Jackie Review

Biopics are one of the most common genres of film, there are so many cliches that filmmakers need to try and avoid. The cradle to grave narrative is now well worn and outdated, replacing it has become the focus on a particular period in the persons life which tells us what type of person they were. Even those in recent years have become more generic, so when walking into see a film like Jackie, looming large in the back of your mind are the specters of such cinematic disasters as Diana, Princess Grace of Monaco and to a certain extent, the noble failure of The Iron Lady. How refreshing then that this really isn't the film you fear it might have been.

It's interesting that a film that's dealing with a story that is so ingrained in American culture has ended up with a Chilean director behind the camera. It's probably to the films strength that Pablo Larrain has an almost healthy detachment from the story that allows him to approach it without any preconceived notions of who Jackie Kennedy was. Larrain and screenwrirter Noah Oppenheim's approach to the film mainly centres around an interview that Jackie (Natalie Portman) does with a journalist (Billy Cruddup) a few weeks after JFK's funeral in an attempt to set the record straight. The dynamic in the interview is really well constructed by Oppenheim and really well played by Cruddup and Portman. There is a power play between them throughout, but Jackie has final say on what goes to print so even at her most vulnerable she is still in charge. In one brilliant moment she recounts the details of what happened on that day, slowly breaking down as she does, then pauses, composes herself and informs the journalist that none of that will be printed. 

Interspersed between the interview segments are flashbacks to the day of the assassination and the aftermath leading up to the state funeral. As well as reconstructions of a famous TV tour that Jackie gave around The White House. Though the recreation of these segments seem quite obscure at first, they're there to remind you of the artifice surrounding Jackie Kennedy, how as the first first lady of the TV age her entire personality was a construct, Portman is playing someone playing a part.

Lorrain's style is so unique to this particular type of film. He nearly always seems to frame the characters in extreme close ups, its impressionist in its style and combined with Mica Levi's exceptional score there are tenets of horror to the drama in the aftermath of the assassination, it feels like a psychological horror in large parts more than a historical biopic, as we see Jackie wandering ghost like through the corridors of the White House in becomes mildly haunting.

For a film that is so heavily focused on its lead character it needs a strong central performance, and it has a brilliant one in Portman. It takes a while for the performance to settle into the film, it feels so mannered and arch that it's an awkward watch at first, when you begin to understand that it's all about playing a part then you begin to understand the depth and strength of the performance. There are also moments of genuine warmth to her as well, the moment when she has to inform her young children of what has happened is genuinely heart wrenching. There are a decent spattering of supporting performances also. Peter Sarsgaard probably gets the second largest amount of screen time after Portman as JFK's brother Bobby, he ably manages to capture the disappointment of what will never be and the panic at what legacy might be left behind. John Hurt crops up as a priest who Jackie turns to for counsel and Richard E Grant is really unrecognisable as a loyal White House confidante.

Larrain should be lauded for his sensitivity of dealing with the actual event itself. The impressionist style he employs means we view the event in a collection of abstract ways throughout various revisits to the moment, then only after the film has earned it does it depict the actual horror of the event in what is a sincerely upsetting moment. Footage of the incident has existed for so many years that when it does come it reclaims it from history and draws it back to the emotional pain of the incident, reminding you that whilst a country lost its President, in that car, a wife sat covered in her husbands blood as she watched him die, because of what proceeds this moment it provides a whole new level of melancholia to the event.

Larrain has done something that few would have expected, he gave the biopic fresh life and a real sense of style. This isn't just a great depiction of a historical figures life, this is a really fine piece of art. It feels like a necessary film for the current political climate that we find ourselves in. Many may find comfort in the words of John Hurts priest, "the darkness might never end, but it won't always be so dense".

(5 Stars)

La La Land Review

Damien Chazelle has an amazing talent, it's partly directing, but more so it is the ability to make you look at your own life and accomplishments and wonder why you suck in comparison. Chazelle is only 32 years old and after his exceptional debut film Whiplash he now brings us a big bombastic and old school musical with a modern flare, now set up as an awards season favourite.

La La Land sees Emma Stone's struggling actress Mia and Ryan Gosling's struggling jazz musician Sebastian meet in the bizarre hurly burly of LA and start a relationship based on their mutual support of each others dreams. Mia works in a coffee shop on a studio lot, which is the closest she's gotten to being on a movie set so far. She goes to audition after audition giving her all and being treated to blank faces in return. Sebastian is a jazz obsessive, he's obsessed with bringing real jazz back and keeping it alive, his dream to open a jazz club where they can play what music he wants.

