Gone Girl (2014)

Gone Girl stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike (image via WikiCommons)

In a word: twisty
Movie Pieces Rating: 4.5*/5

Nestled in the movie release calendar, next to the superhero tentpoles and the Young Adult adaptations, a deliciously grownup, multi-layered film like Gone Girl feels like a long-forgotten gem.

Amy and Nick Dunne are the dream team. A high-flying New Yorker couple who move to Kevin’s sleepy home-town when his mum gets sick. One day – on their anniversary in fact – Kevin comes home to find signs of a violent break-in and his wife missing. But it’s not long before he’s cast into a nightmarish world when suspicion falls on him, and their whole life together comes under scrutiny from police, neighbours and, the inevitable media circus.

Ben Affleck is perfectly cast as the cocky, slightly too charming husband who seems to get less trustworthy with every word he utters. Rosamund Pike is a revelation as Amy, the Hitchcock blonde-esque child star, who is seen completely differently by each person who knows her. She is fascinating, yet unknowable which gives every second of her screen time an “edge of the seat” quality.

Like Argo, which also stars Ben Affleck, Gone Girl (an adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestseller) is an entertaining thriller that gallops through its running time with more twists and turns than you could shake a fist at. And like Argo it also shares complicated themes and characters that avoid the simple good/bad dichotomy that most modern thrillers fall into so easily. As an audience you can’t slack off while watching Gone Girl – you’re constantly tested on what you’re seeing, and prevented from taking an easy value position. That might sound rather worthy or like hard work but far from it. Gone Girl is intelligent, clever filmmaking but it’s wickedly enjoyable at the same time.

Reviews I rate: Gone Girl
Cinephile: David M. Keyes’s Gone Girl review
Variety: Justin Chang’s Gone Girl review

The Drop (2014)

That Cute Pup. (Image source: thedrop-movie.com)

In a word: twisty

Movie Pieces Rating: 3.5/5

A dark (rom)comedy? Or a violent thriller with some humour and a hint of romance on the side? It’s hard to say just what this film is as it bounces around between comedy, thriller, romance and action film. Sometimes all within the same scene.

That it’s watchable is entirely down to two elements: Tom Hardy and “That Cute Puppy”. Hardy is never not interesting on screen and here, in a low-key but pivotal role as unassuming bartender Bob Saginowski, he is captivating. Bob is working for Cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) – bar owner with a nasty temper and a grudge from losing his bar to Chechen mobsters who’ve turned it into a “drop bar” – somewhere criminals can launder money unhindered on set nights through the year.

Life for Bob is relatively uneventful – until, one night, he hears whining from bins in the street and meets “That Cute Puppy”, otherwise known as Rocco the pewter-grey pitbull. For Bob, a man who clearly doesn’t like to get involved in other people’s lives, Rocco represents trouble. He’s lonely, he’s desperate for love and attention and he’s had a rough life. Not unlike silent Bob. Enter stage left the lovely Nadia: owner of the bin that Rocco is found in; dog-lover, feisty but kindly, local. Nadia helps Bob get to grips with Rocco and soon they’re both pretty keen to get to grips with each other.

Except it’s not that kind of film. There are dark things, unsettling things, lurking in the shadows and all too soon the tiny sliver of happiness they’ve found hits various obstacles: neighbourhood thugs, the Chechens on the hunt for potential money-skimmers and, most ominous of all, Nadia’s slightly pyschotic ex – Eric Deeds.

The Drop – the first screenplay from famous Boston author Dennis Lehane is rather uneven in tone which makes it all a bit unsettling as it lurches between sweet nothings and casual killings, but Gandolfini and Hardy are perfectly matched and newcomer Matthias Schoenaerts as Deeds who ratchets up the tension withoutever overplaying his part. Familiar, patchy but interesting. And of course, there’s always “That Cute Puppy”.

Notes:
1. Although this is the first screenplay Dennis Lehane has written, he’s a celebrated author with several film adapatations of his works (Gone, Baby, Gone, Mystic River and Shutter Island)
2. Rocco (That Cute Puppy) was actually 3 puppies – of different ages – to ensure continuity across the filming period.

 

 

 

Surrogates (2009) – 2*

Dir: Jonathan Mostow/ Writer: Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato/ Cinematography: Oliver Wood

Spot the deliberate mistake (image: swanksalot FlickrCC)

Set in a near future where mankind has retreated into their homes leaving their mind-controlled robot avatars (surrogates) to take the strain of the daily grind, Surrogates already represents a bizzaro concept. Throw in a seemingly impossible murder via surrogate and action movie favourite Mr B. Willis as chief investigator and the stage seems set for some virtual fun and games.

