Favorite Characters: T’Challa (The Avengers)

I adored T’Challa when I first saw him in Civil War, but, knowing Black Panther was on its way, I made myself wait to do a Favorite Characters post on him.  Having now seen him in his own movie, that initial characterization still holds and has also been expanded.  Today is all about the king (T’Challa-related spoilers for both Civil War and Black Panther.)

The word I keep coming back to is “regal” – I don’t think anything else captures him quite so well.  Everything about the way T’Challa carries himself screams royalty.  The young king moves through the world with a very tangible awareness of his duty to his people, that knowledge that the weight of their well-being is on his shoulders.  He takes his responsibilities seriously, and his most unsure moments come when he wonders if he’s truly doing the best for his subjects.  Similarly, he’s serious about carrying the mantle of the Black Panther, being Wakanda’s protector and doing honor to the privilege of having that power.

But he’s also regal in the sense of being incredibly self-assured.  Yes, T’Challa’s responsibilities make him weigh his decisions carefully and worry whether he’s doing the right thing, but he’s also a young man who’s ready to face what that responsibility throws at him.  There’s no “refusing the call” moment for this hero – he knows who he is, and he’s prepared to do the work to figure out what Wakanda needs of him.  That brings with it confidence and strength, a swagger that comes from being the leader and protector of the most advanced nation on the planet.  When ignorant Americans treat him like a primitive, it rolls effortlessly off his back, becaue he knows with absolute certainty that their misinformed opinions of him have nothing to do with who he really is.

I like that his convictions are strong but his opinions aren’t implacable.  We see this in both Civil War and Black Panther.  In Civil War, he first suits up hellbent on avenging his father’s death, but when he discovers how the truth has been manipulated, he not only flips the script and helps the man he’d originally been after (giving Bucky safe refuge and access to Wakanda’s medical technology,) he also recognizes that vengeance against the real culprit won’t ultimately solve anything (capturing Zemo instead of killing him.)  And in Black Panther, he comes to understand Nakia’s point about Wakanda opening itself to the world and sharing its knowledge/resources with those who need it.  These moments don’t mean he flip-flops or that his mind isn’t set, it’s that his understanding evolves and his actions change accordingly, which is hugely important for a leader.

Overall, T’Challa is a lot more serious than your average Marvel hero, offering fewer quips than, say, Tony or Peter (Quill or Parker – take your pick,) but he’s far from humorless.  His sibling banter with Shuri is tons of fun, he and Okoye can snark back and forth with each other, and his slightly-flustered reaction to seeing Nakia after a long absence is as endearing as it is hilarious.  While he takes his duties seriously, he doesn’t take himself all that seriously, and he’s good-natured about poking fun at himself when the situation warrants it.

I’m thrilled that T’Challa has his own film and can’t wait to see more Black Panther.  But even aside from all that awesomeness, I’m also just glad to have him in the MCU, because he is a different sort of hero/personality to bring to the mix.  His presence definitely added something new to Civil War, and I look forward to seeing what he adds to Infinity War and beyond.

The Florida Project (2017, R)

This is the last Oscar movie I wanted to catch before the ceremony, and it was a goond one to end on, a strong slice-of-life piece with a simple story boosted by strong acting.  I watched it because of Willem Dafoe’s supporting actor nod, but it’s a good film all around.

6-year-old Moonee lives with her mother in a tacky, low-rent motel within spitting distance of Dinsey World.  As povery brushes up against the ultimate in wildly-expensive fun, Moonee and her friends make their own adventures – getting into assorted kinds of trouble, hustling strangers for ice cream money, and aggravating Bobby, the motel manager.  The film follows the events of an aimless summer break as Moonee runs around making fun any way she knows how.

This is the newest film from Sean Baker, who came on my radar a few years ago with Tangerine.  The Florida Project has much the same style – meandering, unapologetic, and very indie – but I think it works for me better here than it does there.  I’m not even quite sure why, since the film has even less of a driving story than Tangerine does.  However, it creates a really full piecture of the small world it inhabits, and the naturalistic feel goes well with the little kids running around playing.  And yes, on that note, I’ll fully admit that I’m kind of a sucker for stories about irrepressible kids going on “adventures” together, so that’s a definite factor in my enjoyment of it.

