Michael Beach Archives

Review: ‘I’ll Be Right There,’ starring Edie Falco, Jeannie Berlin, Kayli Carter, Charlie Tahan, Michael Beach, Sepideh Moafi, Michael Rapaport and Bradley Whitford

September 10, 2024

by Carla Hay

Jeannie Berlin, Edie Falco and Kayli Carter in “I’ll Be Right There” (Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media)

Directed by Brendan Walsh

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed city in New York state, the comedy/drama film “I’ll Be Right There” features a predominantly white group of people (with a few African Americans and one person of Middle Eastern heritage) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A queer divorcée, whose family members are over-reliant on her, juggles family problems with her sexually fluid love life.

Culture Audience: “I’ll Be Right There” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and “slice of life” movies with good acting.

Charlie Tahan in “I’ll Be Right There” (Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media)

“I’ll Be Right There” has neurotic characters and a meandering storyline that can be frustrating and funny. Edie Falco’s performance improves this comedy/drama that can inspire debate about family loyalty versus co-dependency. Viewers who expect definitive conclusions and predictable character developments probably won’t like this movie very much. Although there are some moments that seem to be straight from a sitcom, “I’ll Be Right There” ultimately takes a believable approach to the reality that most people can’t or won’t change their flaws in just a few months and might not change their flaws at all.

Directed by Brendan Walsh and written by Jim Beggarly, “I’ll Be Right There” had its world premiere at the 2023 Hamptons International Film Festival. The movie, which was filmed in New York state, takes place in an unnamed small suburban city in New York state. It’s the type of small city where neighbors know each other’s personal business, and gossip quickly spreads.

“I’ll Be Right There” begins with main character Wanda (played by Falco) accompanying her hypochondriac, widowed mother Grace (played by Jeannie Berlin) to a doctor’s appointment. Grace, who has been a longtime smoker, is convinced that she has lung cancer. Grace and Wanda are waiting for Grace’s physician Dr. Hoover (played by Fred Grandy) to tell them what are the results of Grace’s recent physical exam.

As an example of the movie’s somewhat dark comedy, Dr. Hoover cheerfully delivers a good news/bad news diagnosis: The good news is that Grace does not have lung cancer. The bad news is that she has leukemia, but she hasn’t shown symptoms of leukemia yet. Dr. Hoover concludes the appointment by telling Grace: “You might die of something else entirely before the leukemia ever presents itself.” After the appointment, Grace’s reaction is to immediately light up a cigarette.

Wanda works as a bookkeeper and has been divorced for many years. She has a prickly relationship with her unreliable ex-husband Henry (played by Bradley Whitford), who has three sons under the age of 12 with his current wife Allison, who is not seen in the movie. Henry still lives in the area, but he spends almost all of his family time with Allison and their children instead of the children he has with Wanda.

Henry and Wanda have two children in their 20s: Sarah (played by Kayli Carter) is pregnant with her first child (a boy) and due to give birth soon. Sarah is eight months pregnant in the beginning of the movie; the father of the child is her fiancé Eugene (played by Jack Mulhern), who is unsophisticated and passive. Sarah is determined to get married in a traditional wedding before she gives birth. Wanda and Henry’s other adult child is Mark (played by Charlie Tahan), a recovering crack cocaine addict who is a habitual liar and chronically unemployed.

The movie barely shows Wanda doing any work at her job. Instead, she spends most of her time being at the beck and call of Grace, Mark and Sarah. Mark has a love/hate relationship with Wanda. At times, he complains that she is inattentive and that he has abandonment issues because of Wanda. Other times, Mark expresses deep resentment toward Wanda because he thinks she’s interfering in his life too much. Grace and Sarah are very close to Wanda—perhaps too close because they expect her to be like a therapist and a chauffeur for them.

Wanda isn’t saintly, but she shows extraordinary patience in dealing with the volatility and ungratefulness in her family. Later in the movie, she gives a monologue where she makes it clear that not only does she like having her family depend on her so much, but she also lives for this co-dependency and it’s what gives her the most joy, even when it can be very emotionally painful. Adding to the complexity of the character, Wanda is overly involved in her adult children’s life, and yet they still keep some secrets from her.

Meanwhile, Wanda (who doesn’t say what her sexual identity is) has a big secret of her own: She’s been dating an English professor named Sophie (played by Sepideh Moafi), who’s about 15 to 20 years younger than Wanda and who goes over to Wanda’s house for their sexual trysts. Wanda mentions at one point in the movie that dating women is a fairly new experience for Wanda. Sophie and Wanda are semi-closeted in different ways. Wanda doesn’t want her neighbors to know that she’s dating a woman, and she’s not ready to tell her family members.

