Review: Water for Elephants (2011)

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2011, Christoph Waltz, Francis Lawrence, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Water for Elephants

Director: Francis Lawrence
Stars: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz
Plot: A veterinary student drops out of college and joins a travelling circus after his parents are killed.

Shaking off such a character as famous as Edward Cullen is going to be a tall order for Robert Pattinson. After gaining mostly bit-parts in films before the release of Twilight in 2008, Pattinson has so far managed to star in two features in amongst the release of the saga’s instalments. The first, Remember Me, was an ironically forgettable affair – a moody, coming-of-age drama which had a clunky plot that was tagged onto the beginning of a dramatic, ready-made finale. By contrast, Water for Elephants has a much brighter, nostalgic theme with a central protagonist far removed from the Pattinson we’re used to seeing.

The plot follows a Polish American named Jacob (Pattinson), who is attending Cornell University with the intention of graduating as a qualified vet. He receives news that his parents have been killed, leaving him with massive debts that can only be repaid by losing the family home. Deciding that he can no longer stay at college Jacob jumps onto a passing night train, unaware of its cargo or destination. He discovers it is a travelling circus, belonging to the Benzini Brothers – Jacob is initially dismissed by the owner August (Waltz), but is saved from being ejected after telling him that he has experience in veterinary science.

Jacob becomes enamoured by August’s wife Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), who looks after the horses that feature in her circus act. After noticing that one of them is suffering and needs to be put down, he finds himself at loggerheads with August about the most humane way to deal with the situation – especially since his boss is losing money and needs to keep his prize assets to get people in. Meanwhile, as Jacob’s feelings for Marlena get stronger, an elephant called Rosie is brought into the circus but it is not long before August’s poor treatment of the animal and his obvious attraction to his boss’ wife cause tensions to spill over.

Water for Elephants is a non-offensive film which is low on convincing drama, conflict and excitement. Although the time period may suggest a certain nostalgia for the Great Depression era, there is not a great deal to go on except the costumes, cinematography (which is perhaps the main highlight) and the animals – most of which are created by CGI. All the circus clichés are here – the attractive lady, the midget and the token giant – as we would expect. There’s a sense that director Francis Lawrence is aiming for a Shawshank-style feel, but to his credit he does well to transport us back in time.

The main problem here are the two leads, Pattinson and Witherspoon. Seldom can there be such a leading couple with practically zero on-screen chemistry. Jacob and Marlena are supposed to be suffering from unrequited passion, yet you’ll be hard pressed to find anything more than a damp squib of a relationship (if you can call it that). Christoph Waltz’s character August is a little too hammy to be taken seriously and is played as a lightweight caricature rather than a proficient adversary for Jacob as the plot requires. The storyline itself glides along a little too smoothly, as if we are not supposed to care about these characters, but instead sit back and enjoy the scenery which is all well and good, but it’s not enough to grab our attention.

Pattinson has taken a very small step away from the brooding Edward, but he still has a long way to go before he can show us he is a versatile actor who can turn his hand to any role across different genres.

Rating:

Review: Field of Dreams (1989)

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1989, Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones, Kevin Costner, Phil Alden Robinson, Ray Liotta

Director: Phil Alden Robinson
Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta
Plot: An Iowa farmer hears a voice telling him to build a baseball field – when he does, the ghosts of a famous Chicago Black Sox team start appearing.

Kevin Costner’s film career began in the early 1980s, but it was a purple patch from 1987 starting with The Untouchables and ending on a sour note eight years later in Waterworld that really brought him to prominence. Looking at the list now, there are some very influential entries – Dances with Wolves and JFK are the best by far, but even Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, though derided by critics, cemented Costner’s status as box-office gold at the time.

Field of Dreams set off a series of successful films for its star and is not your usual heart-warming family movie. Costner plays Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who is wandering through his cornfield one day when he hears a disembodied voice whisper “If you build it, he will come”. Kinsella later sees a vision of a baseball field among his crops and decides to flatten an area of his acreage to build it, complete with floodlights despite the initial cynicism of his wife Annie (Amy Madigan). When whoever ‘he’ is doesn’t show up, the Kinsellas realise that they are heading towards financial ruin due to having spent their savings on the baseball field.

