Hunger features the third incredible performance from Michael Fassbender I've seen in a matter of months. This actor is destined for big things. Here he plays Bobby Sands, a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer leading the 1981 Irish hunger strike in an effort to win political status for Republican prisoners. The British state - represented by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher - refused to budge until the death toll from the hunger strike climbed to 10. The film takes place in the six weeks leading up to the first death.
First-time director Steve McQueen is unrelenting in his vivid and brutal portrayal of prison conditions for these men. The men are cruelly beaten, shaved, and washed. They eat nothing and live in their own waste. Contact with their familes is brief and heavily supervised. McQueen honestly depicts this, and the resolve of these men to remain on strike despite all of these elements is overwhelming. Hunger wouldn't work without it's powerhouse cast. These men live in desperation, but not once do we sense a wavering in their dedication to fight for their rights.
Fassbender in particular shows an unbelievable commitment to the film. In his final scenes he is so excrutiatingly thin that it's hard to look at him. Bobby Sands lacked the strength to stand, to walk, and finally to breathe.
Hunger is a beautiful but merciless film about grim determination in troubled times. There's a scene in which Sands discusses the morality and potential outcomes of his hunger strike with a priest. There is a seventeen-minute single shot on the two of these men as they talk at a table. It's incredibly long, but the scene is rivetting, thanks to dialogue that's perfectly-written and revealing.
A stunning debut from director McQueen that guarantees more great things on his horizon. ****/4
Showing posts with label The Observer's 25 Best British Films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Observer's 25 Best British Films. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Best British Films: 3. Secrets & Lies
Mike Leigh's second film on The Observer's List of the 25 Best British Films of the Past 25 Years (see sidebar) is another insightful ensemble drama, Secrets & Lies.
xx
The films stars two actresses I adore, Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, among a host of other fantastic British character actors (as is typical in a Leigh film). Cynthia (Blethyn) is a middle-aged, nervous woman who has raised her daughter alone, and who years ago gave another baby up for adoption. Her daughter has been unhappy lately, and seems to be growing more and more distant from Cynthia with each passing week. Cynthia's brother Maurice is a photographer who's doing well. He has a wife but no children. They're a family, but they're not close, even though we sense that they want to be.
xx
Hortense (Jean-Baptiste) is an adopted black woman whose mother has recently died, and she makes the decision to seek out her birth mother. She discovers that the woman who gave birth to her is a white woman named Cynthia Purley and arranges a meeting with her.
xx
Despite its heavy subject matter, the movie is entertaining and funny. Mike Leigh's filmmaking method again proves successful. He and his cast have created arresting characters with wonderfully natural actions and dialogue. Cynthia and Hortense seem like real women with real struggles and love.
xx
Each member of Cynthia's family has a painful secret, and Cynthia's new relationship with her daughter is the catalyst for change between them. The movie isn't about race, teenage pregnancy, or adoption. It's about the secrets and lies that can tear people apart, and how honesty and acceptance are the only ways for a family to stay together. ****/4
xx
The films stars two actresses I adore, Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, among a host of other fantastic British character actors (as is typical in a Leigh film). Cynthia (Blethyn) is a middle-aged, nervous woman who has raised her daughter alone, and who years ago gave another baby up for adoption. Her daughter has been unhappy lately, and seems to be growing more and more distant from Cynthia with each passing week. Cynthia's brother Maurice is a photographer who's doing well. He has a wife but no children. They're a family, but they're not close, even though we sense that they want to be.
xx
Hortense (Jean-Baptiste) is an adopted black woman whose mother has recently died, and she makes the decision to seek out her birth mother. She discovers that the woman who gave birth to her is a white woman named Cynthia Purley and arranges a meeting with her.
xx
Despite its heavy subject matter, the movie is entertaining and funny. Mike Leigh's filmmaking method again proves successful. He and his cast have created arresting characters with wonderfully natural actions and dialogue. Cynthia and Hortense seem like real women with real struggles and love.
xx
Each member of Cynthia's family has a painful secret, and Cynthia's new relationship with her daughter is the catalyst for change between them. The movie isn't about race, teenage pregnancy, or adoption. It's about the secrets and lies that can tear people apart, and how honesty and acceptance are the only ways for a family to stay together. ****/4
Best British Films: 9. Slumdog Millionaire
NOTE: This post contains spoilers. If for some odd reason you've yet to see 2008's award-winning phenomenon, Slumdog Millionaire, get off the computer and watch it Right. Now.
xx
Last year's awards juggernaut, Slumdog Millionaire, is the newest film on The Observer's list. It's hard to put my love for this movie into words, honestly. It was one of my favorite movies last year (I saw it in theaters four times) and I was overjoyed when it took the Oscars by storm.
xx
Jamal is an orphan from the slums of Mumbai and a contestant on the popular Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The nation is shocked that a poor boy from the gutter does so well, and so is the show's producer and host, who has him arrested on suspicion of cheating. As he explains himself to the police, he recounts his troubled past, which shows how he knows the answers and reveals a life-long love that might be lost forever.
xx
Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches love story sounds like treaded ground, but with the colorful backdrop of Mumbai and great performances from an entirely unknown cast, it's a fresh and invigorating experience. You have to give credit to Boyle and company for making a film that spoke to audiences all over the world despite such a specific and foreign locale. It's an exhilarating ride from start to finish.
xx
The flashbacks are seamlessly intercut with Jamal's appearance on the game show and his interrogation at the police station. What we have is several short stories woven together and beautifully told. The three main characters are played by three terrific sets of actors, and Anil Kapoor is wonderful as the slithery game show host. The dazzling cinematography and thumpin' soundtrack add to the energetic, dynamic, and vigorous pace that Boyle sets and maintains.
