The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, March 30, 2016 — 5A
Unconventional rom-
com ‘Doris’ a success
By ANA LUCENA
Daily Arts Writer
An elderly woman pursu-
ing her hot, younger coworker
could sound like a straightfor-
ward,
uncre-
ative
story,
but “Hello, My
Name Is Doris”
creates an arc
as much about
an
endearing
woman explor-
ing society as
it is about her
lust.
The film is
about
Doris
Miller, a shy
packrat in her
late 60s who works at a hipster
fashion company in New York
City, played wonderfully by
Sally
Field
(“The
Amazing
Spider-Man 2”). She hasn’t had
much of a chance to live freely
as she has been dutifully living
with her mother, a hoarder who
passes away at the beginning
of the film. After attending
a lecture by a motivational
speaker, Doris is inspired to
make a change. Right from the
get-go we see Doris’s internal
conflict. Her world is turned
upside down with the timely
arrival
of
new
handsome
coworker John Fremont (Max
Greenfield, “Veronica Mars”).
After being sensually squished
together in a cramped elevator
at work, Doris becomes smitten
with John.
At first I was concerned she
would wreak havoc on John’s
life as she becomes obsessed
with her love for him, like in the
2003 French film “He Loves Me
… He Loves Me Not” that also
has a plot sparked by a chance
encounter. Thankfully, Doris’s
integrity as her own person is
consistent throughout, keeping
her from seeming silly as she
chases a man decades younger
than her. The way she falls
in love at first doesn’t feel
so cliché after knowing her
restrained past, keeping the
focus on Doris growing. With
her tough best friend Roz (Tyne
Daly,
“Judging
Amy”)
and
Roz’s granddaughter (Isabella
Acres, “Sofia the First”) by her
side, Doris successfully enters
a friend group of millennial
coworkers
who
appreciate
her interesting fashion sense.
These
millennials
provide
much needed insight into the
younger
generation
as
she
navigates spending time with
John. The plot takes dramatic
turns,
keeping
Doris
from
feeling wacky. It also grounds
her in the real struggles of
reaching old age, making her
story go beyond the surface
humor to incorporate striking
perspectives on aging as well.
Sally Field is completely
lovable as Doris, one of the
best elements of the film in
spite of her eccentricities and
far-fetched goals. Not even
her
addiction
to
romance
novels can make the way she
tackles her affection for John
predictable, nor the outcomes
of her attempts to pursue him.
Her frequently amazed face
conveys a delightful optimism
you would expect to have been
extinguished by her age. Seeing
an older woman so resolved to
enjoying life and loving more
reminds me of another talented
actress, Ruth Gordon as Maude
in “Harold and Maude.” I’m
happy that Field is able to land
another stellar role in her long
career as she nears 70, knowing
that actresses tend to struggle
to find leading roles as they age.
Though Field is very funny,
the humor of the film fell flat at
times. As Doris makes friends
with
young
adults,
there
were jokes about the growing
reliance on technology and
the increased visibility of the
LGBTQ
community.
While
never
mean-spirited,
they
did a poor job of showing the
difficulty of Doris’s dream to
get with her young coworker by
illustrating how wide the age
gap is between them.
The
most
exciting
thing
about
“Hello,
My
Name
Is Doris” is Field’s return
as a leading lady. The film
revolving
around
Doris
to
incorporate its commentary on
millennials and New York City,
is successful overall, though
not overwhelmingly so. But
with the lead being as comic yet
realistic as Doris, rooting for
her is entertaining from start to
finish.
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
SMTD performs
adapted ‘Invalid’
By KELLY MARTINEK
Daily Arts Writer
The School of Music, Theatre
& Dance’s Department of Theatre
& Drama will close their 2015-
2016
season
in the coming
weekends with
a production of
“The Imaginary
Invalid,” direct-
ed
by
Daniel
Cantor, associ-
ate professor of
Theatre, Acting
and Directing.
“The Imagi-
nary Invalid” is
a farce written
by 17th century
French
play-
wright Molière,
one
of
the
“iconic playwrights of the West-
ern canon,” according to Cantor.
The play tells the story of Argan,
a severe, albeit fiscally cheap,
hypochondriac who devises a
plan to receive free healthcare
by marrying his daughter off to
a doctor.
SMTD will be performing a
1999 translation and adaptation
of the piece by James Magruder
for the Yale Repertory Theater.
Since
Magruder’s
adaptation
includes musical interludes that
reference New Haven, Connecti-
cut and other specific references
to the Yale Repertory Theatre,
Cantor and his team got permis-
sion to change those references
to pertain to their production on
campus.
