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Chicago Tribune
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
‘Familiar Touch' review: A coming-of-old-age story, compassionate and clear-eyed
The writer-director Sarah Friedland makes little mystery of her main character's circumstances in the first few minutes of 'Familiar Touch,' a plaintive triumph opening for a weeklong run at the Siskel Film Center. In a sunny Los Angeles apartment, framed by visual compositions allowing the superb Kathleen Chalfant the time and space to simply be, the character, Ruth, is making brunch for two. Her visitor arrives, a middle-aged man looking concerned, a little wary. Ruth is a couple of decades older than this man, Steve. We soon realize she does not know who Steve is, though earlier, when a piece of toast pops up from her toaster, she isn't quite sure what to do with it, placing it on the dish rack. Ruth is dealing with dementia. This day, starting with these carefully made 'signature sandwiches,' as Ruth calls them, is the day Steve, her son, played by with tact and subtlety by H. Jon Benjamin, will drive her and a single suitcase of her belongings, to the next part of her life. The assisted living facility goes by the fragrant name Bella Vista, with a memory care unit nicknamed 'Memory Lane' by the residents, as Ruth learns. Friedland, whose film won three prizes at last year's Venice International Film Festival, filmed much of 'Familiar Touch' in a Pasadena, California, continuing care retirement community, with the celebrated stage and screen veteran Chalfant working closely with its residents. Without exposition dumps or pressurized contrivance, Friedland reveals facets of Ruth's life, scene by scene, in the 85 minutes of screen time. Memories of Ruth's past float in and out of her present-tense existence. At one point, floating in the community pool, Ruth, her eyes closed, imagines a long-ago day at the beach, indicated by distant sounds of children playing and a fragment of a Coney Island carousel melody. A Flatbush Avenue native of Brooklyn, she's lost in reverie, and like all the shifting sands of orientation and disorientation shaping her world now, the memory comes. And goes. Cognizance of her surroundings, and the people in her life (Carolyn Michelle is very fine as residency staffer Vanessa), is fluid, not solid. There's a lovely mixture of orientation and disorientation at work in the scene where Ruth walks into the residency kitchen (she was a cook in her earlier years), ready to chop, eyeing the half-assembled fruit salad. An empathetic staffer does the best possible thing: He lets her work, asks her questions about food and life. Lunch that day turns out to be a little special. Freidland has no stomach for overt heartwarming or screw-tightening drama, though plenty happens. Matching wits with a residency doctor, or somewhat witheringly calling out a fellow resident for wearing a chip clip in her hair, Ruth comes to dimensional life, thanks to Chalfant. Having seen her in the world premiere of Margaret Edson's 'Wit' 30 years ago, delineating a very different character (a John Donne scholar) striking the best bargain she can with fast-moving cancer, it's a privilege to witness what Chalfant achieves with this character, in these distinct circumstances, never pushing, always illuminating. Friedland gets just a tad cute on us, near the end, in a Valentine's Day reunion of mother and son. Yet even that feels earned. The filmmaker's careful, just-so visual approach in 'Familiar Touch' allows for the space and the time for Ruth to regard where she is, who she is, who she was. In interviews Friedland has cited an array of international influences (including one of my favorites of the 21st century, Lee Chang Dong's 'Poetry') on her thinking. The result is an auspicious first feature, and I'd see it if I were you. 'Familiar Touch' — 3.5 stars (out of 4) No MPA rating (brief strong language) Running time: 1:30 How to watch: June 27 to July 3 at the Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St.;
Elle
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
Cynthia Nixon Asked Rosie O'Donnell To Take That Divisive 'And Just Like That...' Role
