James Absolon explains how this Pope-themed film, despite its risky premise, works
Alex Pollard reviews Hollywood's biopic of the controversial Margaret Thatcher
I was pretty excited about seeing this film – I’ll admit, largely because it is set in 80s Britain and features an awesome soundtrack. The story: when the school goldfish bowl is smashed, the perpetrator, nuisance-kid Lee Carter, and innocent bystander Will Proudfoot, are brought together to form a unique friendship.
Initially, Lee sees the naïve youth as the perfect stunt man for his homemade video entry for a children’s "Screen Test" competition. It is during this time with Lee that Will pops his cinematic cherry - his family’s highly religious "Brethren" sect forbids television, non-religious music, and pretty much all the fun things in life. On catching a clip of a pirated Rambo video, Will’s mind blasts open to the cinematic glory of two friends having fun with video camera. All of his previously squandered creative abilities suddenly have a purpose and are put to use, taking his wonderfully colourful drawings as a storyboard for their film Son of Rambow.
Vivacious with the excitement of a purpose for being and a friend to share it with, the two boys become the best of friends. Yet Will is torn between his passion for the film and friendship and his loyalty to his mother and the Brethren.
This film will undoubtedly give you warm glowing smile like a bowl of porridge and treacle.
This film will undoubtedly give you warm glowing smile like a bowl of porridge and treacle. It comically captures a piece of British childhood that is brilliantly acted by the two leads (take note, Radcliffe). Besides, there’s humour, action and explosions, cults, an absurdly cool French exchange student, and dogs on kites. What more could you ask for in a film?
Son of Rambow directed by Gareth Jennings is showing at Vue.
Matthew Henderson
I’m not sure what he was trying to say.
I’ve been thinking about Mike Leigh’s latest film for the past week, and that is all I could conclude. Indeed, Happy-Go-Lucky is advertised as a light-hearted romcom that brings annoyingly happy Poppy (Sally Hawkins) face-to-face with sulky, depressed and slightly racist driving instructor Scott (Eddie Marsan).
But light-hearted or happy-go-lucky, or in fact a romantic comedy, it is not.
Whether the film is as "life-affirming" as the poster would have you think, I cannot tell, but it will and has provoked strong debates on whether one wants to punch or hug the main character by the end of the 118 minutes. The sequences range from hilarious (flamenco lesson, chavy sister’s retort “it’s my face!”) to absurd (Poppy meets tramp) as well as tender and true (Zoe/Poppy interaction).
Leigh plays with the viewers’ expectations and the result is a heterogeneous and intriguing slice-of-life film whose plot we cannot quite grasp. However as life, contrary to popular belief, cannot be neatly plotted as Hollywood might have us believe, it is in fact in its elusiveness and plotlessness that the film captures a fragrance of truth. The characters are complex and the close-up shots create a sometimes worrying Carveresque intimacy which exacerbates tension and intensifies the experience.
Happy-Go-Lucky directed by Mike Leigh is showing at City Screen.
Marie Thouaille
In the beautiful city of Bruges, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are two Irish hit-men who wait in exile after a job takes a tragic turn. McDonagh’s feature debut is a triumph for black humour and the power of language.
Bruges is the perfect setting for this film; surrounded by stunning gothic architecture, Ken immerses himself into the serenity of Bruges and is content to see the sights while they wait for their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to contact them. Ray, on the other hand, is too restless to play the tourist. His mind is occupied with other issues in any case; his first job went wrong and so he flutters through Bruges seeking redemption. The irony, therefore, is blatant when he dismisses Ken’s invitations to touch a relic and ask for Jesus’ salvation.
Those expecting an action film will not find one here. Instead there is an intelligent film where the violence comes from the language. The haunting dialogue uses repetition to bring a hypnotic quality.
Nothing is out of bounds for McDonagh, with the insults and quips sometimes bordering on the gratuitous. They shock and offend for the sake of being off-kilter comedy, but the film is very sincere and the attention is always on the main characters. It is also refreshing to see a film where the heroes are not politically correct.
Farrell is at his best in this film: he is a child trapped in a situation he can not escape, scuffing his shoes in silent churches and pouting. He only becomes animated when he stumbles on a film shoot and excitedly exclaims: “They’re filming midgets!” It is only after meeting Chloe (Clémence Poésy) that he finds something worth staying in Bruges for.
As a huge fan of Gleeson I was not disappointed. He is the stable ballast to Ray’s carefree nature and his we see the beauty of the city through his eyes. Bruges is now quite high up in places I would like to visit!
Harry eventually comes out to Bruges and we realise he is just as unhinged as Ray and Ken. There are no clichés to be seen so it is deeply poignant, if a bit tongue-in-cheek. Fiennes is underused and it does end with a shoot-out but the final scene is powerful and one major point is underlined. Nothing in In Bruges was inevitable: there were no certainties so the actions of Ray, Ken and Harry are their own ethical choices. A simple and entertaining story and it keeps you guessing and laughing throughout.
In Bruges directed by Martin McDonagh is showing at City Screen.
Jonathan Wilkes
Also this week at York Student Cinema "Jumper" directed by Doug Liman, and "Charlie Wilson's War" directed by Mike Nichols, reviewed here
Without Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, the British film industry would be dead.
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