The Artist
2012-01-18
Cinema, to an extent is always paying lip service to what
came before. Most recently, we’ve had
Hugo – Martin Scorsese’s love letter to early cinema – particularly the
visionary work of George Melies.
Similarly, Michel Hazanavicius’s film The Artist pays tribute to work of
those before it – but conversely whilst Hugo was a film set in France made by
an American director, The Artist is a film set in American made by a French
director.
The Artist is set in the late 20s and early 30s, before
Hollywoodland dropped the land and became plain old Hollywood.
It introduces us to George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a silent movie star
as we follow his friendship with a hopeful dancer, Peppy Miller (Bérénice
Bejo). As 1927 looms, it is the advent
of the talkies. In 1927, sound in cinema
was thought to be a fad (in the same way that colour film and CGI were
later). Peppy becomes a star as George
wonders if he will fade into silent obscurity.
In reality, this is exactly what happened, people thought sound would
destroy the international language of cinema (although subtitles got us around
it, in the same way that they did in the 20s) – and it quickly became something
that we now take for granted.
Michel Hazanavicius has taken great care to ensure that The
Artist feels authentic as possible – shooting in the 4:3 ratio, which was used
at the time. The film is photographed in
black and white, and stylistically looks a lot like a film that could have been
released in the late 1920s – using a lot shallow focus.
There has been great attention paid to the world that The
Artist is set in, when we are first taken into the world that it inhabits, we
see the old Hollywoodland sign – the cars and costumes are all of the time, and
the actors look every bit the part.
Both of the main actors – George Valentin and Peppy Miller
do a remarkable job of resembling and behaving like silent film actors of the
time – it’s very difficult not to smile whilst watching either of them do a
comedic performance – and likewise, when the characters undergo hardship, you
can’t help but feel for them. It goes to
show that you are in the hands of very talented actors, that they can give a
performance better than most actors using dialogue. The supporting cast are equally as good, and
I couldn’t help but think that John Goodman’s cigar smoking film executive
character, Al Zimmer, was somewhat inspired by the heavy smoking Miramax
co-founder, Harvey Weinstein. A special
mention has to go to Uggie the dog, who has had audiences gushing superlatives
to a point that there is a campaign to have the dog nominated for an Academy
Award.
The Artist has been picking up steam since it was screened
at Cannes in the summer, it was a strong audience favourite, but missed the
Palm d’or, with Tree of Life picking it up instead (a film that divided
audiences, I liked it, but The Artist is by far the better film). However, now that it is on general release,
the film seems to be garnering the attention and love that it deserves. It has already picked up a few awards at the
Golden Globes (which isn’t usually worth shouting about, but all the other
award ceremonies that succeed it seem to vote based on the first one), and it
must be a shoe-in to at least pick up at least a couple of awards at the BAFTAs
and Oscars.
Whether silent cinema is something that you are interested
in or not, The Artist remains a must-see for everyone, unless you're from Liverpool.
Back to topWar Horse
2012-01-17
War Horse is a film that many thought was impossible to
make. It was in development for around four
years until Steven Spielberg took it under his wing. The films is based on a 1982 children’s
novel, which was later adapted in a hit west end play.
One thing that stands out in War Horse, is that it is about
as far from Spielberg’s previous film – The Adventures of Tintin – as
possible. War Horse is a traditional
film of the variety that John Ford would have made in the 40s or 50s – with
very little in the way of visible CGI.
Spielberg has taken part in as many as ten productions set in or around
the Second World War (directing six films, producing two more, and producing
two TV series), but this is his first film set in the First World War.
The film starts in Devon,
when Ted Narracot (Peter Mullan) buys a thoroughbred horse for his farm. The horse is completely unsuited to working
on a farm, but Ted’s son, Albert (Jeremy Irvine) takes a shine to it and gives
it the name of Joey, and then goes on to train the horse. The strangest thing about the film is that
after the war is announced – we don’t really see much of the human characters
from the first act until much later, which kind of undoes a lot of the
groundwork laid in this act. The main
character is definitely the horse, and as Joey goes from person to person, we
follow him (or one of the 14 horses playing him) around France. Naturally, the film does have a lengthy
sequence at the Somme, and it wouldn’t really
be a film about World War I without showing the hellish conditions that the
soldiers had to live in whilst in the trenches, frequently being sent to their
deaths over tiny pieces of land. The
film may be based on a children’s book, but these sequences are quite
upsetting, and it could be too much for younger children. War Horse isn’t Saving Private Ryan, by any
stretch of the imagination, but it still has strong “horrors of war” themes
running right through it.
