Change Your Image
James.S.Davies
Reviews
Hævnen (2010)
Two powerful dramas from two supposedly different worlds
A quality Danish family drama focussing on two families struggling to deal with absent parents. Young Christian is mourning the loss of his mother who's death he holds his work-away father, at least emotionally, responsible for. Then there's Elias, bullied at school for being Swedish and having goofy teeth, who is coming to terms with his parents' separation and who's father Anton is absent for long periods due to his work as a doctor at an African refugee camp.
The themes are not uncommon for a film dealing with two young adolescent boys as central protagonists: The moral dilemmas that come with justifying violence as retribution against those who have dealt you injustices. However, what this film does extremely effectively is explore this pivotal theme by setting up the parallel narratives in the Denmark and Africa. In the former we have the seemingly trivial tribulations of school-yard violence set against the latter's more obviously life-threatening brutality of a genocidal tyrant.
The film's moral compass is Anton who tries to teach the boys of the idiocy and futility of violent action in the developed world. Meanwhile he himself becomes compromised when he comes face to face with the tyrant in the developing world.
In A Better World is a brave film and it's to director Susanne Bier and her magnificent cast's utmost credit that it contains so many tender and dramatic moments while exploring one of life's more troubling moral equations in such a complex way.
Champion (1949)
A champion among boxing films
If the boxing game has its own genre, and the sheer number of them compared to other sports certainly suggests it warrants one, then this is one of the best of them.
Boxing has often been used to explore family values, moral disorder and the reality of an American dream that extols social climbing but, in this world at least, bounces you back like a ring rope. Certainly Midge Kelly, one of Kurt Douglas's great characters, finds hitting his opponents far easier than it is to punch through society's ceiling of power and fortune.
The film sets itself up as the tale of a poor boy done good; a rags to riches story. Indeed, there are the now all too familiar training and fights' montages as we witness his endeavour and ascent up the middleweight rankings. However, it soon becomes clear that hard work in the ring isn't enough to climb society's own rankings ladder. Kelly ruthlessly turn his back on the people who helped him on his way including his own family, and we see that the higher he climbs the more corruptible he becomes – choosing money, sex and his name in the papers over moral value.
The climb to the top has left him at odds to those closest to him, most notably his disabled brother Connie (movingly played by Arthur Kennedy). The film seems to extol the virtues its central protagonist has himself abandoned but at the same time suggests that without his ruthless streak he would have been left in the boxing wilderness without a shot at a title. Ultimately the system portrayed is corrupt and it seems that those trying to play it are destroyed by it. A bleak, dystopian conclusion, in keeping with the film noirs of that time.
Champion, both stylistically and thematically, feels like a forerunner to Raging Bull and to a lesser extent, the more recent The Fighter. This alone would make it worth a look, but the film packs enough of a punch through the quality of its performances and style to make it recommendable viewing in its own right.
Blue Velvet (1986)
David Lynch's MASTERPIECE
The film starts like a glossy 50s melodrama with colourful suburban gardens complete with white picket fences and a neighbourly shiny red vintage fire engine serenely passing by. However, it isn't long before we're left with little doubt that a darker, murkier side is awaiting us, as the peacefulness is broken by a gardener's cripplingly sudden cardiac arrest followed by stark close-ups of parasitic beetles. This is a clever and beautifully shot taster of the film's overriding theme; that violence is always a threat even within America's seemingly most ideal small town environments.
The plot centres around the gardener's son, Jeffrey Beaumont, who is brought home from school after his father's collapse, finds a severed human ear and his youthful curiosity gets him involved in the intriguing mystery of singer Dorothy Vallens which ultimately leads into the violent world of local sociopath Frank Booth.
This is one of my favourite films of the 1980s although, like one of my other favourites Raging Bull, because of the realism of its violence, it can be hard to watch. The direction is superb and the cast all turn in career best performances. MacLachlan is likeable in a Jimmy Stewart kind of way as the all American boy (Jeffrey's father owns the local hardware store as did Stewart's in real life). His character was no out and out rebel but the film shows that even wholesome naïve adventurousness can be enough to fall into American society's seedy underbelly.
