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The Tragedy of Macbeth **½
UK/USA: Roman Polanski, 1971 Roman Polanski's brutal, unflinching adaptation of Macbeth is clearly the work of a director with great affinity for his subject matter. This, ironically, is the single biggest problem with The Tragedy of Macbeth: it's simply too close to its source material to resonate effectively on the screen. That's not to say that Polanski has not made alterations to the play. Indeed, while the dialogue rigidly adheres to that of Shakespeare (only modernising certain words and omitting a few lines here and there), and the scenes play out in the same order and broadly the same manner as in the original play, Polanski very much puts his own personal touch on the more violent aspects of the plot. The film was made shortly after the murder of Sharon Tate by Charles Manson and his gang, and, armed with that knowledge, it is virtually impossible not to imagine that this must have had some impact on the high level of bloodshed it depicts. This is easily Polanski's most overtly violent film, and the unflinching manner in which it is presented is one of its two strongest traits (the other is Gil Taylor's breathtakingly moody Todd-AO 35 photography, which swathes the screen in near-perpetual doom and gloom). The lack of restraint on display here arguably makes the tale more vivid and immediate than any other filmic adaptation of the play to date. For all the strength of its atmosphere, however, the film's pace is leaden, and the whole affair is ultimately overly long, with Francesca Annis' nude rendition of Lady Macbeth's "Out, damned spot..." speech being one of the few truly memorable moments of the lethargic second act. An ambitious and passionate undertaking, Polanski cannot be faulted for effort in his interpretation of Macbeth. The end result, however, is a bloated affair that had this viewer on the verge of sleep. IMDB reference
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The Sin Eater *
Alternate title: The Order
USA: Brian Helgeland, 2003 Often, when I see a film that has had unanimously bad press, I find something to appreciate in it: a little moment or element, even if everything else is bad. Not so with The Sin Eater: this film is rotten to the core, a complete and unmitigated disaster. The fact that it is fairly competently shot is rendered absolutely meaningless when faced with this utterly stupid story, awful dialogue and hideous acting. I can't believe anyone involved in this mess would actually want to be credited! Seriously, this is the first time in ages that I've just about wanted to scald my eyeballs with molten lava in order to erase the hideous memory. It's not even so bad it's good - it's just... bad. Really, really, really bad. IMDB reference
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S1m0ne ***
USA: Andrew Niccol, 2002 The old adage applies: when in doubt, opt for the sledgehammer approach. The actual concept of the film - that of a fabricated digital actor taking on a life of her own as a result of fan adulation - is a good one, but rather than allowing the audience to work out the central themes for themselves, writer/director Andrew Niccol bludgeons us over the head with them to the point of ridiculousness. Nothing is left to our imagination. As a result, S1m0ne is an interesting attempt by the Hollywood machine to bite the hand that feeds it, but unfortunately it makes it clear that, yes, it really does believe that we're the same suckers who get duped by "Simone". IMDB reference
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The Bloodstained Butterfly ***½
Original title: Una Farfalla con le Ali Insanguinate
Italy: Duccio Tessari, 1971 IMDB reference
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Sympathy for Lady Vengeance ****
Original title: Chinjeolhan Geumjassi
South Korea: Chan-wook Park, 2005 I watched Sympathy for Lady Vengeance in my Film Studies class. To quote one somewhat disgusted student, "Well, that was bundle of laughs, wasn't it?" I really enjoyed it. The only other Chan-wook Park film I've seen is Oldboy, and I'd be hard-pressed to say which one I prefer. They're essentially the same story, only Lady Vengeance has a female protagonist rather than a male one, and there's no surprise twist at the end. It's certainly a very beautiful film, although there are some definite flaws in the characterisation. It's hard to ever get an angle on the heroine, and the result is that she seems more a cipher than a real person. Most of the other characters are equally one-dimensional, and some aspects - the daughter, the various prison inmates who help the heroine - could have been expanded more. Nonetheless, though, I would definitely recommend this film. It's consistently amazing to look at, the music is brilliant and the blood-soaked finale is completely and utterly twisted. In the seminar after the screening, we discussed problems that would face a Hollywood studio if they tried to remake it. Frankly, I see no feasible way that the finale would survive in the same form. IMDB reference
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The Interrogation ****
Original title: Przesluchanie
Poland: Ryszard Bugajski, 1982 IMDB reference
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Welcome to the Dollhouse ****
