Retrospective Roundup - February 2012

From snow and freezing winds one week to record-breaking temperatures the next, it is fair to say that February 2012 has been somewhat of a meteorological mixed-bag. February’s films have been similarly unpredictable with euphoric highs (Rear Window, Come and See), and depressing lows (Melancholia, Knowing). Luckily, Sidaway’s Retrospective is on hand to provide a forecast you can rely on!

Melancholia (2011) – Lars Von Trier

Lars Von Trier, the once famously outspoken messiah of European avant-garde cinema, has completed his descent into the murky depths of self-indulgent, self righteous nonsense in the form of Melancholia. Antichrist was the warning shot, high quality visuals only served to highlight the worrying lack of direction and ideas at work in this post Dogme95 offering. Melancholia, another ‘style over substance’ examination of a highly abstract subject, proves that Denmark’s most belligerently implacable director has learned absolutely nothing since his last big-budget venture.

Poor editing (will the opening scene ever end?!), nonsensical script (Lead character: “I know things” – enough said), pretentious direction (a naked Kirsten Dunst is Melancholia’s sole triumph), von Trier has become a laughably hollow and irrelevant rewrite of his former self. This visually stunning but essentially listless work of pompous intellectualism is the final nail in the directorial coffin. Long gone are the brilliantly subversive days of The Idiots and Breaking the Waves. Gone too, it seems, are the days when European art-house was thought-provoking and actually entertaining. That this film has garnered mainly positive reviews should hardly come as a surprise given how out of touch the vast majority of film criticism, defender of all things high-brow, has become. 2/10

Come and See (1985) – Elen Klimov
Hollywood has a tremendous sway on the way in which the western world remembers World War 2. When we think of this moment of history, films such as Saving Private Ryan, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Schindler’s List and Pearl Harbour most commonly spring to mind. As we find ourselves getting sucked into Hollywood’s star-spangled, morally prescriptive, Holocaust-centric vortex, it is films like Come and See that remind us that Americans and Jews weren’t the only victims of the Nazi war machine.

Following a young boy’s plucky survival quest, this bleak claustrophobic, unnerving and fundamentally Russian war memorial attempts to both document the scale on which lives were lost, and reveal the depth of the psychological scars that such a catastrophic act of inhumanity wrought upon the Russian spirit. Needless to say, this is a hugely emotional and heavy going film, anyone who has read Dostoevsky will know that no nation does cathartic ‘entertainment’ better. The visual and emotional intensity of Come and See is undermined only by the awful English overdub, which proves genuinely off-putting for the first 10 minutes or so, but this is only a superficial flaw in a deeply traumatised and hauntingly intense contribution to the genre. This is World War 2 as Hollywood could never show it, for that reason some may feel alienated by its overwhelming gloom, but few films bring you closer to understanding the human cost of war. 8/10

Julia’s Eyes (2010) - Guillem Morales
Off the back of some decent reviews, and with the mastermind behind Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro) on production duties, this thoughtful thriller should have been a sure fire hit. Julia’s Eyes has some really touching moments, and the plot is enough to keep you guessing at least for a short while. However, Morales spends so much time building you up to the big climaxes that by the time you get there, the key moment lacks the satisfying payoff. In fact, the whole thing feels a bit bloated. Scenes tend to rattle on, too many characters are introduced, the plot unravels in a flat, linear, episodic fashion. Most crucially, suspense, lifeblood of any good thriller, is painfully lacking.

Though the cupboards are bare in the thrill seeking department, the film handles some interesting concepts with an impressive delicacy of touch. Lluis Homar and Belen Rueda, as husband and wife respectively, give the Julia’s Eyes a sincere and humble aesthetic. Their ever more strained relationship is an achingly concise metaphor for Julia’s deteriorating eyesight. Indeed, it is their relationship that constitutes much of the film’s appeal, the touching ending proving a suitable climax to their celestial romance. If only Morales had the conviction in his ideas to do away with all the superficial clutter, Julia’s Eyes would have been a much more poignant and well proportioned film. As it stands, it gets 5/10

Drive (2011) – Nicolas Winding Refn

With another dreadfully predictable year at the Oscars behind us, now is an opportune moment to highlight a quite frankly stunning omission from the academy award shortlist. You may remember me panning Bronson in no uncertain terms. Ballsy British brawlers were obviously not Refn’s thing. The same cannot be said, however, about his ability to create stylish, sexy city slickers.

Following the mercurial hero of many different professions and talents around a beautifully dangerous urban jungle, the audience is constantly reminded of Drive’s striking audiovisual prowess. Reminiscent of Blade Runner in all its neon lit glory, with an electronica inspired musical score to match, this film is unashamedly retro in its stylisation. Despite the nostalgia, Drive’s substance still outweighs its considerable style. Throwing romance (an angst-fest between Gosling and Carey Mulligan), violence (and plenty of it), gang warfare, even the odd hint of comedy (thanks to a limelight snatching cameo by Ron Perlman) into the bargain, the film represents 98 minutes of all singing all dancing cinema.

