Change Your Image
Sin Collins
Reviews
Three Blind Mice (2008)
Excellent Australian dialogue-driven film
Saw this at the Dublin film festival. The set-up is basically this: 3 navy guys are given shore-leave and what we are presented with is a drama through one night where we see their (mis)adventures as they wander the streets and bars in search of a good time. Except there's a bit more to it than that....details of an incident aboard their ship is slowly revealed throughout the film and is weaved beautifully into this premise. Its the sort of thing which would also work as a play, but I've always liked filmed plays like Glengarry Glen Ross anyway. Thats not to say that this isn't an original work (I'm pretty sure this is an original screenplay and all the more impressive for it). There is also the (in)famous Australian sense of humour at play in this film. For me this is an unquestionably positive ingredient in this work but I found that at my screening of the film most people weren't laughing at the same time as me. Either... 1: I was out of touch with the film's sensibility completely or....2: It was one these audiences which failed to click with the whole thrust of the movie. I am convinced it was the latter.
Mies vailla menneisyyttä (2002)
Excellent Finnish deadpan comedy
Caught this at the Cork Film Festival. I had high hopes for it as I generally have an affinity for Scandinavian movies but this surpassed all expectations. Basically the story revolves around a guy who loses his memory after a random assault and tries to build some sort of framework for an existence where he has no identity. The episodes which follow involve his relationships with a variety of characters in the community in which he settles. These are filled with a deeply satisfying blend of rich humour and an analysis of the national psyche/culture. The humour is by turns deadpan, mildly satirical and sometimes just downright absurd and gut-wrenchingly funny. At all times it is extremely good-natured and the director has a composer's touch for hitting the right note. I might be getting it all wrong because I brought a couple of friends along and they fell asleep! I urge you to go along though and see for yourself- at the very least I promise you a very different night at the movies!
All or Nothing (2002)
One of Leigh's best
I'm a huge fan of Mike Leigh and his latest does not disappoint. It is a typically well-acted working-class human drama. It has all of the elements you would expect from his films: the preoccupation with the effect of socio-economic conditions on the mental health & family/romantic relationships of working-class people, the theatrical exaggeration of certain characteristics almost to the point of making the protagonists into caricatures and of course the perfectly judged score which hits just the right note in setting the mood of the piece.
The film centres around the family unit of cab driver Phil (the always excellent Timothy Spall), his wife (Lesley Manville) who makes up for his deficiencies in providing for his family by working in a mundane supermarket job and their 2 overweight children marooned in an insular existence with little chance of escape. The main focus is on their relationships, inabilities to communicate and articulate, and their individual outlooks. All or Nothing is extremely successful at conveying all of these aspects.
Of course Leigh being Leigh also extends his portrayal to take in other dysfunctional characters living in the same demoralising high-rise housing flats. These include alcoholics, abusive partners in relationships and a young woman who uses her sexuality as a tool to escape the grim reality of her environment/ family situation.
His bleakest since Naked but perhaps better realised and more coherent. There are (thankfully!) some moments of hope and optimism which are characteristic ingredients of his films but the abiding impression is one of hopelessness in the face of grinding poverty and ruined lives. A brave piece of work and an absolute must-see.