Angela
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Movie Reviews of Angela
Movie Review: Very Pleased
Summary: 4 Stars
Although the above reviewer kind of spoiled the ending for me, the movie definately held my complete attention from start to finish. Very well written and directed, and the actors demonstrated and incredible awareness of their charachters. The relationship between the two sisters appears real in every aspect, and the mother actually reminds me of someone I used to know. Altogether, I was very impressed...Movie Review: Very Pleased
Summary: 4 Stars
Although the above reviewer kind of spoiled the ending for me, the movie definately held my complete attention from start to finish. Very well written and directed, and the actors demonstrated and incredible awareness of their charachters. The relationship between the two sisters appears real in every aspect, and the mother actually reminds me of someone I used to know. Altogether, I was very impressed...Movie Review: The Devil & Ms. Miller
Summary: 3 Stars
"Angela" was not your average film. It was a strong opening from Rebecca Miller, the spawn of playwright Arthur Miller and film vixen Marilyn Monroe, but where it suffered was that it felt too amateurish. Without biting my tongue "Angela" began impressively, strong opening with a family's move to a new home. The defined mother/father characters (albeit eerily similar references to Marilyn Monroe), two strong girl leads that seem to have genuine chemistry together, and an undefined era which allowed my imagination to flourish and ponder ignited "Angela" immediately. It was when the film moved into its second and third act, where it became alarmingly obvious that Miller was loosing her grasp on not just the film crew, but also the convoluted story itself. Visions of Lucifer, the Virgin Mary, a diluted neighbor, and the big elephant in the room - religion - seem to take priority over such important elements like character development, questionable motive, and family dynamics. Miller places so much focus on these symbolic references that this quality film begins to slip through her fingers. By the second act, where the two daughters embark on their own journey through this unknown town, which again is bombarded with referenced evils and unknown symbolism, that reality gets surpassed by a director who would rather shock than impress. The entire scene with the possible pedophile could have been an intense and memorable scene, but instead it falls short, because Miller is so focused on getting us to Lucifer that we only recognize this scene as a small blip on the radar. Again, I don't want to sound pessimistic about this film, Miller began with such a strong eye that I thought this was going to be an instant classic, but by the dull ending, "Angela" is so muddled that empathy towards the characters becomes greater than excitement for the film.
While our characters constantly have to play second fiddle to the symbolic religious references throughout the film, I must admit that they were eerie and interesting throughout bits and segments. Miller had a strong cast, a father who gave up everything for his family, a mother lost in her head (especially well played), and two daughters searching for meaning was an amazing dynamic - poorly defined - but amazing all the same. What I had hoped Miller would do was make these four characters the central focus of the story, but alas, it doesn't happen. The struggle between father/mother again are second to the religious symbolism, thus we lack the apparent emotion towards them. When all of these characters get to their final moments, we just don't care any further. We have given up. A scene was needed where the family reunites over a crisis that nearly tore them apart - cliché? - I believe it would have strengthened the characters and transformed this film from a simply symbolic picture into a family drama. While "Angela" was the obvious lead character, all of these in the immediate family were worthy (and powerful) enough to watch equally. They all carried their weight well, one just wishes we could have spent more time with them.
Finally, an issue needs to be addressed with this film that was neither mentioned in the audio commentary nor in many posts about this film, but when a director cannot clean up or recognize that a boom mic has made it into at least five scenes (extremely apparent) than something is wrong. One cannot say that this film is superb with technical failures happening all over the place. This is your blood and soul when you create a film; why not present it like it was a wrapped Christmas gift, not like it was just found in the sandbox? That small issue really lowered the standard for this film, making it just another amateurish independent film created by someone who carries a famous last name.
Overall, I wanted to like "Angela", I wanted to sit here and say that I was impressed with Miller's first outing, but alas, I wasn't. It was such a powerful opening, but it floundered so quickly. Miller's focus on the religious element, while defining for Angela, deeply ruined the rest of the characters. The family became a shadow, with no real emotion surrounding them, but instead reacting to the beliefs of Angela. I was drawn into Angela's mother's story, but received no gratification or explanation. I loved her father's desire to be a good dad, but again, sitting in a circle or becoming baptized was more important. I was misled by the goals, and consequently missed the "why" and "how" for the final act. Coupled with the laughable errors by the crew (this should have been an introduction to the first day of using a boom mic), "Angela" just fell through the cracks. It perhaps was the obvious borrow from "Gummo" or just the drowning of symbolism, but "Angela" will remain - for me - another independent film trying to make its mark. I am eager to see "Personal Velocity" if only to observe if Miller successfully saw the errors and made the corrections. "Angela" was a first draft film, with much needed corrections and red markings in the margins.
Grade: ** out of *****
Movie Review: "Following The Signs" ~ Soul Scrubbers, Magical Circles And The Big Nothing
Summary: 3 Stars
Released in '95 `Angela' plays like a lazy, dreamy summer's day lying around the house watching the curtains sway in the gentle breeze and scattered rays of sunlight dance around the room. You know what I mean, one of those days when dreams and fantasies weave their way into the waking world making every moment magical and filled with possibility.
Angela lives in such a world of her own making as she desperately attempts to escape the reality of living with a chronically depressed Mother and a family dissolving before her adolescent eyes. Seeing no other avenues to consider she looks for a way to solve her problems through a divine intervention.
In her intensely hypnogogic world nothing is what it seems to be. Lucifer lives in the basement of the family house, the Virgin Mary lurks outside the bedroom window and the elderly woman next door who walks constantly back and forth to her mail box looking for a letter that never comes is an angel.
This is a film filled with southern, backwoods atmosphere and understated meaning that does a superb job at blurring the boundary lines between, the real and the imagined, the sacred and the mudane. Definitely not for everyone but if you occasionally enjoy a little something off the beaten path you might want to give `Angela' a try. It's something that will either win you over or put you to sleep.
My Rating: -3 1/2 Stars-.
Movie Review: Airborne Horrors Stalk Two Children
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a strange film in which two young girls are followed and haunted by boom mikes. These floating supernatural apparitions rarely venture far from the unfortunate children, dogging their footsteps like silent, bobbing moths of doom.