Bill Hicks RIP 15th Anniversary

Fifteen years ago one of my all time heroes died at the disturbingly young age of 32. Obligatory Wiki here. I did mean to mention this last year but a fifteen year anniversary post seems more apt. So here is a collection of the fine man’s best moments, he defined an era of comedy, when I see the current crop of wannabes polluting the morass of sit-coms across the schedules I get quite ANGRY:

Yeah, he kind of grabs your attention doesn’t he?

 

One of Bill’s routines was cut from David Letterman back in 1993, a form of censorship which gave credence to some of his views on the media’s role and operation in society. Linked below is last months broadcast of the cut sketch with Bill’s mum in attendance, I think Letterman is fairly brave to offer this apology, its a shame its taken him almost fifteen years to so so. His Mum is quite funny, I guess we can see where some of his talent came from:

As you’d expect the humor has dated a little, the pop culture references are obviously out of date but its quite easy to transplant his rants on the the media, religion, politics and general state of the planet  to contemporary times. Fuck me that’s depressing. Eight years of Bush Mk II and the Iraq war sequel would have probably killed him anyway. I’ll admit he did veer off a little too far into conspiracy theorist territory toward the end, I like to think that a man who is under the influence of severe cancer inhibiting drugs may have been, well, somewhat distracted. At the end of the day he was hilariously funny with a message, a reason, during some routines as he prowls the stage visiably musing on what he will be exploring next I think you can see a man whose purpose on the world is visibly realised, he was born to do comedy and started performing at the age of 14. That’s remarkable. The mind boggles at what he would have made of the internet….

If you’re interested in more, start with this excellent documentary on his career and influence, here’s a quiz, for you existing fans here is his last recorded gig and here allegedly is his last gig ever. Always remember, it’s just a ride….

Che – Part 2 & 2001: A Space Odyssey. Sort of….

Yeah, so I know I said I would be abandoning my recent trend of Monday matinees but sometimes events conspire to make me a liar. Having already taken the day off to stay up for the Oscars I realised I have a number of movies and film events in the pipeline over the coming few weeks, therefore I really should be making the most of my spare time to ensure I catch what else I can when I can, I really enjoyed the first part of Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Che‘ diptych so a cinema visit to round off the project was essential. I’m glad I reconsidered.

 

‘Che – Part 2‘ follows neatly on from the events in Part 1, concentrating on the revolutionary struggle that the guerrilla icon spearheaded in Bolivia during 1967. In an effort to replicate his earlier successes Che travels incognito to the Latin American battleground and swiftly ingratiates himself with the fledgling Communist revolution against the US bankrolled puppet government of President Barrientos. In a protracted and grim land campaign the uprising is incrementally crushed, the machinations of both the Soviet and American superpowers ultimately rendering the insurrection as doomed to failure. He never really stood a chance.

 

Together these two films form a powerful cinematic experience, like LOTR ’Che’ is essentially one film partitioned (yeah I know LOTR was three but you know what I mean) into two distinct segments, I look forward to the DVD/Blu-Ray release to spend a long afternoon puzzling over this enigma. I particularly like the way Soderbergh avoids any obvious psycho-babble to explain Che’s drive and passion, there are no flashbacks in either film to any childhood brushes with authority or some clumsy formative experience that would explain his zealous and all consuming devotion to the cause. The film is much more linear that Part One, there are no trademark Soderbergh hopscotching around the tale’s time-frame, it starts with his arrival in Bolivia, moves through the unfolding events month by month and concludes with his (Erm, SPOILERS) final betrayal and execution. Another first class performance from Del Toro keeps the man ambiguous with a clear aura of charisma that inspired his troops and subsequent student radicals over the past forty years . There were a few unexpected faces in the film, the actress from ‘Run Lola Run‘ as Tania and Lou Diamond Philips of all people as the communist leader Mario Monje, the most surprising appearance however was a blink and you’ll miss it thirty second turn from this blog’s favourite member of FAG. The final few scenes are expertly sculpted, a gripping battle closes the film leading to a sombre yet memorable conclusion. Quite an achievement, more of this type of stuff please? OK, thanks.

So you’re probably wondering what I mean by ’sort of’. A few weeks ago I noticed in the local press that something called the Starlight Cinema was hosting a free screening of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey‘ in Canary Wharf. So lets see, Minty’s favourite film, being shown in a free screening on his doorstep – how could I possibly overlook this? I ambled over to the venue and realised that the film was being projected in a business hall I had attended a conference at a couple of years ago, not the most auspicious of environments to see the film but I soldiered on. Unfortunately it was soon revealed that the film was being video projected on a small screen and worst of all as the film began it appeared that some technical genius had screwed up the contrast settings, the projection was out of alignment and there was visible interference between the shifting colors on the AV system that was obviously designed for PowerPoint presentations, not film screenings. You can imagine my reaction. I had planned to to pick up the Blu-Ray of the film to celebrate a certain impending anniversary – more on this early next month – so bailed out after the opening ‘Dawn Of Man’ sequence, for a free screening I can’t really complain although I would have been pissed if I’d had to leg it across London for this experience. C’est la vie.

Academy Awards Results 2009

So that’s that for another year.  Through the wonders of the Internet I managed to find an illicit live feed to see the events unfold live, anything to avoid a Sky subscription works in my book. I quite liked the different approach to the ceremony, clasping together similarly themed awards to keep things ticking over at a brisk pace. That said there were no real amusing or entertaining moments and I can certainly do without the musical interludes. Jerry Lewis was succinct, Jackman was invisible and forgettable, I wish they’d had a Steve Martin or someone to make some ‘live’ comments thoughout, that makes proceedings a bit more immediate and well, entertaining. Overall a pretty drab and uneventful ceremony, tempered with good night for my countrymen and women though.

