2012. Dir: Joe Wright. Starring: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander. ●●●●○
We are now approximately 70% of the way through the 2012 and it is inevitable that a number of the Academy Award players have already seen the inside of cinemas. Whether it's the spectacular effects sequences of The Avengers or the surprisingly strong performances of Magic Mike there are some films that get namechecked during the awards season. But over the last few weeks we have seen the passing of the Venice and Telluride festivals whilst Toronto is in full swing so the floodgates can now open. Every movie that opens in the Auntumnal months will be judged as a possible contender and it's safe to say that Joe Wright's Anna Karenina has become the first must-see of the season, and whilst I doubt whether it can win any of the big prizes (the style and setting may put off as many voters as it pulls in) it will certainly be a major part of the conversation.
I won't spend a great deal of time describing the plot of Leo Tolstoy's 150 year old classic, venerated by literary circles and adapted to the screen on dozen's of occasions, except to reiterate Tolstoy's counterpoints two romances. The first passionate, uncontrolled, destructive between the unhappy heroine Anna (Keira Knightley) and dashing cavalry officer Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), whilst the second is more sedate, slower to build by made of firm foundations involving Levin (Domhnall Gleeson) and Kitty (Alicia Vikander). These courtships are inexorably linked, both in terms of their shared histories (Kitty holds a candle for Vronsky as the novels start) and thematically.
Tom Stoppard wisely realizes the importance of Levin's story and retains it (many film versions do not, hardly surprising that a 900 page novel needs some cuts to make it to the big screen) so we shift between the two pairs of lovers, and as one affair blossoms the other appears to wither. Stoppard rattles through the early plot developments, aided by Joe Wright audacious move to film almost entirely within a theatre, using the stage, auditorium, wings and fly rails to signify different aspects of Russian society and allowing scenes to flow into each other with sets, props and extras moving in and out of the setting. It's is incredible to behold, one moment Matthew Macfadyen (having a ball as incorrigible womaniser Oblonsky) is marching through his factory of paperwork stamping drones then a flurry and long pan later we're at dinner with Levin, diligently eating the diet of the peasant classes then suddenly we're at the Shcherbatskaya's watching society function.
The staging works to reinforce the artificiality of Imperial Russian aristocracy, the lives of the elite are constantly on display to each other, every gesture and action judged by the gawping onlookers, every reaction magnified grotesquely. Wright uses a number of cinematic and theatrical tricks, including choreography, perspective and Dario Marianelli's sumptuous score to guide the audience's emotional response, the ball scene where Anna and Vronsky first meet is electric, the horse race heart-stopping and Anna's final visit to the train station unexpectedly tense.
The only times we leave the theatre (apart from an ill-judged picnic scene between Anna and Vronky) is to Levin's country estate, far from the view of the baying crowd. It's a more simple world, where chickens grace his dining room not immaculate tableware and the expansive Russian countryside is gorgeously shot by Seamus McGarvey.
Keira Knightly is just the right side of virtuous for Anna, cleverly showing her all-consuming passion and her third act descent is devastating and acute. Jude Law meanwhile retains a dignity as cuckold Karenin, his actions, from the misjudged forgiveness of Anna to him banishing the mother from son seem both cold yet believable actions, it's a testament to Law's performance in that even when you disagree with his actions you understand his motivation. Gleeson and Vikander also make a cute pair, and I look forward to seeing them over the next few years as their careers develop.
It's a shame the production loses steam once Anna leaves Karenin, as the story slows down and Anna's jealousies and suspicions tangle with societies rejection of her lifestyle there is some interesting stylistic work highlighting the production design and portentous use of mirrors, but it simply cannot compete with the innovations of the first half and somewhat sags in comparison.
That said this is a near masterpiece and the first film of the 2012 awards season that must be seen. I highly recommend it to all movie goers.