xx
The movie is an entertaining and powerful story of beating the odds and pursuing true love no matter what the cost. But what really makes the movie great is not what it is, but what it makes you feel. There's a moment at the end when Jamal and Latika find each other, and he kisses the scar on her cheek. The scene in which she gets it plays backwards to Jamal and Latika exchanging smiles at the train station. As if he can undo all the pain she's experienced in life just by loving her. It's a beautifully poignant celebration of life and love that moves you from moment one. ****/4
xx
Last year's awards juggernaut, Slumdog Millionaire, is the newest film on The Observer's list. It's hard to put my love for this movie into words, honestly. It was one of my favorite movies last year (I saw it in theaters four times) and I was overjoyed when it took the Oscars by storm.
xx
Jamal is an orphan from the slums of Mumbai and a contestant on the popular Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The nation is shocked that a poor boy from the gutter does so well, and so is the show's producer and host, who has him arrested on suspicion of cheating. As he explains himself to the police, he recounts his troubled past, which shows how he knows the answers and reveals a life-long love that might be lost forever.
xx
Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches love story sounds like treaded ground, but with the colorful backdrop of Mumbai and great performances from an entirely unknown cast, it's a fresh and invigorating experience. You have to give credit to Boyle and company for making a film that spoke to audiences all over the world despite such a specific and foreign locale. It's an exhilarating ride from start to finish.
xx
The flashbacks are seamlessly intercut with Jamal's appearance on the game show and his interrogation at the police station. What we have is several short stories woven together and beautifully told. The three main characters are played by three terrific sets of actors, and Anil Kapoor is wonderful as the slithery game show host. The dazzling cinematography and thumpin' soundtrack add to the energetic, dynamic, and vigorous pace that Boyle sets and maintains.
xx
The movie is an entertaining and powerful story of beating the odds and pursuing true love no matter what the cost. But what really makes the movie great is not what it is, but what it makes you feel. There's a moment at the end when Jamal and Latika find each other, and he kisses the scar on her cheek. The scene in which she gets it plays backwards to Jamal and Latika exchanging smiles at the train station. As if he can undo all the pain she's experienced in life just by loving her. It's a beautifully poignant celebration of life and love that moves you from moment one. ****/4
Friday, October 16, 2009
Best British Films: 4. Distant Voices, Still Lives
Distant Voices, Still Lives is one film in two parts from Terence Davies. The first part is Distant Voices, in which three grown siblings and their mother mourn the loss of their father and husband, and remember him in varying lights in 1940s Liverpool. The second part is Still Lives, which takes place (and was filmed) two years later. The siblings are all settled, but not all of them are happy.
The film opens with "I Get the Blues When It Rains", the first of many songs used as insight into the characters' feelings. It's a rainy day and Eileen, Maisie, and Tony are attending their father's funeral with their mother. His picture hangs on the wall, smiling over them. But their memories of him are anything but pleasant. Most of their recollections show him to be a cruel and violent man.
Nevertheless, his death causes all of them pain, and recovering from his sudden absence proves just as difficult as recovering from his vicious presence.
Terence Davies subtly suggests the ways that family members prop each other up, cut each other down, and weather the storm of their upbringing, and in doing so, his film acquires a cumulative sense of hope and understanding. ***1/2/4
The film opens with "I Get the Blues When It Rains", the first of many songs used as insight into the characters' feelings. It's a rainy day and Eileen, Maisie, and Tony are attending their father's funeral with their mother. His picture hangs on the wall, smiling over them. But their memories of him are anything but pleasant. Most of their recollections show him to be a cruel and violent man.
Nevertheless, his death causes all of them pain, and recovering from his sudden absence proves just as difficult as recovering from his vicious presence.
Terence Davies subtly suggests the ways that family members prop each other up, cut each other down, and weather the storm of their upbringing, and in doing so, his film acquires a cumulative sense of hope and understanding. ***1/2/4
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Best British Films: 24. 24 Hour Party People
After an insanely busy week in my personal life, I'm finally getting around to another film from The Observer Film Quarterly's 25 Best British Films in the Last 25 Years (see sidebar). Today I'm watching 24 Hour Party People, Michael Winterbottom's story of the Manchester music scene from 1976 to 1992.
Steve Coogan plays television reporter Tony Wilson, who finds his job reporting on frivolous pastimes unrewarding. He attends a Sex Pistols concert and sees it as a historical event. He enters the music business, promoting punk rock concerts and starting Factory Records with his friends. The label's first major sign was Joy Division, whose contract was written and signed in Wilson's own blood, giving the band complete creative control over their own music.
Factory Records rides a roller coaster of successes and failures, thriving after the opening of The Hacienda, an enormously popular rave club, and grasping at straws after such setbacks as the suicide of Joy Division's lead singer. The film portrays these events with a kind of inspired madness, necessary for emerging the audience in this kind of crazy cultural phenomenon.
24 Hour Party People appropriately takes its name from a song by the band Happy Mondays, another Factory alternative rock band. The characters live in a haze of sex, drugs, and most importantly, a vivid new musical age. Winterbottom uses Wilson's role as a television personality to set up the film as an informative news documentary, and it works well. Coogan is the perfect man for the role, a reporter who takes himself too seriously to be taken seriously.
This movie has perfect understanding of its characters, its time, and of course, its music, and is a wonderful, nostalgic, acid-fueled trip to a musical revolution. ****/4
Steve Coogan plays television reporter Tony Wilson, who finds his job reporting on frivolous pastimes unrewarding. He attends a Sex Pistols concert and sees it as a historical event. He enters the music business, promoting punk rock concerts and starting Factory Records with his friends. The label's first major sign was Joy Division, whose contract was written and signed in Wilson's own blood, giving the band complete creative control over their own music.
Factory Records rides a roller coaster of successes and failures, thriving after the opening of The Hacienda, an enormously popular rave club, and grasping at straws after such setbacks as the suicide of Joy Division's lead singer. The film portrays these events with a kind of inspired madness, necessary for emerging the audience in this kind of crazy cultural phenomenon.
