127 Hours

It is impossible to not be in absolute awe of Danny Boyle’s versatility as a director. Whereas most stick to a genre they know best, he seems to effortlessly bounce from one to the next, always with a large degree of success- from the hard hitting crime drama of Trainspotting, to the devastating science fiction of 28 Days Later and Sunshine. His previous film was the brilliant Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight Oscars, including a Best Director award for Boyle, and naturally that success demands a greater attention and focus on his subsequent works.

So when you hear that 127 Hours is about the thrill seeking Aron Ralston (James Franco) who gets trapped under a boulder and has to decide whether or not to live or die in a canyon, you can’t help but feel a little sceptical about the potential for both personal and box office success.

After all, the film has only one character of note. Having no one to interact with for much of the hour and half runtime goes against the very fibre of cinematic convention, not to mention that there is no physical movement of the character- he is trapped, stuck in a hole. And there’s not even scope for a hero to turn up and save the day at the last minute, as the film is based on “Between a Rock and a Hard Place”, the true life recounting of the event by the real life Aron Ralston.

With the focus entirely on Franco, his performance is imperative to the success of the film. Acting aside, at the very least he looks the part- his rugged, messy exterior fitting his characters love of the outdoors lifestyle perfectly. On top of this, Franco is a likeable person. On screen he appears good fun, only interested in enjoying life and getting as much out of it as he possibly can. He has a rare allure that compels you to watch him, something which has eluded him in previous roles.

More than this though, his performance is simply outstanding. Portraying a vast range of emotion from his usual jovial carefree manner to his journey through what is basically the seven stages of grief and everything that comes with that. He appears genuine, believable, honest, and it is easy to imagine everything that the real life Ralston went through as he plotted his survival. At the very least this is Oscar nomination stuff, every bit the intricate character study that so nearly earned Mickey Rourke the award for his lead role in The Wrestler, and perhaps this has even more potential.

The development and evolution of the aforementioned emotions are cleverly shown through the use of a video camera, one of Ralston’s “essentials” for the journey. As he plays back his recording for sheer entertainment as he remains trapped, it allows a very intimate and detailed account of the character. Beginning with his encounter with two random women Kristi (Kate Mara) and Megan (Amber Tamblyn), to whom he offers his services as a guide- it then springboards to a documentation of his survival. How much water is left, how little food he has, his failing bodily functions and even minor details such as the time of sunrise and how much sunlight he receives; all of which pale in comparison to his heartfelt messages intended for his family and friends, should the camera ever be found. Not to mention providing a platform for a fantastic comedy scene to keep the mood buoyant even as the realisation of his mortality is upon him.

This kind of positive manner in which Ralston goes about his duties allows for a great sense of hope from start to finish, a theme which Boyle is more than familiar with. Regardless of how desperate things seem, our hero clings on to whatever hope he can muster. Maybe he’ll be found, rescued, maybe there’ll be rainfall from which the boulder may erode, maybe he will move it himself using the series of ropes that he has, or maybe he will chip away at it enough to free himself. It doesn’t matter how unlikely these outcomes are- the basic instinct of survival is shown, water and food are conserved, and the priority is remaining alive long enough for any kind of intervention.

Naturally enough the tale is also one of incredible irony, which perhaps contributes to the light-heartedness of the overall piece. Ralston didn’t bother to tell anyone where he was going, not even his mother as he evades her phone call before he leaves. He also did not bring all of his food and drink with him on his journey, leaving a tasty bottle of Gatorade along with some oranges in the back of his truck. He even couldn’t find his Swiss army knife- he may well have if he bothered to look properly. Even down to the fact that he leaves the tap dripping as he exits his home, when in three short days a drop of water would be the equivalent of a winning lotto ticket to his ailing body.

Most of these details can be accredited to the real life Ralston, and his own adventure. In terms of the actual story there is not much scope to play around with it, given that it has already happened and has been recounted. This limits Boyle’s job to a certain extent, leaving him with the difficult task of how to build on the plight of our protagonist.

One of the most effective methods of enhancing the situation comes through the contrasting images of freedom and captivity which run throughout. This is noticeable from the very opening sequence (and indeed the closing, providing a nice frame to the piece), which shows a montage of various groups of people going about their daily business in the company of many others. It is fair to say that unless you specifically seek a hermit existence it is impossible to be “alone” in your day to day travels, an obvious contrast to Ralston’s situation. This is further built on throughout the film, insects, birds, even the hallucination of a series of jets passing overhead- all enhance Ralston’s isolation.

