Focus

Rating:
Summary: Should have picked the mirrored shades
Review: FOCUS examines prejudice not so much as the stereotyping that helps fuel it. William H. Macy has a rare starring role as Lawrence Newman, a forty-something bachelor living with his invalid mother in Brooklyn towards the end of World War Two. Newman is the painfully nerdy personnel manager of a large, anonymous New York City firm. One day, his boss all but orders Lawrence to get some eyeglasses to correct his bad eyesight. Ever the good company man, Newman complies. Unfortunately, the eyewear chosen makes him appear even more a geek. As his mother puts it, they also make him "look Jewish", not a good thing considering the anti-Semitism that's boiling to the surface in their blue-collar neighborhood directed at the owner of the corner market, Mr. Finklestein. The contextual source of this bigotry isn't well explained by the storyline, but it apparently stems from the feeling in some quarters that, rather than fighting the Nazis, America should be allied with Germany, ostensibly a Christian country, against godless communism and its assumed fellow-travelers, the Jews.

Newman seems well aware of the effect of the glasses on how others perceive him. So, as he's subjected to increasingly outrageous discrimination, one wonders why he doesn't simply pitch them in the nearest dumpster and wear something less provocative. But, he stubbornly doesn't, and then complicates his situation by falling for Gertrude (Laura Dern), a blond, Love Goddess ironically perceived as also Jewish because of her flamboyance. Eventually, these two WASPs must choose whether to join their neighbors' anti-Semitic organization, move away, or stand and fight.

It's a treat to see Macy, a wonderful actor usually seen in supporting performances, in a lead role. Unfortunately, his Newman character garnered little sympathy from this viewer when right at the film's outset he witnesses the nighttime beating and probable rape of a Puerto Rican woman by one of his neighbors, and doesn't even have the courage to call the police. Indeed, while Lawrence occasionally shows sparks of gumption, it's almost always in selfish response to his own victimization and nobody else's. However, having said that, Macy does a superb acting job. Laura Dern is sparkling as the flashy Gertrude in a role vaguely reminiscent of that in RAMBLING ROSE.

FOCUS has the feel of a live theater production. The streamlined scenes are relatively uncluttered with supernumerary characters or action. (The scene in the church towards the end seems positively congested.) Indeed, the director successfully isolates the plot's time and place from the rational part America going about its everyday business. The viewer barely realizes that, outside this one block in Brooklyn, America is at war and about to invade Normandy. I like the way the director was able to narrowly FOCUS on the phenomenon of ethnic stereotyping without muddling up the message with extraneous subplots. As a result, however, the film is perhaps more instructive than entertaining. I would recommend it highly for school viewing in a class on "racial tolerance".

Rating:
Summary: Laura Dern is remarkable in this movie of mixed metaphors
Review: I found this film interesting, but confusing.
It looks great. The period recreation is right-on and the cast is superb. However, I had a hard time accepting the conceit that someone with glasses would appear "Jewish" to others. It seemed to use a stereotype to make a point against stereotypes, hence my confusion.
The story itself is a poingant tale of one man's awakening to the insanity around him.
Give it a try.

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF 2001!!
Review: I have not yet seen the DVD, but this movie was in my top 3 movies of 2001.I am "Mr. Movies" and analyze and see almost every film! You will not be disappointed. William H. Macy puts on a performance of a lifetime! Plus, the supporting actors are excellent. A brilliant and touching story! Check it out!

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Message but very one-dimensional...
Review: I loved the touching message of this movie and the wonderful photography and use of colors, but the plot left much unsaid. The story seemed to strain to meaning at times and then before you knew it, something profound happened.

While the basic thrust of this movie is the evil of anti-semitism, there is not a lot of "coloring around the edges."
An example is the character who plays Larry Newman's mother: She is on-screen for about five minutes and you wonder why they even had her there at all. Then there is the role of Finkelstein, the prime victim of racism who has about 15 or 20 minutes screen time.

It seemed to me that the purpose of this film was to drive a single, (and I DO mean single) point across and then end it as soon as possible. It's like the director said "We've a job to do, so let's do it and get out of here." As far as the point of the movie, I got that in about 10 minutes. The other hour and fifty-something minutes, I wondered what, if anything else the actors were trying to say.

