August 6, 2023

27.02.23 45 Years is a ghost story. And a horror film. But it’s presented as a drama about a retired childless couple with a secret. Delicate on one hand, yet brooding and haunting on the other, the film plants a shard of ice into a seemingly solid marriage and shows us how trust and intimacy can be shattered. It’s a real ‘slow chiller’ (rather than a slow burner, let’s stick with the cold theme!), with some excellent narrative devices utilised which I don’t think I’ve seen before. One of the most potent and memorable is the attic scene, with the incredibly effective use of a split screen and an old photo projector. This allows Charlotte Rampling’s character to discover the unknown, whilst at the same time allowing us to see both her reactions, as well as what she is seeing the whole time. But even more impressive is the finale of the film. Without giving anything else away, it’s simply one of the best movie endings and final scenes I can think of. I think about it often and it sends shivers down my spine when reminded of it. Rampling’s agonising face and the use of familiar music now heartbreaking in its lyricism syncs up in such a beautiful yet unsettling manner. 45 Years is a great film regardless of these two scenes, and there are many other powerful moments to behold. It makes for a good rewatch and feels somewhat underrated despite its popularity amongst those who have seen it. Andrew Haigh is an assured director who appears to have had some bad luck with the studios he’s been attached to. His new film ‘Strangers’ is out in late 2023 starring Paul Mescal and Claire Foy. I can’t bloody wait.

29.01.23 The Player is a real enigma of a film. One on hand it’s incredibly cynical, but simultaneously, it’s positively joyous. It’s full of A-List actors, but is acutely ‘anti-Hollywood’. The motives of the film’s central characters are selfish and slimy, but the film is all surface smiles, shiny suits and vacations to Acapulco. I enjoyed it on the whole, despite it feeling like a ‘back-patting’ exercise of Altman trying to cram as much talent into the 2 hours as possible. Sometimes the cameos are as short as 10 seconds with no audible dialogue, which becomes rather annoying. I feel like a lazy way of making the audience interested in what’s on the screen. There is an overreliance on this device being used repeatedly (apparently there are 65 cameos!) at the expense of some of the more interesting characters in the film, such as Whoopi Goldberg as the detective, and Tim Robbins’ Icelandic love interest. I did feel that the ending lands well though and has a sweet irony, which ties it up nicely. Maybe some viewers will have fun pointing at the screen every time a famous face pops up, but I found that element slightly tiresome despite this being a really well-written and ‘of its time’ nineties satire.

27.01.23 Poltergeist makes for a really interesting rewatch, because it feels like such a different film from the one that I used to watch as a kid, late at night on VHS hidden under my blanket. Although some of the scenes that used to terrify me now seem cheesy and outdated, what’s left is a revealing snapshot of middle class American suburbia, and a portrayal of fear through the eyes of privilege that I did not appreciate at the time. The more you have, the more you have to lose, or be scared of. What’s also left is the visual spectacle, in particular to some of the film’s mid to late supernatural scenes.In those captivating moments, the score, inventive lighting and convincing performances all stack up and hold up well to this day. It’s a Tobe Hooper film, but it’s got Speilberg written all over it. There is a roster of colourful characters, mostly from the team of ‘supernaturalists’ trying to help the family, and as they get introduced bit by bit, the energy of the film begins to ramp up to a great horror ‘double climax’. Maybe it’s not as well loved as ET, also from 1982, and I’m pretty sure I have a mild phobia of clowns because of the film, but Poltergeist still delivers. It’s an immensely satisfying ‘family horror’ movie with terrific energy and memorable scares.

11.02.23 The Pale Blue Eye has some really interesting moments and a great Harry Melling performance, but it outstays its welcome and suffers in terms of plot contrivances. The setting is gorgeously chilly, the mystery is intriguing and the bodies pile up. There’s a great cast keeping things afloat, although everyone feels underused apart from Bale and Melling. His portrayal of Edgar Allen Poe is the highlight of the film, but at the same time, it can be seen as the main weakness. Because we all know his real-life influence as a gothic writer, it isn’t compelling when his character is in danger because we know he obviously survives to tell the tale. This sadly makes the film only mildly interesting, rather than the complex and captivating story that director and scriptwriter Scott Cooper thinks it is. Overall, I would have enjoyed The Pale Blue Eye more if it was 30 minutes shorter, the script was a bit leaner and if Christian Bale’s character was better written. But if you are into the gothic stylings of Poe’s work you may get some joy out of it.

12.02.23 With the success of HBO’s The Last of Us, as well as me drudging through the second video game (fuck Abby), it felt like a good time to seek out the grandaddy of zombie films, George A. Romero’s seminal Night of the Living Dead. It’s a masterfully simple yet effective horror film with a certain charm and a deft social undercurrent. Although the story only takes place during a single day, it feels so ambitious regardless, and many of the characters’ decisions and castings are very bold. What a brave fucking choice to cast a black man in the lead role, especially when you write him to punch a white woman in the face (and much more after that). There are no famous stars in the film but all the players give committed performances in tough new roles that had never been seen on screen before 1968. Although the zombie gore is muted, the violence between the human characters is not, which can be read in an assortment of ways. The sense of dread is ever present and death is all around the cabin, with trophy animals on the walls and the undead clasping to get through the windows. The use of non-diegetic sound from the radio reports and outdoor crickets seems really innovative and adds a layer of urgency to proceedings. There are so many archetypal elements to admire, and the influence they have had on modern tales is palpable (for me it was Resident Evil 4 and Shaun of the Dead that came to mind first.) In retrospect, Night of the Living Dead upholds the sense of the unknown, balances frights with a sharp cultural commentary and deserves its status as the OG zombie movie. You might just enjoy The Last of Us a little bit more upon inspection of one of its key influences in the genre. Available in HD on MUBI and also on YouTube for the tightarses.

07.02.23 Jim and Andy is the rare occurrence of the documentary being much better than the film it is based on. I think Man on the Moon is a ‘fine’ film, although I always felt it was rushed and compromised in its portrayal of Andy Kaufman’s life. In Jim and Andy, we see the reality of the film’s turbulent production and just how stressed Milos Forman was having to deal with Jim Carrey and his exhausting channeling of Kaufman and his alter ego, the abrasive Tony Clifton. It’s unbelievable to think that this shell of a man on screen was the same man who directed Amadeus and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Like just in Man on the Moon, Carrey takes centre stage and is almost the complete focus of the audience’s attention. Now much older and wiser, Carrey bares his soul in a series of selected extracts, intertwined with excerpts from his impressive and lovable filmography. What makes Jim and Andy so good is only partly to do with the original film footage, and that the main spectacle is witnessing Carrey’s emotions shift and his face contort with each heartfelt comment. It’s the only film I can think of which shows one person commanding four ‘performances’ (old Jim, new Jim, Andy and Tony), which when you consider scenes in The Mask and The Truman Show, give a sense of Carrey’s mental state as his career quickly accelerated in the nineties. It’s an incredibly revealing but accessible documentary which shines a light on a beloved but cerebral movie star.

  28.01.23 As an insight into volcanology, this is pretty interesting. As a document on love, companionship and the answering of one’s calling, it’s absolutely beautiful. How the editors managed to turn the footage into a really sharp ‘Wes Anderson-esque’ documentary is thoroughly impressive.