While Dern is endearing in her portrayal Jeffrey's robin loving sweetheart and is the film's purest representative of innocence, Hopper and Rossellini's characters represent the darker possibilities of life. Valens is one of film's all time great femme fatale's whose world has been made intolerable by the gas guzzling Booth, possibly cinema's scariest psychopath. Rossellini was required to gain weight for the film and is both vunerable and self-destructive, yet her sexuality is understandably appealing to the young Jeffrey. Hopper is quite simply scary but somehow manages to make his despicable character sympathetic. What makes Frank Booth so terrifying is that he is allowed to move freely among society seemingly without detection. This is no caged psychopath we're dealing with here.
This film gets 10 out of 10. It's a classic but not one for the faint hearted.
Dead Babies (2000)
The Drugs Don't Work
It would be true to say that William Marsh's directorial debut pulls no punches. In fact shock tactics are deliberately played right from the word go. One of the first shots is of the alcoholic Giles' bloody teeth falling out one by one. From here on in the audience is left with little doubt that we're in for a bumpy ride. However, we end up being bombarded with so many scenes of drugs, violence, nudity and general depravity that one soon develops an immunity.
The plot centers around one hedonistic weekend where a bunch of directionless English graduates who inhabit a country mansion, are visited by three American friends (one of whom is played by Marsh himself) bent on supplying the perfect weekend of sex and drugs. It's kind of like watching a drugged-up version of Peter's Friends. The films' sub-plot involves a net based terrorist group known as The Conceptualists, who have somehow infiltrated the proceedings. It soon becomes clear that one of the revelers is not what they seem. However any intrigue, or indeed suspense, is dulled by our lack of empathy for the characters, who are either too larger-than-life to be believable or just totally un-likeable.
Dead Babies would no doubt like to be thought of in the same tradition as other drug fueled British cult classics such as Performance, Withnail and I, and Trainspotting. However, these films were far more character driven and weren't so heavily dependent on artificial means of stimulation.
Memento (2000)
Definitely not instantly forgettable
British director Christopher Nolan's latest venture is an intriguing and often confusing attempt to portray the events of a young widower with vengeance in mind for his late wife's killing. What makes this different from your average revenge film is that Lenny (Guy Pearce) has a "condition" which means that since the incident (involving his wife's apparent rape and murder) he only has a two minute memory span. Nolan's stroke of genius is that he offers us such a disjointed narrative that his audience can't help but identify with Lenny's disorientation!
Throughout the film, like Lenny, we attempt to piece together some sense of chronology and most importantly we can't be sure of whom Lenny should trust. The main support roles, Carrie Anne Moss as the femme fatale and Joe Pantoliano as the private detective-type, are both notable for their moral ambiguities.
Not only is the plot structure a refreshing and rewarding experience, the performances are certainly up to scratch with Guy Pearce giving another fine display in the lead role, proving that LA Confidential wasn't just a flash in the pan.
Snatch (2000)
Anything to declare?... Yeah don't go to Hollywood!
The British film industry is lucky. Guy Ritchie doesn't like flying!
The main criticism I'd heard regarding this film was that it was just more of the same from its predecessor Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Well I'd rather have a Lock Stock'2 than the 50 Runaway Brides that Hollywood deems worthy to force upon us each year!
Of course it is impossible to avoid comparisons with Ritchie's remarkable debut. The trademarks are all here - the larger than life criminal underworlders (including more racial stereotypes than all the Bond films put together), the far-fetched farcical plot, and the comicbook violence. However, Snatch is an altogether darker, harder tonic to swallow.
While Snatch may be a lot darker in tone, with hard edged depictions of life in the depths of the criminal underworld (most notably the dog-fighting), it still delivers plenty of punch in its comedy. The cast all seem to thoroughly enjoy their roles (most of which are pretty much straightforward cameos) with Brad Pitt perhaps steeling the show with his spot on coherently-challenged Gypsy boxer.
Snatch is a brutally stylish, wickedly enjoyable British gangster film. More of the same then!
