Wednesday, December 27, 2017

22 photos that show the evolution of New York City's Times Square ball drop

1942Revelers wending their way in New York's Times Square to ring in the New Year on January 1, 1942.AP

Every year, over a million people pack into New York City's Times Square to revel in the new year.
2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the ball drop — the tradition of watching a glowing sphere that slides down a pole until midnight.

Let's take a look at how the celebration has evolved over the past century.

Since the tradition began in 1904, New York's New Year's Eve celebration has been one of the world's largest. The first celebration had about 200,000 attendees.



Since the tradition began in 1904, New York's New Year's Eve celebration has been one of the world's largest. The first celebration had about 200,000 attendees.
In the early years, crowds gathered at Wall Street's Trinity Church to listen to church bells at midnight before the Times Square festivity became more popular.

New York had its first ball drop in 1907 after the city banned fireworks. The 700-pound ball had 100 bulbs, was made of iron and wood, and appeared every year until 1920.

New York had its first ball drop in 1907 after the city banned fireworks. The 700-pound ball had 100 bulbs, was made of iron and wood, and appeared every year until 1920.
New Year's Eve in Times Square in New York City, circa 1940s.YouTube/Screenshot

Over the next few decades, the number of spectators swelled. This was the crowd on December 31, 1941.

Over the next few decades, the number of spectators swelled. This was the crowd on December 31, 1941.

When the US entered World War II, the fire department started ramping up security. Because of wartime blackouts, 1942 and 1943 were the only two years without ball drops.

When the US entered World War II, the fire department started ramping up security. Because of wartime blackouts, 1942 and 1943 were the only two years without ball drops.
New York's fire department in Times Square on December 31, 1941.

Nevertheless, an estimated half million turned out to Times Square in 1942. At midnight, there was a moment of silence and then a ringing of church bells.

Nevertheless, an estimated half million turned out to Times Square in 1942. At midnight, there was a moment of silence and then a ringing of church bells.

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Movie Review—Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
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Theatrical release poster

by Peter J. O’Connell 

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Released: Nov. 2017. Runtime: 115 mins. MPAA Rating: R for violence, language throughout, and some sexual references.

Fargo, North Dakota, and Ebbing, Missouri, are hundreds of miles from each other, but the movies Fargo (1996) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, have something in common: the brilliance of their makers. Brilliance in creating dark situations with comic aspects in a plot that is never predictable. Brilliance in creating a characteristically mid-American atmosphere. Brilliance in eliciting brilliant performances, particularly from Frances McDormand, the star of both films. (Martin McDonagh, the British writer/director of Ebbing, deserves a special hat tip for ranking up there with Minnesota’s Coen brothers, creators of Fargo, in these categories.)  

Ebbing, Missouri, becomes riled up when three billboards outside the small town suddenly bear a startling message, which reads in sequence: “Raped while dying.” Still no arrests?” “How come, Chief Willoughby?” The reference is to the murder several months earlier of the daughter of Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand), a hardbitten local woman. Mildred is a divorcee deeply grieving over her daughter’s death. Outraged at the lack of progress in the murder investigation, she has rented the billboards.  

Chief of Police Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) is a family man beloved in the town, particularly since it is an open secret that he is dying of cancer. Willoughby is sympathetic toward Mildred but resents the billboards as an attack on his competence. This kind of mixture of motives in the film’s characters reflects the mixture of tones in its presentation.

Mildred and her depressed son, Robbie (Lucas Hedges), are harassed and threatened, including by Mildred’s abusive ex-husband, Charlie (John Hawkes). The most serious harassment, though, is by Willoughby’s deputy, Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell). Deputy Dixon is a Gomer-type, disorganized and possibly racist, who lives with his mother (Sandy Martin) and longs to become a detective.

Just as McDonagh tempers our instinctive sympathy for Mildred by having McDormand play her as hardbitten even beyond the understandable parameters of her sad situation, so, too, he manages to have Rockwell generate some sympathy for what is in many ways a disgusting character. You might say that Rockwell’s performance is a subtle depiction of crudity.

The fires burning inside several characters are unleashed in a night of real fires. Willoughby, indirectly, teaches some hard truths. Dixon, surprisingly, learns them—somewhat. Charlie makes an unexpected confession. A little person—really—(Peter Dinklage) comes to Mildred’s aid, and she later acquires another unlikely ally for an ambiguous mission.


You might not want to go to Ebbing, Missouri, but you should go to this movie. Some of its impact is billboard big, some subtle, but most of it will be lasting.      

