Rev Stan's film blog

Three films I've loved recently and one I didn't

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Synopsis: Living on the fringes of conventional society, on an island off the southern states of the US we see the impact of hurricane and flooding through the eyes of six-year old girl Hushpuppy who lives with her dad Wink. 

Why: Both epic and intimate in scope and subject matter, melding fantasy and reality this film is subtle, spectacular, funny, warm and moving but never sentimental. I dare you not to be charmed.

End of Watch (BFI London Film Festival general release this month)

Synopsis: Fly on the wall style about two LA cops in the course of normal police duties inadvertently rile the local criminal cartel who put a hit out on them.

Why: The relationship between the two cops is genuinely warm and the banter very funny but underneath it, throughout, you never lose the sense of how dangerous their day to day job. Fab combination of tense, emotional and funny.

Argo

Synopsis: Based on true events around the Iranian hostage crisis of 1980, the CIA concoct an elaborate plan to rescue six US embassy staff who are hiding out in the Canadian embassy in Tehran. Having escaped there when the US embassy was stormed by angry Iranians it is a race against time before the unforgiving Iranians work out where they are.

Why: This film is a masterclass in creating tension. Edge of seat, sweaty palms, my nerves were jangling by the end even though I knew what the outcome would be. The entire cinema audience stayed in their seats at the end, that's what type of film it is. It's also fantastically made, the grainy film and attention to 70s detail it could almost be of the time it is set. It is far from a relaxing watch but blimey you won't see a film that is as gripping as this for while. It's going to do well in awards season, I can guarantee it.

The Master

Synopsis: Drunk ex-marine stumbles into the company of The Master (think Scientology's Ron Hubbard) who is determined to put him on the right path.

Why not: While leads Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix acted their socks off I just couldn't see what the purpose was. Overly long, it failed to make any impact, mildly interesting as a psychological study of the power of cult but that's about it.  I'm sure a far better vehicle from which to showcase these two great actors talent could have been found.

#LFF Review: The controversial Compliance

I don't think I've ever felt so uncomfortable watching a film before. I don't think I've ever seen so many people leave a screening before. I certainly haven't heard an audience member very vocally encouraging people to leave the cinema before. It's safe to say that Compliance is a difficult and controversial watch.

Normally people walk out because a film isn't very good or perhaps the violence is particularly shocking but neither of these can be given as reasons in this instance, it is the subject matter.

Compliance is based on true events about a prank caller who, posing as a police man, persuades the manager of a fast food outlet that one of his young female staff has stolen from a customer. He convinces the manager to interrogate the girl in his absence. This isn't about violence, it's about sexual exploitation a gullibility on a massive scale.

If you didn't know that it was based on true events you simply wouldn't believe it. Never have I wanted to yell at the screen more, never have I felt so psychologically squeamish.

Some have criticised the film saying it is to exploitative, titillating and tantamount to pornography. The filmmakers certainly can't be accused of glamourising sexual exploitation. The film has such a naturalistic feel you could imagine, they've put cameras on the wall of any down-at-heel fast food joint in North America.

Compliance, like the events it is based on, puts some of the very worse and baffling human behaviour under the microscope - the stuff of psychologists or sociologists research papers. It isn't worrying that this film was made, it is worrying that supposedly right-minded human beings allowed such things to happen.

Compliance stays with you - afterwards I had to purge it from my mind with a nice, pleasant, fluffy DVD. I can't fault it for the emotions it stirs but it won't be one I'll rush back to see indeed I could never stomach seeing it again.

Such is its affect that I'm finding it hard to rate. For something that produced such a strong emotional response it should get a high rating but such is the subject matter that I'm finding it hard to detach moral judgement; to give it a good score makes me feel like I'm somehow complicit. Which is ridiculous.

I'm going to give it 80% for producing the effect it did and for being such a talking point but I certainly didn't enjoy it. On IMDb it has 66% with a Metacritic score of 68% while on Rotten Tomatoes it has 89% but no reader rating yet.