In the same way that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was a who’s
who of British actors, War Horse does the same, but features actors from right
across Europe.
There are strong (albeit brief) performances from the always fantastic
Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch as two high ranking British
soldiers. Toby Kebbel has quite a moving
performance as a South Shields soldier in the
trenches, trying to cut a horse free in no mans land. The surprise appearance for me was Nicholas
Bro as a German horsemaster, who I had seen very recently in The Killing II. However, none of the human cast really appear
in the film for long, as Joey goes from person to person, it sort of feels like
the film is nothing more than a collection of short stories set around the
First World War, the link being that all of the people have met this horse.
Given that it’s a Spielberg film, the cinematography is
second to none. There’s some really
distinct shots – such as the one when the British cavalry charge at machine
guns and as we see the horses jump over the guns, no one is riding them
anymore. Completely unlike Tintin – the
cinematography is mostly quite traditional, with the screen ratio being the old
fashioned 2:35:1, which was 35mm anamorphic up until 1970. There’s a great sunset at the end, which
conjures memories of Gone with the Wind.
War Horse is a decent film, but a forgettable one. Everything about it is pretty solid, although
it feels somewhat strange that this horse keeps turning up everywhere. It’s certainly a look back at older cinema,
and nothing like the distinct visual style of Tintin, but hats off to Spielberg for creating
something that manages to look a lot like the films that he was trying to
recreate.
Back to topTop 20 films of 2011
2012-01-08
What a year it has been for
film. Here is my list of the very best
films released in the UK
in 2011. There have been so many great
films, which meant I had to leave off the likes of We Need to Talk About Kevin,
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Beginners and 50/50. We
have been absolutely spoilt for choice this year, and here’s hoping that 2012
offers more of the same. Without further
ado, here is my top 20:
20. The Skin I Live In
Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film
follows Antonio Banderas as a plastic surgeon who is keeping a beautiful woman
as a prisoner in his house. As the film
goes on, the mystery of this woman’s origins unravel, and whilst it is fairly
predictable, it isn’t any less harrowing.
Banderas cuts a mean, menacing figure, whilst still remaining somewhat
charming, and Almodóvar’s direction, and use of colour, is as always virtuosic.
19. Warrior
It’s been a great year for Tom
Hardy. After last year’s Inception, and
this year’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he has shown that he has range. Warrior is another film different for him –
where he plays one of two estranged brothers fighting in an MMA competition. There are easy comparisons to Rocky, The
Wrestler, and The Fighter, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Those films had a lot of heart, and so does
this one.
18. Black Swan
Black Swan was loved by everyone
when it came out, but seems to have garnered some criticism towards the end of
the year – there’s no pleasing some people is there?! Natalie Portman (who was practically
ubiquitous this year), gives the performance of her life, along with Vincent
Cassell and Mila Kunis. This makes a
great companion piece to one of Aronofsky’s other films, The Wrestler. Just don’t eat before you see it.
17. Senna
The strongest documentaries tend
to have universal appeal, regardless of their subject. Take Senna, a film that so well crafted that
even people who have no interest in Formula One enjoyed it. I long ago gave up on the sport, but can
still remember seeing the crash that claimed Senna’s life. A very emotional film, that tells the story
using footage and interviews – this story has no need for a voiceover.
16. Super 8
It has been quite the year for
alien/invasion films. Super 8 is the
story of a group of teenagers in 1979 making a low budget super 8 (the 8mm film
camera format) film, when a train derails and releases something strange into
the town. It’s a very nostalgic film –
nostalgic more for a type of film than for a time. Super 8 is reminiscent of the work that the
likes of Steven Spielberg created in the late 70s and early 80s. Make sure that you stay for the credits and
see the film that the kids created.
