'Babygirl'
The composer David Raksin once described his film music as melodically tricky enough that ideally, he joked, the listener should skip the first hearing and try the second. The same applies, for me at least, to "Babygirl." The first time I saw "Babygirl" I couldn't really get the hang or the pitch of it. Richly complex in terms of tone, it eluded easy categorization, and a lot of it felt uneasy in both right and wrong ways. Yet the richer elements of Dutch writer-director Halina Reijn's film took hold and went further -- all the way there, wherever "there" was for the actors, Nicole Kidman especially. A second viewing revealed more, like most second encounters. Its examination of one woman's risky road to sensual fulfillment lands on some good, old-fashioned values, capping a relationship between a formidable robotics-firm CEO, played by Kidman, and her seductive, strategic intern, played by Harris Dickinson. In the broad terms of the BDSM realm, the boss is the submissive to the intern's dominator. As a table-turning riff on sexual thrillers with a male gaze, and as a portrait of one woman's sensual fulfillment, it's pretty compelling.
People are also reading... City reaches $7,500 settlement with woman hurt while tubing at Cone Park Sioux City man accused of Christmas Eve assault of relatives Plymouth County official sued over Sioux City vehicle crash Beau Freyler's Iowa State teammates made sure he celebrated last game from the Pop-Tarts Bowl stage Court documents: Woman sideswiped police vehicle in Morningside, had cocaine Longtime South Sioux City councilman resigns Fog blamed for crashed that killed two drivers near Jackson, Neb. 21-year-old killed in Lyon County crash 6 arrested in Sioux County drug, gun trafficking investigation Fire official: Former Jewish Community Center poses 'dangerous situation' High school girls basketball: 5 teams, 5 players and 5 storylines to follow after the break Sioux City police seek help finding big chicken statue Man charged with ramming Sioux City police car 5 Siouxland boys basketball teams, players and storylines to watch in 2025 With new president, Nebraska teachers union floats 'bold' plan to recruit, retain educators
1:54. 3 stars.
'A Complete Unknown'
A Hollywood love letter to Bob Dylan (played by Timothée Chalamet), with all that implies, "A Complete Unknown" works well on its chosen, extremely glossy terms. Its craftsmanship is formidable. Then again, you don't necessarily need quality to sell one of these things, as "Bohemian Rhapsody" reminded us. If the average fan goes to a movie about a musical genius they've loved a long time; if the visual and aural approximations of the subject sound more or less right; if the movie doesn't complicate the average fan's ideas or feelings about the subject -- then it has a good shot at sending people out with a "yep, good movie, I enjoyed it." I don't like that last part, about a film's avoidance of challenging the mythology built around its famous subject. I wish "A Complete Unknown" had as much nerve as it did craftsmanship. Still: Yep, good movie. I enjoyed it. Director and co-writer James Mangold based "A Complete Unknown" largely on Elijah Wald's "Dylan Goes Electric." With co-screenwriter Jay Cocks, he focuses on the years 1961 to 1965. The actors, by and large, are first-rate. And the songs don't hurt.
2:20. 3 stars.
'Nosferatu'
"Nosferatu" is a story about real estate and sexual obsession. A young newlywed, Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), is dispatched from his small German city to the Carpathian Mountains in order to execute the paperwork on the purchase of a run-down manor for a mysterious Count Orlok (an unrecognizable Bill Skarsgård). Thomas has a generally bad time with Orlok, while his young bride at home, the seemingly clairvoyant Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), is consumed by psychic messages from the count, who has become obsessed with her. He makes his way to his new home in a rat-infested ship, unleashing a plague; Ellen weighs whether she should sacrifice herself to the count in order to save the town, which consists of essentially three men: her husband, a doctor (Ralph Ineson) and an occultist scientist (Willem Dafoe). Despite the sex, nudity and declarations of desire, there's no eroticism or sensuality; despite the blood and guts, there's nothing scary about it, either. Despite his passion for the project, Robert Eggers' overwrought "Nosferatu" is drained of all life and choked to death on its own worship.
2:15. 2 stars.
-- Tribune News Service
0 Comments Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.