‘The Castle’, ‘Hillbilly Elegy’, and ‘Lion’ make up a big ol’ family dinner in this episode with Susie Youssef and Alexei Toliopoulos.
‘The Castle’, ‘Hillbilly Elegy’, and ‘Lion’ make up a big ol’ family dinner in this episode. Expect a lotta love, a lotta emotions, and maybe some tears with Susie Youssef and Alexei Toliopoulos.
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Alexei Toliopoulos:
This guy has got a poster for the 1995 Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro movie, Casino, hanging up on his wall. It's framed. What is up with that?
Susie Youssef:
Is Ron Howard friends with Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro? Maybe it's a nod to his mate.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Maybe.
Susie Youssef:
Maybe throughout all of their movies, they leave these little Easter eggs for each other. Do we have to go back through all of cinema and discover this? Hello and welcome to The Big Film Buffet.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I'm the big film buff, Alexei Toliopoulos, and I would consider myself a great film lover.
Susie Youssef:
And I'm Susie Youssef, and I would consider myself a great lover of films.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
But you don't have to be a big film buff...
Susie Youssef:
... or a great lover...
Alexei Toliopoulos:
... to enjoy the delights of this podcast.
Susie Youssef:
Each episode, we'll be sharing with you a three-course feast of movies inspired by the Netflix premier film.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
This week, we're serving up a classic Aussie starter...
Susie Youssef:
... and ending with a dessert so sweet it will bring you to tears.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
But first, we'll dive into the deep south of the trailer for our main course, Hillbilly Elegy.
Glenn Close:
Oh, I thought your mama was going to be all right. Be happy. I know I could've done better. But you, you got to decide. You want to be somebody or not?
Amy Adams:
I've been doing real good. I just had a down month.
Gabriel Basso:
I got an interview tomorrow, Mom, otherwise I...
Amy Adams:
No. Oh, you know me. I always land on my feet.
Glenn Close:
J.D. Don't look at that. Come on, come on. Don't you look. You look at me. You look at me.
Owen Asztalos:
You let her get away with this every time.
Amy Adams:
I told you that I would do better.
Owen Asztalos:
You always say that. You're lying.
Amy Adams:
And I always try.
Glenn Close:
You got to think about these kids.
Amy Adams:
What do you think I've been thinking about since I was 18 years old, huh? Never had a life where I wasn't thinking about the kids.
Gabriel Basso:
Do you actually want to be dead, Mom? Or are you just too lazy to try?
Female:
J.D.
Amy Adams:
Oh, I tried plenty.
Glenn Close:
You've always got a reason. It's always someone else's fault. Some point you're going to have to take responsibility or someone else-
Amy Adams:
Or what?
Glenn Close:
... is going to have to step in.
Amy Adams:
Who, huh? Who? You?
Susie Youssef:
Oh, those trailer soundtracks get me every time.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
You well up every single time.
Susie Youssef:
Every time. I can't handle a cinematic trailer.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Because it captures all the emotions in just a little bite-sized piece that it's overwhelming.
Susie Youssef:
Yes, it does.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
We're looking at movies about families today on the podcast.
Susie Youssef:
Not to be confused with family movies.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. Not usually the kind of thing you'd watch with your parents or your kids.
Susie Youssef:
No, because it's triggering. Anyone who has experienced any drama in their family, which is literally everyone, will probably be confronted or feel seen or most likely triggered by movies about family. So, my dad talks about when you watch a film that's really heartbreaking throughout the whole thing, and then there's that little moment of respite at the end or a bit of joy at the end, he calls it a Cinderella story. And he watches them, but he doesn't love them. He pains his way through these movies.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
He suffers.
Susie Youssef:
He really suffers for his movies. My dad loves movies so much. But every now and then, I head home, and mum and dad are watching a Hallmark movie. And I know what's happened. And I'm like, "Dad, what did you do?" And he was like, "It was too much." So he's watched a movie the night before that's killed him, and now he has to get just proper candy fluff just to fix his heart.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
He's in recovery.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. It's too confronting. He's too sensitive.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
That's Salem's lot in life.
Susie Youssef:
But not all movies about families are dramas. There's obviously some brilliant comedies too.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And the movie we were talking about as our starter today really does kind of play with those tropes in a very satirical and satisfying way. We're, of course, talking about the all-time Australian classic, The Castle.
Anthony Simcoe:
Dad? 450.
Michael Caton:
For jousting sticks? Tell him he's dreaming.
