On Ben Affleck's The Town

As an actor, Ben Affleck has been often criticised. This seems to have happened in the early part of the decade, but has tarnished his career. In 2007 Affleck changed his approach and wrote and directed the excellent Gone, Baby Gone, set in working class Boston. Back in the same neighbourhood, he now offers bank robber thriller, The Town.

The Town follows a group of career criminals in Charlestown of which Affleck’s character is the boss. After Affleck begins dating a bank manager they took hostage (they wear masks so she doesn’t know), serious strain pushes the crew and tensions build.

The Town is more hit and miss than Gone, Baby Gone, but does hit more than it misses. Affleck’s knowledge of the area adds a sense of authenticity to the film and the robberies evoke those of Heat (1995). The set pieces are genuinely exciting, especially one involving nuns. Where the film struggles is in the relationships between the main characters. Affleck and his bank manager girlfriend and between his old friend, Jim. At times they feel inconsistent and unbelievable, yet the acting remains impressive from all involved. The Town is a good companion piece to Scorsese’s The Departed (2006), both focusing on career criminals in what is always a fascinating on-screen setting. New Jersey has the same effect of being instantly attention grabbing.

The Town juggles a lot of balls and is unable to keep them all in the air, all the time. As a director though, Affleck is two for two.

On the Starkness of Winter's Bone

Winter’s Bone is a stark film. The story is bleak and mostly depressing. The character’s lives are harsh and carved out of a severe landscape; the Ozark region of Missouri. In this small, impoverished community drugs are the business and clannish law is followed at punishment of death. 17 year old Ree’s father has missed his court date after putting the family property up for his bail. With her mother too ill to help, Ree must raise two young children and find her father.

Winter’s Bone is the opposite of melodramatic. There are several angles into which the film could turn (drug story, missing person’s thriller, horror), but it resists these temptations and opts always for brutal realism. The problem with this is that the film is so stripped to the bone that unless you completely invest in the story and the characters from the very beginning, then it can be hard going. This is a problem that The Wrestler (2008) suffered from. Both films share much in common; they follow a protagonist struggling to keep their life together under enormous pressure. Both also present a view of America we rarely see. The unpolished areas. The realism of the country where tourism doesn’t reach. Yet, because both reject melodrama, their lead characters are vey low-key and also, in many ways, clichéd. They are simply stripped down clichés.

Winter’s Bone is a very well made film and its dedication to its subject matter and the realism of the environment is commendable. It feels longer than its 100 minutes and at times almost documentary like, yet it remains compelling and at times shocking throughout.

On a Clever Camera in The Secret in their Eyes

The Secret in their Eyes in an Argentinean film set across two decades and involving the unsolved rape and murder of a young woman. The story is unexceptional and familiar. It has a glossy, Hollywood finish that is often missing from lower budget foreign films that receive large, international distribution. The Secret in their Eyes also beat the outstanding A Prophet (2009) and The White Ribbon (2009) to the 2010 Oscar for Best Foreign Language picture. So what makes it so good?

There are many strong aspects to this film; the performances, the humour, the dialogue, the pacing and structure, the emotion. What enhances many of these aspects is the confident camerawork and a selection of scenes reveals this. Early on, the protagonist, Benjamin collects his brilliant, but alcoholic partner, Sandoval from the bar. Benjamin must support a barely conscious Sandoval back to work; the camera hovers inches from the chest of the shorter Sandoval, looking up and swaying with him. Not only do we have the movement and complaints of a drunk squarely in our face, but we also have the authority of Benjamin, whose height reinforces his power.

Through Sandoval’s intelligence, both he and Benjamin trace the suspect, Gomez, to his passion; the Racing football stadium. From up high the camera flies through the sky approaching the stadium. As we soar down we see the game in full flow and watch a goal being scored. From the celebrations on the pitch we are thrown into the rapture of the crowd and the searching faces of Sandoval and Benjamin – all in one shot. As they search for one man amongst many we feel the hopelessness of their task, as well as the vertigo of the steep stadium seating. Miraculously they find Gomez and we follow Sandoval as he chases him through the corridors of the stadium. There are few cuts in the stadium and chase scene and the timing and movement of the camera is as impressive as the intensity of the scene.