 

#LFF Review: Everyday

A new Michael Winterbottom film. Hurrah thought I. He has quite a mix of work under his belt, what will he do next? Everyday sounded intriguing charting the relationship of a married couple (John Simm and Shirley Henderson) over several years while Simm's unnamed character is in prison.

Apparently it was filmed over several years with the actors reuniting and shooting chronological sequences so that they age with the film, something that seems particularly pertinent with the couples four children.

It is both well done and frustrating. Everyday sums it up well, it is almost like the cameras have followed the everyday ins and outs of the couples relationship, it's naturalistic approach is almost like a fly on the wall documentary.

This is realism turned up to the max. There are no big dramas this is a regular family and relationship struggle and while fascinating and refreshing I'm not sure it's quite what I go to cinema to see, particularly as there is so much drama going on in real peoples lives that would make for more interesting film fodder.

While in one respect our judgement of Simm's character is not clouded by knowing what he's in prison for - it must have been something quite bad because he's in for several years - it does leave his character a bit colourless.

I don't think the focus purely on the relationship is enough. There is stuff happening on the periphery which I so much wanted to be explored. For example out of the blue we hear Simm's character telling his wife that he got caught smuggling some weed back into prison after day release and all we get is his apology to his wife and saying that he was made to do it by another inmate.

Likewise Henderson's character confesses to having had an affair while her husband was inside but other than the man in question appearing at the bar where she works, giving her a lift home and being seen having lunch with her and kids we aren't given anything else.

The experience isn't helped by some awful music that seemed far to dramatic and out of place for what was actually going on. I've never been annoyed by film music before but this made me clench my teeth every time it started to play.

What I did like is the natural performances, particularly from the kids but I question the merit of an hour and 45 minutes of close up on a relationship that doesn't really explain a great deal. I feel slightly hypocritical because I do get frustrated with how contrived a lot of films are but this feels like it has swung too far back the other way. There were a lot of unexplored interesting angles.

I'm going to give it 45%. It isn't yet rated on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes.

#LFF Review: Fill The Void

This is an Israeli film about an Orthadox Jewish girl, Shira, who is about to be married off to a man her family has chosen.

When her sister dies in childbirth it puts a halt to the arrangement and attentions turn to whether she should marry her sister's widow in order to keep him and the baby close to the family.

It is a very quiet film full of the routine of community and while fascinating as an outsider to watch I'm afraid I got a little bit bored. The characters are naturally reserved and emotions are contained but perhaps a little too much so. I never felt I got a real understanding of what was going on in Shira's head which is kind of key to the plot and while it is great to see an understated performance this was a little too much so.

I'm going to give it 50% and it is yet to be rated on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.

#LFF Review: I, Anna

This is a strange film. It follows the story of Anna (Charlotte Rampling) who lives in a one-bedroomed flat with her daughter and young granddaughter but is nonetheless lonely. She's a regular on the speed dating scene and doesn't do too badly in attracting male attention.

Anna's path crosses that of DCI Bernie Reid (Gabrielle Byrne) who is investigating a murder at a flat in a block where Anna has been visiting. Bernie is struck by Anna and tracks her down to a speed dating evening where they strike up a relationship.

It is a film about secrets which means slowly unfolding truths and while it is very well made and acted there was something not quite believable about it. Some of the minor plot lines - the murder victims estranged family for example - feel under developed. And Anna, herself feels a little too contrived, I wasn't wholly convinced by her actions nor those of Bernie.

It is quite clever in some ways but not completely satisfactory. Good but not brilliant. I'm going to give it 58%. It hasn't yet been rated on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes.

#LFF Review: Wasteland

This is sort of a Brit answer to The Usual Suspects and Inside Man. It's not quite up there with those two but it is nonetheless an entertaining romp.

