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FLICKS: Harvey Weinstein, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women & FLIFF news

Posted on 19 October 2017 by LeslieM

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

It has been 26 years since Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. It was riveting television, but Hill’s claims were proven not convincing through a lack of proof. Even though Clarence Thomas became a Supreme Court Justice, responsible employers mandated “Sexual Harassment Training” for their employers in the workplace. Apparently Harvey Weinstein did not attend this training in over two decades.

As disgusting as Weinstein’s behavior is, perhaps more abhorrent is the Hollywood’s elite being so complicit. Granted Weinstein produced some groundbreaking and award-winning movies (Shakespeare in Love, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Fahrenheit 911, all of Quentin Tarantino’s flicks) and actors/actresses need the work. It is the hypocrisy of morality that has truly struck a nerve in the American heartland. This latest scandal is a reminder that one must look beyond the headline of any news story, for objective journalism died when Walter Cronkite was forced to retire 36 years ago.

A look behind the scenes is what Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is all about. It is an historical drama about the first half of the 20th Century, though the Marston family has disavowed any involvement to the plot. Much like Ed Wood and Finding Neverland, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is a story about the creation of one’s imagination.

Psychology professor and inventor of the lie detector machine, Professor William Moulton (Luke Evans) and his wife, Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) were renowned for his development of the DiSC Theory, which explained the behavior pattern of dominant and passive individuals. While hiring a teacher’s assistant, Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcoate), the Moulton family invites a new individual who submits to their academic ideals. The relationship between employee and employer crosses academic lines and the Moultons are expelled from academia.

Given that this firing occurred during the Roosevelt Administration, the Great Depression and the war years pay their toll of these former academic aristocrats. Elizabeth is forced to take a job as a secretary, Olive becomes a housewife and William becomes the jack of all trades. While passing a store and seeing a corset in the shop window, William has an inkling of an idea about a new comic book creation based on Rosie the Riveter, a sort of wonder woman.

For a film audience that had witnessed The Secretary and the Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequel, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women has been considered “subdued” by urban elitist critics. Writer/director Angela Robinson explores the exotic and the erotic with taste and reserve, which advances the nature of the creative relationship between the Marstons and Olive Byrne.

This film is a vacation from the ordinary film, which happens to be the motto for the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF). In the build up to FLIFF (which is held Oct. 27-Nov. 19), it has been announced that character actor Graham Greene will be joining opening night festivities at the Seminole Hard Rock. Besides receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, Greene will be supporting the documentary, Rumble: The Indians who Rocked the World, which will be a full event. Burt Reynolds and Karen Allen are among the other celebrities slated to attend this year. For more information on the festival, visit www.fliff.com.

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