Author Archives: Daniel McCarthy

Fruitvale Station Film Review | Sundance 2014

Posted on by

One of the most praised dramas at Sundance USA last year and early Oscar contender to boot, Fruitvale Station finally got it’s UK bow at this year’s festival. The true story drama has been hoovering up acclaim and awards over the last year and it is very easy to see why. Over the course of December 31st, 08 and January 1st, 09 we track Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a young father and resident of Hayward, California who begins his day determined to turn his life around. Following a spell of recent criminal convictions and prison spells, Oscar is resolved to get his house in order; get a new job, cut off bad habits and treat his family right including his adoring yet straight talking mother (Octavia Spencer). However, this search for redemption is to have a tragic end as a New Year’s Party in the city culminates in a cruel, needless tragedy that leaves the community -and America- in shock.

Fruitvale Station sundance 2014

Having an entire movie rest largely on a single performance is a risky business indeed. If your lead is underwhelming or just flat out doesn’t convince then you and your movie are dead in the water. Debut writer/director Ryan Coogler was surely aware of this going into production on Fruitvale Station. But he must also have been aware when he cast Michael B. Jordan that he really didn’t have to worry much. Still perhaps best known for playing the young, doomed drug dealer Wallace in the exceptional TV series The Wire, Jordan is an absolute flat out revelation here, a breakout role if ever there was one. Throughout Grant’s trials and tribulations over the course of the film, there is the feeling of raw anger and frustration at his surroundings and even many of those who surround him. Yet Jordan never feels like he’s showing off on a soap box like a lot of other ‘awards worthy’ performances have a habit of doing. Every beat, glance and observation feels real and lived in. The story of of fallen man going straight could easily fall into cliche yet the sheer humanity of the performance is more than enough to steer clear of any pitfalls. As mesmerizing as Jordan is it would be unfair to dismiss other cast members especially, Octavia Spencer on blinding form as Oscar’s rock steady mother. Her crumbling composure at the film’s climax is going to break hearts.

As a director, Coogler keeps a steady hand on incendiary material. Make no mistake, this is an angry film and rightly so. Rather than letting that anger disrupt the story and tone, he keeps everything on an even keel. There’s no fuss or confusion to the film’s beautiful and precise shooting. There’s even a touch of playfulness with Oscar’s text messages popping up on screen à la BBC’s Sherlock (don’t worry; it’s nowhere near as gimmicky or intrusive as it could be). We witness actual phone footage of the Fruitvale incident in the films opening act so there’s no surprise to the terrible outcome yet we feel all the gut-wrenching tension and heartbreak as Oscar goes about his daily grind and moves steadily towards his fate. It’s almost unbearably upsetting yet Coogler has managed to find the beauty and tenderness in the frank observations of an individual in his last moments. It’s a paean to life in America in all its wonder – and indeed its horror – and it deserves every bit of your attention.

Little Accidents Film Review | Sundance 2014

Posted on by

Recent news stories of industrial mining accidents across the world linger in the background of this stark, character based drama from debut feature director Sara Colangelo. Expanded from her short film of the same name and assisted via the Sundance Institute’s Writers Lab, the story focuses on a rural Appalachian community devastated by a disaster at the local coal mine which has claimed ten lives. Already people are looking for someone to blame from a legal angle and pressure steadily mounts on the sole survivor of the disaster; Amos Jenkins (Boyd Holbrook) whose testimony could seal some hefty compensation. Meanwhile, one of the kids (Jacob Loflland) of the dead miners struggles with his own grief and sets off a chain of consequences that envelope Bill and Diana Doyle (Josh Lucas and Elizabeth Banks). The former is one of the managers of the coal mine and is a figure of rising blame and anger amongst the locals…

littleaccidentssundance2014

Steeped in an authentic style and filmed entirely on location with no sets, Little Accidents doesn’t have to work hard to convince in its portrayal of an America that’s seldom seen along with those inhabiting it. It’s a place which would probably spring up on Google if you typed ‘small town America’; everyone knows each other and each others business whatever their background and class. The town is presented as its own internal universe. It’s a simmering cauldron of mistrust and quiet rage that boils over in the wake of tragedy and boy does it ever boil over. The films earthy and natural tone perfectly encapsulate this, as well as the authentic environment that includes what appear to be genuine residents appearing as themselves. It’s also bolstered by some really superb performances, most notably from Boyd Holbrook as the haunted Amos. Hindered via a limp and with a thousand yard piercing stare, Amos could prove too sheltered and quiet to engage with the audience, but Holbrook makes it connect finding the perfect manners for a deeply wounded yet profoundly decent everyman.

