Film

Nightcrawler

2/11/14

A nightcrawler is not, as you might suppose, a lower form of verminous insect that comes creeping up through the cracks in the floorboards after you turn the light out. It’s a term for those members of the paparazzi who drive around LA in the small hours of the morning, listening intently to police band radio in the hope of finding some horrible disaster that they can film and then sell the footage to one of the many independent TV news stations that flourish in the area. So, the two things are pretty much in the same arena as far as appeal goes.

Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a mildly-spoken loner who spends his time trolling the streets, stealing scrap to sell to unscrupulous dealers, someone who thinks nothing of clubbing a security guard unconscious in order to avail himself of the man’s watch. When he chances upon a car crash, he sees Joe Loder (Bill Paxton) a dedicated nightcrawler, filming the carnage. ‘If it bleeds, it leads,’ announced Loder, gleefully. When Lou subsequently overhears him making a deal to sell the resulting footage to a TV station, he thinks he’s found a new career, so much so that he hires a down-and-out called Rick (Riz Ahmed) to be his ‘assistant.’ He then locates a willing buyer for his ‘art’ in the form of Nina (Rene Russo) a TV news producer who is happy to accommodate his grisly footage and doesn’t ask too many questions about how he came by it. Then Lou becomes obsessed with getting to accident scenes before the police arrive…

Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut is a mesmerising tale of darkness and dismay, in which the only honourable characters are sidelined in favour of the kind of grotesque, venal scum that seem to be completely unhindered by any degree of humanity. Gyllenhaal, in what must rank as a career best performance (and I’m including Donny Darko and Brokeback Mountain here) somehow manages to transform himself from handsome young lead to malevolent creep, simply by losing a few pounds and slicking down his hair. Bloom is a magnificently repellant character, someone who talks in self-help video cliches, somebody who smiles sweetly but harbours, beneath his calm exterior the cold reserve of a true sociopath. Gyllenhaal manages to achieve the impossible here; you will find yourself rooting for Lou even as he makes your skin crawl.

While we’re handing out the accolades, it’s great to see Rene Russo eschewing her usual lightweight persona and firing on all cylinders as the (almost) equally repellant Nina. When she defines her ideal film clip as ‘a white woman running down the street screaming with her throat cut’ you realise that she and Lou are simply made for each other.

Gilroy handles it all effortlessly. There’s not an ounce of dead weight here and in the last fifteen minutes, when he takes us into a lengthy car chase, I very nearly forgot to breathe. The amoral conclusion is as shocking as it is inevitable, but given the kind of characters on display here, it was never going to have a Mary Poppins conclusion. Don’t miss Nightcrawler. It’s unlikely you’ll see a better film this year.

5 stars

Philip Caveney

Wither

28/10/14

Question; what would the Evil Dead look like if filmed by Swedes? Answer: Wither. But you have to imagine the Evil Dead completely stripped of wit, logic and storyline. (Not that the original had an awful lot of the latter, but Wither makes it look like the complete works of Shakespeare by comparison.) The film’s premise will be familiar to anyone who’s ever watched a horror movie. An assorted bunch of teenagers set out to spend the weekend in an abandoned house in the woods (as you do). They are led by squeaky-clean young couple Albin (Patrick Almkvist) and Ida (Lisa Henni) who spend a lot of time snogging, even in the midst of a raging bloodbath. They’re so annoying you start to hope that something bad will happen to them soon, but annoyingly they last longer than most of their companions.

Everyone settles in to the weekend vacation spot. Luckily, Albin’s Dad is an electrician and has arranged for a supply of juice to be sent to the house (some accomplishment considering he never actually visits the place.) Unlike virtuous Albin and Ida, the other kids, being Swedish, are even more obsessed with copping off with one another, than their American cousins. Within minutes of arrival, people are energetically humping, something that they will pay dearly for, later on.

Now, I know that in these films you are required to stretch your credibility a bit, but these kids keep doing things that nobody in their right mind would EVER do. Repeatedly. Hmm, a trapdoor leading down into a dark cellar? Think I’ll go and investigate. Oh, my friends are turning into monsters all around me, should I run away? Hmm, no it’s raining, I don’t want to get wet. Oh, my companion has turned into a monster and I’ve had to kill her. I’d better spend a very long time digging a grave for her. OK, now I’ve phoned for the police and they’ve told me to meet them out by our cars. But… it’s still raining, so let’s stay in the cabin. Sheesh! (The Swedish police, by the way, should probably sue the film makers for slurring their reputation. Though summoned by phone, quite early in the proceedings and informed that people are being killed, they fail to show up at any point.)

