Friends with Money (2006)

Just like yesterday's film, Friends with Money too was mentioned by Steven from Surrender to the Void earlier this year for the meltdowns week of the Thursday Movie Picks series. And just like yesterday's film, it sounded interesting, specifically because of Frances McDormand's meltdown scene, and I decided to check it out. 

The film follows a group of four girlfriends: three of them, Franny (Joan Cusack), Christine (Catherine Keener) and Jane (Frances McDormand) are wealthy and married; the fourth, Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), is a single former teacher who now works as a maid. While Franny, Christine and Jane find themselves in various stages of marriage —Franny is very happy with her husband Matt (Greg Germann), Christine keeps fighting with her husband David (Jason Isaacs) over the silliest things and Jane is constantly angry as she's afraid her husband Aaron (Simon McBurney) may be gay—, Olivia struggles to find a good man. 

The plot to this film doesn't really go anywhere. There's barely a plot, actually, as all the movie does is depicting the desperately sad marriages/love lives of four rich, spoiled women. Also, there are many elements —the three couples having kids, for instance— that could have been easily left out and absolutely nothing would have changed as they have no impact whatsoever on the story. Despite this, the story is compelling because the issues these women are facing are real, whether it's money related or dealing with the world in general. And it is so engaging I didn't want it to end —I was happy with the ending but at the same time I was unhappy with it because that meant I couldn't follow the lives of these women anymore.

Which is crazy considering that the characters don't have a lot of depth, lack development and only have a glimpse of characterization. We are not given any backstory either and because of it, it's impossible to figure out why the four women became friends in the first place as it doesn't seem like they have anything in common —at some point one of the women tells another that if they were to meet under their current circumstances, they might not become friends. Shouldn't we then know why they became friends?

Sony Pictures Classics

The cast, on the other hand, is delightful. Frances McDormand is terrific as Jane, a neurotic and frustrated designer who is losing control. Hers is a very annoying character but she turns her into such an entertaining and sympathetic one. Cathrine Keener does a nice job as Christine, but she could have been great if director and writer Nicole Holofcener bothered giving her a more developed character. Jennifer Aniston is very likeable and kind of relatable as Olivia, the miserably broke and single friend. The standout, however, is Simon McBurney as he is truly outstanding as the maybe gay husband.

Ultimately, Friends with Money could have used a better script —the dialogue is quite enthralling though—, but overall the film is pretty fun and entertaining, the cast does an amazing job and the meltdown scene featuring Frances McDormand is priceless.

A Cure for Wellness (2016)

I must have read positive reviews about A Cure for Wellness if I decided to add it on my watchlist. I can't remember though as I kept putting it off forever because of its length, two and a half hours. I mean, who's got time and willpower to watch such a long horror? I'm talking to non-horror lovers like myself. Anyway, I finally check it out and damn, it was good. 

The film follows Mr. Lockhart (Dane DeHaan), a young and ambitious financial executive from New York who is sent to a mysterious wellness center in the Swiss Alps to retrieve his company's CEO, Roland Pembroke (Harry Groener), whose signature is necessary to complete a merger. It is supposed to be a very easy task but soon Lockhart begins to question the true nature of the center and finds himself trapped at the wellness center as well. 

In terms of plotting, A Cure for Wellness is by no means perfect. It's not that original --rape and incest are quite common in the gothic horror genre--, there's a lot going on --simply too many storylines--, the pace is slow, it's a little confusing and there are many plot holes. Also, although they did try, there's no real twist here and the ending is a bit of a letdown --they should have left those last 20 minutes in the cutting room. That said, it's captivating, intriguing, so much so that I found myself transported into it, on the edge of my seat and glued to the screen from start to finish. 

There isn't much new with the characters either. The main character, Lockhart, is the morally corrupt financial executive whose family is his job that we have seen many times before. He is an icy, cocky and unlikable protagonist and yet he makes such a compelling protagonist. The credits entirely go to Dane DeHaan for it --and to the people who cast him because clearly, he is the perfect fit to play the character thanks to his constantly exhausted-looking face. Anyway, DeHaan, who has to carry the whole film on his shoulders, gives one of the best, if not the best performance of his career as he credibly expresses all the emotional and physical traumas his character is going and has gone through.

20th Century Fox

The supporting characters are quite interesting and intriguing as they are very odd and creepy and the cast does a good job. Jason Isaacs gives a mesmerizing performance as Dr. Volmer, the reasonable, mad(?) scientist who may or may not be conducting experiments on humans; Mia Goth gives a solid performance as Hannah, the mysterious teen patient who starts as a romantic interest but ends up being very relevant to the story.

The most striking aspect of A Cure for Wellness though is the visuals. The dreamlike cinematography is breathtaking, specifically as we see Manhattan's cityscape and follow Lockhart's through the Swiss Alps, but also while it captures the claustrophobic and dark sanitarium. Also impressive is Verbinski's ability in creating a grim and macabre atmosphere and the tension needed to keep the viewer glued to the screen.

Ultimately, A Cure for Wellness isn't very easy to watch, partially because of the slow pacing and long running time, partially because of the subject it deals with, but it makes for quite an exciting and thrilling experience.