A beginner's guide to Facebook



Against all odds, you likely know someone who still hasn't succumbed to the lure of Facebook. Maybe you’re a beginner yourself. Or perhaps you just haven’t had the gosh darn time to explore every last corner of the world’s most expansive social network. 

Below, we offer a refresher course for those eager to learn more about the basics of Facebook. Let’s take a social stroll through the network’s main features, policies and culture norms. 
Even if you’re a pro, it’s fun to look at the platform through a beginner’s eyes. If you were a Facebook virgin, what would you think of the social network?

1. Timeline

Before you begin searching for friends, it’s important to complete your Timeline (aka your personal profile), which includes everything from uploading a profile picture and cover phototo outlining your employment history to determining your relationship status (OK, that’s optional). It’s called a timeline because you can include information, important milestones and memories spanning your entire life. Timeline is incredibly nuanced, and encourages you to include as much detail as possible, and many, many people do — so, don’t be shy!
Check out these additional resources for building the best Timeline:

2. Friends

Once you’ve filled out a healthy portion of your Timeline, start searching for and adding “friends.” Trust us, you won’t be at a loss. Chances are, many of your co-workers, family members, classmates and neighbors are already on the network. Search for them in the search box that appears on the top of the site. 
As you accumulate friends, Facebook will be able to suggest additional contacts as its algorithm generates connections among your growing network. You’ll see a list of suggested friends on Facebook’s homepage, in the “People You May Know” sidebar. Click here to continue reading.

Opioid overdoses fuel drop in US life expectancy for second straight year

The drug problems caused by opioids is reaching very community in the US. Police and medical professionals are responding to overdose victims everyday.

Brian Snyder | REUTERS | BDN


American life expectancy at birth declined for the second consecutive year in 2016, fueled by a staggering 21 percent rise in the death rate from drug overdoses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
The United States has not seen two years of declining life expectancy since 1962 and 1963, when influenza caused an inordinate number of deaths. In 1993, there was a one-year drop during the worst of the AIDS epidemic.
“I think we should take it very seriously,” said Bob Anderson, chief of the Mortality Statistics Branch at the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the CDC. “If you look at the other developed countries in the world, they’re not seeing this kind of thing. Life expectancy is going up.”
The development is a dismal sign for the United States, which boasts some of the world’s highest spending on medical care, and more evidence of the toll the nation’s opioid crisis is exacting on younger and middle-aged Americans, experts said.
More than 42,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses alone in 2016, a 28 percent increase over 2015. When deaths from drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine and benzodiazepines are included, the overall increase was 21 percent. Click here to continue reading.

Movie Review—Roman J. Israel, Esq.

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Theatrical release poster


by Peter J. O'Connell                       

Roman J. Israel, Esq. Released: Nov. 2017. Runtime: 122 mins. MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language and some violence.

Roman J. Israel, Esq., may not be that unusual a name for an attorney, but it is a rather unusual one for an African-American attorney in Los Angeles. But then Roman, as played by Denzel Washington in writer/director Dan Gilroy's Roman J. Israel, Esq., is an unusual man. 

For decades Roman has been the backroom brains of a two-partner law firm. Certainly dorky, possibly autistic, he confesses: “Public speaking is usually something I'm encouraged to avoid.” And: “My lack of success is self-imposed.” Roman's dated suits are ill fitting; his glasses are unfashionable; he subsists on peanit butter sandwiches in a small apartment in a working-class neighborhood; and, in perhaps his most out-of-it trait, he walks everywhere—in L.A.! But Roman is still consumed by a passion for social justice acquired in his youth, and he spends much of his own time working on a massive brief that he hopes will change the criminal justice system. 

When his partner dies, Roman takes a job with a big firm headed by George Pierce (Colin Farrell), a flashy attorney who tempts Roman to adopt a trendy new lifestyle. Roman, who says that he has become “tired of doing the impossible for the ungrateful,” starts to fall under George's spell. But Roman is also attracted by Maya Alston (Carmen Ejogo), a community organizer who admires him for his commitment to social justice over the years. For Roman, Maya becomes the opposite pole of attraction to George's pull. Roman's idealism falters, however, as he rises in wealth and esteem while engaging in unethical behavior in a criminal matter fraught with danger. 

Washington's performance as a deeply idiosyncratic man is impressive, and Farrell is cleverly understated in the way that he projects George's flashiness. Unfortunately, the film around these characters is rather unfocused and mixes satire, social concerns, romance, and thriller elements in a way that doesn't really cohere. The general effect is sort of similar to that of Roman's sartorial tastes.  