However, Drive’s greatest strength is its intoxicating allure, you don’t just watch it, you are enveloped in it, you become part of its very fabric. The key source of this power is Ryan Gosling. Reminiscent of a certain Taxi Driving De Niro as the neo-noir protagonist around which the whole film revolves, he delivers a refreshingly understated performance, sporting the entire spectrum of human emotion whilst maintaining an ultra-cool air of complete indifference. With class acts such as Blue Valentine and The Ides of March on the CV, Gosling will have Di-Caprio and Damon, Hollywood’s golden boys, looking over their shoulder before too long.
Clever, slick, sexy, fun, this takes the best that The Transporter, Taxi Driver, No Country for Old Men and Blade Runner have to offer, and fuses them into a formidable piece of cinema. 9/10


Notable Mentions:

Infernal Affairs (2002) – Sui Fai Mak & Andrew Lau
Something of an institution in its native Hong Kong, Infernal Affairs is a breakneck action thriller reminiscent of the cop dramas so ubiquitous in the 90s. The complex plot is made even more mentally taxing by the punchy dialogues, so be prepared to read at a furious pace. Nonetheless, Infernal Affairs, which inspired The Departed, is a well executed and immensely fun watch which builds to a spectacular crescendo. 7/10

Knowing (2009) – Alex Proyas
And so Nicolas Cage continues to mop up the roles nobody else will touch with a barge pole. In this thankless task, he plays John, a university professor who has uncovered the equivalent of a world disaster almanac. Once you realise that there are events predicted that are yet to pass, you know (pardon the pun) exactly how things are going to unravel. With wooden acting, soggy scripting redeemed in part by some whopping explosions; the sum total is spectacularly dull. 3/10

Rear Window (1954) – Alfred Hitchcock
At its glittering best, cinema transcends the boundaries of time. Though Rear Window is nearly 60 years old, it feels decidedly fresh. Part satire, part thriller, part romance, this is a wonderfully intriguing urban tale about an adventurous photographer turned voyeuristic sleuth thanks to a broken leg. We follow the lives of his neighbours through the zoom lense of his camera (start metafilm discussion here...), whilst ogling over Grace Kelly as she attempts to dissuade her man from any more wild sojourns, and lure him into holy matrimony. Oozing class, style, sex appeal and charm, it is little wonder this is one of Hitchcock’s most revered masterpieces. 10/10

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) – Rupert Wyatt

This clumsily titled sci-fi prequel is a modern day morality tale, documenting humanity’s fatal transgression into god’s domain, with the inevitable consequences already revealed in The Planet of the Apes. James Franko, as the leading human, is a real disappointment in this. Looking well out of his depth, he lacks the emotional dexterity required for the role, occasionally breaking the film’s grip on its audience. Fortunately, this lack of humanity is ironically atoned for by CGI. Caesar (Andy Serkis aka Gollum), a flawlessly rendered chimp, is an incredibly engaging character with a particularly moving narrative. Stunning visuals with a real grandstand finish, this is a hugely enjoyable watch with a fair dollop of intellectual cud to chew on too. 7/10

The Road (2009) - John Hillcoat

The success of I am Legend (2007), Children of Men (2006), 28 Days Later (2002) and Wall-E (2008) would suggest that ‘post-apocalyptic’ cinema is undergoing something of a renaissance. The God-like power of CGI and humanity’s post millennial anxieties have combined to bring audiences closer than ever to a tangible vision of the end of the world. The Road represents a devastatingly realistic and familiar vision of the future. We are not asked, like The Road’s post-apocalyptic predecessors, to believe in Zombies, Robots or some freak medical mutation, only to realise a painfully inevitable truth: that the earth might one day yield to forces beyond the control of humans.


At first glance, The Road appears to be a simple survival story, adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, we follow a father and son in their fraught and hopeless quest to the South coast of America, battling the slow but certain onset of starvation, whilst evading the constant threat of cannibalistic hunters in a world that has inexplicably shrivelled and died. As far as slow, simmering action goes, it is gripping stuff, and director John Hillcoat times the key skirmishes in such a way that the vast intervening scenes of relative inactivity and silence (the script is as sparse as the food supply) are permanently saturated with a sense of trepidation.

However, this is much more than an entertaining simulation of good versus evil, The Road’s real source of power and artistry is the hugely complex and moving relationship between father (a disturbingly rakish Viggo Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smit-Mc Phee’s charming debut). The chemistry between the two actors is an absolute joy, but the real credit goes to Hillcoat for moulding Mortensen (best known as the impenetrable fortress of masculinity that is Aragorn) into a terrifically complex and intriguingly androgynous character. Some have levelled criticism at The Road for its gender one-sidedness (females are few and far between in Hillcoat’s dystopia), I would argue that a superior gender discourse is allowed to surface due to this very fact. The father’s masculinity is illustrated through his impressive pragmatism, finding food when it is needed most, a strong figure of authority to his son, even driven to murder when it is required, alpha male status seems a given. However, as the narrative unfolds, the boundaries of gender begin to blur. The Road is awash with Mortensen’s tears; frequent are the times when his spirit is utterly shattered and breaks down into tearful hopelessness. The prevailing image of the father is not as a bullish figure of manhood, but as the gentle guardian: stroking the boys face to comfort him, holding him in his arms to calm him, staring lovingly at his face as he sleeps. This perfectly balanced relationship, stripped of gender prescriptions, is the white light in a world of grey pestilence.

As the audience is invited to share in their deeply intimate and beautiful complex companionship, it becomes clear that The Road is not so much a post-apocalyptic fantasy. Rather, it is a painfully humble tale, a psychological portrait of a pair of ordinary individuals who have endured unimaginable trauma, and who have nothing left to live for but each other. The universality and poetic power of their plight can hardly be overstated.

