Posted in 2020-2029, Film Review, London Film Festival 2023

The Zone of Interest (2023)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
© A24, Film4, Access, Polish Film Institute, JW Films and Extreme Emotion

The Zone of Interest – Film Review

Cast: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller, Ralph Herforth, Johann Karthaus, Luis Noah Witte, Nele Ahrensmeier, Lilli Falk, Medusa Knopf

Director: Jonathan Glazer

Synopsis: A Nazi officer and his wife look to build their idyllic family life in a home right next to Auschwitz…

Review: One does not have to have picked up a history book, or to have studied World War II in extensive detail, to know between 1941 and 1945, the Nazis systematically murdered European Jews during the Holocaust. Around six million Jews, two-thirds of the Jewish population on the continent, were slaughtered. Cinema has often turned its attention to this dark and evil chapter of human history, capturing the horrendous conditions of the concentration/death camps. It seems impossible for a film to find a new way to illustrate the appalling atrocities committed by the Nazis, yet this is exactly what writer/director Jonathan Glazer does with this haunting and unnerving examination of human indifference towards unspeakable brutality.

Loosely based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Martin Amis and set in 1943, the film explores the life of Nazi SS officer and Commandment of the Auschwitz concentration camp Rudolf Höss (Friedel) and his wife Hedwig (Hüller) as they seek to build their family life in a house, right next door to the camp. The mere description of the film’s synopsis is enough to fill anyone with fury and anxiety, and anyone could reasonably think that the film’s opening shot would be an unsettling scene from inside the camp. Instead, after a lengthy black screen with only Mica Levi’s score to fill our eardrums with a terrifying sense of dread, the opening shot is one of the Höss family, having a family day out by a lake. The jarring juxtaposition of joyous family fun, in the immediate vicinity of callous acts of genocide is an immediate jolt to the senses to horrify you beyond measure.

It is such a disturbing and startling contrast that makes your stomach churn, setting the tone for the rest of the film. Throughout, we see the Höss family go about their daily lives. Banal acts such as getting ready for school, coming home, tending to your garden, having a meal, spending a family day by the pool, and sleeping safe and sound in your bed at night. The sorts of regular activities families will go through day after day. All the while, the audible sounds of gunshots, indiscernible orders, screams and cries for mercy, combined with the horrific sight of the Auschwitz chimney splurging out smoke as a result of the gas chambers being used. Yet these horrific sounds do not remotely faze the family in the slightest. They go about their lives while countless innocent souls have theirs ended in such an inhumane and callous manner. The sounds coming from the camp are deliberately kept out of sight but never out of the minds of the audience.

In what cannot have been easy roles for any of these actors to play, Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller’s performances are both chillingly effective. Friedel portrays Hoss as a man driven by the wellness and comfort of his family while being heavily invested in his disturbing work concerning the efficiency of the camp to please his superiors. Meanwhile, Hüller as the Höss household matriarch also shows a complete lack of emotion to the situation mere yards away from her house. She is far more preoccupied with attending to the flowers and plants in her garden and trying on clothes that belonged to Jews who were housed at the camp. Both their performances are frightening due to their complete indifference to the barbaric acts of violence being inflicted upon other human beings beyond their garden wall, simply because they didn’t acknowledge the people who were housed in those conditions as people at all. Their shocking coldness in the face of the unspeakable screams with furious urgency to the audience, particularly in a world which finds itself in a seemingly never-ending continuous trend of horrific violence being inflicted on people all over the world on a day-to-day basis.

The filmmaking on display is immaculate. Glazer’s use of extensive long takes illustrates the mundanity of the everyday life of the Hoss family, while Lukasz Zal’s stripped-back cinematography is devastatingly effective. Using only practical and natural lighting, the garden scenes exude the warmth of a plot of land filled with love and care. Yet, in the very same shot, the cold, ominous, and unforgiving presence of the concentration camp’s buildings lingers in the background and serves as a glaring reminder of the horrors contained within those walls.

The art form of cinema can so often be a place for audiences to have fun and enjoy themselves, but this is emphatically not one of those instances. Glazer’s intention is absolutely to horrify the audience, to chill them to their very core as to how people can sit idly by while horrific crimes are committed in broad daylight. As the old saying goes: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. Such appalling acts of depravity should be forever confined to our history books and museums, never to be repeated. However, as recent years have shown, unspeakable atrocities are being committed due to blind hatred, while bigotry is rearing its ugly head across the world. Glazer’s message rings loud and clear. We cannot and must not be complicit in the face of evil.

An unflinching analysis of the human complicity and apathy in close proximity to the unimaginable brutality inflicted on countless innocent souls that will get under your skin and not leave your mind anytime soon. In time, this will become essential viewing for all.

a

 

Posted in 2020-2029, Film Review, London Film Festival 2023

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
© Apple Films, Paramount Pictures and Imperative Entertainment

Killers of the Flower Moon – Film Review

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, Jillian Dion

Director: Martin Scorsese

Synopsis: Telling the true story of what became know as “The Reign of Terror” where a series of murders of members took place in the 1920s against of the Osage Native American tribe in the 1920s, sparking a major law investment investigation…

Review: The 1920s, or the Roaring Twenties, a period defined by economic prosperity across Western society where certain sections of the population gained enormous amounts of wealth. However, as history has shown us time and time again, for some people, the wealth they have acquired is somehow never enough. They are driven by insatiable greed, which as the trailer summarised is “an animal that hungers for blood” and will be willing to commit appalling acts of violence to obtain such wealth. It is this greed and corruption, as well as a series of brutal murders which forms the basis for the latest epic from one of cinema’s greatest living directors.

Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) returns to Osage County, Oklahoma after serving in the First World War. In 1898, the discovery of huge quantities of oil underneath the land belonging to the Osage Native American tribe instantaneously made them some of the richest people in the world. Yet, the possession of this wealth provokes the Caucasian members of the community to conspire against the Osage tribe, to swindle them out of this money so that the wealth can come to them. To that end, Burkart is persuaded by his ruthless uncle William Hale (De Niro), to marry Osage member Mollie Kyle, so that were anything to happen to Mollie’s family, the lucrative wealth of this oil money would be passed on to Burkhart, and by extension, Hale.

Based on the book of the same name by David Grann, the screenplay by Scorsese and Eric Roth frames its story from the perspective of the Osage people. We see through their eyes how the viciousness, corruption, greed, as well as white supremacy, drove people to systematically kill off the Osage community. As one Osage leader puts it “they’re like buzzards circling our people”. Over 206 enthralling minutes, the film combines the love story between Mollie and Ernest, the central plot to eliminate the members of the Osage community, and the ensuing Bureau of Investigation (BOI) inquiry into the murders.

Marking the sixth collaboration between himself and Scorsese, DiCaprio is excellent as Burkhart. On the surface, he comes across as a bit dim-witted and extremely naive. Yet, he is also ambitious and is spurred on by his uncle to do some truly terrible things all in the name of acquiring more wealth. Even though she could sense from the start what his ulterior motive was, the romance between him and Mollie is genuine and causes Burkhart to be severely conflicted about the plans his uncle has put in place. In what is De Niro’s tenth feature film collaboration with his long-time friend, he is thoroughly loathsome and reptilian as Hale. On the outside, he comes across as this charming and friendly soul towards the Osage. Yet, on the inside, he spouts white supremacist ideology which feels eerily reminiscent of modern times. It’s a scaled back performance in many respects, as he does not need to raise his voice to cause other characters, especially Ernest, to be immensely afraid of a deadly reprisal given the power he holds in the region. Both actors have become Scorsese’s muses over the course of his glittering career, and to see them act opposite each other in a feature film for the first time is a special sight to see.

However, both are outshone by the film’s heart and soul, Lily Gladstone’s Mollie. She initially displays a quiet and restrained performance, even as members of her family and the Osage are being killed. Yet, as the film progresses, that restraint turns into something much more potent and fiercer when it comes to seeking justice for those Osage members who have been cruelly murdered, which results in the Bureau of Investigation sending agent Tom White (Plemons) down from Washington D.C. to lead an inquiry into the murders.

Having been given the largest-ever budget on a Netflix film with his previous film, Scorsese has followed suit with his move over to Apple (with a reported budget of $200m) and the results are as immaculate as one would expect. The filmmakers worked extensively with the Osage tribe to ensure authenticity and were permitted to shoot in areas where the events depicted happened. Similarly, the length gone to recreate genuine Osage costumes, particularly the blankets, demonstrates the tremendous level of care which went into the production. It gives the Osage a community a voice which history has often tried to silence. Under the trusted eye of his regular collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker, the film’s editing is meticulous and keeps the film’s pace briskly moving along so that those 206 minutes whistle by, reinforcing the idea that no film is too long if it is paced correctly. Having served as cinematographer on his films since The Wolf of Wall Street, Rodrigo Prieto’s cinematography is visually striking in capturing the Oklahoma oil fields bathed in sunshine and when required,  shifts gear when it comes to the abject horror the Caucasian community wrought upon the Osage.

He might have now reached the age of 80, but for Scorsese age is clearly just a number. He continues to not let his age get in the way of producing stunning pieces of cinema which can shine a spotlight on an important piece of US history that should never be forgotten. It reminds the audience of the horrors and evils that can come with rampant corruption and greed, a lesson which still holds true in modern society. Cinemagoers across generations been able to watch a master at work for over 60 years, and for that, we can be immensely grateful.

An epic and all-encompassing rumination on the perils of rampant greed, the ugliness of white supremacy and the US’s shameful history when it comes to the treatment of the Native American people. Another stunning achievement from one of the best directors cinema has ever seen. 

a

 

Posted in 2020-2029, Film Review, London Film Festival 2023

The Holdovers (2023)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
© Focus Features and Miramix

 

The Holdovers  – Film Review

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Carrie Preston,

Director: Alexander Payne

Synopsis:  A prep school student must remain on campus over the Christmas holidays with his history professor and the school’s head cook…

Review: Christmas is a usually celebratory and special time of the year when families can get together, exchange gifts, relax and unwind after a busy 12 months prior. However, for some people, this may not be the case. For a multitude of reasons, they might not have anywhere to go. It is a difficult predicament at the best of times, particularly for anyone forced to spend the holidays at an educational institution, such as a boarding school. Such a premise on paper doesn’t sound like it would be ripe material for a heart-warming Christmas film, but the latest film from Alexander Payne is exactly that, a warm hug of a film and one that will surely cement itself as a staple of the holiday season every year.

It is Christmas 1970, and cantankerous classics professor Paul Hunham (Giamatti) at the Barton Academy in Massachusetts is tasked by the school’s headmaster to remain on campus to look after and supervise a select group of boys who have nowhere else to go, leaving them rather dismayed. Though when circumstances change and most of the students are allowed to depart thanks to one of their parents, it leaves only Paul, the school’s head cook Mary Lamb (Randolph) and the bright but troubled Angus Tully (Sessa) as the only people remaining on campus through the holidays, the latter duo having both recently lost close members of their family.

