By Jan Wahl–
Ever play that game around a table full of friends asking, “What is your one favorite character trait of your own?” It is a good question to start us off on a positive during these challenging times. Answering the question myself, my first thought is enthusiasm, something I was glad to have after long, slow, ridiculous movies. Thankfully, adventurous is another great adjective for some of us, including three fabulous movie stars who came forward this year with sensational, courageous performances.
Pass on the flat, one-dimensional women of Nicole Kidman (the derivative Babygirl) and Angelina Jolie (Maria, which turns the remarkable Maria Callas into an ad for anti-depressives). Instead, meet gutsy Kate Winslet in Lee. Lee Miller was a leading model in 1920s Paris, basking in an avant-garde life. She needed more, and when World War Two began, she found her way to the front, becoming a war photographer. We see what Lee sees, her photos taking us with her, from battlegrounds to Hitler’s private bathtub.
Winslet wears her insides on the outside, sending me straight to a 2020 documentary, Capturing Lee Miller, and googling everything I can find about this woman who broke taboos and defied expectations. This is an Oscar-worthy performance.
At the same time, I am rooting for two men who took on unforgettable characters. My favorite movie of 2024 was A Real Pain, a story of two mismatched cousins who travel to Poland in search of family roots. Directed, written, and starring Jesse Eisenberg, it is Kieran Culkin who steals the show in this perfect 90 minutes of hopeful, healing, and honest filmmaking. How about a new rule? If you can’t tell it in around 90 minutes, don’t tell it!
The other good news concerns the actor I never miss: Adrian Brody. The Brutalist is made for those of us interested in architecture, and at 3 hours and 35 minutes, gives this wild actor a workout. He’s up for it, as is Ralph Fiennes in a better film, Conclave.
So, now I’m asking: Where’s the comedy? We need light as well as profundity, and fortunately Twisters and Wicked let in some cinematic thrills. Wicked was disappointing, but worth seeing to find the fuss, and who knew that a new disaster movie, Twisters, would make storm chasing a bit of scientific fun?
Sing Sing lets a sliver of light in prison, reminding us of the value of theatre no matter where it lives. Blitz, like Wicked and Twisters, delivers on amazing special effects and doesn’t feel like it came from a computer. Timothée Chalamet learned to sing and play the guitar as Bob Dylan for A Complete Unknown, sending me to the 2005 documentary by Martin Scorsese, No Direction Home. Chalamet gives us the male leading performance that will win the Oscar.
Just when we need it the most, the frothy musical Some Like It Hot is in San Francisco, quenching our thirst in this Chicago prohibition musical comedy. Escape with two musicians as they go underground with a girls’ band. We all know Billy Wilder’s 1959 comedy classic, often called the greatest movie comedy of all time. The stage musical is different, changing circumstances to fit perfectly with the jazzy songs and Tony-winning choreography. Get some needed razzle dazzle at the Orpheum Theatre with Sugar Kane, Spats Columbo, and Sweet Sue at Some Like It Hot, now through January 26, 2025!
Fasten your seatbelts for what promises to be an unusual Oscar race; the 97th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 2, 2025. It’s an odd year, so get the engines revved: start your viewing.
Jan Wahl is a Hollywood historian and film critic on various broadcast outlets. She has two Emmys and many awards for her longtime work on behalf of film buffs and the LGBTQ community. Contact her at www.janwahl.com
Off the Wahl
Published on January 16, 2025
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