Where the film does seem a little less sure footed is in later developments. Characters meet and interact in ways that at first seems natural, but as events unfold grow increasingly cliched or even unbelieveable. A subplot which see’s Amos and Diana embark on an affair seems almost redundant; a cheap device to bring their characters and desires closer together and intertwine. Josh Lucas does the best he can (actually the best he’s ever been) as the put upon yet unshakable husband, but even his character’s arc seems very deliberately placed and dropped off without much thought. Performance wise the film is nearly stolen by Jacob Lofland (of Mud fame) who perfectly captures the innocence, anger and uncertainty of youth here compounded by tragic events. A lingering close up of his weary face late in the story provides the film with one its most striking images. It’s he and his fellow actors who hold Little Accidents steady even as it hits occasional rocky ground.

Third Contact Film Review

Posted on by

A permanent sense of dread and the unknown hangs over this impressive low budget British psychological thriller from debut writer and director Si Horrocks. Filmed on location in London for a shoestring budget and on a single handheld camera, the film has benefited enormously from a successful Kickstarter campaign, pulling in independent funds to secure an international screening tour both at festivals and local venues. It’s another brilliant inspirational example of filmmakers marshalling their own resources and bringing their own unique vision to a broad audience.

thirdcontactfilm

Private psychiatrist David Wright (Tim Scott-Walker) is in utter despair; he is hounded by memories of his long lost love and the guilt over a patient’s recent and seemingly pointless suicide. At his nadir and contemplating his own suicide, David is contacted by the patient’s sister Erika (Jannica Olin) who is seeking answers to her brother’s death. United by their grief and loss, the pair investigate the suicide further and soon uncover a mysterious and sinister agenda that defies both their expectations.

Early in the drama of the film, one of David’s patients relates to him the theory behind ‘quantum suicide’, a concept that theorizes that the universe can be split open at the firing of a gun into two states: one of life and the other of death. It’s a lofty, ambitious concept to hit your audience with moments out of the start gate of your movie. Yet that’s all the more credit to Third Contact, a thriller that avoids the cliches and conventions of other projects made under similar circumstances. Writer and director Horrocks discards tired indie Brit cliches of gangsters and banal romance for cerebral science fiction, with a fine eye for minute detail and delivering in a fresh, fractured narrative style. Shot on a relatively inexpensive handheld camera, Horrocks has worked wonders with the films visual look. Filmed in a bleak and stark monochrome, the portrait of urban London comes to a vibrant and urgent life whilst remaining disconcertingly alien and hauntingly lonely. It reminded me somewhat of Christopher Nolan’s debut feature Following, also filmed for pennies and looking spectacular. This is matched by the eerie and otherworldly soundscape where sound and score seem to bleed into each other and become indistinguishable, not unlike the work of David Lynch.

Horrocks has taken on a one man band approach with the project but has still surrounded himself great talent to round out the project. Tim Scott-Walker is pretty terrific in central role, successfully convincing David’s fraying mental state and anguish and his increasingly fraught encounters with those he meets. It’s a world where no one can be fully trusted and supporting players are very effective at portraying characters whose allegiances are uncertain. That this team have managed to come up with such a well constructed project with minimal resources is nothing short of remarkable as is the films unique and dogged release strategy. On the basis of this, the concept of the writer/director with a larger budget is very enticing indeed.