There are many things that run through both Sex And The City and its current incarnation And Just Like That... the fashion, the modern dating dilemmas - and the fact that every single episode has us talking, whether that is for good or for bad. FIND OUT MORE ON ELLE COLLECTIVE When it came to the opening episode of And Just Like That... season three, we were primed to be talking about Carrie and Aidan, but the biggest subject of discussion across both sides of the Atlantic seems to be Miranda's fling with a virgin nun - called Mary, no less - played by Rosie O'Donnell. In an interview with Variety about the internet-breaking plotline, O'Donnell explained how she came to join the show, via her friendship with Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda.'It was Cynthia,' she said. 'I'm good friends with Cynthia Nixon, and my daughter was actually her assistant on set for the last season of 'Sex and' — of 'And Just Like That.' I call it 'Sex and the City 2,' but that's not it. She put her on there, and then she said, 'By the way, Michael [Patrick King, creator] told me that he has a role for you. Are you up for it?' I said, 'Are you kidding me? In a minute!' I didn't even have to think about it.' Asked how she felt when she found out what that role was, O'Donnell said: 'I laughed my ass off. I thought — I know how to play this character.' 'I was very, very happy to be doing all my scenes with Cynthia. It was not acting for me. I don't have to act in love with her, because I've been in love with her for many years. I saw her in Wit, on Broadway, and even though I had known her for very many years and was friends with her in a real way, when I went backstage, I was awestruck and couldn't find my words.' And while much has been made of the more comical sides of the character - and that Wicked moment - O'Donnell said she found elements of Mary relatable. When asked 'have you known people like Mary who are isolated from their sexuality, even as they get older?' she replied: 'I know many women who only come to in in their 40s, and how hard it is when they set up a life with a man and children, and then they come to realise this basic thing about themselves,' she said. 'I understand their struggle. It was a relatable character — somebody who, for all different reasons, wasn't able to be in touch with who they were, and then came to find the beauty that awaits the rest of her life.' And Just Like That is on Sky and in the UK and NOW TV. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE.
CNN
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Rosie O'Donnell is back on the small screen as a nun having the time of her life in ‘And Just Like That…'
Rosie O'Donnell has moved an ocean away from Hollywood, but she's still entertaining audiences. The actress and former talk show host shared with Variety how she ended up playing a lesbian nun having a New York City adventure in 'And Just Like That…,' which returned for its third season on HBO Max on Thursday. O'Donnell explained that she has long been friends with Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda on the comedy and its prequel, 'Sex and the City.' 'My daughter was actually her assistant on set,' O'Donnell explained. 'She put her on there, and then she said, 'By the way, Michael told me that he has a role for you. Are you up for it?' I said, 'Are you kidding me? In a minute!' I didn't even have to think about it.' O'Donnell has also known the show's creator, Michael Patrick King, for more than 30 years. 'When I was a young comedian, he was in a comedy duo called King and Mindy — Lisa Mindy and Michael King,' she said. 'I used to hang out with them at Catch a Rising Star and at the Improv. It's been pretty amazing to see the people that began together doing so well.' As for being gay in real life and learning that King had created a lesbian nun character for her, O'Donnell said, 'I laughed my a** off. I thought — I know how to play this character.' 'I was very, very happy to be doing all my scenes with Cynthia. It was not acting for me. I don't have to act in love with her, because I've been in love with her for many years,' O'Donnell said. 'I saw her in 'Wit,' on Broadway, and even though I had known her for very many years and was friends with her in a real way, when I went backstage, I was awestruck and couldn't find my words.' O'Donnell, who has also appeared on the HBO comedy 'Hacks' this season, said people like the character she plays, Mary, who discovers her sexuality later in life, are common. 'I know many women who only come to it in their 40s, and how hard it is when they set up a life with a man and children, and then they come to realize this basic thing about themselves,' she sad. 'I understand their struggle. It was a relatable character — somebody who, for all different reasons, wasn't able to be in touch with who they were, and then came to find the beauty that awaits the rest of her life.' She also reflected on having moved to Ireland from the United States. 'Never, for one moment since I arrived here, did I regret my choice,' O'Donnell said. 'People have been so welcoming, so accepting, and they have a different view of celebrity in the culture here,' she added. 'They are not prioritized over other people. People are much more friendly and intimate with each other in a real way.' HBO Max and CNN are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.
