Movie Name: Front of the Class
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Cast: Jimmy Wolk, Treat Williams, Patricia Heato
Director: Peter Werner
Year: 2008
It's okay to be different"
When we saw the movie Hichki it reminded us of an English film we had watched a few years ago. After searching a little we found out the name. As it always happens we decided to watch it again. That is how we rolled in this weekend.
Plot: At the start of the movie we see Brad narrating the story. As a kid he is often teased by other children and reprimanded by the teachers to behave in the classroom because of the noises he makes. Teachers often sends him to principal because they think he is mischievous. His father is embarrassed by him and believes he should work hard on controlling his tics. After the divorce of his parents Brad and his brother are raised solely by mother, Ellen. When the doctors fail to find out what Brad's condition is, his mother does her own research only to find the name of the condition, but no cure. The principal in his middle school asks Brad to talk about his condition in front of an audience and he gets a huge applause after doing that. From then onwards he is determined to become the teacher he never had in his entire life.
He moves to Georgia. After turned down by 24 schools he gets job at Mountain View Elementary School. But it is not a cakewalk either. A student is pulled out from his class by her father because of Brad's ticks. Along the line he meets Nancy on a dating site and they hit it off immediately. He was concerned that Nancy will get tired of him because of his condition, only to be reassured by his mother not to let TS get in the way.
Soon he has been chosen to receive "Teacher of the year" award in front of his family, friends, and students. As the end credit rolls we get to know that it is based on a true story.
WeReflect: We first heard about Tourette syndrome in this movie. A neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple motor tics and at least one vocal tic. Some common ticks are eye blinking, involuntary noise, coughing, throat clearing, neck jerking, facial movements. We've not met any person with this condition so far. It is a Hallmark's Hall of Fame TV movie, so it is ought to be sloppy, mushy, corny, and really silly. No surprise there, they make the greeting cards. Though in existence, the cards will soon be extinct in this rapid techno era or maybe not considering there are still some old souls like us who still go for a beautiful, catchy greeting card. We digress.
The story is beautiful. It oscillates between life lessons, relationship, fears, frustration, determination, disability, and humor. Brad's positive attitude towards life, courage in accepting his disability, and the determination to fulfill his dreams is inspirational. The relationship he shares with his father is tumultuous yet very much relatable . His supporting mother is endearing. She instills in him the attitude of never let your TS (Tourette syndrome) get in your way. Jimmy Wolk is brilliant as Brad. He is too handsome to be true. His performance is extraordinary and praiseworthy. He sunk his teeth into the role. He makes Brad and Tourette Syndrome much more believable. We wonder why we have not seen him before. The supporting actors did their part as well. We had our eyes welled up many times. A perfect film to lift one's spirit and restore your hope in goodness. Who says movie is just for entertainment. A good film always teaches you to be a better person, one day at a time or shall we say one movie at a time.
It is based on the book "Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had" by Brad Cohen co-authored by Lisa Wysocky. We've deduced the frequency of tics may not be that prevalent as they have shown in the movie. They probably did it to establish the characters and move forward with the story. Must watch if you are looking for good movies.
Title: Dark Places
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
Publication Year: 2009
Blurb: Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in 'the satan sacrifice' of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five-years later, the kill club-a secret society obsessed with notorious crimes-locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history. She will reconnect with the players from the night and report her findings to the club-for a fee. And Libby's search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started-on the run from a killer.
WeReflect: The story is told in three point-of-views; one from present day Libby and other two from Ben (brother) and Patty (mother) in 1985. That is the day when Ben allegedly murdered his mother and two sisters. However, Libby escapes the massacre and instrumental in putting Ben behind bars. Now after 25 years, Libby is financially broke and has zero intention of working to make ends meet. She has lived her entire life on donations from the sympathetic and kind people after the tragedy. At this time, she was approached by a killing club whose members genuinely feels Ben is innocent. Though shocked initially by their caustic accusations of calling her a liar, Libby promises to look in to things in exchange for money. She meets Ben, her good-for-nothing father, and few other people involved directly or indirectly in the murders. Is Ben really guilty or not? If he is not, then who is the real murderer? How the mystery unravels?
I know this one is going to haunt me for a long time the moment I read the book blurb. This is my second Gillian Flynn book and I'm reading in a reversal order, Gone Girl, Dark Places, and yet to be read Sharp Objects.
I really don't know what goes into author's head. I even googled her wiki page just to check whether she had troubled, abusive, neglected childhood. Well, to my disappointment, she had a pretty normal life. Stable family, professors for parents, master degree in Journalism, and happily married with two kids. After reading "Gone Girl" I was under the impression that none of the protagonists can be as twisted or wrenched as Amy. That opinion changed the moment I was introduced to Libby Day. A kleptomaniac, lazy, liar, anti-social, selfish, violent are not the characters we are looking for in a protagonist, but it is in Flynn's world. I was repulsed from her in the beginning, but as I get to know her, she grew on me.