There are some decent special makeup effects here (the movie earns its 18 certificate) but directors, Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund are rather too fond of the depiction of women being mercilessly beaten by men, for comfort. I know people are turning into demons, but it never seems to happen the other way around and some of these scenes are prolonged and feel unpleasantly prurient. Ultimately, Wither is just a thinly veiled excuse to unleash a string of decapitations, amputations and beatings. Most of the budget must have gone on Kensington (or should that be Karlstad?) Gore, with which the weekend retreat is soon liberally redecorated. It’s pretty poor stuff, only to be approached with extreme caution.

1 star

Philip Caveney

Maleficent

2/11/14

I love fairytales. I Iove them in their original forms (the grimmest of Grimm for me) , but they’re also ripe for reworking. Like Shakespeare’s plays, fairy tales contain such universal themes and truths about humanity, that they can work well transposed into almost any time or place and their characters are familiar enough for the impact of the reimaginings to be clear.

Maleficent then, is essentially the tale of Sleeping Beauty, with the ‘wicked fairy’ moved to centre stage. Here, she is given a back-story; a compelling psychological reason for her vicious turn at the Princess Aurora’s christening. Angelina Jolie is never less than impressive as Maleficent, as malevolent and magnificent as the name implies, sporting a set of cheekbones you could slice a loaf of bread with. This ‘fairy’ is ironically a deeply human character, with flaws as well as virtues, weaknesses as well as strengths.

The film looks stunning. The cinematography works perfectly, combining with state-of-the-art special effects to create a convincing fairyland from a river and some woods, and the supporting cast, including Elle Fanning as Aurora, all do a decent job. Unfortunately the dialogue is clunky and expository in places and this mars the film significantly. Make no mistake, whatever else, this is Jolie’s film and it is her performance you’ll remember at the end.

3.5 stars

Susan Singfield

Fury

30/10/14

April 1945. As the allies push further and further into a defeated Germany, the crew of a Sherman tank, nick-named Fury, encounter hostile resistance wherever they go. When a valued member of their team is killed, he’s replaced by raw recruit, Norman (Logan Lermann,) a man more versed in using a typewriter than a machine gun. The tank’s battle-hardened sergeant, War Daddy (Brad Pitt) realises that if Norman is going to have a chance of survival, he’s going to require a swift and brutal indoctrination and that’s exactly what he gets.

Director David Ayer seems to be in his element when depicting men under pressure – his last release, End of Watch, deals with two cops on the firing line and the bond that exists between them, and here, Ayer successfully portrays the bloody mayhem of battle as seen from the claustrophobic confines of a tank. The battle scenes are mesmerisingly hideous and the moments in between reveal more about the crew themselves and the dehumanising aspects of war. By the way, those of you who normally operate a ‘No Shia Le Beouf Policy’ can relax. Here, he’s totally convincing as a religious man fighting to keep hold of his belief as hell unfolds around him.

The film has been criticised in America for the scene in which War Daddy makes Norman execute an unarmed German solider. It’s harrowing, for sure, but this is a film about warfare and the scene feels totally believable, just one more barbaric act amidst a maelstrom of destruction. Its central message, that war corrupts and destroys everything in its path is no great revelation, but you’ll emerge from this feeling that you have been in the thick of battle and if nothing else, you’ll feel a greater appreciation for what soldiers endured during the Second World War and how much we have to thank them for.

But be warned, this is no date movie. A scene where Norman is obliged to scrape what’s left of the face of his predecessor off the seat he is to occupy requires a strong stomach. It’s powerful stuff, not for the faint-hearted.

4.2 stars

Philip Caveney

The Babadook

27/10/14

Fright movies come in different styles and formats but usually they have just one thing in common; they’re not really about anything much. People get shredded by murderers or pursued by ghosts, usually for no reason at all. This Australian creep-fest from writer director Jennifer Kent breaks the mould. It’s essentially an allegory about loss, grief and depression but in its own way, it’s even scarier than its American cousins.

Single Mum, Amelia (Essie Davis) is struggling to bring up her young son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman) after the death of her husband Robbie some years ago. The fact that Robbie was driving Amelia to the hospital to give birth to Samuel when he died hasn’t helped matters one little bit and added to that is the fact that Samuel is a bit of handful to say the least, addicted to performing magical tricks and frightened about the monsters that supposedly live under his bed. One night, Amelia reads to Samuel from a storybook he has found on the shelf in his bedroom, a nightmarish pop-up book entitled The Babadook, which they have never seen before. It isn’t long before mysterious things are going bump in the night…

Like all the best fright movies, the Babadook gets a lot of mileage out of very little. The creature of the title is barely more than glimpsed and there’s always the suspicion that it might just be a figment of Amelia’s imagination. The film is also boosted by two superb central performances. Essie Davis is totally convincing as a woman pushed to the very edge of madness and her gradual disintegration through the film is a wonder to behold. Meanwhile, young Noah Wiseman is terrific in the difficult role of a hyperactive (and initially not very likeable) kid.