Crystal Fairy Film Review

Posted on by

crystalfairyfilmreviewA young American in a foreign land, ignorant to the culture and the language, at the crossroads of life, in search cheap booze and an ecstatic high. At first impressions, Crystal Fairy seems depressingly familiar. I’ve personally seen enough dopey nonsense about Americans running amok overseas to last a lifetime. Thankfully such thoughts are quickly dismissed in this unpolished original, made as a small off the cuff project next to psychological thriller Magic Magic by writer and Sebastian Silva. Shot in a largely improvised manner, the film centres on Jamie (Michael Cera, also star of Magic Magic), an obnoxious and self centred young man travelling across Chile with a group of local friends. Drunk at a party, he runs into a fellow American going by ‘Crystal Fairy’ (Gaby Hoffmann), an incredibly enthusiastic mystic willing to see the good in everyone and everything. He inadvertently invites her along with his friends to the north coast where they plan to sample the famed San Pedro cactus juice, known for it’s potent hallucinogenic effects. It’s an idea he immediately regrets as her easy going charm rubs his selfish impulses the wrong way and the group gravitate far more towards her than him. Perhaps losing their heads together may be the only way to get on with one another…

 

In a set up that seems painfully familiar, Crystal Fairy’s primary success is finding a fresh vitality in the worn material. Part of this is down to the beautiful photography of the film. From the urgency of the cityscape to the desolate yet hauntingly beautiful Atacama Desert, the handheld camerawork gives a woozy vibrancy to the films look that matches up with the story tone perfectly. The camera is constantly roving to find detail from the rhythms of everyday local life to fleeting gestures that betray the characters inner thoughts and motives. Its a style that best suits the semi improvisational tone of the writing and characterization. While there is a sense of narrative drift that some viewers may not have the patience for, if they do they will be rewarded by a deviation from the norms you expect from the set up. Jamie and Crystal sound on paper like incredibly two dimensional characters; the ignorant jerk and the manic pixie dream girl. Yet in the midst of the bleak landscape, wry humour and refreshing honesty they come to life in a believable manner that fleshes both of them out.

 

This characterization is further complimented by the excellent performances of both Cera and Hoffman. Cera’s presence could have potentially drawn more unwelcome parallels with thestereotypical fool abroad trope. Having made his name in nebbish, exasperated roles from Arrested Development onward some would argue that he has acted his way into a typecast corner. It’s refreshing to see him not only acting in such a niche project but also that he embraces such an unlikeable character. Jamie is spiky, attention seeking and outwardly hostile to pretty much everyone he crosses paths with. It’s a credit to Cera that his naive charm manages to overcome Jamie’s imperfections and make the inevitable softening of his edges work. Hoffmann pretty much steals the show, her eccentric energy lightening up the screen in pretty much every appearance and avoiding the pitfalls of annoyance that similar characters have fallen into. Together they see through a film that thankfully sidesteps convention and offers up a telling glimpse of young fears, desires and potential hope.

Crystal Fairy [DVD]

American Hustle | Film Review

Posted on by

‘Some of this actually happened’ states the opening title card of David O. Russell’ s freewheeling and acerbic comedic caper. It’s a sly and flippant and comment that not only reflects on the crisscross narrative that we are about to receive. It also matches the confident swagger of The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, the double bill that marked O. Russell’s return to filmmaking several years after I Heart Huckabees (and several highly publicized verbal and physical alterations between collaborators) had somewhat sullied his career. In this hiatus Russell seems to have firmly pinned down his directorial voice and is making up for lost time, coming immediately on the critically lauded heels of these two recent films.

americanhustlefilmreview

At the tail end of the 1970’s Irving Rosenfield and Sydney Prosser (Christian Bale and Amy Adams) cross paths. He’s a con artist and forged art dealer, she’s a stripper with ambitions to be anything else and a flair for performance. They become lovers and partner up to dupe desperate would be clients out of vast fortunes. This comes to an abrupt halt when FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) traps them in a sting operation and then hands them an ultimatum; lengthy jail terms or help him bring down four major fraudsters using their inside knowledge of cons. With little choice the fragile alliance set their sights on Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), the mayor of a run down New Jersey town, whose otherwise decent dreams to see the town back on its feet has him resorting to bribing potential affluent backers. What follows is an increasingly fraught and escalating situation that involves political corruption, the East Coast mafia and Irving’s astonishingly volatile, wildcard wife Roslyn (Jennifer Lawrence). That and some very eye catching haircuts.