Right from the opening titles, which are recreated in the style of the 1970s, the audience is immediately transported into the spirit of the holiday season that gives you such a warm fuzzy feeling that very few times of the year could. The screenplay by David Hemingson, who based it on his own personal experience at a prep school, is filled with razor-sharp wit and humour, while also building poignant and emotional moments between its three main characters as they navigate having to spend the Christmas holidays in the one place they probably wish they could be as far away from as humanly possible.

Reuniting with Payne after they collaborated on 2004’s Sideways, Giamatti excels in a role that was almost certainly written with him in mind given he shares his name with his character. He is well aware that among the students, and even the faculty, he’s thoroughly despised for his strict approach to his job, but it doesn’t faze him at all and almost revels in it. His prickly attitude lends itself to difficult early moments between him and Angus, an unquestionably bright but troubled student going through a troubled moment in his life. To add insult to injury, he has been left behind by his family at the worst possible time. However as they spend more time with each other, the two build an unlikely friendship as they get to know each other’s past and understand the other’s perspective. It’s remarkable to think this is Sessa’s first screen performance and to act alongside Giamatti going toe-to-toe with a veteran of the industry, but he rises to this challenge spectacularly. Randolph completes the trifecta of magnificent performances as she brings warmth and heart to this group, showing compassion for Angus and his difficult situation, and rebuking Paul for his unnecessarily strict attitude towards Angus, all while grieving for the loss of her son.

If the opening titles weren’t enough to help set the scene and make the audience feel like they have time-travelled back to the 1970s themselves, the cinematography from Eigil Bryld beautifully captures the time period as if the filmmakers were using antique cameras and equipment to establish the 1970s setting. Similarly, the film juxtaposes the warmth and cosiness of the holiday season even in the midst of a place which is the antithesis of those two adjectives, while also capturing the cold depths of the Massachusetts winter. In modern times, films which are not part of an existing franchise, or not based on a book or already established source material are increasingly rare these days. As such they should be treasured like a special Christmas present, even more so considering the film contains one off the best insults you will ever hear on film.

Just as Christmas is one of the most joyous times of the year, The Holdovers is fittingly a joyous and emotional tale of three unlikely people coming together to unite in their grief while celebrating the holidays. A future festive classic. 

Posted in 2020-2029, Film Review, London Film Festival 2023

Saltburn (2023)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
© Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. MRC and LuckyChap Entertainment

Saltburn – Film Review

Cast: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan

Director: Emerald Fennell

Synopsis: An introverted Oxford University student is invited by a wealthy classmate to spend the summer at his family’s estate…

Review: There can be surely no finer way for a director to announce themselves as an exciting new voice in cinema when their debut is a powerful piece of storytelling which holds a mirror up to society and ignites a conversation. This is precisely what Emerald Fennell accomplished when her incredible directorial debut, Promising Young Woman, was unleashed onto the world in 2020/21. By putting sexual harassment and the extremely predatory behaviour of men towards women under a microscope, it earned her a well-deserved Academy Award for Original Screenplay, as well as landing nominations for Directing and Best Picture. After such richly deserved success, much anticipation followed as to what she would bring to the table with her follow-up. It is safe to say, here’s a director who is not afraid to really push boundaries.

Oliver (Keoghan) is a bright but socially introverted student who arrives at Oxford University in the mid-2000s. He initially struggles to settle in and make friends, but an act of kindness towards his wealthy aristocrat and extremely popular classmate Felix Catton (Elordi), helps Oliver to integrate himself into Felix’s circle of friends, much to the dismay of Farleigh (Madekwe), Felix’s cousin. Over the next few months, the two of them begin to form a close friendship which culminates in Felix inviting Oliver to spend the summer at his family’s extravagant estate, Saltburn, for a summer filled with extravagant parties, romance and a summer unlike anything Oliver has experienced before.

Over the years, and particularly since the Covid pandemic, films which put the class system under a microscope have been in plentify supply. Yet, while all of these films had a common thread of “eating the rich”, each delivered this message in an original and witty manner. They were full of sharp observations and satire towards the lifestyles of the rich and powerful. Fennell’s screenplay follows a similar theme with the opulence and the extravagance of those lifestyles on full display. Yet, as far as Oliver is concerned, it is not a case of casting a scowl and an angry stare at the affluence of his hosts. Instead, it is in fact a desire (bordering on lust) to integrate himself into that lifestyle, where would be willing to do anything he can obtain it.

After slowly but steadily building his name as an actor to watch in recent years, which culminated in landing his first Oscar nomination in last year’s The Banshees of Inisherin, Barry Keoghan delivers yet another memorable performance to add to an already impressive career. He starts off as a very timid student who seems petrified to come out of his shell. Yet as the film slowly progresses, he morphs and transforms into a very different character once he has a taste of the lifestyle enjoyed by Felix and his family. Speaking of the family, everyone is brilliant to watch, but the standouts are easily Felix’s parents Elsbeth (Pike) and Sir James (Grant). Both of them revel in their status as part of the elite while being snobby and condescending towards those they see as beneath them, and will fire off snide remarks at will towards people such as Oliver and Pamela, a far too brief but wonderful turn from Mulligan to reunite with her Promising Young Woman director.