It is also hard not to notice the accompanying soundtrack, particularly as Boyle’s previous film was so heavily lauded for its achievement in sound- winning Oscars for Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Achievement in Sound, as well as receiving nominations for a second Best Original Song and Sound Editing. And once more we are subjected to a fascinating blend of both music and sound engineering- the latter particularly during the crucial scene in which Ralston attempts to earn his freedom.

It is hard to ignore the musical choice, as from the very first scene we are subjected to a hard hitting piece entitled Never Hear Surf Music Again by a band called Free Blood, again emphasising the togetherness of common society. Aside from the hilarious inclusion of the Scooby Doo theme tune, and the classic Bill Withers song Lovely Day, A.R. Rahman again collaborates with Boyle to compose a series of pieces which reflect the tone of the film masterfully- not to mention the immense finale in conjunction with Dido, If I Rise. It is yet one more aspect that the director has tuned to perfection.

It is not all fun and games, as you could imagine. Being trapped in a canyon for 127 very long, thirsty hours is not anyone’s idea of a good weekend. Not to mention one very difficult to watch scene as the film nears the conclusion. However, for a film that could easily be so difficult and harrowing to watch it is surprisingly upbeat, funny and overall one of the most uplifting films you are likely to see, and this is surely the greatest achievement of an outstanding piece of filmmaking. Danny Boyle has done it again.

Rating:

5/5

The Way Back

The Way Back is the epic tale of a group of men from very different backgrounds and personal circumstances escape a gulag in Siberia, and walk to India. A very simplistic view of the film, not least because India is roughly 4000 miles from Siberia, they must escape the inescapable, navigate through miles upon miles of forestry without any navigation tools, hunt for food and water, and all the while avoiding recapture by any of the communist nations surrounding them. But at it’s most simple, they go on a big walk.

The inspiration within the group comes from Janusz (Jim Sturgess), imprisoned for twenty years in the gulag as a result of a statement signed by his wife against her will- swearing that he is anti-communist, anti-Stalin and above all else a spy for foreign countries. Unsurprisingly he is not impressed at the thought of spending twenty years eating slop and breaking rocks. He is a soldier on the other side of the fence, and he has no intention of remaining that way.

Crucially he meets the American Mr. Smith (Ed Harris) as he queues for food, and his first bond is formed. Regardless of how insignificant it seems at the time at the time, Smith is vital to the quest. He is an experienced, wily and respected figure, and his standing is shown during a snowstorm in which he leads the group of both inmates and guards to sheltered safety from the extreme weather conditions. Smith’s importance to Janusz comes at an early stage, as he introduces him to the workings of the gulag community- most notably the fact that it is run by the criminals, and pretty much anything goes.

Spurned on by the supposedly similar escape plans held by Khabarov (Mark Strong), Janusz gathers food and puts together an elaborate escape plan, and as word gets around the group increases in number. Now comprising of Janusz, Smith, Latvian Priest Voss (Gustaf Skarsgård), “funny” Yugoslav accountant Zoran (Dragus Bucur), erotic artist Tomasz (Alexandru Potocean, a 17 year old night blind Pole called Kazik (Sebastian Urzendowsky), and an insane Russian criminal Valka (Colin Farrell), they escape during a heavy snowstorm, minus the actor Khabarov, who had no plan to escape all along.

Now the journey begins in earnest. One step at a time, they first plan to travel to Lake Baikal, and then onwards to Mongolia. And for a while, it is riveting. From the first night spent as free men sheltered amongst the trees from the harsh weather conditions, to a little further down the line when they have become lost; hiding in a cave, hungry, thirsty, with one member ill and the rest severely disheartened - each scene offers a new danger, a new challenge, a new obstacle to overcome.

Also with each passing scene there is a reminder of the hardships of nature. Freezing conditions, endless snow, unbearable heat, miles upon miles of desert sands, sandstorms, massive jungles, mosquitoes, wolves,and the obvious lack of natural food resources and water. The adverse conditions have the obvious effects on the group, with a constant theme of suffering running throughout.

That said, there are only so many times you can watch and care about the characters starving, gasping, stumbling, collapsing and carrying one another before it becomes repetitive. Not excruciatingly so, but enough to have you checking your watch, particularly in the final third. It becomes almost frustrating that there is always just one more forest to cross, or one more mountain range to traverse, it feels as though it’s more of a chore to the group as they laugh and flippantly extend their journey a few hundred miles at a time.

