Sydney Film Festival 2016 - Film Review - Elvis & Nixon

Kevin Spacey & Michael Shannon - Elvis & Nixon

On December 21, 1970 Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon at the White House. This very cleverly scripted feature film, directed by Liza Johnson, imagines the conversation between these two very famous and famously odd men.

The plotline of the film follows the request from Elvis to meet with President Nixon so that he can propose his appointment as a special 'Federal agent-at-large' to fight drugs and protect America. Nixon is less than interested in having a meeting with the actor/singer ("Whose fxxxxxx idea was this ?) but is brought around to the idea by his advisers who see the public relations value of the meeting. What transpires is at times both bizarre yet believable as the two men discuss their ideas. It's a win-win for both parties - Nixon obtains his PR moment and an autographed picture of Elvis for his daughter and Elvis is sworn-in as an agent-at-large.

Kevin Spacey captures Nixon's style and persona perfectly while Michael Shannon revels in the well documented, yet excruciatingly, polite eccentricities of 'The King'. The supporting cast includes Alex Petty as the long suffering Elvis friend and aide, Jerry Schilling with Colin Hanks and Even Peters as Nixon's advisers, Egil Krogh and Dwight Chapin who form the negotiating team.

Elvis & Nixon is a deftly made, quirky and idiosyncratic film, which captures the essential characteristics of the two men. The film is strongly reliant on the superb performances of Spacey and Shannon without whom, the overall tenor of the film would be flat. The end credits conclude with the most publicly requested image from the US National Archives - the picture of Elvis with Nixon.

Sydney Film Festival 2016 - Film Review - Certain Women

Michelle Williams as Gina in Certain Women

Director Kelly Reinhardt's use of American landscapes and narratives of the road are once again on display with the three short interconnected stories of Certain Women deftly set within the stark,  wintry landscape of  Montana. Reinhardt is an skilled exponent of the use of concise, atmospheric storytelling which, when matched with the acting skills of Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart and Michelle Williams, brings deep emotion and meaning often with minimal dialogue required. 

Based on the short stories of Maile Meloy, the film commences with Attorney, Laura (Laura Dern)  managing a despondent, injured client (Jared Harris) who is trying to have his workers' compensation settlement reopened. The situation rapidly deteriorates into a hostage crisis which is peacefully resolved with Laura's assistance.  The second story revolves around Gina (Michelle Williams) who has her heart set on acquiring a pile of old sandstone blocks on an elderly neighbour's property for their new house which is under construction. Gina's husband is a nondescript, passive character who consistently fails to support his wife in managing their rebellious teenage daughter or acquiring the sandstone blocks. The third story focuses on a young ranch hand (Lily Gladstone) who forms an attachment to a young lawyer (Kristen Stewart) who comes to town each  week to teach an adult education legal course. The three stories are subtly interlinked but the viewer could easily miss where the connection occurs.

The three leads are well cast in the different generational points of the film - Laura Dern is a veteran in the film industry and effectively brings a world weary persona to the role of long suffering small town lawyer. Michelle Williams has gone from strength to strength as an actress and her representation as the quietly determined Gina is impressive while Kristen Stewart's plain, unadorned young lawyer is a good contrast to her period on the Twilight series. This is very much a female film focussed on the female characters but cannot be categorised as 'chick lit'.

McKinsey Survey shows geostrategic risks are higher than ever

The latest results from the McKinsey Global Survey on globalisation provides further reinforcement on the negative impact of disruption on the global economy over the next five years. The cross continent survey shows that senior executives now expect potential disruptions to be be very severe with the largest number of respondents  ever recorded holding negative views - greater than in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2010 ( as shown above). 

While responses varied by industry with uncertain or restrictive regulatory environment being most often cited, political and social instability was the second most cited concern.  Perhaps the most startling information revealed was the almost complete lack of preparedness for dealing with geopolitical and political risks. Despite more than two-thirds of executives reporting their organisations saw these risks as important, less than 13 percent were able to cite their organisation as having taken any steps to address the risks. What steps were taken were generally ad hoc internal analyses as events occured (43%) while a very small number (18%) integrated comprehensive scenario methodologies into their strategic planning process.

If Government thinks the private sector is ready to deal with a crisis, this report which covers global business should dispel any such illusion. McKinsey provides common -sense advice to assist executives to manage such events: identify the trends and disruptions that are specific to their organisations; assess the potential impact of risks across a range of scenarios; develop initiatives to mitigate the risks or capture opportunities; establish a decision-making process that prioritises initiatives. Seems like sound advice.