However, the almost lyrical perfection of their relationship is overshadowed by the cruelty the father appears to show towards outsiders. Soon after disaster strikes the father vows ‘I would do whatever it takes’, and by the conclusion there can be no doubt as to his sincerity. These actions of inhumanity leave a bitter taste in the mouth, that Hillcoat makes little attempt to explain away or redeem these acts of cruelty burdens the audience with a troubling yet necessary moral dilemma about the lengths people will go to in the name of self preservation.

From the most intimate privations of father and son, represented through extreme close up, the camera pans out to reveal the (ironically beautiful) wasteland they inhabit. From the miles upon miles of crumbling black woodland to the vast grey sea, the post apocalyptic earth is as spectacular as it is deadly. The monochrome pallet, adopted for the vast majority of the film, adds a strong visual aesthetic to the pessimistic trajectory of the film. However, if The Road has a weakness, it is the ending. The redemptive conclusion, perhaps representing a concession to an American audience demanding poetic justice, undoes much of the asphyxiating bleakness the film works so hard to engineer. That said, The Road endures and evolves long after the end credits roll, repeat viewings reveal yet more intricate detail, and the beautifully desolate landscapes are seared onto the memory.

Masterful cinematography, subtly brilliant direction, with Mortensen delivering the most complete performance you can hope to see from any actor, The Road epitomises the very best in post-apocalyptic cinema. Bleak and unrelenting, it is hard to recommend this as a cosy Saturday night flick, but rarely has cinema been more vital and relevant. Essential viewing. 9/10.

Bronson (2008) - Directed by Nicolas Refn

This bold, brash, oh so British biopic about the most notorious criminal to ever grace Her Majesty's prison service is a real shocker, in both senses of the word. An opening scene, in which our freshly incarcerated hero smears a swastika onto the lilywhite prison wall with his own shit makes clear that provocation is high on the agenda. The shock and awe tactics, along with what can only be described as a dubious moral landscape, has warranted anger and rage of Bronsonian proportions amongst some critics (notably, Time Out's Dave Calhoun who dispatched Bronson with a solitary star, when five were on offer, which you can read here). Though it may be considered wide of the mark for a film to celebrate and eulogise a man bent on wanton destruction, with strong homophobic and neo-Nazi tendencies in the way that Refn's disconcertingly comic tale does, this is only a superficial flaw in a film that is riddled with more obvious inadequacies.

Firstly, despite its relatively slim 92 minutes running time, Bronson feels clumsy and laborious. Poor direction and apathetic editing are the main culprits. Slow-mo montage after slow-mo montage of the eponymous hero smashing up every prison he's ever been in serves as a gruelling test of the audience's patience. Secondly, the film takes a punt at art-house, and fails. The scenes in which Bronson gesticulates in front of a theatre audience as a deranged magician (the relationship between magician and audience acting as a crude metaphor for Bronson's hold over the hapless prison system) are so poorly executed and, for want of a better phrase, pointless, that you feel genuinely sorry for Tom Hardy who is evidently uncomfortable, going along with a painfully undercooked concept.

A 'pro' in a sea of cinematic 'cons' are the scenes in which Bronson is admitted into a mental hospital. Clockwork Orange-esque in its visual intensity (whitewashed walls bringing a strong visual aesthetic to the bizarre purgatory in which Bronson finds himself), the vital question of whether or not he was criminally insane, or just playing one big, sick game with the penal system is posed in an intriguing and engaging way. That said, this brief moment of quality, and Tom Hardy's raw, visceral, unhinged portrayal of the central character is not enough to drag Bronson out of the bog of inept Cinematic turgidity. Pretentious, unfunny, uninspiritng; needless to say it has 'British cult-classic' written all over it! 2/10

2011: A Retrospective Round-Up in Film

2011 has been, for want of a better phrase, one hell of a year. We have seen political (Arab Spring), geographical (Japan Earthquake), social (London Riots) and Economic (Occupy Wall St./Eurozone crisis) shifts on a scale few would have thought possible. Those famous words of Bob Dylan, "Oh the times they are a changin' " ring out ever more clearly as we launch ourselves headlong into a brave new future in which we hope for the best, but fear the worst. But as a historical document, a social commentary, a provoker of thought, an igniter of imagination, a prophecy, a warning, and above all, a means of escape; the value and significance of great cinema is most brilliantly clear when fate seems to be forever pissing on humanity's bonfire.
And so I move swiftly on to my 2011 in film. In this post I will share my thoughts on recent Cinematic and DVD releases, along with other, perhaps older films, which are worthy of note (for better or worse). 2011 has surpassed all others in the sheer volume of films that I have seen, so this retrospective will be in no way an exhaustive list. There are, however, a quite sizeable list of films in this review so my comments on them shall remain brief. Onwards with the round-up!


