{"id":15213,"date":"2023-02-21T22:55:29","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T03:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=15213"},"modified":"2023-12-12T06:03:34","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T11:03:34","slug":"film-review-imordecai-is-a-light-hearted-look-at-getting-older-with-a-surprising-dramatic-spine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=15213","title":{"rendered":"Film Review – \u2018iMordecai\u2019 is a Light-Hearted Look at Getting Older with a Surprising Dramatic Spine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Young people often look at their grandparents and are fascinated – if not also appalled and frustrated – with how they interact with the world. That\u2019s because their life experiences are considerably less sizable and sophisticated, whereas people in their sixties, seventies, or eighties have been through much more. Society has also changed in a big way, evolving with new technology and other advances, and while some acclimate well to new realities, others find adjusting to be a challenge. iMordecai<\/em><\/strong> presents a simple obstacle that helps one man confront modernity after nearly ninety years spent resisting it.<\/p>\n

Mordecai Samel (Judd Hirsch) is a Holocaust survivor living in Brooklyn. His many years working as a plumber and a housepainter have convinced him that he knows the best approach to deal with anything, and there has to be a way to fix it on his own. His son Marvin (Sean Astin) can\u2019t stand that he still uses a flip phone, and takes the opportunity of it finally breaking to push him to get an iPhone. Heavily opposed to the idea, Mordecai slowly lets down his walls and begins to enter the twenty-first century thanks to the kindhearted assistance offered by Nina (Azia Dinea Hale), a phone store employee who meets regularly with Mordecai to teach him how to use his new smartphone.<\/p>\n

\"iMordecai\"
Azia Dinea Hale and Judd Hirsch. Courtesy FeMor Productions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This film comes from the real-life Marvin Samel, who makes his directorial debut with a film directly inspired by his own father. The cinematic Marvin also owns a cigar company and is courting a buyer, and his mother Fela (Carol Kane) was diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease, complicating Mordecai\u2019s own relationship with the present as he is no longer able to care for his wife in the same way. A collection of humorous anecdotes and memories was enough to compel Marvin to bring his family\u2019s story to the screen, an ode to his father\u2019s antics and his unexpected ability to, despite his best efforts, evolve.<\/p>\n

online pharmacy fluoxetine over the counter<\/a> with best prices today in the USA <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

This is a big year for Hirsch, who, forty-two years after earning his first Oscar nomination for Ordinary People<\/em><\/strong>, is back in the running for playing another Holocaust survivor in Steven Spielberg\u2019s The Fabelmans<\/em><\/strong>. The two characters will surely invite comparisons, but there is a distinct difference in the way that they approach what they\u2019ve been through. Boris, the uncle who visits his family after his sister\u2019s death in Spielberg\u2019s film, has by definition been a part of a changing world thanks to his work in film, while Mordecai has consistently remained within the same trades, unimpressed by new technology that could change and simplify how he does things.<\/p>\n

\"iMordecai\"
Judd Hirsch and Sean Astin. Courtesy FeMor Productions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But, like Boris, Mordecai has layers of depth hidden within him that come out when he has the chance to recall his past. This film\u2019s release in 2023 represents an important turning moment in history as related to the Holocaust, when there are fewer and fewer survivors still living. While Mordecai\u2019s sessions with Nina are full of comedic highlights, it\u2019s the serious bond that develops between them as Mordecai opens up about what he has endured that proves to be most memorable.<\/p>\n

online pharmacy premarin over the counter<\/a> with best prices today in the USA <\/div>\n

Nina\u2019s response to his unfiltered sharing is particularly poignant, and a hopeful model for how younger generations can be moved to action and away from indifference by those much older than them.<\/p>\n

online pharmacy propecia over the counter<\/a> with best prices today in the USA <\/div>\n

Newcomer Hale delivers one of the film\u2019s best performances.<\/p>\n

iMordecai<\/em><\/strong> pairs Hirsch with another Oscar nominee whose recognition came multiple decades ago, Kane, who also recently portrayed a Holocaust survivor in Prime Video\u2019s series Hunters<\/em><\/strong>. While Kane has recently portrayed outlandish characters like Lillian Kaushtupper in Netflix\u2019s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt<\/em><\/strong>, she brings a quiet weight to Fela, who seems both lost and upset as her relationship with reality begins to change. A thin comedy on its surface, iMordecai<\/em><\/strong> reveals a more substantive center as it probes the dramatic underbelly of things that are often masked by humor.<\/p>\n

Grade: B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out more of Abe Friedtanzer\u2019s articles<\/a>.<\/p>\n