Rachel's Sunday Cinema

Hello Everyone :-)

In a change to the scheduled programme I’m going to talk about a film I’ve been anticipating for quite a while. And don’t worry, this blog is spoiler free.

‘Never let me Go’ is tricky to talk about because it’s better the less you know about it. The film is set in an alternative 20^th century, one in which there were significant scientific advances in the late 1950’s which has led to life expectancies rising to 100 years old. On the simplest level the story is about Kathy, Tommy and Ruth who grow up in the same boarding school and how their lives and relationships change as they grow up.

‘Never let me Go’ was originally a book by Kazuo Ishiguro which I read a few years ago and from then on I’ve counted as one of my favourite novels. I’m not one of those pretentious people that always say “the book is infinitely better than the film” because in some cases that’s not true and adaptations should always be taken on their own merit. In the case of ‘Never let me Go’ it stands on it’s own as a truly breathtaking film.

It looks beautiful. I love that they don’t over complicate it, visually at least. They don’t do a great deal of explaining so you’re left to fill in the blanks yourself which is nice, I like films that don’t treat me like an idiot. I get that some people might have to readjust to this elliptical style of story telling and if you had loud, harsh cinematography along side that I can see it’d turn into a bit of a headache, I’m glad they kept it pared down so it was accessible.

Performance wise the three leads are played by Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley.

Carey Mulligan is Kathy and really, this story is hers. Kathy is a very passive character and I understand that some might get frustrated with her inaction regarding events that unfold around her but you need to remember that these are characters that have been institutionalized and don’t know any better, something Mulligan imbues in Kathy. My heart breaks for her.

We’ll just get something out the way now, I don’t like Keira Knightley, I don’t get what all the fuss is about. That said, as a piece of casting, in this she makes perfect sense. Ruth is a pretty unlikable character and she plays her really well. She’s not totally evil or anything and there’s always an underlying love for the others but Ruth tends to be quite self centered.

The key to the whole story is Tommy. When I read the book Tommy was always my favourite. He’s so innocent and naive you just want to hold him and Andrew Garfield plays him perfectly. Childlike and confused by his own situation, it’s such a touching performance. Andrew Garfield must do something to me because practically everthing I’ve seen him in has made me cry. He was in a channel 4 drama ‘Boy A’ some years ago which I adored and in this he gives an equally, if not more moving performance.

It throws up so many questions about science, morals but at the heart of it the film questions what makes us human. Not to say it’s over sentimental at all because it isn’t, it evokes sympathy without being saccharine.

I’ll be honest, if you think all this sounds a bit sad you’re not wrong. I cried like the girl that I am from fairly early on.  This isn’t to impugn the film at all because as Sally Sparrow said, sad is “happy for deep people”. It’s very reflective, the sort of film that you watch and take stock of the people you have in your life. It’s quietly moving, sad but not depressing and it has some terrific performances. I loved it.

If you’ve been to see the film, leave me a comment and if not please try and see it. It is superb.

Goodbye till next time :-)

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Rachel's Sunday Cinema

Hello Everyone :-)

This week on ‘Rachel’s Sunday Cinema’ I went to see ‘The Fighter’. If you haven’t seen it yet never fear, I’ll endeavour to make this mini review as spoiler free as possible

The premise for the story is two brothers, both boxers, the elder (Dicky) is famous for knocking down ‘Sugar Ray Leonard’ several years previous and is now addicted to crack and the younger (Micky) has a reputation for being a ‘stepping stone’ for other boxers to get on and lives with the constant reminder of Dicky’s one time success. The story is that of Micky’s road from his brother’s shadow to his own limelight.

Kudos has to go to Sheila Jaffe who did the casting for this film. It’s genius. Every member of the cast is great and really inhabit the characters they portray. Christian Bale properly cranks it up to 11 as Dicky Eklund, I hate to use this word but his character goes on a ‘journey’ and Bale gives a performance that takes you on a ride so hectic Alton Towers would be proud to have it in their park. Prior to shooting the role had Matt Damon and Brad Pitt’s names attached to it but when I came out after seeing it I felt like Bale was the only man for the job.

On the flipside of that is Mark ‘The Muscles’ Wahlberg’s performance as Micky Ward. We’ll get the aesthetics out of the way first. He looks AMAZING! I was never one for men with muscles but after seeing this I’ve changed my mind. He’s been training since 2005 for this role which speaks volumes about his dedication to the story. He pushed this project more than anyone else, sending scripts to directors and waving his fee for the film. It’s clearly a project he cares about. His performance is as good as Christian Bale’s but for very different reasons. It's so reined in. Micky’s restrained emotional turmoil is palpable when you’re watching, he’s a man who clearly loves his family but knows they’re holding him back.

Melissa Leo is great as the brother’s Mother and Micky’s manager, Alice. She embodies every reason why families shouldn’t work together.  She and the group of actresses that play the boys 7 sisters make a terrifying team that reminded me of the witches of Eastwick or the Harpies.

The girl of a thousand roles, Amy Adams once again proves how great she is. I’m going to struggle to find a female character in any film this year that I’ll like as much as Charlene. Plus Amy Adams is going to be in the new Muppets film and that pretty much makes it impossible for me not to like her.

Ironically for a boxing film, the actual boxing fight scenes are the least convincing parts of it. Also they did that thing where they show the actual people that the story’s about right at the end in the credits, which kind of spoilt it a little bit for me. Those bits are a bit dodgy but the rest of the film is really well put together.

I liked it very much, it’s totally character driven film that made me care about boxing, which is no mean feat :-)

Hopefully this week I’ll get to see Gnomeo and Juliet which I’ll be honest, I’ve been excited about since I first saw the trailer, mainly to see Ozzy Osbourne do the voice of a ornamental garden deer.

Goodbye till next time :-)
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