18th February 2008

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (France)

Director - Julian Schnabel

Cast - Mathieu Almeric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Max Von Sydow...

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Julian Schnabel has managed to create that most rare of things; a film that deals with tragedy and severe disability in an uplifting and life affirming way, as appose to with mawkishness dourness. This is largely due to the fact that Schnabel uses his artists eye to construct scenes which are full of colour, elegance, and original composition. John-Dominique Bauby, the protagonist with locked in syndrome, only able to communicate by the blinking of an eye, is constantly surrounded by beauty (no more apparent than with the glamorous nurses who aid him). This approach ultimately makes the film a sensual treat, ironic given the subject matter of the picture.

That being said, there are a number of scenes which are tough to view. The opening twenty minutes in particular, with Schnabel placing the viewer in the eye of Bauby, is especially uncomfortable. The conversations between Bauby and his father (Max Von Sydow) are with out a doubt, the most affecting moments of the movie.

Despite huge critical acclaim, it is too early to label Schnabel a great filmmaker. He has a tendency to revert to gimmicks (slow mo, focus changes etc..) and he uses the soundtrack to emotionally hit home the tone of his scenes a few times. A study of future works will highlight his directorial prowess more clearly.

Schnabel's approach does fit The Diving Bell and The Butterfly perfectly however and the movie is a must watch. Come the end of the year it will certainly be one of the years cinematic highlights. It is an incredible story that will make you think about the fragility of life and the power of the human spirit.

11th February 2008
Juno – (USA)
Director – Jason Reitman
Cast – Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman…


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Dysfunctional families, arch dialogue and quirky visuals and are a few of the traits that can be associated with the new batch of American Indies that have arrived over the past 10 years. The Royal Tennenbaums, The Squid and Whale and Little Miss Sunshine are shinning examples of this burgeoning genre. Juno is very much placed in this world and has a style that is instantly recognisable. However, Juno is perhaps the very best film in this tradition, because despite its deliberate mise-en-scene, it has incredible subtlety, fully formed characters instead of caricatures, and a lot of heart.

The acting is outstanding on all fronts. Ellen Page confirms her status as one of Hollywood’s best young actresses and Jason Bateman gives a fantastically ambiguous performance as the would-be-adoptive father. The script is getting all the kudos (and you can certainly see why) but the highest accolades’ should be awarded to the direction by Jason Reitman. The movie is directed with a great slight of hand. As the film progresses, the colourful visuals seem to blend into the background and the characters' emotions really come to the fore. The most memorable moments of the film are actually the human interactions. In particular, two climactic moments between Page and Michael Cera are handled note perfectly and as a consequence, really affect the audience. Reitman is fully deserving of his best director nomination at the Oscars, it is a pleasure to see someone rewarded in a genre that is often overlooked.

Juno ultimately has a lot to say about society, about class and about relationships. We are all flawed and life will never turn out how we imagined, yet if we open ourselves up to people and possibilities, and maintain a sense of humour along the way, a little bit of happiness can still be found.

The Death of the Horror Movie

The horror movie is dead. It has had its throat slit not by the money hungry executives, but by us, the audience. Ponder at these US box office statistics for a moment. Alien v Predator (2004) grossed $80,281,096, Alien (1979) grossed $60,150,933. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) took $80,148,261 while the 1974 original only took $30,859,00. Halloween (2007) $58,261,267; Halloween (1978) $47,000,000; Saw (2004) $55,153,403; Saw 4 (2007) $63,270,259. The regurgitation of a film seemingly guarantee’s a financial increase. Consequently, the news filtering through last week of a further bastardisation of a horror classic, A Nightmare on Elm Street, was not particularly shocking news at all. How can they justify yet another film in the franchise? How can they substitute acting for a bunch of scantily clad models screaming? How can they write a script by simply copying and pasting sections from the previous films together? It is Simple; we continue to give them the money to do it.