Sophie doesn’t have a problem with Wanda’s neighbors knowing about their affair, but Sophie won’t introduce Wanda to anyone else in her life, and she doesn’t want Wanda to come over to Sophie’s place. Wanda and Sophie don’t go out on “couple’s dates”; they only have sexual hookups. It bothers Wanda that Sophie won’t let Wanda into other parts of Sophie’s life because Wanda wants to be more than just a casual fling to Sophie. Wanda tells Sophie about these concerns, but Sophie explains that she likes to keep Sophie’s life in compartments.

At the same time, Wanda has been dating an emotionally insecure restaurateur named Marshall (played by Michael Rapaport), who is in love with her, but Wanda does not feel the same way about him. Wanda hasn’t told Marshall that she is cheating on him and that she’s not heterosexual. Marshall is a bit of whiner who likes to complain about getting old and about an injury that he got from a broken wrist a long time ago.

Around the same time that Wanda is having these love-life complications, she becomes re-acquainted with a former classmate from high school named Albert Newman (played by Michael Beach), a divorced dad who has recently moved back to the area and is working as a firefighter. When Albert was in high school, he was bullied for being small and scrawny. As an adult, he is now muscular and confident.

Early on in the movie, there’s a scene that’s an example of how Wanda lets herself be used as a go-to problem solver and counselor for every real or imagined challenge in her family. Wanda is late going to Mark’s therapy session because Sarah has insisted that Wanda go with Sarah to a hospital. Sarah is having an emotional meltdown because she hasn’t felt her unborn baby kick for about 10 hours, so she assumes the baby might be dead. It turns out to be a false alarm.

Viewers might have varying feelings about Wanda’s co-dependency, based on how they think adults should or should not be involved in the lives of their parents or adult children. Is Wanda in the habit of rescuing her family members, or is she enabling them? “I’ll Be Right There” offers realistic performances, led by Falco, who has such exceptional talent, she can make even the silliest scene look somewhat credible. “I’ll Be Right There” is a solidly entertaining character study that doesn’t force the characters to go through drastic changes, but allows these characters to simply be who they are, whether it makes people comfortable or not.

Brainstorm Media released “I’ll Be Right There” in select U.S. cinemas on September 6, 2024. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on September 27, 2024.

Review: ‘Saw X,’ starring Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, Renata Vaca and Michael Beach

September 28, 2023

by Carla Hay

“Saw X”

Directed by Kevin Greutert

Culture Representation: Taking place in 2005, partially in New Jersey and mostly in Mexico, the horror film “Saw X” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some Latinos and a few African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: After being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, vigilante serial killer John Kramer (also known as Jigsaw) goes to Mexico, to undergo radical medical treatment, which he finds out is a scam, and he gets revenge on the scammers.

Culture Audience: “Saw X” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the very gory and violent “Saw” franchise, but “Saw X” has a better screenplay than the average “Saw” movie.

Paulette Hernandez in “Saw X” (Photo by Alexandro Bolaños Escamilla/Lionsgate)

“Saw X,” the 10th movie in the “Saw” horror film series, is the first movie in the series to be centered on the personal life of the mysterious and elusive vigilante serial killer with the nickname Jigsaw. It’s a little slow-moving in some areas, but this deep dive into John Kramer/Jigsaw’s cancer journey makes it one of the better entries in the “Saw” franchise. As is the case with every “Saw” movie, some of the bloody torture scenes can be unrealistic.

Directed by Kevin Greutert, “Saw X” (written by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg) has events that take place in between 2004’s “Saw” and 2005’s “Saw II.” The first “Saw” movie took place in New Jersey, where many subsequent “Saw” films also took place. “Saw” (still the best movie in the series) laid the groundwork of the horror concept of all the “Saw” movies: People who commit very immoral acts or serious crimes are held captive by Jigsaw in some kind of torture room. Each captured person is forced to complete a physical challenge in which the captured person has to cause severe self-injuries (such as dismemberment) in order to complete the challenge during a limited period of time—usually under 15 minutes.

Jigsaw leaves instructions on what to do on cassette tapes that are operated by remote control in the room or played by someone in the room. Those who survive are set free but must live with their physical injuries for the rest of their lives, as a reminder of their sins. Most of the captive people die by murder when their time runs out. A creepy, remote-controlled bike-riding doll named Billy, with an unsettling laugh, is part of the torture, like an evil court jester.