As well as this, for all the hardship that is endured, the threat of recapture becomes slim to none far too early in the journey, eliminating any sub plot that could have been formed. That is perhaps an artistic choice, as the film is based on the novel The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom (1956), which claims to be a true recollection of the proceedings from one of the original survivors, Slawomir Rawicz. It is possible that Weir didn’t want to fabricate occurrences which had not already been claimed, and for resisting the temptation of sensationalism he should be applauded.

At the end of the day this is a film about a group of people with a common goal, and each and every actor does their bit to ensure it is a solid acting performance. However, it is Colin Farrell who absolutely steals the show. Every time he features on screen, his charisma echoes loudly and his presence eclipses the rest of the cast. From an early scene where he stabs a fellow inmate for confronting him he grabs our attention, offering a mixed bag of mental instability and comic relief, and due to both his background and demeanour he appears as an obvious threat to the travelling pack.

As important as Farrell’s character is to the group (mainly down to his knife, the only weapon that they possess), equally important is Saoirse Ronan’s Irena- a young Polish girl who attemps to join the group by spinning a sob story about her life. Having joined the group, her chatty ways allow her to extract personal information from each character, and relay it to the others at appropriate times. Her sociable nature is the catalyst for relationships and bonds to really develop amongst the men, and strong friendships are formed as a result. She also backs up her role with a very impressive performance of steely resolve and childlike innocence, pointing towards a bright future in the industry.

Excluding the aforementioned characters, the most memorable aspect of The Way Back is the fantastic use of establishing shots. A whole array of visually stunning landscapes are captured, with a broad spectrum of everything nature has to offer on show- from the showy mountains to the sprawling dessert, beautifully shot with extremely vivid colours, the landscapes provide images that will remain long after the credits roll. Aside from looking good though, the landscapes play a pivotal role in the story itself, providing a constant reminder of the seemingly endless, exhausting journey that is in progress.

Overall The Way Back represents both some excellent performances and filmmaking, depicting an age old story of true friendship and determination to succeed and conquer against all the odds. Unfortunately it is also far too tedious at times, which makes it seem a little flat, one dimension and boring. It is possible that this comes as a result of telling the audience how the film will end during the opening intertitles, resulting in a lull as it trudges towards the conclusion, but that alone isn’t enough to completely ruin a very good film.

Rating:

3/5

The American

Up until now, director Anton Corbijn’s career has revolved around the music industry. With a CV dominated by documentaries and video compilations of Depeche Mode, U2 and Metallica, and his first feature film Control (2007) biographically depicting the life of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis, The American represents his first foray away from his comfort zone. And of course, having George Clooney on board as your lead role is hardly a bad start.

Adapted from the 1990 Martin Booth novel “A Very Private Gentleman”, The American follows Jack (Clooney), an American assassin who is forced to lay low in the small Italian town of Castlevecchio, following a surprise attempt on his life during a morning excursion in a remote Swedish cabin with Ingrid (Irina Björklund), a girlfriend of his. Laying low in Italy is not as straightforward as it may seem however, with Jack instantaneously moving to the nearby town of Castel del Monte, taking on a mysterious job for his boss, discovering that every town has its secrets, and of course finding time for the obligatory love story.

One of the first thing that we notice (aside from Björklund’s modesty), is the determination of Corbijn to create the most beautiful looking piece that he possibly can. He achieves this in style, with the picturesque establishing shots highlighting the beauty of the scenic landscape available. These postcard visuals also serve a purpose in terms of the story, acting as an obvious contrast to the dangerous and imperfect life led by Jack. The impressive locational visuals also act as a constant reminder of the opening sequence, where danger lurks within these idyllic surroundings.

In fact, we see these surroundings quite often. Devoid of any visible life, they act as the canvas from which Corbijn paints a masterpiece of emptiness. The towns that we see have few inhabitants, the restaurants likewise, and with little to no traffic for the most part it appears as though Clooney’s has plenty of space within which to disappear. Considering his own lack of possessions- a backpack and a Fiat Tempra provided by his boss Pavel (Johan Leysen), it should not prove all that difficult. The emptiness exuded by the location and his lack of possessions is further channelled through Jack, who has decided to opt out of his profession in exchange for a normal life, and love in particular, which evades him.

During his trip to the local brothel, Jack becomes besotted by local hooker Clara (Violate Placido), following an encounter of love, and not lust as one would expect. Clara is a curious character, a free spirit who appears surprisingly intelligent and with a knowledge of the outside world: depicted through a single comment regarding “small town people” during a meal with Jack, and of course her very advanced handle of the English language. Despite warnings from Pavel not to let anyone become close to him, Jack has found his love interest, amidst a whole lot of suspicion- she could quite easily be an assassin herself.