With no shortage of striking and haunting religious imagery in her debut film, while effortlessly flipping between rom-com and revenge thriller, Fennell repeats this trick once again and demonstrates what a fearless filmmaker she is. This time around, she blends romantic drama, black comedy and psychological thriller into one big melting pot baked in the British summer sunshine. Furthermore, through the immaculate cinematography from Linus Sandgren the beauty of the titular estate while drenched in the warm summer sunshine is juxtaposed with an atmospheric and ominous presence, particularly at nighttime capturing a gothic horror vibe to the place. The clever use of the 4:3 ratio creates the illusion that despite its vast grounds, the Saltburn estate has much less privacy than one might expect.

The film is undeniably visually stunning, and Fennell deserves credit for once again being so daring in her storytelling. However, without getting into spoilers, the direction the story goes in is extremely provocative and twisted. It goes for shock value for the sake of it, rather than having anything of real substance to say the affluence of the 1% and fails to replicate her debut feature’s emotional gut punch that left audiences reeling. That being said, like its predecessor, it does close out on one hell of a needle drop which will likely leave said song stuck in your head for days on end.

Despite some interesting ideas and a scintillating lead performance from Keoghan, Fennell’s follow-up to her Oscar-winning debut is a frustrating case of style over substance.

Posted in 2020-2029, Film Review

The Creator (2023)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
© 20th Century Studios, Regency Enterprises and Entertainment One

The Creator – Film Review

Cast: John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Ken Watanabe, Allison Janney, Sturgill Simpson, Ralph Ineson

Director:  Gareth Edwards

Synopsis: War rages between humanity and machines artificial intelligence (AI) after a nuclear bomb is detonated in Los Angeles…

Review: Over the course of this year, it has been hard to ignore the increasing prominence of discussions surrounding the usage of AI and where the progression of this technology might lead to. Will humanity and AI peacefully co-exist in the not-too-distant future, or will the machines rise and take humanity’s place? Given these questions, there’s something eerily prescient about the latest film from Gareth Edwards. in one of the most visually striking films you will see all year.

The year is 2070, and AI has been banned in the Western hemisphere after a nuclear bomb was detonated in the city of Los Angeles fifteen years prior. However, while the West has prohibited the use of the technology, it is embraced by the Eastern hemisphere who have integrated AI into their society. When the US learns that the AI is developing a superweapon that could turn the war in their favour, the US army sends Sergeant Joshua Taylor (Washington) to find the weapon and destroy it, only for Taylor to discover that this weapon is, in fact, a robotic simulant in the form of a young child (Voyles).

Humanity facing off in a struggle or at war with an advanced AI of some variety has been a well-trodden path in cinema history, with films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049, as well as The Terminator and The Matrix franchises, and most recently M3GAN. All of the aforementioned films, in their own wholly unique way, presented a richly developed world which established the circumstances in which humans and AI were if not at war, then distinct divisions between them. The screenplay written by Edwards and Chris Weitz, via a newsreel prologue, establishes a fully-fleshed out world, explaining how the AI started out as allies, working side by side with humanity before going rogue. Given the regularity with which cinema has often tackled this subject, it would be easy for the film to be derivative of what has come before it. However, while there are obvious influences, the story asks pertinent questions about where this technology could go and whether integration between man and machine is possible?

Furthermore, as evidenced by some stunning imagery in Godzilla and Rogue One, Edwards brings some breathtaking visuals to this world whether it is the AI who have integrated into society or the vast and behemoth military weaponry that the US has in its arsenal.  The impressiveness of the visuals is even more remarkable considering the film’s relatively small budget of $80m, which should serve as food for thought given the high budget and comparatively poor quality of the visuals of some blockbuster films in recent months.

As the central character in this war between humanity and AI, John David Washington is as compelling as ever. We see how he was, at one time in his life, blissfully happy with his wife Maya (Chan) until a devastating event in his past transformed him into a world-weary soldier who chooses to protect this young child when he learns that there could be a connection to Maya. Speaking of the simulant, whom Taylor dubs “Alphie”, given that she was only seven years old during production, she gives a remarkable breakthrough turn as the heart of the film and steals the entire show. The two build a rapport as they travel to prevent Alphie from falling into the hands of the US military. Furthermore, the discovery of this simulant gives Taylor a fresh perspective on the fragmented nature of the world he inhabits, which also feels very apt given the bitterly divided world we currently live in. With his experience with directing intense action scenes in a galaxy far far away and gargantuan kaiju beating each other up, Edwards brings that expertise to the film’s action set-pieces, backed by another superb score from Hans Zimmer.

Despite boasting some stellar names, the performances of the rest of the cast are hampered by a lack of development, particularly Allison Janney’s Colonel Howell who seems hell-bent on finding this new weapon and cares for little else besides that. Similarly Ken Watanabe’s simulant solider Harun, a badass and heroic fighter absolutely, but he doesn’t get room to grow beyond these traits. While the film’s exploration of AI and where this technology might be headed in the future is thought-provoking and nuanced, the same cannot be said for its on-the-nose examination of how Western countries, particularly the US, can carry out invasive military campaigns on international soil, which feel a bit heavy-handed.

Nevertheless, in an era where big tentpole blockbuster films tend to be attached to existing properties or as a part of a franchise, it is refreshing to see an original and thought-provoking piece of filmmaking come to the fore particularly given its approach to a subject that humanity will be talking about for many decades to come. Could this film be prophetic? Only time will tell.

While it may not have the most well-developed characters, boasting mesmerising visuals and a thought-provoking approach to its topical subject matter in a richly developed futuristic world ensures this is a welcome return to the realm of blockbuster filmmaking for Gareth Edwards.

