6 — Monday, March 9, 2015
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
‘Sea’ more than plot
FILM REVIEW
What it lacks in
storytelling, “Song of
the Sea” makes up for
emotion
By BENJAMIN ROSENSTOCK
For The Daily
“Song of the Sea” may suffer
in storytelling, but it certainly
prospers at crafting an emotional
tale. While other Oscar-nominated
animated
features
of
2014
delighted
in
superhero
comedy
(“Big
Hero
6”)
and
dragon-hunting
action
(“How
to
Train
Your
Dragon 2”), and
still others explored new ways of
animating (“The Tale of Princess
Kaguya”), “Song of the Sea” is a
simple tale about loss and closure.
Like director Tomm Moore’s
first animated feature, the Oscar-
nominated “The Secret of Kells,”
“Song of the Sea” delves into
Irish
mythology.
Newcomer
Lucy O’Connell plays Saoirse, a
six-year-old girl who has never
spoken a word in her life. Saoirse’s
older brother, Ben (David Rawle,
“Moone Boy”) and her widowed
father, Conor (Brendan Gleeson,
“Edge of Tomorrow”) don’t realize
that like her late mother, Saoirse is
a selkie — a human who turns into
a seal when it enters the water.
The film opens with an elegant
first act portraying the profound
effect the death of Bronagh (Lisa
Hannigan, known for her career
as a singer-songwriter) has had on
her family. Conor spends nights
depressed at the pub while Ben
bullies Saoirse, clearly blaming
her for Bronagh’s death. One
night, Ben and Saoirse’s babysitter
granny (Fionnula Flanagan, “Yes
Man”) finds Saoirse asleep on
the beach. Declaring their island
home unsafe, Granny takes the
children with her to her house on
the mainland, leaving Conor to
grieve alone with their sheepdog,
Cú.
Despite the film’s emotional
core, “Song of the Sea” struggles at
crafting an original story. Behind
the creative mythological touches,
much of the film’s story relies on
another MacGuffin: a “selkie coat”
that Saoirse must find to save a race
of fairies from an evil owl witch
named Macha. The second act of
the film includes some playful,
amusing new characters, but it’s
not as interesting as the genuine
emotion of the beginning. Saoirse
wants to go home to find the coat,
and Ben just wants to see Cú, but
neither of these motivations are
strong enough to power the story.
Ultimately, the plot just feels
formulaic.
It
doesn’t
help
that
the
animation is hardly spectacular in
the middle section of the film. The
opening and closing acts are full of
rich hand-painted backgrounds,
from the swirling blues of the sea
to the muted grays and greens of
the sky, but the second act puts
an emphasis on the characters’
faces, which are flat and simplistic.
This traditional style fits the film,
but it doesn’t allow for additional
excitement in the middle parts.
The film also mostly stays away
from humor, aside from some light
touches, like Ben going to the pain
of vaulting a fence when the gate is
already unlocked.
Still, the film never reaches
slog status, and it’s all worth
it for what it builds to. Macha,
also voiced by Flanagan, is a
surprisingly tragic character, an
antagonist who takes away all
emotions in an effort to eliminate
suffering from the world. Her
wide owl eyes suggest painful
scars from her past, and the film
meditates on whether happy
moments are worth it with all
the sad moments that come with
them.
The film finally comes together
with a beautiful, awe-inspiring
ending that makes excellent
use of composer Bruno Coulais
and Irish band Kíla’s passionate
score. Ben is forced to confront
his misplaced resentment for his
sister, and Conor must move past
his anguish to be the father Ben
and Saoirse need. The film may be
a bit of a slow burn when it comes
to plot, but when the payoff is this
affecting, something as trivial as
plot is insignificant.
B
Song of
the Sea
Michigan
Theater
Studio Canal
STUDIO CANAL
I didn’t realize “Happy Birthday” was the song of the sea.
