Rev Stan's film blog

Review: Five stars for Starred Up

Synopsis: Explosively violent teenager Eric (Jack O'Connell) is transferred to an adult prison (starred up) where he is caught between a well meaning therapist Oliver (Rupert Friend) and his father Neville (Ben Mendelsohn) who is high up in the prisoner hierarchy.

Stan's thoughts: Normally wouldn't touch a film like this - 18 certificate prison drama would just scream of cliche and violence but it had so many stars on the poster (ironic considering its title), and from some respected publications, so I was curious.

Yes there is the usual hierarchy of inmates, with threats and violence meted out to keep people in line but at its simplest level this is a father and son tale. Neville doesn't want Eric to end up in prison for life but his parenting skills while well meaning are tainted by his low intellect and own life as a criminal.

Eric is an intriguing character, more so than you'd expect from the genre. You never know what crime he's committed but he isn't green when it comes to prison life and he can certainly handle himself, in fact he seems fearless. You learn only a little of his childhood which was spent mainly in care. O'Connell's performance is such that despite the fact that his answer for most things is to lash out you do warm to him, there is something underneath the steel walls he's erected around himself.

This film is intriguing as much for what you don't know about the characters and their pasts as what you do know and its refreshing to watch a film where there are blanks left to audience to interpret. It is also a film alarming in the regime and corruption within the prison. There is an interesting tension between the traditional prison regime versus a more therapeutic approach for keeping control. 

Starred Up is tense and intelligent. I was gripped and left wiping a tear from my eye which I certainly didn't expect going into the screen.

Ratings

• Stan's: 85%
• IMDB: 78%
• Metascore: 74%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
• RT audience rating: 84%

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Review: Scarlett Johansson freezes in Scotland - Under The Skin

Synopsis: An alien (Scarlett Johansson) preys on lone men.

Stan's thoughts: This film has been getting critics all in a lather. The poster is awash with stars and references to director Jonathan Glazer being 'the new Kubrick'. I don't know about the latter but it is certainly a work of exceptional and unique vision and tone.

This isn't a sci-fi like you'll have seen before. What is alien is the melding of more abstract scenes with Johansson's improvised encounters with real men. Johansson drives around in a van trying to entice men in, usually under the guise of needing directions. She has a quietly erotic charm but there is a distance that is also disarming. There is a sense of danger about her but it is so, so subtle than you wonder if the men she encounters feel it as much as the informed audience does.

There is also a growing sense of danger for her, that she could easily be eliminated by some greater force, particularly as she starts to develop a hint of human emotion. It is all underpinned by a searing score that gives me the willies just watching the trailer

It's mainly shot in Glasgow and Scotland and certainly not an advert for tourism but still succeeds in showing the delicate balance between happiness and loneliness in humanity. The Glasgow on film is a no make-up, warts and all version, as are the people you see in the streets. Just ordinary people. But amid the loners there are plenty out enjoying themselves, a sense of companionship, however crude, amid the ugliness.

When the action moves to the countryside it is always raining or about to and looks freezing. The sweeping landscape is desolate, damp and cold, the tiny hint of warmth comes from the alien's subtle epiphany.

Kudos to Glazer for getting Scarlett Johansson on board and kudos to her for agreeing and giving such a strikingly different performance (and enduring the cold because she must have been freezing the entire time). If this is what she can do in between comic book action movies then she is certainly an actress to watch.

This is far from a mainstream film. It is challenging to watch but I haven't walked out of cinema shaking for a long, long time and it's stayed with me.

Ratings

• Stan's: 89%
• IMDB: 72%
• Metascore: 78%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
• RT audience rating: 65%

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Review: The quirky fun that is Grand Budapest Hotel

Synopsis: Gustav H (Ralph Fiennes) is a legendary concierge at the Grand Budapest Hotel who seduces the rich old lady guests but when one of them, Madame D (Tilda Swinton) dies leaving him a valuable painting he is implicated in her murder and forced to try and clear his name.

Stan's thoughts: I've always been fond of Wes Anderson's idiosyncratic style of film making and his quirky humour. And it seems actors do too because Grand Budapest is so stuffed full of acting talent (Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Edward Norton, Lea Seydoux...) part of the fun is seeing who pops up next.

It is so great to see Fiennes in a role like this and he plays the charming, gentlemanly and capable Gustav with such a beautiful sense of fun. And the relatively new actor Tony Revolori who plays Zero, the bell boy and aspiring concierge that Gustav takes under his wing, more than holds his nerve with such a starry cast.

The narrative begins to ramble a little three quarters of the way through and perhaps the film could have benefited from a little trimming but overall this is just quirky, silly, fun and as such a joy to watch. My hope is that the DVD has outtakes because there must have been loads. And I'd also love to see Ben Whishaw in something like this.