Posted in 2020-2029, Film Review

Strays (2023)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
© Universal Pictures, Lord Miller Productions and Rabbit Hole Productions

Strays – Film Review

Cast: Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Brett Gelman, Will Forte

Director:  Josh Greenbaum

Synopsis:  A stray dog vows revenge on his abusive owner after he is left abandoned…

Review: For thousands of years, dogs have stood faithfully by humanity’s side and have earned the title of “man’s best friend” as a recognition of the mutual love that exists between humans and our canine pals. Anyone who has owned a dog, or indeed, interacted with them, knows how much fun they can be to have as pets. While there’s no question they can be adorable and provide us with memories to last a lifetime, our four-legged friends do have some rather less-than-pleasant tendencies. These tendencies, and the perspective of how dogs see humans and the world around them are, on paper, pedigree material for a raunchy comedy. A comedy which ought to have left audiences howling with laughter, only for it to miss the mark and be about as funny as stepping in dog excrement.

Reggie (Ferrell) is an adorable but naive border terrier who is owned by Doug (Forte). Reggie loves Doug unconditionally and sees him as the perfect owner, but the reality is Doug is a horrid and abusive bottom-of-the-barrel garbage excuse for a human who blames Reggie for his own failings and mistreats his pet in favour of getting high all the time. After Doug abandons Reggie following what the puppy believes to be a game of fetch, Reggie finds company in a gang of other stray dogs who live on the streets to fend for themselves, namely the extremely vulgar Boston Terrier Bug (Foxx), Australian Shepherd Maggie (Fisher) and Great Dane Hunter (Park). Realising all this time that Doug has not been the amazing owner he once thought he was, Reggie vows revenge on Doug and is joined by his newly acquainted group of pooches get back at Doug for the years of neglect and mistreatment.

In the hands of director Josh Greenbaum, whose last film Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar proved to be an idiosyncratic but amusing ride, one would have hoped for a repeat of that success. Unfortunately, Dan Perrault’s screenplay instead relies on low-hanging fruit by using some of the horrid tendencies of our canine pals for vulgar and obscene comedy, which gets very stale very quickly. Yes, dogs like to hump things, it does not need to be turned into a running gag. What’s more, the film spends a substantial amount of its time focused on utterly juvenile jokes concerning bodily fluids, genitals and faeces, and very little time focusing on a plot to make the audience actually care about the quest the dogs are on. There is absolutely a time and a place for such jokes, a dog movie being the perfect example. Still, the script repeats these with such frequency it quickly gets tiresome and makes it feel like it was written not by a professional screenwriter, but instead by a bunch of giggly schoolchildren who fall about in helpless laughter at rude words.

To give the film a tiny morsel of credit, not all the humour is nauseatingly crude, as there is a humorous moment involving the gang of pooches high as kites after they eat a bunch of mushrooms which elicits a chuckle or two. Yet, one mildly amusing scene in a supposed comedy filled with jokes reliant on bodily humour which are devoid of any subtlety or wit, is not enough to redeem the film in the slightest. Even at a mere 93 minutes, the repetitive and unfunny nature of the comedy means the film drags and becomes a chore to sit through, even with some adorable dogs on screen.

What could have been a very witty and clever take on man’s best friend and their relationship with humans proves to be anything but and ends up being a complete waste of its talented voice cast.  If it looks like dog poop and smells like dog poop, then it is probably dog poop, and this is one piece of cinematic dog poop you would be well-advised to avoid.

Vulgar for the sake of being vulgar, there is no treat to be found in sitting through this tasteless and unfunny comedy that is all bark and no bite. Man’s best friend deserved better. 

 

Posted in 2020-2029, Film Review

Past Lives (2023)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
© A24, CJ ENM, Killer Films and 2AM

Past Lives – Film Review

Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro

Director:  Celine Song

Synopsis: Two childhood friends in Korea reconnect years later after one of their families migrated to North America…

Review: As human beings, we have all likely gone through that moment where we have imagined what would have happened had certain decisions we made in our lives been different. Could certain events, or maybe even the whole direction of our lives transpired differently than how they turned out? Would we have lived in a different place, landed on a different career path or met and fallen in love with someone else entirely? These are the questions and ruminations which beat at the heart of this quiet, thoughtful and stunning directorial debut from Celine Song.

Growing up together at a school in Seoul, Na Young and Hae Sung were classmates and childhood sweethearts who seemed destined to spend the rest of their lives together. However, their lives are taken in two different directions when Na Young’s family emigrates to Canada. Flash forward 12 years and Na Young – now going by the name Nora – is a playwright living in New York, while Hae Sung remained in Korea to study engineering. A chance search on social media allows the two of them to reconnect online but, Nora chooses to cease contact so both can focus on their careers. After a further 12 years pass, Kae Sung travels to New York to meet Nora in person, where they contemplate their time together in Korea, how their lives have turned out and ponder what might have been had they stayed together.

For as long as cinema has existed, there have been countless films which have explored romance, relationships and the complicated emotions that can form when two souls who seemed destined to be together are torn apart. Celine Song’s semi-autobiographical screenplay approaches its subject matter in a way which feels uniquely original and accomplishes this without coming across as overly sentimental. The exploration of a Korean concept known as “in-yeon”, where two souls during a chance encounter might have meant something much more to each other in a previous life, sounds quite soppy. Song’s script adds rich layers of emotional depth with a tinge of melancholy, to this heart-achingly beautiful story of romance, longing for a life we’ve never lived, and a rumination of the events which shape our lives.

