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Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
Terry meets Julie...
I saw this as a child and always loved it long before I read Hardy. Back then it was criticized for its pace so I take it today's cinema audience, so used to an explosion, a murder or a tragedy within the first ten minutes, may struggle with it. Regardless, it seems to age well, probably due to the complexity of the love triangle, the wonderful cast and glorious scenery. Hardy names his suitors well, representing their character, and it's Troy that steals Bathsheba's heart, despite his still being attached to his fiance, Fanny. The fact that he is irresponsible, compared to Oak, she is devoted to him and is unable to change. This is the strength of Hardy's tale, and consequently her marriage to Oak is not the happy ending it seems to be, obviously for her, not him. Schlensinger underlines this beautifully in the final moments as Oak with the when you look up speech, surely the most unromantic basis for a marriage a man ever uttered to a woman and after, the immediate zoom into the soldier in the clockwork toy on the shelf. Ten minutes on a hillside with Troy dashing around showing off his sword skills was more exciting than the prospect of a lifetime married to Oak, but Bathsheba, a spirited independant looking woman, has to settle for something she doesn't want.
Se7en (1995)
Riveting despite the plot holes
Fincher's mastery of mise en scene is probably never better than here in Se7en. Like Virgil, Fincher guides us through Hell, but Hell on Earth, designed around a serial killer using the Biblical seven deadly sins as his motive. The scenes of death (always post crime) are meticulously filmed and edited to ensure we are never mere observers but at one with the ongoing investigation and as we spiral down deeper into the abyss the world around us becomes more terrifying, none more so than that of the prostitute killing. Interspersed is a brilliant chase scene during a rainstorm where even the weather seems to be weaponised.
Morgan Freeman is simply peerless and doesn't put a foot wrong. Brad Pitt, for me, struggles with his delivery at times, almost overacting to try and make the point but his physicality and screen presence is comparable with Steve McQueen at his finest and brilliantly handles his wordless part in the demoument, the despair of wanting revenge and trying to resist, riddled in his eyes.
Spacey appears only briefly, but his character, like Harry Lime in The Third Man, kept in the background, haunts subsequent viewings.
My one problem is with the demouement and I'm sure it will be contentious with Se7en fans.
The power of what John Doe does is his belief that he is wreaking vengeance on those that deserve it - cue his valedictory in the car en route to the final scene, where he espouses the righteousness of his actions. How, one might ask, does his final killing of Tracy fit that scenario? She is simply a pregnant wife scared for the future of her baby being born into such a cruel world. John Doe, knowing this, despatches an innocent victim in a despicable manner and contrary to the design of his previous murders. We discover that this is designed to provoke Mills, who has shown his penchant for losing his temper, to despatch John Doe and complete the deadly sin cycle of Covetousness (John Doe) and Wrath (Mills) but in doing so this consigns John Doe's actions to that of yet another serial killer and diminishes the power of the original premise.
I believe the script acknowledges the problematic, introducing the dialogue from John Doe's telephone converstion with Mills after his apartment is discovered, where John Doe informs the detectives he will have to alter his plans, insinuating that there were different envy/wrath punishments in the offing. What these were we are never told but we presume the ultimate outcome of these would still have been the self-sacrifice of John Doe at the end and with the best will in the world I can't see how he would've achieved that.
It's a small criticism of a film that, more than many at the end of the nineties, encapsultes the violence of the 20th century and prophesizes the fears of the 21st.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Careless Plotting
Although M Night does an excellent job in racking up tension, particularly in the 'tent' scene, the plot makes little sense. I see dead people - no - I only see selected dead people. Only the ones that don't know they're dead? I don't think so. What about the girl being poisoned who sets up a video to show her father that she's being poisoned by her step mother because, one would expect, he won't believe her. Good move except you now have evidence to show your dad TO STOP being poisoned! But know I'll be all suicidal for dramatic effect. Nevertheless even if you guess what the twist is after about 20 minutes it's still an enjoyable ride but it could've been so much more with tighter writing.
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 (2009)
Extreme emotional experience
Having found the Peace novels unreadable I was happily surprised at Tony Grisoni's incredible adaptation. The dense plotting only underscores the fact that nobody can be trusted. Across the three parts there are some astonishing performances held together by Morrisey's ambiguous heroism. Part three will rip your heart out dealing with a despicable staged suicide, the release of a wrongly imprisoned man with learning difficulties and the rescue of a girl from the most awful of prisons. Peter Mullen and Sean Harris must rate as two of the most evil characters ever put on screen, and Robert Sheehan's final words suck away what emotion is left. For me second only to I Claudius as the greatest TV show.