As a result of an immoral barrister, Gomez is granted his freedom despite being discovered guilty of the violent rape and murder of an old school friend, in return for becoming a snitch. This information is given to Benjamin and his boss / lover not long after they interrogate Gomez in what is a disturbing interview for all involved, especially Benjamin’s boss, Irene. The relief that Benjamin and Irene feel at securing the capture of Gomez is cathartic. The last thing they need after the crushing disappointment of discovering Gomez has been set free is to be trapped in an elevator with a gloating and armed Gomez. The camera sits in the corner and watches Irene sweat, Benjamin try to remain cool and Gomez check his gun. The shift of power from the interrogation scene is powerful and the stillness of the camera catches all three characters in the small space that feels like it’s getting closer by the second.

There are many examples of great camerawork that could be highlighted in The Secret in their Eyes and apart from a disappointing conclusion this is a very good romantic thriller, of which there are not many.

On Natural Chemistry in Going the Distance

On the surface, romantic-comedy Going the Distance looks like every other forgettable rom-com that comes and goes with making waves. It even has a terrible title. What it has in its favour is two important aspects. Firstly, a good concept; long distance relationships and the difficulties they create. Secondly, the pairing of Drew Barrymore and Justin Long.

Natural chemistry is a hard thing to come by, especially as actors can rarely replicate perfectly the ease that comes with knowing someone that well. Even when actual couples work together as movie couples, the results are no better than as if the actors were perfect strangers. See Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and The Getaway (1993) as two examples. Going the Distance (kind of) defies the rules. Barrymore and Long have been a couple in the past and the ease that they feel around each other draws you into the film and allows you to collude in the relationship struggles as if you were one of their stereotypical comic friends. This allows the development of the relationship, which moves quickly, to also move realistically and the sexuality of the film, a lot of which is crude, to feel like a natural progression, rather than forced comedy.

Going the Distance is a refreshing and surprisingly realistic romantic-comedy.

On Style Over Substance in Scott Pilgrim Vs the World

You know that film about Scott Pilgrim who has to fight all those ex’s and it feels like he’s taking on, like the whole world. You mean, Scott Pilgrim Vs the World. Obviously. Of course I know the film, I don’t live under, like a rock, or something. Well it totally doesn’t matter even if you did live under a rock because it references like everything, so you’d have to have lived under the rock for like a million years not to get any of the references. I’ve not heard of it. WHAT! Like, where do you live, Mongolia? No, Toronto, which is like the coolest place in the world. Yeah it is. What’s it about? Duh, it’s about this guy. Scott Pilgrim? Obviously. And he has to like, defeat in Street Fighter style all of these evil ex’s of this girl who’s so cool she doesn’t care, really about anything. Then what happens? He fights them. And? And what? Well, like, doesn’t a film have to be about more stuff and stuff? But it has all these awesome graphics, like snow that melts instantly and dragons that like totally represent loud Japanese music. So, it’s like all style over substance? No way, dude, there’s tons of substance ‘cause Scott has like all this baggage because he has an ex and treats another girl bad and stuff. Then there’s a cool fight. And his girl, Ramona has like come from New York, so she has all this back story. Is coming from New York a back story? Totally. Yeah totally. So how does it end? With this awesome big fight and Scott and the girl getting together. Sounds kinda lame. Yeah, it is.

On Being Pleasantly Surprised During Knight & Day

A superfluous title, check. Occasional smugness, check. A blatant vanity project for both stars, check. This is all true of James Mangold’s action comedy, Knight & Day, yet this remains an enjoyable two hours. The success of Knight & Day lies in its awareness of the genre and the character it is lampooning and that character is Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt from the Mission: Impossible trilogy (1996 – 2006).

The action is extravagantly ambitious, the globe trotting even more absurd than Quantum of Solace (2008) and the plot – involving the ultimate battery – a feature that shouldn’t be focused upon too closely. It could be argued that Knight & Day is a smug action comedy, in the same way that Ocean’s Eleven was criticised for the enjoyment the actors seemed to be having (although, as long as the audience are enjoying it too, surely this is no bad thing). And actors such as Tom Cruise are easy targets for such criticism, yet here, the film is instantly more watchable and entertaining when he is on screen. The chemistry between Cruise and Cameron Diaz is easy and the banter flows. The action is well choreographed and while this is hardly pushing any boundaries for action or comedy, Knight & Day’s energy and charm is rare.

On The Expendables

There is a popular saying to encourage brevity; if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.