2020-2029, Film Review

Barbie (2023)

Posted on August 1, 2023August 1, 2023 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!

2010-2019, Film Review

Bombshell (2019)

Posted on January 24, 2020January 24, 2020 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

**Image is property of Lionsgate and Annapurna Pictures**

Bombshell – Film Review

Cast: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Malcolm McDowell, Allison Janney

Director: Jay Roach

Synopsis: As the United States gears up towards the 2016 Presidential Election, one of the country’s most prominent TV networks, Fox News, is rocked by allegations of sexual harassment allegations against its chairman Roger Ailes…

Review: Back in 2017, the shocking details of the sexual behaviour of powerful men like Harvey Weinstein, and his appalling conduct of sexually harassing women became public. The disclosure of such appalling revelations gave life to such powerful and important campaigns like Time’s Up and the Me Too movement, which have started vital discourses about sexual harassment. Yet, one year earlier, thanks to the brave courage of women, an equally loathsome dynasty, deservedly fell from grace.

The attention of the entire United States, and the wider world alike, is focusing on the 2016 Presidential election, with controversial candidate Donald Trump emerging as the front runner for the Republican Party. But behind the scenes at the conservative leaning Fox News, the company’s chairman, Roger Ailes, is perpetrating a rampant scheme of sexual harassment against his employees. With employees so often powerless to do anything about it, it goes unchallenged for a significantly long period of time. Until some decide, that it’s time to drop an explosive bombshell on their employers.

Thanks to the work of the makeup team (lead by Darkest Hour‘s Oscar winner Kazu Hiro) Charlize Theron puts in an excellent, transformative performance as notorious Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. She’s one of network’s greatest assets, but in the wake of wake of some sexist comments that are fired her way by following one of the televised debates, she becomes the centre of attention of not just Ailes the Fox News audience, but of the country as a whole. Kelly initially seems willing to let the matter slide, in order to further her career. But as time goes on, amid the rampant nature of the abuse that is going on, means that she has to take a stand.

The film approaches the matter from three perspectives, that of Megyn Kelly, Gretchen Carlson (Kidman), and fictionalised producer Kayla Pospisil (Robbie). The contrast between Carlson and Pospisil could not be more apparent. The former is starting to get extremely tired of the culture that she’s witnessing at the network, and is preparing herself for a possible legal showdown. Meanwhile the latter is determined to forge a career at this network, an approach that begins to waiver when Ailes himself (a brilliantly slimy John Lithgow) takes a liking to Kayla, and subjects her to the sort of demeaning treatment that he almost certainly subjected many women to. It’s a deeply uncomfortable moment that puts this whole scandal into perspective.

While it would have made quite the statement had this film been written and directed by women, writer Charles Randolph and director Jay Roach approach this tricky and emotional subject matter from an empathetic standpoint. Pitching this as a satire ran the risk of negating the heavy subject matter and making light of the abuse that these women suffered. The approach taken is at times, rather sensationalist and is scratching at the surface. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take lightly the awful abuse that these women endured. Regardless of political persuasion, it serves as a necessary reminder that there’s the bigger picture to focus on. Specifically, that women to this day experience this sort of harassment in workplaces across the world.

It could have been overtly gratuitous with some decisions it makes, but it chooses to keep the awful treatment that these women were subjected to front and centre, and never is that more apparent than in a heart-breaking scene between Kayla and a co-worker. Ailes and Weinstein have deservedly fallen from grace, but the bigger picture remains that predators like them almost certainly remain very much at large, in workplaces all across the world. Crucially, women must not be afraid to speak out, because when they do, it can shine a light on individuals who perpetrate such loathsome schemes. Change won’t happen overnight, but we can kickstart efforts to stamp out this repugnant behaviour.

Combining such weighty subject matter with satire is always risky. However, with a broadly empathetic approach to its storytelling combined with three strong performances, it’s a timely reminder of the vital importance of initiatives like Time’s Up and the Me Too Movement.

2010-2019, Film Review

Yesterday (2019)

Posted on July 5, 2019July 6, 2019 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

**Image is property of Working Title Films and Universal Pictures**

Yesterday – Film Review

Cast: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon, Joel Fry

Director: Danny Boyle

Synopsis: Struggling musician Jack Malik (Patel) finds that he’s the only person on Earth who remembers the Beatles. Sensing an opportunity, he makes an attempt to pass their songs in a bid to achieve worldwide stardom…

Review: It’s almost inconceivable to imagine a world in which one of the greatest bands of all time had never existed, indeed the thought of such a world alone is a horrifying one. Given that two musical related biopics about two hugely influential British musical icons have recently graced the big screen, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is a Beatles biopic. Though that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, this film is unique in that it’s not that, though the iconic music that Messrs McCartney, Lennon, Harrison and Starr created is front and centre.

Jack Malik is a talented musician doing little gigs here and there, desperately looking for his big break. He’s on the brink of giving his music career up but after a freak accident on his way home, he soon discovers that he’s the only one in the world who remembers the Beatles and their wonderful music. With this knowledge, he tries his best to reconstruct the iconic songs of The Beatles discography, and passes them off as his own work. As the whole world discovers this great music, seemingly for the first time ever, his popularity goes through the roof and he becomes an overnight superstar.

Of course the music of a great band alone, does not make a great film. With that in mind, screenwriter Richard Curtis crafts a very sweet story around this clever concept. Like any great song or piece of art, it all comes together (pun definitely not intended…) rather sweetly thanks to a very warm leading performance from Himesh Patel. He comes across as a very sincere, genuine hard working bloke just looking for that big break that he craves. However, as his career turns from pub singer to huge international superstar, it begins to test his relationship with his best friend/manager Ellie (James), who also gives a very sincere performance. Whilst at the same time, doubts begin to form in Jack’s mind as to whether he should admit the truth about the songs.

The screenplay blends the music of the Beatles with an insightful look at the music industry and what constitutes a successful career in that industry, with one current pop star in there for good measure. Danny Boyle on first glance might not seem the most obvious choice to direct a film like this, but he keeps everything moving along in a very light-hearted manner. Though the concept behind the film is extremely clever, it falls short in that certain things could could have explored in much more detail. In addition, it can’t help but be somewhat formulaic in terms of the ensuing drama and how everything plays out. It can come across as a bit saccharine, but if you are a fan of one of the Beatles, just let it be because Boyle and Curtis will sweep you along for a joyous ride.

No matter who we are, or what we do, music is an integral part of our lives, and our culture, and this film celebrates that in abundance. It just so happens to celebrate the music of one of the best bands to have ever graced our eardrums to tell its story, and you will find it difficult to not sing along and be smiling from ear to ear when the credits start to roll.