond. As she digs deeper, Claire begins to lose her grip on how well she truly knew her husband and questions her own identity in the process.

Playing the convincing role of math professor and mom comes so naturally to Betsy Brandt, one might actually think this film was based on a true story. With facts and figures guiding her everyday life, she quickly learns they aren’t going to help figure out who she really married. The plot moves swiftly. There is no lag time between the opening scene and transitioning entering the mysteries. The pace and editing are such that you can feel the immediate push from the outside world on both Claire and her son to accept the fact that husband and father are not coming back. It is the quintessential, “You think you know someone,” piece. It lends you to wonder who your significant other is when they’re not with you. Work friends, hobbies, the gym, lunches, seemingly mundane moments impact us each day so why would they not impact your partner in the same profound way? But, the torturous unanswered questions left in the wake of any ended relationship are the ones that stick with us. Claire In Motion is a quiet and yet profound look into reaching beyond yourself and into the lives of those around us.

Narrative Spotlight Audience Award – SXSW Film Festival 2016

Official Selection, New American Cinema – Seattle International Film Festival 2016

TITLE: CLAIRE IN MOTION
IN THEATERS AND ON DEMAND:  January 13, 2017
DIRECTOR:  Lisa Robinson, Annie J. Howell
WRITERS:  Lisa Robinson, Annie J. Howell
CAST:   Betsy Brandt, Anna Margaret Hollyman, Chris Beetem, Sakina Jaffrey
GENRE:  Psychological Drama, Thriller
DISTRIBUTOR: Breaking Glass Pictures

Review: ‘THE LADY IN THE VAN’ is Alan Bennett’s mostly true story brought to life by Dame Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings

The Lady in the Van poster

The Lady in the Van, Alan Bennett’s adaptation of his commercial and critical West End hit, based on his own bestselling memoir will open in New York & Los Angeles for a Limited Engagement on December 4, 2015Dame Maggie Smith reprises one of her most-loved stage roles for the big screen, under the direction of Nicholas Hytner, who also directed the stage version.  Damian Jones and Kevin Loader produced, along with Hytner.

Alex and Maggie The Lady in the Van

The film tells the true story of Alan Bennett’s strained friendship with Miss Mary Shepherd, an eccentric woman of uncertain origins, who “temporarily” parked her broken down van in Bennett’s London driveway… and proceeded to live there for the next fifteen years. Their unique story is funny, poignant and life-affirming.

Maggie Smith the lady in the vanMiss Smith, who plays the singular Miss Shepherd, is joined by Alex Jennings (The Queen), who plays Bennett.  Smith incarnation of Shepard is nothing but her usual brilliance. She is quirky and earnest. We are treated to a true character study in her subtle facial expressions and physicality. Each beat is masterful in comic timing. Jennings, as Bennett, is equally as charming in his quiet insolence. As Miss Shepard’s inevitable enabler, their relationship is actually a foil for Bennett’s real life lack of a relationship with his own mother. Bennett as narrator of his own tale, has the opportunity to play two very distinct sides of his personality. The performance should not go unnoticed come awards season. Others in the cast include Frances de la Tour, Roger Allam, Dominic Cooper, Jim Broadbent & James Corden.alex jennings still the lady in the vanThe script has a lovely Odd Couple feel to it. Filed with heart, emotional pull, mystery and levity, The Lady in the Van, (however much based on true events) will capture your soul. With a cast such as this, under the delightful direction of Nicholas Hytner, one cannot go wrong.
Maggie Smith and co the lady in the van

Sony Pictures Classics Will Release The Lady in the Van In The U.S. on January 15, 2016 Following A Limited Engagement In New York & Los Angeles Starting on December 4, 2015

THE LADY IN THE VAN runs 103 Minutes.

