On The Counselor

The Counselor promises much in all departments, but perhaps most exciting amongst its talent is the debut of Cormac McCarthy as a screenwriter. McCarthy is one of America’s most talented working writers and his novels have been adapted fairly frequently with varying levels of success. From All The Pretty Horses (2000) to the excellent No Country For Old Men (2007). McCarthy has a way with language that is superbly symbolic and creates stark, violent worlds of immense beauty. The Counselor is his first work that has bypassed the novel form and gone direct to screenplay.

Whether The Counselor worked on the page or whether it has been edited and McCarthy’s vision has been lost is unknown, but what is known is that on screen it does not work. The characters are enigmatic to the point of frustration as is the narrative. At no point is it clear what is going on. And not in a good way, where we are guessing the fate of the characters, but in a bad way, where boredom sets in. What is worse is that McCarthy’s dialogue comes across as hackneyed and sends us running back and craving the creativity of The Road, published in 2006. This simply feels misjudged in all areas and is better glossed over for the careers of all involved. 

On the Most Contemporary of Commentaries with Don Jon

Don Jon addresses an issue that is hard to address as we are within it and therefore lack a perspective that offers clear judgement. With this in mind, writer, director and actor Joseph Gordon Levitt deserves a huge amount of credit for being able to articulate this modern societal issue and work it into a film that works.

The issue at hand is, bluntly, pornography. If the statistics are to be believed then pornography is the most common use of the Internet and is a bigger industry than Hollywood. It is also a huge societal concern that brings commentary from all parties, including political ones. Therefore a topic worthy of examination.

Within the narrative of Don Jon Gordon-Levitt proffers the idea that pornography (and in more general terms the use of soft core sexuality to advertise) has reached such ubiquity that it is acceptable; he may be right. Yet the film goes onto suggest that this is contributing towards a disintegration of ‘real’ relationships and is instead promoting extremely superficial ones. And again, Don Jon makes a convincing case. 

Added to this, the film provides a subtle criticism of Catholicism as Jon strives to reduce his number of Hail Mary’s by watching less pornography and sleeping with fewer women out of wedlock. His reaction when he sees there is no connection between the church’s punishment and his confession is an enjoyable realisation for us to witness.

Don Jon needs its first act to find its feet and discover its confidence, but when it does and the story settles down it is hugely enjoyable and easily achieves a level of depth that offers an acerbic commentary on where society may be heading. 

On Ambivalence with Thor: The Dark World

And so it rolls on and on. Already achieving the number one box office spot in the UK and America, Thor: The Dark World demonstrates the continued power of Marvel. The story is ridiculously messy and the dialogue does it no favours, despite the actors, especially Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddlestone, remaining very watchable. The main problem is that on screen it’s all becoming boring. The almost complete reliance on CGI and the convoluted story means what we have here and for several years to come are computer games on cinema screens. Marvel is undoubtedly a ground breaking company in the comic book medium, but when it comes to film its impact has mixed results. In one corner they are certainly damaging the variety of cinema we are offered on our screens. The summer season that Marvel films (and their like) dominate is slowly growing and now begins late April and runs into October. These films make a massive amount of capital for the studios and can help prop up funding for smaller budget films of a greater quality, which leads to the other corner. The dominance of these films has encouraged (forced) filmmakers to find other outlets as competing is out of the question. Therefore we have new, lower risk methods of distribution, such as iTunes, Netflix and other analogous platforms. Lower risk distribution leads to more experimental film choices which can only be a positive. Whether these films make enough capital to allow the filmmakers to continue is another story, but the issue here is that Marvel's long term impact on the film industry, positive or negative has yet to be felt. 

On a Rare Cinematic Experience with Gravity

Avatar (2009) could never claim to be a fantastic piece of narrative cinema, but it could lay claim to making the best use of 3D. It can no longer claim the latter as Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity is the most beautifully realised use of the technology to date. It may seem something of an oxymoron, but the detailed sparseness of his mise-en-scene benefits the technology. The hectic, filled to the edges Marvel films, which seem to be the most common use of 3D are almost impossible to follow. Their mise-en-scene is confusing enough without adding poorly realised and out of focus 3D. By using space as the setting, Gravity is built for 3D and the technology enhances the film, rather than being an excuse for earning enhanced ticket sales. Additionally, this will be a perfect IMAX experience for the same reasons and therefore satisfy the two growing technologies, competing for cinema’s attentions.

More than just a beautiful film (Cuaron knows enough to linger on the stunning shots of Earth’s orbit) Gravity is a cinematic experience that goes beyond all the superlatives that are thrown its way. Yet, terrifying and heartbreaking seem appropriate and Gravity often achieves them at the same time. The characters may be thinly drawn, but the weight brought those characters by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney makes them believable and engaging. Additionally, the script worked on by Cuaron and his son Jonas adds to the feeling of authenticity, as does the detail in the setting, costumes and the entire mise-en-scene. Cuaron said that after the film’s release, he wanted NASA to call up and enquire as to how a camera was placed on their space station. Cuaron has the advantage that few in his audience will have been to space, but from a layman perspective the level of detail is astonishing.