Upon its release, A Nightmare on Elm Street will almost certainly enter the US and UK box office within the top three. It will perhaps shoot straight in at number one. That is the justification they require. In January this year, the Coen brothers released a film that many cineastes thought to be the best American movie in years. No Country for Old Men was beaten to the top of the box office by Alien v Predator: Requiem, a film which left one critic declaring it is “a wrist-slittingly awful addition to the franchises. Surely they can’t fall much farther”. Don’t count against it. For a change to ever occur there needs to be a drastic re-education of the common film goer. Dissenters of such artistically lacklustre movies are currently a minority.

Film is arguably the most accessible, popular, and lucrative art form in the world at present. A medium that is indicative of our time. Yet it is commonly critiqued in a dismissive and snotty manner by those who believe more established art forms such as literature and painting are more worthy of our attention. The merits of each medium are open to debate, yet what is clear, is that this frivolous attitude towards cinema is breeding a generation of cinema goers who are lazy and inept at reading/understanding film. Subsequently, unwarranted and mindless films are becoming ever more frequent. The horror film, a genre with a long history of ideological and critical theory, is the first victim of this endemic. Is there a cure?

Firstly film theorists and film lovers need to stand tall and make sure their voice gets heard. They need to try and infiltrate every blog space, radio show and television programme, talking up our fantastic art form and promoting quality over banality, a duck du jour over a Big Mac. On a similar note, Ronald Bergan recently wrote a piece about French attitude towards film. In agreement with his argument, a more thorough programme of cinema analysis on our television screens is definitely needed in this country, as is a more positive implementation of film studies in our education system. Visual communication is a major factor in today’s society, and will continue to be long into the future. To study such a topic is not the same as studying ‘Mickey Mouse’. If such changes do occur, people may then begin to take a stand against lazy filmmaking, and refuse to part with their money so easily. Subsequently, executives will no longer have the finances to commission the likes of the Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

Perhaps this is just fanciful. But it is hard to seen any other way that the current situation will change. It is only a matter of time before all film falls the way of the horror genre. It is true to suggest that there has always been plenty of poorly made schlock around, that this is nothing particularly new. Yet in the midst of such movies, there was always a steady flow of original and entertaining cream that rose to the top. Such cream seems to have curdled of late.

Hopefully this pessimism is misjudged. After all, how many times have we got to the end of the horror film and thought the monster was dead…

4th February 2008
In the Valley of Elah (USA)
Director - Paul Haggis
Cast - Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Jason Patric...

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In the Valley of Elah is a curiosity. The marketing, with its trailer on a seemingly constant repetition over the past couple of months, seemed to suggest a formulaic and overblown drama. An awards hungry movie directed by an Oscar winner and starring three fellow Oscar Winners. Such misconceptions were blown away when watching Paul Haggis’ superbly scripted film.

In the Valley of Elah is certainly not a flag waving slice of Americana. Rather it is an angry and painful account of one family’s loss. A personal insight into a tragedy, that allows for a deeper political meaning to seep through. It is a film that masquerade’s as a simple who-dun-it, but which is really about the destruction of a generation and one mans (a country’s) folly. It is certainly not a perfect film, some of the generic elements are a little tired, Charlize Theron performs admirably in what is an archetypal role. Yet it is honest, passionate and executed with surprising subtlety.

Tommy Lee Jones is outstanding and produces a performance worthy of the praise he has been receiving of late. Although he says very little, his face is so expressive. As the narrative progresses, you witness a gradual realisation fade across his weathered complexion. It is heartbreaking to watch. There is a particularly evocative moment when Lee Jones falsely begins a verbal attack on a Mexican born soldier. The soldier responds with a cutting question; “Wouldn’t it be funny if the devil looked like you?” Lee Jones spends the entire picture trying to pin down all those responsible for his son’s demise, yet ends up realising he could have easily found one such culprit, just by looking in the mirror.