15. The King's Speech
A period piece about British
monarchy usually isn’t my idea of fun at all, but The King’s Speech was a story
that warmed everyone, even me. This is
because it’s a film less interested in the politics of the Royal Family, and
centres around a man who never wanted to be king due to his stammer. The performances of the always fantastic
Colin Firth, as well as Geoffrey Rush go a long way in the film, but Tom Hooper
deserves praise for making an underdog story from the Royal Family’s
illustrious past.
14. Submarine
Richard Ayoade’s directorial debut is a coming of age story
set in rural Wales. The story has more in common with Rushmore
than anything else, but the protagonist’s creepy tendencies also reminded me of
Hallam Foe. Strong performances from
both the younger members of the cast as well as the older ones, partnered with
a folky sounding score from Alex Turner and some unusual cinematography make
this a film well worth watching.
13. Attack the Block
Being a fan of Adam and Joe for
such a long time, I was pretty excited about Joe Cornish’s debut about some
aliens attacking a tower block in London. The aliens unfortunately picked the wrong
tower block and get involved in a fight with some local yoofs. I spent a lot of the film not really
understanding any of the dialogue, but I guess I have same disadvantage as
anyone else outside of London. Despite this, the film overcomes this by
having such talented young actors that you initially dislike but become quite
attached to by the end of the film.
12. Rango
A year where the best animated
film released wasn’t a Pixar one, what’s going on!? Rango is a very heavily western influenced
animated film, starring Johnny Depp as the eponymous Rango. The characters are absolutely brilliant, and
the use of lots of Western genre mechanics like the no-name character, and the
old west versus modernisation work really well.
There are a few nods to Chinatown, the
Dollars Trilogy and even Fear and Loathing in Last Vegas, which makes it a film
that is as enjoyable for adults as it is for children.
11. Thor
I hadn’t really expected much
from a film about one of my least favourite Marvel heroes, directed by Kenneth
Branagh (and I have nothing against Branagh, it just seemed like such an odd
choice at the time). However, I was
pleasantly surprised with how well Thor worked.
The ‘fish out of water’ scenes of Thor on Earth were especially
good. I regretted seeing it in 3D, as it
was retrofitted, but I won’t make that mistake again. See it in 2D to make the most of it.
10. 13 Assassins
I don’t usually like to throw
about terms like “masterpiece” unless I’m giving it to a film that really
deserves it. 13 Assassins is one such
film. Takashi Miike provides a samurai
film that can stand tall with the greats of the genre. Essential viewing for samurai/western/world
cinema fans.
9. Bridesmaids
I’m usually happiest at the
cinema when I’m watching something that Judd Apatow’s name is attached to. Bridesmaids is no exception. Some called it “The Hangover for girls”, and
to label it as this is not only lazy, but doesn’t do the film justice – as it
is not only superior, but the only thing they have in common is that both films
have people in them. An incredibly funny
film. Just prepare yourself to constantly
have to justify liking it to male friends.
8. Melancholia
Lars Von Trier isn’t known for
his light hearted romantic comedies, so no-one should be surprised that this is
a miserable film about a planet on a collision course with Earth. What is surprising is how uplifting and
touching it turns out to be. Had this
film been made in Hollywood,
Bruce Willis would come and save us, but it wasn’t, so everyone dies.
7. The Guard
The Guard is a buddy cop film set
in rural Republic
of Ireland – Brendan
Gleeson plays an unorthodox Garda who is teamed up with a straight to the
point FBI agent, whilst they try to uncover a drug smuggling operation. What follows is a film that is as hilarious
as it is violent.
6. Hugo
Martin Scorsese’s decision to
make a children’s film in 3D seemed like an odd one when it was first
announced, but upon watching it, it all seems to right. Outside of Pixar, it’s the only time that my
enjoyment of a film has been amplified by it being in 3D. Scorsese’s love letter to early cinema makes
it a must see for cineastes of any age.
5. Troll Hunter
Found footage films aren’t
anything new, but this has to be the first time one has ever been made about a
group of Norwegian students following some hunters looking for mythical
trolls. For a film with such a tiny
budget, the special effects really are impressive, and the film looks like it would
have cost a lot more than what it did.