USA: Todd Solondz, 1995 There is a moment in Welcome to the Dollhouse that perfectly sums up the frustration of being a misunderstood middle child. After spending a night on the streets, having run away in search of her lost younger sister, Missy (Daria Kalinina), Dawn (Heather Matarazzo) phones home only to be offhandedly informed that Missy has turned up safe and sound. The marked contrast between her parents' complete lack of concern regarding Dawn's disappearance and their earlier hysteria over the possibility that Missy could have been kidnapped or murdered cuts right to the bone, and encapsulates the acute pessimism of Todd Solondz's suburban drama. What holds together this vicious and revealing take on pre-teen life is Heather Matarazzo, who gives an outstanding central performance that belies her young age. So pitch-perfect is her portrayal of lonely outcast Dawn that the character comes alive and remains completely believable, even when Solondz's somewhat heavy-handed approach to portraying isolation and rejection threatens to go over the top. Having a vindictive, bullying teacher order Dawn to write and read aloud an essay on the meaning of 'dignity' could easily have been overkill, but Matarazzo's sincerity and the utterly pathetic manner in which she delivers the words on the page give the character a depth that was probably not in the script. So strong is her conviction that she is able to make lines like "I don't mean to be a cunt" sound completely rational. With so much unreleased tension and heartache, Welcome to the Dollhouse threatens, at any moment, to send its audience spiralling into depression. Its blackly comic dialogue, and the performances of its talented cast, however, prevent it from ever being completely desolate. Admittedly, the gusto with which it attacks the institutional nostalgia of suburban life borders on smugness at times, but it remains a powerful and compelling film that should strike a chord with anyone who has ever felt like the odd one out. IMDB reference
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The Girl on the Bridge *****
Original title: La Fille sur le Pont
France: Patrice Leconte, 1999 IMDB reference
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Blackboards **½
Original title: Takhté Siah
Iran: Samira Makhmalbaf, 2000 IMDB reference
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Soldiers of Salamina ***
Original title: Soldados de Salamina
Spain: David Trueba, 2003 Contained within Soldiers of Salamina's two-hour running time are the ideas for two interesting films, but their lack of any meaningful connection to each other means that they never quite gel, nor are they exploited as successfully as they could have been had they been tackled separately. On the one hand, writer/director David Trueba presents us with an intriguing character study of an extremely flawed individual: Lola (Ariadna Gil) is a teacher who also works part-time as a journalist. Lonely and lacking a sense of purpose in her life, her story is the most interesting aspect of the film and one that is given far too little development. Meanwhile, feeling somewhat arbitrary despite the amount of running time it occupies, is her quest to piece together the events that led to the narrow escape of a Fascist writer, Rafael Sánchez Mazas, from a firing squad during the Spanish Civil War. This aspect of the film's narrative is substantially less engaging, perhaps partly because of its lack of resonance for a non-Spanish audience (the historical events portrayed are given little context), but also because so little effort is made to explain why Lola feels so strongly driven to investigate this particular subject. In a sense, that is actually the point: Lola's day to day existence is directionless, and her absorption into Mazas' story is an attempt to give her life some purpose - to feel something. Trueba might therefore be described as having achieved what he set out to do, but the lack of personal involvement on the part of the film's protagonist severely hampers any emotion that might otherwise have been felt. On a technical level, Soldiers of Salamina well-crafted, with some interesting stylistic choices, most of them borrowed from documentary filmmaking, and the character of Lola is both well written and acted. However, the film's lack of an emotional centre is ultimately its biggest downfall, and as such its final impression is that of a missed opportunity. IMDB reference
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Wolf Creek ****
Australia: Greg McLean, 2005 Hey! This was pretty damn good! So good, in fact, that I'm giving it the same rating as The Devil's Rejects, about which I raved a couple of months back. Finally, this is a horror movie that plays it completely straight, not falling into the trap of spouting endless pop culture references so that the filmmaker can show how clever he is. Don't get me wrong, Wolf Creek is funny, but it's a wry sort of black comedy that I'm fairly sure was unintentional. Most of it comes from the villain of the piece, whose dialogue and mannerisms, and the fact that he's so god-damned cheerful about everything, including the torturing and killing of our three hapless protagonists, make him a hoot to watch and a riveting screen presence. Now, I'm sure that most people won't find anything to laugh about in this movie, but that's just me: I just tend to find this sort of thing funny. The film takes a while to get going, with almost an entire hour devoted to setting up the characters and the setting. This is a perfect example of why a movie like this could only have been made independently. In Hollywood, the script doctors would have thrown away all the development (if the script had even been accepted in the first place) because, they'd claim, the audience would get restless. I'll admit that this lengthy setup process almost outstays its welcome, but ultimately it ends up being a better movie because it takes its time and doesn't rush into things. The end result is that, although the characters are initially presented as unlikeable assholes, by the time the shit hits the fan you care sufficiently about them to be concerned about whether they live or die (and I'm not going to give anything away). Cassandra Magrath, especially, does exceptionally well with both the character stuff and the scenes of high tension. Wolf Creek ultimately works for the same reason as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and, more recently (although to a lesser extent), Haute Tension: it's a primal, no-holds-barred horror experience that doesn't try to placate the audience by sugar-coating the events it portrays. Like the killer, it's ruthless and doesn't know the meaning of "going too far". As such I highly recommend this to everyone sick of the infuriatingly crappy PG-13 American slashers that insist on tarnishing the good name of horror. IMDB reference
