We open the third and final installment in the Pitch Perfect franchise “somewhere in the South of France,” where the ever familiar Barden Bellas are performing a characteristically charming a capella rendition of Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ on a yacht for a group of unhumorous businessman.
New documentary “Big Time” is a sleek and gorgeous glance at the architecture of rising star Bjarke Ingels, but looks away much too quickly.
The Final Year presents behind the scenes glimpses of President Obama’s foreign policy team during their last year in office.
Roman J. Israel, Esq., a film written and directed by Dan Gilroy, dives deep into the underworld of the Los Angeles criminal court system. Starring Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, and Carmen Ejogo, Gilroy presents a harrowing but hopeful picture of the reality of the justice system and the activism necessary to battle its shortcomings. The Knockturnal’s very own O.J. Williams had the chance to ask Carmen Ejogo, known also for Selma, Fantastic Beasts, The Purge: Anarchy, and Alien Covenant, a few questions this past weekend about her experience with the film. Ejogo plays a young activist named Maya who enters into an unwitting friendship with the lawyer Roman J. Israel (Denzel Washington).
Ejogo and Washington as Maya and Roman.
Q [O.J. Williams]: When you first got your script, what was your initial, first reaction to the project?
A [Carmen Ejogo]: I was struck by how convincing the writing was of the character that I would be playing, of Maya. It can be quite a difficult voice to make sound authentic, the voice of the activist. It can sound like a trope very quickly; it can sound like a stereotype very easily. So, to find a piece of writing that felt like it had real soul and real spirit and depth was really exciting. And then having the visual of Denzel [Washington], which was not what Denzel ended up looking like in the movie at all, which was a complete surprise to me, how he ended up embodying Roman. But I could tell on the page that that was going to be a really sympathetic, complex, interesting character as well. So, there weren’t really many reasons not to want to do it.
Q: You play a young, activist lawyer in the film. What was the most intriguing thing you learned about the U.S. legal system while doing the film?
A: In some roles, you have to get really down into the nitty-gritty of the career part of the character, and then in some roles, hopefully you bring something innate to the character. I don’t have a lot of the jargon to speak, as Denzel does, with his character, I don’t really necessarily have to be as savvy as to the ins and outs of that stuff. So, I really focused more on making sure that the essence of the character felt appropriate. I’m in few scenes in this film, but they had to be moments that really counted in terms of illuminating who Roman was by virtue of the way in which he affects others, and Maya is one of those people. So really it was illuminating what the effect was, was more of my job than maybe understanding the modern legal loopholes.
Q: In the film, your character Maya has to deal with the very eccentric Roman, played by Mr. Washington. How do you deal with eccentric people in real life?
A: I am a little eccentric myself, and I feel more comfortable with people that are a little less than straight-laced. In fact, I feel like I was raised by eccentric. I think I’m most comfortable with people that think a little outside the box, or a lot outside of the box, even. And I also have a great sort of empathy for that type, which is maybe again why Dan [Gilroy] thought I was right for the job to play Maya, because I think embodies that too. She has a patience and an innate understanding of what makes Roman work, or not work. And that’s what makes them good, kindred spirits on this journey.
Q: In this film, Roman is someone you turn to often for advice, or for a re-centering. Who is that for you in real life?
A: Two people come to mind, two sets of people. The first set is my children, who will remind me and keep me in a place of balance, because it is my absolute job to, then, offer them the same in turn. They are very good at keeping me in a place that is a little more rational than I might manage without them. But, not to completely discredit my own sort of influence on myself, I think I somehow over time nurtured the ability to find that within myself in my own personal way to cope and to maintain rationale and a sense of purpose and ability to keep moving forward.
Q: Speaking of children, in the film, there is a scene where a younger character decides to school you and Denzel. Why do you think the young people have a hard time heeding the older generation’s advice?
A: We live in such a youth-based culture that anything past a certain age isn’t valued in the same way. I think it goes both ways; I think there’s a problem with elders and people in positions of power that don’t always appreciate and value our youth in the ways that they ought to, and therefore there is this natural antagonism that then emerges. And a lack of appreciation of the elders that I think should be in place as bastions of wisdom. But if people of an older generation don’t attempt to understand those of the younger generation and have contempt and suspicion of the youth, it’s not surprising that younger people then, in turn, do the same, and then on top of that we do have a culture that really doesn’t celebrate anything as being time-worthy if it tops a certain age. That, I think, really needs to change. For me, speaking as a woman, that’s something I’m very conscious of, as I feel women get more interesting as they get older, somehow in this industry in particular, we aren’t being hit with the same eyes. And it’ll be a great day when we all start to appreciate the wisdom of people getting older. That would be a benefit to all of them, I think.
Q: Speaking of learning, you have a lot of amazing scenes with Mr. Washington. What did you take away from him? Were there any gems, or any tips that you took away from him?
A: I think what was most valuable was to just witness somebody that hasn’t given up on their love of the craft. For someone of that stature that’s reached their age, that’s reached their place in the industry, the potential for having less of a degree of passion for the work could easily set in, and it just hasn’t with him. So that was certainly what I took away from it.
Q: While we’re on the subject of him, in this film, he gives you an “unexpected gift,” as you call it. Have you ever gotten a gift in real life that you later appreciated down the line?
