The second feature from Vincenzo Natali (director of the cult film Cube, if you haven't seen it, go check it out) comes this tantalizing sci-fi with hints of film noir blended together to create a smart and puzzling piece of espionage, double-cross with numerous twists and turns.
Set in an alternative reality where a bored business man Morgan Sullivan (played with bookish awkwardness by Jeremy Northam) decides to apply for a job at a global computer firm Digicorp. He successfully passes the rigorous test and learns he is to work as a spy to steal information from their rivals Sunways Systems. Morgan is given a new identity (Jack Thursby) where he attends these business conferences to retrieve and relay information back to Digicorp.
Morgan starts off thinking that this would be an adventure where he can re-invent himself as the man he'd like to be. When he spots a mysterious woman (Rita played by Lucy Lui), he tries his luck, only to be blown off. As he sent on further conferences he starts to experience extreme headaches where masses of images explode in his mind which he doesn't comprehend. When he spots Rita again in his hotel again he follows her to the rooftop where she explains to him that all is not what it seems at the conferences he is going to.... and that's when the fun starts. Here is the beginning of the many twist and turns involved in the film.
Set in monochromatic colours, where there is light there is shadow and the whole film seems to be set in a neo film noir colouring of greys and whites. There is a distinct style that the film tries to go for and mostly achieves. A world, which is not dissimilar to our own, is bought to life by the high contrast and sharp detail by cinematographer Derek Rogers giving the whole feel a cold, calculated and cool precision look.
The performances by Jeremy Northam provides the main focus as we see his transformation from a bland everyday businessman into a paranoid agent who allegiances is divided and is unsure of who to trust and who to follow. By the end of the film he becomes a completely different person and is a measured piece of acting by Northam. Lucy Lui also plays the role of the femme fatale very well and isn't playing her usual spoilt brat routine (which is normally very unbearable for me). All other supporting cast do a decent enough job but it's not really a film to really rave on about the acting side of things.
The most impressive thing about this, is learning that the film was initial financed by family and friends on their credit cards and was only pick up later on by a major distributor and with a larger budget (even then it's only $7.5 million) to work on, it looks amazing. Shot in very little time, it's a puzzler that isn't too hard to work out (though you will need a little concentration to follow it) but to fully appreciate it, I would suggest you don't view the trailer, otherwise a lot of the key plot points maybe ruined and the surprises and twists will be foreseen. All in all it's very stylist sci-fi thriller with plenty to give the brain a workout.
You may not believe this but this is actually a lot more interesting that it sounds. The film starts off with Prince Albert (Colin Firth) trying to give a speech to a crowd where he begins to seize up and stammers, the narrative goes straight to the point where we are given the main focus of this sublime historical dramatisation of a true story.
Set amongst within the realms of royalty and regalness, we are given an inside view into the lives of the monarchy. Here we find the future King unable to speak to his Empire and has exhausted every known cure and method to overcome his lack of ability to speak in public. We see a man in utter internal (and external) conflict. His wife (the future Queen Mother played by Helena Bonham Carter) seeks out an alternative doctor Lionel Logue (played by Geoffery Rush) in the ads in the back of a newspaper, known for his unique methods, inquisitive charm and unorthodox approaches.
Lionel Logue (Geoffery Rush)
When Prince Albert (or as Logue affectionately calls him Bertie) meets Lionel for the first time he is skeptical about his methods. Unperturbed by his status, Logue embarks on curing the would be King to overcome his demons. Of course with Lionel being of Australian heritage and Bertie being royalty, we get the obvious culture clashes and Bertie doesn't go along with Lionels methods at first. He does come around when he hears improvements (and when he needs to speak out to the public) but it's the characterisations and humorous situations (particular seeing a would be King performing his vocal exercises but especially when he is asked to curse like never before) that bring this picture such entertaining joy.
Bertie and Lionel perform their muscular vocal exercises
It's the smart screenplay that celebrates it's characters and it's dialogue. It's a riveting story which is more about the blossoming friendship between Lionel and Bertie. Set between the death of the current reigning Monarch (King George V) and ending at the dawn of the second world war, the narrative never veers off into too much into historical events, and the main focus is always upon Lionel and Bertie. With the heir apparent (his brother) Prince David gives up the opportunity to rule the Kingdom, the duty and responsibility falls upon Bertie to lead the way and do the right thing by his country. You'd forget that amongst all this is an actual true story of a man who actually has troubles speaking out in public and in private too.