Luke Treadaway plays Harvey who's just been released from a 12-month spell in prison having been framed by the local big shot villain and vows revenge for having had his life ruined.

The film opens with Harvey, bloody and bruised, being questioned by DI West (Timothy Spall) and is a series of extended flashbacks explaining how he ended up where he is. The story is essentially about Harvey persuading his mates Charlie (Gerard Kearns), Dempsey (Iwan Rheon) and Dodd (Matthew Lewis) to help him, the pay off being a new start with a new business abroad.

And it is solidly made and acted with some clever touches to the plot. A nice script that crackles with banter. The gritty realism of life on a Leeds estate doesn't always marry with the complex and technical revenge plan but the characters are likeable enough so that you get behind them and want them to succeed which is the important thing.

A good fun hour and a half, I'm going to give it 70%. It doesn't have any ratings yet on other sites.

#LFF Review: Rust and Bone

First film of the festival and bit of a mixed view on this one. It's a French film starring the fabulous Marion Cotillard as killer whale-trainer Stephanie who loses both legs at the knee in an accident. Prior to the accident she meets bouncer Alain (Matthias Schoenaerts) a single father with a penchant for casual sex who earns extra cash competing in illegal, bare-knuckle fights.

It's an unlikely pairing but then their relationship has a grittiness to it that you won't usually find on screen. Both are intriguing characters full of light and shade. At the beginning of the film we discover that Stephanie likes to leave her boyfriend at home while she goes out clubbing, enjoying male attention. Alain on the other hand is not the most attentive or responsible of parents picking up women at the gym for casual sex and in the process forgetting to collect his son from school.

When Stephanie calls on Alain after the accident he finds her sat at home, withdrawn and full of self pity. In his own way Alain draws Stephanie out reigniting her zest for life. Stephanie likes to watch Alain fight and her presence encourages him.

As their friendship grows it develops into sex, an experiment at first for Stephanie post the accident but soon means something different to both. When Alain's not entirely legal work in security take a unexpected turn he flees leaving his family and Stephanie in the lurch until a near tragedy puts priorities into perspective.

For all the meatiness and layers of the central characters my one grumble with this film would be the central relationship in that I wasn't wholly convinced that a woman like Stephanie would fall for Alain. Stephanie's character felt less developed than Alain and therefore it was difficult to judge her motivations.

Nonetheless it certainly gave me plenty to think about, was refreshingly gritty, real and French in its approach and definitely not the usual cliched soppy love story fare. Not quite as good as Jacques Audiard's previous film A Prophet but I'm going to give it 62%. On IMDb it has 78% with a Metacritic score of 76% while on Rotten Tomatoes, as it hasn't had a general release yet, it doesn't have a consensus.

 

#LFF Stan does the red carpet

Really didn't think this would happen as I hadn't managed to nab any gala performance tickets. And even Poly didn't realise that the ticket she offered me for Monday night's screen of The Kids Are Alright was a gala until she arrived to the same scene I'd experience 10 minutes earlier: Leicester Square crowded with people, barriers up, paparazzi and the lovely long, plush red carpet leading into the cinema we were meant to be in.

I had to ask a policeman how I got into the cinema and he pointed somewhere towards the middle of the square near the end of the barriers.

'Shit, I might have to walk the red carpet,' thought I, a slight thrill passing through me.

And so I did.

Right,' thought I 'I'm going to take my time and enjoy the moment. No skulking quickly with my head down looking embarrassed - I'll look like I walk red carpets all the time and ignore the fact that people won't be taking a blind bit of notice.'

And so I did. I passed a couple having their photo taken by the paps - haven't the foggiest who they were but they looked day-time soap star-ish. And then it was all over and I was in the foyer. I hung around messing about on my phone just in case someone who was actually famous walked by but no.

Then Poly arrived and we headed off to our screenings (we had tickets in two different screens which start 15 mins apart).

It being a gala there was an odd mix of people milling around: press, glammed-up industry people and the everyday ordinary film-loving folk who'd bought a ticket, like me.

