drama
Review: Please Give
The Pitch: The One Where Everyone’s Waiting For The Old Lady To Die.
The Review: “So no one told you life was gonna be this way…” Six people living in two neighbouring apartments in a New York apartment block and their intertwining lives. But Friends: The Movie this ain’t. There are other TV links, though; writer and director Nicole Holofcener has learned her trade by both writing and directing for TV, in the case of the latter for Sex and the City and Six Feet Under, so she comes with a strong pedigree. What also comes through from her experience is the sense of honesty that both series at their best were capable of exhibiting, in the lives of the central characters, ranging in age in this case from teenage to death’s door.
I’ve just lost a lot of weight over the past year, and it’s interesting seeing people’s reactions. Some are happy to tell you to your face that they thought you were overweight, but would never have said that at the time; some notice when you lose even a small amount of weight and others don’t seem to notice as the weight falls off, but you’re never sure if they’re thinking something, and just don’t want to say. Please Give seems to have captured almost perfectly the knack of exploring these types of social situations, from the mundane to the uncomfortable, with the reactions being sometimes surprising, often amusing but never feeling forced. At the same time, each of the characters comes to reflect at some point or another on their chosen occupation, or in some cases what they feel called to do, and how their own morals and character have led them to the choices they’ve made and the situations they’re in.
The material is typical of other New York movie acolytes such as Woody Allen, in that the characters find themselves in a situation rather than being driven or carried along by a plot, and it’s their reactions in this situation that give the movie its momentum. To make movies like this work, you need a good ensemble of actors, and the name actors appearing (Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall and Amanda Peet) all bring a lot to their roles without ever being showy. Mentions must go to the other two members of the central ensemble, Anne Guilbert and Sarah Steele, who are least the equal of their more famous colleagues.
What Please Give doesn’t do is anything stunningly original or incredibly daring, but what it does do is present an extremely satisfying and very enjoyable study of people’s reactions to and interactions with each other, and it does so without ever feeling the need to resort to the cynicism which is often to be found in this kind of movie. Holofcener should be applauded for what she’s achieved here, as it all feels effortless, but movies like this don’t come along often enough these days.
Why see it at the cinema: It seems like making movies like this has become something of a lost art, so show your appreciation by forking out for a ticket. And take some of your friends while you’re at it.
The Score: 9/10
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Review: The Killer Inside Me
The Pitch: The better Affleck shows off his bad side. His very bad side.
The Review: Michael Winterbottom is a director who seems not only not afraid of, but to positively enjoy, taking on challenges. Not least the first of those challenges are the material he’s chosen to adapt here. Jim Thompson’s 1952 novel would be hardcore in terms of content if published today, described in an anthology at the time as “one of the most blistering and uncompromising crime novels ever written.” In the wrong hands, this material could come across as misogynystic, voyeuristic and just downright unpleasant.
Then, probably feeling that wasn’t enough of a challenge, he’s chosen to cast Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson in the two leading female roles. Neither has the greatest reputation for acting (somewhat unfairly, especially in Hudson’s case, although they’ve both had an uncanny knack for selecting poor material), but here, with a strong script, a confident director and surrounded by a strong supporting cast, especially Ned Beatty and Elias Koteas, they both come off very favourably.
The core of the movie, though, is Casey Affleck, who burns with a quiet intensity but also provides just the right sense of ambiguity within his performance. His narration also gives dimension to the events on screen; the unreliable narrator is a familiar literary device, and the unreliability is shaded in very subtly, possibly almost too subtly for some, but there is no attempt to portray his actions as anything other than horrific and contemptible.
Nonetheless, while not Irreversible difficult, the violence on screen is unremitting and uncomfortable. But there is much to admire here, although I would avoid the use of the word like as there is little to engage sympathy or to mitigate the fixed viewpoint through Ford’s eyes. While unflinching in his actions, Ford is unable to avoid revisiting events, and those reflections add a haunting quality to the portrayals that follow. But what it does offer is enough to warrant a strong interest in what Winterbottom will choose to challenge himself with next.
Why see it at the cinema: The acting, direction and moral themes all deserve a big canvas; just make sure you have a strong stomach and a stronger constitution.
The Score: 8/10
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Review: Lebanon
The Pitch: Tanks for the memories.
The Review: First off, an apology for that pitch, not really for the awful pun (something I’m a big fan of), but because Lebanon is based on the personal experiences of its first time writer / director Samuel Maoz, and it does feel wrong to in any way demean that experience, especially when it’s portrayed on screen so effectively. The war movie is an extensive genre, and consequently it becomes harder and harder to mine an original vein, so anyone can only hope that any comparisons are favourable.
And the two most obvious here are Das Boot, which covered similar claustrophobia in a confined space, and Waltz With Bashir, the most prominent example of the Lebanon wars being portrayed on screen up to now. Lebanon does stand comparison to either of these, although isn’t quite as good as either. What is common in war movies, and what is most noticeably missing here, is the sense of a central character who provides a strong moral core – all of the four main characters in the tank have flaws in abundance, and there’s a strong feeling that none of them would choose to be in this situation.
The film is almost entirely shot from inside the tank, so the only times we see or hear outside are through the viewfinder of the gunner or on the radio, which serves to ramp up the tension as events take place just out of range or earshot. While the tank moves through events, a series of other passengers on the tank each serve their own purpose to increase the risk faced by the participants.
Overall there are occasional moments of humour and bonding, but since we never truly engage with any of the characters (except when it’s really too late), the movie doesn’t quite have the emotional heft of its counterparts. But while the whole falls short of true greatness, there are a couple of moments of inspiration, most notably when the tank comes under direct attack. Worth the ride for those moments alone.
Why see it at the cinema: The big screen fully allows the confined space of the tank to be contrasted with the world outside, and for the times when attacks come, each is truly impressive and engaging.
The Score: 8/10
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Review: Life During Wartime
The Pitch: It’s Happiness Jim, but not as we know it.
The Review: Todd Solondz is not a filmmaker afraid to tackle the more uncomfortable moral debates in life, or to ask his audience to consider challenging material. You might ask why people would want to watch doom, gloom and despair for two hours, but then why do people watch an Eastenders omnibus?
And actually, the similarities don’t stop there. As that soap has gotten expert at the two-hander over the years, here we are again presented with a small set of characters who interact most of the time onscreen in pairings, apart from dinner party scene.
This is a semi-sequel to Solondz’ earlier film Happiness, but the same characters have now been completely recast, presumably as a metaphor to show the way in which we change and move on. The struggle here is that many of the characters admit their inability to accomplish this, so it’s only really in the last act that we get any forward momentum.
Standouts in the acting department are Alison Janney as a proud Jewish mother and Charlotte Rampling in a small but powerfully bitter scene, although everyone else manages to look and sound suitably disaffected with life. At the end, the film feels like a snapshot in the lives of the characters, almost inviting itself to see where they’ve gotten in another ten years – you can only hope they’ve changed by then, for their sake.
Why see it at the cinema: The day-glo visuals really do work well on the cinema screen, and the drama is surprisingly intimate, even on a large screen.
The Score: 7/10
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