film festival – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

TIFF: RIFF RAFF

Debbie & Elizabeth at the Movies

Noticing a lot of major movie star and A-list actor names on a movie billing doesn’t always mean that the movie will turn out to be any good. Case in point: Knives Out (as least in our opinion). Actors can be a draw for sure, but wouldn’t you prefer the storyline to be as good as the talent?

RIFF RAFF has both a stellar cast and a fun story about blood ties. The TIFF Special Presentation was a super enjoyable dark comedy, done extremely well. Especially when you have actors like Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Murray, Ed Harris and Pete Davidson. Except for Pete Davidson, they were all in town for the premiere.

Writer John Pollano, Bill Murray, Ed Harris & Miles J Harvey.

Gabrielle Union, Emanuela Postacchini, Jennifer Coolidge & Director Dito Montiel.

Comedy is not easy to convey. Slapstick alone doesn’t cut it for us. We love a good laugh. It’s healthy and it feels great – so this pitch-black family (of sorts) comedy was the perfect remedy.

As far as dysfunctional families go, I think this one wins the prize for “best of” dysfunctional family reunions. We have Vince; a one-time criminal (Harris) who turned his life around when he met Sandy (Union). The still-happy couple want to spend a quiet New Year’s Eve nearly 20 years later in their remote country home with their cheerful son, DJ (Miles J. Harvey). Out of the blue, unexpectedly, Vince’s other son Rocco (Lewis Pullman), shows up with his very pregnant girlfriend, Marina (Emanuela Postacchini), along with Vince’s first wife, Ruth (Coolidge). They appear to be escaping from something unclear and Rocco is hiding an ominous situation. He never did divest himself from the family business. Then we have an aging Mafioso called Lefty (Bill Murray) who is trying to settle a score with Rocco. Pete Davidson plays Lefty’s quirky sidekick.

Directed by Dito Montiel (Festival selection Man Down in 2015). and written by John Pollono (TIFF ’17’s Stronger), Riff Raff is gloriously irreverent, taking a deadpan approach to both humour and violence, while inserting some hilarious surprises along the way. Every member of the film’s dream cast has fun with even the most grotesque moments, but special mention goes to Murray, who should be on everyone’s A-list for heavies, and Coolidge, whose singular way with words makes beautiful music of Ruth’s filthiest dialogue.

We highly recommend this movie if you want something rather light, family-oriented (with a twist) and funny.

Sometimes all we need is just that.

This film is well executed.

Film Reviews

Sofia Coppola’s “PRISCILLA”

From a German army base to Graceland, the true story of “PRISCILLA” is one of love, fantasy and fame.

On October 7th, the 42nd Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) held the Canadian premiere of “PRISCILLA” as a special presentation which I had the opportunity and pleasure of watching at the Vancouver Playhouse.

This is the third worldwide screening of this film, based on the 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me” written by Priscilla Presley. Presley served as Executive Producer on this biographical drama (set for release in November) which is written, directed and co-produced by Sofia Coppola. In my opinion, Coppola’s best work since 2003’s “LOST IN TRANSLATION.”

This film premiered last month at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it received a seven-minute long standing ovation, and later screened as the Centerpiece Selection of the 2023 New York Film Festival on October 6th. Last night, October 7th, was the Canadian Premiere right here in Vancouver.

Some people cannot seem to get enough of Elvis even to this day; but this movie is all about Priscilla from her POV told through the lens from her first meeting with the superstar as a 14-year- old innocent girl while he was stationed at an army base in Germany, through a long courtship, to moving into Graceland with him at 17, a turbulent marriage (depicting news stories of alleged affairs with Elvis and stars like Nancy Sinatra & Ann-Margret), a baby, then divorce.

Many people think that they already know the story, but you will never know it quite so well as the eye opening way it’s told in this movie. Coppola did a wonderful job of portraying a coming-of-age true life docudrama. No wonder she got such a long standing ovation. There was one last night too but I didn’t count the minutes.

Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis did an amazingly convincing job of playing these iconic characters. The script was fluid and the story was both provocative and compelling. I would recommend this movie, especially if you love real life stories.

Side note:

I toured Graceland with my late husband when we were passing through Memphis about 20 years ago. There were very few people there at that time.

I spent a very enjoyable evening at a private party in Montreal with Priscilla’s after Elvis boyfriend Mike Stone (he was in town training another famous entertainer). There’s a scene in the movie with someone portraying him. I was not even 20 at the time, and Mike was a gentleman to make sure I got home okay.