 

The films lengthy opening shot details Rosenfield’s painstaking preparation for engaging in his illicit trade. This includes applying a ridiculous and elaborate hair piece using super glue and a frankly eye watering comb over (Bale must be a frontrunner for most egoless star working). This sets the tone for the act of deception and the recreation of identity that runs throughout the film. Rosenfield takes an astonishing, almost delusional pride in the commitment to the roles that he takes on; a commitment followed by Sydney who adopts the persona of ‘Lady Edith’, a descendant of British aristocracy whose elusive charm helps reel in their marks. Indeed everyone in American Hustle is restless to be something other than who they are. Small timers want to be big fish, beat cops want to be national heroes and corrupt politicians want to be heros of the everyman. This provides a melancholic tone underlying throughout what would otherwise be a fairly generic crime comedy. Russell clearly has a lot of heart for the characters he writes and it’s matched by his verve behind the camera. Every frame of the film is bathed in a luxurious, warm hue along a variety of assured directorial flourishes ; crash zooms, tracking shots and multiple overlapping voiceovers. He’s making every effort to create a sense of the period in which the film is set and he doffs his cap to several filmmakers of the period. Martin Scorsese in particular seems to be evoked clearly in the directorial style and for the most part this works to keep the narrative pace high and the period evocation believable.

 

However whilst the majority of American Hustle plays out at high tempo, O. Russell’s looseattitude toward structure and a tight plot prove to be as much problematic and pleasurable.There’s no denying that there is a lot of fun to be had with the escalating sense of chaos and anarchism as it cruises along. It is often, and delightfully, full of near the knuckle dark humour and profane laced musings. O. Russell’s cast step up to the task admirably and the dialogue rings with an authentic, semi improvisational feel. The downside is that this occasionally drags down the complex plot and crucially even comes close to bringing it to a grinding halt. There is such a vast array of colorful side characters and layers of betrayal and deception, that the exhausting attention to period detail and character quirks seems to obscure what should otherwise be clear. And certainly whilst its surely impossible to make story like this boring, the film does feel overlong for what should otherwise be a light footed caper. If the film is guilty of being over indulgent however, we are in least in the greatest of company when it comes to the cast. Bale and Cooper are terrific as a unique spin on the hunter and prey cliche, forced to assist one another yet utterly resentful of one another. Their portrayals as tightly wound, temperamental, exasperated ‘professionals’ throb with an infectious energy and a disarming humility. Movie stars they may be, they both feel far away from typical star performances. As good as they are however, the film is absolutely stolen by Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. Coming off her
Oscar win in O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, Lawrence radiates fiery passion and honesty as Rosenberg’s neglected wife and young mother. High strung and over emotional she may be, she is certainly no where near as daft and hopeless as she seems and her clear and concise attitudes towards other characters is often breathtaking. An alcohol induced rendition of ‘Live and Let Die’ is at once utterly tragic and uproariously funny. It is Adams however who comes across the genuine heart and soul of the film. Less showy than any of her co-stars, she finds the vulnerability and desperation at the centre of her character that makes her empathetic and quietly courageous. All are backed by a solid supporting cast including Louis C.K. as Richie’s exasperated boss and an understated cameo late on that is really not worth spoiling.

 

It’s good to see such a prominent filmmaker from the 90’s back on such prolific form and O. Russell’s touch is for the most part infectious. The true trick now will be to see where his directorial voice can go from this unofficial trilogy that American Hustle rounds out. Perhaps he’s gotten a little too caught up with the hair and fashion in, but then again it’s a lot of fun whilst it lasts.