Source Code (2011) - Duncan Jones

I begin with Source Code because, quite simply, it is the best film I have seen all year by some margin. This sci-fi cum political thriller is not the kind that lends itself well to a punchy, easy to follow synopsis. However, that is not to say that Source Code is exasperating, cluttered or overly complex like so many of its sci-fi predecessors. Gylenhaal is at the heart of everything that makes this film so compelling, showing subtlety and emotional dexterity that makes his B-list status baffling. The visuals and effects are exquisite, the plot is sure to make you pick your jaw up off the carpet on a few occasions, and the closing scenes are beautifully moving. A masterpiece. 10/10

Saw VII (2010) - David Hackl
From the sublime to the ridiculous. I think I convinced myself to watch the SEVENTH instalment of this frankly awful franchise just to be sure that, like they promised, this was the last one they would ever do. Each Saw film has had a habit of sinking even lower than the previous one, and to make matters even worse, there has evidently been a big slash in the budget. It would appear that the first choice makeup artist did a runner when they realised just how bad this film really was, given the fact that the 'blood' looks more like the kind of thing Antonio would be applying to your Mr Whippy. Yes, they really have used the same plot formula for the seventh time and you can see the so called 'twist' coming from the opening credits. For the love of film AVOID. 1/10 (the only reason it got 1 is because they promised not to make another. In the likely event they abandon popular opinion and good taste by making another, my mark is amended to 0)

The Usual Suspects (1995) - Bryan Singer
It has taken until now for me to discover this critically acclaimed crime heist (before you ask, I don’t know what took me so long). The fact that The Usual Suspects surpasses the majority of the 2011 films I have seen this year illustrates how technology is temporary, class is permanent. The cast is heavyweight, Spacey's character is cinematic dynamite, and I can guarantee you will find yourself looking round the room in bewildered amazement as if to say 'did you just see that?!' when the end credits roll. Undoubtedly the biggest kick to the nuts i've had all year. 9/10.

Hereafter (2011) - Clint Eastwood
Directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Matt Damon, Hereafter certainly has the pedigree. It follows the likeable George (Damon) as he reawakens the sleeping giant that is his ability to speak to people from the 'hereafter' (dead people, to put it bluntly). The concept intrigues, but the films reverent seriousness towards the idea of talking to the dead is undermined by the unfeasible sequence of events, and a peculiar lack of conviction evident in a script that seems more concerned with ideas than with the characters that are supposed to have them. Net result being that the characters appear hollow and insincere. We are steadily spoon-fed a watered down plot, redeemed only by the soft, almost lyrical cinematography. One is left wondering how an actor of Damon's class, and a director of Eastwood's clout, combined to create such a tepid nonentity. 3/10.

The Social Network (2010) - David Fincher
Films about criminals derive their entertainment from the fact that there is usually an element of their character which is misunderstood, which redeems all the evil turns the protagonist has taken; there is no such redeeming feature to The Social Network's Mark Zuckerberg, no matter what the critics might tell you. This documentary style account of the dark beginnings of the worlds most lucrative social networking website infuriates and irritates more than it entertains. At the film's conclusion I was left wondering what the actual point of the film was, other than to tally up the backstabbing, squabbles, lies and deceit amongst a group of people upon which the world could not have heaped more privilege. It was like a nightmarish, 2 hour long version of Made In Chelsea, only these people are meant to be intelligent, and should supposedly know better. This is why The Social Network leaves you blackly pessimistic about the fate of humanity if this is the kind of thing that Harvard, engine room of the world's greatest minds, is churning out. The fact that the film moved me to such strong emotions, however, is testament to its ability to provoke, if nothing else. 4/10.

Revolutionary Road (2008) - Sam Mendes

Di Caprio and Winslett are perhaps best known for making cinemas around the world awash with tears at the sad demise of their fiery romance in Titanic. Revolutionary Road is a far less optimistic enquiry into whether true love conquers all. 'The Wheelers' (as the neighbours affectionately call them) are a loving, genuinely interesting couple living in Middle-America, who slowly see their free spirits crushed by the mediocrity of suburban living. We watch the relationship unravel, and eventually disintegrate. Director Sam Mendes shows a real eye for the little details, such as the ubiquitous brown furnishings, the ever present cigarette upon which Winslett tugs so furiously during times of stress, and the hearing aid of a fellow suburbanite who can no longer tolerate the eternal prattling of his control-freak wife. The real mastery is in the deliberate and painfully slow pace at which the film moves. There is nowhere to hide, and as the film inches towards its desperate conclusion, it becomes deliciously unbearable. 8/10.

The Lives of Others (2006) - Florian Von Donnersmarck
This is the pick of an exceptional crop of World Cinema viewing for me this year. Few moments in history reflect the waking nightmare of Orwell's 1984 more vividly than the so-called 'Democratic Republic' of East Germany before the Berlin wall fell. This is the story of a member of Orwell's Thought Police, a government voyeur named 'Weisler' who becomes so enveloped in the life of the man he is monitoring, that he resolves to covertly aid him in his revolutionary plans. In this world of surveillance and CCTV, one does not have to look hard for the relevance of this film to our lives today. It is a gripping drama, but also a fascinating psychological portrait, illustrating the phenomenal depth and scope of the human psyche, and the power it has to overrule reason and personal preservation. 9/10.