The film is both funny and affecting, and I can also thank the film for
introducing me to the brutal Norwegian band, Kvelertak in the closing credits. As is often the case with foreign language
films, the rights for a remake have already been snapped up by an American
company (rather insultingly announced on the day of the film’s release in the United States). The thought of this working outside of Scandinavia is laughable, and for me the original Troll
Hunter will always be the true one.
4. The Fighter
The Fighter had a long, troubled,
turbulent creation, but that’s what you come to expect with David O Russell at
the helm. Much more Raging Bull than
Rocky, The Fighter is based on the true story of Micky Ward, and again, most of
the fighting happens outside of the ring.
However, the boxing itself is excellently choreographed, and the
decision to use cameras that would have been used in the mid-90s (when the film
is based) gives it a very distinct look.
Mark Wahlberg’s performance as Micky Ward is a joy to behold, but the
real star of the show is Christian Bale, playing his crack-addled brother. Bale deservedly picked up an Oscar for his
performance, and watching the ending credit when you see the real Dicky Eklund,
it’s terrifying how accurate Bale’s performance is.
3. True Grit
It would take a Coen brothers
film to be released right at the start of the year, but remain so memorable
that it still is one that springs to mind instantly when talking about best
films to come out this year. Whilst
there has been the occasional attempt to make a traditional western lately
(Meek’s Cutoff being a particularly decent effort), none of them nail the
atmosphere and spirit of the films created by the likes of Ford and Leone in
the 50s and 60s. More an adaptation of the
Charles Portis book, than a remake of John Wayne’s 1969 film, True Grit is a
very special film, and easily holds up to the multiple viewings that it has
received from me.
2. Midnight in Paris
I’ll be honest. As a long time Woody Allen fan, I had begun
to write him off. Even the films that
the critics like – such as the godawful Vicky Cristina Barcelona left me
cold. However, there were glimmers of
hope with last year’s not terrible You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Midnight in Paris is a very strong film, featuring all of
his hallmarks. This time, Owen Wilson
plays the Woody Allen character, a disillusioned writer on holiday in Paris, who drunkenly finds a car that takes him into 1920s
Paris – where
he meets literary heroes like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and
Gertrude Stein to name a few. Granted,
there are times when it feels a little like a very highbrow Goodnight
Sweetheart, but these moments are fleeting and what we are given is not only
one of Woody’s best films in decades but one of his very best.
1. Drive
Drive was a rare film for
me. During the build up to it’s release,
where I saw the trailer every time I visited the cinema (which is pretty
often), I would get more and more excited about seeing it, rather than increasingly
fed up with seeing the same trailer.
When I finally got to see it, I immediately wanted to watch it
again. It’s a hard film to pin down –
there are neo-noir influences, neo-western influence (particularly the no-name
protagonist with a mysterious past), and also quite a strong 80s influence,
particularly in the synth-pop soundtrack, the costumes, and the neon pink font
across the opening credits – which brought memories of Scarface. All in all, it is a powerful, brooding, and
often extremely violent film. With
strong performances all around (although admittedly I found Carey Mulligan’s
performance to be a little ordinary), and very distinct cinematography, it is
undoubtedly my film of the year.
Stinker of the year: Hobo with a
Shotgun
Wasn’t Grindhouse revival a
little 2007? In this turd of a film,
Rutger Hauer plays a hobo with a shotgun.
However, he’s barely in it, and instead we have to watch some poorly scripted
and poorly acted villains torture innocent people and set children on
fire. The humour is crap and the violent
just feels cruel rather than funny. This
was Jason Eisener’s first film. I can’t
help but feel that his time would have been better spent if he’d tried to make
a decent film first rather than intentionally making a bad one.
Top 5 performances:
5. Adrien Brody - Midnight in Paris
4. Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia
3. Christian Bale - The Fighter
2. Ryan Gosling - Drive
1. Tom Hardy - Warrior
Back to topThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2012-01-05
It was always going to be the case that The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo would be remade in English.
It’s an international bestselling novel, which shot its author, Steig
Larsson into the limelight posthumously, and was then made into a very well
received Swedish film. The book and film
are part of a trilogy, and we all know how much Hollywood loves franchises – not to mention
franchises based on bestselling novels.