Stephen Curry:
How much is a jousting stick worth, Dad?
Michael Caton:
Well, couldn't be more than 250, depending on the condition.
Susie Youssef:
The Kerrigan family loved their home, conveniently located next to the Melbourne airport. When the government plans to use their land for an airport expansion, Darryl Kerrigan and his hapless attorney, Dennis Denuto, prepare themselves for the fight of their lives.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And it's terribly funny.
Susie Youssef:
It is terribly funny. It's one of my favourite comedy films. It's obviously a comedy take on movies about families. And it still remains really true to the crux of the genre. So, it makes the small struggles of a family feel grand, and it celebrates what makes families feel special, which is just seeing them warts and all.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Truly, what this really does and why it's maintained this very powerful legacy is that it captures that Australian sense of humour. It's very dry. It's very proud. And it kind of seeks the silver linings in things in almost the opposite of a self-deprecating way, where they celebrate the kind of quaintness of their existence. But it's interpreted by the audience in a very ironic way. I think it absolutely captures kind of what the national sense of humour is.
Susie Youssef:
Definitely.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
We're able to laugh at ourselves because we can see ourselves on screen. I maybe hadn't seen this movie in nearly 20 years.
Susie Youssef:
Wow.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And I'm only 19 years old, so it had been awhile. Its reputation as the great Australian classic comedy really does precede itself. So, I had this fear going back into it that maybe it wouldn't live up to those expectations or almost this negative feeling to it. But I have to say that, in this instance, Darryl Kerrigan would have the opportunity to tell me that I'm dreaming because it is absolutely terrific.
Susie Youssef:
It totally holds up.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It totally holds up. And it predates so much of the vibe that indie comedy in the U.S. and especially across the road in New Zealand, would spend like the next two decades trying to capture and really running with. I think it's this era of Australian cinema that really was on the cutting edge of exactly this type of quirky dramedy that blends comedy and drama together, that really captures this idea of a national identity through intimacy of unconditional love and support.
Susie Youssef:
Beautifully put, Alexei Toliopoulos.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Thank you so much.
Susie Youssef:
It's also a movie that has stakes. And a lot of people talk about how the great films in history have high stakes. And I think even though this follows a simple story, the stakes in it are so high. And the cast, obviously Michael Caton and Anne Tenney are perfect. But for me, it's all about Tiriel Mora as Dennis Denuto, the hapless lawyer. Then there's Sophie Lee, who plays the beautiful Tracey Kerrigan, the sister of Darryl, the lead character. And at the heart of the film is the beautiful Bud Tingwell who plays the QC that comes to the rescue [inaudible 00:06:37].
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's such a good performance. There's so many excellent performances in this movie. I personally got to give a huge shout-out to Costas Kilias as Farouk. I love him. He's awesome.
Susie Youssef:
Heaven.
Sophie Lee:
I reckon you should make fake flowers.
Anne Tenney:
Oh yeah.
Sophie Lee:
Jenny makes fake flowers.
Anne Tenney:
Jenny?
Sophie Lee:
Yeah.
Anne Tenney:
Jenny, Jenny?
Sophie Lee:
No. Microwave Jenny.
Anne Tenney:
Oh.
Sophie Lee:
She reckons the trick is to make them real, but not too real. Just real enough to know that they're fake.
Susie Youssef:
Stephen Curry's character, Dale, says it at the beginning of the film, it's all about location, location, location. And we are so lucky that we're next to the airport because we're about to fly all the way to Kentucky for our premier flick of the week, Hillbilly Elegy.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And I hope they serve good food on the plane.
Susie Youssef:
Based on the best-selling memoir by J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy follows a Yale law student forced to return to his hometown of Ohio for a family emergency, where he reflects on the three generations of family history and his own future.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
This film stars Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso, Haley Bennett, Freida Pinto, Bo Hopkins, and Owen Asztalos. And it's directed by the iconic Mr. Ron Howard.
Susie Youssef:
And written by Vanessa Taylor.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
There's one detail in this movie that I just need to talk about because I'm really stuck on it, and I just need theories to flow back at me about why it exists.
Susie Youssef:
Okay.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
This new husband of the Amy Adams character, when he's showing J.D. around his new house, this guy has got a poster for the 1995 Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro movie, Casino, hanging up on his wall. It's framed. It's a framed poster of Casino. What is up with that? What is up with it? I don't know why. I'm worried I'm not going to get a restful night until I get the answer to this question.