Almost Famous (2000)
Alm' Fam' is Ab' Fab'
However much this film may seemingly portray itself as a deconstruction of the rock'n'roll myth it is pretty much the stuff of nostalgia and fairytale from beginning to end, and all the more funny and emotionally engaging for it!
Already a child prodigy in academic terms, young Billy Miller (Michael Angarano) begins a journey of rock'n'roll self discovery after inheriting his sister's (Zooey Deschanel) entire record collection when she manages to sever herself from her mother's (Frances MacDormand) domineering conservativeness, running off to San Fransisco to become an air hostess. The collection reads like a who's who of the golden age of guitar based psychadelic pop music from The Beach Boys' 'Pet Sounds' to The Who's 'Tommy'.
By the age of 15 with his mother's "don't do Drugs" moto still ringing in his ears, Billy (now played by Patrick Fugit)gatecrashes his frist gig, gaining access backstage with the help of an army of "non-groupies" headed by the beautiful and promiscuous Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). Armed only with a tape recorder and a few words of wisdom bestowed on him from his local mentor, real-life music-journo legend Lester Bangs, he embarks on an assignment for Rolling Stone magazine covering the haphazard breakthrough tour of Rock's latest grear white no-hopers 'Stillwater'.
During the coarse of this tour, which gives Almost Famous its road movie credential, Billy be-friends the band's pin-up guitarist Russell (Billy Crudup), the charismatic Jim Morrison wannabe of the band, and more importantly the man who uses Penny as his part-time squeeze. Throughout events young Billy is torn between the extremities of liberal decadence of the music scene and the conservative matriarchal and still dominant figure of his mother back home in San Diego. As in his previous work 'Jerry Macguire' Cameron Crowe's message is neither clearly left or right wing. While seemingly offering an acceptance of the conflicting ideologies; conservative matriarchy versus free-living rock'n'roll, the film highlights the destructiveness of both sides. While in 'Jerry Macguire' such political ambiguities may have seemed wishy-washy, they are a more welcome treatment for this subject matter.
Frances MacDormand (of Oscar Winning fame for Fargo) is perfectly freaksome as Billy's mother, who constantly condemns the evils of the decadent lifestyle, ably "freaking out" even the most notorious of rock cronies through just one phone call, and delivering arguably the film's best line, "rock stars have kidnapped my son". However, like any film with a child as its central protagonist, its success hinges on the casting of Billy, and Patrick Fugit, as awkward and geeky as he is charming and intellectual, and as un-cool as he is an anomaly, certainly doesn't let proceedings down here.
Whether or not you understand the in-jokes and references that relate to this period of the "death of rock'n'roll" (as Bangs refers to it) in early 1970s America, there are still enough humorous moments for even the most novice of music lovers to enjoy. Although admittedly you will get even more out of it the more knowledge you come to the film with. Needless to say one can imagine some aging crinkly haired rocker sitting in a cinema somewhere complaining about its lack of true authenticity (Peter Frampton was used as a technical consultant as well as having a cameo role so it should be pretty close to the real deal!). Despite such predictable quibbles, it's an original concept for a major Hollywood studio movie, and a brave one too, and for this it should be applauded.
Yield to the Night (1956)
More than just a blonde bombshell!
Diana Dors in her first dramatic role, and last before her unsuccessful venture into Hollywood, sees her trade in her glamorous image for a more realistic and down to earth performance as a woman who finds herself on death row after committing a crime of passion. The film, based on a John Henry novel, has obvious similarities to the real life drama of Ruth Ellis, who murdered her ex-lover on a busy London street and become the last British woman to be hung a year before this film was made.
Dors had become one of the more famous starlets to emerge in Britain's post-war attempt at a Hollywood-like star system. Her familiarity with British audiences no doubt ensured sympathy for her character, which played partly on her bad-girl image. However, this was more than a mere star vehicle, and it saw her transform herself from a star to a serious actress. The American distributors seemed to miss the point somewhat, titling the film on its release there, 'Blonde Sinner'.
