Celebrated writer Milly Ivins is the star of this new documentary.
RAISE HELL - The Life & Times of Molly Ivins/Facebook
Fans of Molly Ivins, the Austin-based journalist, humorist, and media firebrand whose byline appeared in such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Texas Observer, may want to check out the new documentary on her life, Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins, which hits local theaters on Friday, August 30.
The doc is directed by award-winning filmmaker Janice Engel (no relation to Margaret and Allison Engel, the twin-sister journalists who wrote the 2010 play Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins).
Raise Hell chronicles Ivins' career as a sharp-tongued, rabble-rousing, leftist reporter and columnist who went after corruption wherever she found it — most particularly, in her home base of Texas — before she passed away in Austin in 2007 at the age of 62, after a long bout with Stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer.
Dan Rather, Paul Begala, and Rachel Maddow are some of the people who are interviewed, and a portion of ticket sales will be split between the ACLU and The Texas Observer.
AFS Cinema will feature a little something special when the movie plays there on opening weekend. At the Friday screening at 7:30 pm, Texas Observer editor Andrea Vasquez will join former editor Nate Blakeslee in conversation and host a Q&A.
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Tickets for Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins are available via AFS Cinema.
Jodie Foster has been a member of the Hollywood community for almost 60 years, first as a child actor on TV, and then branching out into movies. She earned an Oscar nomination at the tender age of 14 for her role in Taxi Driver, and she’s gone on to be nominated five times, winning twice. Now, at age 63, she’s showing she’s still capable of surprises by fluently speaking another language in the French film, A Private Life.
Foster plays Lilian Steiner, a psychiatrist who sees patients out of her Parisian apartment. When she learns of the death of one of her patients, Paula (Virginie Efira), she’s sad but otherwise unaffected until a few suspicious things start happening. This includes the robbery of her apartment, in which a recording of Paula’s last session with Lilian goes missing.
With the help of her ex-husband, Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil), Lilian becomes an amateur private detective, tracking the movements of Paula’s husband, Simon (Mathieu Amalric), whom she increasingly suspects of murder. At the same time, Lilian must navigate a tense relationship with her son, Julien (Vincent Lacoste), along with an unexpected rekindling of romance with Gabriel.
Written and directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, and co-written by Anne Berest, it is a psychological thriller that at times feels like an Inspector Clouseau movie. With little to go on but her own perhaps misguided suspicions, Lilian digs herself deeper into a situation of her own making. And she further clouds her mind by indulging in a tryst with Gabriel, who’s all too eager to help Lilian pursue her criminal theories. While the film is not a comedy, there are elements of humor that pop in to keep the story light.
Zlotowski plays with the competing tones of the story well, keeping viewers on Lilian’s side even as she indulges in things that might not be the healthiest for her. Lilian’s various eccentricities — an adherence to recording on old-fashioned mini discs instead of fully digital, keeping an emotional distance from her son and grandson — make her a fascinating character whose vacillating motivations keep viewers guessing as to what she’ll do next.
In a lot of ways, the film is a study of how Lilian needs to try to find ways to heal herself. The possibility of Paula being murdered wakes Lilian up to the idea that she has not been as attentive a doctor as she should be. The sessions with different patients that Zlotowski shows give the impression that there’s a general level of dissatisfaction with her, with one patient outright breaking up with her.
Foster is no less compelling speaking mostly in French than she is in English language movies. Her fluency is never in doubt, and she fits in seamlessly with the actual French actors in the film. Auteuil is a fun counterpart for Foster, showing an unexpected chemistry with her that keeps their scenes crackling with energy. Amalric, a Wes Anderson favorite, has a relatively small role but still stands out when he gets a chance.
A Private Life is not the type of thriller that American audiences might be used to, but its slow, methodical storytelling and subtle humor make it an interesting watch from beginning to end. The film is not up for any awards, but Foster’s performance shows she remains a top-tier actor.