Performance By An Actor 

Did I get it right? Well, no. Blimey. There has been commentary going around that Rourke’s antics when winning other prizes has soured his Oscars chances, I guess they were right. Penn was good but I really thought Mickey was gonna win. 

• Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)

Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role

Did I get it right? Hell yes.

Superb, no surprise but regardless of the tragedy the man deserved this win. I also liked Walken’s slightly off-kilter bow-tie. I can only imagine at how the Internet would have imploded if Heath had lost.

• Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)

Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role

Did I get it right? Yes.

Us ‘Brits’ have done well again this year it seems.

• Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Did I get it right? Yes. 

I guess I’ll have to see the damn film now. 

• Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)

Best animated feature film of the year

Did I get it right? Yup, and a worthy winner.

• “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

Achievement in art direction

Did I get it right? Yes. 

Good stuff. I’m already looking forward to seeing this again.

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)

Achievement in cinematography

Did I get it right? Yes.

Knew it. 

• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design

Did I get it right?  Nope.

Should have stuck with my first instincts. Bollocks. Nice to see another British win though.

• “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor

Achievement in directing

Did I get it right? Oh for fucks sake. No I didn’t. Pretty good speech though.

• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Best documentary feature

Did I get it right? Yes.

Best award preamble, Herzog was ebullient as always. Nice magic trick.

• “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn

Best documentary short subject

Did I get it right? Fuck no.

Oh well. 

• “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan

Achievement in film editing

Did I get it right? Fuck no. 

Not a surprise, as soon as Will Smith started reading the nominees I realised I was wrong. Oh well.

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year

Did I get it right? No.

Blimey, bit of a shock.  

“Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan

Achievement in makeup

Did I get it right? Yes.

Phew, glad I changed my mind. 

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

Did I get it right? Nah.

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

Did I get it right? No. I’m getting sick of this movie.

“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Best motion picture of the year

Did I get it right? Yes. It’s 5 o clock in the morning. Who cares…..

“Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer

Best animated short film

Did I get it right? Nope.

It was a guess. OK? The clip looked good so I’ll have to track this down.

“La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato

Best live action short film

Did I get it right? Nah.

If I’d known there was a another Nazi film in there I would have adjusted accordingly. Never mind.

“Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Achievement in sound editing

Did I get it right? Surprisingly yes. Happy with that.

“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King

Achievement in sound mixing

Did I get it right? No. The little robot fella was robbed.

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty

 

Achievement in visual effects

Did I get it right? Yes.

Much more integrated into the story, less ostentatious and a worthy winner.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron

Adapted screenplay

Did I get it right? Nope. 

Hmm, far from my ideal choice but so it goes.

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay

Did I get it right? Nah, but quite happy to see ‘Milk’ take this one.

“Milk (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black

Kubrick BFI Season -Spartacus

Another week, another Kubrick – tis the season to be jolly. Quite possibly the best of the cycle of 1950’s and 1960’s epic so-called sword and sandal pictures, ‘Spartacus’ is the tale of the mythical slave turned general who reluctantly led a revolution against the oppressive Roman state. Stan’s third and final feature on his native American soil, the lack of control over the script and regular interference from studio (Universal) and star Kirk Douglas drove Kubrick to England to shoot his next picture ‘Lolita’ and he never looked back, preferring the professionalism and quality of the UK crews to the politics and machinations of tinsel town.

Sentenced to death after assisting a fellow prisoner in the stone mines of Libya, Spartacus (Kirk Douglas in possibly his most iconic role) finds himself in the possession of the gladiatorial impressario Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov) who ships him to Capua to train and to fight. Excelling in combat, Spartacus fights for the pleasure of the Roman Noble Crassus (Laurence Oliver), a contest he loses and receives the obligatory thumbs down death sentence. In a moment of unexpected nobility his adversary Draba (Woody Stroode) spares Spartacus and instead makes a desperate effort to slay Crassus and is brutally killed for his insubordination. Inspired by his opponents sacrifice, Spartacus leads a successful uprising against his captors, gradually expanding his peasant and slave army as he liberates the enslaved people in the empire village by village, town by town whilst fleeing to the coast for freedom across the sea. Against this chaotic backdrop a flurry of political scheming emerges between the machievelian Sempronius Gracchus (Charles Laughton) and ambitious Crassus for leadership of the senate and control of the mighty Roman empire, using Spartacus as a pawn in their power struggle….

Seeing this three hour epic on the big screen was pretty exhausting, not helped by the fact that I was coming down with a bastard head cold. Nevertheless it was quite riveting, the epic three hour running time matched by the grandiose historical canvas and grand themes of freedom and oppression. The film’s production history is quite entertaining, then as today in most cases the star is at the top of the pecking order as it were and usually calls the shots on all aspects of the production. Douglas fired original director Anthony Mann after only a few days of work, finishing his efforts on the Friday with Kubrick essentially coming to work on the project the following Monday. As Scorsese has pointed out, to inherit the reigns of one of Hollywood’s more expensive (an unprecedented $12 million) and prestigious productions at the age of 30 must have been quite intimidating, this upstart Bronx kid directing stage and screen legends such as Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov (who steals the film, performance wise) not to mention some English dude called Laurence Oliver who I think it’s far to say will be regarded as one of the finest actors in history, stage and screen. All accounts have Kubrick standing his ground, fighting his corners and refusing to succumb to the orders of his elders. Right or wrong the results are up there on screen, certainly a somewhat neutered Kubrick vision – he had absolutely no influence on casting, script or editing – but still a commanding and impressive movie nonetheless.