24 Hour Party People appropriately takes its name from a song by the band Happy Mondays, another Factory alternative rock band. The characters live in a haze of sex, drugs, and most importantly, a vivid new musical age. Winterbottom uses Wilson's role as a television personality to set up the film as an informative news documentary, and it works well. Coogan is the perfect man for the role, a reporter who takes himself too seriously to be taken seriously.
This movie has perfect understanding of its characters, its time, and of course, its music, and is a wonderful, nostalgic, acid-fueled trip to a musical revolution. ****/4
Monday, October 5, 2009
Best British Films: 11. Touching the Void
One of only two documentaries to make The Observer's list of best British films, Touching the Void tells the story of two ambitious mountaineers, Simon Yates and Joe Simpson, as they attempt to climb "Siula Grande," an enormous mountain in the Andes. Despite their experience and confidence, things go awry, and the two friends fight an unnerving battle for survival.
Touching the Void is presented as a first-rate thriller. Mixing interviews with dramatic re-enactments of the legendary trek, director Kevin Macdonald creates a suspenseful and fascinating documentary that gives intense insight into the dangerous world of mountaineering. ****/4
Touching the Void is presented as a first-rate thriller. Mixing interviews with dramatic re-enactments of the legendary trek, director Kevin Macdonald creates a suspenseful and fascinating documentary that gives intense insight into the dangerous world of mountaineering. ****/4
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Best British Films: 14. Naked
I only just discovered the films of Mike Leigh last year when I caught Happy-Go-Lucky at my local arthouse theater. I've been exploring his filmography ever since and so far have loved everything he's done. He's one of a few directors who landed two films on The Observer's 25 Best British films list. One of those films is Naked, about a sexually agressive man, played by David Thewlis in a smart and acerbic performance, seeking solace in the city of London.
Naked is aptly named, but not for the reason you might think. Mike Leigh is once again working with an ensemble cast, and the characters they've created are physically naked at times, yes, but in a greater sense as well. They all lack families, stable homes, jobs. They live their lives almost entirely without protection to the shattering experiences they will endure. We don't always know the circumstances, but the characters in Naked are beaten down, broken, and searching for meaningful connections in all the wrong places.
Mike Leigh is a thrilling filmmaker, because he's one of the few working who refuses to adapt to conventional narrative standards. Naked doesn't necessarily have a plot, or sympathetic characters, but Leigh and his actors are so observant in their study of these people that their lives, however empty and painful, are important to us.
There's a particularly brilliant scene in which Johnny spends an evening discussing philosophy and the end of the world with a building security guard. He comes across as intelligent and studied, and yet his life is falling apart, and this connection to a strange security guard is one of his most profound. ***1/2/4
Naked is aptly named, but not for the reason you might think. Mike Leigh is once again working with an ensemble cast, and the characters they've created are physically naked at times, yes, but in a greater sense as well. They all lack families, stable homes, jobs. They live their lives almost entirely without protection to the shattering experiences they will endure. We don't always know the circumstances, but the characters in Naked are beaten down, broken, and searching for meaningful connections in all the wrong places.
Mike Leigh is a thrilling filmmaker, because he's one of the few working who refuses to adapt to conventional narrative standards. Naked doesn't necessarily have a plot, or sympathetic characters, but Leigh and his actors are so observant in their study of these people that their lives, however empty and painful, are important to us.
There's a particularly brilliant scene in which Johnny spends an evening discussing philosophy and the end of the world with a building security guard. He comes across as intelligent and studied, and yet his life is falling apart, and this connection to a strange security guard is one of his most profound. ***1/2/4
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Best British Films: 8. Ratcatcher
NOTE: This post contains a few spoilers. If you've any plans to see Ratcatcher, skip this entry until you have.
Director Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher explores the damaging effects that poverty and desperation can have on a child's development.
In the first ten minutes of the film, Ramsay effectively sets you up and knocks you down. You're introduced to a young man as he bickers with his mother, and you think you've met the film's protagonist. Minutes later, he's accidentally drowned while playing with another young boy in a filthy nearby canal. This boy is the main character.
Ratcatcher takes place during the garbage strike in Glasgow in the mid-70s. Rats and mice abound, and life is not easy for the poor adolescent James and his family. William Eadie as James is a wonderful and natural talent, playing a young man who grows up in poverty, deals with profound guilt, and is more and more neglected by his drunken father.
The film is visually striking from frame one. The first shot is a haunting one of a boy playing in his mother's curtains, wrapped up and seemingly smothered in the cheap lace. It's a beautiful but disturbing image, the first of many.
James fantasizes about his family moving to a new house on the edge of a field, and has a couple of friends to pass the time, but what truly defines him and his childhood is the poverty he lives in and its terrible repercussions. Ramsay lets filth and beauty coincide in her feature debut, and the outcome is marvelous.
Apart from the tough subject matter, Ratcatcher was a joy to behold. Lynne Ramsay's film is wonderfully arresting and will stick with me for a long time. ***1/2/4
Director Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher explores the damaging effects that poverty and desperation can have on a child's development.
In the first ten minutes of the film, Ramsay effectively sets you up and knocks you down. You're introduced to a young man as he bickers with his mother, and you think you've met the film's protagonist. Minutes later, he's accidentally drowned while playing with another young boy in a filthy nearby canal. This boy is the main character.
Ratcatcher takes place during the garbage strike in Glasgow in the mid-70s. Rats and mice abound, and life is not easy for the poor adolescent James and his family. William Eadie as James is a wonderful and natural talent, playing a young man who grows up in poverty, deals with profound guilt, and is more and more neglected by his drunken father.