Line of Duty (2012)
Flatter to deceive
I think the finale to season 3 sums up what's wrong with this show. A corrupt copper is being interviewed inside a police station voluntarily even though he has made alternative arrangements should it go wrong. Why go in the first place? And why did the higher powers involved in the corruption not dispose of him prior to the interview? Let's move on. It goes badly and the contingency plan goes into operation. One of the policemen guarding the room is involved and arranges a getaway by shooting the other guard and the glass screens around the interview room. They manage to get out of a crowded police station but rather than have a getaway car outside they run half a mile through town. The officer in pursuit catches the corrupt colleague at the rendezvous point but this carefully planned rescue does not involve the getaway car being there at the same time. Why? So it can come round the corner and sneak up on her and knock her down. Then instead of killing her or even disarming her they shoot off. Now most villains would want to utilise the quickest route away from danger but not this lot. Their escape route is to come back the other way across a bridge directly above the place they left the unconscious copper who recovers and gets up onto the bridge but unfortunately positions herself, not in the middle of the road with her weapon braced, but to the wrong side and unable to get a shot. Hey but fair play to the villains they decide to give her a sporting chance and do yet another u-turn and come back on themselves through a neighbouring housing estate which allows our heroine, with no previous evidence of being proficient in long range marksmanship, to down the car half a mile away. Just can't see that happening in The Wire.
Happy Valley (2014)
Superb Series One
Playing catch up with this was, despite cardboard cut out male characters, thought the writing superb and in Catherine we were introduced to a wonderful protagonist played by a very fine actress. Tension was maintained throughout shot through with wonderfully positioned intimate family scenes and humour. Thought the flashbacks of the daughter were too melodramatic but small beer in context. Series 2, by contrast, was a muddle. A sub plot taken straight from Cracker added nothing but helped pan the story out to 6 episodes, similarly to the sub plot in series 3. Still great dialogue but narrative starting to dictate to the characters rather than the other way round. As someone traumatised by an violent father I spent my informative years petrified of him so Ryan's fixation with his Dad seems unreal to me. Furthermore Clare helping and hiding Ryan's prison visits is the kind of stress a borderline alcoholic would struggle with particularly when we were shown how close she is to straying back to the drink at her friend's funeral. Ah but Sarah is worth watching for all its faults. For me, not knowing the denouement they will adopt at time of review, doesn't really matter. For the most it's been a great ride. Time to catch up with Last Tango in Halifax!
The Control Room (2022)
Plot holes you could strain linguine with
The premise seems to be control. Hence the title and the protagonist's job. He is taken out of control much as Michael Douglas was in The Game, but if he's being set up how does the girl ring an emergency line with the certainty she'll get through to him? Could be wrong. The getaway with the van and jog back home seem ludicrous. The detective knows where he lives unless everyone is in on it. Girl's phone call to his colleague similar to rise Maddy pulls on Ned in Body Heat.
The Mezzotint (2021)
Where is the dread?
For someone who submitted a modern interpretation of this great ghost story to the BBC Writersroom, I was wondering where Mark would go with this. As it was he remained true to the era as he usually does and as with all BBC productions the art direction and production values are excellent but it failed to spark and certainly didn't scare. The horror that something is coming for you (A Warning to the Curious and Whistle and I'll Come to You) is very much the underbelly of many of the short stories and so it should be with this one. If the final scene reminds one of The Ring, consider how that film, from early on, established the dread of something following. By delaying the relationship link between Williams and the Hall's owner, for the most part it is simply a curio, a puzzle - the figure moves but hardly threateningly so for the protagonist, as far as we are aware. Why, we ask ourselves, is Williams any more concerned than his colleagues. Did he suspect he was connected? If so, then certainly a clue, visual or verbal, might have heightened the tension. The relationship also begs the question if Gawdy's revenge was to kill the male heir and sever the ancestral line, it wasn't successful; however, think if another relation had arrived earlier in the narrative and had exposed the fact that male members of their family were being picked off one by one and there was talk of a painting each owned at one time and...'oh my god, that's the painting' - we would have been drawn in to the drama and immediately concerned for William's safety. It also makes no sense that the figure is seen appearing and disappearing at another location then in the end climbs through William's window and as many of the reviews state, seeing less is always more with M R. I almost laughed when I saw the figure. Believe me this is not sour grapes. My version is modern, erotic and encompasses a social scourge as its theme, so if anybody ever picks it up it's hardly likely to be placed in direct competition. Oh and by the way, I like Mark and his enthusiasm for M R is undoubted.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
A conspiracy film for the times
Watching Frankenheimer's Cold War classic this year proves the point that well made films with universal themes grow stronger and more resonant with age. If Iselin was based on McCarthy he can also be seen as a parody of many of today's Political figures who try to promote their version of the world by playing on the unsubstantiated fears of others. It also features my favourite female performance in cinema, that of the magnificent Angela Landsbury. My one problem with the plotting is that Shaw's escape is never discussed and without that, if the assassination had gone to plan, his subsequent arrest would've pulled the rug under his stepfather's ambitions.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
Savage twist
Probably the most savage and coldest twist in literature as well as cinema. What I find interesting is the integral part Smiley played in Control's master plan which determined Nan would be used and then dispatched. He was hardly the 'good' guy here.
