People Like Us

If the title weren?t enough of an indication, the name of the game in Alex Kurtzman?s People Like Us is familiarity and relatability. A serious drama about hidden truths and family, the film works hard to earn its emotional depth and thanks to a compelling story, well-drawn characters, and terrific performances ? particularly by leads Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks ? it succeeds.

The story follows a young man named Sam (Pine) who begrudgingly travels back home to Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Hannah (Olivia Wilde), following the death of his father. After purposefully missing the funeral - which earns him plenty of scorn from his mother, Lillian (Michelle Pfeiffer) ? Sam learns from his dad's lawyer that he has a secret sister named Frankie (Banks) and is given $150,000 to support both her and her son (Michael Hall D'Addario). Though at first he contemplates keeping the money for himself, as he has massive debts and received no inheritance, he eventually decides to check in on Frankie and learn about who she is without telling her about their shared lineage. But as Sam gets closer to his sister and the two begin to bond, he begins to question whether or not to tell her the truth.

People Like Us is based on the real experiences of the co-writer/director, and it gives the film a surprising amount of emotional authenticity that starts at the script level. Both Sam and Frankie are deep, rich characters peppered with flaws and problems that make them human and instantly relatable, from Sam?s pain and anger directed towards his absentee father to Frankie?s alcohol addiction and constant struggle as a parent of a misfit child. At no point does the story feel like it?s racing to its climax, and while this does make the film drag toward the end, it's almost worth it because of the heft and earnestness that comes as a result.

The movie also misses opportunities to better utilize both Wilde and Pfeiffer, who both have interesting dynamics with Sam?s character within the plot. The chances of seeing more of Hannah are eliminated fairly early on, as she goes back to New York while Sam is still trying to get a handle on his sister situation, ?Lillian is left to only pop up intermittently between scenes with Sam and Frankie. It?s possible some of her scenes were casualties of the editing room due to the aforementioned bloat, but I still found myself wanting to see more of her.

And yet what Pine and Banks do with their strong material is remarkable. Given such well-drawn people to play, both actors dig into their characters and proudly project. This is best exemplified when each one of them experiences a personal meltdown. Without ever feeling over-the-top or silly, both performers find their emotional extremes and express it in a deeply affecting way. What?s more, their chemistry is electric to the point that you almost could believe they share a genealogical link. It?s fun to watch their bond grow stronger even though you know that the relationship is based on a lie of omission and headed towards disaster.

The film also marks Kurtzman's directorial debut (he co-wrote the script with his frequent collaborator Roberto Orci as well as Jody Lambert) and he shows some real promise behind the camera. While he doesn?t take too many big risks with the photography ? to make the movie hyper-stylized would defeat the point ? what the filmmaker does do surprisingly well is capture the city of Los Angeles. Almost every location, from the hotel bar where Frankie works to the taco truck where the two leads first meet for dinner to the palm trees lining the roads, bleeds LA and provides an interesting background for the characters to live in. On some level it is strange for the setting to be so specific, for a film that's all about universal emotions, but it in fact adds to People Like Us? depth.

There are multiple missed opportunities and missteps in the movie, and some may find the ending to be a bit too saccharine for their taste, but the film?s positive aspects certainly outweigh the negative ones. Who knew that the writers of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were capable of such depth?

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Rampart [Blu-ray]

Cop movies are always interesting to me. The power, how you use it, and what it does to you as a person are deep subjects. Still, it seems more interesting films are made about the other side of crime, the criminal. Cops get relegated to the role of foils, or even buffoons. Rampart, the second collaboration between actor Woody Harrelson and writer/director Oren Moverman (after The Messenger), puts a cop front and center.

The Movie:

Rampart takes place in the Los Angeles Police Department in the late '90s, around the time of the scandals that the "Rampart Division" infamous, but doesn?t actually deal with the scandals directly. ?Date Rape? Dave Brown (Harrelson), a chain-smoking, corrupt, Vietnam-vet officer cruises through the division with an ?us versus them? mentality to the nth degree. He?s always right, and the gang-bangers, criminals, bums (personified by the excellent Ben Foster), and citizens are wrong, regardless. Brown, who got the nickname for allegedly murdering a suspected date rapist, is knee deep in the ends-justify-any-and-all-means culture of the LAPD in that era.

