Talia Shire

  • Working Man (2019)

    Working Man (2019)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, November 2020) There’s a difference between interest and entertainment (or even satisfaction), and watching Working Man is a clear illustration of that. Before working hard at dismantling fairytales, this is a film that starts in very low-key fashion, as a blue-collar worker shrugs off being laid off by still going to his closed-down factory every day, cleaning up the place until a colleague with the required audacity manages to get the power back on. Before long, this colleague has put back the old crew together, telling them that if they can power through the rest of the inventory, they can sell their stock and attract investors. So far so good—despite the resolutely gritty and low-energy tone, it’s the kind of film we’ve often seen already, a feel-good myth for a society in its post-industrial phase. It’s immensely forgettable, and then comes the third act: the idea that some things are too good to be true, and that the Pied Piper leading the march can be delusional. That’s when Working Man becomes more interesting than entertaining: in-keeping with the naturalistic cinematography and soft-spoken characters, the film gets a bad case of fantasy dismantlement in which everyone learns a lesson and nobody gets the triumphant ending that they want. It’s a gutsy choice, and it does bring to mind older movies à la Norma Rae, embracing blue-collar labour activism, unflashy lives and serious character drama. It’s fortunate to be able to depend on some key actors—Peter Gerety plays an impassive protagonist, but he gets the right notes. Billy Brown has a trickier character whose likable bluster becomes something much darker later on, and anyone wondering what Talia Shire has been up to should have a look at her solid supporting performance here. Working Man is not spectacular, intentionally irritating and very much a throwback to 1970s cinema. It’s interesting… but don’t expect to like it very much.

  • Rocky III (1982)

    Rocky III (1982)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Blu Ray, September 2018) I may not like Sylvester Stallone or boxing all that much, and most of the Rocky series has left me lukewarm at best, but there’s something surprisingly interesting about this third film in the series and how it evolves naturally from the first two instalments. The opening five minutes is a montage (set to Survivor’s classic “Eye of the Tiger”) that pretty much give Rocky everything he’s ever wanted: Boxing success, a happy family, money and the mastery of the media that so eluded him in the second film. Naturally, there’s only one way to go from there, and after a hilariously mismatched bout with a wrestler, it’s on to a fight with a boxer with more fury and drive than Balboa at that point. As it usually goes in movies, losing means finding oneself, and so steps in Apollo Creed for a third and far more sympathetic turn in as many movies. While Rocky III is seldom less than formulaic, it does evolve with its characters, balance humour and tragedy (even of the melodramatic kind) and ends on a satisfying note, closing off a trilogy of sorts with a full character arc. (It’s interesting that the underdog roles have been switched a few times, but the film is clear about character being the ultimate determinant of valour—the antagonist here is hungry and driven, but ultimately not nice and henceforth inferior to a humbled hero.) Rocky III does have a few other charms, chiefly being a terrific capsule of the early eighties with no less than both Hulk Hogan and Mr. T in early roles. Carl Weathers is once again very good as Apollo Creed, while Sylvester Stallone does put in a few impressive physical scenes in portraying a heavyweight boxer. Even Talia Shire gets a nicely overdramatic sequence to play with, showing how her character too has evolved over three movies. It all amounts to a surprisingly interesting sequel at a time when most series are getting winded. After all, how different can you make movies all ending with a triumphant match?

  • Rocky (1976)

    Rocky (1976)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Blu Ray, September 2018) Intriguingly enough, Rocky is one of those movies that you think you’ve seen even if you haven’t: It was a massive success, earning both an Oscar and great box-office returns. It made Sylvester Stallone an icon, complete with iconic visuals (arms raised over Philadelphia) and sounds (“ADRIAN!”) It spawned a series of sequels still going forty years later, and is often used as shorthand description of just about every underdog sports drama out there. I may have seen Rocky as a kid, but not, to my recollection, as an adult. Remedying to that, I was struck by how (contrarily to many other movies so popular that you think you’ve seen them even if you haven’t) Rocky is darker than expected yet almost exactly what it says it is. It follows a declining not-too-bright boxer as he’s given a second chance, pursues a girl and dislikes his job as a loan-shark “collection agent.” Stallone is at his Stalloniest as Rocky Balboa, playing a simple character with some nobility. If it works, it’s because Rocky’s sports aspect takes a visible back seat to the character-driven drama: even the premise of a champ giving a chance to an unknown is purely arbitrary, albeit cloaked in good work from Carl Weathers. Talia Shire is cute enough as Adrian, with one good scene toward the end of the film being enough to elevate her role above being simply the romantic interest. Some of director John G. Avildsen’s visual touches are interesting—while most commentary about the film’s visuals focus on the “Rocky Steps” training montage, I was more impressed by a quiet static neighborhood shot showing Rocky hiring his manager, with a train passing in the background as a flourish. Rocky is not subtle, and it’s not sophisticated, but (much like its eponymous character), it’s tough and can absorb a lot of punishment. It holds up, and not just for those who like boxing.