Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou and Jean Reno in the Ron Howard movie ‘The Da Vinci Code’

Released as a movie in May 2006, the adaptation of the 2003 Dan Brown book The Da Vinci Code became the Ron Howard directed movie The Da Vinci Code (2006). With screenplay writing credit for Akiva Goldsman, the movie focuses on “art history, Christianity’s origins, and arcane theories,” as mentioned here.

(Jean-Pierre Marielle as Jacques Saunière in the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code).

The movie begins with the pursuit if Louvre Museum curator Jacques Saunière, as portrayed by Jean-Pierre Marielle, in the world famous Paris, France art museum by Roman Catholic, albino monk named Silas; Silas was portrayed by Paul Bettany. Saunière, while coming out of the exchange dead, leaves clues amongst the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci, the namesake for the movie, the book, and the clues embedded in the art around the museum that lead the police to summon renowned Harvard University symbologist Robert Langdon to the case.

(From left, Paul Bettany as Silas and Alfred Molina as Bishop Aringarosa in the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code).

Robert Langdon, as portrayed by Tom Hanks, initially is suspected of the murder of Jacques Saunière, by police captain Bezu Fache, as portrayed by Jean Reno. Police cryptologist Sophie Neveu, as portrayed by Audrey Tautou, disagrees that that Langdon should be suspected of her grandfather’s, that is Saunière’s, murder; Neveu and Langdon shake Fache’s pursuit and deduce that Saunière was a grand master of the French founded Priory of Sion.

(From left, Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu and Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon near the Louvre Museum in the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code).

Silas, meanwhile, works for an anonymous to him person he calls The Teacher, which has links to the Bishop Aringarosa led Opus Dei. Aringarosa, as portrayed by Alfred Molina. Circumstances send Langdon and Neveu to Sir Leigh Teabing, as portrayed by Ian McKellan.

(Jean Reno as Police Captain Bezu Fache in the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code).

It was Teabing, a purported expert on the Holy Grail, who introduces a theory contrary to accepted religious canon about a relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, which motivated much of the subtextual mystery functioning in the movie. Charlotte Graham portrayed Mary Magdalene in The Da Vinci Code.

(Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing in the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code).

The thriller aspects of the movie, along with the intrigue underpinning the mysteries animating the story for the movie, largely worked. That the resolution went in the direction it did was a bit provocative for my taste, though that does not mean the fiction did not work. I give The Da Vinci Code as directed by Ron Howard 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, March 23, 2024

Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone in the Martin Scorsese movie ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Set primarily in Osage County, Oklahoma, the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) is based largely on the David Grann book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. That intrigue around the murders of a Native American tribe relocated to Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas with negotiated mineral rights led to government sanctioned theft, racism, and at least tacit sanctioning of murder against Osage Indians generally is where the book and the movie begin to intersect. The Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover, as a growing investigative service, provides another intersection point.

(From left, Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, Scott Shepherd as Byron Burkhart, Robert De Niro as William King Hale, Katherine Willis as Myrtle Hale and Delani Chambers as Willie Hale in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

With movie writing credits to Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, the murdering of Osage people for oil rights on a one-by-one basis is the focus. Prior to the realization of this, the introduction of a modicum of Osage cultural tradition with the burial of the a ceremonial pipe, mourning their descendants’ assimilation into white American society. Sharing the yearly “flower moon” phenomenon of Oklahoma fields of bloom, we soon see several Osage dancing among oil gushing from the ground in their territory. Assuming the Osage “incompetent” to manage money in the American sense of it, Osage are assigned allotments of money in full and half-blood members headrights, which cannot be sold and transfer through inheritance to relatives upon death. In addition to graft that is addressed yet is not central to the movie, an incentive for untimely deaths had been created for unscrupulous whites.

(From left, Lily Gladstone as Mollie Kyle Burkhart and Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

It is with this background that we meet Ernest Burkhart, as portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Having returned from World War One service unintelligent and greedy, Ernest moves in with his brother, Byron Burkhart as portrayed by Scott Shepherd, and his uncle William King Hale as portrayed by Robert De Niro. It’s on the family ranch that we learn of Hale‘s giving gifts to the Osage and speaking their language while serving in a neglectful law enforcement capacity. The depths of Hale‘s conniving against that proposed interest includes suggesting to Ernest Burhart‘s that his nephew strike up a romance with Mollie Kyle, who takes the Burkhart surname when Ernest and Molly marry in a ceremony with Osage and Roman Catholic elements. Lily Gladstone portrayed Mollie Kyle Burkhart, with Mollie’s relationship with Ernest Burkhart becoming a central focus of the movie.

