The Homesman

Director: Tommy Lee Jones
With: Hilary Swank, Tommy Lee Jones, Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter, Hailee Steinfeld, William Fichtner, Meryl Streep

Set during the American frontier, a religious woman Mary Bee Cuddie made a deal with a claim jumper on the brink of his death, to help her transport three insane women from Nebraska to Iowa.

Hilary Swank hasn't been in the awards circuit ever since what? 2010 for Conviction? And that was a surprising SAG nod for that matter. This year, there might be an improvement or should I say a comeback, in her career as her work in The Homesman as Mary Bee Cuddie is terrific, portraying a bossy and independent woman whose longingness for love and settlement is one of a kind. She brought epicness to this character that despite being unappealing and a little comical, she shifted the audience's gear from detached to sympathetic. Tommy Lee Jones' George Briggs is similarly endearing. Both characters are not the most congenial character you'll see, but it's impossible not to be touched by them at the end of the movie.

It's not only their character that's compelling, but it's their relationship that struck me the most. We've seen contrasting characters before that end up being nice together but this one's pretty different as the Western era factors in their condition and relationship. Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto and Sonja Richter played the 'three insane women' and despite not having dialogues, they effectively depicted their roles with such poignancy.

Feminism is a huge theme in The Homesman. The characters of Mary Bee, the three insane women, and Tabitha played by Hailee Steinfeld each showed the differences of women during the Western era. Mary Bee could not find a husband, the three crazy women became insane because of the wrongdoings of the men in their lives, and Tabitha showed how she values herself in choosing her husband. Tommy Lee Jones also showcased Briggs' personality and his relationship with Cuddie as an instrument to define how men treated women during their era, and how women should behave in order to find a man. It's a very obvious theme but the story is what matters to me because it's strikingly touching. And rarely do Western dramas interest me which leads me to ponder that I probably have seen 5 Western themed films maximum.

What I adore more about The Homesman is its cinematography and score. Marco Beltrami provided a very pleasant score for Cuddie and George's journey, that it's so far my favorite score of the year. He's on a roll as I also like his score for Snowpiercer and The Giver. I think The Homesman's only fault is its inconsistency in tone, but it's pretty much easy to ignore because it's really beautiful and affecting.

As one of the films I anticipated early this year, The Homesman didn't disappoint. For a Western Drama, it's certainly likable but it's seldom for me to love films from a foreign period or era, so I'm not really wow'd by the film. The story however, added with Swank and Tommy Lee Jones's craft, made this film good, shocking and sentimental overall.

Begin Again

Director: John Carney
With: Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine, Hailee Steinfeld, Catherine Keener

Not too many years ago, John Carney wrote and directed Once, a musical film set on the streets of Dublin starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova. The film produced the beautiful Academy Award winning Original Song, Falling Slowly. Years later, he's back with Begin Again. Way more contemporary, much brighter and fun than Once. This time it's set on the streets of New York. Starring Mark Ruffalo as Dan, a struggling record label producer on the brink of depression after being fired from his job and having a broken family. One night at the bar, he encounters Gretta played by Keira Knightley, an independent song writer whose music saved Dan from his suicidal self. Together they formed a friendship reminiscent of Bob and Charlotte in Lost in Translation wherein the line between lovers and friends become blurry as they get to know and help each other with their situations.

I am not the biggest fan of Once, thought it was kind of boring, so when I heard good things about Begin Again I was nonchalant about it. I am not the biggest fan of Keira Knightley either. I've never liked her. But everything changed after I finished the movie. No, in fact, she instantly allured me right when she started singing A Step You Can't Take Back in the first scene of the movie. First scene. Her voice and her presence in that scene is THAT lovely.

Carney has not changed much since Once because in Begin Again, he still featured lots of side-walking and sidewalk singing which is very Once-sque. The difference this time is the choices of melodies, actors, and scenes. He's become more artsy and mainstream. Heck, just the fact that he cast popular celebrities like Keira Knightley, Adam Levine and Mark Ruffalo alone, along with Hailee Steinfeld and Catherine Keener showed his mainstream vision for the film.

The story is more engaging too! It's much less poignant but it's still pleasing as he tackled lots of relationship layers from strangers to lovers, to boyfriend girlfriend, ex-couple, father and daughter and friendship. And each of these relationships are incorporated with LSS inducing songs. Songs I'm still crazy about even after a week of watching it. Who am I kidding? The songs here are the main reason why I am so pumped up about this film. I like most of it, if not all. They are the kind of songs that I'd love to play during rainy days, or before going to sleep after a long day of work. So chill and relaxing. Then again aside from the songs, it's also a combination of Keira Knightley's elegance here that hooked me. So it's quite surprising when she revealed that she hates singing in one interview.

It's the ending that sealed the deal for me though. Carney intelligently chose an ending that will be memorialized that even if he didn't end it with the happiest result possible, one can still label it as a feel-good movie. The scene of Keira Knightley biking on the streets of New York pondering about the direction of her life and relationships, along with the montage of Adam Levine singing Lost Stars as he showed that he has changed from his douchey ways, and Mark Ruffalo finally stitched his family back together -- it's perfection and unforgettable. There's something about bike scenes at night that's beautiful. It reminds me of Brie Larson's bike scene in Short Term 12 and that after party scene in Oslo: August 31st.

There's no doubt that Begin Again will end up being one of my favorite films of the year. Begin Again is a feel good movie, sound good movie that I'll certainly watch again for a relaxing time.