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Anna Karenina
Thursday, 16 August 2012
360
2011. Dir: Fernando Meirelles. Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Maria Flor and Ben Foster. ●●○○○
Do you remember when Peter Morgan used to write structurally tradition biographical screenplays that read like simplistic portrayals of The Queen or Brian Clough but revealed inner depths that challenged the viewers perception of the central characters and ultimately displaying hidden their humanity. That time is gone, Morgan has clearly seen the success of multiple character dramas like Amores Perros and Crash and wishes to emulate them whilst ensuring we understand the deeper meaning. Last year his heartfelt humanist parable of death, Hereafter, showed how the emotional thematic elements eventually over-shadowed the interest we developed in the characters and the final act shoved all the storylines together to forcibly underline their individual arcs and yet rang false. In 360 he returns to the hyperlink drama charting the sexual and emotional connections of a diverse group of strangers across globe, and unsurprisingly the point feels just as tacked on and a good half of the plotlines feel so insignificant they could be cut out completely.
The film starts (and, without really spoilering, ends) with a young lady shooting a topless advert for a hooker internet profile, it's a nod to Arthur Schnitzler's turn of the century scandalous play La Ronde, bookmarked by a Viennese hooker, on which the concept of 360 is based. But where Schnitzler intended to shock his audience into the realisation that sex was both natural and dangerous (the play essentially follows a strain of Syphilis as it journeys between class and national borders before returning to the whore who kicked it off) Morgan wants to comfort us, there's a streak of misplaced romanticism that forces characters to get into cars with each other or to not have the affair they were planning. The theme of connection, the 360° we go through, is merely the means by which we make many story, rather than the end in itself.
So sexy Slovakian Lucia Siposová is about to offer herself to cuckolded husband Jude Law. He wimps out and goes back to his wife, Rachel Weisz, not so subtly having an affair with Juliano Cazarré (frankly who wouldn't). But before you can say plot device Rachel is back with Jude watching their daughter forget her lines in the school play and Juliano's live in girlfriend, Maria Flor, has also run off having caught the whole thing on tape. She gets on a plane with chatterbox Anthony Hopkins and they both get caught in a snowed in Denver with paroled sex offender Ben Foster. Hopkins then runs into Dinara Drukarova at an AA meeting before she goes back to Paris to tell her husband Vladimir Vdovichenkov it's over before expressing her love for her dentist boss Jamel Debbouze. Vladimir, feeling vaguely rejected but clearly not that put off, drives to Vienna with his obnoxious boss Mark Ivanir before a meet cute with Gabriela Marcinkova, the sister of Luica Siposová.
That's the plot in a nutshell and apart from the relentless coincidences that take us round full circle, the only real spoiler in there is the always watchable Jamel Debbouze playing a conflicted dentist, the sort of career choice that often gets marginalised on screen but here really informs their romantic stirrings.
The film started badly, with neither Law nor Weisz making interesting enough character choices to make me care if their marriage floundered or not. If it wasn't for Cazarre cavorting around in nothing but a towel, tattoo's and Clark Kent glasses I'd have walked out.
Luckily the second act, focussed around Flor, Hopkins and Foster kicks in. The three of them are all at the top of their game, Maria slipping between sisterly affection and drunken flirting and Ben tightly wound and electrifying with potentially every extra in the airport a victim if he can't control his urges. Meanwhile Hopkins gives a superb performance that reminds us of how potent a film star he can be - his speech at the AA meeting, drawing as much from his own experience as from the script is as heart-warming as it is heart-breaking. In those three characters, all of whom must turn over a chapter in their lives, director Fernando Meirelles finds a chord, allowing the comedy to flow organically, the tension to build (there's one scene I nearly had to cover my eyes for) and the pay-offs for the characters were rewarding for them and for the audience in a way the rest of the film failed to deliver. Yes, from there it quickly descended into Russian gangster and tart with a heart clichés.
