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Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
I Wanted to Like This ...
I love Michelle Yeoh in every performance I have seen -- even this one. And to see stunning Jamie Lee Curtis as this bureaucrat from hell was a special treat. But the premise of the movie (multiple time streams) overwhelmed the point of the movie, which was as fluid and contradictory as the premise. For example, did mom ever love her daughter unconditionally? Or was she critically demanding and therefore demeaning in multiple streams?
It was, at moments, a delightfully chaotic comedy but for me, it did not go beyond that despite the implied promise.
There is a problem with the premise which is that every single moment in the entire universe can start a new stream: An infinity of infinities. Philosophically, this idea conflates possibility with actuality. It is fun to think of meaningful streams slipping into each other, but that simply adds to the complexity (infinity to the power of infinity).
The Miracle Club (2023)
A Black Hole Surrounded by Stars
Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates shine in their weighty roles but the story gives almost no depth for the character Laura Linney plays. She has been treated horribly decades ago, left Ireland and gone to America. Upon return, she is civil, even kind to those who turned on her. I could not sense her motivations except in the most general and superficial way (mother has died). What brought her to this point? Laura Linney has a genuine appeal, but she was given far too little to balance the intense and complex depth for the characters played by the other two stars.
The device of having three difficult marriages with varying degrees of strife that were healed by the wives going to Lourdes was incredibly cliched and absolutely unreal. I guarantee that the glow of the return would be lucky to last more than 48 hours, despite the implied promise of "forever after."
And the sweet moment with the mute child finally spoke vanished in a flash.
At Home in Mitford (2017)
Shallow & Passionless
Even without considering the almost complete lack of a Karon story (dialogue, rich quirky characters) that so many have noted, this movie was shallow, cliched, and void of any passion (except on the part of the cat & dog). Mathison was nice, dutiful, and totally unlike any Episcopal priest I've ever encountered. (As a seminary educated psychotherapist, I've worked with many clergy over the tears.). They are typically very intelligent, love words, range from serious to quirky. The American Episcopal church is high church, lots of form. That sanctuary was too relaxed in appearance, more like a small Baptist or Methodist church. And I've never been enamored by Andie MacDowell. Lots of gorgeous hair & a sophisticate, but so devoid of energy. There was zero chemistry between the two. Hard to believe someone green lighted this film.