(From left, Cara Jade Myers as Anna Brown, Tantoo Cardinal as Lizzie Q, Jillian Dion as Minnie Smith and Janae Collins as Reta Smith in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

The criminal enterprise elements of the movie grow from here into what we see to be patterns of attack on the wealth and people of the Osage nation in general and Mollie Kyle Burkhart‘s family specifically. The patterns of attack on Lizzie Q, Anna Brown, Minnie Smith and Reta Smith, as portrayed by Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, Jillian Dion and Janae Collins, respectively, being front and center in the murderous plots. It is the escalating plot geared at Bill Smith‘s two wives (Minnie and Reta) and Ernest‘s wife (Molly), in addition to the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot that occurred with an arguably equivalent impunity, led to the Osage tribe’s council seeking reprieve in Washington DC against the corrupt forces in play on the Osage reservation, including a direct appeal to United States president Calvin Coolidge. Jason Isbell portrayed Bill Smith.

(From left, Jesse Plemons as Thomas Bruce White Sr., Tatanka Means as John Wren, John Lithgow as Prosecutor Peter Leaward and Brendan Fraser as W.S. Hamilton in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

Despite of and in the face of these developments, William King Hale escalates his criminality further with the killing of Henry Roan, Mollie‘s first husband as portrayed by William Belleau, the ordering of the murdering of his own hired killers, and unsuccessfully attempting to murder Ernest after he testifies against his uncle. The Bureau of Investigation inquest by agents Thomas Bruce White Sr. and John Wren leads to a trial litigated by Prosecutor Peter Leaward. W.S. Hamilton defends William King Hale and Ernest Burkhart. Jesse Plemons, Tatanka Means, John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser portrayed White Sr., Wren, Leaward and Hamilton, respectively.

(From left, director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro on set for the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

The means of bringing together the larger questions of the fates of William King Hale, Ernest Burkhart, Molly Kyle Burkhart and Anna Brown through a dramatized radio program intermixed with flashback provided an unexpected and dramatically cinematic flare to the movie’s resolution. The movie reels of the Tulsa Race Riots in addition to the opening storytelling tributes to the silent movie era of cinema were appreciated artful touches at earlier parts of the movie. These elevation points raised the bar for me on what quality filmmaking truly can be. It is with these points as backdrops to the story told that I grant Killers of the Flower Moon as directed by Martin Scorsese with a highly accomplished cast 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, November 4, 2023

David Maraniss and the book ‘When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi’

The writing of David Maraniss has offered enjoyment and knowledge to me over the years; the decision to return to a biography of football coach, husband and father Vince Lombardi proved pretty easy. First published in 1999, Maraniss‘ book When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi offers a clear and informative narrative of the man, his times, what shaped his life and the life of his family.

(Vince Lombardi played football at Fordham University in the Bronx, where he was part of the so-called ‘Seven Blocks of Granite’. Lombardi later became an assistant football coach at Fordham).

Family and his Roman Catholic faith were early influences over the work ethic and philosophy that would inform the man Vince Lombardi would become. Having grown up in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, the decision to attend Fordham University in the Bronx came rather naturally as a place to keep those ties and play football. Discipline and playing through pain and hardship were highlights of many early experiences shared in the Maraniss biography, along with the mythmaking and writing styles for how reports of college football were written of at the time. That Lombardi needed to work to break the lineup, and the feeling of contributing to a goal larger than himself, were early lessons that informed the coach Lombardi would become.

(Vince Lombardi was an assistant coach at West Point from 1949-1953).

Lombardi‘s path into coaching football was not a given, having been born in 1913 and coming of age during the Great Depression. The steps Lombardi took into coaching and teaching at Roman Catholic schools, with decisions around if and when to move into the high school ranks not always being straightforward. A degree of discipline and honoring of commitments factored into when not to move on, though the influences of his playing days and the underpinnings of those early teaching experiences where Lombardi led and developed a philosophy for how to speak to his chosen audience influenced his landing work at the West Point, a military academy of the United States based in New York state.

(David Maraniss wrote When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, which was first published in 1999).

