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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 2015)
MOVIES BY RICK LEVIN DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL SHE’S GONE A tale of anti-Oedipal terror unfolds in Austrian thriller Goodnight Mommy F or the most part, the genre of horror has been a much- maligned cinematic ghetto populated almost exclusively by male directors, and God bless ’em all: They’ve titillated and tantalized and torn us apart to the best of their abilities over the years, some with more sophistication and some with less, mining every sexualized psychosis and reptilian yelp under the blood moon. Of course, there have been notable exceptions to this geeky gender gap (Claire Denis, Kathryn Bigelow, Antonia Bird), but they’ve been so far and few between that they mostly serve to reinforce the brute dickishness of the genre. I don’t mean that in a bad way; phallocentric visions of hyper-potency — from slasher flicks to monster mayhem — are legitimately terrifying, and they reveal an undercurrent of fear that delves into the violent, vulnerable core of masculinity. Times change, however. The finest horror film of 2014, The Babadook, was by Australian director Jennifer Kent, and it was a doozy. Kent’s film, about a single mother and her child being stalked by a shadow creature from a children’s storybook, turned the tables on the classic theme of the demon seed, focusing on one woman’s parental anxieties about protecting her kid, mostly from herself. The film was complex, emotionally resonant and deeply spooky. And now there’s Goodnight Mommy, an Austrian psycho-thriller written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. Much like The Babadook, this film burrows under the skin of the mother- child relationship to expose terrors that can only be called existential. Returning home from plastic surgery after an accident, her face almost completely bandaged, convalescing Mother (Susanne Wuest) deals with her twin sons, Lukas and Elias (Lukas and Elias Schwarz), a pair of whispering confidants who grow increasingly suspicious that mom is not actually mom. A quietly bizarre and increasingly disturbing game of cat-and-mouse ensues, as the twins — isolated in a big house in the Austrian countryside — begin to interrogate the authenticity of their own parent, who spends most of her time in bed, behind closed doors. Almost anything else I might say would spoil this film. In Goodnight Mommy, the Freudian paradigm is inverted and then smashed, with devastating results — call it anti-Oedipal terror. As Kent did in The Babadook, the directors here — channeling the chilly and menacing formalism of Stanley Kubrick and Michael Haneke — ratchet up the suspense by turning the (pro)creative instinct inside out, making a monster of nature and nurture both. (Bijou Metro) As Minnie, the boldly curious, sexually preco- cious 15-year-old girl who inaugurates an affair with the roustabout boyfriend (Alexan- der Skarsgård) of her boho mother (Kristen Wiig) in Diary of a Teenage Girl, Bel Powley is a revelation. With her saucer eyes popping beneath dowdy bangs, Powley registers all the outsized emotions of a teen exploring the sticky chaos of adulthood. It’s the perfor- mance of the year so far. Despite outward appearances, Diary is no Lolita-like tale of age-inappropriate perversion and objectifica- tion — quite the opposite. Director Marielle Heller keeps an intimate focus on Minnie’s progress, neither demonizing nor romanticiz- ing her situation, which is that of a young woman coming of age. By avoiding the bunk politics of resentment and blame, Diary proves itself, ironically, a feminist statement of the highest order, and a great piece of film- making. (Bijou Metro) GRANDMA Elle (Lily Tomlin), a misanthropic poet and recent widow, drives around town with her teenage granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) as the unlikely pair attempts to scare up $630 for Sage’s abortion. This might be the least epic road movie of all