Displaying items by tag: Charles Melton

WARFARE

US/UK, 2025, 95 minutes, Colour.

D' Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, Aaron Mackenzie, Finn Bennett, Michael Gandolfini, Charles Melton, John Taylor Smith, Kit Connor, Noah Centineo.

Directed by Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland.

Ultimately, this is a very grim film. Many audiences will find some sequences unbearable to watch. But, this is a film of warfare.

The action of the film takes place over an evening and morning, the morning action seems to take place in real time. It is Iraq, 2006, three years after the American invasion. The audiences with occupying American forces. There are hostile Iraqis ready to attack, to serve as snipers against the Americans. And there are ordinary Iraqis, seen going about their ordinary business in the streets, shops, chatting… And there are the victims of the action, homes taken over for confronting the enemy, homes destroyed.

The film was cowritten and co-directed by Ray Mendoza, his own memories of the episode and the film noting at the opening that this is a version of memories rather than an objective study of what happened in the mission. In the film, Mendoza is the radio operator, most important for contact, for surveillance, for final rescue details. Mendoza is working with screenwriter and

director, Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men) who startled many audiences with his imaginative version of conflict within the United States, Civil War.

The American cast, although the lead is Canadian and several significant actors are British (many of them familiar from films and from television series), recreate the camaraderie of the group, the film opening with a moment of shock for the audience with close-ups of an aerobics TV program, the group together, a lot of ogling, comment, the suggestion of boys being boys…

But, the cast went through several weeks boot camp, training in methods of warfare, but also the behaviour of soldiers under stress, in situations of attack and defence, rehearsing not only the action sequences but the collaboration of the men in moments of waiting, in moments of tension.

Audiences will be intrigued by the discipline and the manoeuvres for the men to get from their headquarters to occupy a home in the street, opposite a building which is under suspicion. Then there is the waiting, for something to happen, for someone to shoot, for more information to come from headquarters. Audiences share these moments of nothing happening, time passing, yet having to be on the ready.

The action sequences are vivid, but best described by the word, visceral (or, perhaps, gut-churning), for the men’s experience as well as for the audience’s experience: snipers, response, mistakes made, men wounded, calls for evacuating the wounded, explosions, and, another warning about the graphic close-ups of injured and dead men, listening to their screams, the pain, the cry for morphine, just the unbearable pain of being carried, the rescue. This is an alert to audiences who might find some of these sequences also unbearable.

So, in no way as an entertainment entertainment. Rather, an intense drama, the filmmakers’ serious attempt to immerse its audience in both the calm and the intense death reality of warfare.

1. The truth of the title? The focus on the American invasion of Iraq, and episode, 2006? The presence of Ray Mendoza in the operation? His memories, the writing of the screenplay, collaboration with Alex Garland and his reputation, interests, war? Mendoza and the staging of the action, memories of the experience?
2. Audience response to war, just wars, unjust wars, invasions? For the troops in the war? For those hostile to the troops? For ordinary people as victims of war?
3. The graphic presentation of the action, the action, the shooting, deaths, the close-ups of graphic wounds, limbs lost, soldiers in pain, screams, asking for morphine…? Audience identification, shock, uncomfortable, some seems almost unbearable to watch? Style of the film sometimes muting the sound, some moments of relief for the audience from the screaming?
4. The opening, the aerobics session, the glamorous participants, the group watching, ogling, irritating, the sexual atmosphere, the boys will be boys atmosphere?
5. The transition to the next morning, the men, so young, their training, the role of surveillance, support of the mission, details not understood but obeying the orders for support?
6. The realism of the film, the atmosphere of it unfolding in real time?
7. The group, their drill, in the streets, in line, plan, snipers, invading the house, the terror of the inhabitants, their being put together downstairs, the men deploying in the house, the sniper and his assistant, the radio operator, the tasks of the various men?
8. The eye of the sniper, his descriptions, the radio operator taking notes, the backup of headquarters aerial surveillance, the audience seeing the surveillance, from a high distance, the white dots indicating personnel and vehicles?
9. The seeming ordinariness of the street, shops, men and women, walking, wandering, the number of men passing by, going into the building? Their being described to headquarters? Suspicions?
10. The relief sniper, seeing the men with guns, not getting off a shot? The plan going awry? The range of snipers, their action, the dangers? Coming onto the roof of the building?
11. The action of the camera, during the quiet time panning around and catching people doing their jobs, some repartee, urinating into the bottle, chatter?
12. The camera in action during the bombardment, the roof, blowing the roof? Elliott and his being wounded? The contact with the bushmaster tanks? To evacuate Elliott?
13. Under pressure, going down the stairs, the strategies for the tanks to arrive, the fear of the inhabitants, their plea? The tanks, the timing, getting out, the explosion? The dead soldiers in the street, the graphic close-ups of the wounds, then the dragging of the wounded, there screams, the pain, getting them inside?
14. The focus on the details of the care for the two wounded men, morphine, their comments, pain and screams, stoic suffering? Some of the others shellshocked?
15. The relief command, coming in, the leader, competence, decisions to be made, discussions, surveillance, radio?
16. the final evacuation, the timing, the shooting, tanks getting away?
17. The Iraqi snipers coming into the street, standing about, what they had achieved, the Americans driving away? The destroyed house, the suffering of the family?
18. The nature of warfare for those in action and for victims of warfare?