Sir Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall)
Colin Firth and Geoffery Rush are both on commanding form (and as I write this both have been given a nomination for an Oscar for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively). All the supporting cast deserve some plaudits for their portrayal of historical figures that include Sir Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall), King George V (Michael Gambon) and the film even features a young future Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. If Firth doesn't walk away with an Oscar then there's something wrong with the voting panel. I have never been so willing for a man to say something in a film as I have done so in this. You hang on to every utterance and every stutter, you share the pain (It is said that Firth even developed a minor stutter after filming for his consistent and constant portrayal of a man who suffers from this infliction), it's all credit to Colin Firth that we do sympathies with him showing as just a mere man (admittedly with a posh accent) whose duty just so happens to include public speaking. When you finally get to the end, it is such a joyous moment of achievement you can't but help be swept along with the celebrations and moved by it all. An outstanding film that will be heralded as a classic in years to come.
From the technical wizardry genius that was "Pi" comes Darren Aronofskys' second feature "Requiem For A Dream". Following on from his remarkable debut comes this harrowing, hypnotic and startling story about four lives spiralling into an addiction they never come back from. Adapted from a novel by Hubert Selby Jr. (who also has a hand in writing the screenplay alongside Aronofsky) it tells a tale on how four people from New York, who all have aspiration and dreams for a better life only for it to be ruined by the need and reliance on their next hit, caught in an addiction they all thought they could control.
Ellen Burstyn (deservedly nominated for an Oscar) stars as Sara Goldfarb, a mother who is constantly being robbed by her son Harry (Jared Leto in his best role ever) to fuel his drug habit. The film opens up with Harry taking her TV to pawn to get extra cash to purchase illegal substances for his next hit. Alongside Harry is his companion Tyrone (Marlon Wayans in serious dramatic role) and Harrys' girlfriend Marion (played by Jennifer Connelly). All the main characters dream of a better life and strive to reach what they believe would make them happy and set out to achieve their ultimate goal. Harry and Tyrone want to be more than petty drug users and think they can get out of their rut by scoring and dealing, saving up to make money. Harry tells Marion that with the money she can start up the business she's always dreamed about and with Harrys mother (a TV junkie) she aspires to be on TV and when she gets a call with a promise of appearing on TV she does everything she can to lose the weight she's gain over the years to fit into her perfect red dress. When things take a turn for the worst, desperation takes hold and they all resort to the depths of despair in an effort to cling on to their dreams.
Probably the saddest sequence in the film is Sara Goldfarb breakdown in her front room. Addicted to slimming pills provided to her by her GP, she becomes detached from reality and her room becomes filled with the infotainment channel host and audience mocking and taunting her. It's not only the illegal drugs but the prescription kind that becomes an addictive and dependant source for a better life.
With almost every conceivable trick and camera technique thrown towards us, it is the way Aronosky tries to replicate the affects of being high on illicit substances with speeded up imagery, split screen, extreme close ups (eyeballs in particular), fast cuts, the snorricam technique (where the camera is attached to the performer and the background is constantly moving around giving us, the audience, a sense of vertigo), and most importantly, repetition. We are barraged with constant imagery of drugs being taken and in a sense that is what Aronoskys trying to show us, what is it like to be addicted to illegal substances. They just want to do it over and over to get that high (which only last for a while) and then the comedown.... back to reality, with the mundane and depressing way of life that awaits them always in the search for the next hit. The neverending cycle goes on.
With all the talk on the visuals and the narrative style the vital ingredient to the whole mixture is the unrelenting score by Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet. You've probably heard it before ad nauseum (it has been borrowed, sampled and diluted) but here, you will hear it in it's original beauty. The score is played in and out in varying styles becoming more and more haunting throughout the film as it builds up into a crescendo of violins and orchestral noise. It complements and encapsulate the mood of the whole film. It's such a memorable piece of music that I can't see it working without the main theme running through every dramatic scene.
