Washington in the 2010's

Good morning Consumers. This is Please Consume, the newsletter that loves movies more than Harrison Ford loves crashing planes.

This is what we’ve got for today 👇️ 

• Tyler ends our Denzel Week with one of his most overlooked performances.

• The staff gives you their picks for what you should be watching this weekend.

• News and Notes

Let’s get rolling…

We’ve been foaming at the mouth to do a week like this.

We love Denzel Washington and his vast reaching range as an actor, and with the release of Equalizer 3 (which we imagine will be his best film to date) we couldn’t let this opportunity slip away!

Roman J. Israel Esq (2018)

Written by Tyler Clark

To close out this week, let’s just jump right into it and talk about Denzel’s 2010s.

Where Denzel Was At

This was a weird decade for Denzel.

He started out the decade with Unstoppable and The Book of Eli, then moves onto doing Safe House, 2 Guns, Flight, The Magnificent Seven, and The Equalizer.

This decade really felt like him following Liam Neeson’s path as the aging badass. Which is totally fine, some of those movies are good and Unstoppable is a damn near masterpiece, but it was sad just because that meant we lost some great classic performances from Mr. D.

We weren’t getting Philadelphia anymore. We weren’t even getting Remember the Titans. The closest we got was Fences, which is much more notable for its somewhat unremarkable adaptation from stage to screen and Viola Davis finally winning an Oscar.

So when this film came out it felt like a breath of fresh air! (which we will be circling back around to).

Where The Director Was At

In contrast to Denzel, it feels like writer and director Dan Gilroy was in the heights of his career. Which feels odd to say because, like, when the fuck’s the last time you thought about Dan Gilroy?

But coming off the shocking critical and commercial success of his fantastic freshman feature, Nightcrawler, it felt like Gilroy could make whatever he wanted with whomever he chose. And he chose so right.

The Pairing of Actor and Director 

Gilroy talked a lot in interviews about how Denzel was kind of the secret sauce to the movie. He was a collaborator through and through, not only starring in the film, but also producing and coming into the edit bay to discuss the work objectively; not to make himself look good, but to help the overall health of the film.

But what’s most interesting about Denzel’s influence is that Gilroy wrote the part specifically for him, saying at a screening of the film “It took a year, I sent it to him. Had he not done it, I would have put it away. There was only one person who can play the part. I literally wrote it for him.”

This is so fascinating because the character ends up feeling different from a traditional Denzel part. But that’s the beauty of Denzel Washington (beyond his symmetrical features). When you think he’s one thing he’ll pull something out of his bag of tricks you didn’t know was in there.

Remember, this is the same guy that went from playing Malcolm X to doing a great rendition of Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing. He has range, but more importantly he commits himself fully. Denzel gives just as much gravitas in The Little Things as he does in The Manchurian Candidate. Denzel doesn’t do half measures.

I truly believe I have yet to see a movie starring Denzel that is less than a 6/10 solely because of the level of charisma and conviction that he brings to every project.

So, with all that being said, how did the film turn out?

Well, this piece is getting too inflated for an email, but if you’d like to dive deeper follow this link to hear more thoughts on Denzel’s performance and the deft hand with which he uses to play a man on the autism spectrum:

Today’s Scene

Here are some selections from our staff for what you should watch this weekend.

Stop the endless Netflix scroll and let us pick for you.

Christian’s Pick

Burn After Reading - on MAX

This is a Coen Brothers film that people often overlook.

Call me crazy, but there are days when it’s my favorite in their filmography.

Also, Brad Pitt's performance is worth the watch alone.

WATCH NOW

Tom’s Pick

Under the Silver Lake - on Max

This is a modern noir conspiracy movie chock full of clues and easter eggs and stars Andrew Garfield somehow making himself extremely repulsive.

Think Eyes Wide Shut meets Mulholland Dr.

WATCH NOW

Tyler’s Pick

Polite Society- On Peacock

A wonderfully joyful comedy inspired by the works of Edgar Wright, Jackie Chan, and the world of Bollywood.

Throw in a splash of Kill Bill and Get Out (yes, Get Out) for good measure and you’ve got yourself one of the most fun comedies of 2023. The only thing missing is a Peacock subscription so you can watch it.

WATCH NOW

Here is some of the latest news that we found interesting…