Suddenly, their daughter Karin (Gaby Hoffman) sees a man on the field dressed in Chicago White Sox baseball kit. Ray goes to investigate and finds out that the man is the ghost of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (Liotta), a player revered by Ray’s father. Joe asks Ray if he can bring some other players onto the field and returns with seven members of the same team who were banned after the Black Sox scandal of 1919 – only the Kinsellas can see the apparitions. After hearing the voice again say “ease his pain”, Ray must continue to discover what the cryptic messages really mean, whilst trying to avoid bankruptcy.

Field of Dreams is a quirky film, yet it appeals to a wide audience – it also feels a little dated, but that’s actually part of its charm. Kevin Costner is in virtually every scene and holds the whole thing together very well indeed. It would be hard to imagine anyone else playing the character of Ray Kinsella, which is probably why this is one of his most popular roles. Not only do Madigan and Hoffman provide great support to Costner as the Kinsella family, there are star turns from screen legends James Earl Jones as author Terence Mann and Burt Lancaster in one of his final roles as Dr. Archibald ‘Moonlight’ Graham.

Baseball may not be the most fascinating subject for a movie, especially on the British side of the Atlantic, but there’s something very heartfelt and poignant about a man trying to reconcile his feelings about his late father and about life in general. Robinson’s direction is very suitable for the setting – despite the obvious themes about the afterlife, there is never an over-sentimental, mushy scene – the temptation to overdo the ghostly scenes with bright lights is never succumbed to. Instead we are taken on a very CGI-lite journey that is very involving and realistic.

Field of Dreams is quite rightly regarded as a modern classic – not in the same league as The Shawshank Redemption, but by not explaining everything, for example ‘the voice’, this is definitely a thought-provoking film that will stay with you for days afterwards.

Rating:

Review: Hanna (2011)

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2011, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, Hanna, Joe Wright, Saoirse Ronan

Director: Joe Wright
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana
Plot: A teenage girl, raised in isolation by her father, is trained and sent by him on a mission. But it’s not long before they are both being chased by the CIA who are determined to prevent a secret that explains her existence from being revealed.

Trained female assassins appear to be a popular subject for screenwriters these days. Ever since the release of La Femme Nikita in 1990, there have been a swathe of similar films featuring scorned women who know a thing or two about gaining the ultimate revenge. From the conventional Charlie Baltimore (Geena Davis) in The Long Kiss Goodnight to Uma Thurman’s tongue-firmly-in-cheek The Bride in Kill Bill 1 & 2, this is a more alluring and mysterious type of character than its male counterpart, that tends to do rather well at the box-office.

The title character of Hanna (Ronan) is a 16-year-old who has been living with her father Erik (Bana) for most of her life in northern Finland, who has trained her in hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. He has also been educating her through the exclusive use of books, without any modern technology whatsoever. One night, Hanna tells Erik that she is ‘ready’ and is given a box with a switch, which she duly activates – this notifies a CIA officer named Marissa Weigler (Blanchett) of Erik’s whereabouts. A team is sent to capture Erik but he has already left, telling Hanna to meet him at a house in Berlin.

Weigler is intrigued by Hanna’s presence and she is brought back to the underground CIA facility in Morocco to be interrogated. A body double of Weigler is sent in to speak to Hanna in an effort to firstly determine her motives, but before the interview can yield any useful information Hanna kills her and the guards, managing to escape into the desert with CIA operatives on her tail. Meanwhile, Erik makes his way to Berlin whilst trying to evade capture himself. As the two try to meet again, Hanna learns the real truth behind Weigler’s determination to have her silenced.

The style of Hanna is very much continental European. Despite having a British director, an Irish star and Australian supporting cast, you could easily envisage this being exclusively a German affair such is the unique way in which the story is brought to life. Not only is most of the action centred around Spain and Germany, but Joe Wright’s direction suggests something altogether 1980s and the music, which comes courtesy of The Chemical Brothers, finely compliments this approach.