“Saw” revealed that Jigsaw was the mastermind behind these kidnappings, tortures and murders. In “Saw II,” it was revealed that Jigsaw/John Kramer has brain cancer, and his warped challenges were intended to make his victims have a newfound appreciation of life, if they survived. “Saw II” also revealed (mild spoiler alert) that one of Jigsaw’s former torture victims named Amanda Young (played by Shawnee Smith), who escaped from being killed in “Saw,” is now Jigsaw’s willing accomplice.

“Saw X” begins with John waking up in a medical chamber and then attending a support group with other cancer patients. During a visit to his doctor (played by David Alfano), John is told that he only has months to live. The doctor advises John to accept the diagnosis. John replies bitterly, “So, your advice to me is to die easy.”

As Jigsaw, John is still on a killing spree. He has captured and tortured a hospital custodian (played by Isan Beomhyun Lee), who has been stealing from patients. For his crimes, this thief has been strapped to a chair and is forced to wear goggles with long suction tubes attached to his eyes. You can imagine what happens next.

One of the people in John’s cancer support group is named Henry Kessler (played by Michael Beach), who tells John about how Henry had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, which is now in remission, thanks to radical cancer treatment that has not been approved by the U.S. government. Henry explains that the treatment, invented by the now-deceased Dr. Finn Pederson (Donagh Gordon, seen in flashbacks or news footage), is a groundbreaking drug cocktail combined with surgery that “tells the cancer cells to switch off.”

Because Finn’s clinical trials were shut down by the U.S. government, he took his medical operations to a remote facility (which used to be a chemical factory) near Mexico City, Mexico. (“Saw X” was filmed on location in Mexico City.) Finn’s daughter Dr. Cecilia Pederson (played by Synnøve Macody Lund) is carrying on his legacy.

With nothing left to lose, John decides to go to Mexico City to undergo this high-priced medical treatment. Unfortunately, the trailer for “Saw” already reveals something that isn’t shown until about halfway through the movie: The entire treatment is a scam, so John and his accomplice Amanda capture and torture the scammers.

Besides corrupt doctor Cecilia, the other people who are in on the scam are Diego (played by Joshua Okamoto), who drives John to the facility; anesthesiologist Mateo (played by Octavio Hinojosa), who is posing as a medical doctor with the name Dr. Ramon Cortez; a nurse named Valentina (played by Paulette Hernández); hacienda hostess Gabriela (played by Renata Vaca); and Parker Sears (played by Steven Brand), another patient undergoing treatment. Gabriela is a pill-popping drug addict, while Valentina as a secret life as a sex worker.

In the lead-up to the biggest torture scenes, viewers will see a side of John/Jigsaw that has never really been shown before: completely vulnerable and desperately hoping that this cancer treatment will work. The slow-moving parts of “Saw X” will make some viewers wonder when more action will take place. However, these are mostly mediative-type scenes that show John contemplating his future, thereby giving viewers a window into his complicated soul.

While undergoing the treatment that he thinks will work, John meets and becomes acquainted with a 9-year-old boy named Carlos (played by Jorge Briseño), who plays a significant role in the latter half of “Saw X.” As the central character in “Saw,” Bell gives a solid performance that shows more depth than the peripheral but still menacing role that Jigsaw has in almost all the other “Saw” movies, where Jigsaw’s screen time is limited.

There are touches of wry comedy, such as a scene where John is drawing some torture methods on a sketch pad, as if he’s doing some harmless doodling. And in another scene, when Cecilia asks John what he does for a living, he says that helps people “making positive changes in their lives.” Christine says, “Like a life coach.” He replies, “Something like that.”

Some of the torture scenes are absolutely the bloodiest and most sickening ever seen in a “Saw” movie. One scene involves someone literally doing self-brain surgery, which is the most unrealistic scene in the film, since anyone who inflicts this type of self-torture would probably be rendered unconscious. Some of the dismemberment scenes also defy reality, since people in real life would go into medical shock and pass out long before what’s shown in the movie.

However, “Saw” movies are not meant to be completely realistic. An end-credits scene shows the return of a character who first made an appearance in 2006’s “Saw III,” while another character first seen in “Saw X” is revealed to have been part of the medical scam. The quality of “Saw” movies will vary, but people keep coming back for more of these “Saw” movies to see who will be tortured next and why and how. It’s not exactly a film franchise that preaches morality, but there’s a sense that a warped type of justice is being served for very morally dubious reasons.