8 Surprising Things About Becoming a Grandparent

Becoming a Grandparent

There are lots of surprises when you become a grandparent for the first time – starting with how you get the news. The old-fashioned way is when the new dad calls you on the phone. That’s how I spread the news when my wife and I became parents back in the dark ages. The newfangled way is, of course, by text.
I left my Maryland home on a Friday morning knowing my daughter, living nearly 2,000 miles away in Utah, had been in labor since the night before. I was worried that we hadn’t heard anything but was not about to call. When you’re in labor, probably the last thing you want is a phone call from Dad saying, “Um, what’s up?”
So I biked to work. I went to the locker room to shower but first checked my phone. There was a text from my other daughter: “Abba, you’re a zaydie!”  (Translation: Abba is Hebrew for father and zaydie is Yiddish for grandpa.)
I mean, it makes sense to use texts. Still, I was surprised that texting was the method of delivery. It seemed so … untraditional.
And that isn’t the only surprising thing that occurs when you enter the demographic category of grandparent:

1. Tears are shed.
When I got that text, droplets of moisture welled up in my eyes. Caught up in my own busy life, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to my daughter’s pregnancy. I figured yes, she’s pregnant. So she’ll have a baby. I didn’t expect I’d have such an outpouring of emotion. And those first tears were the harbinger of many tears to come.
When I saw our new granddaughter, Jolene, for the first time a week later, drip drip drop went the teardrops. When I had to say goodbye after our short visit, I sniffled. And now that I use her birthdate as the passcode for my iPhone, I sigh a little (and maybe cry a little) every time I enter the date.
Why all these tears? Because a tiny new human being is really a miracle.  And being a typical self-absorbed boomer, I couldn’t quite realize that until it happened to me.

2. You become a stereotypical grandparent.
Did I tell you that she is the coolest baby ever? She instinctively knows how to look you in the eyes. She is an excellent sleeper. And even though she has no clue who I am, she would happily rest on my chest for hours, which makes me love her even more. Best grandbaby ever!

3. Even if you are a person who can never sit still, you will sit still.
I am always on the go. A vacation means: go for a run, go for a bike ride, take a hike. Then it’s time for brunch. At work, my restless legs take me on a stroll around the office every hour or so.
But there I was, sitting on the couch and holding that baby while she slept. An hour passed and then another and another, and I still wasn’t ready to give her up because that’s how absolutely fascinating and bewitching little babies can be. I didn’t even check my phone for messages.

4. You think deep thoughts.
I look into my granddaughter’s lively eyes and wonder: Who will she become? What will she be like? What kind of world will she live in?
Did my wife and I think these thoughts when our children were newborns? I don’t believe we did because we were too sleep-deprived and too nervous about getting the parenthood thing right. But as a grandparent, I have the luxury of pondering the unfathomable potential of a new human being — and wonder if she’ll be the one who invents such sorely needed products as a levitating sofa or a Google translator for cat meows.

5. You want to give advice to the new parents … but you don’t.
Because you remember that when you were new parents you wouldn’t have wanted your own parents and in-laws to say: You’re holding her wrong! You’re feeding her wrong! She’s too bundled up! She’s not bundled up enough!
As a grandparent at work told me, “Let me give you some advice. Never give advice.”
Even though I am vowing not to be a backseat baby driver, I know I will sometimes be unable to stop myself. But I do swear to live by the sage words of a grandmother I knew: “You can tell your kids something once. But don’t repeat it. They really did hear you the first time.”

6. You change your mind about where you want to live and also your career options.
In the tiny town in Utah where my Fabulous Granddaughter lives, I saw a help wanted sign for a busboy at the local diner. I’m updating my resumé with an emphasis on dishwashing skills. Click here to continue reading.


  • Shown, l to r, New Haven police Lt. Jason Minardi; Kathleen Titsworth, Banking Outreach coordinator, state Department of Banking; New Haven police Detective Fred Salmeron; Angela DeLeon, Masters Program coordinator, Peoples United Bank, and New Haven Detective Rosealee Reid. Photo: Contributed Photo

NEW HAVEN — About 50 people got tips on avoiding scams and personal thefts over the holidays at the recent “Safe-Tea,” presented by the Police Department, the state Department of Banking and People’s United Bank.
“All of us can unknowingly fall prey to scams throughout the year, particularly during the holiday season,” Continuum of Care President and CEO Patti Walker said in a release.
The event at the nonprofit Continuum of Care on Legion Avenue included tea and sandwiches. Continuum’s mission is to enable people who are challenged with mental illness, intellectual disability or other disability, and/or addiction, to rebuild meaningful lives and thrive in the community.
“Seniors, individuals with disabilities, and individuals challenged with mental health issues — these populations are particularly vulnerable to people taking advantage of them,” Walker said in the release.
According to the release, Kathleen Titsworth, of the state Department of Banking, led a game called “F-R-A-U-D” that provided such safety tips as: Click here to continue reading.