The portrayal of Hanna’s story in this respect is simultaneously positive and negative. On the plus side, it gives the film a great edge that we wouldn’t normally feel with a conventional action thriller – we are more used to incredibly shaky cameras but here we experience a fair few long, tracking shots, periods of little or no dialogue and the occasional absence of incidental music. However, the accessibility of the characters is thus made difficult – with such recognisable stars trying to fit into an unusual formula, it doesn’t quite work.

On the subject of believability, the fact that Hanna (who possesses a rather small frame) is able to overpower men twice her size stretches plausibility a little too far. Also the ‘mission’ she is sent on is unclear – why does the transponder have to be switched on in order for the CIA to know where they are? We can only assume it is so Hanna is able to infiltrate Weigler’s hideaway and kill her, but that doesn’t guarantee that the two of them will meet face-to-face. Plot holes aside, Ronan plays Hanna with the right balance of ferocity and vulnerability, but Bana is placed at a disadvantage due to the requirement to put on a decidedly ‘Allo ‘Allo-inspired accent.

Hanna isn’t as fun or blood-thirsty as Kill Bill, but it has a good try at emulating the body count, finding increasingly innovative ways for characters to meet their end. Nevertheless, very healthy receipts for the film suggests that cinema-goers still enjoy a decent action yarn, such as this.

Rating:

Review: Brighton Rock (2010)

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2010, Andrea Riseborough, Brighton Rock, Helen Mirren, Rowan Joffé, Sam Riley

Director: Rowan Joffé
Stars: Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren
Plot: Pinkie Brown, a sociopathic Brighton gang leader, commits a murder and tries to cover it up by marrying the girl who could incriminate him.

Stereotypical 1960s films set in Britain have Beatles music playing in every cafe, teenagers walking around in mop-tops and a general feeling of new freedoms and social revolutions abound. This film adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel of choice for many an A-Level curriculum (which is actually set in the 1930s), is far from this breezy ideal. Challenging themes such as religion, morality and the real meaning of love are all crammed into the 110 minutes of this big-screen remake of the 1947 classic starring Richard Attenborough.

Set in 1964, Brighton Rock begins with the brutal murder of a gang member loyal to Spicer (Philip Davis), who is a rival Brighton mobster to Colleoni (Andy Serkis) whose men carry out the killing. Hale (Sean Harris), who dealt the fatal blow, is pursued by sociopath Pinkie Brown (Riley), another of Spicer’s men determined to seek revenge. Hale fears for his life and encounters his friend Ida (Mirren) in a pub, who is concerned for his welfare and notices he doesn’t appear to be well. Hale runs out onto Brighton Pier and meets Rose (Andrea Riseborough), but also Spicer who appears next to them. A photographer taking pictures for tourists captures the three together but Hale manages to escape Spicer and is consequently chased underneath the pier by Pinkie, who kills him.

Pinkie learns that Rose still has the slip from the photographer to claim the photo and decides he must befriend her and retrieve it, otherwise she could unwittingly lead the police to them. He also has designs on becoming the gang leader, becoming a merciless killer to anyone who stands in his way, despite being, at 17, the youngest in the group. Pinkie unsuccessfully tries to bargain a truce with Colleoni and sinks deeper into the gang-related mire, marrying Rose in haste as wives cannot give evidence in a trial against their husbands. Ida, who also happens to be Rose’s boss at a local tea shop, takes it upon herself to make sure that Rose is saved from a terrible fate – the longer she stays with Pinkie, the more likely that everything will end in tragedy.

Without reading Greene’s novel, many of the major themes will probably not make much sense, as they are mentioned here but merely skirted around. The main focus of the film are the inner conflicts of Pinkie and Rose who both reluctantly make sacrifices in order to be with each other and are ultimately left with very little. Riley’s Pinkie is very believable, not on a par with the incomparable Dickie Attenborough, but evidence of a future talent nonetheless. Equally, Riseborough brings a telling naivety and vulnerability to the screen as Rose, with Mirren’s Ida as you would expect – done effortlessly.

