It may be that time of year where the leaves fall and the mornings are frosty but it also signals a bright and illuminating time ahead in the enchanting landscape of cinema. September and October are the best months for film: there is the post summer blockbuster hangover so smaller pictures get more of a chance to succeed and although many hope to be considered for award season they do not force it like so many of the buzz films released around Oscar season. Award certs are most often a letdown due to them being talked up endlessly before finally landing with a whimper in auditoriums across the world. Lets look at last years nominations for Best Picture:
Black Swan - Terrific film with standout performances from Portman, Kunis and Cassel. Aronofsky on the top of his game and belated recognition was well earned. I idolise Aronofsky, Requiem For A Dream remains my favourite film but The Wrestler and The Fountain follow closely behind.
The Fighter - An average picture with very little punch or bite. The boxing scenes are tame and dull as the unconvincing Wahlberg desperately tries to keep up with method man Bale. Adams and Leo are fine but Oscar nominees???? Come on! Raging Bull this is not. Nor is it as exciting or affecting as Rocky. Aronofsky was originally tied to the project but thought it to similar to The Wrestler. Brad Pitt was in the lead role...the mind boggles at how great that could have been...
The Kings Speech - Don't get me wrong I loved this movie. Firth is well deserving of his Oscar but Best Picture? It is a wonderful family film but certainly not life affirming.
The Social Network - Fantastic film. Should have won Best Picture. A movie of our times from a great director.
Inception - A magnificent blockbuster.
Toy Story 3 - A perfect conclusion to the beloved Pixar trilogy.
The Kids Are All Right - Layered, character driven movie that moves and entertains in equal measure.
True Grit - The Coen's on form once more.
Winters Bone - Excellent indie effort with breakout performance from Jennifer Lawrence.
127 Hours - Awe-inspiring, frenetic and addictive.
Only four of the ten films listed were released around awards season and only two merited their place. Ok maybe I am being harsh on TKS but would I see it again? I really doubt it. Anyway moving on, in general the majority of films released to get recognition are most often disappointments. Fall is the time for iconic cinema. The only proof that is needed is right here...
Drive - Nicolas Winding Refn's stupendously stylish and exhilarating picture starring Ryan Gosling. Electrifying car chases, bone crunching violence and the best score of all time. Hyperbole? I had to pinch myself in the cinema, everything clicked. It was immensely satisfying and totally absorbing yet also fresh, heavily stylised and open ended. With such remarkable forward momentum in Refn's direction contrasting with the laconic mysterious Driver played by Gosling the film contains many contradictions - the plot is cliche (Driver has to save girl he loves by taking a heist) but it is done with such panache and unexpected flourishes of claret and humanity that you are hooked. All this to a sombre score from Cliff Martinez that throbs and ebbs as Driver traverses the neon streets of LA. What separates Drive from so many other 'cult' pictures (Blade Runner I am talking to you) is the depth of character portrayed. Carey Mulligan and Gosling's relationship is so subtle it is barely detectable, they share small glances, tentative smiles and gentle brushes of the hand whilst Driver drives her wordlessly around the faceless blocks of Los Angeles. An affecting and exhilarating masterpiece.