But Surrogates is as soulless and slow-moving as the robots wandering through it. With the script bland and the plot banal, Bruce on fine form could have given the film a much-needed energy boost. But unfortunately this isn’t Bruce on fine form. This is Bruce on “dial-it-in” form. A dreary, lifeless little number.

Based on the graphic novel by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele

Movie Pieces Review Rating for Surrogates: 2/5
IMDb entry for Surrogates

Black Swan (2010)

Dir: Darren Aronofsky / Writers: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John McLaughlin / Cinematography: Matthew Libatique

Natalie does her best to look scary (image: John Steven Fernandez FlickrCC)

She’s behind you!
Fresh from delving into the murky world of the professional wrestler, Darren Aronofsky focuses his slightly skewed eye on the passions and rituals of a seemingly more rarefied industry – ballet.

But Aronofsky’s fictional take on dancers at a New York ballet school shows this world to be every bit as brutal, status-driven and youth-oriented as wrestling. This time though we get to see someone – young dancer Nina (Portman) – on her way up the greasy pole rather than sliding down it (Mickey Rourke).

A Prophet / Un Prophete (2009)

Dir: Jacques Audiard/ Writers: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain , Abdel Raouf Dafri, Nicolas Peufaillit/ Cinematography: Stéphane Fontaine

Director + star at a different kind of pulpit (image: dada verver FlickrCC)

It’s “A” not “The”…
Gripping French prison thriller with parallels to The Godfather‘s innocent-to-kingpin criminal conversion.

First-time actor Tahar Rahim puts in a powerful, measured performance as Malik – the boy from the wrong sides of the tracks who finds he is completely unprepared for the violence and manipulation of lifers’ prison politics.

An Arab, he is forced by Corsican gang boss César, into carrying out an atrocity against a fellow Arab – which moves him up the prison hierarchy but still gains him no respect from the close-knit Corsicans.

Beautifully shot and well structured it is absorbing rather than depressing, and fascinating rather than repellent.  Director Audiard finds time for moments of warmth and affection to lighten the air of menace that undercuts the film. Small things like his friendship with Ryad become moments to be treasured.

So much so in fact that, in the end, as with The Godfather you find yourself wholeheartedly rooting for the manipulative, double-crossing killer.

Rating: 4.5/5
IMDb entry for A Prophet

The Road (2009)

Dir: John Hillcoat/ Writer: Joe Penhall/ Cinematography: Javier Aguirresarobe

Grim times (image: worthingtheatres FlickrCC)

Apocalypse right now…
Adapted from Cormac McCarthy’s best-selling novel, The Road follows the progress of a father and son as they try to navigate their way across America after an unexplained catastrophic event has turned the world into a wasteland.

Covered in ash from regular earthquakes and fires, there’s no sun, no crops, no animals, and precious little food. As a result, the few survivors who haven’t succumbed to illness or despair are a feral bunch living on their wits and anything they can forage, steal or kill.

Cannibalism, murder and brutality are daily occurrences that the unnamed pair face, lurching from one unimaginable horror to another, with no hope but survival.  Strong performances from Viggo Mortensen as The Man, and Kodi Smit-McPhee as The Boy, only emphasise the hopelessness of their task.

Filmed in washed out grey tones, and with no let-up from the nightmarish situation, The Road is unrelentingly bleak. Fans of the source material may applaud its faithfulness but it makes for a gruelling and unrewarding cinematic experience.

Rating: 2.5/5
IMDb entry for The Road

* Adapted from the novel by Cormac McCarthy

The Conversation (1974)

Dir: Francis Ford Coppola / Writer: Francis Ford Coppola / Cinematography: Bill Butler

Gene genie (image: The Kozy Shack FlickrCC)

All ears
A clever, absorbing study of obsession and creeping paranoia. Gene Hackman is impressive as he creates a wholly believable portrait of subdued, buttoned-up surveillance expert Harry Caul whose over-involvement in his latest case threatens to completely overwhelm him.

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for The Conversation

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Dir: Ben Affleck / Writer: Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockhard / Cinematography: John Toll

Casey Affleck in Gone Baby Gone (image: RoscoeVanDamme FlickrCC)

Missing persons
Uncanny parallels with the real-life Madeleine McCann case caused this film to be put on the backburner for over a year and to get a rather muted release when it finally resurfaced. It’s a shame as it’s another good adaptation of a Dennis Lehane novel. Like Mystic River it looks at extraordinary events happening to ordinary communities and the long-lasting effect they have on everyone involved.

