Film

Bob Dylan biopic. What a tough assignment. However, the toughness is made softer by the partnership between director and subject. Dylan went over the script line-by-line to bless content. A Complete Unknown is directed and co-written byJames Mangold, who has a history of tackling super-icons. The Oscar-winning biopic, Walk the Line, Johnny Cash’s story, being one of them. 

How did Mangold visualize his take on the enigmatic Bob Dylan? He refuses to believe that Dylan’s genius means he isn’t a human being. Mangold tells Rolling Stone, “It’s an act of admiration and love,” pondering Dylan’s journey. “This young man shows up. He’s inspired. I mean, it couldn’t be less complicated.”

Timothée Chalamet must learn guitar, vocals and speech to transform into Bob Dylan. He’s surrounded by an ensemble cast of familiar and not-so-familiar actors playing other iconic real-life geniuses and impactful people in Dylan’s life, so it’s easy to get lost in this Dylan-esque era. Not everyone will be a fan of the film, but Chalamet risks playing a person, who, in his understated words is, “someone who wasn’t a straightforward person, an artist who’s always taken a certain glee in shrouding his true self”. A Complete Unknown opens Christmas Day.

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In The Last Showgirl, Pamela Anderson (Pamela, A Love Story) delivers a career-defining performance as Shelly, a veteran Las Vegas showgirl facing an uncertain future. Directed by Gia Coppola (Mainstream), the film explores our resilience in a world consumed by image, particularly as we age.

Shelly, a 57-year-old performer, has dedicated her life to “Le Razzle Dazzle,” a long-running Vegas revue. When the show abruptly closes after 30 years, she must confront the harsh realities of a changing entertainment landscape. Through her enduring power of self-belief, Shelly fights to preserve her dignity and passion in a world that seems to have moved on without her.

Anderson brings a disarming sweetness and vulnerability to Shelly, challenging preconceptions about her public image and the value society places on aging performers. The Last Showgirl serves as a metaphor for Anderson’s career renaissance, allowing her to showcase her acting prowess in a role that demands to be taken seriously. The great Jamie Lee Curtis, co-stars as Shelly’s best friend, adding depth and humor to the story as a suntanned waitress tirelessly working for tips.

The film also delves into the complex relationship between Shelly and her estranged daughter, played by Billie Lourd. Their dynamic reflects the generational chasm they must cross to find common ground.

Exposing surface-level judgments of aging performers, the film asks audiences to appreciate their artistry and dedication—often dismissed by mainstream culture.

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Writer and director Jesse Eisenberg (Sasquatch Sunset) has delivered all the family drama as he teams up with Kieran Culkin (Succession) to play mismatched cousins. The film follows David and Benji who reunite in Poland to honor their beloved Jewish grandmother by visiting her birthplace and connecting to their family ancestry. David has checked all the right boxes in life, securing the job, the house, the wife, and the kid while Benji is more the free spirit, struggling to put down roots anywhere. Naturally, this dichotomy puts their personal dynamic on edge, culminating in frequent quarrels and criticisms of Benji’s lack of decorum and David’s lack of fun. They embark on a Holocaust tour group, challenging them to keep their family antics in check in front of strangers. But Benji is continuously triggered, and what follows is an earnest and poignant conversation between cousins about their resentments, their regrets, and hopefully their reconciliation. Eisenberg proves his skill both in front of and behind the camera as Culkin holds his own and brings such emotional depth and nuance. With a stellar cast that also features Will Sharpe (The White Lotus), Kurt Egyiawan (House of the Dragon), Liza Sadovy (A Small Light), Daniel Oreskes (Only Murders in the Building), Ellora Torchia (Generation Z), and Jennifer Grey (Dollface), A Real Pain ultimately finds its joy.

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Occasionally circumstances bring together the unlikeliest of allies. That’s exactly where we find Lake George’s Don (Gaslit’s Shea Whigham) and Phyllis (Gilded Age’s Carrie Coon). Tasked by mobsters to end Phyllis’ life, Don is unable to pull the trigger, and instead the two set off on a road trip that evolves into something much more. A rollicking, comedic neo-noir that pushes both Coon and Whigham to exciting places in their performances. Director Jeffrey Reiner (High Fidelity, Shameless and Fargo) pulls inspiration from some of the best in the genre while also staking a claim for himself.

Based on true events, four years after a heist gone wrong, Ex-con Don (Whigham) gets out of jail and tries to collect the money he’s owed by an L.A. thug, Armen (Glenn Fleshler) but father-to-be Don is no tough guy. Don must come up with $100k in one night or else a family member will be executed in prison, and he winds up being coerced into killing Armen’s former squeeze, Phyllis (Coon). Phyllis has designs of her own and proposes a little tag team action. Combine forces and steal all the money from the people who want her dead. And so, their twisted story begins. There is nothing new about that set-up, which is hammered out in the first 10 minutes or so. The rest of Lake George is all about how that initial plot unravels and keeps unraveling until the very end. Lake George premieres in theaters and on digital December 6, 2024.

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