What Lombardi knew about football landed him work at West Point. Beyond affirming a sense of the organized development and motivation of men, Lombardi‘s time there offered an insight into dedicated documentation of film to review the tendencies of each individual player on plays. Lombardi further took a sense of how to simplify game plans down to the core points of emphasis, rather than focusing his players on understanding the full scope of the playbook. The academic cheating scandal revealed in 1951, during the time Lombardi coached at West Point, would influence the erstwhile coach later in his career despite Lombardi reportedly having no knowledge of the scheme at the point it occurred.

(From left, Vince Lombardi, his daughter Susan, his wife Marie and his son Vincent. Lombardi and Marie had married in August of 1940).

There was some degree of unease for Lombardi following his time in the college ranks, with his first advance into the NFL (National Football League) being as an assistant coach for the New York Giants from 1954 to 1958. Tom Landry would be an assistant coach for the Giants beside Lombardi, with Lombardi leaving in February 1959 to become the General Manager and head coach of the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

(From left, Green Bay Packer quarterbacks Paul Hornung and Bart Starr were significant to the success of the Packers during Vince Lombardi‘s tenure from 1959 to 1967).

Lombardi had complicated relationships with his wife and children as he began transforming the Packers into a team that won five NFL championships, including the first two Super Bowls in his final two seasons as Packers coach. Many of the principles learned earlier in his career led to the grueling approach to coaching the team, though all who could withstand that rigor reportedly responded to Lombardi with loyalty and success. A gambling scandal in part led to the transition from Paul Hornung to Bart Starr as Packers quarterback during Lombardi‘s tenure. Both players would be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Lombardi‘s career would finish with the Washington Redskins (now Washington Commanders) in Washington, DC.

(Vince Lombardi was celebrated with and by players of the Green Bay Packers at what became known as Super Bowl I in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California on January 15, 1967).

The rough outlines of the life and career of Vince Lombardi are hinted at with the above details from the biography written by David Maraniss. The Maraniss thoughtfulness, thoroughness and engaging detail offer clear perspectives about the cultural place of pride for Lombardi and the football people who followed his lead. This notion applied for Lombardi and his family as well, though the relationships there were a bit more complicated, with a sense of who Vince and Marie Lombardi were to each other and their kids showing up over time, including at the time of Vince Lombardi‘s death in September 1970. I grant When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi as written by David Maraniss 4.0-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Monday, November 14, 2022

Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter and Karl Malden in the Alfred Hitchcock movie ‘I Confess’

The Alfred Hitchcock movie I Confess (1953) offers a rare glimpse into the world of religious responsibility and obligation placed besides the subject matter of murder. The 1902 play Nos deux consciences (Our Two Consciences) by French author and journalist Paul Bourde (pseudonym Paul Anthelme) inspired the movie. The movie was filmed in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

(From left, Anne Baxter as Ruth Grandfort and Montgomery Clift as Fr. Michael Logan in the Alfred Hitchcock movie I Confess).

The movie begins by introducing us to a priest named Father Michael Logan from St. Marie’s Church in Quebec City, Quebec in eastern Canada. Logan, as portrayed by Montgomery Clift, Otto and Alma Keller, German immigrants, as caretaker and housekeeper on the church grounds. Otto Keller works as a part time gardener for lawyer Monsieur Villette. O.E. Hasse, Dolly Haas and Ovila Légaré portray Otto Keller, Alma Keller and Monsieur Villette, respectively.

(From left, O.E. Hasse as Otto Keller and Dolly Haas as Alma Keller in the Alfred Hitchcock movie I Confess).

The movie opens with a man wearing an ankle length black coat worn by Roman Catholic priests at the time I Confess was filmed; that man is shown walking away from the home of Monsieur Villette, who was dead. Otto Keller confesses to Father Logan that he, Keller, killed Villette during the course of a robbery. Otto tells his wife, Alma, of his crime and his confession, along with the oath a priest has to keep confessions confidential.

(From left, Montgomery Clift as Fr. Michael Logan and Karl Malden as Inspector Larrue in the Alfred Hitchcock movie I Confess).

The wrong man motif kicks in when Otto heads to the Villette’s home the next day, reporting the discovery of his dead boss to the police. Inspector Larrue, as portrayed by Karl Malden, interviews Logan as a suspect in the crime after the priest is seen at Villette’s home. The situation looks worse for Father Logan when witnesses report having seen a priest at the Villette home the day before the murder was brought to the attention of the police.

From left, Brian Aherne as Prosecutor Willy Robertson and Montgomery Clift as Fr. Michael Logan in the Alfred Hitchcock movie I Confess).

