When scrolling endless catalogs on streaming services, it would seem that every film and show is broken neatly into categories. On further inspection, however, the case just isn’t so. See my reviews last year of I Care A Lot and Annette as examples of what I mean. A good movie, sometimes, defies easy genre confines. Here are two recent releases that do just that.
Over on Amazon Prime, Being The Riccardos falls into the middle ground of Hollywood biopic and actor showcase. Not a problem in the least. Skeptical upon previews, I was pleasantly surprised to see Nicole Kidman in rare form. Yes, she is donning makeup the way she did to win Oscar for The Hours. But here it doesn’t distract from the performance. In the grand tradition of actors taking on legends, Kidman melts into Lucille Ball’s persona without succumbing to caricature. A workman on set, her Lucy is a powerhouse of making sure the routine is done to perfection. Coming to the set at 2 a.m. to just get the table setting right, we feel her obsession and understand her commitment.
Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, his cadence of sentences and purposeful dialogue does show through a bit. That is by design as it was in The Newsroom or The Trial Of The Chicago Seven. The actors are able to work through their own style of phrasing, making it natural. No flashy camera work or stylistic flourishes are manifested to pull us out of the story.
The film progresses in a week of Desi’s and Lucy’s production of their show. All the while, Ball is on trial by the media and the government about possibly being a RED. Also, a subplot about Desi’s philandering pops up at the beginning and weaves throughout, popping up at a climactic moment which feels like a plot device. These aren’t bad by any means but feel scripted more that organically bubbling to the surface. Sorkin is clearly making this a summation of the Lucy and Desi; their lives together and how they informed each other, emotionally and professionally.
Praise is needed to be given to JK Simmons and Nina Arianda as William Frawley and Vivian Vance, respectably. Their comic jeers at each other round out the cast nicely. We feel set tension between all four main players and, by extension, the crew behind the scenes. Something of a staple in Sorkin’s work, what’s behind the curtain takes center stage. It just doesn’t feel like a theatrical feature, more of a TV movie. And that is not bad at all.
Somewhat bleaker in contrast is Joel Coen’s take on MacBeth, now on AppleTV+. Down to the desaturated black and white aesthetic we are as far away from the glitz of Hollywood as we can be. Denzel Washington gives a master class is how to present the Bard. His trademark musical mumble making the tragic hero’s words hang in the air.
An exercise in spareness, the characters move around on grey sets that are augmented digitally. A heightened theatricality permeates, making the play lie in a surreal otherworld. When the weird sisters show up in the beginning, we know what we are in for.
Francis McDormand spins a sinister turn as Lady Macbeth, at one point in control and at others completely undone. Coen regular Stephen Root makes a welcome humorous appearance. However, it’s Kathryn Hunter’s role as the three witches that steals the show. Her unnaturally twisting body and croaking speech mimic the crows that dot the landscape, symbols of doom afoot. Whichever you choose, there is sure to be some happy viewing.