Overall it is a remarkable piece of cinema. A startling performance by all (and I mean all, I personally think none of the actors will ever achieve such high degree of emotional turmoil, they all deserve high praise for their energy and portrayal of addicts) and a visual style to wow the eyes with an immense score to boot. It is by no means a film to necessarily watch over and over again as it is physically and emotionally draining. By the end you will feel uneasy and unhinged by onslaught of images that come to you quicker and quicker till the bottom has been hit and they can go no lower, the depressing imagery will forever be embedded in your memory alongside other nightmarish scenes from within the film (it's not a film you can easily recover from). A technical achievement and a brave take on drug addiction.
A little known film directed by the great Martin Scorsese, released between The King of Comedy (1982) and The Color of Money (1985), It was another one of his forays into the comedy genre. Though it isn't a straight comedy, it is very offbeat and blackly comical in tone and situations. It zips along at such breathless pace you just don't know what's going to happen from one scene to another. It's a shame that only Crime/Gangster genre seems to be his regular output of films of late and that you can see a marvellous and assured piece of comedic genius on display in this picture.
Griffin Dunne (An American Werewolf in London) stars as Paul, a mild mannered office worker in the New York. One night in a coffee shop, he has a chance encounter with Marcy (Roseanna Arquette), a kooky strange character whom he gets her phone number off (he pretends to be interested in buying her friends sculptural work...), and he decides to contact her later that night. His impulsive behaviour leads him to a night he will never forget.
Griffin Dunne and Roseanna Arquette
On the phone she tells him to come up to see her and so off he goes in what he hopes to be a night of passion but when he gets in the cab, that's when his troubles begin. As the taxi cab zips around the streets of New York, the kinetic camera work and fast paced editing leads us into a whole series of weird and wonderful characters and situations. Whenever you think things can't go wrong for Paul, things take a turn for the worst. His first mishaps occurs when his money flies out of the cab...thus leaving him with no cash to get home.
His supposed date goes awry and he leaves on a sour note, he tries to make his way home but fate has other plans for him. With each and every character he encounters, he gets more and more embroiled and increasingly irate at his inability to find a way home. Everyone he comes across has a slightly askew view on his situation (or not really paying him much sympathy to his plight) and he ends up upsetting or offending them. The only man to offer any sign of help is the bartender but unfortunately he turns out to be Marcy boyfriend, which leads to more complications. As the night wears on, you wonder how he gets out of his predicament. Does he make it back home....well you just have to wait and see.
Teri Garr as Julie the waitress
Griffin Dunne display the right amount of paranoia and anguish. The supporting cast play their parts well and the numerous quirky characters all come across just on the right side of believability. From the waitress (Teri Garr) to the ice cream van owner Gail (Catherine O'Hara), they all display a little bit of kooky craziness. The only sane one is probably Tom (John Heard) the bartender even then, he can't help our protagonist (we even get Cheech and Chong in on the act as a pair incompetent of burglars).
Catherine O'Hara as the Ice Cream Van Owner Gail
With such a remarkable and resounding weird look into New Yorks' bizarre night life it's like a story you get hooked into and watch to see the madness unfold with ever evolving situation. Scorsese fabulously captures the stranger side of New York and is brilliant lit up by Michael Ballhaus cinematography (It was their first collaboration together and they have gone on since to make Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York amongst others). The quick speed in which the film took to complete is what Scorsese was aiming for. His latter films became a long and arduous shoot and this film harks back to his early methods and it's not overblown or over polished. It's a wild and wondrous ride which still feels as fresh and unique as it did when it first came on to our screens.
The second feature from Vincenzo Natali (director of the cult film Cube, if you haven't seen it, go check it out) comes this tantalizing sci-fi with hints of film noir blended together to create a smart and puzzling piece of espionage, double-cross with numerous twists and turns. 
The performances by Jeremy Northam provides the main focus as we see his transformation from a bland everyday businessman into a paranoid agent who allegiances is divided and is unsure of who to trust and who to follow. By the end of the film he becomes a completely different person and is a measured piece of acting by Northam. Lucy Lui also plays the role of the femme fatale very well and isn't playing her usual spoilt brat routine (which is normally very unbearable for me). All other supporting cast do a decent enough job but it's not really a film to really rave on about the acting side of things. 