As the central character of this exquisite love story, Greta Lee is terrific as Nora. We see how throughout her life, she is resolute in her ambition to achieve her goals as a playwright and initially seemed sure of who she would marry in the early stages of her life. However, when it comes to her personal life, she becomes torn between her childhood crush and Arthur (Magaro), the man she married after the two met on a writer’s retreat. The scenes between her and Hae are tenderly portrayed with often periods of silent reflection between them because sometimes silence says more than words ever could. Crucially, the film never strays into any melodrama particularly where Arthur is concerned as he could have been portrayed as a villain. However, Magaro’s layered performance ensures that the audience views him sympathetically as he understands the connection that once existed between his wife and Hae when they were young and doesn’t get in the way of the tender moments between these two former lovers.

The poignant score by Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen reinforces the wistful and moving nature of the central story, to which Song bides her time and paces things deliberately slowly to allow the relationships between the central three characters to take their course. Sometimes, the most powerful stories come from our own experiences that we encounter during our journey through this mad, crazy and sometimes beautiful world that we live in. Those complicated, layered emotions from those moments where we find pastures new, meet and fall in love, and through no fault of our own, are forced to part ways are captured so succinctly by Song. Like its central characters, this is a film which will likely leave audiences deep in thought and reflection on their own lives once the credits start to roll.

A beautiful and profound character study of the complexities of the emotional and romantic bonds which shape the course of our lives. A masterful directorial debut from Celine Song. 

a

Posted in 2020-2029, Film Review

Oppenheimer (2023)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
© Universal Pictures and Syncopy

Oppenheimer – Film Review

Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Alden Ehrenreich, Benny Safdie, Jason Clarke, Dane DeHaan, David Dastmalchian

Director:  Christopher Nolan

Synopsis:  Telling the story of the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and how he helped to develop the atomic bomb during World War II…

Review: The filmography of Christopher Nolan has always had a fascination with science and the impact advances in science could have on society. Interstellar travel, a globe-trotting time-bending/inverting mission, the exploration of a fierce rivalry between a pair of magicians blowing minds with their impressive tricks, and of course, a certain caped crusader fighting crime with an array of scientific gadgets. Therefore, given the direct namecheck in Tenet, it felt inevitable that Nolan would sooner or later turn his attention to the story of the scientist regarded as one of the most influential people to have ever lived, during one of the most defining moments of the 20th century. A man known as the father of the atomic bomb, one of the deadliest scientific creations in human history, J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, Nolan’s screenplay is extensive in its scope and ambition in how it chooses to depict the life of its eponymous theoretical physicist. Though in typical Nolan fashion, he doesn’t do things by the book regarding what one might expect from a biopic. Split between two perspectives, “Fission” depicts how events were seen from Oppenheimer’s point-of-view, while “Fusion” opts for a black-and-white colour palette and depicts the latter stages of Oppenenheimer’s career, specifically when his security clearance was up for renewal and the intense scrutiny which surrounded him and his Communist links. Links, given the USA at the time was entering the Cold War with the Soviet Union and at the height of McCarthyism, are of enormous concern to the government, which became of particular interest to Lewis Strauss (Downey Jr.), the former chair of the Atomic Energy Commission, who later sought a top position in the US government.

As one would expect from Nolan, the film takes a non-linear approach to the story by continuously jumping between the two timelines throughout. However, what follows over the course of the next three hours is a fascinating exploration of a pivotal moment in history, a complex character study of the man at the centre of the creation of this deadly weapon and the impact it had on his conscience, the immediate and far-reaching consequences of the bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki bringing World War II to an end. Yet, in doing so, ignited the arms race between the world’s two superpowers which would define global politics for the next several decades and still has an effect on world politics to this very day. It is unquestionably a very dialogue-driven film, but Nolan’s screenplay never fails to keep events on screen engaging with the dialogue every so often interjected with scenes of atoms colliding, and Jennifer Lame’s editing ensures the film’s pacing remains brisk.

Having worked with Nolan numerous times across his career in supporting roles, Cillian Murphy finally gets his chance in the leading role and he seizes it with both hands. Through those piercing blue eyes, Murphy’s extraordinary performance takes us deep into the mind of this man and allows him to fully exhibit a range of emotions. From a brief look at his academic life, his early days as a university professor teaching quantum physics, a triumphant moment following the end of World War II, to his haunting guilt over creating a deadly weapon that has wrought unspeakable horror and devastation on countless lives.  Alongside Murphy’s incredible leading performance, Nolan has arguably assembled the all-star cast to end all-star casts, with everyone giving an excellent performance. In a cast this stacked, it is hard to stand out from the crowd, but the one who shines brightest is Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss. For years, he charmed audiences as the genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist Tony Stark. This is a very different role, but as he did throughout his tenure in the MCU, Downey shows off his incredible talents and portrays Strauss as a very driven individual who is at the forefront of the pushback against Oppenheimer following the conclusion of WWII and will find anything he can to discredit the physicist.

On the subject of the Manhatten Project, which dominates the second act of the film and is where Nolan’s renowned technical wizardry comes to the fore. Through Hoyte van Hoyetma’s stunning cinematography and incredible sound work, the recreation of the testing of atomic devices ensures the audience feels the effects of these blasts. It all acts as a prelude to the nerve-shredding Trinity Test sequence, which Oppenheimer feared could cause a chain reaction that would destroy the world. The audience knows it won’t have that effect, but Ludwig Gorannsson’s score masterfully captures that nerve-shredding tension that would have undoubtedly raced through the minds of these scientists until the explosion. An explosion which, incredulously, is fully captured in camera without the assistance of special effects, a mind-blowing cinematic accomplishment.

