Movies can have an uncanny ability to hit at just the right time. Two streamers dropped films this weekend that contemplated the nature of mortality and being stuck in one place seemingly repeating actions day in and day out. Let’s dig in to The Old Guard and Palm Springs.
The Old Guard – Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, this is one of the finer action movies to come along recently. Led by Charlize Theron and Kiki Layne, the movie is about a group of immortals who are being hunted by a corporation who wants to use them to unlock the key to immortality. What I found so interesting about this movie is that so many movies about immortals are about the immortals looking down on humanity, this one is much more about the immortals looking within themselves to figure out their place in the world. Theron gives a great performance of the weariness of a cause and a lifetime of both great successes and failures. The movie also features wonderful diversity (gays! Black people! Multiple languages spoken!) that’s both integral and not for the story. Just wait till you hear Marwan Kenzari’s monologue about the love of his life; it will move you. It’s cool to see a movie like this, which you can envision would have a hard time being made the way it was at a major studio.
But The Old Guard is not just emotions, it’s got incredibly slick action sequences that both compliment the actors and stunt people, as well as beautifully explore the space and geography of the surroundings. Kudos to Gina for such a well balanced and awesome movie.
Palm Springs – A movie that I admire more than I love, Palm Springs is a romantic comedy meets timeloop. Anchored by very strong performances from Cristin Miliotti and Andy Samberg, they recount the story of Sarah and Nyles who repeat the same day over and over again. The script does some really interesting things with a well established time loop plot by placing multiple people in the same loop. The movie also examines a different type of psyche with its characters in that it forces them to see if they can have a genuine connection, rather than focusing on if they should be better people. However, this is part of what kept me from embracing the film wholeheartedly as the movie does not truly make them wrestle with what they have done. Sarah has a whopper of a reveal, a secret that would effectively shatter multiple lives and the movie does not wrestle with this to the level it could because it’s so hyper focused on determining whether or not Nyles and Sarah will be together forever. This missed opportunity almost took me completely out of the movie, but Miliotti and Samberg are so brilliant in their roles, I was mesmerized. The depth of their performances in channeling varying degrees of weariness and struggle is worth the price of admission (or clicking play on Hulu).