Cantor has 30 years of profes-
sional theatre experience under
his belt, both acting and direct-
ing. He has chosen to set this pro-
duction in the period of the Belle
Époque, between 1890 and 1900,
instead of the 17th century, in
which it was originally written.
“Based on my interpretation of
the themes in the play, it encour-
aged me to set it in this period,”
Cantor said. “This period has a
particular kind of aesthetic, so the
set, costumes, the music are all
influenced by that period and that
aesthetic.”
To create the aesthetic, Can-
tor has the help of an artistic team
made up of both undergraduate
students and faculty. According to
a press release, the show’s lighting
designer is School of Music, The-
atre & Dance junior Abbey Koji-
ma and the costume designer is
School of Music, Theatre & Dance
senior Lindsay Balaka. Both are
BFA design & production majors
in the Department of Theatre &
Drama. Vincent Mountain, associ-
ate Professor of Theatre & Drama
Vincent Mountain is the play’s
scenic designer. The sound design
is by School of Music, Theatre &
Dance and Business senior Billy
Cedar with music direction by
School of Music, Theatre & Dance
senior Alex Bonoff.
After the performance on Fri-
day, there will be a “Curtain Call,”
a post-performance discussion
about the play with Cantor and
members of the cast and produc-
tion team, which will be free and
open to all.
On stage, the cast is made up of
18 actors, including an ensemble
of seven who will sing, dance and
play instruments during the musi-
cal interludes throughout the play.
“It’s a heightened style. It’s
somewhat broad; it’s pretty fast,”
Cantor said. “It requires a cer-
tain degree of actors really hav-
ing chops, like having technical,
mechanical chops to be able to
perform almost with a kind of
athleticism, and it’s very physi-
cal, too, so you need physically
skilled performers. So it requires
a high degree of skill, but like with
any comedy, there’s the style of it,
and then inside the style of it you
still have to be a character who is
trying to get something and who
wants something and who really
feels things.”
The play includes elements of
true satire and social commentary,
but most of all, Molière is known
for his comedy.
“He’s one of the greatest comic
writers who ever, ever lived,” Can-
tor said. “So if you do his plays
well, and hopefully we’ll do them
well, it is just an absolutely great
time … I think seeing a really high-
energy, vital, hilarious, smart, fun
play makes you feel good.”
Evolving Cardiknox
By CATHERINE BAKER
Daily Arts Writer
“Just another girl from a
small town with big dreams /
Just another wild heart who’s
looking to break free / And the
locks on the doors only make me
want more of the crown / In the
black of the night, there’s a hum
you can feel in the ground.”
The
opening
lyrics
of
Cardiknox’s
breakthrough
full-length album Portrait set
the stage for the inventive and
experimental tracks that follow.
Breaking free of traditional pop
guidelines, the New York-based
electronic pop duo set a new
precedence of mixing ’80s beats
with modern pop elements.
Raised in the suburbs of Seattle
and
introduced
through
a
mutual friend, Lonnie Angle’s
classical piano training and
Thomas Dutton’s punk roots
combined to release the synth-
infused Portrait on March 11,
2016.
Starting off soft and steady,
“Earthquake” tests out new
instruments
and
electronics
to find Cardiknox’s voice. As
Angle’s vocals soar over the
background
beats,
multiple
layers and echoes make the duo
sound like a full band. “Doors”
leads with a cappella and a steady
drumbeat, slowing things down
for a vocal showcase. With
untraditional and catchy hooks,
the methodical and repetitive
chorus puts the listener in a
trancelike state as Angle sings,
“I cannot be defined by the
present or the past.”
Channeling The 1975, “Into
the Night” mutes its intro and
speaks of regrets and moving
on. As Angle croons, “Baby, I
remember everything you forgot
to say to me / Left me feeling
blue / I’m thinking that maybe I
was looking for something that
could save me / But it wasn’t
you,” the juxtaposition between
simple verses and a heavy, ’80s
inspired chorus is the perfect
example of the kind of music
Cardiknox makes.
“Bloodlust” takes on the role
of an experimental rock song
with dense electric guitars
and constant drumsticks. It’s
seductive
and
captivating,
using quick-witted lyrics like,
“I see you in my sleep / A vision
in the heat / I want to see what
you’ve got,” to draw the listener
in.
Closing
with
piano-based
“Shadowboxing” gives Angle
a chance to showcase her
classical training while still
adding
electronic
elements
to supplement Dutton’s style.
