Rev Stan's film blog

Review: Stan's favourite* kiddie film of the year: Paddington (*only)

Synopsis: Paddington bear arrives in London looking for a home but an evil taxidermist has other ideas.

Stan's thoughts: Wasn't going to see this as young kiddie films rarely do anything for me, even if it did have my fav Ben Whishaw voicing the bear. But @polyg persuaded me and so we went a couple of days ago to a not too children-packed screening and it was an utter delight.

It has genuine heart and humour (plenty for the adults to giggle at) and it very subtly sticks two fingers up at UKIP and anti-immigration propaganda.

Having a few kids in the audience added to the experience as they just got so excited and their occasional out loud comments were often amusing in themselves.

Probably not going to make it into my Ben Whishaw DVD collection but a lovely, warm film nonetheless and I'm glad I've seen it.

Ratings

• Stan’s 82%
• IMDB 97%
• Metascore 88%
• Rotten Tomatoes 77%
• RT Audience Rating* 77%

 

 

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: Did the long awaited Cloud Atlas live up to expectation?

Synopsis: Six separate stories spanning from the 1800s to the 22nd Century linked thematically by ideas of reincarnation, love, freedom, destiny and redemption.

Stan's thoughts: Life of Pi proved that what was thought to be an unfilmable book could translate to the big screen and Cloud Atlas has similarly broken the mould, although I do wonder how much those who haven't read it actually get out of the film. The screen adaptation is far less subtle, I suppose for this very reason. Having your key actors pop up in medium and minor roles in all the story lines is something that only works on the screen and makes for quite a fun game of 'spot the actor behind the make up'.

Plots have been tinkered with upping the drama and I tried hard not to draw comparisons with the book as that inevitably disappoints but I couldn't help it with the Frobisher storyline - my favourite in the book and on screen featuring my fav Ben Whishaw. I remember being completely charmed by Frobisher and moved as it built up to the tragic suicide (not a plot spoiler as it happens very early in the film) but this, despite magnificent performances from Mr W, James D'Arcy and Jim Broadbent, was somehow diminished in the film.

Each of Mitchell's stories could make a film in its own right and in condensing down the book to two hours and 40 minutes you do lose a lot of the characterisation and some of the plot but where the film works is in the visualisation of his worlds. It is truly breathtaking in its scope and imagination and held my attention throughout.

Without breaking it up and concentrating on fewer plotlines I'm not sure how they could have made this better. Oh and if nothing else it is worth watching just to see Hugh Grant released from the rom-com shackles and having a thoroughly good time.

Definitely one to watch again on DVD and I'm hoping for a good commentary as I imagine there are plenty of tales to tell about its making. (My Cloud Atlas claim to fame is that I've walked down the street in Glasgow that doubled for the Louisa Rey/San Francisco shoot out).

Ratings

• Stan's: 78%
• IMDB: 78%
• Metascore: 55%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 66%

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The new Bond trailer with Ben Whishaw and why it makes me think of Layer Cake

 

This is an official trailer so it's all in Focus and nobody walking in front of the camera and it has a bit more of the exchange between Bond and Q.

That moment (1m 3 secs) when Ben's Q says: "I'm your new Quartermaster" and Daniel Craig's Bond replies "You must be joking" always makes me think of Layer Cake. Ben's character Sydney in that is really annoying, loud, brash and conspicuous and Daniel Craig's unnamed character is really cool, calm and sophisticated. 

Below is a montage of Ben's bits from Layer Cake so you can see what I mean. Watch to the end to see the look Craig gives Sydney - that is what I think of when I watch the exchange in the Bond trailer. I like to think that the line was inserted on purpose as a tongue in cheek reference but I'm sure it wasn't.

Oh and if you haven't seen Layer Cake there is a major spoiler right at the very end. Stop immediately after the boat scene if you want to avoid it. 

 

A brace of film trailers featuring Ben Whishaw

I'd heard about the new Skyfall trailer featuring the very bouffant looking Mr W but it doesn't appear to have made it online yet. But some naughty person has made a bootleg recording (he appears about three quarters of the way through) and gives a tantalising hint that his Q isn't going to be a totally socially inept geek but rather a cheeky chap:

 

Then there is Cloud Atlas which just looks epic. For those who haven't read the book I can't imagine what it must look like to them - it is a very complex novel told in six almost entirely independent stories. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it plays at the London Film Festival in October (and I can get tickets) so that I don't have to wait until next year to see it. Bloody ridiculous that it's release here is nearly three months after it's US release.

When I knew that Mr W had been cast in it, Frobisher was my first choice of character for him to play. Tom Tykwer was obviously thinking the same.