The film is visually striking from frame one. The first shot is a haunting one of a boy playing in his mother's curtains, wrapped up and seemingly smothered in the cheap lace. It's a beautiful but disturbing image, the first of many.
James fantasizes about his family moving to a new house on the edge of a field, and has a couple of friends to pass the time, but what truly defines him and his childhood is the poverty he lives in and its terrible repercussions. Ramsay lets filth and beauty coincide in her feature debut, and the outcome is marvelous.
Apart from the tough subject matter, Ratcatcher was a joy to behold. Lynne Ramsay's film is wonderfully arresting and will stick with me for a long time. ***1/2/4
Friday, September 18, 2009
Best British Films: 10. Four Weddings and a Funeral
It's been a while since I did a write-up of a title off The Observer's List of 25 Best British Films of the past 25 years (see sidebar). There was a little mix-up with my Netflix getting put in the wrong apartment mailbox, which thankfully is all straightened out today.
Four Weddings and a Funeral was one of the four titles I'd already seen when The Observer published their list earlier this month. I saw it years ago during my obsessive Kristin Scott Thomas phase, and vaguely remembered liking it, but thought it'd be a good idea to sit through it again just to give a more recent account of my opinion.
I love this movie. It's charming and cheerful and delightfully witty. It's the story of commitment-challenged Charles and a beautiful American, Carrie, who meet several times at various social gatherings and try to form a relationship. Charles has a band of eccentric friends, all wonderfully portrayed by various character actors, the best of which is Simon Callow as the ill-fated but jolly life of every party, Gareth.
The story is at times hysterical and at times touching and at times quite sad. Hugh Grant as Charles brings his usual endearing awkwardness, while Andie MacDowell takes a more direct (American?) approach to Carrie. I have to say (as a fan of hers) that MacDowell's performance is a weak point in the film for me. She seems too vacant and cold to inspire Charles' avid affection.
Nevertheless, Four Weddings and a Funeral is an irresistable portrait of the friends who become your family. ***1/2 / 4
Four Weddings and a Funeral was one of the four titles I'd already seen when The Observer published their list earlier this month. I saw it years ago during my obsessive Kristin Scott Thomas phase, and vaguely remembered liking it, but thought it'd be a good idea to sit through it again just to give a more recent account of my opinion.
I love this movie. It's charming and cheerful and delightfully witty. It's the story of commitment-challenged Charles and a beautiful American, Carrie, who meet several times at various social gatherings and try to form a relationship. Charles has a band of eccentric friends, all wonderfully portrayed by various character actors, the best of which is Simon Callow as the ill-fated but jolly life of every party, Gareth.
The story is at times hysterical and at times touching and at times quite sad. Hugh Grant as Charles brings his usual endearing awkwardness, while Andie MacDowell takes a more direct (American?) approach to Carrie. I have to say (as a fan of hers) that MacDowell's performance is a weak point in the film for me. She seems too vacant and cold to inspire Charles' avid affection.
Nevertheless, Four Weddings and a Funeral is an irresistable portrait of the friends who become your family. ***1/2 / 4
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Best British Films: 20. Red Road
Red Road is an exceptional film from director Andrea Arnold, who's making the rounds on the festival circuit this year with Fish Tank. It follows a woman named Jackie, a CCTV operator in Glasgow, who suddenly recognizes one of the many faces she moniters day after day and tries to integrate herself into his life.
Red Road is the first film in Advance Party, a projected trilogy following a set of rules dictating how the films will be written and directed. They will all be filmed and set in Scotland, using the same characters and cast. Each film will be made by a different first-time director. Minor characters in one film may be major characters in another, and vice versa. It's a concept from none other than Lars Von Trier, director of the wildly controversial Antichrist, out next month. I'm anxious to see what the next two installments have to offer.
Andrea Arnold certainly did her part with Red Road, a chilling and suspenseful indie that admirably portrays despair and isolation. There is a deeper motivation to each of Jackie's seemingly bizarre actions, but Arnold doesn't rush us into understanding. The story unfolds at its own pace, with no excessive explanitory dialogue. We learn the story through context only, and its effect is more powerfully felt this way.
Featuring great performances and a strong message about the barriers people hide behind after suffering profound losses, Red Road is a phenomenal first film from Andrea Arnold, and has me highly anticipating this year's acclaimed Fish Tank. ****/4
Red Road is the first film in Advance Party, a projected trilogy following a set of rules dictating how the films will be written and directed. They will all be filmed and set in Scotland, using the same characters and cast. Each film will be made by a different first-time director. Minor characters in one film may be major characters in another, and vice versa. It's a concept from none other than Lars Von Trier, director of the wildly controversial Antichrist, out next month. I'm anxious to see what the next two installments have to offer.
Andrea Arnold certainly did her part with Red Road, a chilling and suspenseful indie that admirably portrays despair and isolation. There is a deeper motivation to each of Jackie's seemingly bizarre actions, but Arnold doesn't rush us into understanding. The story unfolds at its own pace, with no excessive explanitory dialogue. We learn the story through context only, and its effect is more powerfully felt this way.
Featuring great performances and a strong message about the barriers people hide behind after suffering profound losses, Red Road is a phenomenal first film from Andrea Arnold, and has me highly anticipating this year's acclaimed Fish Tank. ****/4
Friday, September 11, 2009
Best British Films: 17. This Is England
Another one from Shane Meadows on the list of 25 Best British Films of the past 25 years. This Is England is a semiautobiographical tale, centering on Shaun, an 11-year-old boy in 1983 England, whose father has recently died in the Falklands War. Shaun is desperate to belong, and so when a gang of skinheads invites him into their ranks, he anxiously accepts, but soon sees the dark side of his new friends and their beliefs.