The political subtexts are overt, not surprising given that the film was written by Dalton Trumbo, one of the more unrepentant members of the Hollywood Ten and a self proclaimed communist who was given the gig without resorting to a front, a brave action by Douglas which effectively broke the unspoken blacklist embargo that had destroyed the lives and careers of many film creatives over the previous two decades. The revolutionary allusions to certain events in Moscow in 1917 are not very subtle are they? Despite the film essentially being one huge vanity project for Douglas who essentially launched the project in a ego driven rage after being refused the lead in Wylers ‘Ben-Hur‘ the year earlier I must admit that after spending two and a half hours in the company of these people, once the classic scene arrives it is genuinely quite inspiring. 

I was struck for the first time about some similarities between the opening gladiatorial training school and the Parris Island marine recruits in ‘Full Metal Jacket‘, similar montages in both detail the physicality of the indoctrination that both groups suffer. The films visual legacy is obvious, Peter Jackson evidently lifted ideas from certain battle sequences to instruct ‘The Return Of The King‘ not that I’m complaining, if you’re gonna borrow then do it from the best eh? I agree with Peter Ustinov from the DVD commentary that the film was all the stronger for being probably the only historical epic of that period that didn’t insert some ridiculous paean to religion that blighted some of its peers (‘The Robe’, ‘King Of Kings’, the aforementioned ‘Ben-Hur’, anything by Cecille B DeMille), the concept of overthrowing some autocratic state is far more timeless and unique for the period. Or if you want the final image of a crucified Spartacus weeping as his only son is spirited away to freedom can be considered having your cake and eating it.

Los Angeles Plays Itself

You can’t beat a good film documentary. It’s unfortunate then that most of what passes for genuine insight into the movies these days are little more than studio disseminated propaganda, I find that locating examples of actual merit in todays media landscape is akin to divining for truffles in a cyclone . It was therefore a joy to see that the Barbican were screening “Los Angeles Play’s Itself’, a hugely admired, seriously minded epic three hour documentary dissecting the visual representation of the city of angels on the silver screen. I found it absolutely riveting but hey, maybe I don’t get out much. ‘LAPI’ deftly walks that fine line between an overly complex, academic film theorist tract and an empty, ultimately vacuous collection of film clips thrown together with no rhyme or reason, it delivers genuine insight, provoking connections and thoughts whilst also remaining accessibly entertaining throughout its marathon running length. Like many great documentaries it takes as its starting point a central conceit, namely that the real LA has not been accurately represented on screen in terms of its architecture or infrastructure, its culture nor sociology throughout the last 100 years despite being the most photographed city on the planet. 

 

Native film-maker Thom Andersen leads the audience on a dexterous cantor of the visual history of Los Angeles as presented in the movies, from the early talkies of the 1920’s and 1930’s when the pioneer film-makers began to escape the confines of those embryonic studio environments, the Black Maria’s and the like (prevalent in the silent era of course) and began shooting out on the streets and suburbs of LA, conjuring the mean streets of New York in Burbank, substituting the hills of Hollywood for the trenches of World War ravaged Europe, substituting the district of downtown LA for any European turn of the century capital metropolis. I’ve been waiting to see this film for years ever since a review cropped up by John Paterson in the Guardian and it was terrific, satisfying both my film interest and provoking some fond memories from my holiday a couple of years ago.

 

Andersson starts with coverage of some of the most famous LA landmarks which have populated the screen over the years including of course the Bradbury Building and Union Station, the modernist classic Frank Lloyd Wright house, the iconic LA City Hall which frequently appeared in the titles of TV programmes of the 1950’s and 60’s (most famously ‘Dragnet’), and the Lovell Health House seen in the likes of ‘LA Confidential‘ amongst others. He makes a case for a spilt between the ‘high’ and ‘low’ representation of LA by what he calls ‘tourists’, film-makers who have come to shoot and work in the city and either luxuriate in its strange and unique architecture, locations and milieu like Antonioni in the likes of ‘Zabriskie Point‘ or Polanski in ‘Chinatown‘ and those who mock and dismiss the city, its history and cultural achievements as being minor, deferring to the popular opinion of  the city and its inhabitants being vacuous, image obsessed  morons. 

The documentary makes some quite unusual and intriguing observations, amongst them the revelation that not a single one of Hitchcock’s American movies was actually set in LA despite his twenty five year residency where he made approximately thirty films. Andersson picks up on trends such as the 1980’s action movie tendency to portray schizophrenically action sequences detailing sleek, fetishistic cars careering around corners, dwarfed by the rigidly angled post war concrete and glass mega-structures which is the equivalent of a futurists wet dream. His diagnosis of the portrayal of the LAPD in film got the biggest laugh when he queried why in cinema their motto ‘To Protect & Serve’ is invariably seen in almost ironic ‘inverted commas’, not surprising given their shocking record of corruption and racism. 

