I must be getting soft in my old age.
That’s the only justification I can offer for my irrationally misty-eyed approach to my last festival diary for the 49th Annual Telluride Film Festival. That or I’m super, super tired. Maybe a little homesick. Ok, more than a little. It’s been a crazy busy summer.
Anyway, Day 4 of the Telluride Film Festival should have begun with Mark Cousin’s new documentary My Name is Alfred Hitchcock. Reportedly, the film provides an intimate and profound look at the making of Hitch’s classic films. Unfortunately, when the sun rose over the impossibly beautiful Telluride mountains, my body did not rise from its slumber. It remains on my list to see, though, and reviews have been strong so far.
That made Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All our first film for the day. Admittedly, despite the good reviews coming out of Venice, I’d been reluctant to see the film. Cannibalism and all, you know. However, when Sasha and I bumped into Luca and he professed his love for her and Awards Daily, I knew I had to man up.
So, Bones and All stars Taylor Russell (Waves) and Timothée Chalamet as two lovers who happen to have been born with a hunger for human flesh. And there’s really no getting around that fact. While the cannibalism gore isn’t that extreme (not like something out of Cannibal Holocaust), it’s very much present. If you’re able to overlook that (and admittedly, it’s a big “if”), then you will be treated to a road trip film about blossoming love. Russell and Chalamet give very strong performances, Chalamet’s best work since Guadagnino’s own Call Me By Your Name. Did I look away at some scenes? Yup, but the gore in Bones and All never feels that gratuitous given the context of a film whose main characters eat people out of a biological necessity. That’s an incredibly difficult thing to convey, and I even laugh at myself for typing that sentence. Yet, there it remains. In my eyes, Guadagnino continues to impress with his unusual, challenging, and brilliantly fashioned films.
Immediately following Bones and All, Netflix’s The Wonder couldn’t have been a more different film. Starring Florence Pugh, the film has the feel of something like Agnes of God as it unfolds a story about an English nurse (Pugh) called to Ireland to watch a young girl who reportedly hasn’t eaten in four months. The town’s council feels a religious presence at play, so they want to rule out human interference before declaring a miracle. The Wonder unfolds gradually, revealing tiny details along the way that provide hints to the resolution. It’s beautifully filmed, and Florence Pugh’s controlled performance is a truly special piece of acting. I’ll say no more as the film’s success heavily depends on the element of surprise. In the end, it made for an excellent palate cleanser after taking a bite (I couldn’t resist) out of Bones and All.
After a quick last supper with the team, I took in another Netflix film, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, as my final film of the 2022 Telluride Film Festival at the gorgeous and historic Sheridan Opera House. While that venue’s sound system isn’t perhaps as strong as the other cinemas in the area, the historic feel of the place makes it a must-do venue. Entering the theater, you feel the decades wash around you. You can imagine old Vaudeville performers onstage, and the ghosts of the theater – built in the early 1900s – feel incredibly present.
With Lady Chatterley’s Lover, you all know the general story and the novel’s scandalous reputation. Newlywed Lady Chatterley (The Crown Emmy nominee Emma Corrin) longs for a physical affection after Lord Chatterley (Matthew Duckett) becomes paralyzed from the waist down in war. Wanting an heir to carry on the family name, Lord Chatterley offers his wife the opportunity to take a lover strictly for the act of procreation. She initially rejects the concept until she meets the strapping groundskeeper Oliver Mellors (Jack O’Connell) and begins a torrid love affair. Looking at a modern adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, the first question you ask is, “How’s the sex?” Well, it’s abundant and seemingly very, very real. There must have been on-set intimacy coordinators, of course, but it’s extremely realistically conveyed. At least one scene feels like a documentary, but I fully credit the actors for fully going there and being committed to the material. Corrin, in particular, acquits themself nicely, eliminating all thoughts of their work as Princess Diana.
Even if the production seems very much akin to Downton Abbey but with sex (a LOT of sex), Lady Chatterley’s Lover will fully satisfy a lot of audiences. It’s also refreshing to see a film going to sexual extremes again. Sex remains one of the most basic human experiences, yet recent films pretend it doesn’t exist at all or references it off-screen. Lady Chatterley’s Lover hits that head-on and brings sex back to the cinema. I am here for that, even if I couldn’t help but laugh a handful of times at the frankness of the sexual moments.
In fact, and I mean this as a compliment, I couldn’t help but think of an old Tom Hanks Saturday Night Live sketch called “Tales of Ribaldry.” Lady Chatterley’s Lover isn’t as awkward as that sketch, but it made me smile still.
And that closes my diaries on the 49th Annual Telluride Film Festival. Hope you enjoyed them, and I’m already planning for next year’s 50th celebration. Hopefully, my good friend Mark Johnson can make it next year.
Until then…