Edward Norton’s Directorial Return: Motherless Brooklyn

Actor Edward Norton returns to the director’s chair almost two decades after his directorial debut with the crime drama Motherless Brooklyn. In addition to directing, Norton wrote, produced, and starred in the film based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Jonathan Lethem. The film centers around Lionel Essrog (Norton), a private investigator with Tourette syndrome as he tries to solve the mystery behind the death of fellow PI and mentor Frank Minna (Bruce Willis). Taking on multiple production roles, Norton’s labor of love showcases his remarkable sense of style in this creative adaptation.

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GEMS 2019: Festival Dispatch

Last week’s GEMS mini-festival–the Miami Film Festival’s annual fall showcase–featured an interesting mix of highly anticipated new projects from prominent directors and first features, films that traverse familiar directorial ground and movies that represent departures. The festival, which once again focused on international hits with arthouse crowd, brought an advanced screening of some sure Oscar contenders as well as more niche fare to Miami audiences. Read our first takes below.

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Five Questions With: the Minds Behind Santastein

Benjamin Edelman and Manuel Camilion, Miami-based UM alumni directors, wrote and directed Santastein, a short film project, last year which would eventually play at places like the Sarasota Film Festival. Their short film received various accolades, even winning top prize at the University of Miami’s Scares and Scores where it caught the attention of executive producer Eddie del Carmen, 10-year veteran of the industry. They are joined now by Vasisth Sukul, one of the film’s producers to talk about their feature length version of Santastein funded entirely through Kickstarter. Continue reading Five Questions With: the Minds Behind Santastein

The Lobster: A Dark Take On Compatibility

Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster is about the dangers of a society obsessed with compatibility. Despite its tense tone, Lanthimos manages to make it refreshing with dark humor. David (Colin Farrell) navigates the aftermath of a marital affair in a society which requires everyone to find a compatible partner, or be turned into an animal. On this journey he comes across The Short-Sighted Woman (Rachel Weisz) and together they rebel against the pressures of society.

Although The Lobster can be hard to watch, those familiar with Lanthimos’ body of work will find his penchant for dark humor similar to recent works of his, such as The Favourite. Lanthimos excels at constructing the dystopian universe housed within the film, creating an atmosphere of constant fear and desperation through its characters. Colin Farrell is unrecognizable in his role as a divorced husband in unfamiliar territory, while Rachel Weisz serves as a stoic narrator for the first half of the film. The remainder of the cast does well to present the idea that this is an unpleasant society to live in. Continue reading The Lobster: A Dark Take On Compatibility