The film obviously draws upon the controversial issue of capital punishment. There is no doubt that, despite us witnessing her murder in cold blood, our sympathies are meant to lie with Dors' character. This is of course partly due to her star persona but also because of the way in which the film is directed. Rarely do we see the face of her victim who we learn nothing of apart from his cold attitude towards her ex-lover, Michael Craig, whom Dors has shown nothing but compassion for. Her callous attitude towards his tragic New Years eve suicide is exemplary of this, when she shrugs him off as someone who had just been a nuisance to her.
However, the film is commendable in that manages to avoid mere melodrama. We don't just get a one-sided view of events. We are left in no doubt that the Dors character is herself an adultress who committed a murder with malice and forethought. The issue the film achieves in getting across is the detrimental effect the capital punishment system has on those who are around it. Not only do we see the effect it has on Dors' family but also we get an insight of the wardesses who are with her for her final days. In particular we recognise the discipline shown by Yvonne Mitchell's character, Macfarlane, a young wardess who is drawn with compassion and sympathy towards Dors, and yet must contain her emotions especially during the last agonisingly pensive hours. There is also a feeling that we should not be overly sympathetic towards Dors, as she is rebuked by an elderly Christian lady that visits her for being too self-pitying and for showing little or no remorse. This theme is of course drawn on in more detail in Tim Robbins' recent death row drama 'Dead Man Walking'.
J. Lee Thompson's taut direction shows signs of his later atmospheric Stateside successes such as 'Cape Fear'. The expressionistic filming techniques used to add to the claustrophobic tension of the prison cell scenes are particularly effective. Yvonne Mitchell provides a strong supporting role as the young wardess who befriends Dors. However, it is Dors herself who should be applauded most of all for her emotional and naturalistic performance as the woman awaiting her fate. Some of the film's themes may seem rather cliched to a modern audience but I would imagine it hit a nerve when the issue was at the forethought of the British consciousness.
The Ice Storm (1997)
Sensitive 70s Sensibilities
Like his previous film Sense and Sensibility, Ang Lee's latest intense character-based drama is a period piece. This one is rather more contemporary however, as it's set in 1970s upstate New York rather than 18th century rural England. Once again he demonstrates his remarkable versatility, not only in setting but in the fact that the film's dramatic qualities is often matched by a wonderful subtle humour.
The Ice Storm essentially portrays how the liberal sensibilities of the parents in the film disrupted the up-bringing of their off-spring. The young teenagers seem almost forced in to their sexual awakenings. The extra-marital social practices of the parents makes them problematic role models.
Despite the supposed sexual liberation the emotions in this film seem just as repressive as they did in Austen's England. The emotions of the serial adultress played by Sigourney Weaver seem as cold as the storm itself. Even Kline's emotions are only eventually thawed out through a mixture of drunken jealousy and grief.
Comparisons are now bound to be made with 'American Beauty'. It certainly isn't as accessible as that already proclaimed classic, but its possibly a more rewarding film. The cast are all notable for the realism they bring in their portrayals of the dysfunctional 70s characters. While Lee's direction is real quality, with the imagery he brings to the screen being one of The Ice Storm's most commendable qualities.
He Got Game (1998)
Black Men Have To Jump?
Spike Lee returns to familiar themes for this basketball drama, in which a talented young black man desperately seeks to escape from the black ghetto he has been brought up in. Such an overriding theme is almost identical to that of his previous venture 'Clockers'.
Lee teams up with Washington for the first time since their successful collaboration on the Malcolm X biopic. The actor plays the jailed father of basketball genius, Jesus Shuttleworth, who is ruthless in his attempt to ensure that his son escapes the ghetto through the sport. However, what also becomes clear is that his motives are not entirely unselfish in that he also puts the hopes of the entire family upon the boy's shoulders.
The son understandably resents his father; in fact it's a wonder he has any contact with him at all considering the crime he was put away for! Whilst the resentment towards his father may be justifiable, we also see that he feels that he is unable to succeed without turning his back on the neighbourhood which reared him. An example of this is when he breaks off from his relationship with his childhood sweetheart after we see him cheating on her with some white college bimbos.
