By Susan Granger
For Orthodox Jews in Israel, divorce is decided not in civil court but by a triumvirate of rabbinical judges.
In order for a wife to obtain one, her husband must consent – and “The Trial of Viviane Amsalem” vividly illustrates this patriarchal tyranny.
After bearing four children and enduring decades of an unhappy marriage, Viviane (Ronit Elkabetz) has left her home and moved in with her brother and overbearing sister-in-law.
For three years, she has attempted to obtain a “gett,” which is permission to dissolve her marriage, but her taciturn, religiously devout husband Elisha (Simon Abkarian) steadfastly refuses.
Since childhood, Viviane has been trained to obey authoritarian men, and Elisha’s stalling tactics delay her agony as weeks and months turn into years. Ignoring one summons after another, he’s intractable as she becomes more embittered during this ordeal.
Filmed exclusively in the claustrophobic courtroom and its stark antechamber, Viviane is represented by Carmel Ben Tovim (Menasche Noy), the son of a distinguished rabbi who has broken with family tradition, while Elisha is represented by his older brother, Rabbi Shimon (Sasson Gabay).
Eventually, various inept and/or hypocritical witnesses are called to testify about their marital relationship, facing a judicial trio, called Beth din, headed by Rabbi Salmion (Eli Gorstein).
Utilizing countdown title cards and extreme close-ups, this bitter farce and heart-wrenching drama focuses on Viviane, representing the basic women’s rights issue in Israel, which is supposedly a democracy.
Born in Beersheba, Israel, actress/director/writer Robit Elkabetz, working with her writer/director brother Shlomi Ekabetz, conceived this thought-provoking feature as the conclusion to a trilogy, which includes “To Take a Wife” and “7 Says,” films ostensibly inspired by the life of their mother. It was a Golden Globe nominee and Israel’s submission for the Foreign Language Academy Award.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “GETT: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem” is an embattled, infuriating 8, epitomizing the concept of male entitlement.
If you liked “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (2012), you’ll enjoy “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.”
As it begins, the exuberant proprietor Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel) and resident-turned-partner Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) are in San Diego, pitching company called Evergreen, run by Ty Burley (David Strathairn), for financing to expand the residential facilities.
Meanwhile in India, elaborate plans are underway for Sonny to marry his fiancée Sunaina (Tena Desae). Enterprising Evelyn (Judi Dench) has become a successful textiles buyer and is ardently pursued by shy, lovelorn Douglas (Bill Nighy), who turns out to be Jaipur’s most inept tourist guide.
At the same time, affection-starved Madge (Celia Imrie) is torn between two wealthy lovers, while Norman (Ronald Pickup) tries to stabilize his relationship with Carol (Diana Hardcastle).
Adding to the confusion, there are two new guests: Lavinia Beach (Tamsin Greig) is checking-out the facilities as a retirement home for her mother, while Guy Chambers (Richard Gere) claims to be a novelist. But ambitious, entrepreneurial Sonny suspects that he’s really an inspector sent by Evergreen. And when Guy starts courting Sonny’s widowed mother (Lillete Dubey), chaos reigns.
Expanding his original adaptation of Deborah Moggach’s novel about financially-challenged British pensioners who have “outsourced” their remaining years, Ol Parker’s segmented screenplay juggles so many diverse characters, contrived storylines and picturesque glimpses into colorful Indian culture that sometimes it’s hard to keep track.
But John Madden’s direction stirs the subplots, resulting in an amicable, feel-good diversion for audiences of a certain age.
True to form, Maggie Smith gets the best lines, including giving an American tart instructions about how to make a proper cup of tea and uttering succinct put-downs like, “Just because I’m looking at you when you talk, don’t think I’m listening –- or even interested.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is a satisfyingly soapy 7, culminating in a gloriously pseudo-Bollywood dance spectacle.
“Insurgent” is the highly-anticipated sequel to last year’s “Divergent.” set in a dystopian futuristic Chicago, where society is divided into five factions, according to skill and aptitude: Amity (peaceful), Abnegation (selfless), Candor (honest), Dauntless (brave) and Erudite (intelligent) – with the dispossessed Outsiders, known as Factionless.
They’re supervised by megalomaniacal Jeanine (Kate Winslet), who discovered a mysterious box containing information from the founders of the new civilization. She’s sure it’s the answer to what she perceives as the Divergent dilemma. Divergents are considered dangerous because they have attributes of multiple factions. Problem is: she needs a Divergent to open it.
Meanwhile, the reluctant Divergent heroine, Beatrice “Tris” Prior (Shailene Woodley), is on the run. Having recently lost her parents (Ashley Judd, Tony Goldwyn), she’s haunted by nightmares, filled with guilt and grief.
Along with a new, short haircut, Tris has a seemingly meek brother, Caleb (Ansel Elgort), whose allegiances are shifting; Candor pal Christina (Zoe Kravitz); conniving frenemy Peter (Miles Teller); and hunky protector, known as Four (Theo James), whose murky past is revealed as part of the plot.
Adapting Veronica Roth’s derivative YA trilogy, three screenwriters (Brian Duffield, Akiva Goldsman and Mark Bomback), along with director Robert Schwentke (“The Time Traveler’s Wife,” “R.E.D.”), have crafted a meandering, action-packed sci-fi saga – that’s perhaps too kinetic.
SIMs (hallucinatory simulations) and breathless chase scenes abound, including a memorable one involving train-hopping. Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer do cameos, perhaps foreshadowing bigger roles in the third and fourth movies that split the concluding novel, “Allegiant.” into two parts.
But it’s Shailene Woodley (“The Spectacular Now,” “The Fault in Our Stars”) whose angst propels the obvious plot, along with intense stunt work and visual effects.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Insurgent” is a fast-paced 5 – a “Hunger Games” wannabe.
( Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
