4 The Weekend

1. Some Think Old

Repulsion (1965)

Director: Roman Polanski

Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry and John Fraser

The notion of the mind resembling some form of abstract imprisonment is a well visited cinematic vehicle, Roman Polanksi’s take on the concept acts like a metaphorical  soliloquy of one woman’s battle with sexual and social phobias.  The troubled mind of Belgian beautician Carol (Deneuve) is lost in a structural four walled abyss of her London apartment, degenerating into a nightmarish surreality of murderous impulses brought about by a fear of predatory assailants that lurk inside. Polanski’s use of symbols is to be marvelled as sights of rotting meat and cracking plaster aptly signify the degradation of our subjects psyche, whilst grotesque tentacle like arms that grow from within the walls prevail to dehumanise Carol’s fragile disposition. It’s easy to see the influence the piece has had in the years after its creation be it Carrie (1976) and as recent as Black Swan (2010), Repulsion is an impressive voyage into the realms of our minds more shadowy reaches. 

8/10

2. Some Think New

I am Number Four (2011)

Director: D.J. Caruso

Stars: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant and Dianna Agron

Imagining a blend of tried and tested  Sci Fi conventions like ET and Superman, tied together by teeny melodrama of the Twighlight Saga, will bring you somewhere near I Am Number Four ‘s derivative stink. We follow John (Pettyfer) coming to terms with his covertly natured existence, inherent demigod powers,  which come about with life as an on the run alien avoiding a deadly intergalactic race war which threatens his very being, yet despite the seriousness of his predicament, life soon becomes embroiled in high school innocuities that unconvincingly take priority.  The unforgiving back story, multiplicity of narrative strands and accompanying wave of characters make it difficult not to exhort  the observation that this would have been better served as an episodic TV series and indeed feels like one at times. If you still care past the laborious first hour or so of mostly painful character development, and even with the Bayhem style car smash finale I Am Four still feels like an overblown pilot episode of some ghastly Smallville imitation.

5/10   

 3. Some Think To Borrow

 (500) Days of Summer (2009) 

There is something rare and indeed endearing about watching a piece of cinema that captures beautifully the dying embers of a lost era like a generational montage. (500) Days Of Summer is just that, a film about and for the last wave of generation X-ers coming to terms with their ideals and memories being relegated to nothing more than nostalgia of 80's TV theme tunes and inane Beatles debates, whilst the world becomes an increasingly vapid cauldron of cynicism with older generations embarking on second lives and marriages, with a younger generation offering a bemusedly wise shoulder to cry on.

Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is the post modern romantic about to be torturously put to be the sword over 500 days of acquainted love that befalls him. Tom is a builder, a planner, not literally of course but in nature, epitomised by his budding but elusive profession as an architect and displayed by a love for creating structures both physical and poetic as a greeting card wordsmith. Tom lives on a steady foundation of contented certitude with a network of friends, steady employment, and a love of contemporary music and cinema. Zooey Deschanel is the 500 day Summer (her name) that he will endure, one could argue the “are they aren’t they” couple are cut from the same cloth, but where as Gordon-Levitt’s character wears his heart on his sleeve, Summer is a more introverted enigma, a staunch detractor of love and its existence, she lives by a code of conflicted spontaneity which is even a puzzle to herself. 

 

Both leads produce performances that become delightfully sketchy effigies of 21^st century relational dynamics. We see a quietly devastating contradiction as Gordon-Levitt’s manages to bring out Tom’s possessive lust strung out by his blind obsessions,  whilst Deschanel’s delivery has Summer contritely cognisant or her own imperfections.  

Director Marc Webb’s work bears all the hallmarks of his prowess as a pop video virtuoso, as there is a inspiring dexterity in the way pieces of the narrative play out like fragmented music videos. The same can be said of (500) Days Of Summer’s use of non-linear recitation which somehow manages to still feel very much sequential with scenes melting gloriously into one another with ease, whilst others are ignited by lush tones of the eclectic soundtrack. 500 days is a transient journey which finds a variety of angles to shed a light on the American romance with all of it fascinating intricacies.

9/10 

4. Some Think Due 

Source Code (2011)

Release: April 1^st 2011

Director: Duncan Jones

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga

Synopsis: An action thriller centered on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.

Why get excited: Source Code is the eagerly anticipated follow up to Duncan Jones much heralded debut Moon (2009). Jones gets over 7 times the financial backing of his maiden feature most which was probably spent on acquiring  Jake Gyllenhaal  to spearhead the project. Source Code promises to be another cerebral offering Bowie jnr (his father is musical legend David) with the added potential of big budget thrills and spills.

New True Grit (2010)

It’s been 27 years since Joel and Ethan Coen’s first deliverance of brotherly genius with the snarling brilliance of Blood Simple (1984) which set the foundation for glimmering catalogue of revered and treasured timeless classics that which have become synonymous with the Coen brothers brand. When studying the aforementioned filmography one cannot help but locate a Shakespearean style split within their cinematic portfolio. And it isn’t hard to find your equivalent Comedies or Tragedies. Especially when you think they do the frenetic and the farcical sublimely in offerings such as Burn After Reading (2008), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)  and perhaps to this day their signature piece The Big Lebowski (1999), which fulfil the Comedic end of this comparison. Black humour even swings it’s way into the more darkened choices making Tragedies are a little tougher to distinguish but there is no denying that there is much that is tragic in the Coen’s most underrated exhibit The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) a hang dog expression of a film, whilst Fargo (1996) and the mighty No Country for Old Men (2007) also fit the bill.