However, Lee doesn't seem critical of the youth's ruthless desire, on the contrary the narrative seems quite sympathetic towards him as we watch him being pulled from all angles as to where his future should lie by people who have only their own vested interests in mind. Lee tries to focus on the fact that a young black man such as Jesus has very little choice even when it would appear from the outside that he has the world at his feet.
The situation of Jesus' character reminded me much of Morris Chestnut's Ricky in John Singleton's 'Boyz N The Hood', who was tragically destroyed by his society before he could escape. Unlike the football hopeful in Singleton's earlier film, Lee's basketball hopeful is prepared to trample on those closest to him to reach the lure of riches. Like the character of Flipper in Lee's 'Jungle Fever' he succumbs, all be it in a less literal way, to the white temptation and thus damages his own black roots. By placing his father as the film's central protagonist we gain a first hand perspective of the potential harm.
Basketball, a sport traditionally dominated by Afro-Americans, offers the ideal symbol for Lee's thought provoking critique of the flawed Afro-American Dream.
Wild Things (1998)
Let's twist again.... and again....
The cream of 80s Bratpack team up with the latest crop of Bratpackers for this teen comedy-come-thriller. And as with all true Hollywood teen flicks, SEX is the name of the game here. And there is certainly enough titillation here to keep most juveniles happy.
Unfortunately the plot just goes for too many twists for twists sake! So much so that you find yourself dreading yet another predictable turn. Its disappointing from a director, whose previous work I had quite admired (especially 'Mad Dog and Glory'). With a cast who are usually so much more watchable than they are here (especially Bacon and Murray) one can't help thinking the film would have been better served with a more accomplished script. One that didn't seem too pleased with itself and in effect tries to come across as more clever than it actually is.
Bowfinger (1999)
Holly"Woody"
As writer and star, Martin satirises contemporary Hollywood with much the same endearing quality as Woody Allen did for 1930s Broadway in his film 'Bullets Over Broadway'.
Too often have past Hollywood satires been overtly self indulgent, packed full of in jokes and knowing references, thus alienating everyone but the avid Variety reader. Martin's latest effort however, is sufficiently character driven to avoid this. 'Bowfinger', like the aforementioned Allen picture, has to its credit numerous entertaining characters who enliven the screen with their charming idiosyncrasies. And the cast do them justice, especially Martin as the title character, a director who'll stop at nothing to get his picture made. In fact Martin always looks best at ease when working off his own material. Meanwhile Murphy once again proves more than capable of pulling off a double role with hilarious flair, and Heather Graham is as sexy as ever as a promiscuous Hollywood debutant.
Of course it's vital in any comedy that there be one or two memorably funny moments, and there are certainly a few hilarious set pieces on show here. A scene where Murphy, as the film star's dim witted brother, dices with death on a busy freeway full of cars that Martin has falsely informed him are being driven by stunts extras, is particularly amusing.
It's good to see Martin returning to his true form again and let's face it... it's been long overdue!
Man on the Moon (1999)
Can we believe they put a man on the moon?!
On the surface Milos Forman's latest biopic, appears to concentrate on the little known yet notoriously anarchic comedian, Andy Kaufman. However, the retelling of Kaufman's life story seems to stand as a study of what audiences (particularly TV) perceive to be reality, and how such perceptions can be manipulated by media organisations or, as in this case, individuals.
The film is full of metaphors which are symbolic of events where authenticity has been questioned and media manipulation implied. Wrestling, although originating as a sport, has become popularised as staged entertainment. Elvis' death has always been the subject of much scrutiny, as we are led to believe, was Kaufman's own. Even the film's title which derives from the REM song (incidently the band composed the film's entire musical score) which posed the question "Can you believe they put a man on the moon?".
Kaufman was a man who recognised the potential anarchy in television. He had something of a punk ethos, in that he appeared to have no set agenda. Even his closest friends and family were never enitirely sure where his stage persona ended and the real Andy began. He seemed to welcome such confusion for the most part. Surely he would have enjoyed this tribute to him. The film itself serves as a lesson in postmodernity gone mad, with several characters appearing as themselves (all be it 20 years older) and the only cast member from Taxi who doesn't appear is Danny DeVito, who actually plays his agent in this. If this seems absurd well then surely Kaufman is having the last laugh after all.
