Splice (2010)
Splice is the best kind of sci-fi movie – original and surprising. When maverick geneticist Elsa (Sarah Polley) asks “What’s the worst that could happen?”, we cannot fathom that the worst will manifest itself as a hybrid creature named Dren. But that’s what you get when you illegally splice human DNA with the genetic material from a number of animals, including frogs and birds, I guess. More surprising is the speed at which Elsa and her husband Clive (Adrien Brody) come to care for Dren, breaking more rules to keep her alive and a secret. Splice is a horror film and it is often very tense, but in concentrating on the relationship between Clive and Elsa over blood and action, Director Vincenzo Natali sidesteps the “chinese food” experience that lesser horror is prone to. For a film that is often daring and inventive, Splice sports a surprisingly conventional climax, but at least I wasn’t still hungry.
Winter’s Bone (2010)
I can see why Winter’s Bone racked up the awards at Sundance and took home the audience award here at the SFIFF. It features an immensely strong female lead in young actress Jennifer Lawrence (The Burning Plain, 2008) and it’s a very American film, in so much as it is a story that would not have the same impact were it set anywhere else. High in the Ozark Mountains, seventeen-year-old Ree Dolly (Lawrence) is informed that her meth-cooking father has put up the family property as collateral to secure bail for an impending court date, and if he fails to show, Ree, her two younger siblings and her invalid mother will be thrown off their land. An Odyssean quest for Dad, through seedy shanties and encounters with less than friendly folk, Winter’s Bone’s always menacing atmosphere and authentically-somber tone more than make up for a sometimes languid pacing.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)
Joan Rivers : A Piece of Work isn’t your traditional biopic, instead inviting audiences to watch as Joan Rivers desperately searches for work. At 75 years old, Rivers is at a severe disadvantage in a youth-centric field, but when you’re the first woman to push the boundaries of comedy you don’t just stop. A Piece of Work follows the sharp-tongued comedienne over the course of a year in the industry as she stars in her own play (Rivers prefers to think of herself as an actress), joins a cast of “D-listers” on The Celebrity Apprentice with her daughter Melissa, and slums it in New York nightclubs where her act is as outrageous as ever. Rivers is at a time in her life where nothing is off-limits, a windfall for any documentary, and hearing Rivers admit that she’s willing to do denture commercials and wear diapers in order to keep working is both funny and profound, proving what a powerful addiction celebrity can become.
