“OUTER!”
“SPACE!”
“UH OHHHHHHH!”
I used to think the songs too softened the bite in Dahl’s original story, but now I have a hunch they just make Wilder’s turn as Wonka that much more ferocious. Few movies are better at speaking to kids by way of unsparingly calling out the adults.
If this film is bleak, it’s because adults made it so. If it’s hopeful, it’s because a child made it so.
“So shines a good deed in a weary world.”
It’s funny, I have this thing where, with movies that were released (well) before I was born, I can see their eras for what they were, and judge the movie according to its peers. Which is to say, in the ‘40s and ‘50s, I do not mind the stagey-ness of the set design, static nature of the camera, less naturalistic acting, or even the lack of color.
But when it comes to the movies of the early part of my…
Pretty terrific. I have vague memories of catching parts of this on TV long, long ago (when it would’ve run on channel 11 some weekend afternoon in the late 80s), but had never seen it in full.
It plays, of course, like an elongated Twilight Zone premise, but it also earns its extended runtime. The effects, for their time, are pretty remarkable. I’m especially fascinated by the three-pronged approach of practical set & prop work, rear projection, and compositing.
The influence…
With keen direction from Ahn, endearingly understated performances from Hong Chau, Brian Dennehy and young Lucas Jaye, and a script confident enough to let the viewer fill in the blanks, this was my biggest SIFF 2019 surprise and is sure to be one of my favorites of the year—not just from the festival.
It gets in and out quickly (in under 90 minutes), but it the pacing never feels rushed nor the characters shortchanged. I hope Driveways finds an audience, despite its unmarketable title.
Elsie Fisher is incredible and Bo Burnham’s script is miraculously universal and so specifically of this moment. I had the great fortune to see them together in a post-movie Q&A—they make a great pair both onscreen and off.