By: IMDB-Michael Fargo
15/12/2020
I'm always interested in the self-imposed restrictions this director brings on himself, and I found Steven Soderbergh's "experiment" interesting. Although, it's not a film with wide appeal. The New York literary scene is a heady, oft putting "racket" where temperamental writers run up against a publishing house's need to be responsible fiscal managers. It's a familiar trope of writers not always being confident in their work, making the publisher nervous as deadlines draw near. (And maybe its a little too familiar for us to be spending our time watching this.)
However, the hook is a bartered trip to England on the Queen Mary II, where Alice (played by Meryl Streep) drags along some old buddies who have old issues needing resolution, and like Auntie Mame her young nephew, a mutual ally, is in tow. The publishers sneak aboard a representative to keep tabs on Alice to make sure the investment of the trip will actually produce a finished work...or any work at all. No one knows what the new book is about or how much of it has been written.
Complications ensue.
The nephew has feelings for the publisher's spy which Alice, rumored to be unreasonable and demanding, may feel like there's been a double betrayal by her relative and her publisher. The two old friends also have issues. Susan, played by the always reliable Dianne Wiest, is damned to be a mediator of conflicts but, like mythology's Cassandra no one listens to her. And Roberta, played by the sensational Candice Bergen (who doesn't make enough movies as far as I'm concerned) has a festering 30 year resentment due to a not-too-lovingly constructed character in Alice's most successful book is based on her life. So much so, her husband learned things about her and divorced her. Or, so Roberta believes and is loading her emotional guns for a showdown and payback.
The film's dialog is improvised. Soderbergh gave the actors a goal for each scene, and let them come up with the dialog that--yes, slowly--pushes the narrative along. They are on a transatlantic ship, and there's lots of time to kill and lots of void to fill with talking. Whether the technique is successful is up to each viewer. I found it interesting to watch some major talents reveal just how creative and intelligent they are without a script to rely on. (Admittedly mixed results, but interesting nevertheless.) Lucas Hedges is at a disadvantage. He's pitted against some very experienced actors who have a depth he couldn't possibly match. And he stands out as weak, and that's really unfair.
Soderbergh who put all of this together is masterful with his little digital camera working his visual magic as usual. And he's got one of the greatest floating sets in the World as background to his story. Part of the excitement is that we the audience can experience what it's like to be on one of the most famous passenger ships in history. Not an altogether bad seat to be in while watching this.
The narrative has few highpoints. The nephew needs to resolve his attraction to the publisher's spy as well as reveal his betray to his aunt...and let those cards fall where they may. Roberta needs to confront Alice for ruining, she feels, her life. Susan needs keep everyone happy. Plus, the manuscript underway needs to either be exposed as non-existent or yet another betrayal to Roberta by reviving the character (which is what her publisher is counting on). Not really a high stakes story that would keep everyone on the edge of their seat.
I thought the resolution came out of left field. Information is withheld from both the characters and the audience that felt...literary and contrived. And once they reach their destination (as travelers and as characters) it all happens too quickly. It felt like, "Well, we're off this magnificent ship. It's cold and rainy. Let's wind this up so we can all go home." But. The end--as in life--often comes unexpectedly and is often at odds with what we have planned.
Streep is--as always--watchable. Wiest, too, is an always reliable actor, contributing more than she's asked to do which is a joy for, I'm sure, the director as well as the audience. Bergan is a hoot playing a not-too-likeable (no one wants a bitter friend on a cruise) Texas divorcee who can see that the end of her life will be long and hard. The fact that she makes the character the comedy relief in this overly intellectual story stands out. And we thank you. Gemma Chan brings grace and intellect particularly in her scenes with Hedges, which elevates both of them and the film. Thomas Newman's jazz score also adds sparkle.
But the real star of this 2+ hour gabfest is the magnificent R.M.S. Queen Mary II. Luxury décor may not be to everyone's taste, but when my focus flagged, I found something to look at in the background. There wasn't even a terrorist or an iceberg or lifeboats being dispatched. And the restraint it must have been not to include what we usually buy a ticket to see was a relief.
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