MAY DECEMBER

US, 2023, 117 minutes, Colour.

Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton, Elizabeth You, Gabriel Chung, D.W.Moffett.

Directed by Todd Haynes.

May December is a phrase that indicates a relationship between a younger person and an older person – with the note, that the older person is considerably older. This film is based on an actual case in Washington State in the 1990s, a married woman with children and her relationship with a 12-year-old. In fact, the woman went to jail, gave birth to a child in prison, and, when released, married the boy.

However, this film does not focus on the 1990s except in retrospect, in memories, in judgements. Rather, the setting is 24 years later, the couple still married, now with three children, one of them graduating from high school. Which means then that an audience will have a point of view on underage sexual relationships, the law, crime and punishment. However, what the film is interested in is the aftermath, what was the effect of the relationship, what was the effect of the marriage, now almost a quarter of a century later?

The occasion for this story is the decision of a company to make a movie about the woman, Gracie (Julianne Moore). A well-known actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), comes to town to be with Gracie, to glean all she can that will enhance her performance. In one sense it is perfectly normal for this kind of research. On the other hand, there are all the personal relationships, the probing of the past, sensitivities. But, the way that Todd Haynes, a long-time director of women, Julianne Moore in Safe and Far From Heaven, with such productions as Mildred Pierce, Carol, introduces Elizabeth, we are wary of her, her motivations, professional approach, personal approach and insinuations.

There are frequent scenes of the two women together, especially looking together into a mirror, reminiscent for film buffs of the photos and posters for Ingmar Bergman’s 1960s Persona, the persons, the masks…

And, significantly, there is Joe, the boy in question, now husband and father, played by Charles Melton.

While the screenplay is well-written, dramatic interactions, emotional crises, a strong sequence where a cheeky kid in a class asks the actress about performing sex scenes and she gives quite an intense reply about the process, the detachment, the involvement, the feelings. The way that the audience will understand each of the characters here is often by their body language, their looks, movements, the ways they suggest the inner emotions for the audience to interpret.

It has been remarked that emotions can be buried deep. And, this is the case for the central characters and it is over to the audience to interpret the words and actions to explore these emotions.

However, perhaps the most accessible character is Joe, who is the character who intrigues. And an often warmly striking performance from Charles Melton. Audiences are used to adult predators, used to performers who also perform in real life. But here is Joe, the history of the relationship, his age and inexperience, the marriage, the children, his decades of being husband and father, and the audience wondering how he is still lost in his past, coming to terms, not coming to terms, needs, hopes, love for his children, trying to be supportive of his emotional wife, often allowing himself to be manipulated by her .

The musical score, pounding at times, his adaptation of Michel Legrand’s score for the British film, The Go-between.

The action in May-December is very much December, time passing, the effects of what happened in May, how much for good, how much for ill.

1. The title, relationships, older and younger, considerably older?
2. The screenplay based on an actual case, the 1990s, the older woman, the schoolboy, the relationship, the law, in prison, giving birth in prison, out of jail, the couple marrying, more children, the passing of the decades?
3. Audience judgements about the issue, moral, legal? The important aspect of the film is understanding what happened in the past, realising that decades had passed, the consequences of the initial experience for Gracie, her family, for Joe?
4. The town, homes, streets, beaches, school? Authentic American atmosphere? The musical score (the adaptation from the film, The Go-Beetween)? Highly dramatic and pounding?
5. The situation, the company making the film, Elizabeth coming to the town, to get to know Gracie, to learn, background for her performance? The motivations? Status as a well-known star? Her personality, initially tentative with Gracie, the interactions, listening, observing, standing with Gracie at the mirror, Gracie applying the make up, the touches of intimacy? The coming to meals, meeting with Joe, the children? Intentions, infiltrating the family?
6. Gracie, age, experience, her former husband, willing to be interviewed, his version of the story, his relationship with his children? Gracie and her relationship with Joe, husband and wife, Joe as father? Her relationship with her older children? With her children with Joe? The scene of getting the address for the graduation? Charlie and his moods?
7. The scene at school, Elizabeth and celebrity, the provocative question about filming sex scenes, her intense reply, stage by stage of the experience, detachment, technical aspects, feelings? The audience having this in mind for the sequence with Joe? The daughter and her negative reaction to Elizabeth’s answer?
8. Joe, his age, casual work, his hobbies, the plans, explanation to Elizabeth, the skills? Relationship with his children, with Charlie on the roof, the marijuana, his first time, his relationship with his children? The relationship with Gracie, looking after her, the jobs, her taking him for granted but loving him?
9. Joe, the past, audience trying to understand, knowing what happened, looking at Joe, his body language, listening to him? Sympathy for him? The encounter with Elizabeth, her being seductive, his response, the sexual encounter? The aftermath?
10. The daughter coming home, the airport scene, family together, preparation for the graduation, the graduation scene, the whole family present?
11. Elizabeth, the encounter was Gracie’s older son, insinuations, requests for the job as a music supervisor?
12. The effect of the visit, Elizabeth so often present in the house? Gracie and her becoming wary? And how she was going to be portrayed in the film? The growing sense of alienation? Elizabeth leaving?
13. In the future for the children, going off to college, leaving home? The future of Gracie and Joe?