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Trains, Planes & Automobiles ****
USA: John Hughes, 1987 IMDB reference
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Red Eye ***½
USA: Wes Craven, 2005 I'm pleased to report that Red Eye is, at the very least, a massive step up from the clunker that was Cursed. In fact, this could well be his best film since the original Scream. Admittedly, that's not saying much, and I'm certainly not trying to say that the film is some sort of masterpiece, but it is a tight and effective thriller that completely succeeds in what it sets out to do. It's not particularly original, but the performances across the board are good, and the script is such that it allows Craven to indulge in some extremely tense sequences (the last half hour is superb). This is completely new territory for Craven - a straight thriller instead of a horror movie - but it looks like the change of scenery has reinvigorated him. Hopefully he has a few other films like this up his sleeve. IMDB reference
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(*) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ***
Original title: Wo Hu Cang Long
China/USA: Ang Lee, 2000 IMDB reference
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Babe: Pig in the City *½
Australia/USA: George Miller, 1998 The sequel to the 1995 adaptation of Dick King-Smith's novel The Sheep Pig, Babe: Pig in the City is brash, overly sentimental and worst of all completely infuriating. It transplants essentially the same premise as its predecessor - cute talking pig saves day and wins respect of fellow animals - from the farmyard to an anonymous city (one that is home to the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, among other monuments). Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) is injured in an accident unintentionally engineered by the eponymous Babe (voice of E.G. Daily) and, to keep the debt collectors at bay, his rotund wife (Magda Szubanski) boards a plane bound for a prestigious sheep-herding contest with the swine in hand. A series of mishaps results in the pair being separated and soon Babe finds himself alone in the menacing city... Beyond a handful of throwaway nods to adult audiences (the mice from the first film return to squeal their own renditions of the likes of "That's Amore" and "Je Ne Regrette Rien" in their excruciatingly shrill voices), the bulk of the material on offer is aimed squarely at children. Director George Miller (who also co-wrote the screenplays for both this outing and the original Babe) keeps the film rolling at a brisk pace but ends up succumbing to a disjointed and overly episodic structure as the swine flits from one slapstick encounter to another, blubbering away in his infuriating voice and doing his best to convince everyone that he really is a useful pig. Ultimately, Babe: Pig in the City is an hour and a half of bright colours, squeaky voices and juvenile slapstick that aims for the lowest common denominator. Pre-school kids may find something to distract them in this package, but personally I think that this pig is long overdue for a visit to the knacker's yard. IMDB reference
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(*) Land of the Dead ***½
USA/Canada: George A. Romero, 2005 (Watched with commentary by George A. Romero, Peter Grunwald and Michael Doherty) IMDB reference
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(*) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York ***
USA: Chris Columbus, 1992 IMDB reference
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Land of the Dead ***½
USA/Canada: George A. Romero, 2005 Surprisingly, this fourth entry in the "Dead" saga actually has more in common with Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead than Romero's original, and while it is the better movie overall, its lead performers seriously let it down. Snyder's movie had Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames, whereas Land has Simon Baker pretending to be a lump of wood and Asia Argento wearing fish-nets and scowling. It's good to see Romero doing a new "Dead" movie, but this entry doesn't live up to its predecessors. Perhaps we've become too jaded for his particular brand of social commentary to work, or perhaps he's lost his touch. IMDB reference
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Audition ****
Original title: Ôdishon
Japan/South Korea: Takashi Miike, 1999 IMDB reference
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(*) Morvern Callar ****½
UK: Lynne Ramsay, 2002 It's a giant cliché, I know, but you don't just watch Morvern Callar, you experience it. Cinema at its essence, to me, is about making people feel emotions, and Morvern Callar certainly does that: it leaves me depressed about the banality and directionlessness of life every time I watch it, and I'm hardly a pessimist or manic depressive. I'm of the opinion that this film is the cinematic equivalent of an open book - that there is no hidden meaning to it, but simply a series of powerful images and emotions that the individual viewer must interpret for themselves. A lot of people, I'm sure, will hate the fact that it has no real ending to speak of (come to think of it, it doesn't have much in the way of a beginning or middle either) and of the eventual feeling of pointlessness, but in the end that's actually incredibly true to life. IMDB reference
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(*) My Life Without Me ****
Spain/Canada: Isabel Coixet, 2003 IMDB reference
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Movies
Welcome to the movie checklist!
This section is an archive listing every movie I've seen from January 1 2005 onwards. Films I have already seen are included and will be marked with a (*), but probably won't be reviewed except under special circumstances. I will be including a rating for each film (in stars, out of 5), and hope to be able to include a brief 1-2 paragraph review of each film, although due to time constraints that won't always be possible.
Archives
Films Viewed This Month
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