If you want to know the backstory: Stone met Elvis and Priscilla Presley in 1968 at the Mainland vs. Hawaii Karate Championships promoted by Elvis’ longtime karate instructor Ed Parker. Stone had a young child and a pregnant wife, and working as a bodyguard for record producer Phil Spector.

After the show, Elvis invited Stone back to the couple’s penthouse suite where Elvis suggested that Priscilla train with Stone. Three weeks later Priscilla made the 45-minute drive to Stone’s school in Huntington Beach. Because of the distance Priscilla opted to train with Chuck Norris who had a school in West Los Angeles, which was closer to the Presley home. Stone would make occasional trips to Norris’s school to train Priscilla. The relationship soon turned romantic, contributing to Elvis and Priscilla’s split in February 1972 and divorce in 1973. Stone and Priscilla would eventually split up because he sold a story to the Globe tabloid entitled “How I Stole Elvis Presley’s Wife From Him“. Priscilla said she split with Stone then, “because he went to the press”.

Stone revealed in a 2020 podcast interview that he dated actress Michelle Pfeiffer when she took karate lessons from him to prepare for her role on the short-lived TV series B.A.D. Cats (1980).

While there were some scenes from Palm Springs, California; principal photography and filming took place in Toronto, Ontario – two places I’ve lived.

Filming Trivia:

The entity which owns the rights to Elvis’ music declined to give permission for any of his songs to be used in the film, so Coppola looked for creative alternatives in compiling the soundtrack, including the use of contemporary music by her husband Thomas Mars and his band Phoenix, in addition to cover versions of songs from the era in which the film is set.

According to an interview with The Guardian in March 2023, Sofia Coppola had to cut a week’s worth of scenes from the script after some of the film’s financing dropped out shortly before shooting was due to begin.

**Due out in Theatres on November 3rd.**

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxbZyvCJc6U

Film Reviews

HAPPY 40th to VIFF!

How convenient and nice of the Vancouver International Film Festival to let us stream most of the 2021 movies, documentaries, short films + animations from the comfort of home. But what was really wonderful after such a long hiatus, was to be able to view these amazing films in person “in-cinema.” Seems like a long time.

Highlights:

VIFF could not have been more excited to roll out the red carpet this year with Special Presentations that were a cause for celebration. The scope of work that was showcased was simply phenomenal, featuring auteurs like Terence Davies and Kenneth Branagh; stars such as Tilda Swinton and Benedict Cumberbatch; and a spectrum of stories ranging from intimate human dramas to towering historic narratives.

**Belfast** is a 2021 *British-Irish* black-and-white coming of age comedy-drama film written and directed by **Kenneth Branagh.**

Special Presentations included one world premiere, one Canadian premiere, and the latest addition to the VIFF lineup: The Power of the Dog by Jane Campion, which focuses on the charismatic rancher Phil Burbank who inspires fear and awe in those around him until his brother brings home a new wife and her son, tormenting them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love; starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Additional highlights included the world premiere of The Sanctity of Space by Renan Ozturk and Freddie Wilkinson, which follows the directors as they traverse Denali National Park and uncover the story of pioneering photographer and cartographer Bradford Washburn; the Canadian premiere of Red Rocket by Sean Baker (The Florida Project), a luminous, seriocomic fable about America’s underclass through the eyes of a washed-up porn star in Texas; and Memoria by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the director’s first film in English starring Tilda Swinton as an expat orchid grower in Colombia with a strange malady.

**Power of the Dog** – Jane Campion, Australia/New Zealand, 2021. In her strongest movie since The Piano, Jane Campion turns the machismo of the Western film on its head. **Benedict Cumberbatch** is the tyrannical cattle rancher at war with his own brother (Jesse Plemons) in this stark, revelatory drama.

The only animation I screened was Lamya’s Poem, the animated feature whose voice cast includes Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Millie Davis (Wonder) and Faran Tahir (Iron Man).

The film charts the story of a 12-year-old Syrian refugee who is given a book of poetry of classic 13th-century Persian poet, Rumi. As the perils of her journey mount, the book becomes a magical gateway. It was amazingly well executed.

I followed that with Disney blockbuster “Cruella” featuring the two “Emma’s” – Stone and Thompson – both outstanding if you haven’t already seen it. Reminded me of “The Devil Wears Prada.” This was not part of the VIFF lineup; but it made me ponder the notion of having watched an excellent animation that was based on a real person with historical fact followed by a movie acted out by real people that was based on animated fiction.

We hope you join us next year. In the meantime you might be able to catch “best of the fest” at https://viff.org/Online/default.asp