Susie Youssef:
Okay. I did not notice this, but I'm not at all surprised that you did.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's very prominent to me.
Susie Youssef:
I know what year-12 Susie would say to this. Do you know what I mean?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah.
Susie Youssef:
If this is a year-12 English essay, I know it would be some sort of symbolism here for the gamble that life is. A casino is a place where you go to gamble. So, you head back there. So, maybe it's kind of like the homecoming.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Okay. Homecoming.
Susie Youssef:
That is what year-12 Susie would say. But current-day Susie would say, "If it's a 1995 film and this film was set in 1997, maybe it was just at the video store and they would've picked it up?" I don't know.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
But then why did he frame it? That's what I need to know.
Susie Youssef:
He loved that movie.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Okay. Well, I guess I can relate to that character most in the film. I too love Casino from 1995.
Susie Youssef:
Is Ron Howard friends with Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro? Maybe it's a nod to his mate.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Maybe. Maybe they're like, "I got to put a little nod to my mate in this movie."
Susie Youssef:
A little nod to my friends. Maybe they all do it. Maybe throughout all of their movies, they leave these little Easter eggs for each other. Do we have to go back through all of cinema and discover this?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
[crosstalk 00:09:21] we're going back. We're seeing it all. It's unfolding Da Vinci Code style. Ron Howard style, baby. That's it. This is the real secret out there.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Now, I love Ron Howard, all the way from his bald head to his beautiful mind. He's a filmmaker that's been there, probably my entire life that I've liked. He's that student of Steven Spielberg, that student of George Lucas, who's kind of continued on in their legacies. And he's become such a prolific director whose interests really seems to be in jumping between high-end genre pictures like Willow, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Cocoon.
Susie Youssef:
Love Cocoon.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I knew that you would love Cocoon.
Susie Youssef:
Of course, I love cocoon. It's about a whole bunch of old people. I love it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
That's the [crosstalk 00:09:59] sweet spot, that she loves movies about oldies. And, of course, the Da Vinci Code, and one of my least favourite movies of all time, the Grinch. I'm so sorry. I just never connected with that movie. Scares me too much. And prestige films that speak in some way or explore how individuals navigate through a certain point in history. I'm thinking of things like Parenthood, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind-
Susie Youssef:
So good.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
... Frost/Nixon, and Cinderella Man. I think this is definitely a continuation of that tradition in his career.
Susie Youssef:
Can we just pause for a moment to talk about Parenthood?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Absolutely. I can pause for any moment to talk about Parenthood.
Susie Youssef:
Good. Because this is one of the best family comedies in the history of cinema. That cast. Steve Martin, obviously. Mary Steenburgen-
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Love her.
Susie Youssef:
Dianne Wiest.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And you might say her name is Dianne "Weist," but I say it like a [inaudible 00:10:46].
Susie Youssef:
Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, and a very young Joaquin Phoenix. This is 1989. All I'm going to say, and I know I'm not going to take up... This is not about Parenthood.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
We love Parenthood. And we're talking about Ron Howard today. It's his other great family chronicle.
Susie Youssef:
It is. And if you go back and watch it, make sure you take a moment to really savour that speech by Grandma about the rollercoaster. It's a classic. I love it. I made Alexei watch it about 10 times.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I love this movie.
Susie Youssef:
And if you want to know about Alexei's thoughts, they're too rude to say on the podcast, but you should DM him and ask him about Parenthood. It's very good.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I have a very specific Mary Steenburgen theory that I will never put on the record of this podcast.
Susie Youssef:
Now, before we get into it, I wanted to ask you about one of the techniques that Ron Howard uses, that a lot of directors use in film when they're talking about multi-generational stories. And that is time jumps. So, different directors approach it in different ways, but let's talk about how Ron Howard does it in Hillbilly Elegy.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
There's a really elegant technique that he uses at the start, where we start at a younger point in J.D. Vance's life, who I'm going to call Hillbilly Elliot from now on, because it's much easier for me to remember. And we get that snapshot moment where the whole family comes together at the reunion.
Susie Youssef:
A literal snapshot.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
A literal snapshot, where then we see that photo be taken, what that photo looks like, then a previous iteration of that photo from an earlier point in time.