The film concluded perfectly by giving me some pointers on new film-makers to check out, I’d heard of Charles Burnett before but I now have a new impetus to check out his LA set 1970’s neo-realist work, the environment of which should be quite an antidote to the usual rodeo drive mansions and $6,000 a month art-deco apartments which are rented by homicide detectives on a real-world income of about $40K a year!!! In conclusion here is the comprehensive list of the films featured in ‘Los Angeles Plays Itself‘, and here are the best clips I can find as to reflect the sort of themes, breadth of examination that the film commands. Superb, I hope this arrives on DVD at some point in the near future as there was plenty more to absorb and learn.

Kubrick BFI Season – The Killing

Another year, another film season. Like I said I obviously welcome the chance to revisit more of Stan the Man’s movies on the big screen but it does seem a little premature after last years Barbican season. This is pure supposition but I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the film orientated government, lottery and charity funded organisations in London don’t club together to share costs on marketing and developing new prints of films thus the this apparent repetition of screenings , I quite often see older films playing at some independent cinema then cropping up at somewhere like the Hammersmith Riverside a couple of months later, I guess it makes sense. In any case its only just clicked that it’s actually been a decade since his death on March 7th so it does make sense for the UK’s most prominent film organisation to pay appropriate respect to one of the titan’s of cinema who elected to make most of his films in the UK. I’ve loosely decided to catch an early, mid and final season movie from Kubrick’s canon as part of this season, I’m keeping my other choices under wraps in a pathetic effort to inject some element of suspense into proceedings. No, its not working is it? Anyway, let’s kick off proceedings with ‘The Killing‘, technically Kubrick’s third theatrical feature not counting the half dozen shorts he had produced in the early fifties, nevertheless ‘The Killing’ is regarded as his first professional, studio backed feature which was released by United Artists in 1956.

  

It’s your archetypal film noir plot – central hood puts together a multi-disciplinary crack team to perform one last heist, this time at a racetrack during one of the season’s most busy meetings. Each of the criminals on the team have their own reasons for risking another stretch in the big house should the plan fail, their problems being of a financial or personal nature, in the case of the brilliant Elisha Cook Jr. both who is twitching under the talons of his adulterous femme-fatale wife, played by Marie Windsor. Team leader Johnny Clay (the stoic Sterling Hayden) just wants to achieve one last score and settle down with his new wife. What makes ‘The Killing’ a truly great exemplar of noir is that sense of doom and inevitable failure hanging like the sword of Damocles over the meticulously researched and professionally executed caper. Fate does not favor these social transgressors, crime does not pay and the best laid plans are always vulnerable to the most absurd of coincidences in a cruel and impersonal universe.

Although the screenplay was a collaborative effort, producer James Harris hired the hard-boiled Jim Thompson to insert some of his street wise slang in the guise of dialogue editor. Thompson was a highly regarded crime writer who I finally got round to reading last year, his most famous novel ‘The Killer Inside Me’ is currently being adapted into a Michael Winterbottom movie starring Casey Affleck either this or next year. The blistering dialogue is superb in the movie, abundant with pulpy exchanges between Johnny and the traitorous Sherry who sings to her boyfriend about the robbery and leads to the gang themselves being robbed and the granite Sterling Hayden are laugh out loud funny. What I do find distracting though is the distracting voice-over that permeates the film. The jury is still kind of out on voice-overs, some regard them as cheating, a clumsy storytelling device whilst others regard them as a useful tool in reducing redundant exposition, forcing unrealistic dialogue into characters mouths to connect possible story gaps. Kubrick was certainly in the second camp but I’m not so sure it works in this instance, the voice-overs serve as essential additions to the visual experience of ‘Full Metal Jacket’, ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and its limited use in ‘Dr. Stangelove’, in ‘The Killing’ I found it quite distracting and unnecessary. At one point Stan was going to use a Martin Balsam voice-over for ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, thank god that idea was jettisoned eh?

What really caught the critics attention was the films fractured narrative which is widely accepted as Kubrick’s idea. After he and producer had knocked out a few drafts of the script with Thompson they had reached something of a stalemate, what they had was a seed of a film but they lacked an unusual angle, a different take to differentiate the movie from its peers. perhaps inspired by his and Harris working practice of buying books to adapt, tearing in the story down the middle to read half of the text each and then coming together to relate to each other the plot during story meetings Kubrick suggested mixing up the normal A.B,C,D form of plotting. The influence has been extraordinary, not least on the likes of this or this or this, it’s now a tradition to design and execute a calling card movie and catapult your career into the mainstream by making the use of what is free on a even a limited budget film – a real imagination – to charm the critics.

 

Those masks have surely been an influence on a more recent crime film don’t you think? For all Kubrick’s legendary perfectionism and exhausting search for the soul of a scene I think certain detractors have failed to note that in fact many actors came back to work with him again again, Timothy Carey was in ‘The Killing’ and then returned in ‘Paths Of Glory’, Hayden returned of course as General Jack D. Ripper in ‘Dr. Strangelove‘ and most memorably for me the great Joe Turkel teamed up with Stan again some twenty five years later as Lloyd the ‘best god-damn barman from Portland Maine to Portland Oregon’. There are many more examples after he had relocated to England, more details here – kind of contradicts the image of the harsh, brutal taskmaster doesn’t it? Ah, maybe not. He did have some showdown’s with technical staff on ‘The Killing’, veteran Cinematographer Lucien Ballard and he clashed over lens choice and camera placement for certain scenes, Kubrick quietly made it explicit after the very first example of disobedience that you either do what I tell you to or get off my set, you can see that he was already fermenting his visual signature of the sweeping tracking shots that found full fruition in ‘Paths Of Glory‘. It’s that behavior that’s one of the things I most admire about Kubrick. It’s not just the utter devotion and unprecedented level of control he wielded, its the fact that he launched his whole career himself with such self-confidence in his skills , he had effectively taught himself everything from the photography, the sound design and editing on his earlier shorts, read the then essential texts on screen acting and performance and then strolls in and makes a minor masterpiece such as the ‘The Killing‘.