Straight from the opening scene where the drivers on the freeway in LA break the monotony of the morning commute by breaking out into a performance of the extraordinarily catchy Another Day of Sun, you understand the joy of La La Land. Chazelle has already shown in just two films the spectacular energy he is able to infuse in his films and he really lays down a marker in this opening piece. It also helps that Chazelle has a background in music and knows how to film it, this gives a really dynamic passion to the sequences featuring jazz music. The films shows off old school sensibilities, Mia and Sebastian's song on the hill is a really charming song and dance number that instills the dynamic with a classic screwball romance.

Emma Stone really shows off the full extent of her talent here, her dancing is good, her singing even more so, but its the audition scenes where she excels most. In one audition she delivers a remarkable performance of someone delivering a remarkable audition, which makes the rejection seem even more cruel. Her big Audition song is a marked highlight of all the songs, a song where you genuinely feel someone heart and soul being poured out. The problem with Mia's character however is the manner in which the film undermines her through her relationship with Sebastian. Ryan Gosling is a very talented actor, his dancing is solid, his singing less so, his performance draws most of the films laughs and he wears a suit very well, but there's one inescapable fact, Sebastian is a complete and utter tool. He's a music snob, a self involved ass-hat who thinks he's charming. His existence begins to undermine Mia's character, she only seems to succeed in the film because Sebastian told her she could, if it wasn't for this guy's existence then she'd give up, it's such a shame that Emma Stone has to have her performance weakened by this.

There's fun to be had in the film with Chazelle's gentle ribbing of Hollywood. You can't help but wonder that if Whiplash comes from his experiences as a jazz drummer then La La Land must come from his own experiences of getting to Hollywood. At one point we hear from a screenwriter who has "a lot of buzz around him" because he's a "world builder", the young writers main idea, Goldilocks and the three bears told from the point of view of the bears, "it could be a franchise". It's moments like this where you wonder if that's something Chazelle has genuinely heard.

Character problems aside, you would have to be completely soulless not be caught up in the sheer charm of La La Land. It loses it's way in the middle a bit, but when the songs are so catchy and the set pieces so energetic, it's hard not to feel the films magic.

(High 4 Stars) 

Manchester by the Sea Review

For those of a British origin confused by the film's title, no, Manchester hasn't moved 40 miles west to the coast of England, the Manchester of the title is in fact the town of Manchester-by-the-sea in Massachusetts USA. The  town which plays host to director Kenneth Lonergan's new drama about family and loss which is set to storm awards season 2017.


Quincy in Massachusetts, and we see the day to day life of janitor Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) he's a quiet individual prone to snapping at people and picking bar fights. He receives a call which informs him that his older brother (Kyle Chandler) has passed away meaning he has to return to his home town of Manchester-by-the-sea, he later finds out that his brother has made him the guardian of his 15 year old son Paddy (Lucas Hedges).

This film has a lot of awards season buzz around it, most of it is deservedly being heaped onto the lead performance of Casey Affleck, who is unquestionably brilliant in this film. The way Lee carries himself throughout the film tells you everything you need to know about him, the way he nods or hunches his shoulders, the way he forces half smiles or blankly stares, Affleck avoids so many potential pitfalls and cliches. Lee is a man who is carrying the weight of some extreme emotional burden on his shoulders, he has placed himself in forced purgatory, a form of self persecution for something horrific that happened forcing him to leave his home town. In a spectacular, near operatic sequence where Lonergan reveals what it was that happenedm it really hits like a hammer as to why Lee is the way he is.

Lonergan is incredibly composed as a filmmaker, he's delicate and sensitive, he has the sense and presence of mind to know when to step in on a moment and when to step back from one. The way he works with his editor Jennifer Lame to put the film together should be lauded, the flashbacks featured in the film are placed in perfectly, they drop in like memories would and though never flagged up there is never a moment of confusion as to where they lie in the narrative.

This is 100% Affleck's film, but the film is also littered with very strong supporting performances. Kyle Chandler is brilliant in what few scenes he has in flashback, it hits home the sense of loss for Lee when you see the relationship he had with his brother. Michelle Williams makes a massive impact in the time she has on screen as Lee's ex-wife Randi, she's so brilliant that the film really cries out for much more of her character and more of her story, it would add as much to Lee's character as it would to the overall story. Then there's Lucas Hedges as Paddy, its a character that would be so easy to misjudge and come off as annoying, but its so effective, Paddy is your regular teenager who's mostly worried about having sex, playing sports and being in a band. It seems like he uses the situation to his advantage at first, but as the story unfolds the events begin to take their tole on him. Hedges chemistry with Affleck is electric, whats quite startling is how many laughs the interplay between the two seems to draw, but this never detracts from the emotional power punch moments. In one moment towards the end between the two, just the line "I can't beat it" and the moments after the line are monumentally tear inducing.