 

In Fear Film Review

Posted on by

In Fair Film ReviewThe backroads and woods of rural Ireland open up to steady and relentless menace in this

psychological horror thriller, the debut feature of writer and director Jeremy Lovering. The basic

setup is familiar and uncomplicated; Lucy and Tom (Alice Englert and Iain De Caestecker), a

young couple in the first weeks of a burgeoning relationship, are travelling to a secluded hotel

for the evening on their way to a music festival. However as night descends and their directions

start to lead them in circles, the two of them become hopelessly lost before realizing that they

may not be alone…

Eschewing a standard format for what seems like very familiar material in the horror genre,

Lovering has taken the bold move of denying his two leads a set script. The actors were provided

with a brief outline of what direction individual scenes would take but were left unaware

of what exactly would occur. Improvisation and surprise are the driving forces here. It’s a

directorial stroke that provides the film with a fresh feel despite the well worn setting. It shows

particularly in the performances of the two leads whose increasing paranoia and discomfort is

entirely convincing. Even before the scares start their portrayal of a burgeoning relationship, all

uncertainty and stubbornness, gives their predicament an incredibly believable air. This is helped

by the increasingly claustrophobic direction as open roads give way to the sweaty, grimy interior

of the couples car. This culminates in one tremendously unsettling scene, which Lovering takes

his time letting the penny drop for the characters to realize just how dire their situation is. It’s the

directorial equivalent of twisting the knife.

The novel approach that Lovering and his collaborators take is welcome to a narrative that does

at times stray towards the predictable. An early confrontation with hostile locals is a nice nod

towards Straw Dogs, but as we go from winding roads to useless maps, low petrol and rising

tempers there is the nagging feeling that we’re going through a checklist of horror tropes. Some

hardcore genre fans may perhaps even find themselves moaning as characters make decisions

and take actions that only characters in horror films would make. Some may also find the final

act somewhat anticlimactic, though the final shot really encapsulates the idea of a never ending

pursuit and terror. Whatever flaws In Fear may have, its expert direction and performances give

it the edge that it needs to stand out in clogged up market of British horror cinema. On the basis

of this, Lovering may prove to be a director to watch.

How To Survive A Plague | Film Review

Posted on by

Nominated for the Academy Award for best documentary feature earlier this year, How To Survive A Plague arrives on these shores this week. With a engrossing yet intimate scope, the film examines the outbreak of the AIDS virus in the 1980’s and specifically its impact in Greenwich Village, New York. Faced with underwhelming medical advancement and indifferent political reaction, a diverse group of young men and women facing almost certain death banded together to found activist group ACT UP. Refusing to die quietly, they took their plight and struggle into the public domain and doggedly began a chain reaction that would turn AIDS from being nearly hundred percent lethal into a manageable disease. Director David France employs a wealth of archive footage and interviews with surviving activists to tell this remarkable story.

How To Survive a Plague, film, film review

Rather than settle for a standard talking head format that many documentary features use, France takes the bold approach of solely using existing archival footage for the vast majority of the films running time. Nearly 700 hours of home videos, news reports,testimonial footage and art protest videos have been whittled down to just under two with contemporary interview audio layered over the soundtrack. This approach reminded me of the brilliant documentary Senna, which also employed little seen existing footage to fill in for contemporary replacements. Like that films director, France realizes that he has an absolute goldmine at his disposal and that the images alone speak volumes. The confrontation between activist Bob Rafsky and then senator Bill Clinton is well documented enough (‘I feel your pain’). But there are numerous stirring and even jaw dropping scenes of protests, rallies, and interviews that convey the monumental struggle in all of its resilience. Ugly undercurrents of homophobia saw many victims of the disease meet indifference or outright hostility from what should in theory be American societies most supportive institutions; the healthcare industry and the Catholic church. One extraordinary sequence focuses on a mass ‘die in’ protest at St. Patrick’s Cathedral as protesters called out the church’s dismissal of condoms and the AIDS crisis altogether.

 

In the midst of the drama and tragedies that defined the era, France never loses focus of the figures at the centre of all of this. As the film reaches its later stages we are treated to a more conventional talking head interview format with surviving activists but this change in style is fully justified by the emotional arc that they, and in course the audience, have been on by that point. This was not simply a fight for political and social rights; it was a battle for life itself with no room for compromise. Many moments captured on camera here are raw and emotionally devastating. A rally culminating with the ashes of AIDS victims scattered across the White House lawn is utterly heartbreaking. If there is a crescendo to the grief and anguish of this generation, it comes from acclaimed playwright Larry Kramer silencing a group of squabbling, divided activists. ‘Plague! We are in the middle of a plague!’ he bellows. His voice cuts through the discourse and chills to the bone of the audience.  It’s a statement that sums up the battle that this community had to face together, and one that they overcame with unity, humour and dignity. It’s a statement, and a cause, that deserves to be heard and remembered and this film is brilliant testament to that.