Susie Youssef:
We go decades and decades further back in time.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And we see all these photos until they become black and white and look like frontiers people. And I think it's a great little signifier that this movie's going to be this cross-generational theme. We're going to see this family at different points in time and how they connect and how they have this great history together. And it kind of automatically starts speaking to that idea of things passing through generations, that idea of generational trauma.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And here, in this film, it's a personal history, the story of three generations. And I'm always fascinated by these kind of movies because I grew up in a house with my mother and her mother, my yaya. And honestly, Glenn Close looks so much like my actual yaya in this movie. She wore the exact same glasses. She had very similar hair, and just like the Glenn Close character, would do absolutely anything for me. I remember laying in bed sick, and she'd come in and start crying, saying shit like, "I wish I could take this sickness from you and put it on me." And I'm just lying there feeling guilty because I'm faking, trying to get out of school sport for the day.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
But there's this scene in this film where his grandma divides up a Meals on Wheels dinner between them so he can eat it. And it just really got me.
Matthew Brady:
Got Meals on Wheels for Bonnie Vance.
Glenn Close:
Thank you. Oh, this isn't enough. I told them I got my grandson now.
Matthew Brady:
Sorry, ma'am. They only gave me the one.
Glenn Close:
Well, I called.
Matthew Brady:
Sorry. That's all I've got.
Glenn Close:
Look, I'm spread a little thin right now.
Susie Youssef:
We do see this a lot, this generational conflict, in film. Why do you think it comes up so often? What makes them so cinematic?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
For me, it kind of captures that almost mythological feeling or the existential crisis of being in conflict with the people that brought you into this world, and expressing that idea of generational trauma attached to it. And it kind of does it through that idea of emotive cinema, melodramatic cinema, if you will.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I think this is a bit of a mommy's boy movie, I'll say it. And I often say that I'm not a mommy's boy, I have mother issues. And this film gets to that feeling of the limits that test unconditional love.
Amy Adams:
He said some shit. I got mad.
Glenn Close:
Did you hit him?
Amy Adams:
It's not serious. What was I supposed to do? Let him get hit by a car? If he wasn't being such a little shit-
Glenn Close:
You've always got a reason. It's always someone else's fault. Some point, you're going to have to take responsibility or someone else-
Amy Adams:
Or what?
Glenn Close:
... is going to have to step in.
Amy Adams:
Who, huh? Who? You?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Glenn Close delivers a performance that is uniquely both bonkers, accurate and sensitive at the same time. Truly, I don't think there's another actor that could've pulled this off. She's maybe the only actor that is uniquely equipped to play a character that feels like a real-life person that is exaggerated in a larger-than-life sort of way, while still feeling like they have an incredible depth and lived-in life experience to them.
Susie Youssef:
I totally agree. Glenn Close was insanely good in this movie. Apparently, she watched a whole bunch of old video tapes of the actual grandmother. And members of the Vance family were on set, were so emotional seeing their recently passed-away family member portrayed so accurately by Glenn Close. And the thing is, is that this woman was larger than life. So, it's the real subject that she's playing. And she does it so well.
Susie Youssef:
It really touched me because my grandmother was one of my favourite people in the world. She's one of the greatest people I've ever known. And whenever you see those grandmother characters that are fiercely protective of their grandkids, it just tears my heart out.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's so real. I love this monologue that she has. Good Terminator, bad Terminator, neutral Terminator. I think it's so funny that she's based her entire life philosophy around Terminator, but at the same time, it's just one of those hyper specific details that you can really believe.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. She's rough as guts, but she could not love that kid any more.
Amy Adams:
Look, I know that I messed up. I've been trying really hard with Ken, but it just... it isn't easy. And I promise that I'm going to do better, but I can't lose my job, baby.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Now, Amy Adams.
Susie Youssef:
Amy. Sweet, sweet Amy Adams.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Amy Adams is another one of those actors who I've really adored and followed their career since the first time I saw her, which was Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can.
Susie Youssef:
Don't start down this path because you're obsessed with that movie.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I love that movie. And I think she often portrays really fascinating characters that often have to grapple with their timidness or fight through being shy or being timid or being perceived as timid, like in Doubt, where she plays a very chaste nun who fights for her morals despite having a lower status in the hierarchy of her church. But here, in Hillbilly Elegy, it's something different. And it's kind of this surprising transformative performance from Amy Adams. She really began her ascent into movie stardom with this good girl persona she's worked to shed in a way through really interesting work. I think this is the most I've ever felt like I've lost her in a role. And I think that's something new from her.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. I forgot that it was Amy Adams about two seconds into the movie, which I think is a really good sign. And the thing I love about-
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Maybe not for your mental health, but for the movie it is.