Clearly this is Carey's bravest performance to date because it is by no means a mainstream picture. He's proved once more that he's not just a rubber faced funny man, and more to the point he's proved the same for his subject!
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
The definitive modern day English costume drama.
Perfectly cast, expertly written and exquisitely looking British comedy. Hugh Grant has often tried to emulate but never matched the charm he showed as the architypal upper-middle-class, floppy haired, fumbling Englishman that is Charles. He may steel the show but the supporting cast are all equally spot on.
It was the highest grossing film of 1994 in its native country, and it cleverly manipulated the American market too! The film is essentially a cleverly disguised costume drama dressed up as a modern day romantic comedy. It actually is as far removed as being a typical slice of contemporary British life as any Austen period drama.
However, for all it's superficiality, it's far more enjoyable escapism than its patronising predecessor 'Notting Hill'.
High Anxiety (1977)
Dizzy parody is Brooks at his height.
Though often overlooked in favor of Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein, I believe this to be the pick of Brooks' parodies. Whether you share this opinion would depend on your familiarity with all things Hitchcockian.
It is not only Vertigo, as the title suggests, that gets the Brooks treatment here, but The Birds, Spellbound and Psycho are all parodied to various degrees of subtlety. Many of these films key scenes are simply re-enacted with comic touches, whilst the Hitchcock formalae is very much in evidence. The style is particularly amusing in its parody. Highlights include a probing camera becoming all too literally intrusive when it crashes through a pane of glass in the window, and a dramatic sound composition turning out to be merely the didactic passing bus load of a touring philamonic orchestra.
Resisting the out and out farce of his earlier effort, Blazing Saddles, and managing not to evolve into simply being a one joke movie such as the tendency of his recent efforts, High Anxiety is Brooks at his most clever. The cast, mainly consisting of Brooks regulars, all display splendidly entertaining and aptly silly impersonations of recognisible Hitchcock stereotypes. It is Brooks' finest hour however, with not only directing, writing, and acting to his credit but singing as well!!!
Giant (1956)
A Giant of a film in every sense!
This aptly titled Texan epic may well at times feel like being force fed a whole series of Dallas in one viewing but it is certainly one of the most intriguing films of the 1950s. Its essential theme lies in the discourse between Old Texas (ie. cattle ranching) and New Texas (ie. oil fields) and yet it is ultimately as much of a revealing account of Old Hollywood versus New Hollywood.
The antagonism between the main characters in the film mirrored that of the cast that played them. In their roles as the old style cattle ranchers, Liz Taylor and particularly Rock Hudson, are in every way the archetypal Hollywood studio character actors. On the other hand we have Dean's portrayal of the wayward social climbing farm hand turned oil tycoon, Jett Rink, representing the new breed of Hollywood self indulgent method acting.
Such over-riding tensions make for an interesting movie. In fact there seems in the earlier scenes to be quite an endearing chemistry between Dean and Taylor. However, during the latter half of the film, in his portrayal of the corrupted cattle hand, Dean, mainly through his method of ageing (he shaved his hair so that he actually had a receding hairline) seems to create a monster. The film itself becomes quite disconcerting with Dean acting like he's in a different film to everybody else. Add to this the fact that Dean's fatal car crash happened only the day after shooting his scenes were completed then the film eventually seems quite a disturbing spectacle.
Giant comes to the Gatsby-like conclusion that the futility of the American Dream is that wealth and social climbing cannot be gained without the loss of innocence. The horror of it in this case was that success came with a price to pay off the screen as well.
If.... (1968)
Anarchy in the UK
Anderson's chaotic blend of anarchic humour was never so striking as in this highly satirised account of life within the English public school system. Of course the school is merely a symbol of the film's real target for ridicule; any society that imposes restrictions and boundaries and attempts to silence individualism and creativity. It achieves this by rendering the school's tradions and ceremonies as ridiculous.