Shaun (played by Thomas Turgoose, in one of the greatest child performances I've seen) is constantly bullied in school, one day he takes a shortcut home and meets a gang of skinheads who soon become his surrogate family. The group is tame and not racist at this stage, but soon Combo, another member of the gang, is released from prison. He teaches them the ideas he picked up from the inside: violence, looting, and racism. The gang subsequently splits in two, and Shaun makes the mistake of following Combo.
This Is England chronicles a dark period in Britain's recent history. Skinheads are soon synonymous with neo-Nazis, becoming violent and harboring prejudice towards nonwhites and immigrants. Shaun's anger and pain make him susceptible to Combo's hateful agenda, but he's soon in over his head.
The film is a smart and insightful look at a period Meadows obviously knows well. The opening montage is expertly crafted, and the film is haunting and relentless. Another strong selection by The Observer. ****/4
Shaun (played by Thomas Turgoose, in one of the greatest child performances I've seen) is constantly bullied in school, one day he takes a shortcut home and meets a gang of skinheads who soon become his surrogate family. The group is tame and not racist at this stage, but soon Combo, another member of the gang, is released from prison. He teaches them the ideas he picked up from the inside: violence, looting, and racism. The gang subsequently splits in two, and Shaun makes the mistake of following Combo.
This Is England chronicles a dark period in Britain's recent history. Skinheads are soon synonymous with neo-Nazis, becoming violent and harboring prejudice towards nonwhites and immigrants. Shaun's anger and pain make him susceptible to Combo's hateful agenda, but he's soon in over his head.
The film is a smart and insightful look at a period Meadows obviously knows well. The opening montage is expertly crafted, and the film is haunting and relentless. Another strong selection by The Observer. ****/4
Best British Films: 23. My Summer of Love
Pawel Pawlikowski won the BAFTA for Best British Film for his moody and bittersweet love story, My Summer of Love. Rightfully so. My Summer of Love is an exceptional film of teenage love, lies, and loss, with wonderful lead performances from Natalie Press and Emily Blunt.
Press plays Mona, a lonely girl with no family except her older brother, who has recently found God and turned his bar into a kind of church. When she meets a sophisticated rich girl (Emily Blunt) suffering from parental neglect, opposites immediately attract and the two girls swiftly become inseparable.
The relationship between Mona and the rich girl, Tamsin, soon becomes romantic and obsessive, the girls promising never to part. Forthcoming Mona doesn't realize, however, that Tamsin is quite a talented actress, and she's in for a painful surprise when Tamsin's true colors show themselves.
The tone of the film is pitch-perfect as a love story between two moody and self-important teens. The film seems to have incorporated eyes as something of a visual theme, perhaps hinting that there is more to the love story and to Tamsin than what Mona initially perceives. Its a knockout indie gem worth your time. ****/4
Press plays Mona, a lonely girl with no family except her older brother, who has recently found God and turned his bar into a kind of church. When she meets a sophisticated rich girl (Emily Blunt) suffering from parental neglect, opposites immediately attract and the two girls swiftly become inseparable.
The relationship between Mona and the rich girl, Tamsin, soon becomes romantic and obsessive, the girls promising never to part. Forthcoming Mona doesn't realize, however, that Tamsin is quite a talented actress, and she's in for a painful surprise when Tamsin's true colors show themselves.
The tone of the film is pitch-perfect as a love story between two moody and self-important teens. The film seems to have incorporated eyes as something of a visual theme, perhaps hinting that there is more to the love story and to Tamsin than what Mona initially perceives. Its a knockout indie gem worth your time. ****/4
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Best British Films: 12. Hope and Glory
John Boorman's Hope and Glory is a film about a young British boy growing up in a London suburb during World War II.
The boy, Billy Rowen, is based on Boorman himself, and he spends countless hours of his youth dreaming of wartime. He collects pieces of shrapnel from the air raids and imagines himself in the throes of battle with his father, who is drafted. He grows up as his country grows grim.
His mother has a harder time of it. With her husband off to war, she is left to raise her children alone during a hard time. She deals with her rebellious teenage daughter, whose sexual awakening is spurred on by the presence of Canadian soldiers in town to do their training. She wakes her children when sirens sound, to get them safely to the bomb shelter in the backyard. Her story probably represents what Boorman has learned of the war as he's grown up. The hardships, the turmoil, the things his young mind didn't fully grasp at the time.
It's an interesting viewpoint, for sure. War and innocence aren't exactly thematic strangers in cinema, but nevertheless battles and bombs from the excitable perspective of a nine-year-old boy does give the film a new and very honest point of view. I personally didn't relate to it on any visceral level, probably because a) I've never experienced war in my country and b) I've never been a nine-year-old boy. Hope and Glory is still an original and wonderfully-constructed film. ***/4
The boy, Billy Rowen, is based on Boorman himself, and he spends countless hours of his youth dreaming of wartime. He collects pieces of shrapnel from the air raids and imagines himself in the throes of battle with his father, who is drafted. He grows up as his country grows grim.
His mother has a harder time of it. With her husband off to war, she is left to raise her children alone during a hard time. She deals with her rebellious teenage daughter, whose sexual awakening is spurred on by the presence of Canadian soldiers in town to do their training. She wakes her children when sirens sound, to get them safely to the bomb shelter in the backyard. Her story probably represents what Boorman has learned of the war as he's grown up. The hardships, the turmoil, the things his young mind didn't fully grasp at the time.
It's an interesting viewpoint, for sure. War and innocence aren't exactly thematic strangers in cinema, but nevertheless battles and bombs from the excitable perspective of a nine-year-old boy does give the film a new and very honest point of view. I personally didn't relate to it on any visceral level, probably because a) I've never experienced war in my country and b) I've never been a nine-year-old boy. Hope and Glory is still an original and wonderfully-constructed film. ***/4
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Best British Films: 22. Man on Wire
I profiled this movie back in May, but I decided to give it another watch as I go through The Observer's list (see sidebar). Man on Wire, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature last year, is by far my favorite documentary feature and is a magical experience. Watching a man live his dream. What could possibly be more moving?
