Casablanca

Casablanca is a film that stood the test of time. It gave us a pair of leading actors that sizzled with on-screen chemistry and a Romance for the ages. It also gifted us with two immortal lines that are still oft-quoted these days, some sixty years later, and an iconic love song/theme that still echoes a great love and the promise it held.

At a surprisingly brisk 102 minutes, Casablanca had a tightly paced story of love, intrigue, spy-games, politicking and patriotism. There was nary an ounce of fat on it, and sometimes that could be detrimental as we see in a few scenes where director Michael Curtiz fell prey to expositional dumping to move the plot along. Thankfully, these narrative hand-holdings were usually brief and the actors competent enough to deliver them without losing interest.

However, the opposite was true for Humphrey Bogart's Rick who, throughout the film, maintained a mysterious backstory that only served to make him an even more interesting character and his motivations less clear cut.

Similarly, the luminous and stunningly beautiful Ingrid Bergman, was also not the archetypal damsel-in-distress. She was a well-rounded character that had her own agency and had to made difficult choices. It was never clear until the final moment who she would choose, although some would argue, that the choice was made for her. But, she could have not gone along with it - we have seen her being headstrong.

Together, Bogart and Bergman were electrifying and their chemistry utterly palpable.

Also outstanding, was fellow Best Supporting Actor nominee Claude Rains who delivered a number of the funniest lines in the film.

Max Steiner's score for the film was sublime and the refrains and variations of As Time Goes By was so effective in conveying the emotional weight of the Llsa and Rick's varying relationship. And that scene of the dueling National Anthems, was equal beats rousing and emotionally resonant.

A 1942 Best Picture winner, Casablanca is a classic that remained very watchable now. Great Romances never go out of style. "Here's looking at your, kid! We will always Paris!"

Never Rarely Sometimes Always [VOD]

Superbly written and directed by Eliza Hittman (go watch Beach Rats on Netflix), with a star-making turn by Sidney Flanigan, supported by an equally impressive Talia Ryder, this Sundance Special Jury Prize winner and Berlin Silver Bear winner was a harrowing, highly affective and emotionally draining film. It will definitely not be for everyone for this was clearly a pro-choice, libber flag-waving film. But, boy, was this film powerful! This film should be watched by as many people as possible, but for all those who believe in a woman's choice over her own body and that termination of pregnancy is a healthcare right,  then this film should be essential. It made me feel so proud of the strong, powerful, proud women amongst us and so damn ashamed of my gender.

All the male characters in the film were of varying degree of nastiness, i.e. all men are creeps but some are more so and some are less so, but creeps nonetheless. That might turn some male viewers off, but is your male ego really that fragile? Although some brutal honesty might make you a more honest man. And, only a female-led creative team could have pushed this message out, so kudos to them!

Hittman's directing was riveting. Filmed in a 70s docu-like style, the honesty of the narrative was brutal. Quite frequently dialogue-free, the emotional and physical journey of Flanigan's character was brought out through her raw acting (her acting debut!) and Hittman's intimate yet tender and non-intrusive camera work. We were always with her and that emotional resonance and empathy was electrifying, yet also sometimes scarily suffocating.

Towards the end of Act Two, where the title of the movie gets repeated (and it all made so much sense...no spoiler here), Hittman and Flanigan absolutely knocked it out of the park in that one long take that was a roller coaster ride of emotions and catharsis. Absolutely brilliant.

Yes, there was a bit of meandering in the middle where the film got a bit less tight, especially the subplot with Ryder's character and a boy; and yes, there were times when you would just want to grab Flanigan through the screen and lead her to the right decision. But then that would be missing the film's point, that our lead character is a flawed character, however for all her flaws, it was not her fault that she ended up where she was. True, she made choices but similarly she should also be allowed to be all other choices. As the film's tagline goes, it is her journey and her choice.

Flanigan and Ryder will have exciting careers to come and definitely two young stars to look out for.

And with Beach Rats and Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Hittman is definitely on the brink of a big breakout. Both films, so different in subject matter, yet similar in approach, felt honest, authentic and sincere. Will she go the way of Lynne Ramsay or Katherine Bigelow? Hopefully, both.

Unorthodox [Netflix]

An emotionally powerful and smartly written mini-series, mainly in Yiddish!, that, unlike many of Netflix's series, was just of the right length (4 episodes) with no bloat and no unnecessary tangents. A superb cast led by the utterly fascinating and totally engaging Shira Haas, this miniseries not only shone a spot light on the Hasidic Jewish community but also dove unflinchingly into the exploration of self-actualisation, gender equality, love and marriage, and communal bonds. Created by an all women behind-the-screen team, this series created an uniquely strong and individualistic character in Esther Shapiro nee Schwartz aka Etsy whose journey of self-realisation we follow closely over four hours. Sometimes intimately but never exploitvely nor removed. There were no outright finger-pointing here and almost all the main characters were fully realised, each with their own faults, demons, way of thinking and strengths. Ultimately, we end up sympathising with  all of them - yes even the Moishes, "There's always a Moishe" - and that is the power of great writing and directing. The last hour of this series was a powerful, roller coaster of emotions that culminated with a cathartic and satisfying end for us and for Etsy. This was not necessarily an escapism sort of TV for the quarantine age, but if you are looking for quality binge - looking at you Tiger King - you cannot get better than Unorthodox.