Ratings*

• Stan's: 82%
• IMDB: 84%
• Metascore: 87%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
• RT audience rating: 91%

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Review: Ben Whishaw in Lilting - additional thoughts after second screening

Synopsis: Junn (Cheng Pei-Pei)  is left grieving and isolated as a non-English speaking resident in an assisted living facility after the sudden death of her son Kai (Andrew Leung). When Kai's 'close friend' Richard (Ben Whishaw) comes to visit she has to confront the truth about her son and her relationship with him.

Stan's thoughts: Writer/director Hong Khaou's feature length debut is a gentle and tender piece about love and loss. It also has a good dose of lighter humourous moment and while there is much to like about it and it is a solid enough piece of work its flaws are difficult to ignore.

Firstly the good. Pei-Pei and Ben's performances are knock-out, almost to the point of being too good for the material. Language is the barrier between the two and while many of their exchanges are through an interpreter, which can be quite distancing, it is their non-verbal performances that speak volumes. Ultimately it is what isn't said but what is felt that unites them.

Flashbacks are well used, both real and imagined scenarios between June and her son and Richard and his lover. And Khaou introduces some laugh out loud light relief through a developing relationship between Junn and a fellow resident Alan played by (Peter Bowles) although that did feel a little forced at times.

Richard and Kai make for an adorable if slightly too perfect couple which serves well to crank up the emotional tug. Ben shows what a master he is, once again, in snot crying - someone really should give his character a hankie. Watching as a stifled sob catches in his throat certainly had me reaching for my pocket tissues.

It is always a joy to see Ben on screen but even his uber-talents couldn't disguise the occasionally clunky script and direction. On the one hand Lilting feels a little stretched and it is only 84 minutes long. On the other, spending that time with the characters in such an intimate and emotional story I still didn't feel like I'd quite got to know them well enough to understand their motivations and as a result some of the plot points felt a little contrived.

So to sum up, Ben Whishaw is very, very good in it but it isn't close to being my favourite piece of work by him.

* I've seen the film a second time since I wrote this review and most of my comments still stand. There are two or three scenes which didn't work for me - mainly those involving conflict/argument which felt forced and a bit out of character.

There is still a problem with understanding the motivations but otherwise this oozes with emotional intensity that is even more affecting on second viewing. It is also has some lovely humourous moments (some lighter moments for Ben too) and it was nice to be in a screening of mandarin speakers who were getting the jokes before us English speakers got the translation.

I've been scouting around for reviews to see what others think and they are mixed ranging from two to four stars and I feel my original score should remain which puts me in the middle of the pack.*

 

Ratings*

• Stan's: 59%
• IMDB: 80%
• Metascore: Not yet rated
• Rotten Tomatoes: No consensus
• RT audience rating: Not yet rated

* Lilting is only playing film festivals and not on general release (in the UK) until June so reviews and ratings are still few and far between.

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Review: Was Ben Whishaw's hair the best thing in The Zero Theorum?

Synopsis: Qohen Leth is an unsociable number cruncher working for The Management, he feels nothing other than the wait for 'the call'.

Stan's thoughts: It's funny I just read the IMDB synopsis for Zero Theorum and it's like reading about a different film but then this is an absurdis, existential drama from which you can draw any number of conclusions.

First and foremost I probably wouldn't have seen it had Ben Whishaw not been making a cameo but I am sort of glad I did because it wasn't quite the pretentious, arty-farty nonsense I thought it looked from the trailers.

Ben Whishaw does have remarkable hair - David Thewlis who plays Joby said that during filming they would throw stuff at it, sort of like a hoopla - but his appearance is fleeting.

This is a film that is high on ideas and theories snuggled around a sort plot about Leth trying to work out why he exists. He feels insignificant in the grand scheme of things, a microscopic cog in a great machine but can't accept that his life has no greater meaning.

The irony is that in waiting for 'the call', which he believes will reveal the reason for his existence, he has in fact rendered his life meaningless. He closets himself away, doesn't like other people or enjoy anything or allow himself to enjoy anything. There are religious undertones, naturally, and depending on where you stand on the faith spectrum you will draw different conclusions.

He is given an impossible project to work on, of course, that has sent others mad and  is distracted from his work by Bainsley (Michelle Thierry) who creates a fantasy world for him to retreat into, Bob (Lucas Hedges) The Management's whizz kid son and his therapist Dr Shrink-rom (Tilda Swinton).

The conclusion of the story is typically open for interpretation but I found it satisfying and surprisingly straight forward.

The visualisation of the futuristic world of Qohen is stunning - like a cross between Bladerunner and the Capital in The Hunger Games - and it is certainly a film that made me think a lot both while I was watching and subsequently. The actors all look like they are having fun too - I particularly loved Tilda Swinton as the toothy Scottish therapist.

Ben Whishaw's hair wasn't the best thing in Zero Theorum, it is quirky and different film that won't have wide appeal but I found it a fulfilling if a sometimes frustrating cinema experience.

