manage the trick, at least in her own mind. Imaginatively acted, endlessly atmospheric. In French with subtitles.
Directors: Calvin Skaggs, David Van Taylor. With assorted politicians and commentators. (100 min.)
Sterritt **** A scrupulously balanced look at the subject outlined in the title. Packed with historical, sociological, and cultural context.
Director: Niels Mueller. With Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle. (95 min.)
Sterritt **** Fictionalized account of a real-life businessman named Samuel Byck, whose frustration with getting nowhere led him to a mental breakdown and a crazy plot to kill the president in 1974. This is one of the rare movies to explore American materialism through the eyes of an all-too-ordinary person who isn't up to the challenges of everyday life.
Sex/Nudity: None. Violence: 6 scenes of gun violence. Profanity: 30 harsh profanities. Drugs: 5 scenes with alcohol, 4 scenes with smoking.
Director: Martin Scorsese. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Kate Beckinsale. (170 min.)
Sterritt *** Large-scale epic about the life and times of Howard Hughes, focusing on his experiences as a filmmaker, flier, aircraft designer, and world-class eccentric. DiCaprio is excellent as Hughes and Blanchett is even better as movie star Katharine Hepburn, one of his lovers. The film largely lacks the personal, idiosyncratic touches that distinguish Scorsese's greatest work, though.