Seven Pounds - (2008) Gabriele Muccino
This heavy going psychological drama is about a man who goes to extraordinary lengths to redeem himself for the seven lives he believes he took in a devastating car crash. It is sobering stuff, and some critics have panned this film for being dull and too obviously attempting to wring every last tear from its audience's eyes. However, I found this a particularly tender and nuanced fable, dealing with particularly complex and unusual subject matter with a delicacy that gives the film an effortless, poetic quality. Ben (Will Smith), the film's protagonist, is a genuinely mercurial and intriguing character, his relationship with Emily (Rosario Dawson) provides most of the films highlights, and I found the revelation at the climax to be genuinely surprising, unlike many critics who thought it predictable (so call me stupid!). Seven Pounds could be said to be a bit too morally prescriptive, perhaps preachy or self righteous, which is why critics have been keen to put the thing down. I would agree with detractors that this film is not without its faults (the final scene, for example, is a peculiar disappointment), but it is a charming and ambitious tale and most definately a worthwhile watch. 7.5/10.

Invictus (2009) - Clint Eastwood
It is the type of film critics are meant to love. Huge director: tick, solid cast: tick, monumental moment in history: tick. Whatever 'it' is, Invictus, it would seem, has 'it' in spades, and the warm reception and words of praise duly followed Invictus like the delirious crowds of emancipated South Africans followed Nelson Mandela when he rose to power in 1994. Invictus is concerned with this moment in history, and Mandela's desire to unite apartheid SA through Rugby. There is tonnes of mileage in this source material, that point need hardly be made. But one is more aware of what the film lacks rather than what it has. Where are the flashbacks to Mandela's colourful past? Where is the violence on the streets barely hinted at in the film? Where is the scrutinizing eye of the international community? We hear so much about apartheid Africa, yet we hardly see it. One gets the impression that Eastwood could barely get to grips with his admittedly colossal source material. The result is that the script is fractured, the key relationships forced, the end result: uninspiring. Mandela, played by Freeman, only adds to the film's woes, wooden and lifeless with the American accent often rearing its ugly head; Mandela just doesn’t feel real. It was never going to be easy, as far as filling shoes go, they don’t get much bigger than Nelson Mandela's, but Freeman could have at least tried. Promising so much, delivering so little, this was perhaps the biggest anticlimax I have known. 4/10.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) - Guy Ritchie
A highly enjoyable and much improved sequel to the intriguing opener. Holmes' infamous nemesis Moriarty takes centre stage as the famous detective duo attempt to stave off all out war in Europe at the turn of the century (don’t bother lads, it's going to happen in 10 years anyway!). The chemistry between Holmes (Downey Jr) and Watson (Law) is a joy to behold, and again Downey Jr's intoxicating (and intoxicated) rendition of Holmes positively glitters in the gas lit backstreets of Victorian London. The action scenes can feel slightly lengthy at times, the plot is also a little cluttered, but above all this film is immensely fun and it is refreshing to see how A Game of Shadows doesn’t take itself too seriously. The franchise is very much alive and kicking with a worthy adversary in the form of Moriarty (played exquisitely by Jared Harris) kicking things up a notch. It iss just a matter of keeping up the good work for the inevitable third instalment, and knowing when to quite whilst you are ahead. This was a big highlight in what has been a disappointing year at the cinema in my opinion. 8/10.


'The Good.....'

Limitless (2011) - Sexy, fun, cool. Limitless ponders over the effect of the perfect drug, and what people will do to get their hands on it. Rarely letting you pause for breath, this breakneck action thriller delivers a pretty satisfying, and suitably mind bending 'hit'. 9/10

Atonement (2007) - Marketed as a costume drama, I didn’t think this was going to be my kind of thing, but there is enough history and psychological Chess-playing to keep most people happy. Interesting use of time sequencing and a pretty nice musical score too. Ticks the boxes: 8/10

Fred Claus (2009) - Sweet, charming, funny, this is the perfect tonic for a lack of Christmas cheer (not that you are gonna need it now). A little over-ambitious and cramped, yes, but stick with it, and you will watch the credits roll feeling sufficiently entertained and heart-warmed. 7/10

Das Experiment (2001) - Everything you could hope for in a horror film but with an added psychological kick that gives a frighteningly familiar and believable dimension to the astonishing events which unfold, bear in mind this was based on a real experiment which took place...9/10

A Beautiful Mind (2001) - I had been meaning to see this for some time and I wasn’t disappointed when I finally got the opportunity. Like Shutter Island only better, this film really gets you into the psyche of the genius Nash (Crowe). The emotional investment in the protagonist that the film demands makes the climax a real tear-jerker. 8/10

The Death of Mr Lazarescu (2005) - Another impressive offering from our European friends. This gritty-grotty drama follows the inevitable plight (come on the title gives it away!) of an old drunk as he is ushered through the infinite cogs of a highly inefficient healthcare machine. Profoundly depressing yet often comic, this bleak thought provoker is a must see for anyone who prefers the glass half empty. 8/10


'The bad and the ugly...'

127 Hours (2010) - Since Slumdog, critics have been clambering over each other to heap praise on Danny Boyle. I found this film laboured and dull. The ending confirmed my suspicions that this film thought it was far cleverer than it actually was. 5/10

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) - And so this lengthy franchise grinds to a halt. The last book should never have been dragged out into two films, but such is Hollywood. This last effort degenerates into a kind of Terminator for teenagers. Not a lot happens, the final battle is tepid. 4/10

Green Lantern (2011) - Beginning to grow a little tired of comic book films, this one being more formulaic than the Fibonacci sequence. Same old set-pieces, same old world being saved from eternal destruction, same old happy ending. Yawn. 4/10

The Fighter (2010) - Probably one Mark Wahlberg will want to forget. OK reviews, based on a true story blah blah blah. The Fighter is frightfully boring and more predictable than the odds of another Saw Movie. 5/10

Cowboys and Aliens (2011) - I thought there might be more to this than meets the eye, there isn’t. And just to confirm, yes, this film really is as bad as the title would suggest, you also pretty much get the whole point of the film just by reading the title too, so please, don’t bother watching it. 2/10.