The American is not an entirely different project from Corbijn’s previous works, as it is a slow paced character driven piece, looking at Clooney’s life as closely and as intimately as any self respecting biographer would. This slow pace initially serves a very fine purpose. For quite a while it seems as though someone is always watching, our protagonist can never be sure who to trust, and we await a major incident, ANY major incident, to occur. As time passes though, the film grinds to a standstill, with very little happening in the way of entertainment, leaving a longwinded mid film lull. This forces us to engage more with Jack and considering the film in entitled The American, and Clooney plays said American, it is less than surprising that our sole focus is on him, and nothing else.

Clooney’s character is perfectly crafted, and his appearance as the suave, discerning gentleman that we have seen throughout his Hollywood career allows a him to be one of the most likeable hitmen in cinema history, notably because he is portrayed so innocently. Never does he kill unless he is threatened, he is always the victim. Never do we see him partake in a hit, he is the assassin without the assassination. Haunted by his profession, he wants freedom, he wants love, he wants peace, quiet, beauty and butterflies.

Despite this he still has a job to do, however sceptical he may be, and his final task involves the construction of a highly specific and customised rifle. This process leaves us in no doubt as to the great level of expertise at which he operates. He is an exceptional craftsman, slowly and almost painstakingly making each construction, and each adjustment, throughout the course of the film. Although this is again longwinded and perhaps takes up too much screen time, the rifle is central to the how to the story plays out, and it also offers a further glimpse into the demeanour of Jack: professional, talented, dedicated, and intelligent.

Aside from Jack and Clara, and the female assassin for which Jack fashions the rifle, the only other character of note is a local priest, Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli), who acts as the all-seeing eye and an apparent beacon of wisdom with which Jack interacts. Although it is not a bad thing to have such a minimalistic cast, it adds to that constant barren feeling that lingers from scene to scene.

The American is neither a masterpiece nor is it an embarrassment. It is a fantastic looking film, not only for the landscape on show, but also for the very deliberate use of monochromatic lighting- reds for the lusty brothel, yellows under the night time street lights and blues for the local coffee shop; there is no doubt that Corbijn has a strong artistic eye. Likewise, his biographical background allows him to create an intriguing and likeable protagonist. Having said that, the pace is simply too slow at times, and not everyone will be content with the emptiness on show from beginning to end.

Rating:

3/5

Skyline

Skyline tells the story of Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and Elaine (Scottie Thompson), who fly to Los Angeles to meet Terry (Donald Faison), a friend of Jarrods. After a night of partying, they awake during an alien invasion, and all the madness that ensues. Directed by the Strause Brothers (Colin and Greg), a little clue as to the standard to be expected comes in the form of their only previous feature length film, Alien vs Predator : Requiem. Essentially, as fans of science fiction and both the Alien and Predator franchises, they took what they liked from the previous films and spliced them together, believing that they could re-energise a franchise with untold potential. Unfortunately, they failed. Miserably. So miserably in fact that their lack of imagination saw them lift shots directly from the original films and re shoot them. And if misery loves company, then Skyline is AVP:Requiem’s best friend.

From beginning to end, it seems as though we’ve seen all this before. It feels all too familiar, probably because it is. Beginning with the Cloverfield- esque late night party sequence that sees humanity enjoy their last moments of uninhibited freedom before the invasion, the highly technical alien beings descend upon earth and terrorise the city as in War of the Worlds, governed by an Independence Day type mothership. The humans fascination with the beauty of the light on show (remember Sunshine?), leads them to waltz into their own destruction, hovered up by alien pods, the kind recently seen in Terminator: Salvation.

Having said that, there is some originality and thought behind how the alien race functions; after the humans have been abducted and then deposited onboard the mothership, we eventually discover that they are essential to the expansion of the alien race, who are, perhaps, intent on colonization.. This is never built upon however, and like most aspects of the film it feels under developed.

Much too often are introduced but not developed, for example when Jarrod speaks of his apparent development of super human power, which he has retained from his initial exposure to the light in an early part of the film. It neither becomes a figment of his imagination, nor does he really exhibit power that would suggest him to be the genuine last, great hope of humanity which is alluded to by the dramatic execution of the dialogue in the first place.

