Tetro Review

"Every family has a secret." - Tagline

James Cameron wasn't the only master director who made a comeback in 2009. Veteran director Francis Ford Coppola came along to write, produce, and direct his semi-autobiographical drama Tetro. I just watched it last night and this is my review. Many directors have a thing where they make a movie that is very mainstream and does very well or is very popular so that they can use the profits to make a more independent film they wanted to make more. It seems like many of Coppola's films, mainstream or independent, are made with all of his passion and craft. For example after directing The Godfather, one of the greatest and most popular movies of all time, Coppola made a film called The Conversation. Tetro may be his most passionate project yet.

It is a black and white film that tells the story of a dysfucntional family of prodigies. No not Royal Tenenbaums. It's starts off as a young man named Bennie (Alden Ehrenreich) shows up at his brother Angelou's door in Buenos Aires. Angelou (Vincent Gallo) has not been home in years, calls himself Tetro, lives with the beautiful Miranda (Maribel Verdu), and seems content with not wanting anything to do with his past. He shuns Bennie as soon as he arrives and is set on making waves with just about anyone. Tetro is a failed writer, Bennie writes too, and their father is a great and legendary composer who kept Tetro in his shadow. At the center of the family and the story seems to be rivalry but there is more to it.

This movie has twists and intrigue that is not meant to be OMG moments but surprise you just the same. This almost simplistic story begins to become epic. You are, or at least I was, totally interested in how these characters live and how they interact with each other. The narrative is a bit jumbled but then I think that's what makes it kind of fun. There are some sequences where the movie shifts into these kind of operatic dance scenes that symbolize what is happening or what has happened. I also like that it becomes sort of a mystery (which I am obviously a fan of), where you find out one bit a time what has gone on between this unique and tragic family. It may not be epic on the scale of the Corleone Family but it may be on a more human level.

Like his writing, Coppola has not lost his extraordinary directorial skills. This film is a feast for the eyes above all else. The black and white photography (which I've always loved in movies) is very effective here. At times and with the right shots it felt like a '50s film noir. Other times the visuals are just kind of mesmerizing the kind you want to rewind and play back. So yeah art direction gets an A plus. And the locations and sets are not lacking in the least bit, something Coppola never fails on. Than there are the flashback scenes shot in this shaky-cam-color photography.

As far as acting goes the movie thrives on the performance of Vincent Gallo more than anything and it is a powerful performance. He brings a lot of depth to the character of Tetro. Gallo plays a jerk very well and that's how he portrays Tetro at first, but he also has a uniqueness about the character that makes you want to learn more about how he came to be the way he is. Maribel Verdu is perfect as lover who triples as a muse and support. She may not know his past, bu she is wise about how he acts and is strong enough to even make him back down in an arguement. Her performance felt kind of classy and I liked it. Starring as the younger brother was Aldren Ehrenreich, who I had mixed feelings about. There were times where he conveyed emotion very well but any other time he just seemed like a mumbling, prickish kid. Perhaps that was intentional. The only real interesting attribute about him is he looks remarkably like Leonardo Dicaprio, but he definitely can't act like him. So acting was pretty well solid too.

All in all Tetro was a very interesting movie. It's a long movie to be sure, and at times it might feel slow, but you can't help wanting to see it through to the end. And trust me, the ending is good. It showed that Francis Ford Coppola hasn't lost his talents after all these years. A little bit of trivia: Tetro was sabotaged when terrorists broke into Coppola's Argentina studio and the script was stolen among the things stolen. Luckily the script was recovered, or rewritten, I'm not sure, and Tetro was brought to the screen. I'm glad it was because it is quite an extraordinary movie. A great family drama made by a true master of that genre.

This has been another modest review from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.