Elsewhere Meirelles doesn't seem to have the confidence in the material, the occasional camera flourishes and cutting techniques only hammer home the themes rather than hint at them, like Clint Eastwood before him, he seems unable to make a solid enough film from the good script sections to allow to forgive the weaker parts, and the variable script is what really lets 360 down.
Overall I can't recommend the film, but if anyone every offers you the chance to watch a 30 minutes short about Maria Flor, Anthony Hopkins and Ben Foster stuck in an airport I urge you to watch that masterclass in screen acting.
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Contagion
2011. Dir: Steven Soderbergh. Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Jennifer Ehle, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Jude Law. ●●●○○
Contagion does a great job of changing the way you think. For a few hours after leaving the cinema I was afraid to touch door handles, hand driers, bar snacks, nervous of using public transport and definitely avoiding coughing in peoples faces. All of these apparently harmless activities now seem to invite painful inevitable death. One minute you could be throwing dice in Macau, gleefully planning to shag your ex, and the next your cranium will be cut in half by nervous pathologists. Steven Soderbergh's clinical thriller, analysing the likely response to a global pandemic, certainly ratchets up the tension but objective approach and multiple storylines prevents the audience from empathising with the characters and ultimately we left with the impression of a heavy handed Government Information broadcast.
Picking up the story from day 2 and the first anonymous victim stumbling under a lorry in his Hong Kong Soderbergh has deliberately avoided the usual disaster movie conventions, instead he's trying to understand the likely battle against a rogue flu. So we follow Laurence Fishburne's head of the Centre for Disease Control, with his field operative Kate Winslet trying to contain the virus and his top scientist Jennifer Ehle finding a way to beat it. All the while Matt Damon's everyman and Jude Law's harbinger of doom blogger are caught up and carried along by the collapse of society as fear and desperation become even more viral than the initial bug.
Soderbergh is trying to replicate his success with Traffic, weaving a multi-character arc around an issue we will all face from time to time, however the storylines don't provide enough of a variation to create a satisfying whole. In his 2000 masterpiece each of the major plot informed reactions to the others, here they feel tacked on, even when Fishburne and Law debate their point on TV news or when Marion Cotillard surveys Gwynneth Paltrow's last steps these seem ultimately disconnected events. Some sections manage to make an interesting case to have seen more of - ultimately the CDC sections are the most compelling - however others seem unnecessarily sparse (Cotillard is especially hard done by) and Matt Damon's personal travails come across as petty and small - and he loses his wife and stepson in the first 10 minutes of the film!
The messiness also seems to detract from the central thesis, the status quo for mankind isn't panic and disorder but trust and sacrifice. The scientist that tests a drug on herself, the reasercher who gives up a coat, the man in a queue picking up a passport, the importance of a handshake. These are the minor moments that define us as human beings.
We do see some nice performances, Jennifer Ehle's resourcefulness is a highlight, as is Elliott Gould's proud academic (a character I really wanted to see more of), indeed none of the cast are doing a bad job it's just a shame so many of them have very little to do.
Steven's work as a cinematography also throwbacks back to his earlier experiments with colour filters, here a sickly green hue permeates through the action, queasily altering our general perception. There are also some nice touches with out-of-focus shooting, even if we have seen all these before. The script also provides some belters, "Blogging isn't writing, it's graffiti with punctuation." easily winning plaudits as the most quotable line. So naturally I repeat here - spraypainting my thoughts on the wall of the internet.
Overall I would say this is a competent movie and would recommend it (if only to make everyone think twice about going to work when they have a cold) but I couldn't help thinking probably had something better inside of it, maybe a much longer miniseries or jettisoning the other stories and focusing on the work of the CDC could've have kept the film sharper.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
20 for 2011: 1 - Contagion
Finally we reach my top pick for 2011, the film I'm most looking forward to seeing is...
Steven Soderbergh's Contagion.
Steven Soderbergh, that former darling of the American indie scene, is a cinematic chameleon, his back catalogue encompasses the full gamut of genres from biopics (Che) to star laden comedy (The Ocean's trilogy) to experimental art (Bubble). Even his misfires are generally considered to be worth watching, as they exhibit an understanding of form and content almost unparallelled in modern cinema.