CNN
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Rosie O'Donnell is back on the small screen as a nun having the time of her life in ‘And Just Like That…'
Rosie O'Donnell has moved an ocean away from Hollywood, but she's still entertaining audiences. The actress and former talk show host shared with Variety how she ended up playing a lesbian nun having a New York City adventure in 'And Just Like That…,' which returned for its third season on HBO Max on Thursday. O'Donnell explained that she has long been friends with Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda on the comedy and its prequel, 'Sex and the City.' 'My daughter was actually her assistant on set,' O'Donnell explained. 'She put her on there, and then she said, 'By the way, Michael told me that he has a role for you. Are you up for it?' I said, 'Are you kidding me? In a minute!' I didn't even have to think about it.' O'Donnell has also known the show's creator, Michael Patrick King, for more than 30 years. 'When I was a young comedian, he was in a comedy duo called King and Mindy — Lisa Mindy and Michael King,' she said. 'I used to hang out with them at Catch a Rising Star and at the Improv. It's been pretty amazing to see the people that began together doing so well.' As for being gay in real life and learning that King had created a lesbian nun character for her, O'Donnell said, 'I laughed my a** off. I thought — I know how to play this character.' 'I was very, very happy to be doing all my scenes with Cynthia. It was not acting for me. I don't have to act in love with her, because I've been in love with her for many years,' O'Donnell said. 'I saw her in 'Wit,' on Broadway, and even though I had known her for very many years and was friends with her in a real way, when I went backstage, I was awestruck and couldn't find my words.' O'Donnell, who has also appeared on the HBO comedy 'Hacks' this season, said people like the character she plays, Mary, who discovers her sexuality later in life, are common. 'I know many women who only come to it in their 40s, and how hard it is when they set up a life with a man and children, and then they come to realize this basic thing about themselves,' she sad. 'I understand their struggle. It was a relatable character — somebody who, for all different reasons, wasn't able to be in touch with who they were, and then came to find the beauty that awaits the rest of her life.' She also reflected on having moved to Ireland from the United States. 'Never, for one moment since I arrived here, did I regret my choice,' O'Donnell said. 'People have been so welcoming, so accepting, and they have a different view of celebrity in the culture here,' she added. 'They are not prioritized over other people. People are much more friendly and intimate with each other in a real way.' HBO Max and CNN are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Resort to host Wit platform
Queenstown will host Asia-Pacific's leading travel technology, media and events platform next year. Announced by Technology Queenstown (TQ) founder Roger Sharp during a host-tech panel session at KingPin on Wednesday night, Web in Travel (Wit) will be held for the first time in the resort next July, marking a milestone for the Queenstown Lakes district, which aims to become a technology innovation hub. The one-day event will be held in partnership with TQ, a not-for-profit organisation founded by Mr Sharp last year, and regional investment bank North Ridge Partners. Wit founder Siew Hoon said they had "long had our sights set on Oceania". "After the success of Wit Australia in 2011, we're excited to return with Wit Queenstown ... our mission has always been to spark innovation in travel tech, from Singapore to Tokyo, Seoul, Cape Town and Dubai. "We're excited to collaborate with Technology Queenstown to build a unique edition that marries Wit insights with local strategic vision and talent." Technology Queenstown is spearheading efforts to diversify the Queenstown Lakes economy, of which tourism and hospitality account for more than 60%, by developing a world-class tech sector. It aims to build $1 billion in annual tech sector GDP in the district over the next 20 years, moving technology from less than 2% to more than 15% of GDP. Mr Sharp, who also chairs global travel business Web Travel Group, said bringing Wit to town was "a cornerstone of our strategy". Ms Hoon said because the Wakatipu attracted more than three million visitors a year, it offered a "unique southern hemisphere testing ground" for innovations that could enhance travel experiences. These would be showcased to travel operators, tech companies, destination marketing organisations, tourism boards, investors and global travel tech brands' senior executives attending Wit Queenstown. TQ chief executive Sarah Russell said through a "strategic blueprint", strong corporate support and plans to launch a university campus, they were "building the foundation" of economic diversification through tech in the Wakatipu. "Travel tech is the first cluster we're backing and Wit is central to making that happen." On Monday, the University of Otago announced it had partnered with California-headquartered company Palo Alto Networks to co-design and deliver cybersecurity education programmes in Queenstown. To start in the next year, it was the first partnership of its kind in the university's history, it said. Otago vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said it solidified the university's commitment to supporting the Queenstown Lakes region to become an "international technology centre".