Let The Right One In

Mid February and already two of my most anticipated films down for 2009, with ‘Watchmen’ less than a month away it looks like I’m going to have to go hunting for some more movies to schedule. For a change the BFI actually sent around an electronic circular to advise of a special preview of the eagerly anticipated ‘Let The Right One In‘ and I managed to get a ticket immediately, seeing this under optimum conditions in NFT1 without the distractions of mobiles are disabled , food and drink forbidden and people don’t talk is perfect, am I unrealistic in thinking that this guy for example deserves a medal?

In a frigid, wintry suburb of Stockholm we are introduced to the alabaster skinned Oskar, a 12 year old loner  who is suffering the twin hells of horrendous bullying at school and a family divorce which has further isolated him from his emotionally distant parents. One night whilst hacking his anger out on a tree in the apartment block’s playground he meets the mysterious Eli, his new 13 year old neighbour who has recently moved to area with her father who caters to her, shall we say unique dietary requirements. Sure enough, people begin to disappear and Oskar soon discovers the sinister truth of his new found friend, a discovery that coincides with his developing feelings for her…..

 

I can’t get this film out of my head. I am desperately trying to avoid the hyperbole but I simply can’t contain my enthusiasm for this film. It is stunning. Here’s a film that injects new blood into the vampire mythos, crafting an exquisitely beautiful movie, rich in content for film-goers of all ilks not just the genre fans. It’s filmed in glorious anamorphic widescreen and cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema fills the canvas with a selection of glacially superlative images, a visual tone which mirror the isolation and marginalisation  of the two juvenile leads- lots of long shots, static establishing shots, very few close-ups except for absolutely key dramatic moments. The manner in which the supernatural elements are inserted, subtly and without fanfare is a wonder to behold, however it doesn’t wuss out when it needs to get tough, there are a couple of suspenseful moments and the odd crimson inferno to shock the audience. The finale is an instant classic.

Fundamentals like this impressed me with just how seriously the subject matter is handled in opposition to the frequent schlocky treatment of this type of material, a process enabling the filmmakers to tenderly coax out some of the melancholic themes of alienation, quarantine and solace that infect this wonderful tale. Thankfully absent are the more mawkish genre trappings of garlic, bats or crosses, some of the other less obvious dimensions of vampire lore are explored however, including of course the almost unique disadvantage that these blood sucking parasites need to be invited into homes and domiciles by their prey, a detrimental conceit which is referenced in the films title. It’s a film whose imagery is still percolating and I can’t wait to give it another viewing, it is easily the most reverberant vampyr flick since ‘Near Dark’. If you’re interested here is a brief three minute clip which is spoiler free, it may give you a small sense of the films texture and tone. Outstanding.

Oscars 2009 Final Predictions

So here are my final predictions now that I’ve caught up with many more of the films under scrutiny. As always I will reiterate that is simply a bit of fun, my love of film is such that I have mentally played this game for years, it’s only since I started this damn blog that I have felt the need to share my pure guesswork and limited predictive prowess with you. Fortunately my work situation means I can stay up and see the results as they come in live as announced, who says working for yourself doesn’t have some benefits eh? Ok, maybe not….

So it seems that the major battle this year will be between ‘Slumdog’ and ‘Button’, at least in the most prestigious categories. I predict that ‘Slumdog’ will prevail although personally I found ‘Button’ to be a far superior film. You may have noticed a comment on my original post questioning my dismissal of ‘Slumdog’ so here, if you’re interested, is my response. Firstly, I said that that ‘Slumdog’ is a hugely overrated film and I stand by that assertion, maybe it’s a personal prejudice but I find it difficult to champion any film whose entire premise and design is built around the machinations of a TV quiz show. Am I a snob? Well….well yes I am but let me reiterate that this is a film based around a fucking quiz show. The narrative revolving around the main guys ability to answer questions that he magically learnt during osmosisly charged previous events strikes me as clumsy and horrendously convenient. It just doesn’t ring true  and seems so artificaly constructed and false that I could not accept it. Yes, yes I know the answer - it’s a fable, I know it’s not supposed to be realistic but such a design, with its inevitable conclusion left no room for any genuine passion or sense of threat which the film clearly desires and attempts to achieve. To clarify it’s not a bad film nor a good film in my estimation – any other mediocre Rom-Com operates in the same realm – it’s a perfectly well constructed, directed, acted, designed and delivered peice of candy with a different cloak which seems to have diverted attention from its lack of originality by virtue of its setting in a unusual milleu. 

In the film’s defense I don’t quite accept the accusations that the film is mere ‘poverty chic’, it kept me interested to the inevitable conclusion although I’ll admit a certain sense of distaste of the premise that hey, growing up in abject poverty can be magically surpassed by getting a slot on a game show. Oh,  and the tacked Bollywood style musical picture struck me as jarring and ugly, its a bit rich of Danny Boyle to say as he did in last months ‘Sight & Sound’ that he did everyting possible to avoid Indian film cliches. OK, Rant over.