A: I’m very un-materialistic. I’m the worst person to give presents to. I’m one of those people. And so, in the moment, it may be hard to get it right for me, and to give something to me that I feel that I want to keep in the cupboard or keep on a shelf. But I’m learning in myself that despite my lack of materialism, sometimes when things are given to you, even if you didn’t want them, they’re worth keeping around, because they do embody some of the spirit of the person that gave it to you. So, there are several things from people that are close and dear to me that I’m glad I didn’t throw out, even though I may have wanted to.
Q: Mr. Dan Gilroy, we love him as a director. Talk about working with him and what it was like collaborating to pull the character together.
A: I’m madly in love with Dan Gilroy. He is a man of such heart. I don’t say this lightly – this industry is full of all types, and it’s rare that you get somebody that I would describe as being full of heart. It’s a very self-involved industry and business. So, to find somebody as a director, which is a position of ultimate power on the set, that hasn’t lost that sense of heart and compassion and real commitment to the most pure idea of why he’d make that film in the first place, is a really rare thing. And after meeting him once, I had no doubt that his motivations of telling this story were pure. If anyone responds to this film positively, it is for that reason, because the voice from its very beginning was a pure voice. I can’t think of a higher praise you can give anybody than that, frankly. To have a pure voice in the world, as an artist, as a person.
Roman J. Israel, Esq. premieres in New York and Los Angeles Friday, and everywhere else this Thanksgiving. Tickets can be found here: www.romanisrael-tickets.com.
Check out the trailer here.
The new thriller Sweet Virginia from director Jamie M. Dagg premieres this week, and stars The Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal as an ex rodeo rider and his shady new friendship with a new man in town.
The Knockturnal was on hand at the premiere screening last Tuesday to talk to Bernthal about his dark new role.
When you first got involved in this project what about the script stuck out to you?
The script was really stylized and really theatrical! After saw Jamie’s film [River, 2015] and I saw how critically raw it was and how authentic it was, I thought that would be a really interesting of filmmaker and script, and I think that’s why I did it. I love the script but I also love Jamie’s work, and when I saw that Chris [Abbott] was involved it was something I really wanted to do.
What steps did you take to understand your character more?
The character was written to be a guy in his 60s, he was supposed be sort of frail and broken down, and I normally play much more muscular parts and physical parts so to dive into that and figure it out was the challenge. But I think often times when you locate the biggest challenge in playing something, everything else falls into place after that.
Obviously this film has a lot of dark tones, on set how did you guys keep a positive mindset?
We really dug each other and really believed in Jamie. Everybody in this movie was in it for the right reasons, and this was a fun one. This is one I loved and I loved the people involved in it. It was a fun set, it was a dark movie, but you didn’t have to drum too much up, it was all right there.
Sweet Virginia reaches theaters this Friday Nov 17
The Norwegian film explores everyday themes through a suspenseful plot.
Everyone is a suspect!
Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut is a veritable triumph.
If you have one ounce of love for this planet in your heart, I highly recommend this documentary about the Amazon pink river dolphins the fight to saving them from extinction.
After Louie, a film centered on the evolution of the AIDS crisis in present day New York City, had its East Coast premiere as the centerpiece of the NewFest last weekend. The premiere was attended by a full cast and its director, Vincent Gagliostro, and sponsored by ACT UP New York (Aids Coalition to Unleash Power).
The film revolves around Sam Cooper (Alan Cumming), a middle-aged gay man, and his relationship with the much younger Braeden O’Reilly (Zachary Booth). Before the film, Gagliostro took to the microphone to thank his entire staff, from his makeup artist to his production assistants to his set designers, and conclude with a few words from LGBT activist and author Vito Russo, to whom the premiere was dedicated.
“Someday the AIDS crisis will be over,” Gagliostro quoted. “Remember that. And when that day comes — when that day has come and gone, there’ll be people alive on this earth — gay people and straight people, men and women, black and white, who will hear the story that once there was a terrible disease in this country and all over the world, and that a brave group of people stood up and fought and, in some cases, gave their lives, so that other people might live and be free.”
The cast of After Louie answering questions after the screening.
After the film, the cast was invited to the front of the theater for a panel question-and-answer session. An audience member asked Cumming how he dealt with taking his character into an “unlikeable zone.”
“As actors, we want people to like us, we just do,” Cumming said. “When you’re a performer, you’re used to trying to make your character appealing in some way, even if they’re a bad character. You want to find the good in them. It was quite hard for me to actually not be charming, to switch off that thing that I’m just used to doing. That’s another reason I said yes to play the part – because I usually playing evil people…charming in a way. But this was kind of someone who was so closed off. But he has a journey.”
In response to a question about the most effective comment he has ever received from an audience member, Gagliostro gave an anecdote about one of the first screenings in New Orleans, where he was approached by two transgender youth. “This film…is to give the younger people the freedom not to hold up these gold standards, and to kind of look into the issues that best concern them,” he said in regards to the classic ACT UP slogans.
“That was then, and this is now,” Gagliostro continued. “Now is very, very different. And maybe they’ll come up with a way to deal with the freak in the White House.”
Cumming, answering the same question, told of the After Louie screening in San Francisco. He had been seated on the aisle, far away from his mother and mother-in-law, to avoid awkwardness during the sex scenes. “But I was glad I sat on the aisle,” Cumming said. “At one point I looked over and there’s this man – older, gay man – weeping. Just weeping uncontrollably.Aand I just thought, this is what its all about. This is why you do films like this. This is why you’re an artist. Because you make people feel that they’re being heard. That their stories are being told.”