Rating:
Summary: tight little movie
Review: Lawrence Newman is a guy who doesn't take sides, doesn't take chances. Just sort of gets along fine. But when he is mistaken for a Jew and suffers discrimination, he finds himself outraged. He decides to take a side, the anti-Semitic side, to differentiate himself from Jews. To try to avoid being lumped in with them. When this doesn't work, he has to make a tougher decision. The last scene is a powerful testament to the importance of making hard choices and facing down ignorance.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Stuff
Review: Lawrence Newman is a guy who doesn't take sides, doesn't take chances. Just sort of gets along fine. But when he is mistaken for a Jew and suffers discrimination, he finds himself outraged. He decides to take a side, the anti-Semitic side, to differentiate himself from Jews. To try to avoid being lumped in with them. When this doesn't work, he has to make a tougher decision. The last scene is a powerful testament to the importance of making hard choices and facing down ignorance.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating movie; overdone moral
Review: This movie gives a good message about anti-semitism in American then and now, and its actors are well picked and do their job well. This is especially true for William H. Macy, who I agree whole-heartedly is a wonderful but underrated actor. In this role he gives the character depth and feeling. Surprisingly, Meatloaf turns in a good role as well as Macy's racist and conniving neighbor.

However, I have to say this movie did tend to drag. This is especially true when they introduced the romance with Laura Dern's character. Things really slow down and it almost feels like they're never going to develop or conclude themselves. It seemed like the same things were happening over and over again, and at some points in the movie I wondered just how long it was before the conclusion was going to finally come.

The ending of the movie, while satisfactory and happy, almost feels rather rushed. So the police are involved - who's to say the police aren't anti-semitic as well? And isn't it a possibility that the corrupt officials sway the cops to their side?

Overall, I'd call it a worthy rental, but if you want to see a film about anti-semitism in America I'd suggest you try "A Gentlemen's Agreement" with Gregory Peck. It was made around the time period "Focus" is set, and it stas Gregory Peck who intentionally pretends to be Jewish to see what anti-semitism is like. It has almost all the events this movie had, including the restricted hotel scene.

Rating:
Summary: Great American Fable
Review: William H. Macy is at his best, as always, in 'Focus' a well rendered screen adaptation of Arthur Millers book of the same title. Macy plays Lawrence, a rather meek man, living in a WASPy neighborhood during the early years of W.W.II America. At work he is pressed to wear glasses when he has "mistakenly" hired a Jewish woman, only to find that by donning the eye wear he himself appears to be Jewish. The next day at work after passing over a new applicant who also looks (but is not) Jewish, he is demoted to a less "visible" job and in protest quits his job.

Back at home his bigoted neighbors notice his new appearance, and he begins to invite the same vandalism that has been plaguing the the new owner of the neighborhood corner store, a Jew. He also is unable to find work (on account of his appearance), until he meets the same woman he passed over, Gertrude (Laura Dern), who hires him to work for her Jewish employer.

The story continues portraying a selectively forgotten era of American history, and manages to weave a fable of significant importance without ever feeling preachy. I would suggest this film to anyone, as it portrays its subject as well as any movie I have seen to date.

Rating:
Summary: Great American Fable
Review: William H. Macy is at his best, as always, in `Focus' a well rendered screen adaptation of Arthur Millers book of the same title. Macy plays Lawrence, a rather meek man, living in a WASPy neighborhood during the early years of W.W.II America. At work he is pressed to wear glasses when he has "mistakenly" hired a Jewish woman, only to find that by donning the eye wear he himself appears to be Jewish. The next day at work after passing over a new applicant who also looks (but is not) Jewish, he is demoted to a less "visible" job and in protest quits his job.

Back at home his bigoted neighbors notice his new appearance, and he begins to invite the same vandalism that has been plaguing the the new owner of the neighborhood corner store, a Jew. He also is unable to find work (on account of his appearance), until he meets the same woman he passed over, Gertrude (Laura Dern), who hires him to work for her Jewish employer.

The story continues portraying a selectively forgotten era of American history, and manages to weave a fable of significant importance without ever feeling preachy. I would suggest this film to anyone, as it portrays its subject as well as any movie I have seen to date.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: William Macy is brilliant again! He portrays a role of a decent man caught up in big time trouble, trouble created by ignorance and misunderstanding. In this post World War Two time, Macy's character suffers through anti-Jew feelings in his neighborhood. It is interesting how he deals with such discrimmination and how he attempts to live his life in a meaningful way. "Meatloaf" plays a frightening but effective bigot..and supporting actress Laura Dern does a great job too. This is a "must see".