‘Carter’ ends first
season on heroic note
By DREW MARON
Daily Arts Writer
God bless Marvel and all
the beautiful people who made
“Agent Carter” possible. In
eight episodes,
“Agent Carter”
told a tight,
fun and highly
engrossing spy
story that tied
cleverly
into
the
Marvel
Cinematic
Universe
without
pandering
to
its
audience.
If
anything,
“Agent
Carter” ’s first season finale,
“Valediction,”
is
about
moving beyond the memory
of
Captain
America
(Chris
Evans, “Snowpiercer”) and the
reductive version of the World
War II era he represents. No
scene embodies this more than
when Peggy (Hayley Atwell,
“Black Mirror”) prevents a
hypnotized
Howard
Stark
(Dominic
Cooper,
“Captain
America: The First Avenger”)
from
releasing
the
deadly
insanity gas, Midnight Oil,
onto Time Square.
As Stark believes he’s flying
a plane into Antarctica to save
Cap, Carter must convince
him that Rogers is dead and
he’s never coming back. Atwell
really sells the devastation
and loss felt not only by
her character, but all of the
characters. It also reminds the
viewer that, although we know
Cap is just taking an icy nap,
Peggy and company need to
believe wholeheartedly that he
is dead and that they must move
on with their own lives.
It is also nice seeing “One
Tree Hill” star Chad Michael
Murray as Agent Thompson,
still a sleazebag at the end of
the episode. Even if the male
Agents came off as clichéd
misogynists in the pilot, the
actors and writers delivered
increasingly poignant moments
which made us care about
them despite their flaws —
especially
in
the
previous
episode where Shea Whigham
(“Boardwalk
Empire”)
delivered an outstanding final
performance as Chief Dooley,
a character who developed
from one-dimensional to tragic
hero. We begin with the Agent
recovering from his sacrifice
and the gruesome attack at
the theater. Viewers might
have been a little unsure about
how daring a show like “Agent
Carter” could be on network
television, but while it’s far
away from “Hannibal,” it still
provides much of the grit
necessary to tell the story of the
MCU’s forgotten past.
But,
in
classic
Marvel
tradition,
“Agent
Carter”
magically balances its tone
between dark and hysterical.
Howard Stark is particularly
amusing
during
the
press-
conference
with
Agent
Thompson. Let’s hope Cooper
becomes a series regular moving
forward. Edwin Jarvis (James
D’Arcy, “Jupiter Ascending”)
continues to prove a most loyal
and charming companion for
Carter, though it’s unclear how
often his surprisingly eventful
past will pop up in convenient
ways, such as it does when he
flies a plane at the end.
There are a few loose ends
that
might
disappoint
fans
who expect this to be the final
episode of the series. To wit,
we still don’t know everything
about Leviathan, the supposed
main threat of the series. Its
members, Fennhoff and Dottie
(Bridget
Regan,
“Jane
the
Virgin”), prove to be interesting
enough characters. Yet, their
motivation is still quite cloudy.
Their final confrontation with
Carter and company come off too
much like a Bond villain’s — and
not in a positive way, as Dottie’s
escape is too predictable. That
being said, she is excellent when
she interrogates Howard, whom
she forced to recollect names
she gave him in the past.
The
appearance
of
Toby
Jones
(“Captain
America:
The Winter Soldier”) at the
end, reprising his role as Dr.
Arnim Zola, will also please
fans of “The Winter Soldier.”
However, Fennhoff — wearing
an awesome Hannibal Lecter-
esque mask in the final scene —
proves to be far more than just a
one-note super-villain. We just
really hope he doesn’t become
HYDRA henchman number 37.
Nevertheless, all of these
minor gripes don’t get in the
way of “Agent Carter” pulling
off a great season finale to
an engrossing series. Here’s
hoping the hard work of “Agent
Carter” ’s cast and crew does
not go unnoticed.
TV REVIEW
A
Agent
Carter
Season 1 Finale
ABC
The hard work
of the cast and
crew should not
go unnoticed.