For Contagion he reunites with The Informant writer Scott Z. Burns for what is described on imdb as "An action-thriller centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease and an international team of doctors contracted by the CDC to deal with the outbreak." That's just the tip of the iceberg, as the hyperlink movie will take in a variety of stories including familial sacrifice, panic-stirring bloggers, the collapse of Governments as well as the race to find a cure.
Originally planned to be shot in 3D, the latest I've heard is that has been quietly dropped as Soderbergh wasn't happy with the results, proof that he is serious about this multi-character drama. Indeed it seems to indicate the sort of serious mind he brought to Traffic, his superb take on the war on drugs.
Like that previous picture the cast is huge, and hugely talented, including Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Lawrence Fishburne, Elliott Gould, Jude Law, Gwynneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and John Hawkes (recent Academy Award nominee for Winter's Bone). In case you weren't aware that little lot have 3 acting Oscars and a further 12 nominations between them, it's the sort of cast list you didn't think you'd see anymore and the sort of cast that wouldn't just sign on to anything.
In short this is a fascinating prospect, a director whosework I trust and have a long time affection for, working within a curious and underused genre with a castlist out of this world. How could anyone not be excited by this.
Monday, 17 January 2011
20 for 2011: 12 - Hugo Cabret
A surprising choice from Martin Scorsese jumps out of the screen at Number 12: Hugo Cabret.
Martin Scorsese has dipped his toe in different genre's before, he done period, musical and "women's" pictures (The Age of Innocence, New York, New York and Alice doesn't live here Anymore respectively); and yet we were all surprised when he annouced this project a children's film to be made in 3D. Should we have been shocked?
Whilst it may be a departure there are plenty of signs that Scorsese would want to make a film like this. Primarily the film is set in Paris in the 1930's, a world in which Society was changing rapidly with the old class structures disappearing. There will alo be plenty of opportunity to ape the styles of his heroes Powell and Pressburger with garish and striking colour palettes, and using stories within stories in the structure. Finally the mysteries in the book revolve around the cinema legend Georges Melieres, pioneer of early animation techniques, and we all know how much Scorsese likes to preserve old films. In many ways this is a culmination of all his hobbies.
With the recent re-release of Peeping Tom Thelma Schoonmacher has been making the rounds and in interviews she has often brought up the sheer mass of detail Scorsese is working on, you can guarantee he's taking the 3D filming process seriously. You add to that a cast led by Ben Kingsley, Jude Law and Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) as Hugo then this is virtually unmissable.
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Jude Law
Happy Birthday to
Jude Law
38 today
2011 is going to be a very exciting year for Jude Law fans, of course he'll be reprising his Dr. Watson for the blockbuster sequel, but he'll also be starring to two 3D movies by respected directors. Martin Scorsese's Hugo Cabret and Steven Soderbergh's Contagion will both feature Jude gorgeous features being thrust out of the screen at us.
Friday, 16 April 2010
Out this week (16/04/2010)
It's not a classic week of releases, but it's safe to say that a number of the films coming out are generally looking good. There's also a "twin" theme which I'm very pleased to see. I'm personally going to be checking out the thinly veiled Blair film (only 3 weeks until the election) and Channing Tatum's abs, but I think the top film of the week, and this is based purely on the very high standard of reviews, will be Cemetery Junction.
