Impending death of a loved one is something we’ll all face in our lifetime. Everyone deals with it on their own very personal way. In Nanni Moretti‘s new feature MIA MADRE, Margherita knows her mother is on the verge of death, but is in the kind of denial that turns her world into a tailspin. Trying to separate her professional life and her home life is not working. Relationships with her volatile American actor, her loving brother, young daughter, and her film, are all in jeopardy as she flails through feigning normalcy.
Margherita Buy is beyond brilliant as our lead. Never a false moment or a skipped beat. her presence is perfection and the story is relatable on every level. John Turturro’s outstanding performance as over the top American actor Barry Higgins is equally captivating. His boisterous sense of importance is the perfect foil to Margherita’s slow emotional unraveling. The film’s impact is pretty massive. It will stick with you long after you leave the theater. It’s a true study in human behavior.
In the press conference immediately following the screening, Nanni Moretti and John Turturro sat down to chat about the experience. Moretti crafted this script when his own mother became ill while he as editing one of his films and later passed away. He explained that Margherita Buy was his first choice to play the leading lady, and that he felt that it would be more interesting to play the story out through a female character. As he was writing and shooting, his catharsis also occurred in his portrayal of the character Giovanni, Margherita’s brother. “Giovanni is the character I wanted to be (in real life), but I’m not.” This quiet, grounded performance speaks volumes and is another gorgeous emotional counterbalance to Margherita.
There was a whole lot of improv on the set. I asked John if it was complicated to switch between fluent Italian and English in the same monologue stream or if that was precisely how Nanni had written the dialogue. John revealed that Nanni asked him to memorize all the lines in Italian, go back and learn them again in English, then once he had a true sense of who ,Barry Huggins was, he had the freedom to play within the languages. He admitted it was incredibly complicated. Let me assure you, it is deliciously effective.
MIA MADRE is a beautiful film. One that we, at Reel News Daily, highly recommend.
Margherita (Margherita Buy) is a middle-aged filmmaker who has to contend with an international co-production starring a mercurial American actor (John Turturro) and with the realization that her beloved mother (Giulia Lazzarini) is mortally ill. Underrated as an actor, director Nanni Moretti offers a fascinating portrayal as Margherita’s brother, a quietly abrasive, intelligent man with a wonderfully tamped-down generosity and warmth. The construction of the film is as simple as it is beautiful: the chaos of the movie within the movie merges with the fear of disorder and feelings of pain and loss brought about by impending death. Mia Madre is a sharp and continually surprising work about the fragility of existence that is by turns moving, hilarious, and subtly disquieting. An Alchemy release.
Corruption in the police force is not a new topic. In 
We’ve all been there at one time or another. Sitting in a cubicle, or the like, wanting desperately to staple a co-worker’s mouth shut or just whiteout our own eyes. But we think, hey, if I work hard enough, I’ll get that promotion and maybe, just maybe, this won’t suck as much as I think it does. Welcome to BLOODSUCKING BASTARDS, where all your daydreams and nightmares come true.
I’ve been a nanny and a teacher. We all know, even working outside early childhood education that some parents ans children are just plain weird. Yup. I said it. Weird. In Juanra Fernandez‘s new Spanish horror creation PARA ELISA, weird takes on a whole new meaning. 
In need of some quick and easy cash, Ana arrives for a job interview as a nanny. The mother of the house is an eccentric musician with a screw loose. One giant dilemma stands in Ana’s way; Mom is not only certifiably insane but her daughter, Elisa, is even more disturbed. Her sense of reality has been twisted by years of abuse combined with what seems like mental illness. Ana is made into a living doll for Elisa to “toy” with. 
Our heroine is played in realistic fashion by Ona Casamiquela. I do not know what I would do faced with this scenario but she fights her ass off. Scary mommy Diamantina is played brilliantly by Luisa Gavasa. Think Sunset Boulevard lost her mind. I would watch an entire film about her back story in a heart beat. Elisa is portrayed by Ana Turpin. She skillfully created a character you find yourself caring for and fearing. This is a fearless performance. I would seek out more work from her. Someone get Guillermo Del Toro in touch with Turpin, please? 
Not since Grand Piano have I been this unsettled by the sights and sounds of a piano in an opening credits sequence. This sets the stage for the entire rest of Para Elisa. Taking a page right out if Stephen King‘s Misery, add in a dash of People Under The Stairs parenting style and you’ve got yourself a rousing good time. The violence ramps up and up as the story progresses, all action occurring within one night, and at a tight 71 minute run time, Para Elisa is one satisfying nightmare.
You must be logged in to post a comment.