Fugitive Methane emissions from mines - US experience

Methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases has increasingly been detected in larger volumes in many countries than would be considered to be the normal background level, based on progressive leaching from the ground and from under the sea floor. From where is it originating and in what quantities and levels ?  Part of the answer lies in research undertaken in Los Angeles and with the recent incident in the Aliso Canyon in California.

Methane is the main component of natural gas and is abundant across the planet hence mining and storage could be the most likely culprits for the increase of this gas. In a study published this year, more than a third of  Los Angeles methane emissions were from an unidentified sources and were classified as fugitive fossil emissions. Identification and tracking of 213 methane hotspots in the Los Angeles Basin revealed that 75% were of fossil origin, 20% were biogenic and 5% of indeterminate source.

The Aliso Canyon incident arose when residents in nearby towns reported smelling gas and Southern California Gas Company launched an investigation discovering a leak coming from a natural gas storage facility that had started its life almost 70 years ago as an oil well. By the time the leak was plugged, 107,000 tons of methane and 8,000 tons of ethane had been released into the atmosphere - the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from half a million cars over 16 weeks.  There are literally hundreds of similar sites including disused or abandoned mines and oil wells across not only the United States but Russia as well.

Age and disability discrimination in the workforce - barriers to participation

In 2015, the Federal Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis asked the Age and Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan, to undertake the Willing to Work: National Inquiry into Employment Discrimination Against Older Australians and Australians with disability. The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry required the Commissioner to examine practices, attitudes and Commonwealth laws that deny or diminish equal participation in employment and make recommendations to address employment discrimination against older Australians and Australians with disability. Some of the report's key findings are summarised below: 

• People aged 55 years and over make up roughly a quarter of the population, but only 16% of the total workforce. This age cohort is the fastest growing in Australia, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. While labour force participation for older people has been growing in recent years, particularly for older women, labour force participation continues to decline with age.

• In November 2015, 73.8% of Australians aged 55–59 years were participating in the labour force, with 56.5% of 60–64 year olds and 12.7% of those aged 65 years and over in the labour force
• While mature-age people have a lower unemployment rate than younger people, they tend to have greater difficulty finding subsequent employment when they do become unemployed.
• In November 2015, the average duration of unemployment for mature-age people was 68 weeks, compared with 30 weeks for 15–24 year olds and 49 weeks for 25–54 year olds.

Of note, benefits to the Australian economy as a result of increased workforce participation are well established including increased gross domestic product (GDP), reduced overall welfare expenditure and increased self-reliance in retirement. A 7% increase in mature-age labour force participation would raise GDP in 2022 by approximately $25 billion, while an estimated $50 billion could be added to GDP by 2050 if Australia were to move up into the top eight OECD countries for employment of people with disability.

Commissioner Ryan has grouped her recommendations for change into three themes: Priority Government Commitments; improving existing systems; and what employers and businesses can do. Underlying all the recommendations is the need for societal attitudes to change.

With the Age Pension qualifying age increasing every year to reach 67 years in 7 years time, it's become essential to enable people to remain in the workforce as long as possible.

The Commissioner's Report to the Attorney-General can be accessed at this link:

Willing to Work - National Inquiry Report

Film Review - Eye in the Sky

Helen Mirren as Colonel Katherine Powell in Eye in the Sky

Director Gavin Hood has chosen a very topical subject for his film Eye in the Sky - the use of remote controlled military drones for seeking and, if necessary, destroying strategic human targets. The film has multiple settings for the action - England, Kenya and the United States however it was shot entirely in South Africa. The screenplay by Guy Hibbert focuses on the choices and decision-making of senior military and political leaders when ordering a drone strike against dangerous Al-Shabaab  extremists operating in Kenya. In terms of the plotline for the film, Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) is coordinating a mission with the Kenyan Army to capture Al-Shabaab militants including British converts. During the course of surveillance, its becomes apparent the militants are preparing for a imminent mission of their own with suicide bombers being fitted with explosive laden vests. Powell makes a decision to change the mission from capture to kill and orders the drone pilot to prepare a missile strike against the targets. A mission oversight committee in London headed by Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman), while monitoring the situation is unable to come to a clear decision to authorise due to conflicting opinions from assembled politicians. Searching for a legal position to provide the basis for authorisation and with differing opinions about the risk of collateral civilian casualties, the oversight committee dithers as the militants steadily complete their preparations.  

This is a well paced and executed film with a strong cast and high production values. There are small elements of contrived situations and moments of excessive sentimentality but nevertheless the film does effectively portray the challenge of balancing impact versus cost.

The late Alan Rickman as General Benson in Eye in the Sky