Levity
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Movie Reviews of Levity
Movie Review: Very well made anti heroe movie.
Summary: 5 Stars
I was really surprised by this film. Its so good to see this kind of movies with such beautifull stories behind them.Movie Review: Tonight's lesson: trying to make amends when you cannot
Summary: 4 Stars
Manual Jordan (Billy Bob Thornton) has been sitting in a prison cell for 23 years, where the only decoration is a newspaper photograph of the teenager he killed in a convenience store robbery. In voice over he tells us about a book written in the 11th century that argues there are five steps necessary to make amends: acknowledge what you did, feel remorse, make right what you did wrong, then make it right with God, and then you can be redeemed. But Jordan knows he cannot bring back Abner Easley and does not believe "in some God that's gonna open His arms to me even if I did." That takes care of steps three and four, and since we can never be in the same place twice, Jordan knows he will never be redeemed. So he has accepted his place in prison and is surprised when his sentence is commuted to time served and he is thrown back in the world. Even though he knows it is hopeless, Jordan wants to atone for his horrible crime.
"Levity" is about a man who wants to be forgiven although he will never be able to forgive himself. We want to feel compassion for Jordan, but we know that he is probably right and that he is never going to be able to attain redemption. But writer-director Ed Solomon, who has his own cross to bear as the co-writer of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" does not really return Jordan to the real world. Instead the ex-con finds himself in strange almost dreamlike world where answering a pay phone in the middle of the night gets you a job and a place to stay at a mission that operates across the street from a nightclub. The place is run by Miles Evans (Morgan Freeman), an eccentric preacher, who allows kids to park for free at his lot if they come in and sit for 15 minutes while he preaches at them. Jordan's job is to stand out in the cold and get the kids to sign in with their names and time of arrival.
Of all the faceless kids who wander through each night one stands out, young Sofia Mellinger (Kirsten Dunst). She seems like a drug loving party girl, but Jordan sees somebody who is trying pretty hard to kill herself. However, Sofia is not his primary concern. That would be trying to get Adele Easley (Holly Hunter) to let him help her take her bags home. She, of course, is the sister of the boy he killed, who knows has a son named Abner who is essentially the same age as his namesake was 23 years earlier. Jordan is persistent enough without being too pushy, and his formal way of speaking and strange manner catches Adele's interest, although she is quick to point out that her standards have slipped over the years. However, Jordan is not looking for romance and that is only way of the things that he cannot tell Adele.
Evans has a pretty good idea of what Jordan is up to, especially after Adele calls the mission looking for somebody whose name she does not know. While the preacher agrees with Jordan that redemption is impossible, he also supports the idea that trying is not the worst of all possible fates. Besides, if he cannot save himself there is the possibility that Jordan might be able to save young Abner or Sofia. Beyond that there is the question of what will happen when Adele finds out Jordan's true identity, because you know that moment is going to come at a pivotal point in the story.
The performances in "Levity" are the most compelling part of the film, which is hardly surprising given you have Thornton, Freeman and Hunter in the three key roles. Dunst is a bit outclassed but then her character is not written at the same level; her strong point is the way she can hold her own in verbal sparing with the juvenile delinquents who are sent to the mission to hear first Evans and then Jordan talk to them. Mostly this movie is a series of scenes between Jordan and the other three characters, as well as with young Abner (Geoffrey Wigdor). Thornton, who is always looking or different ways to play every one of his characters, is going for a level of subtlety here that is a shade short of complete inertia. Yet, for the most part, it works.
Most certainly there will be those who will find "Levity" to be too preachy and that the ending might be too contrived. But this is a film that has an appropriately subdued notion of what should constitute a happy ending under these tragic circumstances. Ultimately, its biggest problem could well be that the point is made early on in the film. Jordan has accepted his fate as being well deserved and despite the fact that he cannot change anything or find peace, he tries to do something anyway. By that standard how well he succeeds does not matter because that would not be the point of the lesson. If you understand that, then you may well find most of this 2003 drama to be superfluous.