The transplantation to the 1960s has been criticised by the purists and, while it works in the main, there are a few inserted elements such as the very Quadrophenia-style mod invasion of Brighton which feels like it’s been shoehorned in because the filmmakers just couldn’t resist. The general atmosphere of Brighton Rock does feel a little stale at times, but the plotting is pretty tight and the storyline moves along quite nicely without pausing for breath.

Greene’s Brighton Rock might be a classic piece of literature that has stood the test of time, but unfortunately this film version will most likely be remembered as nothing more than a decent attempt to tinker with a very well-known and dense text that needs to be read instead of being adapted for cinema, to fully understand its profound meanings.

Rating:

Review: Half Nelson (2006)

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2006, Anthony Mackie, Half Nelson, Ryan Fleck, Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps

Director: Ryan Fleck
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Shareeka Epps
Plot: A high school teacher’s drug habit is discovered by one of his pupils, with whom he forms an unorthodox relationship.

It’s a very familiar synopsis: a flawless, inspirational teacher meets either a difficult/misguided pupil or a whole class of them and changes their life/lives forever. The Dead Poets’ Society, Dangerous Minds, Freedom Writers and even School of Rock can all claim to have made us believe that such an often poorly paid job can be endlessly rewarding. Half Nelson is not that straightforward. Sure, the protagonist in question, Dan Dunne has an effective teaching style that gets his pupils on his side, but this teacher takes the concept of a ‘high’ school way too literally.

Dunne (Gosling) is a history teacher at a school in Brooklyn. He defies the set curriculum (and the headmistress) with his own style of dialectics in an attempt to help his pupils understand the effects of cultural revolutions such as the Civil rights movement, which features prominently throughout the film. At first, Dunne seems to lead a quite contented life, although soon we learn that he has an all-consuming cocaine habit which is discovered by one of his students Drey (Epps), who finds him sprawled on the floor of the locker room. The return of Dan’s ex-girlfriend Rachel (Tina Holmes) on the scene, for whom he still has strong feelings, exacerbates his habit and he is initially forced to form a bond with Drey, which eventually turns into friendship.

Drey on the other hand has her own issues to deal with. She comes from a broken family, as her father is absent, her mother works odd shifts and she has a brother in prison for selling drugs on behalf of local dealer Frank (Mackie). Dan recognises that Frank is trying to recruit Drey as a future dealer and makes attempts to steer her away from his influence. As a result, Dan and Drey’s relationship begins to strain but it is up to them to realise that they need each other if they are to avoid ruining their lives – can Dan save Drey from Frank and can Drey save Dan from himself?

Half Nelson may be light on plot, but the acting is terrific. Bearing in mind this is five years ago, Gosling here shows the potential to be the flavour of the year that he is now. In between the fluffiness of The Notebook and the standard fare of Fracture, we finally see a flash of what Gosling is capable of. Equally, newcomer Epps fits into the role of Drey very well and convinces in her role as a confused kid looking for direction in life. With an effective screenplay, the film is merely a series of conversations – there are no great theatrics, just good old-fashioned character development.

Whereas the development of plot and the primary characters is a strong point, the film lacks any great deal of true substance. Despite avoiding the typical teacher/pupil clichés, the racial issues tackled both inside and outside the classroom feel rather contrived and are too convenient to be anything else but purposefully combined to emphasise the differences between Dan and Drey’s lives. That said, the cleverness in showing that they are unfortunately connected by the use of drugs is done well.

Half Nelson is well acted and directed (save for the completely unnecessary shaky camera angles, which add nothing), but it doesn’t satisfy as far as the plot is concerned. Without an arresting storyline, we drift from one scene to the next and while there is plenty of sympathy for the characters, we find it difficult to really connect and empathise with the story. What we end up with after a promising start is a film trying too hard to be different when a touch of adrenaline and punch would have gone a long way in combating the resultant malaise.

Rating:

Review: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

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2007, Bourne, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Matt Damon, Paul Greengrass, Ultimatum

Director: Paul Greengrass
Stars: Matt Damon, David Strathairn, Joan Allen
Plot: Jason Bourne continues his search for the truth whilst being tracked by a CIA agent and his team.

