A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
Murtaza Ali Khan
Toronto
International Film Festival 2021 offered a very interesting lineup of
films. On one hand we had crowd pullers like Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ and
Edgar Wright’s ‘Last Night in Soho,’ on the other we had gritty dramas like Antoine
Fuqua’s ‘The Guilty’ and Michael McGowan’s ‘All My Puny Seasons’. The festival
also screened riveting documentaries like Mohammed Abugeth and Daniel
Carsenty’s ‘The Devil’s Drivers’ and Gian Cassini’s ‘Comala’. But, perhaps, the
most unique film to screen at the 2021 TIFF was Theodore Melfi’s dramedy ‘The
Starling,’ based on a screenplay by Matt Harris. The film stars Melissa
McCarthy, Kevin Kline, Chris O'Dowd, and Timothy Olyphant.
After
Lilly (McCarthy) and Jack (Chris O’Dowd) lose their infant daughter, grief gets
the better of Jack and he enrolls in a psychiatric clinic. But Lilly decides to
deal with her guilt while going about her day to day affairs. She keeps her job
at the grocery store, continues to look after the family’s expansive rural
property, and dutifully visits her husband at the clinic every week. Even as she
is trying to come to terms with the reality of her existence a combative bird
takes nest beside her quiet home and repeatedly taunts and attacks the
grief-stricken Lilly.
During
one of the sessions at the psychiatric clinic where Jack is staying, a
counselor suggests that Lilly should see a local therapist, Larry (Kevin Kline),
after she suspects that Lilly isn’t tending to her own grieving process. But
the counselor fails to mention that Larry gave up psychology long ago to become
a veterinarian. Things come full circle when Lilly meets Larry as the latter’s
veterinarian skills prove quite handy to the former in dealing with the
territorial bird wreaking havoc in her garden.
The
idea for the unique story stemmed from Matt’s personal experience of working in
a mental health hospital to earn a living while attending graduate school for
his Master’s. It evolved into a story of an inexplicable tragedy that befalls a
couple as they are forced to reconcile their grief and seek a way forward if
they are to share a future together. Matt wrote the script with the prize money
he won from the prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. It made
the rounds until director Ted Melfi fell in love with it. After years of near misses, the film finally got
made with its post production getting completed during the pandemic.
Now,
The Starling doesn’t offer a regular story. The ideas and themes that it deals
with makes it a very complex film. And perhaps that’s why it’s been in the
waiting for so long. And if it wouldn’t have been for Ted Melfi it would have
remained a screenplay for at least some more years to come. Melfi is known for
films such as ‘Winding Roads,’ ‘St. Vincent,’ and ‘Hidden Figures,’ which was
nominated for three academy awards including Best Picture and Best Adapted
Screenplay. The Brooklyn-born filmmaker has a rare gift to deal with subjects
that puts strong women characters in the mix of things. While ‘Winding Roads’
is about three women navigating their respective love lives, ‘Hidden Figures’
tells the story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served
a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
In
‘The Starling,’ Melfi has his job cut out to make the rather peculiar character
of Lilly look believable. And he does succeed in the task. Of course, the
casting choice of his ‘St. Vincent’ star Melissa McCarthy in the role of Lilly
proves to be an inspired one. McCarthy is one of the few actors around who are
capable of making the audiences laugh and cry at the drop of a hat. I remember
recently watching her in the Hulu show ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ wherein during
one of the funny scenes she chokes on a grape. McCarthy is so good in the scene
that I just couldn't hold back my laughter in spite of the precarious nature of
her situation. From that point onwards in the show whenever she appears on the
screen she is able to punctuate the tension. But few minutes into ‘The
Starling,’ I totally forgot about character in ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ and all
I really cared about was Lilly. That’s how good an actor McCarthy really
is.
‘The
Starling’ is a deeply philosophical film which is not easy to watch if you are
looking for your regular escapist entertainment. It’s a movie that demands
patience. But, patience does have its rewards. McCarthy’s layered performance
alone makes it worth a watch. The chemistry between McCarthy and Kline is what
holds the movie together. Melfi proves that what’s good on paper can also be
successfully translated on the screen as long as a director is willing to back
it up and he/she has access to good actors.
A version of this review was first published in The Daily Guardian.
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