However, while the technical mastery on display cannot be denied, what has been Nolan’s Achilles heel throughout his career has been writing female characters. Unfortunately, the female characters leave much to be desired. Florence Pugh makes the most of her limited screen time as Communist Party member Jean Tatlock, Oppenheimer’s mistress. Though, while they serve the narrative to an extent, a handful of her scenes feature full-frontal nudity and they ultimately come across as gratuitous. Emily Blunt’s turn as Kitty Oppenheimer could have very easily gone in a similar direction in which she is barely utilised and falls into the stereotype of the supporting housewife, but she avoids that with a memorable and fiery exchange with lawyer Roger Robb (Jason Clarke) during her husband’s security clearance hearings. While Nolan’s fascination with science in his previous films gave him theoretical scientific premises to explore, what he put under his cinematic microscope here is a world away from what he has previously accomplished in his career. The impact of this scientific breakthrough, the psychological effect it had on the man who developed it, and the long-lasting consequences of what can happen when one man, and indeed a whole country choose to play God, consequences which are still reverberating on the world stage today.

Under the vision of its masterful director, with a packed all-star cast led by an incredible awards-worthy performance from Cillian Murphy, gives Nolan the requisite materials required to craft a riveting and forensic character study of a man whose work changed the course of human history forever. 

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Posted in 2020-2029, Film Review

Barbie (2023)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
© Warner Bros. Pictures, Mattel Films and Heyday Films

Barbie – Film Review

Cast: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Sharon Rooney, Dua Lipa, Nicola Coughlan, Ana Cruz Kayne, Ritu Arya, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa, Michael Cera

Director: Greta Gerwig

Synopsis: After suffering an existential crisis, one Barbie (Robbie) must journey to the real world in search of answers…

Review: A parody of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is probably one of the last ways you’d expect a film centred on one of the most influential toys to have ever been created to start.  “Since the beginning of time, since the first little girl ever existed, there have been dolls. But the dolls were always and forever baby dolls,” intones Helen Mirren’s narrator. It wasn’t until 1959, when a company called Mattel launched a toy which would change not just the doll industry, but the toy industry forever with over a billion dolls sold worldwide, and her name is Barbie. A plethora of animated movies followed since, but while it has been mooted for a long time, a live-action film had for a long time looked as though it would never escape the doldrums of the plastic box of development hell. This is until, Greta Gerwig, after her success with a beautiful directorial debut and a superb adaptation of one of the most beloved novels of all time stepped in, and the result is one of the funniest, and pinkest movies you will ever see in your life.

In the picturesque world of Barbie Land, live all of the Barbies, each of whom has their own unique role in their perfect society. One such Barbie is the stereotypical Barbie (Robbie), who wakes up every day living her best life, spending days by the beach, having parties in her dream house, and organising girls’ nights with all of the other Barbies in the community. Nights filled with sleepovers, parties and the dulcet tones of Dua Lipa and Lizzo providing an irresistibly catchy soundtrack. This is until one night, one passing comment about death causes everything in her perfect world to go very wrong, including cold showers, falling off her roof, and worst of all, gasps, flat feet. Determined to find answers, Barbie must journey, with her partner Ken (Gosling) in tow, to the real world to figure out what is causing the imperfections in her perfect lifestyle to happen and whether she can fix them before it is too late.

You can see why they ran out of all the pink paint…

As is the case with superhero movies, or murder mystery movies, it pays to know as little as possible before making the journey to Barbie Land. Beyond what is teased in the trailers, this is no ordinary Barbie movie. Gerwig’s screenplay (co-written by her partner Noah Baumbach) really goes all in on the themes it chooses to approach and is not afraid to tackle meaningful social commentary surrounding feminism, gender roles, the negative impact that Barbie has had on the standards of beauty for women, and the patriarchal nature of the real world and its abject treatment of women, a very stark contrast to the idyllic world of Barbie Land. A severe rude awakening for Barbie, but one that considerably piques Ken’s interest who finds a new sense of purpose to his existence beyond merely being an accessory for Barbie. Gerwig and Baumbach deserve great credit for their scope and ambition as the script strikes a playful balance between thought-provoking social commentary and Barbie’s toy history and also goes for some big swings, all with fantastic wit and sharp meta-humour.

From the moment she was cast, Margot Robbie felt like the perfect choice to play the lead role of Stereotypical Barbie, and she does not disappoint. Throughout her career, she has portrayed a wide range of charismatic characters and has always embodied those roles perfectly, whether it’s her perfect turns as Harley Quinn or as the no-holds-barred party girl in Babylon. Now she can add Barbie to that list of roles which felt tailor-made for her because she looks the part, but also has the required acting chops necessary for both the film’s light-hearted moments and the more serious moments. Alongside her, Gosling is equally perfect as Ken. His career has often seen him in intense dramas where he appears stoic and cold. However, he has also proved he has serious talent as a comedic actor and never has that shone more brightly than in The Nice Guys. His performance as Ken is unlike anything you have seen from him before. No matter if he’s showing off his muscles, or a passionate song and dance number, he owns every minute of screen time he has.  In such a star-studded cast, Robbie and Gosling stand out among all the respective Barbies and Kens, though Weird Barbie (McKinnon) is given plenty of moments to shine. Outside of the would-be plastic dolls, America Ferrera gives a noteworthy as a disgruntled Mattel employee who might hold the key to why Barbie’s world is falling apart.