Movie Review—Novitiate

Novitiate
Novitiate film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster


by Peter J. O'Connell           

Novitiate. Released: 2017. Runtime: 123 mins. MPAA Rating: R for language, some sexuality and nudity.

Films can transport audiences to all kinds of fascinating worlds unfamiliar to them, whether it be to “faraway places with strange-sounding names” on this planet or to “a galaxy long ago and far away.” In Novitiate writer/director Margaret Betts plunges us into such a world, even though that world is in this country and only 50-60 years back in time.  

The world of Novitiate is that of a cloistered order of contemplative Catholic nuns in the 1960s, as Vatican Council II begins to make changes in the Church. The film mainly focuses on the journey of Cathleen Harris through the stages of training aimed at making her into a full-fledged member of the Sisters of the Sacred Rose.

Cathleen first encounters Catholicism at the age of seven in 1954 when her mother (Julianne Nicholson) takes her to Mass. The mother is an agnostic but feels an obligation to give Cathleen (played first by Eliza Mason) some idea of what religion is all about. Cathleen likes the experience and when invited at the age of 12 (now played by Sasha Mason) to attend a newly opened all-girls Catholic school, she persuades her mother to send her. Religion provides a respite for Cathleen from the chaotic nature of her home life. Her verbally abusive father has split, and her loving but heavy-drinking and hot-partying mother is going down a path that Cathleen doesn't want to travel. 

Instead, Cathleen (now played by Margaret Qualley) decides at 17 to enter the Convent of the Sacred Rose as a postulant, the first stage toward becoming a nun. The Convent is presided over fiercely by Reverend Mother (Melissa Leo). This “second mother” to Cathleen is a character in the tradition of various training sergeants, wardens, principals, et al., that we have seen in movies over the years. (Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest particularly comes to mind.) Reverend Mother's interaction with her charges is summed up when she announces: “Since unfortunately God Himself can't be here to run this convent, my voice will serve as a stand-in.” 

The regimen of the Convent with its silences, public confessions, and disciplines drives some of the young women to leave, but those who make it from postulant to the next stage of novice celebrate ecstatically in a delightful scene as they romp about outside in the traditional white wedding dresses (they are “brides of Christ”) that temporarily replace their somber habits for the day of transition. 

In the life of the novices, however, the regimen begins to create troubling interactions between ecstasy and agony as the young women seek to devote themselves totally to things of the spirit and the love of God, while feeling the pull of “the flesh” and the love of self and, in some cases, other sisters. Cathleen, for example, has visionary experiences that elevate her emotionally, yet she feels the need to fast almost to an anorexic degree and to flagellate herself.

In the meantime, Vatican Council II promulgates decrees for changes in the ways that a convent such as that of the Sisters of the Sacred Rose traditionally has operated. Reverend Mother resists the liberalizing measures and confronts her archbishop (Denis O'Hare) about them. Interestingly, one of the things outraging her is that the decrees are being issued with little input from nuns or other women and will lessen the degree of autonomy of the world that orders of sisters have carved out for themselves in the Church. Reverend Mother, it would seem, is a kind of feminist in her own right!

The various crosscurrents affecting the Convent and Cathleen swirl together when the young woman, in wedding dress again, has to decide whether or not to profess the final vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience that will transition her from novice to nun. 


Betts' brilliantly directed Novitiate is a beautifully filmed and scored motion picture, with excellent performances by all involved, particularly, of course, “novice” actress Margaret Qualley (a star is born!) and veteran thesp Melissa Leo (an Oscar nom awaits). Amid all the screens filled with raucous comedies, violent thrillers, and sci-fi spectaculars, those showing this quiet but moving and quite compelling film definitely deserve your patronage, whatever your religious background—or lack of same.       