The Bourne Legacy, due for a cinema release in 2012, has a very hard act to follow indeed. Not only did the original trilogy raise the bar as an action series with brains but the final instalment, The Bourne Ultimatum, is quite possibly the most gripping, adrenaline-filled, thrilling action film in years. The culmination of Jason Bourne’s back story comes to a climax, as he finally discovers the truth behind the origins of how he became embroiled in the black-ops wing of the CIA known as ‘Treadstone’ and its associated program ‘Blackbriar’.

Having evaded the Moscow police and the attentions of Russian agent Kirill (Karl Urban) in The Bourne Supremacy, Bourne (Damon) travels to London to meet Simon Ross (Paddy Considine), a correspondent at The Guardian. Ross had met with a source to discuss Bourne and ‘Treadstone’, but acquires the attention of the CIA when he mentions ‘Operation Blackbriar’. Bourne and Ross meet in Waterloo train station but before they can have a meaningful conversation, they are pursued by the CIA, under orders from Blackbriar’s director Noah Vosen (Strathairn). Ross is killed, but Bourne is not discouraged and continues his search for the truth. CIA Director Ezra Kramer (Scott Glenn) assigns Pamela Landy (Allen) to assist Vosen in tracking Bourne down. The trail leads to Madrid, as Bourne believes the source is the station chief Neal Daniels (Colin Stinton), but there he finds Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), a low-level Treadstone technician, who tells him that Daniels fled to Tangier.

Bourne and Parsons travel to Morocco in order to find Daniels, but learn that he has been marked by the CIA and an assassin, Desh Bouksani (Joey Ansah) has already been tasked with killing him. Bourne gives chase through the streets of the city, knowing that Bouksani is most likely to have been given orders to kill him and Parsons too. Daniels is killed by a bomb and after a frenetic chase and fight amongst the rooftops of Tangier, Bourne manages to kill Bouksani and having examined the charred remains of his briefcase, discovers the location of Vosen’s office in New York City. Bourne must return home for one last showdown with his former employers as his old life and his new identity come face-to-face.

The Bourne Ultimatum is an action-packed, rollercoaster ride which features some of the best ever action set-pieces ever committed to celluloid. As if the combination of Paul Greengrass’ terrific direction and the amazing score (those violins!) by John Powell wasn’t enough, you’ve got Matt Damon on top form, David Strathairn brilliant as menacing CIA chief Vosen, whilst the support from Joan Allen and Julia Stiles is as superb as ever. Action films don’t usually demand a high level of acting but here, due to the standard set by Identity and Supremacy, we expect nothing less.

The scenes in Waterloo station set the tone for Ultimatum. Shot among the commuters of London using few extras, the effect is all too authentic. Unusually, for an American film featuring our capital, there are refreshingly few of the British stereotypes although we can forgive the token red bus as that’s part of the plot. The dizzying array of locations that Bourne travels to may conjure memories of Dan Brown-inspired films gone by, but at least there’s a defined structure and no aimless European city-hopping, just for the sake of it.

Ultimatum‘s plot manages to keep you entertained yet informed about what’s going on, never leaving anyone behind despite the barrage of information mixed in with the action. Waterloo aside, as far as Greengrass’ direction is concerned he conjures the most memorable scenes in Tangier, as Bourne and Parsons duel with Bouksani firstly in the winding, narrow streets and then on the rooftops where a flurry of windows and roof tiles are shattered using a brilliant first-person perspective.

As far as final chapters go, this is one of the best. We get a resolution despite an open-ish ending, but also a fantastic, climatic ending to the film as well as the trilogy. Ultimatum ticks all the boxes, but without either Greengrass or Damon onboard in Legacy, the next part of the saga is going to really struggle to even get close to emulating this most accomplished of films in its genre.

Rating:

Review: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011)

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2011, Bill Condon, Breaking Dawn, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Twilight

Director: Bill Condon
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Plot: As Bella and Edward begin their new life together, the birth of their daughter Renesmee is only the start of a dangerous path towards the final battle.