Early in the film we see a sad, nostalgic piece of footage: the towers of the World Trade Center being built. Few things inspire such an emotional response (for us Americans, at least) than the Twin Towers. It's still a shock to see the New York City skyline without them.
As the film tells us, Frenchman Philippe Petit saw a conceptual drawing of the Twin Towers in a dentist office and knew he had to conquer them. It was as if the towers - at that point the highest in the world - were being built just for him, and he made it his mission to walk between them someday.
On August 7, 1974, Petit astonished the world when he strung a tightrope between the Twin Towers and walked across - no less than eight times.
The documentary by James Marsh makes brilliant use of Petit's home movies, his photographs, news footage, new interviews and reenactment to show us how one man defied convention to achieve the highest of ambitions. ****/4
"Life should be lived on the edge. You have to exercise rebellion. To refuse to tape yourself to the rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge. Then you will live your life on the tightrope."
Early in the film we see a sad, nostalgic piece of footage: the towers of the World Trade Center being built. Few things inspire such an emotional response (for us Americans, at least) than the Twin Towers. It's still a shock to see the New York City skyline without them.
As the film tells us, Frenchman Philippe Petit saw a conceptual drawing of the Twin Towers in a dentist office and knew he had to conquer them. It was as if the towers - at that point the highest in the world - were being built just for him, and he made it his mission to walk between them someday.
On August 7, 1974, Petit astonished the world when he strung a tightrope between the Twin Towers and walked across - no less than eight times.
The documentary by James Marsh makes brilliant use of Petit's home movies, his photographs, news footage, new interviews and reenactment to show us how one man defied convention to achieve the highest of ambitions. ****/4
"Life should be lived on the edge. You have to exercise rebellion. To refuse to tape yourself to the rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge. Then you will live your life on the tightrope."
-Philippe Petit
Best British Films: 19. Dead Man's Shoes
Number 19 on The Observer's list of 25 top British films of the past 25 years is Dead Man's Shoes, a revenge movie from Shane Meadows. The movie follows a soldier, Richard, who returns to the small town in which he grew up to exact revenge on a gang of witless drug dealers who cruelly tormented his mentally disabled brother, Anthony.
"God will forgive them. I can't allow that," says Richard as the film begins. From the start, I was hypnotized by the story, completely engrossed in Richard's plan and his rage over what Anthony suffered at the hands of seven monstrous men. Paddy Considine owns the film, his Richard boiling with pain, guilt, and fury beneath a collected, almost stoic surface.
Richard uses extremely violent tactics - no doubt learned from the army - to dispatch his brother's torturers one by one. We're shown in flashbacks (black and white and grainy, like old film) what happened to Anthony, and a lot of time is spent with the gang who brutalized him. We see their guilt over what they did, and their fear as they realize Richard won't let them get away with it.
The film is formulaic at times, and possibly doesn't give enough of a window into Richard's anguish, spending so much time with the gang of thugs that our sympathy is almost misplaced. But the film is still an intense and intriguing look at loss, guilt, and hatred, with a rewarding end to Richard's grief-fueled quest for closure. ***/4
"God will forgive them. I can't allow that," says Richard as the film begins. From the start, I was hypnotized by the story, completely engrossed in Richard's plan and his rage over what Anthony suffered at the hands of seven monstrous men. Paddy Considine owns the film, his Richard boiling with pain, guilt, and fury beneath a collected, almost stoic surface.
Richard uses extremely violent tactics - no doubt learned from the army - to dispatch his brother's torturers one by one. We're shown in flashbacks (black and white and grainy, like old film) what happened to Anthony, and a lot of time is spent with the gang who brutalized him. We see their guilt over what they did, and their fear as they realize Richard won't let them get away with it.
The film is formulaic at times, and possibly doesn't give enough of a window into Richard's anguish, spending so much time with the gang of thugs that our sympathy is almost misplaced. But the film is still an intense and intriguing look at loss, guilt, and hatred, with a rewarding end to Richard's grief-fueled quest for closure. ***/4
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Best British Films: 2. Withnail and I
I'm settling down this morning with some tea and another movie from the list of top British films (see sidebar), Withnail and I. You can watch the movie for free right here, if you're interested.
Withnail and I tells the story of a pair of drug-addled failed actors who take a vacation to an isolated country home. Hilarity ensues, of course. The two slacking drunkards (played excellently by Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann) deliver some of the funniest lines I've ever heard, and the backdrop of 1969 England and its dying hippie culture thematically matches the pair's withering, baseless friendship. ***1/2 / 4
(As the two attempt to clean their kitchen sink)
Withnail: What is it? What have you found?
Marwood: Matter.
Withnail and I tells the story of a pair of drug-addled failed actors who take a vacation to an isolated country home. Hilarity ensues, of course. The two slacking drunkards (played excellently by Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann) deliver some of the funniest lines I've ever heard, and the backdrop of 1969 England and its dying hippie culture thematically matches the pair's withering, baseless friendship. ***1/2 / 4
(As the two attempt to clean their kitchen sink)
Withnail: What is it? What have you found?
Marwood: Matter.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Best British Films: 25. The English Patient
The English Patient is a poetic film, a tragic love story and an experience. I fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it. I was 15 or so, and probably didn't understand all of the movie's themes fully, but I knew I had watched something great, a work of art that I wouldn't soon forget.
1996 was a great year for film, ushering in the Coen brothers' great Fargo, Cameron Crowe's slick Jerry Maguire, and the indie wonder Trainspotting. The English Patient was the best of them, according to AMPAS.