Behind the scenes Alex still the lady in the vanThe film is Hytner’s first directorial outing after ending his massively successful decade at the head of the British National Theatre. He and Bennett previously collaborated on The Madness of King George and The History Boys. Damian Jones (The Iron Lady, Belle) and Kevin Loader (Venus, In the Loop) produced, along with Hytner. Hytner is among the preeminent theatrical creators of his generation, having directed such standouts as Miss Saigon, Stuff Happens, and One Man, Two Guvnors. At the National, he commissioned the breakout hits Warhorse, The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night, Jerry Springer, The Opera and Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein. In addition to Madness and History Boys, his filmography also includes Wendy Wasserstein’s The Object of My Affection and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. He has won multiple Olivier and Tony Awards, and a BAFTA.

Dame Maggie Smith has led a distinguished, varied career on stage, in film and in television over the past six decades. She is a two-time Academy Award® winner (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, California Suite) and has been nominated an additional four times.  Among many other accolades and honors, she has won multiple BAFTA Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony.  Her achievements range from performing Shakespeare opposite Laurence Olivier, to capturing the attention of a new generation when she played the strict witchcraft teacher Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, and recently as the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the acclaimed television drama Downton Abbey.

Alex Jennings is one of the most successful British actors of his generation. He has played Alan Bennett multiple times and is currently shooting the Netflix series “The Crown” where he portrays the Duke of Windsor.

Bennett, a celebrated playwright, screenwriter, actor and author, is considered a national literary treasure in England. Over the course of his more than 50-year career, he has won, or been nominated for, every major writing award that exists in film, television and theatre, including an Academy Award®, multiple BAFTAs, Tonys, and Oliviers.

Liz’s Review: ‘ALIEN OUTPOST’ is out of this world!

 alien

The notion that we are not alone in the world is one I thrive on, as a total nerd. Now if I were actually faced with E.T (and not Spielberg‘s cute, wrinkly guy) I would most likely run screaming in the opposite direction no matter how much I know X-Files has prepared me for a close encounter. In the new IFC Midnight action/sci-fi  ALIEN OUTPOST only the brave survive, if they’re lucky. Read More →

Liz’s Review: Jennifer Aniston is devastatingly delicious in ‘CAKE’

CakePosterImagine a scenario where you’ve lost everything you hold dear in life: spouse, career,  friends, stability, sense of self and, perhaps, even your soul. How would you live day to day? Now forget “live”, and replace it “survive”. CAKE is a film that tackles a profound sense of loss and the tremendous possibility that this may be impossible. Read More →

Liz’s Review: ‘SONG ONE’ plays well

 SongOnePoster

Nothing quite captures New York City like it’s sound scrape. The roaring of a passing subway train. The chatter in a coffee house. The songs heard on the streets by the immense talent that envelopes themselves in the starving artist community that creates the fabric of this magical place.  SONG ONE is a beautiful ode to this city. Read More →

Liz’s ‘MATCH’ Review and Roundtable Interview with Sir Patrick Stewart and Stephen Belber

MatchPoster

In the arts, like other career paths, but especially in the arts, one must sacrifice quite a bit to succeed. Putting off kids, working extra crappy jobs, and being selfish are all things most artists must do in order to live the dream. Eventually, those decisions can creep up on you, leading to regret.

 Stephen Belber has adapted his Tony-nominated stage play Match for the silver screen. The story centers around just three characters; Tobi (Patrick Stewart), an aging dance teacher, and the Seattle based couple, Lisa(Carla Gugino) and Mike (Matthew Lillard) who fly in to interview him. The set up is simple, Lisa needs info about what it was like during the 1960’s in the NYC dance scene. Hubby, Mike, is just along for the ride. They meet at a quaint neighborhood diner where Tobi is a regular. Once the three are comfortable enough, he invites them back to his apartment for drinks and continued conversation. Slowly, and under the influence of alcohol and a little pot, the hard questions come out. Mike, being a cop, begins to use what seem like interrogation tactics in inquiring about specific sexual partners. Tobi is compliant until it becomes clear that there are ulterior motives in this supposed dissertation inquiry. Finally, at the end of his polite host rope, he attempts to end the ruse. Mike’s aggression escalates as he demands a DNA sample from Tobi. He is certain that Tobi is his father. What happens from there is a startling scene of betrayal and crossed lines.

