FEATURES

Pop culture
This season is the autumn of the patriarch
BY PETER KEOUGH

For Hollywood, summer is the season of the id, when studios release movies dealing with the subjects that really bother people, like alien invasions, zombies, and Rob Schneider. Fall, on the other hand, is the prelude to the Oscar race, the time when movies focus on things that should concern us, like neurotic œnophiles, sexually ambiguous turn-of-the-century playwrights, and billionaires who pee into milk bottles. It's the season of the superego, and what figure better embodies the superego than dear old dad?

This fall the movies are crawling with patriarchs. There are good dads (Dreamer), bad dads (The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio), mystery dads (A History of Violence), absentee dads (The Legend of Zorro), single dads (The Weather Man), and dead dads (Elizabethtown). There are forbidding dads (Walk the Line), surrogate dads (Oliver Twist), and dads with a thing about spelling (The Bee Season). The last time there were so many fathers on screen was back in 1989, when the ultimate dad movie, Field of Dreams, was released. That was during the administration of our current president's own dad. Maybe we're all nostalgic for that relatively benign period. Or maybe it's discontent with the reigning dad-in-chief, whose approval numbers have sunk as his constituent children have begun to suspect he's been leading them astray.

September
Before pursuing this line of thought any father, er, farther, let's get the inevitable adaptation of a TV show to the big screen out of the way. As it turns out, Josh Whedon's feature debut, SERENITY (September 30), the movie version of his Firefly, might be one of those few adaptations worth making. Certainly the show's fervent cult following would agree. Nathan Fillion and Gina Torres will resume their TV roles as captain and crew of the title vessel, a cargo ship plying the galaxy 500 years in the future.

Meanwhile, we move almost a hundred years into the past for THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED (September 30). Actor Bill Paxton's second directorial feature dramatizes the upset victory of 20-year-old amateur golfer Francis Ouimet in the 1913 US Open at the Country Club in Brookline. Shia LaBeouf stars. Things were simpler back then, so it's a shame to return once again to the troubled present day with OPERATION DREAMLAND (September 30), a documentary by Garrett Scott and Ian Olds, embedded journalists with an 82nd Airborne unit in Fallujah in 2004. It'll be playing at the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

At this point a little escapist fantasy might be in order. Remember when we all dreamed of running away to join the circus? Well, the grass is always greener, because in MIRRORMASK (September 30) a teenage girl whose folks work the big top dreams of running away from the circus. When her mother falls ill, her wish comes true, sort of, as she slips into a fantasy world dominated by the title entity. In his directorial debut, digital artist David McKean tries to re-create the magic of the Jim Henson fantasy classic Labyrinth.

Ailing mothers naturally suggest missing fathers and their inadequate substitutes, such as the nefarious Fagin, who tries to be the pater familias to his crew of orphaned pickpockets in Roman Polanski's OLIVER TWIST (September 30). Screenwriter Ronald Harwood collaborates with Polanski as he did in The Pianist; Ben Kingsley softens the notorious anti-Semitic caricature with a sympathetic humanity in showing tough love to Barney Clark as the title waif.

October
Al Pacino plays a kind of 21st-century Fagin as the high-stakes bookie in TWO FOR THE MONEY (October 7), which is directed by D.J. Caruso (Taking Lives). Pacino takes Matthew McConaughey into his fatherly care when the washed-up football star demonstrates an uncanny knack for predicting sports scores. René Russo also stars.

It's not exactly a paternal relationship they share, but close to it, though who plays the father and who the son is unclear. Either way, cultists will rejoice as the claymation duo of bumbling inventor and his silent, resourceful dog come to the big screen in WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (October 7). Here they seek out the mystery behind a series of ravaged local vegetable gardens. Steve Box and Nick Park (Chicken Run) direct.

Who will take up the parental role when mom dies, dad proves a schmuck, stepmom is a witch, and snooty big sister is judgmental about one's slutty, partying, kleptomaniac ways? Cameron Diaz turns to long-estranged grandma Shirley MacLaine in IN HER SHOES (October 7), Curtis Hanson's comic variation on Terms of Endearment with an emphasis on footwear. Toni Collette also stars.

What happens when your husband's a drunk, you have 10 kids, it's the 1950s, and you have to pay the milkman? If you're THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO (October 14), you take your lumps, enter jingle contests, and win. Jane Anderson makes her feature debut in this adaptation of Terry Ryan's memoir. Julianne Moore is the model mom; Woody Harrelson plays the deadbeat dad. Harrelson redeems himself somewhat in NORTH COUNTRY (October 14), where he plays the lawyer helping mineworker Charlize Theron bring the first successful sexual-harassment class-action suit in US history. Niki Caro (Whale Rider) directs the true story, which also stars Frances McDormand.

Sometimes a father makes a better impression when he's absent. In Cameron Crowe's ELIZABETHTOWN (October 14), Orlando Bloom is a despondent screw-up who meets the woman (Kirsten Dunst) who might save his life while heading to his old man's funeral. Susan Sarandon and Alec Baldwin co-star.

Then again, nothing beats having an ideal dad by your side to help make your dreams come true. Kurt Russell plays one such father in DREAMER: INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY (October 21), a washed-up trainer who pulls himself together to assist his daughter in rehabilitating an injured racehorse. With the inescapable Dakota Fanning and the indestructible Kris Kristofferson, it's directed by John Gatins in his directorial debut.