It’s interesting to note that the film started as a short and that Kent crowd funded it on Kickstarter in order to get the budget to produce a full-length version. It’s a powerful and at times, genuinely nerve shredding debut and it will be interesting to see what this director does next. Meantime, those of a nervous disposition may want to stay away from this one. Because you can’t get rid of the Babadook.

4.5 stars

Philip Caveney

Annabelle

19/10/14

Annabelle began ‘life’ as a short segment in James Wan’s, The Conjuring, a film that proved to be unexpectedly successful. So now we’re offered this 60’s set sequel which gives us Annabelle’s back story. Capably directed by John R. Leonetti, it features fairly effective fright scenes of the silence, silence, silence, boo! persuasion, which would be all right, if the bits in between weren’t so desperately predictable.

Dull as ditchwater young couple, John and Mia Gordon (Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis) are going to be parents soon. John is training to be a doctor, while Mia spends most of her time at the sewing machine, making… something (we’re never quite sure what.) As a special surprise gift, John buys Mia a doll she’s ‘wanted for a long time. Since the titular Annabelle is a thing of exceptional ugliness, this proves to be the film’s most baffling mystery. Why would anyone give anyone something that looks so downright creepy in the first place?

The Gordon’s blissful life is rudely interrupted when the next door neighbours are brutally murdered by their daughter, now a member of a Charles Manson-like hippie death cult. Mia is injured in the resulting affray and once back from hospital, with her new baby, Leah in tow, things start to bump and creak and generally jump out of cupboards in her direction. Local priest Father Perez (Tony Amandola) is called in to help…

With it’s 60’s apartment-block setting, the film this mostly resembles is Rosemary’s Baby though frankly it’s not in the same league as Polanski’s iconic fright movie. This is a film where every character speaks in exposition and where you can see the ending coming as soon as the friendly bookshop owner steps into view. It has a few scary moments dotted throughout the proceedings but ultimately, it’s just a series of set pieces linked by not very much at all.

2.9 stars

Philip Caveney

Nymphomaniac Parts1 & 2

17/10/14

He’s a bit of an enigma, Lars Von Trier. In the past, he’s delivered some truly remarkable work – The Idiots and Dancer In The Dark are both impressive films and there’s also his slightly unhinged TV series The Kingdom to consider. But since the hideously misogynistic mess that was Antichrist, he seems intent on embarking on a journey further and further up his own rectum and sadly, Nymphomaniac Parts 1 and 2 only compounds the situation. Which is not to say that it’s totally without merit.

Leaving aside the tabloid-baiting title, this is the story of Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), discovered lying unconscious in an alley one evening by the reclusive Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard) and taken back to his grubby flat to recover. Once there, she begins to relate the story of her life and the various events that turned her into the unfortunate sex-obsessed creature that she is. The tale is presented as a series of titled chapters and the fact that Von Trier saw it necessary to spin the story over the course of two full-length films only adds to the inherent pretension at work here. The ‘chapters’ range from the interesting, to the unlikely to the downright risible. (A sequence where an aggrieved mother brings her three children to witness her husband’s infidelity with Joe, frankly beggars belief). There’s also a sado-mashochistic storyline, where Joe voluntarily puts herself under the brutal ministrations of ‘K’ (Jamie Bell) that is frankly very hard to watch and simply enforces the notion that, despite protestations to the contrary, Von Trier really doesn’t like women very much.

Skarsgaard is terrific in his role and Gainsbourg, when called upon to actually act, isn’t that bad either. But there are inconsistencies that serve to bring the overall rating down. Joe’s younger self is played by a succession of actresses who look nothing like Gainsbourg; Shia Le Boeuf sports an English accent that makes Dick Van Dyke sound authentic; and Willem Dafoe wanders in towards the end to personify the least convincing moneylender you’ve ever seen. Von Trier’s attempts to build in some deeper meaning to it all really don’t come off. Meditations on the Fionabacci sequence and Bach’s approach to composing music, when applied to the rather more mundane subject of sexual intercourse, simply don’t wash and there remains the overriding conviction that Von Trier could have made one decent movie rather than two really patchy ones.

It’s a shame, because aside from his recent efforts (and his appallingly ill-judged joke about being a Nazi, a stunt that got him banned from a major film festival) there remains the conviction that there really is a talent in this man and one can only hope that he gets his mojo back soon. Meanwhile, this just isn’t good enough.