The film follows a horribly scarred amnesiac mapmaker being cared for by an Allied nurse during World War II. A story of an intense love affair with the charming and beautiful wife of a colleague begins to unfold in a series of flashbacks. The passionate romance is not all there is to the man's past, which we learn when an intelligence agent arrives with knowledge of some shameful secrets.
The English Patient is ripe with visual splendor. Breathtaking cinematography, art direction, and costumes abound. The film's images make you feel deeply, a rare accomplishment I always appreciate. The desert setting is a canvas, and director Anthony Minghella paints on it with large, evocative strokes of genius and truth.
The performances in the film are brilliant, and somehow remain engaging despite an overlong running time. Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas are perfect as the practical people who are drawn into a passionate affair, and Juliette Binoche is marvelous as the nurse, Hana, who scrubs at the English patient's wounds and burned skin in desperate attempts to cleanse her own emotional war wounds.
The English Patient is a triumphant cinematic treasure that is, in my opinion, Minghella's finest work. A stunning, epic romantic adventure. ****/4
1996 was a great year for film, ushering in the Coen brothers' great Fargo, Cameron Crowe's slick Jerry Maguire, and the indie wonder Trainspotting. The English Patient was the best of them, according to AMPAS.
The film follows a horribly scarred amnesiac mapmaker being cared for by an Allied nurse during World War II. A story of an intense love affair with the charming and beautiful wife of a colleague begins to unfold in a series of flashbacks. The passionate romance is not all there is to the man's past, which we learn when an intelligence agent arrives with knowledge of some shameful secrets.
The English Patient is ripe with visual splendor. Breathtaking cinematography, art direction, and costumes abound. The film's images make you feel deeply, a rare accomplishment I always appreciate. The desert setting is a canvas, and director Anthony Minghella paints on it with large, evocative strokes of genius and truth.
The performances in the film are brilliant, and somehow remain engaging despite an overlong running time. Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas are perfect as the practical people who are drawn into a passionate affair, and Juliette Binoche is marvelous as the nurse, Hana, who scrubs at the English patient's wounds and burned skin in desperate attempts to cleanse her own emotional war wounds.
The English Patient is a triumphant cinematic treasure that is, in my opinion, Minghella's finest work. A stunning, epic romantic adventure. ****/4
Best British Films: 18. Shaun of the Dead
I'm just now kicking off that project I told you about a few days ago, in which I'll be watching every title on The Observer's list of 25 Best British films. I'm starting with Shaun of the Dead, the zombie comedy starring British funny man Simon Pegg.
Shaun of the Dead starts off with a blundering, hungover Shaun lazily shuffling through life with his best friend Ed. His idiotic, apathetic approach to life costs him his girlfriend of three years, Liz, and fails to alert him of the zombie apocalypse taking place just outside his door. Pretty soon, Shaun sees the error of his ways and the flesh-eating monsters taking over and sets off to save his family and friends by hiding out in a grungy local pub, The Winchester.
The film mixes shocking gore with satiric wit splendidly. Pegg and Nick Frost are one of the best modern comedy duos I've seen, the characters are hysterically incompetent, and this is finally a zombie flick that doesn't take itself seriously at all. Nothing is sacred in this hilariously violent farce that easily secures a place for itself as one of the best comedies of the decade. ***1/2 / 4
Shaun of the Dead starts off with a blundering, hungover Shaun lazily shuffling through life with his best friend Ed. His idiotic, apathetic approach to life costs him his girlfriend of three years, Liz, and fails to alert him of the zombie apocalypse taking place just outside his door. Pretty soon, Shaun sees the error of his ways and the flesh-eating monsters taking over and sets off to save his family and friends by hiding out in a grungy local pub, The Winchester.
The film mixes shocking gore with satiric wit splendidly. Pegg and Nick Frost are one of the best modern comedy duos I've seen, the characters are hysterically incompetent, and this is finally a zombie flick that doesn't take itself seriously at all. Nothing is sacred in this hilariously violent farce that easily secures a place for itself as one of the best comedies of the decade. ***1/2 / 4
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Observer's 25 Best British Films
The Observer Film Quarterly has put together a list of the top 25 British films of the past 25 years, a list that actually looks pretty accurate, though I'm sure everyone is wondering where one or two of their favorites are.
Of the titles listed, I've only seen four. Four! I have a new project. I'll see every film on the list before the year is up. They'll have to be squeezed in among all of the awards ponies being released, but I'm confident I can get it done.
2. Withnail and I (1987) D: Bruce Robinson - Two down-on-their luck actors find solace in drink and a trip to the country.
3. Secrets & Lies (1996) D: Mike Leigh - When her adoptive parents die, a young black woman seeks out her birth mother only to make an astounding discovery - her mother is white.
4. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) D: Terence Davies - Ripples of memory show a working-class family in 1940s and '50s Liverpool.
5. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) D: Stephen Frears - London punk Johnny and Pakistani Omar redo a run-down launderette.
6. Nil By Mouth (1997) D: Gary Oldman - A brutish working-class Briton heads a volatile, tightknit clan in 20th-century London.
7. Sexy Beast (2000) D: Jonathan Glazer - A retired gangster is threatened into taking another mob job.
8. Ratcatcher (1999) D: Lynne Ramsay - Life in a Glasgow housing project during the 1973 garbageworkers strike as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old James.
9. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) D: Danny Boyle - A Mumbai orphan becomes a contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in the hopes of finding his childhood love.
10. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) D: Mike Newell - An English charmer and a lusty American make love over a course of surprising events.
11. Touching the Void (2003) D: Kevin Macdonald - Two mountain climbers descending one of the world's highest peaks face the ultimate tragedy.
12. Hope and Glory (1987) D: John Boorman - A 9-year-old boy recalls life with his mother and family in World War II England.
13. Control (2007) D: Anton Corbijn - Fighting a personal battle with epilepsy, romantic troubles with his wife and girlfriend, and the overwhelming success of a band, Ian Curtis commits suicide at the age of 23.