Killing Eve: Nice and Neat (2019)
Meandering page turner
I was with Killing Eve until half way through series 1 when the narrative started to become subservient to the demands of the final scene page turner. Series 2 continues in this vein with glaring narrative howlers similar to Line of Duty but I'll stick with it just because Comer is, like Stephen Graham, electrifying on screen
Chernobyl (2019)
Harrowing human tragedy
The genius behind this is not just the quality of the writing but also the absence of pyrotechnical performances underpinning the hopelessness of the victims and the wonderful production values and cinematography painting the other worldliness of Chernobyl itself as if it were an alien planet. The scene where the chief miner finds out what the mission is, is worth more than all 6 series of Line of Duty put together. Best drama I've seen since Red Riding
Going in Style (2017)
Entertaining diversion
Whilst this is never going to make the top ten movies ever made, cinema should be diverse and offer the viewing public and the elderly acting fraternity opportunities to make solid movies that are simply there to be enjoyed. Consider this though; where are these films for elderly actresses? There are countless movies featuring old established actors at the wrong end of life (Last Vegas etc) and doing something about it. The fabulous Ann-Margaret looks better at her age than any of the principal male leads so if looks were a factor that argument is defunct. Ask yourselves - could this movie work with three women principals. I reckon it could
Columbo: Playback (1975)
No winners
My favorite Columbo for so many reasons. Oscar Werner is one of his best adversaries - note the wonderful way he refuses to accept he has been caught and that his fool-proof plan was thwarted by a simple human frailty - carelessness. Gena Rowlands, though restricted by her wheelchair bound role, nevertheless acts as a streak of goodness running against the machinations of her husband. Look at the way she is displayed in flowing robes and long blonde hair, almost angelic.
The real strength of this episode lies in the denouement. 99% of the time we root for Columbo to outwit the murderer but here there is no winner. Gena Rowlands has neither a mother nor a husband at the end, as Werner led is away for incarceration, but there is no victory in Columbo's face, only a deep empathetic resignation and an underlining of what is the true cost when people commit the most heinous of crimes.
Red Dwarf: White Hole (1991)
The Greatest Red Dwarf Episode?
With as many quotable lines as Kane, my favorite episode from a dearly loved series - including one of the best 'character' inventions too - Talkie Toaster - who lives only to provide his companions with grilled bread products, every minute of every day.
Hence the question below posed to a new revamped Holly (The ship's computer) who has just had her IQ increased to 12000 and who now knows everything there is to know in the Universe.
'Given that God is infinite and that the universe is also infinite would you like a toasted teacake?'
Oh joy!
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Shakespeare said it all
Watched this on 123 - so glad I didn't pay good money for the 'pleasure' My kids loved it - very worrying trend for someone who is trying to write scripts that have some underlying credible narrative. Unfortunately one cannot see where they go from here. Just as Episode 1 was a harbinger for another two dross films one cannot hold out much hope for what comes next in the series.
A great man captured it very well
'...it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.'
Macbeth
The Night Manager (2016)
Not vintage Le Carre
Comparing the text to the TV series adaptation is quite beneficial because one would assume on viewing alone that Le Carre has been butchered here but to be honest the book is not Le Carre at his best (I'm reading it concurrently) The main problem with the book is the central character of Pine who fits uncomfortably into the role of 'double agent' The adaptation could have avoided this but fell even deeper into trouble with the miscasting of Tom Hiddleston, who moves between a general kind of Hugh Grant sheepishness to sporadic flashes akin third rate Bond (Please give Idris Elba the job as next Bond) Also miscast is Olivia Colman, one of our greatest actresses, who is clearly unhappy delivering that northern accent and the clumsy dialogue she's been given to speak. Pine turning up as Roper's son's savior is perhaps, along with Bruce Willis being hurled out of the tunnel in Die Hard III as Samuel Jackson drives by, one of the biggest co- incidences outside Dickens and will only work for me if Roper has never been fooled and is trapping Pine to make sure he eludes imprisonment. Episode 5's big twist with no weapons on the trucks you could see coming from the Nefertiti Hotel. Hugh Laurie is fine as Roper but I shall miss Tom Hollander though - he is never bad in anything - but again Corky is the best character in the book.
Terminator Genisys (2015)
Terminate now
Couldn't they write a sequel where someone comes back and terminates the Terminator film sequels? Or alternatively Arnie could become so confused with the ever increasingly ridiculous plot lines that he accidentally terminates himself when he suddenly appears unexpectedly as a previous incarnation in another sequel. Oh no, I just realized I've given them a Terminator 6 synopsis. I have no alternative but to find a terminator to go back and terminate me before I can write this review but then again if they've already read it they could send someone back to terminate that terminator and save me. Now I'm confused. Time to terminate this review