Once again, the designation is to bold the films I’ve seen, italic the picture/performance/achievement I think should win and finally bullet point the film I think will win. After two years of a poor 50% accuracy I wonder if my crystal ball will be more 

Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role

Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)

Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)

Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)

Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)

Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

No change, Rourke for the win. The only moment of interest in the recent BAFTA awards was his acceptance speech, an amusing self-deprecating breath of fresh air in a morass of predictable discourse that choke most of these events into somnambulist boredom. No I didn’t get a dictionary for Xmas, why do  you ask?

• Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role

Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)

Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks)

Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)

Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)

Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Shannon stole the show in ‘Revolutionary Road’ but Ledger’s performance, fan-boy fawning aside was genuinely electric and elevated ‘The Dark Knight’ beyond its comic book trappings to another level. It’s the crux of the film in many ways which is quite an achievement for a supposed ‘Supporting Role’ nod. The most predictable yet worthy nomination of the year. 

• Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)

Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role

Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)

Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)

Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

An amendment, I think Kate will triumph over Anne as she delivers a performance that develops from young to old age in the film which I imagine is more impressive to the peer voters and is unique in relation to the other nominees, yeah I’m also hedging my bets given her recent wins in the US and European award phalanx. I preferred Anne’s unexpected bravery and vulnerability though.

• Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)

Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)

Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)

Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)

Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

A few months ago I caught up with a couple of Allen’s recent films – ‘Celebrity’ and ‘Everything Else’ – both of which were not just awful but disturbingly, throughly and depressingly terrible considering how entertaining Woody’s previous movies have been. I used to be a fan of his but he has totally lost the plot – literally – in every way and ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ from the trailer alone looks like much the same combination of mannered, cringeworthy and redundant cinema. OK, I haven’t seen “Vicky’ so this is pure speculation cultivated from the trailer but I’m reasonably sure this will not be a return to form, at least for me. Um, OK, back on track – anyway I thought Tomei’s quiet performance in ‘The Wrestler’ perfectly slotted within the films overall desperate aura and served as an intriguing foil to the main characters desperation and struggle, so if a supporting performance can in some ways be judged as a crutch and enhancement to the main actors expression then this should be hers. Cruz will get it though. 

• Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)

Best animated feature film of the year

“Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard

“Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne

“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

No contest, ‘WALL-E’ is up there with the classics of animation whilst taking the form forward. A certainty.

• “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

Achievement in art direction

“Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo

“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art : Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando

“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway

“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Like I said anything pre 1900 is gangbusters with the Academy, however I think ‘Button’ may mop up with some of the technical awards at the price of the more higher profile achievements:

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)

Achievement in cinematography

“Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda

“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister

“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Tricky. Will the IMAX breakthrough that ‘DK’ achieved be overwhelmed by the vivid palette of ‘Slumdog’? Will ‘Buttons’ classic yet to my eye subtly effective design be overlooked? It’s a close one although I think ‘Slumdog’ will get it by virtue of achieving those visuals on set in difficult shooting conditions, to my mind ‘DK’ was far more cinematic but maybe that’s a personal preference. Swings and roundabouts…..

• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design

“Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West

“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor

“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker

“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

I’ll stick with ‘Australia’ as it seems more obvious than the others.

• “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin

Achievement in directing

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher

“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard

“Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant

“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Fincher has nurtured this project for years, usurped it from from the likes of Spielberg and Zemeckis who both developed then dropped the project as ‘impossible’ over the years, I think he’ll get this and ‘Slumdog’ will garner best picture. As a quick aside having seen the most pedestrianly directed film that is ‘Frost/Nixon’ it is a shame that Nolan was superceded by Howard. 

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher

Best documentary feature

“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath

“Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser

“The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy

“Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn

“Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

‘Man On Wire’ is pretty amazing, I cannot judge further as I haven’t caught any of the others so that’s where we are. 

• “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn

Best documentary short subject

“The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki

“The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant

“Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan

“The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Pure guesswork remains pure guesswork:

• “The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Achievement in film editing

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall

“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith

“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley

“Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

I stand by the temazepam comment so that’s ‘DK’ out. Look it up. I’ll stick with ‘Button’ as I’ve read about how much coverage Fincher shot,  carving such a beautiful, epic film was quite an achievement. 

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall

Best foreign language film of the year

“The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany

“The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France

“Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan

“Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria

“Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

Two out of five ain’t great odds, I could be obvious and elect the ‘Waltz’ experience – and I agree  it is an experience – as the more predictable choice, however I’ll stick with ‘The Class’ as I’ve started to see hugely agreeable reviews of this in the press and on the web.  

“The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France

Achievement in makeup

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom

“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

EDIT – Well, even though I’m sure ‘Hellboy II was by far the more complex and difficult job I’m gonna be cynical and assume DK will get the statuette for this, I hope I’m wrong. Idiot – it’s ‘Button’. And here’s hubris If I’m wrong.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat

“Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard

“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman

“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

Another nod for the little fella: 

“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel

“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar

“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

 ’WALL-E’ again:

“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel

Best motion picture of the year

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers

“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers

“Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers

“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer

So, the big one. I’ll need to see the remainders but for the moment I hope ‘Button’ does an Obama and plunders a rich American history (hence why Frost/Nixon is doomed to failure) of looking forward whilst celebrating the present and ulitmately looking forward to better days – ‘Milk’ I think is still too controversial at the moment, one civil rights step at a time…..

“Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer

Best animated short film

“La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato

“Lavatory – Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit

“Oktapodi” (Talantis Films), A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand

“Presto” (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland

“This Way Up” A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Well, the only one I’ve seen and it is outstanding:

“Presto” (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland

Best live action short film

“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi

“Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont

“New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie

“The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh

“Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Guess:

“The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh

Achievement in sound editing

“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King

“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers

“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood

“Wanted” (Universal), Wylie Stateman

A guess at some shout out to DK:

“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King

Achievement in sound mixing

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten

“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty

“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt

“Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Having seen the extras on the Blu-Ray and the level of detail they poured into the film:

“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt

 

Achievement in visual effects

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron

“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin

“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Heh, always a bone of contention for the fans. Brilliant in all cases I reckon, ‘Button’ pips it as the most essential and seamless use in this category. 

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron

Adapted screenplay

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord

“Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley

“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan

“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare

“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

One of the dark horses usually get this. ‘Frost/Nixon’ and ‘Doubt’ were both plays and I reckon that will go against them, maybe ‘The Reader’:

“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare

Original screenplay

“Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt

“Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh

“In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh

“Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black

“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

I’d love to see ‘In Bruges’ win as they have in an unusually open area, nevertheless I think ‘WALL-E’ will grab it.

“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Doubt & Les Yeux Sans Visage

 

Phew, that was quite a day, I think I’m getting the hang of these matinee Monday’s although I don’t intend to perform another exhausting mission for quite a while. I had a consultant meeting up at Paddington on Monday morning, as I had already booked a ticket to see ‘Eyes Without A Face‘ at the NFT in the evening I decided to make a day of it in ‘town’ since I was already out and about, I could have legged it home for a few hours but sometimes you need to do a bit of exploring don’t you? In order to kill the time I thought it best to conclude this years Oscar efforts and zapped over to Notting Hill to patronise yet another of London’s independent cinemas, namely the ‘Coronet‘ on the main high street. It was a pretty impressive place, steeped in history, one of those old school art-deco cinemas that managed to survive the Blitz and decades of subsequent regeneration and gentrification. Shame the film wasn’t too great but that’s life…..

 

1964, the Bronx. In a strict seminary school popular priest Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is accused of acting inappropriately with a young altar-boy by Sister James (Amy Adams) following a private meeting between Flynn and the  youngster. Sister James detects the scent of alcohol on the child and a noticeable change of behavior which she reports to her superior, the puritanical yet not completely humorless Sister Beauvier (Meryl Streep in full-on gimme an Oscar mode) and the stage is set for a titanic battle of wills between the two leads, explanations and evidence subsequently emerging to challenge allegations of guilt and culpability in the mind of the audience as well as the on-screen characters. Did he do it? Yeah, like I’m gonna tell you….

 

Well, why it was certainly entertaining the see these screen juggernauts locking horns the film was far too static and ’stagey’ for my liking, not surprising since it is actually based on the Pulitzer prize winning play by John Patrick Shanley. The film main theme is cunningly hidden in the films title, (yes I am being sarcastic) how can you proceed down damaging paths to ruin peoples reputation purely at the behest of your beliefs and previous experience? How and when does morality trump authority, a pertinent debate considering that Father Flynn is Sister Beauviers religious boss. What are the consequences of blindly following the strengths of our convictions? Pft, I dunno, what are you asking me for? The three core performances are magnetic, the dialogue derived revelations are expertly delivered, overall though the lack of cinematic flair or flourish failed to impress. As the credits rolled it was quite amusing to see that the film was dedicated to a Sister McEntee, I’m not elaborating on that reference on a public website but some of you reading this entry will know what I’m talking about. So, keep an eye out for my amended Oscars nominations for 2009, I’ll try and get it up over the weekend.

Far more successful was part two of my cinematic endeavour, following a rain lashed bus trip down through Hyde Park, across Victoria and onto Westminster I then tubed it over to Waterloo for the usual NFT shennanigans and caught the horror classic ‘Les Yeux Sans Visage‘ aka ‘Eyes Without A Face‘ aka the brilliant US monikered ‘The Horror Chamber Of Dr. Faustus‘, a lurid but inaccurate concoction of a title that doesn’t really do this eerie little movie justice. 

 

Out in the french countryside the archetypal mad scientist/surgeon and his assistant Louise kidnap and kill young women after removing their faces, a gruesome transplant procedure that the physican performs in an effort to heal his daughters hideously deformed appearance. It’s quite interesting to consider that its year of release – 1960 – was also the year that both Michael Powell’s ‘Peeping Tom‘ and Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho‘ were released (or should that be….escaped?), all three films were mauled as perverted and evil by the critics and consequently the public stayed away in droves, whilst Hitchcock survived and went on to make a couple more notable films both Franju and Powell’s careers were essentially destroyed. I’m pretty sure that Cronenberg is a fan of this and its central conceit is perhaps not quite as fantastic and absurd as it was then….