The swelling vocals feel like
an appropriate culmination to
the edgy and innovative album,
bringing the listener down
from the preceding fast-paced
tracks and providing a chance
to reflect on the experience.
The sweet and clear vocals
talk about fighting off demons
as Angle sings, “I’m fighting
someone / But no one’s there
/ I’m throwing punches into
the air / I’m shadowboxing.” It
simultaneously feels nostalgic
and hopeful and leaves the
album on a bittersweet note,
ready for Cardiknox’s next
project.
“Earthquake’s” closing lyrics
about sum up Cardiknox’s next
move when Angle proclaims,
“And when my feet land on the
dirt / You’ll feel the ground
shake / I’m gonna make my
mark / I’m coming like an
earthquake.”
ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
Stacey’s grandma has got it going on.
FILM REVIEW
B+
Hello, My
Name is
Doris
Michigan
Theater
Roadside
Attractions
The
Imaginary
Invalid
Mar. 31 & April
7 at 7:30 p.m.,
April 1, 2, 8 &
9 at 8 p.m.
April 3 & 10 at
2 p.m. Arthur
Miller Theater
$28 GA, $12 w/
Student ID
UK sex-fueled meta-
horror comedy ‘Nina’
By MADELEINE GAUDIN
Daily Arts Writer
Your exes will haunt you forever
— literally. In the debut film from
directing duo brothers Chris and
Ben
Blaine,
“Nina Forever,”
the
afterlife
meets this life
in the bedroom.
Emotionally
haunted by the
untimely death
of his girlfriend
Nina (Fiona O’
Shaughnessy
“Outcast”), Rob
(Cian
Berry
“Help Point”) finds love again
with his coworker Holly (Abigail
Hardingham “Sasquatch”). Then
the emotional haunting becomes
literal haunting, as Nina returns
every time the couple tries to have
sex.
For a horror/romantic drama
with a whacked-out plot, “Nina
Forever” is shot beautifully and
cleverly. Shots of the three leads
in bed show the messiness of their
relationship. Holly and Rob are
always, in some way, obscured by
Nina. As the two bicker about what
to do with the corpse in the room,
the
classic
over-the-shoulder
shot is played with, shooting the
dialogue over Nina’s shoulders.
The film begins dangerously
close to Manic Pixie Dream Girl
territory.
Holly
thinks
Rob’s
suicidal
depression
is
totally
hot. The pair first interact in the
storeroom of the grocery shop
over a shared pair of headphones.
Rob is dark and brooding. Holly
is desperate to show him how
dangerous and free she can be.
At first, the looming question in
“Nina Forever” is “when is Zooey
Deschanel going to show up?”
But then things get weird and
it’s great. After the initial horror
of ghosts not only being real, but
also watching you have sex sinks
in, the three fall into a weird, semi-
polyamorous relationship. Oddly
enough, Nina’s bloodied corpse
lying on the bed next to them
doesn’t seem to be a mood-killer.
But what haunts them more
than Nina’s physical presence is
the implications it carries. What
happens when someone you love
dies? What happens when you try
to love again?
Through
attempts
at
answering these questions, “Nina
Forever”
transcends
campy
horror and becomes something
philosophically charged. While
it asks more questions than it
answers, when the film does come
to terms with the harsh truths of
love, it soars.
The pair must grapple with
how to both honor Nina and move
on from her. Holly gets Nina’s
name tattooed on her lower back
(weird) and the pair try having
sex on Nina’s grave (even weirder).
There is no real resolution for
this problem, and that is why
“Nina Forever” is so wonderful. It
doesn’t have all the answers and it
doesn’t pretend to.
While most of the questions
“Nina
Forever”
leaves
unanswered
are
large
and
profound, some simple plot points
are left untouched. There’s quick
mention of a weird flirtation
between Rob and Nina’s mom
and a glazing over of the large
age gap between Holly, who
seems to be a college freshman,
and Rob, who already has a PhD.
Yes, these aren’t the questions
“Nina Forever” wants to spend its
time answering, but why further
complicate an already twisted
plot?
The elevator pitch of “Nina
Forever”
could
easily
sound
like another sex-fueled horror-
comedy of the post-“Scream” era.
But because it chooses to wrestle
with the hard questions that
underlie any film in this genre,
it becomes something beautiful,
heartbreaking and wholly its own.
FILM REVIEW
B
Nina
Forever
Jeva Films
Google Play,
iTunes, Amazon
Instant Video
WARNER BROS. RECORDS
They should faceswap.
ALBUM REVIEW
JEVA FILMS
“Paint me like one of your French girls.”