Film criticism, in my opinion, is at its best when it takes the form of a dialogue. So I would gladly welcome any comments, alternative opinions or criticisms you might have.

Antichrist (2009) - Lars von Trier

The Dogme 95 manifesto brought out the best in von Trier. His ability to understand the darkest depths of the human psyche, coupled with the shaky, nervous, traumatized cinematography that the manifesto deemed to be 'true cinema', has lead to works such as Breaking the Waves (1996) and The Idiots (1998) being widely regarded as some of the finest examples of psychological realism that exist in cinema today. Antichrist (2009) represents von Trier's attempt to disown a brainchild that was starting to misbehave, and whilst some will watch with intrigue at what von Trier is capable of, free of the prescriptive shackles of Dogme 95, and with the latest and greatest cinema gadgets at his disposal; others will be wondering if the once famously outspoken champion of the avant-garde has sold his soul to Hollywood.

Briefly placing the intriguing notion of von Trier's giant leap into the mainstream on hold, Antichrist is a film about a couple who attempt to work through the trauma of losing their child. Known only as 'He' (Willem Dafoe) and 'She' (Charlotte Gainsbourg), the couple retreat to the woods in order to overcome the cataclysmic sense of loss and hopelessness that the death has created. Whilst 'He', being a therapist, can rationalise the grief, 'She' is battered by every destructive emotion it is possible to feel, and the intolerable burden of guilt quickly transforms into blame for a partner who remains (to her at least) absurdly unaffected. Suffice to say that the therapeutic trip to God's back garden quickly becomes a bloody descent into hell...Imagine Fatal Attraction (1987) having tearful, angry sex with Hostel (2005). Not nice, is it?

And indeed it is the asphyxiating, sometimes shocking nature of Antichrist that constitutes much of its immediate appeal. The term 'torture-porn' has been used to describe the new generation of horror films such as Saw (2003), Hostel (2005) and most recently A Serbian Film (2010); it is unflinching and highly graphic horror that satisfies an audience's sadomasochistic desires, Antichrist sits firmly within this canon of horror. Despite the fact that this controversial and visceral brand of  horror translates well into the unflinching and aggressive mantras of the Dogme manifesto, the horror elements of this film are a curious failure. 

Anyone who has seen The Idiots will know that von Trier is no stranger to controversy, but whereas in The Idiots the real shock is the subversive political and philosophical theory it simulates, in Antichrist the shocking elements are almost entirely gratuitous. And therein lies Antichrist's greatest weakness, it lacks any meaningful direction. von Trier lamely attempts to create a political commentary by naming his protagonists 'He' and 'She', presumably to suggest that they represent a universal archetype in western society, but such attempts are swiftly undone by the fact that neither of the characters are engaging, or, for that matter, likeable. The protagonists themselves do us the favour of picking out the flaws of their partner 'She' frequently calls 'He' "arrogant", and 'He' accuses 'She', well, her numerous flaws will be made apparent in the end. But the net effect is that you don't really care about their trauma, or if they ever get over it, which is disappointing because the visual intensity of the film really makes you want to care. Maybe apathy was what von Trier was going for, though I sincerely doubt it.

To make this already faltering film worse, von Trier injects a bit of art-house wankery, again totally gratuitous. Approximately 10 minutes of the film is spent with the lens gawping at either 'He' standing by a tree, 'She' walking over a bridge or random (but don’t get me wrong beautiful) shots of the forest. It's all very nice but you find yourself asking on more than one occasion 'what's the point?' One suspects that von Trier was eager to give this film a strong visual dimension, making the most of the fact that the camcorder has been ditched in favour of a technically superiour lense, but these visually exquisite montages actually reduce, not enhance the viewing experience, sapping both momentum and meaning from the film. von Trier has never apologised for the more experimental facets of his work, I think on this occasion we are at least owed an explanation, because there seems absolutely no motive for the lengthy and bizarre still shots.

This review has perhaps been overly harsh. Antichrist is not a terrible film, and is in fact a highly unconventional horror film, but compared to its forceful, vibrant, polemic predecessors it is a distinctly tepid and listless work of cinema. I might be missing the point entirely, and the very meaning behind Antichrist is its meaninglessness, but if this is the case one can only ever 'appreciate' the film never 'like', 'love', 'disagree', 'dislike' or 'hate' it, which, as his previous works would suggest, has always been von Trier's ultimate goal as a director.

Verdict: Not a bad punt at horror, and actually pretty original in this respect. But any von Trier fan will be left feeling disappointed if they expect Antichrist to deliver the same proverbial kick to the nuts that films such as Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark did. If bigger budgets and better lenses will produce similar results, let us hope that von Trier's relationship with mainstream cinema is more of a one night stand than an unhappy marriage 5/10.