 

Is it me, or are masks of any sort just intrinsically really, really creepy? Just what is being hidden behind there? I was quite excited about seeing this, mostly because it’s a film I’ve heard about for years (although for some reason my addled brain had mixed it up with elements of this) but have never actually seen. It’s never been on TV and I’m fairly sure its only recently been released on DVD, the chance to see it on the big screen could therefore not be missed. There is a narcotic quality to the film , it’s one of those entries in the horror genre which is more akin to ‘The Haunting‘, ‘The Vanishing‘ or ‘Les Diaboliques” say than any dumb creature or slasher film by virtue of its intentions in building atmosphere and tension before parceling out some unexpected and genuinely squirm inducing horror. The print was a little jumpy and scrappy  which all added to the viewing experience, it’s fairly predictable – any mad scientist foolish enough to have a pack of hungry dogs in his boudoir is really asking for trouble –  but nevertheless was a terrific piece of work that has garnered some very serious academic discussion since it first haunted the screens fifty years ago. No ‘Doubt’ about it <groan….>

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Well, the good news is we have a front runner for film of the year. Yup, I took the unusual step of actually going to see a film on a Saturday night, quite honestly I can’t remember the last time I did that as I prefer to avoid the slack jawed, popcorn shovelling masses that infect cinemas on weekend evenings. Well, I stand humbled gentle reader (and yes I am slightly exaggerating with implied snobbery) as despite a charming youth sitting next to me who was translating certain key dialogue of the film to his girlfriend throughout the screening ‘The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button‘ was an ideal, epic piece of solid celluloid joy that was a treat to see with a big audience whom I could sense were just as absorbed in the movie as me. 

So who is this unusual chap? The film is structured around the hospital bed reminiscence of Daisy (Cate Blanchett), to her daughter Caroline (Julia Ormond) concerning her relationship with a man born under self proclaimed unusual circumstances, born on the day of the First World War armistice the infant Benjamin is abandoned on the steps of a care home by his grief stricken father whose wife died during the child’s problematic delivery. Compounding his grief is the baby’s hideous appearance, a freakish, wizened eighty five year old visage draped over the baby’s fragile frame. Adopted by the care home staff Button then leads a life in reverse, meeting Daisy at the age of seven or perhaps seventy depending on how you look at it, eventually embarking on his journey of life’s rich tapestry, fighting in World War 2, falling in love in Russia, returning to New Orleans to reunite with his family and capture the love of his life….

If you’re in the mood to be swept away, to be engulfed in a film that takes you out of your life for two and a half hours then this is the film you must see. The effects are outstanding as you’d expect from Fincher, they seamlessly blend in with the story in a fashion that does not deviate attention from the tale. Pitt is pretty good, I was unsurprisingly  more enamoured by both Julia Ormond and an unexpected appearance by Tilda Swinton though as I didn’t know they were in the film due to my boycott of any publicity material. Blanchett is probably the unsung heroine of this production however, there is a genuine chemistry between her and Pitt which is essential as the films emotional core and main purpose gravitates around their lengthy relationship. There’s also an amusing running gag about getting hit by lightning. Look, trust me it’s funny OK? 

One of my favourite books is ‘Winters Tale‘ and this is a film that strongly reminded me of the magical realist masterpiece, friends of mine who have also read the book will I hope take that as the very highest praise I’ve lavished for quite a while. There is a timeless, thaumaturgic and bewitching quality that is quietly harnessed with the films stately pacing and unobtrusive score. Like every one of Finchers film it looks absolutely terrific, deep chromatic blacks melding with the heavenly aura’s of the saints and sinners who cross Button’s path throughout his eventful life. There is also some lovely hand-cranked early cinema references throughout the first half of the film which is rewarding for us cinephile’s. 

Despite one solitary look at the trailer I have managed to avoid all other reviews and comments on the film, it was therefore quite a shock to have a look through some opinions last night, it’s been quite a while since reviews have made me almost apoplectic with rage, the double whammy of Bradshaw’s evisceration of the film along with Kermode’s Radio 5 slating made me want to hurt something. I mean Jesus Christ I’m a cynical grump but making allegations that they only made Pitt be a certain age at one point in the movie so he could look cool when riding a motorbike is absurd. I’d heard the other allegation that because the film shares the same screenwriter it is little more than ‘Forrest Gump‘ with ‘A’ levels. Yeah, ’cause, you know god forbid anyone tries to make anything intelligent, anything cerebral. Everyone’s too stupid to understand a smart film eh? Finally, Bradshaws assertion that that the wholly innocent and innocuous friendship between Benjamin and Daisy when they are children is creepy speaks volumes about paeodphillia hysteria in this country, they are both seven or eight years for gods sake, they’re children!!!  Just writing this has made my blood pressure explode. Grrr….. 

It’s a deeply romantic film which never rationales its central fantastic conceit but does tackle the implications of Button’s unique condition, in its darkest moment Benjamin makes a heartbreaking decision which prompted a quiet sadness in the audience.  You can take from the film what you will, a treatise on time and age? love and death? mortality and loss? It’s up to you. I particularly enjoyed the sense that we conclude our lives as we began, confused and scared, reliant on the kindness and selfishness of others. I don’t know about you but when it’s my time to exit planet earth I intend to go the same way I came into this world. That is to say naked and screaming. A-hem….

‘Button’ marks quite a change of direction for Fincher, moving away from the edgy and challenging thrillers that have assured his pedigree until now although it retains of course his love of experimentation and innovation. I think ‘Slumdog’ will sweep the Oscars but he may be in with a shout on a split vote for best director, he certainly deserves it more that Boyle. So, in my usual conclusion here is a collection of articles and clips of Fincher’s previous work, there has been a wealth of material on the background of ‘Alien III‘ floating around at the moment which you may also want to check out. I have to say the premise of the next project he’s considering does not appeal to me, given that he’s shot ‘Zodiac‘ and ‘Button‘ pretty much back to back perhaps he’ll have a sabbatical and reconsider. Good interview here, skip the first few paragraphs though as it does contain spoilers.