The relationship between Moonee and her mother is really interesting to me.  Moonee is equal parts engaging charmer and nightmare child – there are clear places where her natural mischievousness stops being cute and she becomes a mouthy brat, and you don’t have to look very hard to see where she’s learned that.  Her mom models plenty of the undesirable behavior Moonee exhibits, from coarsely disrespecting authority figures, to getting what she wants by scamming people, to willfully refusing to accept responsibility for her actions.  Right now, Moonee’s attitude is often entertaining, but if she’s still pulling the same stuff in another 15 years (and teaching it to the next generation as her mother did her,) we have living proof that that’s not going to be a good looking for her.

And yet, there are really pure, delightful moments between Moonee and her mom, too, scenes where they’re gleefully playing together and their obvious love for each other shines through.  I love that, that the film refuses to let Moonee’s mother be just one thing.  Being an irresponsible parent and a horrible role model doesn’t negate her love for her daughter, just like sweetly playing with Moonee doesn’t erase the bad things she does.

All the acting is very good.  I was really impressed with little Brooklynn Prince, who plays Moonee – she feels so natural onscreen.  Big props to her, as well as to Baker for directing her so well.  As for Williem Dafoe (as Bobby, the manager,) I was a little unsure how he’d fit into a rough-edges film like this, but he also feels very natural in the part.  He brings a nice mix of exasperation and genuine care in dealing with both Moonee and her mom.  As much as Moonee drives him crazy, he’s also serious about looking out for her when she needs it.  It’s another really interesting relationship in the film, nicely brought to life by the actors.

Warnings

Lots of swearing, drinking/smoking/drug use, sexual references, and strong thematic elements.

Countdown to Thirteen: Broadchurch: Series 3, Episode 1 (2017)

Here’s the start of the third and final season of Broadchurch.  First impressions – looks like it could be pretty different and will possibly involve quite a bit less of the town Broadchurch altogether.  Some frustrating parts, but I’m interested to see where things are going.

It’s now been three years since Danny’s death.  Hardy and Ellie are still working together, and they’re called it to investigate a rape in a nearby town.  The victim, Trish, struggles to provide details on her attacker, and the detectives use care in trying to gather more information.

I’ll start with things I like.  I like that Trish is a middle-aged woman that wouldn’t necessarily get singled out for her looks – rape is about power, not sex, and there isn’t one look or “type” for a victim.  I really like Ellie’s interactions with her, at the same time that I understand Hardy cautioning her not to get too personally involved.  We’ve started to meet a few of the characters involved in this plot, and they include a friend of Trish’s played by Sarah Parish, who I’ll always remember as a giant spider empress from Doctor Who but who I’ve since gotten to know as a pretty excellent Beatrice in a modern-day adaptation of Much Ado about Nothing.

A few things, though.  As much as I dislike it, I absolutely understand the inclusion of someone at the police station who suspects Trish might be making a false allegation – after all, rampant doubt among far too many police officers is a major contributer to rape being so underreported, and it would have been too sanguine of the show to have everyone automatically believe her.  However, it bugs me that the only officer we see voicing that suspicion is a young Black woman.  Also, despite a lot of sensitivity displayed when directly interacting with Trish, a lot of people are hung up on the fact that she waited two whole days before going to the police (seriously?), and I don’t like Hardy’s preoccupation with determining whether or not the attacker was a stranger, as if that’s the only way this rapist would pose an ongoing threat in the area.  Again, the attitudes themselves are depressingly realistic, but I’m going to need to see them dealt with if this storyline is going to work for me.

For a while, I thought we might not be getting anything actually in Broadchurch at all, spending the entire episode on Ellie, Hardy, and the investigation.  However, towards the end, we do get a small amount of Beth.  Between seasons, she’s gotten involved in work helping survivors, and while she has her worries about whether or not she’s really cut out for it, it’s a development that promises to tie her to the Trish storyline.  So, even though there’s very little of her here, it does seem that Jodie Whittaker will play a good-sized role in what looks to be the A-plot of the season.