Body of Lies (2008) - Directed by Ridley Scott

Visually stunning apocalyptic urban dystopias, an enemy that is indivisible from the ordinary civilian, a plot in which government agents are dispatched in order to sniff out the enemy and destroy them, Body of Lies bears more than just a casual resemblance to Ridley Scott's cult classic and box office smash Blade Runner. The Replicants have been traded in for Al-Qaeda, the present day Middle East, every bit as deadly, has replaced a Los Angeles thrown fifty years into a simulated future, it is a film that is covered with the trauma scars of 9/11. Despite the intriguing parallels, Body of Lies is sadly a film that falls well short of the Blade Runner benchmark.

The film opens in post-war working class UK suburbia, a bomb plot has been rumbled by special forces. As the crack team work their way around the quaint Yorkshire terrace that houses the blueprints for the next major terrorist attack (carefully dodging the milkman as they go) they are heard. The plotters know the game is up, so decide in the blink of an eye to destroy the evidence. We are then treated to a jaw dropping sensory overload, watching the house being blasted into a million pieces from every conceivable angle and with stunning attention to detail (the visible shockwaves running through the brickwork epitomise the quality of the CGI). We brace ourselves for a gripping and relentless onslaught of tense and politically loaded action. Sadly, one quickly comes to realise that Ridley Scott has played his best hand far too early.

The setting is immediately shifted to the Middle East and we are introduced to our hero Roger Ferris (Di-Caprio), an ambitious mercenary-like CIA officer based in Iraq, and his overbearing boss Ed Hoffman (a portly Crowe) who exploits Ferris' desire for progression to complete CIA missions with ruthless objectivity. In order to get to their man, the mastermind terrorist Al-Saleem, they must infiltrate all levels of Al-Qaeda, involve various groups in order to utilise their connections, and gain the trust of powerful yet extremely volatile middle eastern officials.

The audience is introduced to an endless procession of characters, some who cannot be trusted, some who can and some who fool everybody; but after about 40 minutes the power of memory is so sorely stretched that one ceases to care. Whilst Scott is attempting to lay the foundations for a big climax in which various plot strings are tied up in a thrillingly complex finale, Body of Lies grows hopelessly confusing and flat. The endless ‘meet and greet’ scenarios between Ferris and faceless middlemen grows taxing, especially when they are presented as integral to the plot, yet are bombed or gunned down only 10 minutes later. To make matters worse, a dreadful romance narrative is introduced between Di-Caprio and a Muslim nurse, so forced and wooden you would feel more inclined to believe in tooth fairies than in the legitimacy of such a plot. The net result is that the first hour or so is at best tedious and emotionally un-engaging. If Body of Lies started at a gallop, it is practically stationery by the hour mark, unable to move under the weight of its colossal cast.

One suspects that the conveyor belt of characters represents Scott's attempt to breathe life into an otherwise nondescript plot. Other than the elaborate game of cat and mouse going on between the CIA and Al Saleem, the film is not firmly rooted with a solid plot, meaning that Di Caprio and Crowe, as the two central characters, tend to float in their respective roles, lacking conviction and operating very much within their comfort zones. Though, of course, the plot is largely dictated by the novel, from which the film was adapted, one senses Scott could have done much more with his source material. A political theme is hinted at in the beginning, but remains undeveloped throughout. Not once does the film address the larger question of why America is occupying the Middle-East and why the war is necessary, it just seems to take such facts for granted. The script has words such as 'terrorist' and 'infidel' thrown in willy-nilly and with little justification, it is so wrapped up in the star-spangled rhetoric of war that it fails to address the questions of political legitimacy that would lend this film some much needed depth. Body of Lies is disconcertingly short sighted and biased in its political trajectory.

That is not to say that Body of Lies is completely bereft of value. The film is punctuated with some truly impressive action sequences. Ridley Scott does not miss his opportunity to showcase his ability in pulling off outrageously bombastic yet brilliantly entertaining action sequences, as he did in Black Hawk Down. The opening explosion, as has been mentioned, is top drawer, and there is plenty more where that came from. Perhaps the greatest triumphs of Body of Lies are the cinematography and locations, which combine to create an atmosphere in which the audience can really indulge. The endless urban labyrinths of Jordan for example, are as alluring as they are deadly, and the peculiar beauty that Ferris cites as the reason for why he intends to live in the Middle-East once his objective is complete is not lost on the audience, who are also treated to the sights and sounds of a vast, bustling Jordanian marketplace. In presenting the beauty of the Middle-East alongside the ugliness of the motives of some of its inhabitants, Body of Lies goes someway to redressing the strongly pro-America ideology it seems to crudely endorse.

The film's conclusion, too, is not a complete disappointment. The final scenes are relatively tense and capture the horror of being at the mercy of pure hate. That said, the 'all’s well that ends well' closing scenes proves slightly exasperating, and seems to re-iterate the conservative comfort zone sensibility that the entire film seems to impress. Unfortunately, though Ridley Scott may have set this film up to be the 9/11 revision of the classic Blade Runner, aside from the impressive action sequences, Body of Lies cannot hold a candle to its far superior predecessor.