With an awareness that Father Logan having spoken with Ruth Grandfort at the Villette house, Larrue contacted Prosecutor Willie Robertson at a party being hosted by Grandfort and her Quebec politician husband, Pierre Grandfort. This turn of events tends to cast further suspicion upon the priest, leading to a trial wherein Father Logan cannot candidly defend himself of the crime. The movie does a solid job of adding further, credible intrigue to the case against the priest, which adds credibility and thrilling elements to the nature for how the story will work out. Anne Baxter, Roger Dann and Brian Aherne portrayed Ruth Grandfort, Pierre Grandfort and Prosecutor Robertson, respectively.

(Director Alfred Hitchcock in cameo for the Alfred Hitchcock movie I Confess).

The building tension and the individual motives in play throughout the movie are outstanding, as is the central aspect of the priest wrestling with the religious doctrine of keeping the contents of confession confidential. The movie offers compelling circumstances wherein a spiritual mandate causes clear challenges to the personal freedom of the priest, with bad actors all around. The way that the film resolves this is immensely interesting; thus, I grant the movie I Confess as directed by Alfred Hitchcock 4-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, October 5, 2022

U2 and the album ‘The Joshua Tree’

The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album for Irish rock band U2. Bruce Springsteen inducted Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, and Larry Mullen Jr. into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, which recognizes the band’s switch from a Post Punk sound to a distinctly pop sound recognized in this 1987 album.

(The 1987 cover of The Joshua Tree album by the band U2).

Where the Streets Have No Name opens the album by introducing fans what it means to the neighborhood divisions of wealth, religion, and cultural standing in Ireland that knowing the streets people live on tells you more about a person than the legitimate name of the streets. Therefore, the song carries the political conscious that is a hallmark of the band U2. The allusion to olive turning to rust, for example, is a clear reference to colors representing the Catholic and Protestant divide of Ireland from U2′s youth.

According to Bono from a magazine interview, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For is “an anthem of doubt more than faith,” as opposed to an anthem for love or spiritual enlightenment one might think at first listen. Gospel music is said to have been an inspiration for this song.

With or Without You is the song of a tortured relationship.  The emotion of the song feels raw. The issues very well could have been the object of real relationships. That the song lends itself both to the intensity of a personal relationship plus that of the band with its fan lets me appreciate this song all the more.

Inspired by a trip Bono took to Central America in 1985 with Amnesty International, Bullet the Blue Sky was inspired by staying with a group of guerillas in the middle of El Salvador mountains in the north of the country.

Running to Stand Still is the final song from the first of two sides of The Joshua Tree album. Smuggling heroin into Dublin, Ireland is the subject matter, with some ruminations for how somebody gets themselves into such a place that this is their chosen path.

(From left, Larry McMullen Jr., Bono, Adam Clayton and The Edge of the band U2 in an image for The Joshua Tree).

Red Hill Mining Town opens the second side of The Joshua Tree album with a look at the human cost of a miner’s strike in the United Kingdom. A political homily of a song, the look is speaking of the humanity that is central to the worldview of the band U2.

In God’s Country moves to the politics of the United States, the ethos represented by The Statue of Liberty, and what politics of the mid-1980s means to that ethos.

Trip Through Your Wires sings of a relationship between a man and woman where the singer feels like the pun he plays on the notion of a trip wire works against him emotionally. Using a bluesy harmonica and drums baseline, getting caught up in an entanglement seems inevitable.

The song of a friendship prematurely lost comes alive with One Tree Hill. The friend lost is Greg Carroll, a Maori from New Zealand whose work ethic and friendship is praised by the song and the band.

Exit is said to be inspired by two books looking at famous murders, namely by Norman Mailer‘s The Executioner’s Song and Truman Capote‘s In Cold Blood. (See our review of the Mailer book here). Bono is quoted in reference to this song as wanting to go beyond an abstract criticism of foreign policy by taking a look at “the violence we all contain within us.”

(From left, Adam Clayton, Larry McMullen Jr., Bono and The Edge of the band U2 in an image for The Joshua Tree).

Also inspired by a trip Bono took to Central America in 1985 during an El Savaldor Civil War, Mothers of the Disappeared sings of the Comadres, a group of women who had lost their children, who were taken in the night by death squads of the El Salvador Civil War. There was much sadness in this song for sure.

Matt – Saturday, August 8, 2020