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Medicare Part B Premiums Rise For Most In 2018

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced Medicare Part B premiums for 2018, and the base premium stays the same as this year at $134 a month, but a lot actually changes. For 70% of Social Security recipients who have been paying an artificially low $109 a month, they’ll see a big jump to the $134 a month level. Also, many high earners—starting at $133,500 for a single--will face higher high-income surcharges.  Part B (the base and the surcharge) covers doctors’ and outpatient services.
The backdrop to the premium jump for the 70% of folks is that the Social Security Administration announced a 2% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 2018 last month. The average benefit for a retired worker will rise by $27 a month to $1,404 in 2018. Many recipients will find most or all of their increase eaten up by the jump in the Medicare Part B premiums deducted from their monthly Social Security checks. A “hold harmless” provision (no increase in Medicare premiums can reduce a Social Security recipient’s net monthly check) kept their premiums in check before.
For folks who face high-income surcharges that are tacked on to Part B premiums, it’s a different story. They’re facing hikes for 2018 because of a 2015 Congressional budget deal, which compressed tax brackets, which forces more people to pay higher surcharges.
The graduated high-income premium surcharges for seniors kick in for singles with a modified adjusted gross income of more than $85,000 and for couples with a MAGI of more than $170,000. An individual earning more than $85,000, but less than or equal to $107,000, will pay $187.50 in total a month in 2018, including a $53.50 surcharge, the same as in 2017.
The next bracket is compressed, so individuals making $133,500 to $160,000 will now face a $214.30 monthly surcharge, up from $133.90, bringing their total premium up from $267.90 a month to $348.30 a month. That’s a 60% hike. Click here to continue reading.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Movie Review—Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express teaser poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster

by Peter J. O'Connell                                                                                                 

Murder on the Orient Express. Released: Nov. 2017. Runtime: 114 mins. MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence and thematic elements.

Sidney Lumet's 1974 film version of Agatha Christie's classic 1934 mystery novel Murder on the Orient Express proved both a popular and a critical success and touched off somewhat of a Christie boom. A number of theatrical and TV films based on her stories and characters, and even her life, followed over the next 20 years or so.

Now Kenneth Branagh directs and co-produces a new version of Murder, with himself as the lead character, Hercule Poirot, the “world's greatest detective,” as the Belgian styles himself. There's a problem with this new version, however—there's not much new about it, and what is new mostly isn't an improvement on the 1974 version. 

An example of the new but not improved material is the grossly overproduced, and irrelevant, opening sequence set in Jerusalem. Other examples are some of the choices that Branagh has made in how scenes are shot. The most blatant example of a bad choice in this regard is the filming from overhead of a key scene involving Johnny Depp's character. And no review can fail to note that one of the new things that is quite annoying is the addition of a new character of sorts: Mr. Mustache. Yes, Branagh has given Poirot a mustache that is so grotesquely large and shaped that it almost becomes a character itself in the movie—another passenger on the train. At least, one can't help fixing eyes on it during the many closeups that Branagh gives himself.

Something new that would be welcome in this version of Murder would be a twist on the story's “surprise ending,” which is actually rather well-known and hence no surprise to many moviegoers. But we don't get any such imaginative approach from screenwriter Michael Green. Nor do we get much approximating stellar performances from Murder's all-star (sort of) cast.

Johnny Depp as a shady art dealer with plenty of enemies is probably the best in the cast, but that's largely because most of the other actors are given little distinctive to do. When the Depp character is murdered while the Express is marooned in the mountains by a snow avalanche, the other characters are suspects. The main ones are the Depp character's henchmen (Derek Jacobi and Josh Gad); a morose missionary (Penelope Cruz); a white supremacist (Willem Dafoe); a Russian noblewoman (Judi Dench); an African-American doctor (Leslie Odom, Jr.); the doctor's clandestine lover, a governess (Daisy Ridley); and a femme fatale type (Michelle Pfeiffer). The point of such a cast is for each of them to have their characters make a strong individual impression but to do so economically. (As Ingrid Bergman did in the 1974 version, for which she received an Oscar.) The current cast—under this director—doesn't. 

Murder's exterior shots can be impressive. It is filmed in 65mm and beautiful color, with a mix of actual scenery, traditional special effects, and computer-generated imagery. But both the costuming and the production design of the interiors fail to convey a strong sense of period or the luxurious experience of traveling on the fabled train. 


Be that as it may, the final scene of Murder is clearly setting up for a sequel. And it has been reported that a biopic of Agatha Christie is in the works, to star either Emma Stone or Alicia Vikander.   