MacDowell plays hero, Travis, a rebellious senior boy we first meet wrapped in black hat and cloak immediately creating a mysterious aura about him. The prefects see him and his two associates as a serious threat to order. This culminates in a memorable scene (in a film with many), a cleverly filmed caning of the boys. We do not see the first two boys get their punishment but we hear them whilst witnessing the reaction of those tensely awaiting their own fate. It isn't until Travis goes in that the camera follows into the gymnasium where the caning is being administered. After the three initial blows, which was the extent of the previous boys castigation, Travis picks up his blazer to leave only to be told to stay put. He is beaten again and again by the head prefect, through each blow the camera slowly takes us through the school witnessing the pupils who somehow seem to share the cruel punishment. Despite the beatings Travis comes away with dignity, looking the enemy in the eye and even shaking hands with him.
The shackles put upon the pupils are illustrated by the freedom they can only enjoy and experience in the world outside. Travis experiences a raucous sexual encounter with a young waitress in a cafe before riding with her on a motor-bike across a field with arms spread looking like a bird released. The traditions are eventually exposed in two marvelous scenes of rebellion. Firstly Travis and his cronies disrespect for a military drill culminates in reducing the school parson to a whimpering wreck, after he had been acting the noble general of war. Secondly one of cinema's most memorable endings where the pupils open fire on parents, teachers and ex-soldiers (all symbolising the establishment).
Much was made of the stylistic significance of the film's occasional lapses into black and white. However, Anderson admitted this was merely due to funding shortages. Full of comic touches such as a "Monty-Pythonesque" moment where the wounded parson is pulled out of a draw (in fact the film does remind one of the 'Growth and Learning' segment in 'Monty Python's Meaning of Life" made in 1983). Above all the film captures the mood of the time where student revolts were common place and people fought for freedom and expression.
Small Faces (1995)
Why Does It Always Rain On Me!
A gritty, realistically drawn out rights of passage film, this was an impressive return to form for writer/director MacKinnon after his brief Hollywood fling. Overall the film, although essentially a nostalgic look at a young Glasgow boy coming of age in 1968, manages to steer clear from over romanticising the past as so often happens with such an exercise. This is largely due to an impressive cast, realistic location filming, and a refreshingly simple (especially in light of recent Brit flicks) down to earth pop soundtrack. Its not too preoccupied with presenting a hip representation of 1960s culture which may have prevailed its realism.
Lex is the youngest of three brothers MacLean being brought up by a single mother in a grubby tenement flat. His brothers are greatly contrasting in character; Alan a sensitive, aspiring artist, and Bobby an illiterate and unpredictable gang member. It is the former that Lex looks up to rather than Bobby who he sees as a "moron". Much of the film's central concerns seem to lie in these two contrasting sides of Lex's up-bringing. He lives in a world where artistic expression, or any such kind of creativity, is stifled. This being graphically represented by the beating of a young artist at the hands of a local gang. We also learn of this character's father's fruitless attempts to produce grapes in the middle of Glasgow. The only escapism and means of capturing anything remotely extrisnic for the likes of Lex and Alan is through their art. Ultimately though it is intelligence which prevails when Malky's ignorant act leads directly to his destruction.
Early scenes serve to establish the family life of the MacLean's. Sometimes these seem rather idealistic, such as family gatherings and sing-songs. The singing seems to be a motif for happier times; it doesn't return until directly after Malky's death in a comical children's sing-a-long at a Saturday matinee. Although family life is not disregarded, never can adults successfully communicate with the youngsters. The attempts by an American uncle to have some influence over the boys is ineffectual, and the mother seems to have little control over them. Also there curiously seems to be no intervention by the police into the gang violence.
As Lex is the central protagonist we are often given his perspective of events. An earlier gang encounter at a fairground is received from his point of view, which is then followed by a man leading an elephant across a field. Such surreal imagery is almost a childlike representation of events. Shaky camera movements during his drunken stupor are further indication of the camera allowing us to identify ourselves with him.
On the whole the film is well-crafted. Some striking images such as the track of red blood across the ice rink after Bobby's is stabbed and great attention to detail are a credit to the director. As well as some clever aesthetic touches the film boasts to its credit some endearing performances by what is mainly a young cast, especially young Ian Robertson as Lex whom our affection for is essential to our enjoyment of the film. Despite the film's violent content we rarely lose sight of humour or hope.
