Haley Bennett

Widow Clicquot

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  • Title: Widow Clicquot
  • IMDb: link

Widow Clicquot

Widow Clicquot follows the struggles of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Haley Bennett) taking up the reigns of her husband’s (Tom Sturridge) vineyard after his death with few allies (Sam Riley and Ben Miles), a vineyard in debt from failed harvests hemorrhaging money, life under the temperamental rule of Napoleon Bonaparte, and fighting both and the elements and a world uncustomed to a woman running a business. While attempting to honor her husband by producing wine he would be proud of, the film also intercuts moments of their marriage highlighting his temperamental nature which led to his death.

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Till

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Till
  • IMDb: link

Centered around Mamie Till (Danielle Deadwyler), Till examines the prelude and aftereffects of the murder of 14 year-old Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall) who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi after being accused of flirting with a white woman (Haley Bennett) in her parents’ store.

Director Chinonye Chukwu‘s gut-wrenching film is broken into two-halves, the first 4o minutes gives us the dark foreboding leading to events which take place off-screen after Emmett is dragged from his relatives’ home in the dark of night by armed men. The second-half of the film, which begins with the return of Emmett’s body to Chicago, would spur Mamie into action struggling to get justice for her son in Mississipi, and, failing that, starting the second-half of her life as an educator and activist in the Civil Rights Movement.

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Cyrano

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Cyrano
  • IMDb: link

While it may not be my favorite adaptation of Edmond Rostand‘s 19th Century play, Cyrano proves to be a perfect vehicle for Peter Dinklage who shines as the title character. Our brave and witty protagonist yearns for the beautiful Roxanne (Haley Bennett) only to see her attentions fall on the gaze of a strapping young soldier (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) instead, who Cyrano agrees to help woo the woman they both love while hiding the depth of his true feelings from them both.

All the basic trappings from the story are here including Ben Mendelsohn as yet another, more villainous, rival for Roxanne’s affections and the humorous balcony sequence in yet another stylish period piece from director Joe Wright. Added to the mix are a number of musical numbers which vacillate between additions or distractions from the main plot at various points in the tale.

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The (Not-Quite) Magnificent Seven

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
  • IMDb: link

The Magnificent SevenThe remake of 1960’s The Magnificent Seven starts in much the same manner, with a over-the-top villain (Peter Sarsgaard) threatening the prosperity of a peaceful farming town. Unable to protect themselves a small group (Haley Bennett and Luke Grimes) leave the town looking to hire gunmen with their meager resources. What they find is bounty hunter who helps recruit a motley crew of cowboys and outlaws willing to take on impossible odds for little reward.

There are some important differences between the two films (and not only the fact that the setting is moved from Mexico to a nondescript location somewhere in the Old West). The first is choosing to make the quest personal for one member of seven which changes the climax of the film in ways that aren’t necessarily improvements. As with the other changes (such as the town’s reaction to the outlaws, the makeup of the seven themselves, and a more dramatic tone to the movie), choosing to make the lead character’s choice as much about vengeance as justice is an important distinction. Because of this, and the more dramatic slant to other aspects of the story, the remake lacks the larger rousing heroic scale of the original.

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