Despite the incredible visuals and cathartic experience, Gravity has depth in its narrative. Whether you see it is allegorical of loss and rebirth or a commentary on a reliance on technology, there is depth beneath the glossy surface. The acting, the script, the detail and the special effects all contribute towards this piece of stunning entertainment. Gravity is impossible to look away from and in this way it is a rare cinematic experience. 

On Captain Phillips

From his first feature in 2002, Bloody Sunday, Paul Greengrass has been a director willing to challenge dominant political ideologies, especially in his adopted USA. His two contributions to the continuing Jason Bourne narrative, The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) are critical of America’s foreign and domestic approach to terrorism, as is Green Zone (2010). All three of those films were unafraid to ask questions of how America has gone about protecting itself against terrorism and defending their interests abroad. Bloody Sunday, perhaps Greengrass’ most challenging film, deals with the Irish Civil rights movement and the violence that surrounded it. Again, an explicitly political film. Without going into much detail on these films, this is simply to say that Greengrass, building on his journalistic routes, is unafraid to create critical, demanding pieces of cinema.

United 93 (2006) and the recently released Captain Phillips see changes to this trend. Captain Phillips, like United 93 focuses on an act of terrorism against America. The former addressed such a powerfully emotive event that Greengrass chose, wisely, to tell a very intimate story surrounding 9/11. United 93 doesn’t directly address the issue of the terrorists and instead tells a story of bravery. In this way it is an understandably patriotic film. Five years was not long enough to criticise or question events surrounding 9/11 and it took a few more years for films like Zero Dark Thirty (2012) to explicitly question America’s tactics surrounding 9/11.

More than being patriotic, Captain Phillips is jingoistic and Greengrass’ most one-sided film. This is less understandable than in his treatment of 9/11. Many audiences outside of America will be unfamiliar with the story. Unusually, we are shown the Somali pirates as more than just one-dimensional terrorists, but their representation is untidy; uncertain, unorganised and fractured as oppose to the determined, professional and tactically astute Americans. The message is not subtle (an incredibly blunt and embarrassing piece of dialogue early on supports this); America is a dominant world power and any provocation toward them will be impassively dealt with. While these may be accurate representations when dealing with Somali piracy, it does not hide the fact that this is Greengrass’ least provocative film.

Yet, the filmmaking on display here is impressive. The direction is confident and technically astounding. There are shots of immense claustrophobia and some of real beauty. The tracking shot that follows the Navy SEALS from the air to the sea is stirring. Tom Hanks, surrounded largely by a cast new to acting is remarkable; his performance throughout is flawless and the final scene, whether you find the jingoism grating or not, is emotionally draining and shows the power that Hanks possesses as an actor. Greengrass’ talents as a director are only getting sharper, but Captain Phillips perhaps displays a dulling in his political energy. 

On Filth

A film that breaks the fourth wall, deals with cross dressing and racism, extreme sexual acts and excessive drug taking all carried out by a bi-polar protagonist needs to be audacious. And Filth is exactly that. The links to Trainspotting (1996) a film adapted by the same author that wrote the source text to Filth, Irvine Welsh, are clear. Both deal in the underbelly of Scotland, examining its drug scene in explicit detail. Filth is a difficult film; its narrative hangs by a thread that loosens as it progresses, struggling to balance the numerous directions in which a bi-polar character will take an audience. Yet challenging cinema should be difficult and the audience should be made to work and here they are, with a conclusion that is as emotionally taxing as the rest of the film is cocky. This is all held together by a performance by James McAvoy that, despite the unpredictability, is impossible to ignore; he owns every scene he is in, and that is most of them. Filth may not have the self-assurance in its ability as a film that Trainspotting had and the earlier film is a more successful adaptation, but it’s never less than fun. 

On Prisoners

In 2011 the Denis Villeneuve directed Incendies was released (see June 29^th 2011) and was essential viewing. Two years later he has followed this overtly political film with something more covertly political, but equally as essential.

Prisoners is the story of child abduction in a small American town and the consequences this reaps on the families, the suspects and the police involved. Writer Aaron Guzikowski deserves huge credit for weaving this multi strand narrative together without dropping a beat; it’s never less than gripping. The acting from the two leads (Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal) is impeccable and they seem made for these roles, which seem they could have been written for anyone.

On the surface, Prisoners is a thriller of high quality, yet like Gyllenhaal’s earlier film, Zodiac (2007) there are shades of horror throughout and the eeriness of the film lingers long after the credits. Under the surface, Prisoners is a commentary on a Post 9/11 America; an America in a war on terror and an America under Republican rule, where ordinary citizens are taking up arms against their own individual wars. Extreme measures are taken by Jackman’s desperate father that draws direct links with questions of torture that have dogged American presidents for years. Guilt and accountability are qualities we should not easily assign, and Prisoners has the intelligence to comment on this without losing its mass audience appeal.