Utopia Film Review

Posted on by

Author, journalist and filmmaker John Pilger has spent the last four decades providing a voice for the vulnerable and powerless. He has worked up an impressive resume of work, picking up a Bafta and Emmy in the process, that tackles the theme of division between the powers to be and those considered to be ‘lesser’ individuals who suffer in their wake. His best known work is focused on his native Australia where his breakthrough film The Secret Country (1985), focused on the indigenous Aboriginal population and their shameful persecution over the years. This focus is reiterated in Utopia (named after the Aboriginal homeland in the northern territory) along with the shocking facts of how their land was stolen from them and the various injustices against them that have not ceased with the passage of time.

utopia, film, film review,

Pilger does not hold back in his words and examinations of the current climate in Australia and rightly so. References to ‘the lucky country’ are used alongside  words such as ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’; words that are hard to associate with one of the world’s leading nations. However they seem fully justified in the wake of Pilger’s disturbing revelations. There have been film projects, both factual and fictional, that have focused on the dark chapters of slavery and of ‘The Stolen Generation’, the hideous government policy that saw children taken from their families in order to be used as slave labour and as a deliberate effort to ‘breed out the black.’ Such depictions of shameful events seem like a distant memory but there appears to be no let up in unjust persecution on the native population. If anything it would appear to have taken on  a more subtle and ‘respectable’ facade. Grim statistics of neglect, rife disease, suicide rates and overwhelming incarceration of Aboriginal citizens portray a chilling view of a seemingly national ignorance. Amidst this catalogue of atrocity, Pilger specifically focuses on the steady and insidious efforts of a government endorsed think tank that attempted to quietly erase the dark history of the nation’s past (‘no genocide, no theft of land’) and then proceeded to fuel various moral panics in the media, including a notorious claim of mass paedophilla taking place within Aboriginal tribes.  The claims were untrue and served as a mass distraction to a land grab in the area to mine for natural resources that have kept Australia’s economy strong during the recent downturn. Images of the countries majestic rural beauty take on a dark, melancholic tone in the knowledge of what has been to done to lay claim to it. The interview subjects gathered together on behalf of the  government and media institutions, which includes former prime minister Kevin Rudd, are given a fair approach by Pilger but this still appears to provide more than enough rope for some of them. His interview style is concise and devastating in it’s blunt to the point attitude but not as devastating as his subjects apparent apathy or, more shockingly, a casual indifference to the shocking social divisions and injustices over the years. This sentiment also come across in a quietly disturbing set of soundbites from from everyday citizens celebrating national holidays to commemorate the arrival of westerners to the continent. Though it is admittedly unlikely for the filmmakers to include footage with those uneasy at the one sided nature of the celebrations, it’s still unnerving to see such willful disinterest and prejudice in a first world nation.

 

Throughout the film the sense of quiet anger and shame is raw but never lapses over into trite sentiment. Aboriginal interviewees contained in the film have been at the receiving end of neglect, stereotyping and institutional racism and there is no pleading for sympathy from them or in the tone of the film. There is the inclusion of astonishing footage of labour strikes that helped signal the collapse of slavery in the nation.  Rather than raging against indignity, there is a focus on the quiet and calm search for justice. This is encapsulated in one astonishing scene where Pilger accompanies the descendants of Aboriginal prisoners to the sight of a remote former prison where hundreds were incarcerated and  lost their lives. It is now a luxury resort, with no references or memorials to its past and those who died there. The camera holds on the elder descendants face, clearly wracked with pain and anger, yet refusing to be broken by what he sees.  Filmed in an unfussy and focused manner, it’s small moments like this that hit the hardest.  Pilger and his collaborators voice is a calm yet impassioned one and it deserves to be heard in this extraordinary film.

 

UTOPIA will be released in UK cinemas on November 15th. It will be released on DVD December 16th and broadcast on ITV on 17th December. It is set to be shown in Australia early next year.