Lonergan is a real talent, he has managed to make a film about loss that feels emotionally honest but never morose or morbid. His sensibilities make the film and the experiences of the characters feel genuine and unforced, he's helped ably by a strong supporting cast and a lead actor who is surely now destined to be on stage holding a little gold man come February.

(Low 5 Stars)  

A Monster Calls Review

It's a complex and difficult question tackled in Patrick Ness' award winning 2011 book A Monster Calls, how can you help children come to terms with the idea of loss? In 2017 JA Bayona's film adaption of the same name attempts to answer the same question.

A Monster Calls follows the story of young Conor O'malley (Lewis MacDougall), Conor lives with his Mum (Felicity Jones) who is suffering from cancer, he's bullied at school and fears that he may end up having to live with his Grandmother (Sigourney Weaver). Then one night at 12.07am he is visited by a monster (Liam Neeson) who informs him that he will tell him three stories and then Conor will have to tell him a fourth which will reveal his 'truth'.

There's much to be impressed by with this film. From a technical point of view Bayona is really adept at blending the use of incredible visual effects with the dying art of models and miniatures. The striking churchyard scene feels far more immersive by blending the two forms than it otherwise might have done. Then there is the monster himself, Neeson's voice really is perfect for the monster, but the visual effects are truly exceptional, there are moments where you genuinely cease to believe that they didn't just find a big tree monster somewhere and cast him in the film. There are also utterly charming animated segments which illustrate the monster's stories, they're beautifully old fashioned and lend the sequences a nostalgic warmth to the storytelling.

Since this is Conor's story it's invaluable that the performance from newcomer Lewis MacDougall is really special, he's not the perfect little boy enduring it all in a hard time, he captures the frustrations, the sadness and the outright anger at the unfair situation that he as a young person has been forced into. It's a shame then that the film falls down in terms of the characters that surround him. Sigourney Weaver, shaky English accent aside is ok as the Grandmother, and Toby Kebbell does well in what few scenes he has as Conor's Dad, but the real let down is the characterisation of Conor's Mum, Felicity Jones is every bit as great as you'd expect her to be, but she isn't given enough to do as Conor's Mum to quite feel the connection that Conor has with her, of course we know that Conor loves his Mum, but there needed be more time spent showing this person he might lose.

The maturity that Bayona approaches this film with is its major strength, when it finally reaches the moment where Conor reveals his 'truth' its far more emotional complex than you'd expect of a film aimed towards younger audiences. There have been many reports of the film evoking emotionally devastating responses from audiences, ultimately though the film is a bit too slight to really tug at the heart strings, its more a case of it being quietly affecting than emotionally devastating.

Bayona has created an emotionally mature film with a really impressive breakout performance from young Lewis MacDougall. It's an important story solidly told with some real visual flare. It might not be flawless, but this may end up being a very important film for young people in years to come, if this helps but one young person (or old for that matter) through a difficult time then Bayona, and more to a point Patrick Ness, have done their job. 

(4 Stars) 

Silence Review

Martin Scorsese has been making films for almost 50 years, over which time he has cultivated a filmography that marks him out as one of the finest voices in cinema. When most think of his work they think of his excellent work in the gangster genre, looking at the lives of Italian-Americans, what has been most prominent in all of his work though is religion and with this years Silence Scorsese finally brings to screen his 30 year passion project.

Silence focuses on the persecution of Christians in 17th century Japan. The story follows Portuguese Jesuit priests father Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and father Garupe (Adam Driver) who receive word of a rumour that their great mentor father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) has committed apostasy and renounced his faith, they set out on a trip to Japan to find their mentor and discover whether there is any truth to the rumours.

At 160mins in length, Silence really does ask a lot of its audience, its an endurance test as much as anything. It's long running time means the film is in no rush for the young priests to reach their destination. On the way we spend a long time with small village communities of persecuted Christians who are completely enamoured with the Jesuit's and Scorsese shows the purest devotion to their faith that these people have. Then there's the second half of the film after the young priests become separated, which is devoted to the emotional torture laid out to father Rodrigues in an effort to get him to commit apostasy.

Andrew Garfield's performances as Rodrigues is the beating heart of the film, the way he portrays the arc of his character is incredibly nuanced and affecting. Rodrigues is a man who is completely identified by his devotion to his faith, but taking him out of the comfort of the relative luxury of Portugal and forcing him into a completely different environment begins to form cracks in his unbreakable faith. In the face of the Japanese Christians whose devotion is completely resolute, Rodrigues' faith begins to come off as a source of pride, he sees himself as a Christ like figure on a noble mission in possession of a certain arrogance and superiority. In one particular moment when Rodrigues is certain he faces death he breaks down into sheer panic and terror, a reaction that confuses the Japanese Christians who are waiting to ascend to paradise, something that surely Rodrigues should have absolute faith in at that point.