Susie Youssef:
But I love that Amy Adams is the kind of person who can have a year like in 2010, she went from the rom-com of the Leap Year to the gritty Boston movie, The Fighter, which I love.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Almost with that documentary feel about it as well.
Susie Youssef:
Exactly. And she nailed both of them. She's excellent in this.
Susie Youssef:
But I have to do a little shout-out to Haley Bennett. Now, I don't know if you know this, Haley Bennett plays J.D.'s sister, Lindsay, in Hillbilly Elegy. And it's a really subtle, very impressive performance, in my eyes.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I agree.
Susie Youssef:
But I could not shake the feeling that I had seen her before. And I couldn't pinpoint it. So, I did a little bit of digging.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Me too. I'm curious to find out what you've uncovered.
Susie Youssef:
I mean, "I did a little bit of digging" means I literally Googled it, and-
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Hey, that's how I dig as well.
Susie Youssef:
Do you remember the movie, Music and Lyrics?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yes. Drew Barrymore, Hugh Grant.
Susie Youssef:
Of course, you do because it's a movie in the world. Of, you have seen it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I know every movie.
Susie Youssef:
So, she plays Cora Corman, who is that popstar-
Alexei Toliopoulos:
The popstar.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
That's her?
Susie Youssef:
That's her.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Wow. How far she's come, as well.
Susie Youssef:
Yes, she has.
Gabriel Basso:
I don't know, Lindsay.
Haley Bennett:
What?
Gabriel Basso:
I could drive 10 hours to this thing, and not even get the job.
Haley Bennett:
Or you could.
Gabriel Basso:
But it just doesn't feel right. I wouldn't feel good, leaving here to deal with all this shit.
Haley Bennett:
Don't make us your excuse, J.D.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I'll be honest, I don't think this is my favourite Ron Howard movie, but I do think that it delivers those big, end-of-year prestige drama needs with big noteworthy performances from some of our most beloved actors.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
You're listening to The Big Film Buffet. And if you want to continue listening to The Big Film Buffet, you can follow it on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you get those new episodes as soon as they drop every single Tuesday. You can comment, rate, review and tell your friends about this podcast so that they can enjoy a couple of mates talking about the most important art form in the history of mankind, movies on streaming. Streaming cinema.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
We have come to that time in our meal where we must cleanse our palates. We're joined by Producer Michael to play a game called "Film or Movie?" Susie, how does this game work?
Susie Youssef:
Alexei, let me ask you that very same question.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Well, allow me to explain it then. This is a game where Michael brings us a title, and we must debate whether it is either a film or a movie. Now, a film, of course, is an artistic expression, and a movie is good old time at the picture house.
Susie Youssef:
Entertainment, popcorn, fluff.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah, exactly. That kind of thing.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Something that everyone can enjoy.
Susie Youssef:
So, Producer Michael, which motion picture do you have for us today?
Michael Sun:
[inaudible 00:19:48].
Susie Youssef:
I got a little bit Katharine Hepburn.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yes, you did. Very transatlantic.
Michael Sun:
The motion picture I brought for you today is another intergenerational family classic. It is Meet the Parents.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh.
Susie Youssef:
Oh, you got us a good one.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
This is a good one. Okay. Meet the Parents. Hey, you going to meet me? You going to come over here and you're going to meet me, the parents? You're going to meet the parents? Come over here. You're going to meet the parents?
Susie Youssef:
I wish this was a video beautiful that was so beautiful.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Are you meeting me? Are you going to meet me? We're talking about Meet the Parents. I would say, for the reason I just impersonated, it's a film. It stars Robert De Niro.
Susie Youssef:
Oh, Lord help me.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
The greatest film star of all time, Robert De Niro.
Susie Youssef:
Okay. And for that same reason, I would say it is a movie because Ben Stiller is in it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Okay. Ben Stiller, alongside Owen Wilson, the stars of one of the great family chronicle films of all time, The Royal Tenenbaums.
Susie Youssef:
Yes, but they're also in A Night at the Museum, Starsky and Hutch, Zoolander, Twolander. Come on, man.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Okay. Well, then let me go down another route here. I am going to say that this is a film because it deals with those tenuous issues. It's almost like a reverse Oedipal thing. It's about a father who is obsessed with a man that his daughter is marrying. He is not worthy of her. Only he's worthy to be the man in her life. That's what this movie's all about. Daddy issues.