This is a story of dysfunctional family in all aspects. It is absolutely not for fainthearted. It has brutal and horrific murders, bullying, molestation, underage sex, animal slaughtering, drugs, satanic rituals. The ending was a serious jolt as I failed to untangle the mystery. I enjoyed it better than "Gone Girl". A total dark and gloomy story that stays with me for a long time. And I'm eager to get my hands on Flynn's first book "Sharp Objects".
PS: I'm yet to watch film adaptation of the same starring Charlize Theron.
Play: 9 Jakhoo Hill
Troupe: Playpen Theatre Group
Writer: Gurucharan Das
Direction: Ashish Sen
Another piece picked up from the draft and it brought back memories of this play, which we enjoyed the most. "9 Jakhoo Hill" was written by Gurucharan Das; designed and directed by Ashish Sen; and performed by Playpen theatre group.
Synopsis: 9 Jakhoo Hill is set in the Shimla of 1962. It explores a number of themes which continue to have as much relevance today as they did in the sixties: changing values; conflicts between old and new; family relationships and attendant tensions that come to the surface when skeletons in cupboards begin to tumble out....
As love, laughter, loneliness, betrayal confront each other in this powerful drama, a moment of truth compels each character to reckon with her/his personal demons and transforms their lives irrevocably.
WeReflect: It is a story of two neighbors who migrated from Lahore during partition. Amrita, an aristocrat widow lives in Jakhoo Hill, Shimla with daughter Ansuya and younger brother Karan Chand. She is a socialite, mostly stuck in the past, is unable to manage her finances and in huge debt, on the verge of losing their ancestral house. Amritha invites her friend and neighbor in the past, Chitra (the one from Lahore) and her son, Deepak to celebrate Diwali with them. Ansuya and Deepak exchange letters often; theirs is a childhood love. Karan Chand/Mamu nurtures incestuous feelings towards his niece and loaths Deepak. The company Deepak works for wants to expand their business in Kolkatta and certain Rai Saheb is the key to help. Rai Saheb is a bureaucrat who works for the government of India and Amrita's close friend. The story sets in the midst of Indo-China war. Love blossoms between Deepak and Ansuya. However, Chitra, Deepak's manipulative and overbearing mother is against it solely based on Ansuya's current financial status. They all play the game of "Truth or Dare" that unravels truth in a nasty way.
The story was written in 1962, holds good even after five decades. All the characters are very much natural. The acting part was top notch. They will have you in splits throughout. The end conversation between Amrita and Ansuya had us shed a drop or two tears. Surprisingly all the actors looked familiar. Is it the illusion created by mind when you gets connected to the character?
Film: The Imitation Game
Year: 2014
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode
Direction: Morten Tydlum
I vaguely remember reading 'Breaking of Enigma code' that costs the Germans the World War II somewhere. The movie was referred by a dear friend. And Benedict Cumberbatch is good enough to lure Pallavi into watching this flick and who does not like Cumberbatch? The film is roughly based on the biography, Alan Turing-The Enigma by Andrew Hodges.
WeReflect: During World War II, the Nazis had a crypted code that they used for the communication, which was reset every 24 hours. Decoding this was next to impossible. Then enters Alan Turing, a British, brilliant cryptoanalyst, mathematician, computer scientist, and logician. He convinces commander Alastair Denniston to let him lead a team of handpicked mathematicians whose goal was to crack the code and win the war at any cost with lot of obstacles and complications, which they achieve eventually. Another part is in 1950s, Turing is convicted of gross indecency (homosexuality was illegal back then). Rather than go to prison for his conviction, he agrees to go through chemical castration, so that he can continue his work. This finally leads him to commit suicide at not so ripe age of 41.
Cumberbatch is brilliant as Turing. He is arrogant, distant, socially awkward, clueless. His accent, mannerism, movements are so perfect. Though I don't think he is the most handsome British, I consider him to be a great actor. In fact, Pallavi thinks Matthew Goode (Hugh Alexander) is very attractive and intense. We last saw him and Allen Leech (John Cairncross) in Downton Abbey and it is good to have them here as mathematicians of Enigma. Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke is spunky and energetic. When Turing and Joan are together engaged, we almost wanted them to be a couple despite his orientation because they looked that cute. The initial dislike turned bond between the Enigma team is so endearing.
This film talks about gender bias and prejudice against homosexuality. Even though its about mathematics, codes, it's not dull. As a matter of fact it keeps the audience fully engaged from start to finish. And it made us sad too considering Turing's huge contribution in saving many lives by turning the course of the war and what the same country did to him in the end. He is considered the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. It brought us the story of Alan Turing whom we knew nothing about until now. Later we got to know in 2009 British PM Gordon Brown made a public apology on behalf of British Government for the awful way Turing was treated following an internet campaign. And in 2013 Queen Elizabeth II granted him posthumous pardon. In 2007 more than 50,000 gay men posthumously pardoned under "Alan Turing law". In the end he was honored as a hero which was due for half a century or more.
The movie got eight nominations at the 87th Academy Awards, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Watch it if you like good inspirational stories.