 MatchStill

Gugino is earnest and vulnerable in her portrayal of Lisa. She is a woman who has lost her self-worth due to her husband’s emotional damage. Her one-on-one scenes with Stewart are breathtaking. Lillard, who I will forever associate with Scream, seems uncomfortable in his own skin, and I do mean that as a compliment. He struggles with his own identity, not sexually, but as a grounded man and caring husband. The dynamic between the three actors worked so well for me. The tension on screen is strong and each beat is carefully timed by Belber’s adaptation and in his direction.

Patrick Stewart is a legend of stage and screen, both large and small. No matter what role he takes on, he is perfection. Watching him is like taking a free masterclass in acting. His stillness speaks volumes and his eyes tell you nothing but the truth before you’ve even realized it. Playing the role Tobi, seems to be more personal by his own admission. And, as for Stephen, well, the genius is evident both on the page and on the screen as he adapts his own work seamlessly.

MatchPatrickStill

The following is the interview from roundtable discussions when Match first screened at The Tribeca Film Festival 2014.

Being that this is the second time he’s adapted one of his plays for the screen. Belber speaks to the challenges of moving a stage play to film:

 Stephen Belber: Obviously, theater is about the dialogue and I was interested in getting in between the words. The dialogue is what it is, but I wanted to use the camera to get in between and chart the emotional landscape of the faces and what’s not said, and where they’re conveying emotion without words. So that was a fun challenge just to set myself, and to know that I had actors who were able to give so much without having to speak it. To be up close in Patrick’s face when he is lying and to compel the audience to know whether it is a lie or the truth. And to see him hear certain information that is thrown at him and to non verbally register it, and deal with it, is very filmic and cinematic in a way you can’t get in a theater. There’s a great exchange that obviously takes place with the theater and a live audience so for this it’s a whole different ballgame. So that’s something I wanted to concentrate on.

 On casting Patrick as Tobi:

Stephen Belber: I wanted someone to go away from the broad comedy and the bigness of it and go to the humanity of it and I knew that Patrick could do that hands down.

Patrick Stewart: This morning has been curious for me, because every interview that I’ve done I have been asked,  “So what were the challenges of taking on what was a stage play and now putting it in front of a camera?” I had never realized until this morning that I never actually gave your stage play a thought and people express real surprise when I said, “I didn’t see the play. I never read it. I never thought of reading it”. Well, what I had was a screenplay and it was always a screenplay but furthermore I had the author behind the camera every minute of the day so why would I need to access something that we were not doing, anyway. It was very successful as a screenplay. I had no answer to these questions I’ve been asked all morning.

Stephen Belber: I’m glad that you didn’t read the play because it is a different piece. I wrote (the play) 10  years ago so I think I’m a more nuanced writer and I knew that I wanted to be different so it is a different ballgame and not a great reference point probably.

Patrick Stewart: The role and the story resonate strongly for me because a powerful theme in the film is about the choices that people can make in their lives, especially if they are people who are passionately, ambitiously building a career and how those choices require that some things get put aside or left behind, forever. The life of an actor, particularly an actor working in the theater, as I was working for decades, 6 nights a week I was not there to tuck my children up and sing a song. It was only Sunday night  I could do that exclusively and so there was a huge part of my life… I was not making choices, those were just the conditions that you had to accept to work, so this theme in the film has related to me. How you feel you’ve made the right choices. You feel that you are where you want to be, but you don’t know until the shock of what happens in the movie comes up, that actually the choices you’ve made were not the best ones and that life could have been very different. You know, the path not taken. I put my work first, always. I remember once at a dinner party in my own home sitting around a table 6, 8, 10 people, some actors, directors, but all people in the arts, this was the topic of conversation. Somebody at the table said, “I love my job, I love what I do, but my family always come first” and I heard a voice in my head, quite distinctly, saying, “Not me! Not me.” I think it was shocking because it was true.

