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Movie review: Dark, incoherent 'Suburbicon' fails to make its critical point
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Matt Damon as Gardner in Suburbicon. - photo by Josh Terry
SUBURBICON 2 stars Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Oscar Isaac, Noah Jupe, Jack Conley, Glenn Fleshler; R (violence, language and some sexuality); in general release

Set in a fictional tract of 1950s suburban housing, director George Clooneys dark and satirical Suburbicon tries to wrestle two narrative threads into a single point. But whatever point that is, Suburbicon doesnt get there.

The dominant thread follows the middle-class, white-bread Lodge family as its seeming cookie-cutter existence gets caught up in a web of criminal behavior. Matt Damon plays Gardner Lodge, the uneasy patriarch of a family that features his son Nicky (Noah Jupe), his wife Rose (Julianne Moore), and her sister Margaret (also Moore).

When Rose is killed in a home invasion at the hands of two low-rent thugs (Alex Hassell and Corey Allen Kotler), there is an outpouring of neighborhood sympathy and affection. But when Gardner refuses to identify the culprits from a police lineup, Nicky starts to suspect that his father may have been involved in his mothers death.

It quickly becomes apparent that the home invasion was staged in order to both pay back some unwieldy debts and to clear the path for Gardners clandestine relationship with Margaret, who quickly moves in after her sisters death, insisting that Nicky needs a mother figure in his life. The intrigue continues from there, as Nicky becomes more and more of a threat to Gardner and Margarets plans, which involve duping an insurance policy claim investigator named Bud Cooper (Oscar Isaac).

The parallel thread follows the African-American Mayers family, which moves in just behind the Lodge family and encounters tremendous racial animosity from the neighborhood. As the first black family in the development, the Mayers first encounter watchful glares, then the neighbors start putting up fences, and then crowds begin to gather at the Mayers property border night after night to make noise and torment the family.

There are plenty of moving parts, yet Clooneys effort never seems to add up to anything with a clear meaning. The Lodge plot feels nihilistic (more on that later), and the Mayers storyline feels shallow and underdeveloped. Together, they suggest the presence of a message but leave the audience feeling empty.

If you go behind the scenes, things start to make a little more sense. Suburbicons script was initially written by Joel and Ethan Coen, the brothers responsible for writing and directing films such as Raising Arizona, Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Suburbicon definitely falls among their darker efforts, but significantly, they chose not to direct this time around, rather turning the script over to Clooney, who teamed up with screenwriter Grant Heslov for a re-write. In the directorial hands of the Coens, the Lodge plot might have retained a dark comic tone to reinforce the satire, but here it rings hollow.

Whether Suburbicon is meant as a commentary on past or present racism, or an indictment of suburban white America, Clooneys effort just doesnt come together into any kind of cohesive focus, resulting in a collection of interesting performances that fail to achieve a satisfying end. Ultimately, Suburbicon is just one of those movies that leaves you thinking about the better efforts from all the people involved.

Suburbicon is rated R for violence, language and some sexuality; running time: 104 minutes.
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Have You Seen This? Street musician slays with clarinet
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Better than almost every face-melting guitar or drum solo. - photo by Facebook video screenshot

THE BIG EASY — Yeah, yeah, we all know that New Orleans is stuffed to the gills will incredible musicians.

But knowing that fact and then hearing that fact are two different things. You can step into any number of jazz clubs on any given night on Bourbon Street, and you’ll probably be impressed with virtually every act. Or you can sit at home on your comfy couch and watch this featured video.

In the video, you’ll see a woman who is in the groove. She is swinging hard, and wailing on her clarinet with a practiced expertise that makes it sounds so easy.

From note one you’ll be drawn in; your appreciation will grow with every second, and then your face will melt off when you realize how incredible she really is.

If you’ve never played a woodwind or a brass, you may not know everything that comes with a performance like this. Lung capacity and breath control are huge factors in keeping your notes clear and loud, and hitting those high notes is especially difficult.

So when this woman hits that high note and holds it for several seconds, you know you’re dealing with an exceptional musician. It means she has worked hard for years to develop skill on top of her natural talent, and we get to benefit.

It kinda makes you wonder how we let people get away with mumble rap and autotune when talent like this exists in the world.

I wish this video were longer, and I wish I had more information about this woman, but as it is, we’ll just have to appreciate the little flavor of New Orleans jazz posted by the Facebook group Clarinet Life.

Martha Ostergar is a writer who delights in the ridiculous that internet serves up, which means she's more than grateful that she gets to cruise the web for amazing videos to highlight for your viewing pleasure.
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