Articles by Vanessa Graniello
13 articles
Silence tells the story in “Ida”
The alarming precision of nuns singing chromatically descending chants. The hollow, circular depression of earth on the grounds of the convent where a life-size statue of Jesus stands, and where Ida...
Jun 8, 2014 / Vanessa GranielloBlack Rock (2013)
Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton surprised me with “Black Rock,” a lean, formidable thriller about survival and friendship. A husband and wife team, Mr. Duplass wrote the screenplay and Ms. Asleton...
Jul 2, 2013 / Vanessa GranielloWhy did we watch ‘Amour?’
I am not fluent or even remotely familiar with the French language. But, after watching Michael Haneke’s “Amour” and listening to it play out four more times in the movie theater where I work, I...
Mar 26, 2013 / Vanessa GranielloNuance, subtext and poetry: A defense of ‘The Village’
Bryce Dallas Howard in "The Village" I feel sorry for M. Night Shyamalan. After “The Last Airbender” debacle and the graceless marketing scheme for “The Happening” as his first rated-R film, M. Night...
Feb 5, 2012 / Vanessa GranielloA soothing demise: Lars von Trier’s ‘Melancholia’ considered
Kirsten Dunst greets the apocalypse “Melancholia” is Lars von Trier’s intelligent, melodramatic, achingly beautiful and wickedly funny new film. It tells the story of Justine (a transcendent Kirsten...
Jan 18, 2012 / Vanessa Graniello‘The Future’ targets apathy one inert hipster at a time
Miranda July and Hamish Linklater in "The Future" “The Future” took my breath away. And when I say it took my breath away, I don’t mean to say I was enraptured by its profound insight into the...
Aug 25, 2011 / Vanessa GranielloWhy did ‘The Tree of Life’ need dinosaurs?
About twenty minutes into Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” there is a sequence that chronicles the creation of the universe. There is darkness, then supernovas of stellar light, volcanic...
Jul 9, 2011 / Vanessa GranielloRage against the male machine; Cinema’s subtle female avengers
Jennifer Lawrence as the headstrong Ree in "Winter's Bone" I had recently watched Ingmar Bergman’s all-time-downer classic, “Cries and Whispers,” for the second time when an article critiquing the...
May 31, 2011 / Vanessa Graniello‘I Am Love’ opens more than doorways
The month of January is named after Janus, the Roman god of exits and entrances. Janus is most commonly depicted in ancient art as having two faces, one looking backwards while the other looks...
Dec 16, 2010 / Vanessa GranielloLet Me In (2010)
I scarcely remember grinning as much during a film as I did while watching “Let Me In.” Grinning during a horror movie, you ask? Allow me to explain. It was an all-encompassing smile of pleasure,...
Oct 30, 2010 / Vanessa GranielloForget Genital Mutilation; ‘Antichrist’ is Disturbing Enough Without it
As Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist” arrives on DVD, I felt compelled give the film a second viewing. What I found was this: despite the overwhelming controversy surrounding the film’s gratuitous sexual...
Sep 16, 2010 / Vanessa GranielloWhat I Learned About ‘Splice’ Through Audience Reactions
“Splice,” the new film by Canadian director Vincenzo Natali, is a revitalizing standout in the long-suffering genre of sci-fi/horror. Instead of veering into predictable B-movie, torture-porn...
Jun 21, 2010 / Vanessa GranielloChallenging Mise-en-scène: A Study of ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’
After viewing Cristian Mungiu’s utterly mesmerizing and criminally underappreciated “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” I may finally understand the meaning, or at least one aspect, of the much debated...
Jan 19, 2010 / Vanessa GranielloRecent Articles
- Review: ‘A War’ explores war’s quiet, forgotten horrors
- TMA FilmCast #33 — Vera Chytilova and the Czech New Wave
- The fantasist: The comic art of Woody Allen
- Tribeca picks up North American rights to ‘Misery Loves Comedy’ at Sundance
- TMA FilmCast #32 — Alison Frank interviews Ana Geislerova
- ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ tops Online Film Critics Awards
- TMA FilmCast #31 — Alison Frank reports from 67th Locarno Film Fest
- 5 ½ hour film dominates awards at Locarno
- Shorts at #Locarno67: meditation vs testing the audience’s patience
- ‘The Fool’: A modern propaganda film
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