Lionsgate will release “Saw X” in U.S. cinemas on September 29, 2023.

Review: ‘The Harder They Fall’ (2021), starring Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, LaKeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler and Danielle Deadwyler

December 4, 2021

by Carla Hay

Danielle Deadwyler, Jonathan Majors and Zazie Beetz in “The Harder They Fall” (Photo by David Lee/Netflix)

“The Harder They Fall” (2021)

Directed by Jeymes Samuel

Culture Representation: Taking place in Texas in the mid-1880s, the Western action drama “The Harder They Fall” has a predominantly black cast of characters (with some white people, Latinos and Native Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class, wealthy and the criminal underground.

Culture Clash: When cowboy Nat Love finds out that his arch-enemy Rufus Buck has escaped from prison, Nat assembles a posse that battles against Rufus’ gang.

Culture Audience: “The Harder They Fall” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in well-acted, action-oriented Western dramas about the underrepresented African American cowboy culture of the 1880s, but viewers of the movie should have a high tolerance for over-the-top violence.

Regina King, Idris Elba and LaKeith Stanfield in “The Harder They Fall” (Photo courtesy of Netflix)

With grisly violence that is almost cartoonish, “The Harder They Fall” puts a well-acted spotlight on real-life African American cowboys of the 1880s. The movie’s excessive violence might be a turnoff to some viewers. But for viewers who can tolerate all the blood and gore, “The Harder They Fall” is a bumpy and thrilling ride with a top-notch cast.

“The Harder They Fall” is the second feature film of director Jeymes Samuel, who co-wrote “The Harder They Fall” screenplay with Boaz Yakin. Samuel, also composed the movie’s score, has said in interviews that the title of the movie was inspired by the 1972 movie “The Harder They Come,” starring reggae singer Jimmy Cliff—not the 1956 Humphrey Bogart/Rod Steiger movie “The Harder They Fall.” Samuel is a British filmmaker (he’s the younger brother of pop star Seal) who grew up adoring Western movies. However, Samuel eventually found out that these Westerns often gave inaccurate demographic depictions of what post-Civil War life was like the Old West of the 19th century.

In reality, people of color and women had much more agency and independence in Old West culture than what’s shown in most old-time Western movies, which usually portray only white men as leaders of cowboy posses. “The Harder They Fall” aims to course-correct these historical exclusions by doing a fictional portrayal of real-life African American posse members from the 19th century. In case it wasn’t clear enough, a caption in the movie’s introduction states in big and bold letters: “While the events are fictional, the people are real.” (At least the movie’s main characters are based on real people.)

“The Harder They Fall” also doesn’t sugarcoat the reality that there were good and bad cowboy posses. Black people are no exception. The African Americans in the movie are not portrayed as subservient stereotypes, but they aren’t exactly saintly either. Most are just trying to get by and live good lives, while there are some hardened criminals who create chaos for people who have the misfortune of crossing their paths. “The Harder They Fall” takes place in various parts of Texas, but the movie was actually filmed in New Mexico.

“The Harder They Fall” opens with a 10-year-old boy named Nat Love (played by Chase Dillon) witnessing the brutal murder of his parents—Reverend Love (played by Michael Beach) and wife Eleanor Love (played by DeWanda Wise)—during a home invasion. The gangsters shoot Nat’s parents, but they spare Nat’s life. The leader of this gang uses a knife to carve a cross on Nat’s forehead.

About 20 years later, Nat (played by Jonathan Majors) still has the scar on his forehead. And he’s had a lifelong obsession with getting revenge on the gangsters who killed his parents. Nat knows that Rufus Buck (played by Idris Elba) is the gang leader who is the main culprit for the murders. Rufus has recently been in prison for armed robbery and murder.

However, Nat finds out that Rufus has made a prison escape. Two of Rufus’ loyal cronies—ruthless Trudy Smith (played by Regina King) and smooth-talking Cherokee Bill (played by LaKeith Stanfield)—have hijacked the train where prisoner Rufus was being transported, and they broke Rufus out of the cell where he was being kept.

