Double Feature: Lola Versus and Damsels in Distress

Even if it was unintentional, it makes sense that the Double Feature after the one featuring Mark Duplass is for Greta Gerwig. The uber-indie darlings are also former costars and collaborators on a couple of films, plus Aubrey Plaza from Safety Not Guaranteed has a small role in Damsels in Distress. First, though, I want to start with the "post rom-com" Lola Versus.

As Lola, Greta Gerwig is an unusual heroine. Greta Gerwig is an uncommonly authentic performer. She has moments of vulnerability juxtaposed with her independent instincts. She's beautiful, but awkward. Intelligent, but makes stupid decisions. Clumsy and needy. She's very much an average woman. When Lola's fiance Luke (Joel Kinnaman) puts the kibosh on their wedding, it's just the start of Lola's plans gone awry. Of course she and Luke share the same friends, so turning to Alice (Zoe Lister Jones) and Henry (Hamish Linklater) is difficult. Right. I get it. But how is Lola different from any other twenty-something-screws-up-in-New-York-City movie? 

Real life couple Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister Jones co-wrote the script as an antidote to the "epidemic of smart, awesome women who were really struggling on the dating scene... We felt like we always see the more escapist, glamorized versions of women... but we hadn't really seen the grittier, more authentic and real version of that." (Source linked below.) And so, Lola Versus is a romantic comedy gone wrong. A coming of age film for a woman in her 29th year, it's an embarrassingly accurate depiction of current social mores and contemporary relationships, the incestuous cycle we twenty-somethings fall into when there's a mixed-gender group of friends. Falling for one another, falling for another's ex, clinging to the people who hurt us, and grasping for what we hope is a change in the right direction. All because Lola is eager to please - to meet the expectations of the ones we love, or even the ones we want to love.

Damsels in Distress starts off feeling like a strange cross between Mona Lisa Smile and Clueless, scripted by the writers of TV's Bones. At a small university, three girls invite transfer student Lily to be their roommate and fellow do-gooder. Violet and her friends devote a portion of their free time to working at the suicide prevention center, where in addition to doughnuts, they offer tap dance classes to the clinically depressed. The film is a highly stylized vision of prep life, reminiscent of a Woody Allen film, full of characters that speak in a manner that is completely curated. Not even Greta Gerwig can bring a feeling of honesty to this one. Analeigh Tipton, as Lily, is very likeable, even if the rest of the film feels aimless and overlong. It's not much longer than Lola Versus, but I felt every minute of it.

I guess it depends on how you like your indies. Emotionally charged dramedy or erudite social commentary - take your pick.

Notes and sources:

• Interviews with Daryl Wein and Greta Gerwig
• Hamish Linklater was one of the best parts of Miranda July's The Future, another ultra-indie film I watched a few months back.
• Viewers who liked Lola Versus may also enjoy: Walking and Talking (with Catherine Keener) and Easy (with Marguerite Moreau).
• I really only rented Damsels in Distress because I went to high school with Zach Woods, who plays the editor of the school paper. You may also recognize him as Gabe from NBC's The Office.
• All the Damsels have flower names: Violet, Heather, Rose, and Lily. Really, Whit Stillman? Really?
• Brief interview with Damsels' writer/director Whit Stillman adds some interesting perspective to the films' potential.
• Oh, that Analeigh Tipton! She's also in Crazy, Stupid, Love.

The Bourne Legacy

Well, if I didn't love Jeremy Renner before The Bourne Legacy, I sure as hell do now. In what makes a surprisingly smart move for the producers of the Bourne films, Renner picks up where Matt Damon leaves off, but with his own character. The Bourne Legacy isn't strictly speaking a remake (even if it follows the same structure), and it isn't a sequel or prequel - it's more of a sibling to the Bourne films. They grew up together, in a way, and share the same history. Same parent, Robert Ludlum. It's a great way to tell more of the Bourne backstory and film big explosions, terrified government staffers, and choreograph some intense chase sequences - without trying to convince audiences that Renner is Bourne, virtually synonymous with Matt Damon after five films. Developing his own character, Renner brings heart and believability to The Bourne Legacy. Those who remember Renner in his breakout role in The Hurt Locker know that this is something he does well. His involvement in Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol may well have left audiences thinking what a shame it is that Tom Cruise is unlikely to relinquish his role at the head of the M:I franchise.