Sometimes dreams can be nightmares when they come true. In STAY (October 21), a psychiatrist treating a suicidal young man is shocked to discover that his patient can predict the future and it's not looking good. Perhaps he should take a tip from Al Pacino in Two For the Money and start placing bets. Marc Forster (Finding Neverland) directs; Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts star.

A bit of advice to masked avengers: don't have kids. Otherwise you'll find yourself in the same fix as the title swashbuckler in THE LEGEND OF ZORRO (October 28): bored at home minding the 10-year-old while the wife is out who-knows-where and secret enemies plot your downfall. Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and director Martin Campbell all return for this sequel to the 1998 hit The Mask of Zorro.

Career clashes with family responsibilities for the title meteorologist of THE WEATHER MAN (October 28) as well. Offered the chance to move from Chicago to a bigger job in New York, he must decide between professional success and domestic harmony. Starring Nicolas Cage, Hope Davis, and Michael Caine, it's directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean).

November
As holiday time grows near, so does the terror of meeting the family of one's latest significant other. Such is the fate of Claire Danes's character in THE FAMILY STONE (November 4), and you know it's not going to be easy because Diane Keaton is the mom and Dermot Mulroney is the boyfriend. Thomas Bezucha (Big Eden) directs.

But things could be a lot tougher. Some dads and moms and boyfriends and girlfriends would be glad to be home for the holidays instead of in Iraq. Although it takes place during the 1991 Gulf War, JARHEAD (November 4) might offer some idea of what folks there today are going through. Sam Mendes (American Beauty) adapts the acclaimed Anthony Swofford memoir about his experiences as a Marine sniper; Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jamie Foxx star.

Then again, given the straitened economy, some people won't have a home for the holidays because they can't afford the RENT (November 11). Chris Columbus adapts the prize-winning musical updating of La bohème; Rosario Dawson and Taye Diggs reprise their Broadway roles.

For kids, competitive events can be more stressful than the holidays, especially when dad insists on getting involved, as is the case in BEE SEASON (November 11), an adaptation of Myla Goldberg's novel by Scott McGehee and David Siegel (The Deep End). Richard Gere is the obsessive father whose participation in his 11-year-old daughter's quest for the spelling championship unravels his marriage and family. Juliette Binoche plays his wife.

Another competition looms in HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (November 18), as the young wizard-in-training finds himself over his head in some heated magical contests. Do you think when Harry Potter ponders the fate of fellow orphaned literary hero Oliver Twist, he says to himself, there but for the grace of Dumbledore go I? Mike Newell (Mona Lisa Smile) adapts the fourth J.K. Rowling novel; Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, and all the rest return. From Goblet of Fire we move on to "Ring of Fire" as James Mangold (Kate and Leopold) directs WALK THE LINE (November 18), a bio-pic about Johnny Cash. Joaquin Phoenix tries to out-Foxx Jamie as he portrays the Man in Black, the C&W legend who overcame a tragic childhood, an abusive father, and multiple addictions through the power of his music and the love of a good woman. Reese Witherspoon is June Carter Cash.

Dad might not be abusive in DYING FOR DOLLY (November 23), at least not to his kids. Chazz Palminteri plays a mobster who hires a black man (Usher Raymond) to protect his daughter (Emmanuelle Chriqui) after he saves her life. Things get a little sticky when the two fall for each other and dad starts to act more like a Godfather. Ron Underwood (The Adventures of Pluto Nash) directs.

More holiday-themed disorganized crime comes courtesy of THE ICE HARVEST (November 23) as a crew of bumbling embezzlers try to score from the mob on Christmas Eve. Billy Bob Thornton makes another yuletide appearance à la Bad Santa as he joins John Cusack and Connie Nelson in Harold Ramis's black-comic thriller. Jon Favreau also tries to keep his holiday tradition alive as he follows up last year's Elf with ZATHURA (November 23), an adaptation of Jumanji author Chris Van Allsburg's children's book about a couple of kids whose house is blasted into an intergalactic adventure. Tim Robbins, Josh Hutcherson, and Jonah Bobo star.

December
As the season and the year draw to an end, the movies begin to reflect on the consequences of our patriarchal policies. SYRIANA (December 9) is a political thriller about CIA failures in Middle East after the Cold War - you remember, the kind that brought us such unfortunate developments as September 11 and the Iraq War. George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Amanda Peet star; Stephen Gaghan (Abandon) directs.

Sometimes Big Daddy's downfall comes despite the best intentions. Steve Zaillian (A Civil Action) remakes the 1949 adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's novel ALL THE KING'S MEN (December 16), the cautionary tale of the rise and fall of a Huey Long-like populist demagogue during the Depression. The Oscar-laden cast includes Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kathy Baker, Patricia Clarkson, and Anthony Hopkins.

And finally, we come to the biggest king of all, the embodiment of the patriarchal principle in all its hairy glory, KING KONG (December 14). Unlike Dino De Laurentis's 1976 version, Peter Jackson's remake keeps the 1933 horror classic in its original Depression-era setting. But this story of Beauty and the Beast (or, if you're politically inclined, the return of the repressed in the monstrous form of terrorism or tyranny) rings true for every era. Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Thomas Kretschmann, and Adrien Brody star; Andy Serkis, formerly Gollum in Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, is the big ape himself.