Change Your Image
Richard Groves
Reviews
Enigma (2001)
All the makings of a good film, but fails to deliver on every level
I thought 'Enigma' was a great disappointment. The plot seemed muddled and didn't work either as a wartime thriller or a love story and certainly not as a marriage of the two. It felt more like a television drama (and probably would have been more suited to the medium) and not a particularly good one at that. To say the pacing was leaden is an over-exaggeration.
Any saving graces? Although the script wasn't too bad, the acting performances were mixed to say the least. Kate Winslet and Jeremy Northam both emerged relatively unscathed although I thought Winslet seemed underused in the final quarter of the film (leaving the supposed romance between Winslet and Scott totally unconvincing). Much of the remainder of the ensemble were either hamstrung playing ludicrous stereotypes (code-breaking geeks, pompous English officers or obnoxious American ones) or were hopelessly miscast. Meanwhile, Dougray Scott couldn't seem to decide whether his character was from Yorkshire, the Home Counties or Fife if his ever-changing accent was anything to go by.
On paper this film has a good cast, a very good writer, a more than capable director and by most accounts a riveting novel as it's source material, so what happened?
Romance (1999)
Directing by numbers
I have no problems with the graphic content of the film and admire the BBFC for actually giving this a certificate (let's hope this is a watershed). My problem is that the film was so bad. If you think of every stereotype image of a foreign language film they are all in 'Romance' - so much nudity that it becomes boring, irrelevant sweeping background shots, conversations between people that only contain a few sentences but last about ten minutes and an 'ending' that is simply that - as though the director ran out of film
Take It or Leave It (1981)
A must for Madness fans everywhere, others can do as the title suggests
Ultimately, a film for fans, which is why I give this 8 out of 10, because I am a huge Madness fan and always have been. Essentially a low budget bio-pic of the 'Nutty Boys' origins as people and as a group. The acting obviously isn't great but there are some nice touches and funny moments along the way. Of course, it is the music which carries this film along, Madness fans will love it but I don't think it would be everyone's cup of tea.