Performance (1970)
Sex and violence in swinging London!
Visually compelling and disturbing look at two diverse sides of 1960s London; the criminal underworld and hippie culture, respectively symbolised by Fox's Chas, the wayward gangster, and Jagger's Turner, a semi-retired bisexual rock musician.
It's Chas' world we are first introduced to during a highly charged furiously paced scene of gangland violence. It soon becomes clear to us that he is not only an outcast to society but also dangerously individual within his own mob circle. On the run from both the law and the mob he takes refuge in a Notting Hill home which he finds is occupied by Turner, his junkie girlfriend, Pherber, and her French lover, Lucy. Tunrer becomes infatuated with Chas' violent charisma and his "vital energy" he himself feels he has lost.
As the title suggests the film is all about performances. Chas is initiated into Turner's underground world of drug experimentation and gender bending. Turner's name in itself is symbolic of the way he tries to play with and turn Chas' psyche around. It is ultimately the "performance" of Turner which brings the two worlds together, as he poses as Chas' mobster boss, Harry Flowers, in a scene shot similarly to a modern day music video.
Some critics had felt the film lost its way once Chas entered Turner's world. Yet surely such disorientation is indicative of how the film successfully explores Chas' own uneasiness in confronting his own subconscious in an alien atmosphere. The film is full of visual flourishes as one might expect from Roeg, who had been cinemaphotographer on films such as 'Fahrenheit 451'. Fox is mesmerising playing out the evolving identities of Chas, whilst Jagger's persona is exhibited to its full potential. Roeg was again to explore the theme of alienation using a rock star (this time David Bowie) in a more literal sense in his landmark science fiction film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth'.
Violent Playground (1958)
Rarely seen British teen movie triumph
This film was the first British teen movie to actually address the reality of the violent rock and roll society, rather than being a lucid parody of 1950s teenage life. In an attempt to celebrate the work of Liverpool's Junior Liaison Officers the opening title points out that 92% of potential delinquents, who have been dealt with under this scheme, have not committed a second crime. However, this becomes merely a pretext to the following teen-drama until the film's epilogue where we are instructed that we shouldn't feel responsible or sorry for such delinquents however mixed-up they might seem.
Stanley Baker plays a tough detective who reluctantly takes on the post of Juvenile Liaison Officer. This hard-boiled character is a role typical of Baker. Having been currently on the trail of a notorious arsonist known as the firefly and does not relish the distraction of the transfer. However, as in all good police dramas he is led back full circle by a remarkable turn of events, back to his original investigation.
His first case leads him to the home of two young children, Mary and Patrick Murphy (played by real-life brother and sister duo), who have committed a petty theft. Here he meets Cathie (satisfyingly portrayed by Anne Heywood) their older sister whom he eventually becomes romantically involved with. It quickly becomes obvious that the squalid environment of such inner-city estates is a breeding ground for juvenile delinquency.
The elder brother of the Murphy family, Johnny, is the leader of a gang of rock and roll hoodlums. McCallum does an eye-catching turn as the Americanized mixed-up kid, who owes more to the likes of Marlon Brando, than any previous British star. One is reminded of Brando's character Johnny from 'The Wild One' who led a leather-clad gang of rebellious bikers in much the same way as this film's 'Johnny' leads his gang.
Thankfully the preachiness of earlier Dearden crime dramas such as 'The Blue Lamp' is not so apparent. Instead we are presented with several well drawn-out characters on both sides of the law as the drama of the delinquents and the romantic interest between Heywood and Baker takes the forefront.
The plot, whilst at times predictable, does deliver some memorable scenes. The disruptive influence that rock and roll music was thought to have had is played out in a scene where Johnny abandons himself to the music, leading a menacing advance on the police sergeant. The most grippingly memorable piece of film however is the climatic classroom scene where a bunch of terrified school children, including Mary and Patrick, are held hostage at gunpoint by Johnny. Obviously in the light of the real-life Dumblaine Massacre this scene seems all the horrifying. Understandably because of this the film is seldom aired or available to modern audiences.