So where to place True Grit? A Gun slinging, Horse Riding adventure of true Western pastiche, conjured up with undoubted Coen Wizardry and idiosyncrasy. Aesthetically the film is a triumph, set in late 19^th Century Arkansas  True Grit captures the beauty of the American old west by combining elegantly crafted and selected sets with powering scenery. Held in a delicate time incumbent of post civil war savagery and yet preserved in a pre-industrialised grace. Structurally it follows in the simplistic path of other Coen works, a reoccurring methodology is designing the narrative around a man hunt or a goose chase and we get the former here. Mattie Ross played irresistibly by the irresistible rookie Hailee Steinfeld is caught somewhere between the lines of vengeance and justice brought about by her back story predicament, having lost her father to a botched robbery she seeks out see the now fugitive man who did it punished, but there is one problem she is a puny 14 year old girl who gets by on a brazen wordy tongue, fuelled by unrelenting smarts and courage. 

So by putting her self-taught virtues to the test Mattie finds the man the who she believes can get the job done which comes in the shape of the human Cyclopes Rueben Cogburn an ostensibly uncompromised man ravaged by war and alcohol, almost burdened by his tough guy reputation as much as he abides by it. And it’s funny that the word abides allows an easy set up to introduce Jeff Bridges as the man to detail Cogburn in his first Coen reunion since reprising the “Dude” and the performances aren’t too dissimilar in the sense that Cogburn and the Dude are self ostracised, alcoholics who care little for what others may think of them. It will be difficult to say how Bridges career will be most remembered, but Jeff is on top form here and his leisurely and casual style works wonders with Rooster. Matt Damon chips in as the “all the gear, no idea” Texas Ranger Leboeuf, jangling spurs and all, is the third member of the group and a quiet success. “LeBeef” as his is name is somewhat amusingly uttered, allows Damon to provide some comic relief with a performance of deliberate overtone and lacking of sophistication. 

The Coen’s cap it all off by immersing our heroes in a wondrous adventure that takes pseudo fantastical elements reminiscent of O Brother, encountering mystifying corpse collecting Indians, and bear suited dentists are undeniable Coen touches. The film has a pulsating No Country like mode of deadly cat and mouse, filled with all shoot-outs and chase scenes to keep the audience on seats edge. All in all True Grit is another fluent outing from Joel and Ethan, a sharp and convincing statement of their talent.

8/10

New The Fighter (2010)

The key to success of most sports drama’s is in its ability to capture a binding quintessence of both sport and hero or heroine. Boxing in itself embodies a wealth of humanistic teachings such as resilience, endurance and discipline. In the case of David O Russells biopic The Fighter manages to broaden the parallel past the notion of one man’s fight into gripping family drama, a statement of brotherly and motherly love, galvanised by the thematic complexities of obscured loyalties and conflicted priorities.

Mark Wahlberg leads the line as Pro Boxer “Irish” Micky Ward, an embattled soldier like man of noble but crushed spirit, who we meet at a cross roads in his seemingly mediocre career. Wahlberg’s performance bares shades of the hapless loss of control that eventually evolves in Boogie Nights (1997) as well as the bulldog spirit of Invincible (2006). Early in the film the question is raised about the validity of his tutelage. Ward is governed  by a coalition of blood firstly inside the ring with star of the show Christian Bale, playing brother Dicky a decayed local boxing legend turned trainer, whose life is in near terminal free fall through Crack addiction and accompanying petty criminality. Bale gives by far the most authentic performance of his career, an emotionally rangy tour de force, maneuvering through Dick Eklunds crippling self destruction.

 

Outside the ring Melissa Leo in her portrayal of mother Alice Ward attempts at being the matriarchal adhesive that must forge Family and Business, whilst a pack of Hyena like sisters also seem to be feasting from Micky’s trough. The disorganised managerial set up soon becomes an unsuspecting triumvirate when an incredulous Wahlberg falls in love with Amy Adams who plays a Charlene, a tough talking waitress eager to apply her own wisdom and perspective to the situation roundly rejected by the rest of the Ward clan. These performances provide the foundation for the feature, complimenting each other leaving sparks flying around the screen with Wahlberg’s pathos comes Bales preposterousness whilst Leo’s motherly devotion is countered by Adam’s  divisibility.

Beyond the character study is an effective social commentary as the Ward/Eklund family are products of their drab and at times oppressive surroundings of Lowell, Massachusetts. Boxing is an outlet for many to lash out in a controlled environment, whilst those who don’t submit to the temptations of drug addiction, alcoholism and crime. 

Other iconic Boxing films of differing eras will no doubt draw comparison but we aren’t romanticising as in Rocky (1976) or partaking in the savage poetry of Raging Bull (1980). The Fighter finds a place of its own within the pantheon of great Boxing pictures telling a story both of and for its time.

8/10