Amazing Grace, Astronaut Farmer, Breach,
Music & Lyrics, The Lives of Others
(Five Films)
Reviewed by Dennis Morton

Oscar mania, in years past, has usually meant a dearth of films worth writing about at this time of the year. But February hasn’t been so bad. Here’s a short take on five films I more or less liked.
    
Based on their titles Amazing Grace would seem to have something in common with the film, Music & Lyrics, each ostensibly about songs, and the writing of them. But not so. Amazing Grace is actually about politics and idealism and about William Wilburforce, a British MP who labored relentlessly to abolish slavery in Britain. And as such, Amazing Grace bears a bit of resemblance to the Polish brothers latest movie, Astronaut Farmer. Astronaut Farmer is also about the pursuit of a dream. It’s about the little guy who has to battle the government and the banks to bring his dream to fruition.
    
Amazing Grace, of course, is based on a true story. With occasional help from William Pitt, the boy wonder who became Prime Minister almost before he had to shave, and the unwavering help of a handful of abolitionists, William Wilburforce,
as we all know, ultimately prevailed. How that happened and what he went through along the way is what makes this film worthy of our attention.  
    
For diehard Polish brothers fans, I must issue a caveat. Astronaut Farmer is quite unlike their earlier projects. Here their penchant for the odd and zany is somewhat held in check. There are a few eccentric characters. Bruce Dern, absent from the big screen for far too long, provides the film with a healthy dose of the wonderfully weird. And Billy Bob Thornton, at times, can barely contain his Anti-Santa tendencies. There’s even a phallocentric waitress who delivers her lines with enough canniness to keep the picture rated PG. This isn’t my favorite Polish brothers film. I could do without the last quarter of it, but it’s still more interesting than most of what’s coming out of Hollywood these days.
    
About Music & Lyrics, I will say only that if you’re looking for two hours of fun, this one’s for you. Someday Hugh Grant will learn to play another kind of character. But he’s really good at what he does. And he’s abetted by Drew Barrymore. She has the genes for just about any kind of role. Put these two together with a witty script and occasional flashes of musical acuity, and you have a night of harmless entertainment. We all know the formula for romantic comedies – attraction, impediments, impediments overcome, and happiness ever after. If you can handle that, take a chance on Music & Lyrics.
    
I’ve saved the best for last. Breach is a story that most of us who follow the news know. Robert Hanssen was a high level FBI agent who sold top secret information to the Russians. This is revealed at the beginning of the film, so I divulge nothing in mentioning it. What makes Breach a remarkable film is Chris Cooper’s portrait of Hanssen. Cooper manages to capture the complexity and contradictions in Hanssen’s character. Hanssen was an ultra conservative Catholic who attended mass daily. And Hanssen was many other things – dedicated grandfather and husband and traitor, among them. That Cooper can make us believe this is what makes Breach a fine film. Ryan Phillippe is convincing as the ambitious young agent who brings Hanssen down. And the story is so tightly woven that within minutes of its opening, we’ve forgotten that we already know the ending.
    
This weekend, an amazing German film will open at The Nickelodeon Theatre in downtown Santa Cruz. It’s called The Lives Of Others. Most of the story takes place in the mid eighties, a few years before the Berlin Wall was dismantled.
    
The East German government turned deceit into a major cottage industry. Hundreds of thousands of its citizens were recruited to keep watch on their friends and neighbors. Can beauty trump treachery – that’s the question explored in this film. Watching fissures appear in the façade of a certain East German official, and then erupt into humanity is fascinating. This film is suspenseful and grittily beautiful to watch. From poetry by Brecht to coughing diesel engines, every sound and every shot works. This is a film not to be missed.
    
For KUSP’s Film Gang, this is Dennis Morton.