(Liz) Reel News Daily: I had a question about theatre culture in the UK versus the US and since I have you both here, this is the perfect opportunity. I have found that the respect for theatre acting is so much greater in the UK. That is really where you hone your skills and then maybe from there you are plucked to do movies and television. I feel like it’s the opposite in the US. I’m a theater kid and a writer so to have you both here with your perspectives, I was just curious where do you think that comes from? Why do you think theater maybe isn’t as respected or wide as it is in the UK?

Patrick Stewart: First of all I’m not sure that that’s true, but I think tradition has a great deal to do with it. There’s been Theater on stage in England for 700 years and particularly a lot of classical theatre, as I’ve done. You look over your shoulder and you see all these actors going back in time who has been standing exactly where you been standing saying the same lines. I think it is different now in the UK. Most actors leaving drama school, as I hear this from the casting department of the Royal Shakespeare Company, say its not what it was. We don’t have first pick, anymore, of the cream of the drama school because of these guys, they are not interested in doing theater. They see the careers that can be made in film and TV and that’s where they want to be. So it’s different from how it was. All I ever wanted to do was to be on stage. Everything that ever happened to me on film and television was an accident it. I fell over it rather than pursuing it. And it just so happened that you guys are so much better at film acting than we are. For the most part, you are. I loved the cinema when I was a kid! It was, for me, the absolute escape from my really rather not very great life. I don’t recall seeing British movies. If I thought they were British I wouldn’t go see them, and I sort of lost myself in this world that used to be overwhelmed with sadness. The curtains would close and I would have to go back to real life again. So working with American filmmakers and American actors, as with Matthew and Carla, both superb actors, was such a joy to me. I mean we do OK, we got a few actors that do OK. We did not have one hour of film acting in our drama school in 2 years. I think we once visited a television studio which is to say, “That is the camera.”

Stephen Belber: I think he’s right in the tradition and  “Who is royalty?” and I think that film actors became royalty with kids growing up, but “These (referring to Patrick)  are the icons,” and they value their skill. But there are enough kids here that catch the theater bug. Matt has weekly play readings in his living room, in his house in L.A., because he’s a theater nerd. And you grab those people and then cross them over into film.

 What has been your proudest moment, thus far, in your career?

 Patrick Stewart: I think, as I said, all I want to do was be on stage but I couldn’t narrow that down to say what I really wanna be is on the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. that was actually my ambition and everything I did for the six years that led up to that wasn’t going into that direction so I did one season with the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford upon Avon playing quite small roles, supporting roles, and understudy roles. And thank God, never, ever, ever had to go on. But at the end of that 10 month season, all the company, one at a time, were called to Peter Hall’s office, it’s like meeting the headmaster, “We will review your work”, and I didn’t think mine had been very good or overly interesting or of any real quality but all I wanted was to be asked, given one more chance to come back and do another season, and that’s all I wanted. And it was my turn to go in, and I went in and Peter Hall said, “Well this isn’t going to take long.” And I thought,oh no, this is it and he said, “Look, are you aware that we have three year contract here?”, and I said, “Yeah, I had heard of that.” And he said, “We wanna give you a three year contract.” I was speechless and outside the theater in Stratford there was a telephone box and I went down and I called my wife and she said, “How did it go?” …. and finally, getting the silence she says, “I take it it went well.” That was it for me. Nothing has been quite so thrilling a feeling as that moment.

Match is a beautifully intimate film. It dares to go places that some might be scared to approach.  How have our decisions in our lives affected where we are now? I think that remains to be seen. Bottom line, it’s a contemplative film. You will, perhaps, reexamine your choices when you leave the cinema. 

 Written/Directed by: Stephen Belber Starring: Patrick Stewart, Carla Gugino, Matthew Lillard Runtime: 94 min


MATCH opens in theaters January 14th. and is available on VOD.