 

 

Ben Whishaw reveals his Cloud Atlas characters - was I right?

A great little interview with Mr W surfaced today in which he gave details of the three characters he'll be playing in the Cloud Atlas film adaptation and more besides.

Apparently the actors will be gender swapping as well as playing multiple roles.

Not long ago I wrote a post about which characters I thought he might play and I'm pleased to announced that I got, er, one correct but then the gender swapping wasn't something I'd factored in.

He is indeed playing Robert Frobisher but he's also playing a woman in the Luisa Rey story which is set in the 1970s. Now there are numerous characters that he could be. There is a youngish PR woman at the nuclear plant and I'm sure one of Luisa's fellow journalists is a woman. There is an older woman who is a protester at the nuclear plant too.

It will be really interesting to see him play a woman and the interview seems to imply that the gender swap is something he is relishing. I bet he'll get the physical performance down pat and he has a not wholly masculine face.

I'm really pleased he's getting to play Frobisher as that was the character I immediately could see him playing - he's witty, intelligent, talented and roguish. He's also bisexual and *spoiler alert* has quite a tragic ending to his story, so plenty for Mr W to get his acting teeth into.

Am a bit disappointing he's not going to be playing Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess surely?) or Zachary, although the latter was a long shot.

Filming begins mid-September and hopefully news of the other actors characters will start to float out now. I'm just trying to imagine Tom Hanks as a woman...

 

Ben Whishaw in the new Bond film?

This story started circulating an hour ago about rumours that Stan fav Ben Whishaw is going to be in the new James Bond film, directed by Sam Mendes.

If it is true I really hope he plays a villain. I've bored anyone who cares to listen, and probably even written about it on this blog before too, about how I'd love to see him play a baddie. I think he would have a lot of fun with it, and after all he likes cats which is kind of essential for a Bond villain ;0)

The filming is set to begin in November which would fit in with his current known work schedule ie Cloud Atlas which is due to start filming next month.

Naturally I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for news

Snippet of Ben Whishaw audition for Bright Star

Thanks to @amitolanes for pointing this out

 

The guessing which characters Ben Whishaw is playing in Cloud Atlas post

Been meaning to write this post about the casting for Tom Twyker Cloud Atlas film for a while, almost entirely for my own enjoyment but also to put my marker in the sand before full casting details are finally revealed (which can't be long now as filming starts in September).

Among the titbits that have been made public is that Hugo Weaving is playing seven characters and Mr W is playing more than one. What that means for the other actors and whether they will all have multiple roles, I don't know. And if they do have more than one part, will they have one major character and others minor or more than one biggie? Lots of questions. But anyway, this is what I reckon for the moment.

For Ben Whishaw in order of likelihood:

Robert Frobisher - the bi-sexual musician. When I was reading the book it's the first character that screamed Mr W at me. Adding further evidence to the case is this recent interview in which he says he's learning to play the piano for the film.

Adam Ewing - the young solicitor on a voyage with Henry Goose in the first story.

Archivist - a bit of a curve ball because that story is set in a futuristic Korea and we know that Somni 451 is being played by Doona Bae, although Natalie Portman was originally cast before dropping out when she got pregnant.

Daniel Day Lewis or Ben Whishaw: Who should play Charles Dickens?

Keen-eyed Ben Whishaw fans, among whom I count myself, will have seen a story circulating this week that Daniel Day Lewis and the man himself are both being considered to play literary giant Charles Dickens in a biopic about his secret affair with a young woman, Nelly Ternan, called The Invisible Woman.

Naturally I'm excited about any potential new project for Mr W and this one has the makings of a corker not only because it has the expert hands of Abi Morgan writing but also thesp Ralph Fiennes directing.

But I'm curious as to why our Ben would be up against Daniel Day Lewis. While similar in their approaches to acting - Day Lewis is very picky about projects - they are both very different in age: 30 and 54.

According to the fount of all knowledge that is Wikipedia, Charles Dickens was 45 when he met the 18-year-old Nelly so neither is a perfect fit age-wise and either choice is going to bring a very different dynamic to the story.

Dickens was a fascinating man, extraordinarily talented, hard-working and successful. He was also intensely romantic but got frustrated with his marriage and wasn't particularly nice to his wife, with whom he had 10 children. His relationship with Nelly only came to light after his death.

Fiennes has apparently met with Imogen Poot, Felicity Jones and Abbie Cornish as potential Nelly's. Mr W has of course worked with the latter two (The Tempest and Bright Star), he has also worked with Abi Morgan too (The Hour). So there is already a bit of chemistry there which might put him in a good position.