Verdict: True to form, Scott creates action sequences straight out of the top drawer. However, the film is forgettable, the characters are insignificant and the plot fails to engage. These flaws are exacerbated by the lack of political or philosophical enquiry into the very legitimacy and legality of the CIA's mission in the Middle-East. 4/10

Requiem for a Dream (2000) - Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky is most certainly the flavour of the month in the world of directing, and quite right too. Since his Harvard indie-movie days, Aronofsky's astonishing directorial vision has had the habit of mesmerising audiences, not least because he is, in the world of directing at least, still very young. However, unlike so many young pretenders who, after making a cult masterpiece, go into hiding when Hollywood comes a-knocking (Myrick and Sanchez, masterminds behind The Blair Witch Project (1999) is the example which springs to mind) Aronofsky has since proved that he can ply his trade at the highest level. Having recently achieved considerable box office success with films about fighting, and ballet dancing, The Wrestler (2008) and Black Swan (2010) respectively, few would deny that Aronofsky is fast becoming one of the great directors of the moment, illustrating a versatility and consistency of which even Scorsese could be envious.

Whilst the image of Aronofsky's now bulging cabinet of awards is a pleasant one, the nihilistic nightmare adaptation of the Selby Jr novel of the same name: Requiem for a Dream, is the vision of a director who must have seen life 'through a glass, darkly'. Requiem takes an extremely disconcerting and cynical glance at the morally vacuous world of drug addiction. We follow Harry, Marion and Tyrone; a trio of whimsical youths, entering the lucrative yet highly dangerous world of drug dealing primarily to fund their own recreational habits, but also in an attempt to drag themselves from the gutter of mundane and listless urban existence. Running parallel to the Trainspotting-esque junkie narrative, a slightly less conventional form of addiction is introduced through the character of Sara Goldfarb, doting yet dull mother to Harry, who takes diet pills in an attempt to fit into that red dress and finally realise a lifelong dream to appear on TV.

Anyone who watches this film holding their breath for a plot twist will be disappointed at the conclusion (and gasping for air!). In fact, there is no real plot to speak of, one is instead forced to endure the steady downfall of each of the characters in their luckless pursuit of both the ultimate high and 'The American Dream'. The plot is extremely flat and predictable, yet ironically it is precisely this that constitutes one of Requiem's greatest strengths; the sense of crippling inevitability and despair that saturates the fabric of the film make the protagonist's fall from grace all the more difficult to watch, because you can see it coming from a mile off. Aronofsky subjects his audience to a ruthlessly sadistic onslaught, there are few who could watch Harry injecting heroin into his gangrenous wound so as not to 'lose the hit' without wincing; and likewise the sight of Sara Goldfarb, emaciated and broken at the film's conclusion, cannot fail to inspire a sense of horrifying hopelessness. Aronofsky seems as intent on punishing his audience as he is on punishing Requiem's hapless protagonists.  It is a hugely intense and emotionally demanding film.

Though Requiem is an emotionally demanding film, one of its major weaknesses is the fact that is not an emotionally engaging one. The cast is solid throughout, and Ellen Burstyn quite rightly got an Academy Award nomination for her engrossing portrayal of Sara Goldfarb, but the scenes of Requiem are so uncompromisingly depressing that one becomes, as with any drug user who takes too much of their chosen poison, resistant to its effects. Concern quickly turns to indifference, and whilst Burstyn does her best to keep the blackly comedic vein alive (pardon the intravenous drug-use pun) the film does run out of steam towards the end. Requiem lacks the touch of humanity, though Aronofsky would go on to redress the emotional balance in the hugely moving Wrestler.

In his relative inexperience, Aronofsky is also guilty of showboating in Requiem. Though the film has grit worthy of Trainspotting, and nihilistic suavity worthy of Donnie Darko, it often goes a little too far in some of its stylistic set pieces. Though the short, sharp, snappy 'hit' montages are effective, they are used far too often. Also, on more than one occasion, the stylistics tend to overwhelm and overshadow the attempts of Aronofsky's actors to create emotionally engaging moments; the scene in which Marion, in her need for Cocaine, puts herself at the mercy of a double-edged-dildo is meant to shock and horrify, but you may feel more inclined to laugh.

Nonetheless, these superficial weaknesses are blasted out of the water by Requiem's technical prowess. The musical score is simply spellbinding, and the main theme music has now infiltrated many other forms of media. The camerawork, too, is perfection, from the searing sun of midday in Brooklyn, to the dark, damp dives that the junkies frequent, the visuals of Requiem are always set at exactly the right pitch. Though slightly choked by Aronofsky's grand vision, the cast is one of Requiem's greatest assets. Harry, played by Jared Leto, (who is now best known for his wailing duties in he band 30 Seconds to Mars) is a potent and visceral character, indeed the whole cast possess an air of exhaustion and emaciation that is difficult to fake, Leto's extremely gaunt physique, for example, would suggest that he made preparations for Requiem not dissimilar to the shocking sacrifices that Christian Bale made for The Machinist, such elements illustrate the degree to which the cast beleived in Aronofsky's deflated dystopia, they succeed in bringing it to life with impressive conviction.

Requiem for a Dream is by no means perfect, the dark subject matter often leads Aronofsky to depths where few care to follow, and his directorial showboating breaks the spell of the film on more than one occasion. That said, Requiem is a hugely thought provoking and visceral piece of cinema, depicting humanity at its most frail and pathetic, crushed by the disillusionment and trauma that make tragedy inevitable. The net result is that the audience is left feeling lost, crushed, depressed. Whilst Requiem for a Dream often feels like a 'bad trip'; as far as cinema goes, this is what they call 'the good stuff'.

Verdict: Powerful, intense sado-cinema. Though a little stunted emotionally, the crushing inevitabililty of the plot drives home the depressing reality of The American Dream with a clarity and conviction few have achieved in cinema. 7/10.