Beeswax
Our first twin film, from the mumblecore movement, has identical sisters Jeannie and Lauren face major decisions in the way they go forward in their lives. It's low-key approach and lack of plot direction may turn off some viewers.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Boogie Woogie
A satire of the London Art circle, that neither appears to be funny nor terribly satirical. Probably best to go back to the Banksy doc from a few weeks ago.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Cemetery Junction
Slice of life comedrama from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, follows three friends in Reading as they face the transition into the patterns that may will set the rest of their life. Christian Cooke is the lead character (getting a job selling insurance) but it's Ralph Fiennes as his boss and Emily Watson that are the draws for me.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
City of Life and Death
The siege of Nanjing is in vogue these days, with John Rabe coming out a couple of weeks ago. This Chinese film is certainly getting the better notices and would certainly be a great choice for anyone interested in that period of the 20th century.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Crying with Laughter
It's the dark side of Facebook as stand-up Stephen McCole falls in with a sinister ex-classmate in Edinburgh. This is a drama, not a comedy mind, as the plot revolves heavily around sexual abuse.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Dear John
Amanda Seyfried falls in love with Channing Tatum's abs in this weepie from Nicolas Sparks (The Notebook). Did well in the States, should do well here, but won't be box office champ.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
The Ghost
Pierce Brosnan plays ex-Prime Minister Adam Lang (not Tony Blair) and Ewan MacGregor his unnamed ghost writer in this thriller adapted from the Richard Harris novel and directed by Roman Polanski. Should be right up his street.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Give me your Hand
Our second film about twins, this time boys, has a very different tone as the 18 year olds hitchhike to their mothers funeral and have romantic and sexual encounters on the way (note gay interest here...)
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
The Heavy
Good timing for this British thriller about a Prime Ministerial candidate whose brother has shady links with the underworld. Oddball cast include Vinnie Jones, Stephen Rea and Christopher Lee.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Paathshala
This weeks obiligatory Bollywood entry. The not-so-promising tagline: "Teaching is a noble profession".
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Repo Men
Forest Whitaker and Jude Law play repossion men in the future, only they're not here to take your TV, they're here to take your kidney. I don't like the future.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Veda AtatUrk Farewell
Turkish biopic of the soldier and master politician who unified the Ottoman Empire. Probably no a hatchet job.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Monday, 16 November 2009
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
2009. Dir: Terry Gilliam. Starring: Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Tom Waits, Andrew Garfield, Heath Ledger and friends. ●●●○○
If you were to brainstorm words associated with the back catalogue of Terry Gilliam then you would almost certainly perfectly describe his latest piece. Indeed The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a typical example of both the positive and negative aspects of the former Python's oeuvre.
Creative - Inside the titular doctor's travelling show, and it's portal to another dimension there is a unique and beautifully crafted world where anything that can be conceived is not just attainable but perfectly logical. Indeed the entire basis of the plot, where the souls of mankind are fought over by making people choose the end to their story whichever way they feel necessary.
Half baked Yes Terry has this fantastic concept, but he can't think of enough of a story to hang it on - or at lest make a decision to stick with a particular story - is it the wager with the devil we are concerned with, or Valentina's coming of age, or the origins of Heath Ledger's anmesiac stranger?
Cast Great actors Like the venerable Christopher Plummer in the lead, or taking risks withs model Lily Cole and gravelly voiced singer Tom Waits. Even to tragic loss of Heath Ledger, and the subsequently rewriting of the fantasy scenes to introduce multiple actors (Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell) to play alternative Tony's seems utterly organic.
Forget to direct the actors unfortunatly there is little point in being creative in casting if you allow the stars to coast (yes Johnny I'm looking at you), give them nothing to do (Plummer's the lead role but so very one note) or allow free reign (I don't wish to speak ill of the dead but Heath is just plain bad in this). Andrew Garfield is a real find though.
Excellent production design as ever there are some memorable and disturbing images, especially from the dreamscapes and from the inside of the caravan. Anastasia Masaro has a lot to be proud of.
Allow the images to dictate the story dancing policemen in stocking a suspenders may work in a late 60's sketch show, but unless it's forwarding the plot it comes across as indulgent.
When we combine all these elements it's not hard to see how the entire film can be described as classic Gilliam. It's like painting with your neice - enjoyable and fun
whilst you're doing it, but ultimatley messy and forgettable.