Susie Youssef:
Okay. Alexei Toliopoulos.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Susie Youssef:
Answer me truthfully.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yes.
Susie Youssef:
Promise that you will.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I've put my hand on the copy of the thing that is most sacred to me, a Blu-ray copy of Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. I will answer you honestly.
Susie Youssef:
All right. When Michael said that the title of the motion picture was Meet the Parents, what is the first thing that went into your head? What is the first thing that came into your head?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I have nipples, Greg. Can you milk me? Okay, you win. It's a movie. I'll declare it. It's a movie. I'm on your side now. Michael?
Michael Sun:
It's a movie.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It also has a scene where a cat learns how to flush the toilet.
Susie Youssef:
Oh, then I stand corrected. This is a piece of cinematic history, of film, indeed.
Susie Youssef:
I'm hesitating to say this next part because of how much emotion it's going to stir in me, but I will say it anyway. If you want more of the emotional family saga, then we recommend Lion.
Dev Patel:
Do you have idea what it's like knowing my real brother and mother spent every day of their lives looking for me?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Dev Patel stars as an Indian man who was separated from his mother at age five, and adopted by an Australian couple. As an adult, he then makes it his life's mission to find his birth mother.
Susie Youssef:
I am actually shaking, thinking about this movie. This story was based on a true story, and it is unbelievably moving. It had all the ingredients already to make an amazing film, but the performances in this were phenomenal. So, the first shout-out has to go to the child actor, Sunny Pawar, who is amazing.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
One of the realest performances.
Susie Youssef:
So good. Nicole Kidman knocks it out of the park. And then there is the beautiful Dev Patel.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Dev Patel is incredible in this film. This is such a gorgeously made film. Really emotive cinematography, and sublimely edited. I've been a huge Dev Patel fan since back in the day with Skins, so seeing him ascend to adult leading man of really exciting cinema with this film feels so right to me. I really do think this is one of the finest Australian films in recent years. This was one of the first films I was ever sent out to review professionally.
Susie Youssef:
Oh wow.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And I remember watching it just absolutely drenched in tears, and I've been championing it ever since.
Susie Youssef:
I was the same. I saw it in the cinema with my sister. And we were at points just holding each other, uncontrollably crying. When we left the cinema, the woman that was sitting in front of us just turned around and gave me a packet of tissues and patted me on the shoulder. So, all I will say is it's a lot. You need to prepare yourself. But if you can handle the kind of raw emotion and turmoil that this film brings, the payoff is massive, and it is so worth it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Watching Hillbilly Elegy, this was the movie that it reminded me of most. I think it's kind of become, at least in Australia, one of the strong movies that conjure so many deep emotions of that experience of feeling that you need to find your place in the world, and to understand your future you need to go back and find your past. If you have seen this movie before, and because it's so emotional you find it hard to rewatch, here's an excuse to do it. There is a director's cut of this film that I think is even better than the theatrical version that is worth tracking down.
Susie Youssef:
But there's so many movies in this genre that we could recommend. Obviously, Parenthood is a favourite.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And we've said enough about it already on this podcast. It's a great movie. Also, Kramer vs. Kramer, if you want something a little bit more classic from the 1970s.
Susie Youssef:
Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yes. That scene where they scoop the ice cream. Oh my Lord, I can't watch it.
Susie Youssef:
Oh my gosh. And one more film. I know we're giving you a lot today, but The Farewell is one of the most beautiful films I've seen in the last few years. Cannot recommend it enough.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's a great movie. Awkwafina is incredible in it. And I think Lulu Wang is going to be one of the mega directors of the next few decades.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
All right, Susie, let's look at our menu for today. What did we have as our starter?
Susie Youssef:
We had The Castle.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And as our main, we had Hillbilly Elegy.
Susie Youssef:
And then we drank up our tears with a bit of Lion for dessert.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Susie, arrivederci.
Susie Youssef:
Ciao for now.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
If you want to hear more from me talking about movies, you can head over to the podcast, Total Reboot, where me and Cameron James talk about reboots, remakes and ripoffs in cinema. And we're funny while we do it, much like this podcast.
Susie Youssef:
And if you do like this podcast, why don't you come back next week when we are talking about David Fincher's Mank?
Susie Youssef:
This episode was created by our podcast family. It was written and hosted by Alexei Toliopoulos and me, Susie Youssef. Produced by Michael Sun and Anu Hasbold. Edited by Geoffrey O'Connor. And executive produced by Tony Broderick and Melanie Mahony.