The film is helped monumentally by an exceptional supporting cast of Japanese actors. Yosuke Kombozuka is brilliant as Kichijiro, a man who's idea of what Christianity is to him begins to wear away at Rodrigues' devotion to his faith. Tadanobu Asano is quietly effective is the interpreter who is given a lot of the responsibility to oversee the breaking down of Rodrigues. Then there is the fantastic performance given by Issei Ogata as Inoue, the man responsible for the persecution of the Christians, his performance provides the film with some much needed balance, his conversations with Rodrigues put into perspective the extreme nature of the torture and oppression that they are inflicting upon the Christians, he should really be the 'bad guy', but you begin to understand his point of view.

This isn't an easy watch by any means, you'll take out of it what you bring to it, it probably will hit home much more with those who've had some sort of faith in their life. For those that haven't however, there are still some exceptional performances, beautiful cinematography and social commentary on historical imperialism. Silence is the type of film that will sit with you for a while and nestle into a part of your brain to ruminate over. Ultimately what it is, is a brilliant Martin Scorsese film.

(5 Stars)

Top 10 Films of 2016

2016 has now come and gone, so before we all start getting excited about what's to come in 2017 here is a quick look back at my top 10 films of 2016.


10. The Big Short
Who knew that the person we needed to explain the banking crisis to us was the man behind Anchorman and Step Brothers. It's a monumentally important film with brilliant performances that also manages to be hilarious as well as deeply depressing and scary.

9. Sing Street
It's a love letter to all those people who ever started a band to impress a girl. John Carney showed once again why he's the go to director for music in film and the original songs are genuinely brilliant, all together now "you gotta put the pedal down, and drive it like you stole it".

8. I, Daniel Blake
Tackling the bureaucracy of the Department for Work and Pensions, Ken Loach showed with his latest picture that he still has the same energy and passion at 80 years old that he's shown his whole career. Featuring brilliant performances and a wonderful sensitivity this latest film from Loach will stay with you for a while.

7. The Girl with all the Gifts
As debut films go this relatively low budget Brit zombie flick was an impressive start from Colm McCarthy. It had little in the way of box office success but make every effort to seek this intelligent and atmospheric film out on DVD and you won't be disappointed.




6. Captain America: Civil War
This had a big build up and it never disappointed. It felt like the culmination of everything Marvel studios had worked towards. It hits so hard emotionally because it took the time to create characters you cared in, and it also features the most spectacular and entertaining superhero battle in cinema history.


5. Spotlight
After Birdman took home the big prize in 2015 it was almost surprising that the best picture winner of 2016 was a film that was so traditional and so old fashioned in its style. Spotlight didn't let the story of making the film become bigger and more impressive than the film itself, it just had a cracking story with brilliant actors on top form and in this year of all years it reminded people of the necessity of proper journalism.

4. Room
Reading the description of this films plot would conjure an image of darkness and horror, what's miraculous about this film is how uniquely beautiful it is. It is one of the most emotionally investing films I have ever seen, Brie Larson was absolutely deserving of her best actress Oscar, but Jacob Tremblay gives one of the greatest child performances of all time, make sure to hydrate properly before viewing because you'll be in bits by the end.

3. Green Room
Tense, gripping and really bloody violent, you'd expect nothing less from director Jeremy Saulnier. Green Room takes a very simple premise and ramps it up to another level, features one of the last performances from the sadly departed Anton Yelchin and also Sir Patrick Stewart as a Neo-Nazi leader. Saulnier has a depraved mind and after this and his previous work Blue Ruin he's quickly becoming a talent to treasure.

2. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
In November 2017 Taika Waititi will bring the third Thor film of the MCU to the screen, in 2016 he gave us a small New Zealand based comedy featuring a young boy and a grizzled old man in the bush. It has a really special and unique brand of humour brought to life by an exceptional cast with Sam Neill in the best form of his career and newcomer Julian Dennison a talent to keep an eye on. It's a film with endless charm and incredible warmth, and easily the funniest film of 2016.

1. Arrival
So here it is, the best film of 2016 is hands down Denis Villeneuve's Arrival. It is a fiercely intelligent film with an exceptional style and tone and a wonderful lead performance. The turns it takes towards the end is perfectly measured and elevates the film to a whole new level. Villeneuve is possibly the best director working at the moment, his Blade Runner sequel coming out at the end of 2017 is now surely one of the most anticipated films of the year.



Honorable Mentions:
Doctor Strange/Finding Dory/Rogue One/Zootropolis