Despite drawing inspiration from some of the great (and not so great) science fiction films of our time, Skyline fails spectacularly at seriously electing itself into the genre, instead becoming more or a comedy as time passes. The entire film eventually seems to become a parody of itself, even down to the very final scene with a depiction of what is meant to be an heroic finale. Unintentionally, of course.

What is even more disappointing about the film itself is that it threatened to be what War of the Worlds couldn’t. With the humans appearing hopeless and ultimately unlikely to be salvaged by basic earth borne bacteria, the outlook is extremely grim this time around. The portrayal of the extinction of our race is a rare commodity in cinema, and the boldness of suggesting this could well have allowed this to become a science fiction classic. Not to mention the fact that the race itself looks very impressive, with much of the airborne creations in particular beautifully crafted and could potentially have become a genre favourite.

Overall though, Skyline is a farcical attempt at piecing together a sci-fi blockbuster, and it fails to a massive extent having promised so much.

Rating:

1/5

The Social Network

It came out of nowhere. Millions of people are talking about it. And it could be talked about for years to come as a very clever successful venture. No, not Facebook, but rather the Facebook film. Or The Social Network, to address it by the proper title. For those unfortunate people who have been left out of the loop, The Social Network tells the story of Mark Zuckerberg, one of the founding members of excessively popular networking site Facebook. Or rather it tells the story of how he ended up embroiled in a couple of high profile, high stakes court cases as a result of “his” creation.

It is important to mention from the off that Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) does not sponsor, condone, appear in, or promote this film. Not only that, but he has been quoted as stating that he movie got a lot of stuff wrong and random details right, illustrated by the fact that Facebook was not invented as a revenge mission on a girl who had just dumped him. With this information in tow, it is not entirely sure whether we are watching a biopic or a fictional drama.

That said, regardless of what genre it falls in to, The Social Network opens with an incredibly stark portrayal of Zuckerberg- belittling his supposed then girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) by suggesting that because she attends Boston University and not the prestigious Harvard like himself, she would never “get to meet people she otherwise would not meet” unless she stuck by him. Needless to say he gets dumped unceremoniously, with her having the final say; “you're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole”. Ouch.

The story itself is seamlessly interwoven between two separate law suits- one of which involving the Winklevoss twins: Cameron and Tyler (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence), and the other Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield)- and a series of flashbacks, it is expertly crafted. For a film which threatens to be quite boring from a reading of the synopsis, it moves at quite a steady pace, all the while shot in a manner which we have come to expect from director David Fincher. It is dark, very dark. Poorly lit rooms and shadowy walls all point towards a visual representation of the loneliness of a now single Zuckerberg throughout his journey, his only solace at times coming from the eerie illuminating glow of a computer screen.

Eisenberg’s character isn’t portrayed any better as the film continues; quite the opposite. He’s an asshole, as we were told. He is intelligent, but maybe too much so. Genius? Probably, but with no social skills- even though he is actively trying to change that. He is blunt, ignorant, self centred, scheming, vengeful... but for some reason likeable. His humour lacks delivery but the punch lines excel. He doesn’t care for money, preferring respect amongst peers. And even though he betrays his best and only true friend, he still redeems himself to some extent in the final scene, showing that he is human after all. And humans make mistakes.

He is also emotional, charismatic, complex, driven, all of which displayed in one tender scene at a time when Zuckerberg should be attending an after party having reached one million members. The complex amalgamation of traits on display could in fact win Eisenberg an Oscar, at the very least announcing himself well and truly on Hollywood’s A-list. His performance is so commanding that the other characters remain on the periphery struggling to be noticed. Andrew Garfield’s wild emotional breakdowns are brushed aside, and Justin Timberlake’s appearance as Sean Parker (co-founder of music sharing client Napster) who appears to set the Facebook juggernaut in motion, is a little self indulgent and not at all as memorable as his previous roles in Alpha Dog and Black Snake Moan. Not to mention the incredibly repetitive and annoying Winklevoss’, or “Winklevii” are Zuckerberg creatively addresses them.

Perhaps one of the great achievements of The Social Network is the mixture of characters. There are real world professionals in the fields of law and education. There is royalty, students, college jocks, friends, enemies, popular people, unpopular people, girls, guys and the inevitable ex girlfriend. Essentially, it is an amazing visual representation of the real world social network, and the links between different people.

Overall this is an excellent portrayal of the rise and rise of an unlikeable person within a world full of different people and different personalities, and a world where a simple idea can be worth billions of dollars, but not (to paraphrase the excellent film poster) without making a few enemies along the way.

Rating:

4/5