"Safety"
A lot of movie fans and critics have issues with sports films in general, and there are two main reasons for that. First, the sport and its rules might be something wholly unfamiliar to them, and they lose interest quickly. There is also a preconceived notion that all sports films are formulaic by screenplay design. Typically, a ragtag team of misfits is coached by a flawed game manager with nothing to lose against a rival squad that typically dresses in all black and looks to settle everything in “the championship game” at the end. With viewers locked out of cinemas due to COVID-19, Disney stepped up to the line and released its long gestating football film “Safety” to streaming audiences everywhere. Not only are there no misfits, brooding coaches, or rival teams dressed in black, there’s not even a championship game.
The film stars actor Jay Reeves in the true biographical role of Ray McElrathbey, a fresh faced defensive player on the 2006 Clemson Tiger football team. New to college athlete life, Ray absorbs himself into campus as much as he can while fending off phone calls from his kid brother Fahmarr, who insists things aren’t right back at home. Sure enough, their mother loses custody of Fahmarr, and faced with the prospects of a seedy group home, Ray takes Fahmarr in at Clemson while trying to balance roles of father figure, special teams ace, and college student. Director Reginald Hudlin doesn’t resort to slapstick situations with Ray and teammates hiding Fahmarr from a bevy of college coeds. Instead he opts for a softer approach, showing the big brother role that many young men need in their lives. A crucial role in the film is that of a journalism student named Kaycee, played wholesomely by actress Corinne Foxx (yes, daughter of Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx). She takes something of a romantic interest in Ray and eventually uses the power of the pen to help bring Ray and Fahmarr’s brotherly bond full circle. There are sweet moments of mischief and football folly here, but for a family sports film to end without that championship game but still make you feel you just won one, that’s something special.
"Promising Young Woman"
Carey Mulligan is an actress who I hope not only receives another Oscar nomination but follows through with a win. Admittedly, I’ve been a fan of hers since watching her brilliant performance in 2009’s “An Education.” Like many actresses out to win, I have a feeling that her performance here in director Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” could help her to clench that gold statue.
Mulligan stars as Cassie, dutiful best friend to the tragic Nina, who is brutally assaulted and murdered. Subsequently, Cassie takes it upon herself to dole out revenge to those involved with Nina’s death. This isn’t merely a formulaic sort of revenge film. I simply cannot put my finger on the film genre this falls under. Thriller? Comedy? Drama? Black comedy? Perhaps a black dramedy is the best genre portmanteau I can muster here. But it is also a quite lurid op-ed on male/female boundaries. This film hits at a deeper undercurrent on what is wrong with relationships in society today, and therein lies the power and tragic beauty of this film.
A lot of movie fans and critics have issues with sports films in general, and there are two main reasons for that. First, the sport and its rules might be something wholly unfamiliar to them, and they lose interest quickly. There is also a preconceived notion that all sports films are formulaic by screenplay design. Typically, a ragtag team of misfits is coached by a flawed game manager with nothing to lose against a rival squad that typically dresses in all black and looks to settle everything in “the championship game” at the end. With viewers locked out of cinemas due to COVID-19, Disney stepped up to the line and released its long gestating football film “Safety” to streaming audiences everywhere. Not only are there no misfits, brooding coaches, or rival teams dressed in black, there’s not even a championship game.
The film stars actor Jay Reeves in the true biographical role of Ray McElrathbey, a fresh faced defensive player on the 2006 Clemson Tiger football team. New to college athlete life, Ray absorbs himself into campus as much as he can while fending off phone calls from his kid brother Fahmarr, who insists things aren’t right back at home. Sure enough, their mother loses custody of Fahmarr, and faced with the prospects of a seedy group home, Ray takes Fahmarr in at Clemson while trying to balance roles of father figure, special teams ace, and college student. Director Reginald Hudlin doesn’t resort to slapstick situations with Ray and teammates hiding Fahmarr from a bevy of college coeds. Instead he opts for a softer approach, showing the big brother role that many young men need in their lives. A crucial role in the film is that of a journalism student named Kaycee, played wholesomely by actress Corinne Foxx (yes, daughter of Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx). She takes something of a romantic interest in Ray and eventually uses the power of the pen to help bring Ray and Fahmarr’s brotherly bond full circle. There are sweet moments of mischief and football folly here, but for a family sports film to end without that championship game but still make you feel you just won one, that’s something special.
"Promising Young Woman"
Carey Mulligan is an actress who I hope not only receives another Oscar nomination but follows through with a win. Admittedly, I’ve been a fan of hers since watching her brilliant performance in 2009’s “An Education.” Like many actresses out to win, I have a feeling that her performance here in director Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” could help her to clench that gold statue.
Mulligan stars as Cassie, dutiful best friend to the tragic Nina, who is brutally assaulted and murdered. Subsequently, Cassie takes it upon herself to dole out revenge to those involved with Nina’s death. This isn’t merely a formulaic sort of revenge film. I simply cannot put my finger on the film genre this falls under. Thriller? Comedy? Drama? Black comedy? Perhaps a black dramedy is the best genre portmanteau I can muster here. But it is also a quite lurid op-ed on male/female boundaries. This film hits at a deeper undercurrent on what is wrong with relationships in society today, and therein lies the power and tragic beauty of this film.
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