Reviewing films that have been adapted from a famous series of novels such as Twilight is a tricky business. The two main audiences are firstly of course, fans of the books who demand a faithful adaptation, but also cinema-goers who have perhaps no interest in reading the text beforehand, but wish to judge the films as they see them. To balance the two together is virtually impossible because there will always be unsatisfied viewers no matter what happens, for a whole a range of reasons. It is therefore best to consider Breaking Dawn here in the context of a film that should entertain and hold your attention, just like any other.

The story begins as preparations for Bella (Stewart) and Edward’s (Pattinson) wedding are in full swing. Invitations have been sent out – one of these lands on the doormat of Jacob’s (Lautner), who is not a happy werewolf. Meanwhile, as the guests, ranging from those alive, the undead and to the hairy begin to arrive, Edward tells Bella about his blood-thirsty past – this prompts Bella to ponder about what marrying a vampire will mean in the future (and have an odd dream), but she’s in lurve, so goes ahead anyway. The wedding is a success despite the obvious reservations between vampire and werewolf. This tension culminates in the appearance of Jacob who doesn’t like the idea of the newlyweds ‘enjoying’ their wedding night a little too much, as he fears Edward will inadvertently kill Bella.

Nonetheless, the couple jet off to Brazil, to stay on Isle Esme, just off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Whilst on their honeymoon, Edward impregnates Bella much to the horror of their housekeeper who views vampires as demons. Upon returning home, the Cullens become concerned for Bella’s welfare as the foetus grows incredibly quickly and appears to be draining the life from its mother, slowly crushing her from the inside. On hearing the news about the impending arrival of the vampiric bundle of joy, the local werewolves feel threatened and plan to kill Bella and the baby, but Jacob protests and has to decide whether to be loyal to his own kind or try to protect them. As the birth draws near, the vampires and werewolves are involved in a deadly stand-off that will have repercussions far beyond the forests surrounding the small Washington town of Forks.

Breaking Dawn contains two very major flaws. The first is the screenplay which is insipid, at times corny, but above all apparently lifted from a Sunday afternoon Danielle Steele TV movie. Staying faithful to Stephanie Meyer’s novel is all well and good, but when the plot of the said book is so lightweight, it really could do with more bite (sorry) to make it more interesting. Do we care for Bella, Edward and Jacob? This is the question that should’ve been ringing in Meyer’s and indeed screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg’s ears. Instead, all we get is a plot that repeatedly goes back and forth between the two camps, vampire and werewolf, until weariness sets in.

The second flaw of the film is the middle. You could quite easily go for a stroll after 20 minutes and come back around half an hour from the end and not have missed a great deal. As with the previous Twilight films, there is plenty of pouting, close-ups and the standard ripping-off of shirts to satisfy the female fans. Especially when it comes to the honeymoon and it is down to Stewart and Pattinson to carry the film for well over 30 minutes, there is little to keep anyone interested with even the actors themselves looking bored at times.

On the positive side, the film’s darker tone is an improvement on the fluffy who-will-she-choose shenanigans of Eclipse. The Rosemary’s Baby-style climax is actually not bad at all and we finally get some raw emotion from our protagonists instead of the usual teenage angst done by twenty-somethings which doesn’t really work at all.

Breaking Dawn is by no means terrible. Instead it is forgettable and mostly dull, but thankfully without an overlong running time. To denounce a film such as this would be an easy cop-out. We know what to expect (not much) and the film delivers it. The plot commendably stays very close to the novel thus avoiding alienating those who have both read the books and seen the films. If we do have something to be thankful for, it is that the superb Michael Sheen returns as Aro in Part 2 – as revealed in a random mid-credits scene at the end.

It’s highly unlikely that the final instalment of the Twilight franchise will be any better, considering it’s the same director and screenwriter, but there’s a whole year for the producers to make sure it’s not quite as anaemic.