Movie Review: Where does redemption reside?
Summary: 4 Stars
How does one make things right? Seek forgiveness? Where does redemption reside and how do you get there? How does a wounded soul reconcile guilt?
This is a slow and thoughtful character study set during a grim and dreary winter in an urban town.
This is not a Hollywood movie. It's raw with real life. It's apparent ugliness is its sheer inescapable beauty.
Morality does exist no matter how we try to hide.
Thornton, after spending over 20 years in prison for the murder of a young convenience store clerk during a robbery gone haywire in his youth, is drawn to return to his old neighborhood to visit the older sister of the young man he killed, played by Holly Hunter. She doesn't quite know who he really is since so many years have gone by.
Thornton was content to live out his remaining years behind bars but must now face his past because his sentence was suddenly commuted.
Bleak with melancholy, this type of film gets shunned by audiences and it's a shame.
Morgan Freeman plays a mysterious soup kitchen minister who has his own issues, whom Thornton comes to work for. Freeman is a natural actor and believable in any role.
The story unfolds slowly without gimmicks.
At times, Thornton happens to find himself visited by the ghostly apparition of the young man whom he killed, while he is in the process of seeking resolution and atonement.
His simple desire is to somehow make amends. He wants to be forgiven but, strangely, he is unable and unwilling to forgive himself.
Unfortunately, unresolved redemption seems to be too deep a theme for contemporary audiences who are hooked on chills and thrills and pyrotechnics.
This is an independent film, the kind that many people just don't get.
A movie for your quiet time or a rainy night. Something different and refreshing.
And no silly happy ending to mar the procedings.
Movie Review: THE FIVE RULES OF REDEMPTION
Summary: 4 Stars
LEVITY is one of those quiet films that gains its strength from the characterizations and their interactions. Writer/director Ed Simpson gives us a story of an ex-con named Manual Jordan, who is released after spending 21 years in prison for the robbery murder of a 17 year old convenience store clerk. He narrates his story and tells us the five steps of redemption culled from an eleventh century novel. He seeks his own redemption by confronting his victim's sister, who now has her own son, named after her murdered brother. Fate brings him to a community house run by a preacher who hires him for odd jobs and gets him involved with the youth. This includes a self-destructive rich girl whom he befriends, sort of. A patient and discerning viewer will appreciate the richness of the performances and the marvelous cinematography by Roger Deakins. Billy Bob Thornton plays Manual with an understated tragic demeanor and does well; Holly Hunter plays the sister, also underplaying the role but mesmerizing in it; Morgan Freeman is the preacher and he is at his best as this unselfish, yet mystic, gentleman, and Kirsten Dunst is splendid as the rich girl who finds a source of salvation in Thornton. Though one can almost predict the ultimate outcome, the writer is smart enough not to give us a neat, tidy ending. The movie is leisurely paced but the performances keep you involved.Movie Review: Suprisingly good indie film
Summary: 4 Stars
Genre: Drama
Genre Grade: B
Final Grade: A-
This was a suprisingly excellent film from the screenwriter of Men in Black and Charlie's Angels. I have been holding off on watching this movie for a long time simply because Billy Bob Thornton's long hair on the cover box kind of turned me off from the movie. After watching it (and finding out his long hair is due to 21 years in prison, probably not too many haircuts during that time) I was suprised how much I enjoyed it. The acting from Morgan Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, Holly Hunter, and even Kirsten Dunst was great, and this strong story about redemption will leave you pondering how you might react in such a situation.
This movie didn't get a lot of good reviews (I don't know why), but I still enjoyed it and I think most audiences might too. It is a tad slow but the story is strong and there is some good humor in it to keep it moving. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed 21 Grams, American History X (although this movie could have been a LOT more controversial) or if you just enjoy the actors in the film.