Melancholia - The return of Lars Von Trier. Forget the Hitler nonsense that was taken way out of proportion. Lars is a genius who does not care what people think, he likes to shock but there is genuine talent behind the bluster. Melancholia is a case in point, casting Kirsten Dunst as the newlywed battling crippling depression was a masterstroke. In typical Lars fashion we open with a five minute Prologue of extraordinary images that foreshadow later events set to Wagner. It doesn't quite reach the pomposity of Antichrist's Prologue but it runs a close second. It is startling cinema nonetheless. Part One follows Dunst painfully trying to stave off the pressing despair that engulfs her through her wedding reception. Here Von Trier manoeuvres the hand held camera wonderfully as he captures the familial tensions between Dunst and her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and their mother and father played with abandon by an acerbic Charlotte Rampling and a playful John Hurt. There are subplots aplenty but Dunst is the star: the camera assaults her face picking up every inflection as she tormentedly moves around the glorious grounds of the manor house and its unique 18 hole golf course - something Claire's husband John (Kiefer Sutherland) is only too keen to remind her of. Sutherland injects real humour into proceedings and loosens the film somewhat from taking itself too seriously. Part Two does little in that regard as the looming planet Melancholia approaches Earth and the impending apocalypse nears. Melancholia itself if beautifully rendered through superb CG effects, a gigantic glowing ball of glorious light and danger. Part Two is titled 'Claire' and Gainsbourg once again goes under the Von Trier treatment. Whilst Dunst becomes stronger through her despair as she accepts death, Claire struggles to cope with her fear and fretfully looks for support from her science obsessed husband, bewildered young son and the cold accepting sister. Just as he did with Dunst Von Trier doesn't let the characters breathe - they are stuck in a hellish claustrophobia that envelops the audience with them. No cutaways to news reports or events in other areas of the world, just four people in a remote country manor. By keeping it small we feel trapped with them, we sense the foreboding Melancholia and are overwhelmed by the hopelessness of it all. Dunst speaks of Earth being evil and 'No one will miss it' - I found this shattering, such pessimism is so against the usual Hollywood apocalypse fare that sees faith in God or humanity strengthened. Dunst may be suffering from severe depression but is completely calm in the midst of death. As Claire crumbles she takes on the mantle of reassuring Claire's son. The finale is staggering: Wagner raised to 11 the screen practically forces you back like a tornado leaving you stunned and shattered. The exhaustion I felt after this movie was unreal, Von Trier zaps every sense in the human body and does so without any 3-D in sight illustrating the pointlessness of the technology - I have never felt a movie so close, so suffocating that I have felt visibly shaken and drenched in every last drop of the image. A triumph.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In) directs the finest British ensemble cast outside of HP in this mood piece set in the offices of MI6 (The Circus) during the Cold War. Based on John Le Carre's novel it will inevitably gather comparisons with Alec Guiness's version for the BBC and although the confusing and sometimes dour plot to uncover the traitor amongst The Circus's ranks was better served by the BBC series, Alfredson succeeds on a whole other level. An almost monochrome palette sets the backdrop for the death of Britain and her power as the old guard of Gary Oldman, John Hurt and Colin Firth realise the world is changing and will never be the same. A fascinating watch, Oldman is a revelation as Smiley deceiving all in his wake with his largely silent exterior that hides an ice cold interior.
The Guard - John Michael McDonagh's film has clear links to his brother Martin's In Bruges; acerbic tongues, borderline humour, small town randomness and a deceptively hidden heart. Now, it never reaches the heights of Colin Farrell's career rebirth but it stands out on its own merit. This is largely down to a towering show from Brendan Gleeson as the police chief of Barna (tiny village in Galway) investigating a massive drug smuggling ring. Gleeson infuses warmth, wit and unpredictability into Sergeant Gerry Boyle: he is a character defined by Don Cheadle's FBI detective's assertion 'I can't figure out if you're really clever or just really stupid'. Cheadle and Gleeson bounce off each other brilliantly as racial jibes ping around. This is an immensely satisfying film and that is the greatest commendation you can give a movie.
Kill List - Ben Wheatley's sophomore effort is a headfuck, plain and simple. Initially appearing to be a simple kitchen sink Brit drama that then meshes into a hitmen for hire with some buddy comedy thrown in. And then. Well then it goes weird. As Jay (Neil Maskell) becomes more and more unpredictable the film drifts in and out of consciousness sucking us into a hallucinogenic state of terror. Unsettling characters flit in and out whilst strong bloody violence erupts as Jay loses control. The final twenty minutes scared the life out of me as we enter a world of Pagan rituals. An extremely effective score that whistles and moans never lets up the foreboding. Certainly the best Brit film of the year....
Of course Tyrannosaur and We Need To Talk About Kevin are released in the next fortnight so this could change but for pure ambition Kill List comes up trumps.
0 comments:
Post a Comment