Bill Gates' newest mission: Curing Alzheimer's

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(CNN)It's one of the holy grails of science: a cure for Alzheimer's. Currently, there is no treatment to stop the disease, let alone slow its progression. And billionaire Bill Gates thinks he will change that.
"I believe there is a solution," he told me without hesitation.
"Any type of treatment would be a huge advance from where we are today," he said, but "the long-term goal has got to be cure."
I had the chance to sit down with Gates recently to talk about his newest initiative. He sat in front of our cameras exclusively to tell me how he hopes to find a cure to a disease that now steals the memories and other cognitive functions of 47 million people around the world. 
For Gates, the fight is personal. He is investing $50 million of his own money into the Dementia Discovery Fund, a private-public research partnership focused on some of the more novel ideas about what drives the brain disease, such as looking at a brain cell's immune system. It's the first time Gates has made a commitment to a noncommunicable disease. The work done through his foundation has focused primarily on infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria and polio. Click here to continue reading.

Monday, November 6, 2017

Movie Review—Suburbicon

Suburbicon.jpg
Theatrical release poster
by Peter J. O’Connell 

Suburbicon. Released: Oct. 2017. Runtime: 104 mins. MPAA Rating: R for violence, language, and some sexuality.

George Clooney is a fine actor, including in four films made by the Coen brothers. He also has directed six films, several quite good. And he is a noted advocate for liberal causes. Now we have Suburbicon. Clooney doesn’t appear in this film, but he has directed it himself, co-written it with the Coen brothers and Grant Heslov, and co-produced it.

The movie is a dramedy attempting to weave together three elements: film noir, satirical/semi-surrealistic comedy, and social justice concerns. The first two of these elements are characteristics of Coen brothers’ films. The last reflects Clooney’s own interests. Unfortunately, the attempt to interweave the three elements fails. At best they are only loosely looped together. In fact, we might say that the whole movie is rather loopy. Its exaggerated portrayal of stereotypical characters and its stilted dialogue may, perhaps, be an attempt to “make things clear by overstating,” but that approach here is off-putting rather than clarifying.

The eponymous setting of the movie is a Levittown-like community in 1959. The family-friendly environment in Suburbicon, however, turns distinctly unfriendly when the town’s first blacks—the Mayers family—move in and are subject to violent harassment by mobs of white residents. The family’s only friend is Nicky (Noah Jupe), the young son of Gardner (Matt Damon) and Rose Lodge (Julianne Moore) next-door neighbors of the Mayers family. Nicky plays with young Andy Mayers (Tony Espinosa), despite the ordeal being undergone by Mr. and Mrs. Mayers (Leith M. Burke and Karimah Westbrook).

While Suburbicon’s racist white residents feel invaded by the peaceable black family, the Lodge “lodge” in the suburban “Garden of Eden” undergoes a seeming home invasion by two violent thugs, who kill Rose. Margaret, Rose’s twin sister (also played by Julianne Moore, natch), then moves in with Nicky and Gardner, with whom she has sex, while debt-ridden Gardner attempts to collect an insurance policy on Rose’s life. He also attempts to fend off the demands of the ostensible home invaders (Alex Hassell and Glenn Fleshler) for payment. You see, Gardner actually hired the two to kill Rose. Moreover, Gardner and Margaret also have to deal with a swarmily assertive insurance investigator (Oscar Isaac), who has his own agenda.

In the meantime, poor Nicky, feeling that things are going out of control but not knowing why, starts to seclude himself in his room. Eventually, as events reach a climax in a night of horrendous violence, Nicky begins to see his own father and aunt inside the home as posing an even greater danger to him than the two criminals from outside.

As mentioned earlier, the racist incidents and what’s going on with the Lodges never really mesh. Damon and Moore, usually A-list thesps, rate only a C here. Their attempts to portray their cartoonish characters fall flat. Glenn Fleshler and Oscar Isaac are much better but can’t save the film. Noah Jupe as Nicky is good, but certain aspects of his characterization may make Connecticut audience members somewhat uneasy by their slight resemblance to behavior of Newtown’s Adam Lanza.

Overall, Suburbicon attempts to depict the iconic American dream of the suburbs as, in effect, a nightmarish “con.” Have we seen this concept before? We sure have—in Blue Velvet (1986) and Pleasantville (1998) and American Beauty (1999) and Revolutionary Road (2008), just to name a few out of a multitude. Yo, Hollywood, give it a break! (Remember, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.)


“Footnote” to the Film: The racist violence directed at the black family may seem one of the most exaggerated aspects of Suburbicon. Sad to say, it is one of the least. The actual historical incident of horrendous harassment reflected in the film occurred in Levittown, Pennsylvania, in 1957.