It’s been well documented when designing the film’s incredible sets, they needed so much pink paint that it contributed to a worldwide shortage of that particular colour, no expense spared for Barbie’s dream house, as it should be, and it was most definitely worth it as the film’s production design is immaculately impressive and rich in its detail. The same is also most definitely true of the costumes which have been faithfully recreated for the big screen. While the film blasts through its 114-minute running time, there is one side plot with Will Ferrell’s Lord Business Mattel CEO which can feel a bit throw away but it does not detract from the fact that Greta Gerwig has created a film which manages to be a fuschia-infused party, an uproarious comedy, and a thought-provoking look at modern society rolled into one and completes Gerwig’s hat-trick after her success with Lady Bird and Little Women.  Come on Barbie, let’s go party!

A feminist and hilarious ode to the doll which has defined generations and will almost certainly continue to do so for many more generations to come. Life in plastic is truly fantastic!

Posted in 2020-2029, Film Review

Joy Ride (2023)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

Joy Ride – Film Review

Cast: Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Ronny Chieng, Desmond Chaim, Alexander Hodge, Daniel Dae Kim

Director: Adele Lim

Synopsis: A lawyer is convinced by her best friend to travel across China in search of her birth mother…

Review: It is inevitable that any movie featuring a group of friends on some kind of raunchy/boozy quest filled with mischievous shenanigans will have comparisons made to either The Hangover franchise or to Bridesmaids. Though they were not the first films of their kind, the latter opened the door for more female-driven R-rated comedies to level a playing field that tended to be dominated by Caucasian men. As such,  a comedy which featured Asian-American women at the centre would have been unheard of a few years ago. However, in recent years, Asian-led films have become increasingly more prominent, including a rom-com with a predominantly Asian cast and the not-so-small matter of an Asian-led multiverse film which claimed Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards, both of which represented significant moments for Asian representation on screen. Enter Crazy Rich Asians co-writer Adele Lim, making her directorial debut to continue the step forward for representation by having Asian American women at the centre of one of the funniest R-rated comedies in a long time.

Audrey Sullivan (Park) and Lolo Chen (Cola) are best friends who grew up together as the only two Asian children in their neighbourhood, appropriately named White Hills. Now into adulthood, Audrey is a high-flying lawyer on the cusp of a big promotion, while Lolo is an artist specialising in sex positivity. To clinch her promotion, she is tasked by the bosses within her firm to travel to China to close out an important business deal and takes Lolo along to act as a translator. While in the country, they meet up with Lolo’s K-Pop-obsessed cousin Deadeye (Wu) and Audrey’s actor friend Kat Heung (Hsu). After the meeting doesn’t quite go as planned, the four of them go on a journey across the country to find Audrey’s birth mother.

On the surface, Joy Ride certainly resembles the aforementioned comedies featuring a group of friends on a journey of self-discovery, all while engaged in some humorous hijinks. However, through Cherry Chevapravatdumrong’s and Teresa Hsiao’s hilarious screenplay, the film establishes itself from the off by tapping the mindset of these four very different people. Each of them will discover new things about themselves, and their aspirations for what they aspire to achieve while learning some new things about their friendships and cultures along the way. Particularly in the case of Audrey, as someone who has grown up in the US, having been adopted from China as a very young child, it explores her perspective as someone who sees herself torn between the life she has known growing up in her adopted homeland and the family she never knew in Asia. Right from the moment they meet, the friendship between Audrey and Lolo is beautifully realised in no small part due to standing up to a racist bully, with one of the best utterances of “fuck you” in any movie ever. From that moment on, the unbreakable bond between them was set, and the chemistry between Park and Cola is delightful.

It’s not until Audrey and Lolo arrive in China in search of the former’s birth mother, where they quickly meet up with Deadeye and Kat, that the hijinks and hilarity ensue and they come thick and fast. From the key business meeting which descends into a drinking game and more, a highly amusing train journey, uproarious sexual encounters each of our leads has with members of a local sports team (chances are you may well never look at a basketball and a massage gun in the same way again!), and a rendition of a popular rap song, there is no limit to how raunchy and mischievous the comedy will go to make the audience laugh. Each character is given their moment to shine, from Audrey’s insecurities about her identity and her heritage to Lolo being looked down on for her sex-positive art, to Deadeye’s socially introverted nature and fanatic love of K-pop to Kat’s attempts to cover up her sexually promiscuous past from her devoutly Christian fiance.  Each actor brings heart and sincerity to their performance and as their journey takes them across Asia, they grow and bond as a group of friends.

While the central quest to find Audrey’s birth mother involves endless amounts of humour, it crucially finds the time to establish some genuine emotional moments between the group to bring them together, particularly in the third act which is where Park’s performance soars. Balancing the comedy with emotional weight can be a tough balancing act as there’s a risk the comedy will negate the emotional drama. However, Lim expertly handles this balance with assured direction. The similarities with other comedies of this nature are obvious. However, the level of passion which went into the making of the film comes across in both the writing and the performances, with a story that will undoubtedly be relatable to countless millions, plus another significant moment for representation in a comedy that will provide you with endless amounts of joy, and that is never a bad thing.

Packed with hilarious raunchy humour and a sweet and emotionally heart-warming story of four friends on a journey of self-discovery, Joy Ride is easily the funniest movie you will see all year.