Four year-old Amanda McCready (Madeline O’Brien) goes missing one night after her flaky, self-absorbed mother has left her alone in their apartment. When the police don’t seem to be making any headway, Amanda’s aunt Bea takes matters into her own hands hiring local investigator couple Patrick (Casey Affleck) and Angie (Michelle Monaghan).

Completely out-of-their-depth with this kind of investigation they struggle to make headway, dogged by resistance from Amanda’s mother Helene (Amy Ryan) and the police officers on the case, Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman). Tough times for the young couple but strangely it’s a potential break in the case that poses the greatest threat to them.

Solid performances all round and this is a taught, well put together thriller, but the normally excellent Casey Affleck doesn’t quite manage to fill the stubbornly principled central character with enough emotional depth for the ending to pack a real punch.

Rating: 3.5/5
IMDb entry for Gone Baby Gone

The Informant! (2009)

Dir: Steven Soderbergh / Writer: Scott Z. Burns / Cinematographer: Steven Soderbergh

It's Damon...Matt Damon

Unbelievable? Just look at that ‘tache

Though the plot may sound similar to that other tale of corporate wrongdoing unmasked by dowdy desk jockey, Michael Mann’s The Insider, the exclamation mark in the film title is the first clue to The Informant!‘s tongue-in-cheek agenda. That’s only the start of the running gags and playful visual clues in Steven Soderbergh’s cracking new movie.

Leading man Damon has played dowdy before but here he’s almost unrecognizable with his bad hair, doughy physique and drab clothes as Mark Whitacre (Corky to his wife) – a middle-of-the-road company man who gets persuaded to run intelligence for the FBI on his firm’s fraudulent activities.

Over two years the case gets bigger and bigger snagging the attention of FBI and state prosecution bigwigs certain they’ve got the investigation of a lifetime on their hands but, as with all the best stories, things aren’t quite as straightforward as they seem…

Set in the nineties but with ostensibly seventies production design – tragic wigs, loud decor and unfeasibly large gadgets are the order of the day. Even the music is more seventies cocktail lounge than nineties thriller score. But then the soundtrack is one of the best of the in-jokes that litter the film. Each time the FBI appear on screen they’re accompanied by comic parpings and particularly dramatic plot points are served up with jaunty elevator muzak*. The obviously fake styling, incongruous music and chatty voiceover by Damon are all part of a masterly plan to misdirect the audience. It works. Each time it seems clear what’s going on another substantial story layer is revealed.

Soderbergh is back to his brilliant best in this clever, fast-paced comedy drama that rewards close attention.

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for The Informant!

Glorious 39 (2009)

Dir: Stephen Poliakoff / Writer: Stephen Poliakoff / Cinematographer: Danny Cohen

Still waters run deep...

Don’t mention the war

Stagey and overblown, the return of Stephen Poliakoff to the big screen after 10 years is more Midsommer Murders than classic comeback.

Glorious 39 takes a look at a little-covered, ultimately shameful, piece of British history – the government policy of appeasement in the run up to World War II – and the role of some partisan ministers, aristocrats and secret service in trying to keep Britain from going to war with Germany.

Anne Keyes (Romola Garai) is the adopted eldest daughter of Lord Keyes, a respected MP. She lives a privileged, charmed life with her brother and sister switching from country mansion to London pad with barely a care in the world. But when one of her friends, the outspoken minister Hector Haldane, kills himself after arguing against the policies of the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, things quickly start to unravel. Anne begins to suspect a sinister conspiracy linked to a shadowy group of Nazi appeasers who will stop at nothing – blackmail, imprisonment or murder – to ensure their goal.

All the ingredients for a top-notch thriller are there in spades – glamour, betrayal, complex family ties and a starry British cast – unfortunately it’s in the execution that it falls apart.

Rather than a taut thriller we get a slice of gothic melodrama full of loaded looks, implausible storylines and family pets swinging from hooks. In Poliakoff’s Britain, around every corner lurks an all-knowing, blank-faced, Midwich Cuckoo who is IN ON THE PLOT. Our rather gormless heroine (the lovely Romola Garai doing her best with the tripe she’s served) however, manages to ignore the pantomime clues and to fall into every trap with rather irritating regularity.

Initially lovely to look at, the recreation of thirties Britain is so perfectly styled it fails to come properly alive adding to the overwhelming sense of artificiality that prevents the thriller from getting off the ground.

Rating:  2.5/5
IMDb entry for Glorious 39