This weekend was one of those times that I really made the
most of my Cineworld Unlimited card, after a rather lax September in which I
basically avoided the box office. I took in I three films, a rather eclectic
collection of films actually, and I’m glad to say that they were all pretty
decent. One of them I’d recommend to everyone, another I’d recommend to a
handful of people and the other I actually wouldn’t recommend to anyone despite
the fact I did enjoy.
First up I was coerced into taking in The Riot Club, the adaptation of a play from a few years ago that
basically had the message – Rich people bad! Whilst this might have translated
well in the theatre, cinema audiences demand to be taken on a journey as
opposed to hit over the head with a blunt message. And that’s exactly what this
film was missing – a journey. Beautifully crafted as it was, and littered with
some fantastic dialogue, the film was pretty much just posh kids being dicks
and it got stale very quickly. The dinner party was shot and written superbly,
creating a level of discomfort in me that I hadn’t felt in the cinema since Under the Skin earlier in the year. If you
never watch this entire of The Riot Club
I recommend everyone check out this chunk of the film because it’s a master
class in building tension. By the time the denouement came I had lost interest in
the outcome of the film, the film had already backed itself into a corner by creating
a group of unlikeable (but brilliantly performed) characters that populated a
world in which there was no real stakes. The protagonist was handed a
triumphant ending of sorts that he hadn’t at all earned.
Next up was the film that I was looking forward to the most
this weekend, which was Maps to the Stars
by David Cronenberg. The film puts Hollywood under the microscope and
Cronenberg doesn’t pull any punches, twisting the city into an abusive creature
with the ability to corrupt. The cyclical nature of the story is interesting and
everything that comes to pass has, in a way, already happened in the film –
from an incestuous relationship ending in tragedy to an abusive mother killed
by fire. The genius of the film is its attitude to the past, the present and the
future. The past represents an actual, physical danger and as the narrative
unfolds it is the effect of buried secrets that is driving it, whilst
acknowledging the inevitability of repeating those mistakes. Likewise the
future is also something to be feared. Never is this more apparent than when
Benji, a child star with a drug problem, is onscreen with a younger actor than
himself. In stark contrast the present
is treated as nothing but research for the character, rather than something to
be experienced for itself. Very rarely do we see characters genuinely enjoying
themselves, too preoccupied with fearing the past or worrying about the future.
Finally I went, with great trepidation, to view A Walk Among the Tombstones for what I
assumed would be a mindless evening of Liam Neeson killing everything in every
scene. Instead I enjoyed what was actually an intelligently written detective
thriller that, despite name-checking Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe, didn’t
quite reach those giddy heights. Neeson is enjoyable as an unlicensed private
investigator (although somehow he still can’t put on decent American accent) with
a troubled past but there’s really nothing new to be seen. That doesn’t mean it’s
not worthwhile though and it’s been a while since a good hard-boiled detective
story hit the cinema. It’s tense, well paced and puzzling out a well written narrative
alongside a protagonist is one of the more satisfying experiences you can have
in a cinema.
Next up is Gone Girl tonight
which I’m really looking forward to. Despite Fincher’s insistence to drag films
out past the two hour mark there’s no doubt he’s an amazing story teller.
No comments:
Post a Comment