Then came the second surprise of the evening, well third if you count the free bottle of water and small chocolate bar each seat was furnished with. Just before the film started the artistic director of the festival arrived to say a few words, as is customary at a gala and then she introduced writer/director Lisa Cholondenko who said a few words. Then, and here was the really nice surprise bit, well it was for me as first-timer at a gala, she called up to the front a couple of her 'friends' one Ms Julianne Moore and Mr Mark Ruffalo who are in the film.

I'm not sure if they said anything because I was so busy scrabbling around in my bag for my iPhone to take a pic I missed most of their very brief appearance. The pic is below, cropped to buggery so you can make them out. You sort of can.

And then it was all over and time to watch the film.

 

#LFF The Kids Are Alright

This is a nice film. After the tensions of Brighton Rock, the emotion of Blue Valentine and the sheer Colin Firthness of The King's Speech it made a lovely contrast and great end to my first London Film Festival.

It's a comedy about a lesbian couple who've got two teenage kids, conceived using the same sperm donor.

Nic (Annette Bening) is a doctor, the bread winner and a bit of a control freak while Jules (Julianne Moore) bumbles from one business idea to the next now that the kids don't need a stay-at-home mum but they compliment each other and their partnership is strong.

That is of course until the apple cart is upset. Fifteen-year-old son Laser (Josh Hutcherson) wants to meet his biological father but is too young to arrange it. Sister Joni (Mia Waskowska) is eighteen and persuaded to make the call for him, her own curiousity sparked.

And so donor dad Paul (Mark Ruffalo) comes into their lives. He's a laid back restaurant owner who grows his own vegetables and rides a motorbike. He proves a hit with daughter Joni and soon wins over Laser too. Nic hates the interloper into her happy family and the influence he has over her children but tolerates him for their sake.

And Jules, well, Paul's arrival brings to a head some hidden tensions in her and Nic's relationship.

#LFF First mystery film experience: Brighton Rock

As a first-timer at the London Film Festival mystery film I was probably the most excited person in the auditorium at the Vue in Leicester Square. Still harbouring a faint notion that it might be The Tempest, even though most seasoned mystery-film goers I know had said it was highly unlikely, I settled down to wait for the film to start.

Some people prepare, do a bit of research into which companies have got films coming up for release. The order of the evening dictates that you get a chance to show off your detective skills.  Sandra Hebron, artistic director of the festival says a few words (there isn't a great deal she can say without mentioning the film, anyone in it or involved with it) and then asks the audience which film they think it might be.

Harry Potter was one suggestion which got rather a laugh and me transferring my faint hope away from The Tempest and onto my favourite boy wizard.

Then we were told that the film had been considered for the festival and would have been a gala screening, had it been shown and now we were getting to see its European premiere. Excitement goes through the audience.

The lights go down the curtains draw back and the credits roll. Various murmours go around the audience as the film makers details appear. It is a British Film because of the Film Council's and BBC's involvement, so that narrows it down. Fortunately the title Brighton Rock appears fairly early on to put us out of misery. Several people had suggested it and a collective cheer goes up.

It's definitely on my list so I cheered too. I've never seen the original Graham Greene/Terrence Rattigan penned film but I read Greene's book only a couple of years ago. And I have to say that in the main Rowan Joffe who directed and wrote the screenplay has done a pretty good job.

Of course things have been changed. It's been updated to 1964 when mods and rockers faced off  (cue some great shots of gangs of mods on scooters riding along the seafront) and the story and characters have naturally been slimmed down to make it a suitable film length.

The book opens with the line:

'Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him'

It creates a sinister undercurrent of violence that give the book its tension throughout. And Joffe has recreated that tension on the big screen. After the first violent scene, danger and threat never seems more that a moment away as Pinkie, determined to make it as gang leader and a name for himself, takes ever more extreme measures to cover up his crimes.