The thing with adapting foreign films into the English
language is that a lot is often lost in the translation – The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo escapes relatively unscathed from this – given it’s fairly nearby
setting of Sweden – and being from Northern Scotland I can certainly empathise
with the long, dark, cold winters that we have in common. The other thing about adapting foreign films
into English is that they are almost exclusively terrible – obviously there are
a few exceptions to this rule – but the majority of the time, when films are
rewritten in English, with famous actors, this is simply because Hollywood is
of the opinion that English speaking audiences can’t be bothered to watch a
film with subtitles. If this is the case,
then we are in trouble – we’re now at a tipping point where the English
language version is announced around the same time as the foreign language one
is released in the US (in the case of Troll Hunter, on the same day) – and if
audiences really are at a point where they’d rather wait for a version lacking
the charm of the original, just because they don’t want to read subtitles, then
I pray for us all.
I must say that I read all of The Girl… books and saw all of
the original Swedish films, and particularly loved the first one – in short, I
am definitely not Paramount’s target audience.
However, given that a director as strong as David Fincher was attached
to film, I felt like I ought to see if the remake could hold up to it’s
predecessor.
Firstly, I know that the film was being touted as a
‘readaptation’ rather than a ‘remake’ – but frankly, I’m not buying it. The films are very similar, too similar at
times – and there are times when it feels that it was very cheeky to redo this
film in English, when the original was out in cinemas not two years ago.
However, one thing that the film does have over the original
is style. Fincher has directed two of my
favourite thrillers of the last twenty years in Se7en, and Zodiac, and I didn’t
doubt that he would do half a job on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The cinematography is excellent, and
Fincher’s usual fast paced, choppy style, honed during his past life directing
music videos is always apparent here.
However, there is a very odd title sequence at the beginning of the
film, which feels like something out of a Trent Reznor scored James Bond film. It’s a very out of place sequence –
particularly when you take into account the slow pacing of the film.
There has been a very strong critical response to Rooney
Mara’s portrayal of the troubled hacker, Lisbeth Salander, and she is
definitely a reason to see the film. Mara
gets Lisbeth near enough spot on (aside from a few scenes, but these are more
the fault of the script then the actress), but it does feel a lot like she’s
seen Noomi Rapace’s performance of the same character and done effectively the
same thing. There are changes to her
character, however, that feel pretty unnecessary – there’s a scene when she
screams “I am insane!” into an attackers face.
This is not like the Lisbeth portrayed in either the book or the film –
as she would never admit to being insane.
It undermines a huge theme of the story as well – a young girl betrayed
by the men in her life and failed by the state, and for her to label herself
insane, sort of ruins what is to come later in the story.
Rooney Mara does get the Swedish accent spot on, and aside
from Christopher Plummer and the native Swedish actors, I can’t say the same
for the rest of the cast. Daniel Craig’s
accent is particularly poor, to a point where a friend of mine thought that his
character was supposed to be English – and a lot of the other North American
actors seem to be doing more of an English accent than a Scandinavian one.
Dodgy accent aside, Daniel Craig’s performance as the
disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist is fine.
Daniel Craig frequently plays the same character, and here is no
exception. It’s…fine.
The supporting job do a fine job too, but strong
performances from Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger and Stellan Skarsgård as
his son, Martin Vanger, are highlights.
The biggest letdown of the film is Steven Zaillian’s script
– which is very weak in places. The
weakest link in the script is the reliance on making characters say how they
feel, rather than just showing the audience.
This is particularly visible when some of the dialogue is as bad as it
is. Also, Apple fans will be glad to
hear that none of the Mac porn, that surrounded both the book and original
film, has been omitted.
If I had to review The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in three
words, I would say “it was okay”. The
only thing that it has over the original is that it is visually stunning. Aside from that, it’s too similar to the
original to warrant making another film based on the same source material. Had there been ten years between making the
Swedish version and the American version, I wouldn’t have minded at all, but it
almost feels like Hollywood
is saying “Foreign language films – bad, English language films – good”.
During that odd title sequence, there’s a cover of Led
Zeppelin’s “immigrant song” by Trent Reznor and Karen O playing over the
top. This film feels a bit like that
cover – it’s a good version of someone else’s song – but it’s still someone
else’s song.
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