Rating:

Review: Life in a Day (2011)

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2011, Kevin MacDonald, Life in a Day, Ridley Scott

Directors: Kevin MacDonald, Natalia Andreadis et al.
Stars: Cindy Baer, Moica, Caryn Waechter
Plot: A snapshot of life on Earth, shot by filmmakers around the world on 24th July 2010

YouTube has made millions of people filmmakers in their own right. From the imaginative to mundane and the surreal, all you need to create a video for people around the world to see is a simple idea and a webcam. So it’s perhaps inevitable that a coordinated project to see what life is like around the world on a particular day would be made. Up to now, there have been synchronised – usually musical – contributions, but never on the scale of Life in a Day.

This is a documentary on a grand scale. But where most films of the same ilk feature a voice-over, there is no such thing here – the various videos are left to speak for themselves. Moving chronologically throughout the day, we follow the stars of the show performing their waking up rituals, going to work, interacting with others and the world around them. Affecting stories about life and death – the effect that illnesses have on people and their families crops up time and again. There are also some disturbing images – a cow is slaughtered (shown rather graphically) and footage of the stampede that ensued at the Love Parade festival in Duisburg, Germany which resulted in the deaths of 21 people.

As far as nature is concerned, sunsets feature heavily, as do cloud formations, city skylines and mountain ranges – many of these images were captured by cameras that were sent into the most remote and poorer areas of the world, where YouTube is practically or actually non-existent. Questions were set for the DIY filmmakers upon which to base their videos. What do you love? What do you fear? What’s in your pocket? Many of the answers given are very random yet others are predictable (and some downright illegal).

With cinematic heavyweights Ridley and Tony Scott involved, this should have been a lot more coherent than it is. The questions posed to contributors really don’t mean a great deal, as the vast majority of the film has nothing to do with them. With the only common theme being on which day everything was shot, the result is a mish-mash of the dull, occasional beautiful scenery and the obligatory controversial themes. The vast amount of material amassed and edited is a commendable achievement, but with a little more thought this could have been a much more interesting proposition.

Life in a Day is a thought-provoking look at life in different cultures around the world, but it is too fractured to be considered a classic piece of ground-breaking filmmaking.

Rating:

Review: The Way (2010)

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2010, Deborah Kara Unger, Emilio Estevez, Martin Sheen, Way

Director: Emilio Estevez
Stars: Emilio Estevez, Martin Sheen, Deborah Kara Unger
Plot: A father travels from America to Europe in order to collect his son’s body, but decides to walk along a pilgrim trail from France to Spain on which he died to learn more about his motives.

If you’ve never heard of the El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James) before, then prepare to be inspired. Traditionally, the route starts at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port at the foothills of the Pyrenees in southern France and stretches approximately 800km to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela near the Atlantic coast. Christian pilgrims and atheists alike have walked (and more recently cycled) along this route for over a thousand years to not only pay homage to St. James, but also for a whole range of other reasons. So where better to set a film about a physical and spiritual journey?

Tom Avery (Sheen), a Californian ophthalmologist, receives the news that his son Daniel (Estevez) has been killed whilst trying to walk the El Camino during a storm. He goes to France with the intention of collecting his body and bringing it back to America, but instead decides to get a cremation and take Daniel’s remains with him on the trail. We learn that his son went travelling despite his father’s express disapproval, as Tom had hoped Daniel would continue a promising career instead of giving it all up for his wish to see the world instead.

As Tom sets out on his walk he encounters Joost (Yorick van Wageningen) from Amsterdam, who is setting out in an effort to lose weight. Also joining the two on the long trail is Sarah (Unger), a Canadian who is doing the pilgrimage primarily in an effort to stop smoking but also to get over a messy divorce from an abusive husband. The group is completed by Jack (James Nesbitt), a writer from ‘Ireland’ (saying Northern Ireland would be more accurate, but for some reason it’s too confusing) who has writer’s block which needs, well, unblocking. The four form their own mini-Fellowship, but instead of a Ring it is their collective vices and self-doubt that need destroying by the end of the journey.

The synopsis of The Way does exactly what it says on the tin. There are the token assortment of characters  – a jovial Dutchman, a bitter Canadian and a manic (Northern) Irishman to accompany Sheen’s Tom along the journey. There are no major surprises on that score. But at the heart of the film is a touching story about tragedy and loss – Tom’s companions are just a side-show for the central concern that is his acceptance that Daniel’s adventure must be completed with his spirit in tow. The scenery is stunning – no doubt anyone who has not had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful corner of Western Europe will be tempted to dust off their walking shoes and take up the challenge themselves.