2.8 stars

Philip Caveney

’71

10/10/14

Yann Demange’s cinematic debut takes us to the hostile streets of Belfast in 1971, in the company of young squaddie, Gary Hook (Jack O’ Connell, consolidating his impressive performance in Starred Up.) Gary and the rest of his squad are raw recruits, thrown headlong into a hellhole of sectarian violence, where danger lurks around every corner and nobody can be trusted. They are hated by everyone they encounter and unable to return fire in the most pressing circumstances. Sent out on his very first mission, Gary finds himself cut off from his companions and left to survive as best he can…

’71 isn’t going to figure high in the rankings of the Belfast tourist board but this is verité cinema, that feels absolutely authentic. The city is depicted as a brutal and deadly place and poor Gary is the sacrificial lamb, sent to the slaughter. Neither does the film paint an appealing picture of the British army. The recruits live in squalid conditions and are betrayed at every turn by their own officers. But it works best as a thriller. From the moment that Gary finds himself abandoned, the story switches into chase mode, at times generating almost unbearable tension and at others, throwing the viewers into distressing scenes of violence and mayhem – a sequence depicting the accidental bombing of a pub is bleakly brilliant, but not recommended for the faint-hearted.

Apart from the occasional uneasy shift in point of view, this is an assured debut by Demange who clearly knows how to ratchet up the tension to number eleven. One of the most effective cinematic thrill rides of recent years.

4.7 stars

Philip Caveney

Muppets Most Wanted

10/10/14

The 2011 reboot of The Muppets was an unqualified success. Those adorable, fun felt creations had simply been too long out of the public gaze and were welcomed back with unabashed joy. A good three years later, here’s the sequel and it already feels like a case of ‘too soon.’ Which is not to say that there isn’t plenty to enjoy here.

The story picks up, quite literally, where the last film left off. Having just finished the climactic song and dance set piece, Kermit and Co wonder what they should do next and barely pausing for breath, launch straight into a song called ‘We’re doing a sequel!’ Tellingly, this features a lyric that claims that sequels are ‘never quite as good as the original,’ which sadly becomes something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Muppets acquire a new manager, Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) who despite Kermit’s misgivings books them on a World tour. But given his name, it’s hardly a spoiler to reveal that Dominic is actually an international thief with his eyes fixed on the Crown Jewels. (Final gig?The Tower of London!) To achieve his nefarious ends, he has Kermit substituted with a lookalike, Constantine, ‘the world’s most dangerous frog,’ while the real Kermit is shunted off to a Russian Gulag where he is taken under the wind of camp commandant, Nadya (Tina Fey.)

Everything is in place. A sprightly script, some laugh-out-loud moments and brief guest appearances by a host of big names; yet something here doesn’t quite gel and it’s hard to put your finger on exactly what the problem is. At the end of the day, you have to hand it to the Henson crew, who manage to do the seemingly impossible by making you actually care about a bunch of glove puppets. This wasn’t a ‘rush to the cinema’ kind of film (unlike its predecessor) but nonetheless, for an undemanding evening of family entertainment, it’s well worth seeking out on DVD.

3.6 stars

Philip Caveney

The Equalizer

05/10/14

Older readers may have fond memories of a TV series featuring Edward Woodward as McCall, a retired MI6 operative who operates as an avenging angel for hire by anyone who finds themselves oppressed by villains. This film shares the basic plot and the character’s surname but, after that, all similarities end. Denzel Washington plays the American McCall, a quiet, seemingly mild-mannered chap who likes nothing more than a good book and a cup of herbal tea. He works at his local DIY superstore and often enjoys late night chats with a young call girl, Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz), who is employed by a gang of Russian mafiosi. When Teri gets beaten up by them, McCall swings smoothly into action, unleashing a maelstrom of bone-crunching violence and we begin to realise that he’s not quite as mild-mannered as we might have thought. The plot thickens (and the body count rises) when top Russian hit man, Teddy (Martin Csokas looking like Kevin Spacey’s evil twin) arrives from mother Russia to take care of business.

Director Atoine Fuqua has directed Washington before, notably to Oscar glory in Training Day, but trust me, this film isn’t going to win any Oscars. It’s something of a mixed bag. Early action sequences are stylishly handled and Washington exudes a gravitas that carries much of the rather lightweight material, but the extended climactic shootout may as well have been titled 101 Ways To Die In B & Q, as Denzel unleashes every power tool in the shop in order to take out the veritable army of Russian thugs that has come to kill him. And how many times must we watch the same tired trope of the good man avenging the helpless female victim? (Washington has done that better in Man On Fire for Tony Scott.) Having said that, there is a kind of guilty pleasure to be had by watching the action unfold.

It’s a curate’s egg of a film. Good in parts, but more often indigestible.

3.2 stars

Philip Caveney

Bouquets & Brickbats

Theatre – Film – Comedy – Food

Film

Nightcrawler

Wither

Maleficent

Fury

The Babadook

Annabelle

Nymphomaniac Parts1 & 2

’71

Muppets Most Wanted

The Equalizer