14. Naked (1993) D: Mike Leigh - An out-of-work philosopher meets assorted weirdos on his odyssey by night in London.
15. Under the Skin (1997) D: Carine Adler - A young woman embarks upon a sexual odyssey in reaction to her mother's sudden death from a brain tumor.
16. Hunger (2008) D: Steve McQueen - The last six weeks of the life of the Irish republican hunger striker Bobby Sands.
17. This Is England (2006) D: Shane Meadows - 12-year-old Shaun befriends the wrong people in 1983 England.
18. Shaun of the Dead (2004) D: Edgar Wright - Along with his slacker friends, a man embarks on a comic killing spree to save his girlfriend and make the world safe.
19. Dead Man's Shoes (2004) D: Shane Meadows - When a man leaves the rural village where he has grown up to join the army, his brother is taken in by a controlling and vicious local drug dealer.
20. Red Road (2006) D: Andrea Arnold - A CCTV operator begins spying on a man connected to a terrible event in her past.
21. Riff-Raff (1991) D: Ken Loach - An ex-convict from Glasgow turns London construction worker and falls for a drifter from Belfast.
22. Man On Wire (2008) D: James Marsh - Philippe Petit's daring high-wire walk between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
23. My Summer of Love (2004) D: Pawel Pawlikowski - A spirited local girl finds herself drawn into the lush fantasy world of a prep-school rebel, but what started as a magical adventure soon becomes a dangerous friendship.
24. 24 Hour Party People (2002) D: Michael Winterbottom - Tony Wilson is a gobby local journalist and the owner of Factory Records.
25. The English Patient (1996) D: Anthony Minghella - A Hungarian count, critically injured at the end of the second world war, retells the story of his doomed affair with an Englishwoman in prewar North Africa.
That's the list. I'm definitely intrigued by all the synopses, so this is a mountain I can't wait to climb. I'll be keeping count in the sidebar as I get through them.
How many of these films have you seen? Which are your favorites? Did The Observer miss any? Which one should I watch first?
Of the titles listed, I've only seen four. Four! I have a new project. I'll see every film on the list before the year is up. They'll have to be squeezed in among all of the awards ponies being released, but I'm confident I can get it done.
2. Withnail and I (1987) D: Bruce Robinson - Two down-on-their luck actors find solace in drink and a trip to the country.
3. Secrets & Lies (1996) D: Mike Leigh - When her adoptive parents die, a young black woman seeks out her birth mother only to make an astounding discovery - her mother is white.
4. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) D: Terence Davies - Ripples of memory show a working-class family in 1940s and '50s Liverpool.
5. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) D: Stephen Frears - London punk Johnny and Pakistani Omar redo a run-down launderette.
6. Nil By Mouth (1997) D: Gary Oldman - A brutish working-class Briton heads a volatile, tightknit clan in 20th-century London.
7. Sexy Beast (2000) D: Jonathan Glazer - A retired gangster is threatened into taking another mob job.
8. Ratcatcher (1999) D: Lynne Ramsay - Life in a Glasgow housing project during the 1973 garbageworkers strike as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old James.
9. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) D: Danny Boyle - A Mumbai orphan becomes a contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in the hopes of finding his childhood love.
10. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) D: Mike Newell - An English charmer and a lusty American make love over a course of surprising events.
11. Touching the Void (2003) D: Kevin Macdonald - Two mountain climbers descending one of the world's highest peaks face the ultimate tragedy.
12. Hope and Glory (1987) D: John Boorman - A 9-year-old boy recalls life with his mother and family in World War II England.
13. Control (2007) D: Anton Corbijn - Fighting a personal battle with epilepsy, romantic troubles with his wife and girlfriend, and the overwhelming success of a band, Ian Curtis commits suicide at the age of 23.
14. Naked (1993) D: Mike Leigh - An out-of-work philosopher meets assorted weirdos on his odyssey by night in London.
15. Under the Skin (1997) D: Carine Adler - A young woman embarks upon a sexual odyssey in reaction to her mother's sudden death from a brain tumor.
16. Hunger (2008) D: Steve McQueen - The last six weeks of the life of the Irish republican hunger striker Bobby Sands.
17. This Is England (2006) D: Shane Meadows - 12-year-old Shaun befriends the wrong people in 1983 England.
18. Shaun of the Dead (2004) D: Edgar Wright - Along with his slacker friends, a man embarks on a comic killing spree to save his girlfriend and make the world safe.
19. Dead Man's Shoes (2004) D: Shane Meadows - When a man leaves the rural village where he has grown up to join the army, his brother is taken in by a controlling and vicious local drug dealer.
20. Red Road (2006) D: Andrea Arnold - A CCTV operator begins spying on a man connected to a terrible event in her past.
21. Riff-Raff (1991) D: Ken Loach - An ex-convict from Glasgow turns London construction worker and falls for a drifter from Belfast.
22. Man On Wire (2008) D: James Marsh - Philippe Petit's daring high-wire walk between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
23. My Summer of Love (2004) D: Pawel Pawlikowski - A spirited local girl finds herself drawn into the lush fantasy world of a prep-school rebel, but what started as a magical adventure soon becomes a dangerous friendship.
24. 24 Hour Party People (2002) D: Michael Winterbottom - Tony Wilson is a gobby local journalist and the owner of Factory Records.
25. The English Patient (1996) D: Anthony Minghella - A Hungarian count, critically injured at the end of the second world war, retells the story of his doomed affair with an Englishwoman in prewar North Africa.
That's the list. I'm definitely intrigued by all the synopses, so this is a mountain I can't wait to climb. I'll be keeping count in the sidebar as I get through them.
How many of these films have you seen? Which are your favorites? Did The Observer miss any? Which one should I watch first?