Of course, the times, they are a? changin?, and when Brown is caught on videotape beating and kicking a ?motorist? who slammed into Brown?s police cruiser and tried to run away, he ends up becoming a problem for the already scandal-plagued division. The D.A. (Steve Buscemi), his assistant (Sigourney Weaver), and the LAPD brass would like him to go the hell away. Dave, however, isn?t a quitter. He isn?t racist, he ?hates everyone equally,? and he is well spoken and unapologetic on whatever he does to get the job done. He needs money, though, to pay his lawyers, and his old mentor (Ned Beatty) suggests knocking over a card game. Clearly something they?ve both been involved with before, Brown gives it a go and that results in more bad press and sharp, persistent investigation by an internal affairs officer played by Ice Cube.

Dave?s years of bad behavior are coming back to get him. Professionally, of course, but also personally. He was two ex-wives (Anne Heche and Cynthia Nixon) who live next door to each other, and are sisters to boot! Each has one of Dave?s daughters, with the older (Brie Larson) pissed at him for how his professional life has wreaked havoc with her mom, aunt, and cousin/sister, and the other (Sammy Boyarsky) still idolizing him but soon to be disabused of that feeling. Dave?s life is crashing down and his family is trying to push him out so he doesn?t pull them down too.

Brown?s descent is not an easy thing to watch, and Harrelson goes all out in the role. That?s amplified by the saturated, hand-held, documentary feel that director/co-writer Oren Moverman adopts. Not just jittery camera work, but a real gritty feel that seems to echo the chaos inside Dave?s soul. The script, co-written by novelist James Ellroy, is harsh and realistic, but there appear to be slices missing. Dave?s problems unleash a paranoia about being set up, and that is teased at, but there are so many things about that not resolved or even brought up that you aren?t sure if Dave has reason to be paranoid or he?s just going nuts. This comes out mostly in Dave?s relationships with Beatty?s character and an attorney he meets in a bar (Robin Wright).

Despite the excellent performance by Harrelson, who is in every single scene, Rampart seems to be missing a couple of parts and is a little too hard to watch at times to be a fully satisfying film. Also, a lot of threads are moving and they don?t all tie up very nicely at the end. ?Date Rape? Dave Brown is a great character and Harrelson plays him perfectly and that?s enough of a reason to see the film, but it isn?t the great cop film it aspires to be.

The Disc:

Rampart is a good film to see on Blu-ray. It has an intriguing look, shot with the ?Alexa? camera, which uses light, contrast, and position to the fullest. This all looks stunning in HD, and missing it by getting the DVD is a real mistake. The sound is also excellent, although I finally had to use the subtitles, since there is a lot of mumbly dialogue that is hard to catch. This is a very realistic-looking and sounding movie, not so much from Hollywood lighting tricks, but rather unusual lights and sounds that benefit from the Blu-ray presentation.

Another benefit of the Blu-ray is the great commentary by co-writer/director Oren Moverman and cinematographer Bobby Bukowski...although those both sound like fake names to me. They provide an informative if low-key commentary dealing both with plot points and technical details. It?s not too technical, which is good, but Bukowski gives background on some of the more stimulating shots, while Moverman provides all sorts of insights.

It?s a good thing that the commentary is worthwhile, since the rest of the ?extras? are pretty limited. In fact, they consist one 30-minute featurette titled ?Featurette.? I like the minimalist approach in the name. The featurette itself is pretty standard, with interviews and comments about the movie, characters, script, locations, etc. Can?t say it provides any real insight but it?s not any better or worse than any other of its ilk.

A pretty good movie with a pretty good HD presentation will have to be enough for this disc. Since the movie itself is good but not great, Rampart is an iffy recommendation overall. Make sure you want to see a man bringing about his own overdue downfall before you wade into this one.

Distributor: Millennium EntertainmentStarring: Woody Harrelson, Ned Beatty, Ben Foster, Ice Cube, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Steve BuscemiProduced by: Lawrence Inglee, Clark Peterson, Ben Foster, Ken KaoWritten by: James Ellroy and Oren Moverman

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