2015 SLEEPERS
                                                                Part 4

Here’s yet another bunch of flicks from last year that didn’t get noticed much but were pretty good. Yes, I will eventually run out of these. But not yet...
Suffragette stars Carey Mulligan in a heart-breaking story of English women determined to obtain the right to vote. She really gives up everything for the cause, and her character is based on a real person. Helena Bonham Carter plays the leader of the movement. She has to hide out to avoid the police. Brendan Gleeson is a cop sympathetic to the women but bound to uphold the existing law. The British were even harder on these women than other countries, and the movie spares no blame. 
Gett: The Trial Of Viviane Amsalem is an Israeli film about a very unhappy wife trying to get a divorce under the strict Judaic system. “Gett” is the Hebrew word for a divorce document. Viviane and her husband have been separated for years and she wants to get on with her life. He wants her to return to the union and refuses to let her go. Under their system, he can do this. The most telling thing about the system is the attitude of the judges, who seem absolutely clueless. I will reveal there’s a semi-happy ending after all the angst. 
71 references the year of the action. A small group of British soldiers is on patrol in one of the most dangerous parts of Northern Ireland. Through mistakes and wrong assumptions, one of them gets left behind to fend for himself through the long Irish night. IRA thugs are aware he is nearby and set out to get him. He is helped by a few, hindered by more and is running for his life for almost the entire movie. It’s a real nail-biter. To find out if he survives you’ll have to see for yourself.
Learning To Drive features two of my all-time favorite actors: Patricia Clarkson (The Station Agent) and Ben Kingsley (Ghandi). She is a high-strung New York City book editor. When her husband leaves her for another woman, she realizes she must learn to drive if she wants to visit her daughter in Vermont. She hires Mr. Kingsley who plays the role of an American Sikh. The culture clash is both humorous and touching, as each gradually learns about and warms to the other. These two actors could carry anything and they make this small, pleasant movie very enjoyable. 
Five Flights Up also stars two actors who are consummate pros. Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton are a couple who have been married many years. Their nice apartment is up five flights of stairs. There is no elevator and they’re getting up in years. The plot, such as it is, deals with their search for a new place, their care for their aged dog, and their relationship with their daughter. Just a nice time at the movies!
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD and for streaming. All are for adults.