On the down side, Tom’s character is not a particularly pleasant travel partner. He is suffering from grief for sure, but also you feel that he could do with being a little more agreeable, especially considering the two hours plus running time. Strangely, he somehow manages to complete the walk without a single blister on his feet or any physical pain whatsoever, bearing in mind he is 70-odd. There is also a contrived storyline involving a gypsy boy, who steals Tom’s backpack but is made to return it by his father. This seems like it has been shoved in as an afterthought and is a hint that the spectre of Hollywood clichés are also following Tom as well as Daniel’s ghost along the Camino.

The Way is an enjoyable, heartfelt film that is touching and at times amusing. The only twists and turns are in the road and not in the plot – if you don’t mind this, you’ll enjoy the walk - and the view.

Rating:

Review: Red Riding Hood (2011)

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2011, Amanda Seyfried, Catherine Hardwicke, Gary Oldman, Lukas Haas, Red Riding Hood

Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Lukas Haas, Gary Oldman
Plot: As a girl falls for a local woodcutter, her village is being stalked by a deadly werewolf.

It’s high time Amanda Seyfried took on a few challenging roles in an effort to show us that she’s worth her salt among the A-List. On so many occasions she has played the same sappy, dreamy, idealistic character who lives in a sheltered world where life is a little tricky but everything eventually works out in the end. There is a little evidence that Seyfried is trying – Chloe and Jennifer’s Body proved that she can branch out – but even these films were nothing remarkable.

In Red Riding Hood Seyfried plays yet another 17-going-on-27-year-old character Valerie who lives in the village of Daggerhorn, which we are led to assume is set in medieval Germany due to the costumes and its deep forest setting (let’s just ignore the American accents though). She is torn between two men – one is childhood friend Peter (Shiloh Fernandez) who she would like to run away with and Henry (Max Irons), the son of a wealthy blacksmith to whom her parents have promised her hand in marriage. All seems idyllic enough until a werewolf apparently living nearby that had been leaving the locals alone, suddenly takes out Valerie’s sister Lucie (Alexandra Maillot). A vigilante posse is formed to kill the werewolf, but they only succeed in killing a ‘normal’ grey wolf.

This very small but important detail is pointed out by Father Solomon (Oldman), who arrives with a reputation for slaying werewolves and other ungodly creatures, having been forced to kill his wife due to the fact that she got a little too aggressive and hairy herself during full moons. He sets out on a witch-hunt of the village, pointing the finger of suspicion on anyone who prefers their own company and/or dabbles in the dark arts. Valerie then spends a lot of time running around wondering who the werewolf is, including her two suitors and her own grandmother Suzette (Virginia Madsen).

There is a very strong Twilight vibe about the whole thing, which is little wonder since director Catherine Hardwicke was at the helm of the first film in 2008. Also the apparent love triangle between Valerie, Peter and Henry with a werewolf thrown in for good measure (no vampires though), makes this all too familiar. Not only this, but Billy Burke who plays Valerie’s father Cesaire will be known to fans of the franchise as the dad of Bella in the aforementioned saga. The characters being as they are from medieval Hollywood – we’ve been here before in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves – are mostly one-dimensional and pretty dull and predictable, except for Oldman’s Solomon with which our Gary has a lot of fun without taking it too seriously.

The fairytale forest setting and the storyline both initially seem promising, but it quickly becomes evident that it’s going to be a clichéd journey all the way to the end, with an all-too-obvious reveal that you’ll spot far too early. Some critics have been a little harsh by claiming this is a complete disaster. It isn’t – Hardwicke’s direction is pretty good and the mood of the film is atmospheric, particularly at the beginning. Despite this, it’s still a thoroughly unsatisfying experience but is elevated just above awful.

There are far worse films than Red Riding Hood, but this is no less a disappointing effort at sexing-up a well-known children’s fairytale.

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