Back to Bourne Legacy. The basic plot, of course, has Renner's character, Aaron Cross, on the run from government agents intent on destroying any and all evidence of Treadstone, Blackbriar, and Outcome (the top secret projects that produced super-agents like Bourne and Cross). Cross is the only agent to have evaded assassination, the same way that Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) is the only scientist to have survived the mass shooting at the lab. With the lab destroyed and the project being dismantled, Cross is off in pursuit of the drugs, or "chems," that sustain his genetic enhancements. This brings him to Dr. Shearing, the one living scientist who knows about the project, whom Cross hopes will be able to provide him with the necessary chems. Shearing proves unable to do so - but she may still be able to save Cross.

This is the first time that screenwriter Tony Gilroy takes the reins to direct one of his Bourne screenplays, and he's got a solid feel for how it should be done. Less handycam is better; I prefer to follow the chase scenes, rather than live them. Here's the thing, though: it really is the Bourne legacy. While the film works as a tangent to the original films, it is unlikely to spin off its own franchise. Bourne outstayed his welcome for cinema audiences, and as good as Renner is in the latest installment, it's just as easy and possibly a better idea to let him do what he does best in the context of a different film. In other words, I don't expect an Aaron Cross franchise. It's an especially bad idea as James Patterson's Alex Cross heads to the big screen.

Like the other Bourne films, the beginning is a little aimless and tough to follow, with lots of back and forth between the plotlines. I suppose it builds suspense though, which may be the point. Still, it's not until Cross and Shearing join forces that the film really takes off. Renner and Weisz are excellent together, balancing each other and growing as characters. Renner's Aaron Cross is significantly more interesting than I found Bourne (though I have not seen all five Borne pictures), full of empathy and concern for Shearing, regardless of romantic potential. What's fascinating is to learn about the man Cross was prior to Outcome, that Cross's recruitment officer added IQ points to the insecure young man's score to sign him up, and that the genetic enhancements effected not only Cross's physical profile, but moreover, his mental capabilities. No wonder Cross is afraid to regress to his former self - or to degenerate into something far worse. Of course, as his intelligence increases, Cross's analytical mind questions his actions and motivations, as well as those of his superiors. As long as he doesn't act on those concerns, he'll succeed, but any attempt to undermine project Outcome would likely result in his elimination. Yet, finding out who Cross was raises the stakes higher and shows us just how much he has to lose - not only is he fighting for his life, but only for a life worth living.

I can only hope that my own bias in favor of Rachel Weisz didn't sway my observation too severely when I say that she is more than capable of carrying the film with Renner. I certainly believe her excitement as a research scientist, and I always enjoy Weisz's American accent, even if she will always be Evelyn Ann Thompson (The Shape of Things) to me. Of course Ed Norton does his job as a greying Colonel trying to do damage control when it looks like government secrets may hit newsstands. His measured demeanor makes him a different kind of intriguing antagonist. It's a shame that our three dynamic leads never share a scene.

I caught one of few remaining showings of The Bourne Legacy on the big screen, but when it hits the Redbox and Netflix, I definitely think it's worth catching. Aaron Cross is an interesting character, he's fun to watch, and an action film in which characters actually develop is something of a novelty. While it may not be a landmark film for cinephiles, it's an exciting adventure all the same.


Additional info:

• Lots of Oscar nominees in this film: Jeremy Renner (2), Rachel Weisz (1, with 1 win!), Edward Norton (2), Albert Finney (5), David Strathairn (1), Joan Allen (3).
• Bourne Legacy was something of a family affair. Brothers Tony and Dan Gilroy wrote the screenplay, with Tony directing, and brother John editing the project. Gilroy patriarch Frank wrote several plays which were also adapted into films.
• Renner's most recent success came with his role as Hawkeye in Joss Whedon's The Avengers; one of the other Avengers is the Hulk. Ed Norton played the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk.
• Renner's co-star in The Avengers was Tom Hiddleston, who played Loki. Hiddleston also starred opposite Rachel Weisz in the marriage dramaThe Deep Blue Sea.