After Nat discovers that Rufus is now a free man (but still wanted by law enforcement), Nat assembles his own posse to get revenge. The other members of the Nat Love Gang are Mary Fields (played by Zazie Beetz), who is Nat’s feisty love interest; Bill Pickett (played by Edi Gathegi), who is a loyal and logical; Jim Beckwourth (played by RJ Cyler), who is a cocky young cowboy; and Cuffee (played by Danielle Deadwyler), who lives as a transgender man.

Nat makes a living by finding “wanted dead or alive” criminals for reward money. Nat has no qualms about killing these criminals if he thinks they deserve it. That’s what happens in an early scene in the movie when Nat shoots and kills a wanted criminal who shows up at a Catholic church with the intention of robbing the church. Nat’s reward is $5,000.

It turns out that Nat and his gang are outlaws too, because they make money by stealing from robbers. Therefore, one of their least-favorite people is Bass Reeves (played by Delroy Lindo), a U.S. marshal who’s determined to put a stop to all this criminal activity. In addition to seeking revenge on Rufus, the Nat Love Gang also wants to avoid capture by Reeves and his law enforcement team. The posse members on both sides are also mistrustful of Wiley Esco (played by Deon Cole), the Redwood City mayor whose allegiances can be murky.

It should be noted that in real life, Bass Reeves is the inspiration for the Lone Ranger character, which has been played by white actors in movies and television. Reeves was considered a pioneer for African Americans in law enforcement, because he did a lot to change American viewpoints that white people aren’t the only race who can become U.S. marshals. In real life, Reeves worked closely with Native American leaders. It’s an alliance that’s depicted in the movie too.

In many ways, “The Harder They Fall” follows a lot of the traditions of typical Westerns, with gun shootouts and chases on horseback. There’s also some romance, as Mary and Nat have an on-again, off-again relationship. Mary, who works as a saloon singer, has a hard time trusting Nat because he’s cheated on her in the past. Nat is an emotionally wounded rebel who’s trying to win back Mary’s heart, but first he has to learn how to heal his own broken heart.

And there’s inevitable fighting among posse members. Most of the friction in Nat’s gang comes from Jim and Bill having personality clashes with each other. Bill thinks Jim is arrogant and reckless, while Jim thinks that Bill is uptight and too cautious. It’s the classic older cowboy/younger cowboy conflict that’s often seen in Westerns.

There are also some gender issues with Cuffee, who wants to live life as a man, but some people think that Cuffee is a woman just doing a drag act. There are parts of the movie where people aren’t sure whether to call Cuffee a “he” or a “she,” since the word “transgender” did not exist at the time. And when Cuffee has to wear a dress (for reasons what won’t be revealed in this review), it makes Cuffee very uncomfortable. After seeing Cuffee in a dress, Jim blurts out that he now knows why was kind of attracted to Cuffee.

Damon Wayans Jr. has a small role in the movie as Monroe Grimes, someone who is captured by Nat’s posse members to get information about Rufus. As for Rufus, he’s a cold-blooded killer who has enough of a twinkle in his eye and swagger in his walk to indicate why his posse subordinates find him so magnetic. Mary can give Rufus a run for his money, in terms of being fearless in battle. Cherokee Bill is violent too, but he’s more likely to use psychology to try to outwit an opponent.

“The Harder They Fall” isn’t particularly innovative in the story structure and dialogue, but there are some impressive camera shots from cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr., and the movie delivers when it comes to adrenaline-filled action scenes. A standout camera shot is in a scene where the camera zooms in with a bullet-like trajectory at a group of posse members to then reveal that there are others standing behind them. Also adding to the striking visuals of “The Harder They Fall” is the first-rate costume design by Antoinette Messam, who brought a practical yet fashionable look to many of these Old West characters.

All of the actors perform well in their roles, with the best scene-stealing moments coming from Majors, King, Elba, Beetz, Stanfield and Deadwyler. Where the movie falters a bit is in how it abandons its mostly gritty realism for some stunts that are so heavily choreographed, it takes you out of the realism and just becomes a reminder that this movie’s fight scenes can sometimes look like ultra-violent parodies of fight scenes in Westerns.

What doesn’t come across as a parody is how credibly the cast members portray their characters. These engaging characters bring real heart and soul to “The Harder They Fall.” (There’s also a poignant plot twist/reveal at the end of the movie that might or might not be surprising to some viewers.) Even though not everyone makes it out alive by the end of the movie, it’s clear by the movie’s last shot that there’s room for a sequel for a spinoff.

Netflix released “The Harder They Fall” in select U.S. cinemas on October 22, 2021. The movie’s Netflix premiere was on November 3, 2021.