Ratings

• Stan's: 64%
• IMDB: 68%
• Metascore: 51%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 53% 
• RT audience rating: 54%

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Review: Did The Book Thief live up to the book?

Synopsis: Based on the best selling Marcus Zusak book it follows the story of Liesel who finds solace in 'borrowing' books and sharing them with the Jewish man her adoptive family are hiding in the basement in second world war rural Germany.

Stan's thoughts: Always slightly nervous of adaptations of book I love and this one seemed to have captured the essence of what I loved about Liesel's story. Sophie Nelisse as Liesel is key. She is a magnetic presence on screen and gives a beautifully understated performance. 

A film is never going to get under the skin in quite the same way a book can and there was something missing which I can't quite put my finger on but it succeeded in moving me to tears so thumbs up for that.

Ratings

• Stan's: 70%
• IMDB: 70%
• Metascore: 53%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 46% 
• RT audience rating: 76%

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Review: The slightly more explicit than I was expecting, Stranger By The Lake

Synopsis: It's summer time at a secluded, lake-side, gay cruising spot . Franck (Pierre Deladonchamp) falls in love with Michel (Christoph Paou) even though he knows he is dangerous.

Stan's thoughts: When the 18 certificate was displayed with the words 'for real sex' I thought they were kidding, real looking sex is what they meant. No, they didn't. I wasn't surprised by what I was seeing, more by the fact that it was being shown in a mainstream cinema. (If you thought Blue Is The Warmest Colour was racy, this makes that look like a Barbara Cartland made-for-TV film.)

The problem is that it becomes a bit of a distraction to what is an interesting story. The relationship between Franck and Michel and the behaviour of this gay community when terrible things happen in their midst is what really drives the narrative. That and the growing sense of danger and unease.

All the full frontal nudity and sex in all shapes and forms starts feeling a bit over done in the same way that the orgy/partying scenes in Wolf of Wall Street start feeling over done. When you've seen one blow job/hand job etc, do you really need to see it again and again and again to get the point?

Director/writer Alain Guiraudie's relaxed shooting style is to be admired, in fact it is so relaxed that there are no Hollywood-style flattering angles. Naturalistic is certainly a word you could use to describe this film. Likewise the etiquette and behaviour at cruising spots is, I am told, very well observed.

Stranger By The Lake feels like a really interesting story that has been overly sexed up and I think the shame is that a lot of people will go and see it for the latter when there is much else of merit. When I sat down at the early Sunday morning screening a couple of weeks ago I was surprised by quite how busy it was. Once the film started I understood.

PS It was, however, refreshing to watch an 18 film that was entirely devoid of naked lady bits for once.

Ratings

• Stan's: 75%
• IMDB: 70%
• Metascore: 82%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 95% 
• RT audience rating: 70%

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Review: Only Lovers Left Alive with Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston

Synopsis: The story of two vampire lovers, who've been together for hundreds of years, trying to survive undetected in the modern world.

Stan's thoughts: Expectations were high for this one - Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton as vampire lovers Adam and Eve? What better pairing is there? And with Mia Wasikowska as Eve's irresponsible sister and John Hurt as fellow vampire Marlowe it ticked lots of boxes. And it didn't disappoint, I loved it.

Hiddleston and Swinton are intoxicating to watch as the lovers who've spent so long together and for whom time swings to a different pendulum. They don't rush in anything they do or say - just the occasional glimpse of vampire speed when necessity dictates - and why should they? They have all the time in the world which is why they live apart in different countries for periods and get married to each other regularly.

Time has allowed them to really appreciate the world around them whether it is nature, art, literature or music. There is an irony in that though not technically living they have a heightened appreciation of what is alive, vibrant and culturally rich about mankind.

They've adapted to the modern world, use the same technology as humans but are equally affected by the changing environment. Human blood is becoming polluted and there is a constant search for "the good stuff" which is pure and doesn't have any adverse affects to their health. They have evolved as vampires and avoid killing for blood instead negotiate deals with workers at hospitals using cash as an incentive rather than terror.

Only Lovers Left Alive oozes slowly and languidly like thick honey dripping off a spoon and yet it also has an arch and knowing humour. The vampire's attraction to art and literature has long been a feature in how they live and and the film is weaved with literary references. Marlowe, for instance, is one Christopher Marlowe who, not having been murdered as a young man after all, ended up writing Shakespeare's best work.

Hiddleston and Swinton inject an air of familiarity and ease into to Adam and Eve while maintaining a magnetic mystery and aloofness that is very much part of their charm.

It has been suggested that this film is a little pretentious but I think Jim Jarmusch who wrote and directed had his tongue firmly in his cheek. I liked spending time with Adam and Eve, they made me smile and made me laugh and this will certainly be a film going into my DVD collection.

Ratings

• Stan's: 80%
• IMDB: 76%
• Metascore: 73%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 84% 
• RT audience rating: 80%

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