time, but the results of the journey are nonetheless pro- found — hilarious, startling and moving. Paul Weitz’s direction is gentle and intimate, focusing in close on the women’s burgeoning relationship. Grandma feels like a really good short story — it unwinds itself in emotional shorthand, never wasting a moment on undue particulars. And Tomlin is at the top of her game here. As Grandma Elle, she is all piss and vinegar, an eccentric old lady given to smart, nasty outbursts, but her grand- daughter’s crisis brings her out of herself. (Bijou Art Cinemas) City bikes, packs, racks, baskets, bells… Urban Biking… In Stock. 7iÊvviÀÊiÊvÊÌ iÊLiÃÌÊÃiiVÌÃÊvÊÕÀL>Ê>` ÌÕÀ}ÊLiÊ}i>À]ÊÌÊÕÃÌÊÊ"Ài}]ÊLÕÌÊÊÌ i iÌÀiÊ>Ì°ÊÊ7iÊiÊV Vià ° IMAX: THE WALK 3D [CC,DV] (PG) ★ Fri. - Sat.1235 415 710 1005 PAN [CC,DV] (PG) Fri. - Sat.(1145 245) 645 930 PAN 3D [CC,DV] (PG) ★ Fri. - Sat.(1215 PM 315 PM) 715 PM 99 HOMES [CC] (R) ÓÇäxÊ7>iÌÌiÊ-ÌÊUÊx{£°{n{°x{£ä qÀÊ££qÇ]Ê->ÌÊ£äqÈ]Ê-ÕÊ£Óqx Õ}iiÊEÊ>iÊ °Ê iÊ>«Ã TIX $6 Fri. - Sat.(1230) 420 705 950 HE NAMED ME MALALA [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1125 150) 410 630 920 THE MARTIAN [CC,DV] (PG-13) ★ Fri. - Sat.(1130 300) 630 940 THE MARTIAN 3D [CC,DV] (PG-13) ★ Fri. - Sat.(1200 330) 700 1010 $2 $2 matinee $1 off Sun Tues $2 stud/SEN HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 [CC,DV] (PG) Fri. - Sat.(1135 200 230) 425 650 925 *N E W * A L L A G E S HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 3D [CC,DV] (PG) ★ Fri. - Sat.(1205) 455 720 955 THE GREEN INFERNO [CC,DV] (R) Fri. - Sat.1025 PM THE INTERN [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1155 240) 625 1000 FRI OCT 9 - THUR OCT 15 FR MAGIC MIKE XXL 5:10 MAD MAX FURY ROAD 7:20 MAD MAX FURY ROAD 5:10 PITCH PERFECT 2 7:20 MAGIC MIKE XXL LOVE & MERCY 9:30 9:30 ALL AGES, ALL THE TIME 99 HOMES (DIG) (R) 11:05, 1:55, 4:40, 7:25, 10:15 BIG STONE GAP (DIG) (PG-13) 11:15, 1:45, 4:20, 7:50, 10:20 BLACK MASS (DIG) (R) 12:20, 3:35, 7:05, 10:05 EVEREST (3D) (PG-13) SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 11:35, 10:00 EVEREST (DIG) (PG-13) 3:25, 7:00 THE GREEN INFERNO (DIG) (R) 1:20, 10:30 HE NAMED ME MALALA (DIG) (PG-13) 12:10, 2:45, 5:10, 7:40, 10:00 HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 (3D) (PG) SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 11:00, 10:05 HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 (DIG) (PG) 12:00, 2:35, 4:55, 7:45 THE INTERN (DIG) (PG-13) 12:25, 4:10, 7:15, 10:10 THE MARTIAN (DIG) (PG-13) 2:10, 3:50, 6:30, 8:40 THE MARTIAN (3D) (PG-13) SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 11:00, 11:45, 12:35, 3:15, 5:25, 7:10, 9:45, 10:25 MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS (DIG) (PG-13) 11:10, 12:30, 2:15, 3:40, 5:20, 7:00, 8:35, 10:10 PAN (3D) (PG) SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 1:50, 7:30 PAN (DIG) (PG) 11:05, 4:35, 10:20 SICARIO (DIG) (R) 11:30, 3:20, 7:20, 10:25 THE VISIT (2015) (DIG) (PG-13) 11:20, 2:00, 4:50, 7:55, 10:30 THE WALK (3D) (PG) SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 3:30, 7:20 THE WALK (DIG) (PG) 12:15, 10:15 WAR ROOM (DIG) (PG) 4:15, 7:35 BLACK MASS [CC,DV] (R) Fri. - Sat.(1210 310) 655 945 EVEREST [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.640 PM EVEREST 3D [CC,DV] (PG-13) ★ Fri. - Sat.(1140 AM 235 PM) 935 PM MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1150 305) 620 945 SICARIO [CC,DV] (R) Fri. - Sat.(1225) 405 725 1020 THE VISIT [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1220) 400 730 1030 PAN [CC,DV] (PG) PAN 3D [CC,DV] (PG) ★ THE INTERN [CC,DV] (PG-13) EVEREST [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri.(100 PM) 700 PM Fri.400 PM 945 PM Fri. - Sat.(115) 400 700 945 Fri. - Sat.1010 PM EVEREST 3D [CC,DV] (PG-13) ★ Fri. - Sat.(100 PM) 410 PM 715 PM MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1245 345) 645 955 SICARIO [CC,DV] (R) Fri. - Sat.(130) 420 725 1020 Times For 10/09 - 10/10 © 2015 EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • OCTOBER 8, 2015 29
