Unnatural Death - Patricia Cornwell

Out from Little, Brown; the latest DI Scarpetta novel by prolific author Patricia Cornwell

Set in and around the old abandoned goldmines of Virginia, Scarpetta is called to the scene of two bodies left for dead to the naked eye they have been mauled and it is declared unnatural to begin with upon first inspection. But then the refined coroner begins her work and uncovers there is more than what appears on the surface.

There seems to be a lot of political back-baiting occurring due to funding of government departments as her team has been whittled down along with the unwelcome return of an old fiend which will test Scarpetta's loyalty to her loved ones.

This was my first Cornwell novel, and I won the opportunity to review this new release by way of a competition on X garnering a review copy. The experience has left me gratified and appreciative, Cornwell has created a character that is appealing and forthright. Someone who you would go into battle with and a female character who is intelligent and respected in her field. There is to be a television series soon starring Nicole Kidman in the Scarpetta role - that mix of icy distance and experience coming together.

The mark of any long running series of novels featuring recurring characters such as Lee Child's Jack Reacher, is the ability of the author to welcome in new readers (such as myself in this instance) and not feel lost due to the concise plotting and expert characterisation.

This story goes at a clip and covers a lot of narrative content, yet it is done with such surgical precision, it will leave readers old and new to the Scarpetta universe very much satisfied.

My thanks to Georgina Moore and all at Midas PR for the opportunity to read this latest novel.

Please follow all the bloggers on the #UnnaturalDeath blog tour.

About the Author:

In 1990, Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize—the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Growing into an international phenomenon, the Scarpetta series won Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.

Today, Cornwell’s novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, cookbooks, a children’s book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and two other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano and Andy Brazil. While writing Quantum, Cornwell spent two years researching space, technology, and robotics at Captain Calli Chase’s home base, NASA’s Langley Research Center, and studied cutting-edge law enforcement and security techniques with the Secret Service, the US Air Force, NASA Protective Services, Scotland Yard, and Interpol.

Observations on Celebrities watching Themselves

 

Two honest documentaries tell the tale of two global superstars on Netflix 

The insatiable need for celebrity news has come to a head over recent years, the need to know every living detail of the famed and fabulous from what time they wake up to what they eat in their perfect lives. Now as myself and my generation get older, we are always looking back at periods of our lives and also aware that the famous never totally recede from the spotlight. 

Two documentaries have recently appeared on Netflix and both offer opportunities for the subjects to tell their own story of their careers, both stratospheric and both everlasting in many people's eyes. One about a footballer who transcended his sport to the point of becoming a brand in his own right, and the other a pop star who has had two phoenix like returns from the flames.

The first to drop for our binge-worthy tastebuds was Beckham, about the eponymous footballer who came to prominence when still a teenager at Manchester United in 1996, won the treble in 1999 and then left for Madrid in the early 2000s when his name was so big that everybody could name him or recognise the player without even seeing him play live. 

The four-part documentary directed by Fisher Stevens (Los Angeles neighbour), is produced by Beckham and so tellingly, this is the brand making sure the narrative is the one he wants to be told. Now this is not an accusation of manipulation, but the funniest bit when he confronts wife, Victoria, about the type of car her Dad would ferry her to school in and then promptly closes the door on her was reminiscent of another clip from 1996 post-Wimbledon halfway goal when his father, Ted, is being interviewed and the camera whips to a young David poking his head round a door making sure Dad is singing from the song sheet. 

This paints a picture of a man who is reluctant about sharing too much information with a media industry that would attempt to tear him down following the red card he obtained in a crucial World Cup knockout match for England in 1998 as well as mocking him for his fashion style and the relationship with Posh Spice, which many thought would derail his potential but actually his unwavering commitment to being the best player on his team set him apart from others. 

The Beckham documentary, should have served as more of a celebratory piece to a playing career that was better than people remember but a document that is not critical and still used the adage of what goes on in the dressing room stays in the dressing room ethos.

While it was good to reminisce about Beckham's career as a football fan, it was sobering to see the scrutiny his performance was under more than anybody else playing at that time. And yet the production did smack of a Country Life fluff piece with little or no blowback on the man himself 

The second documentary of note, is that of pop star Robbie Williams, who was one-fifth of Britain's biggest band, Take That in the mid-1990s, then left the band to pursue a huge solo career at the turn of the Millennium which was record setting and yet came with a heap of problems from constant media scrutiny to drug abuse and two rehabilitations. 

Produced by Asif Kapadia (Senna, Amy), this documentary is not produced by the person in question, meaning that Robbie Williams is purely the subject in question and under the microscope. The device of Williams' looking at his history on a laptop while in his underwear reclining on his bed serves as a sort of duvet day therapy session for the popstar, with him stopping proceedings on a few occasions because he knows what is coming next and is reluctant to watch it any further. And yet as the film is shot at his home, his daughter Teddy interrupts on frequent occasions meaning we get a sense of past breaking into the present, a future the younger Williams could not have imagined.

Williams' life and career has been one of meteoric rises and very low lows, from the heights of being key to a boy band success it is not forgotten he was a mere 16 years old when it started and yet he was in a band with twenty years old and he notes, that age gap is vast at that time. He was a child in an adult world.

Unsurprisingly, he seeked solace in ingesting anything he could get his hands on from alcohol to cocaine and ecstasy. His first rehab comes at the age of 20, and then begins a solo stint but in partnership with Guy Chambers who wrote all the songs together with on his first four albums culminating in huge successes, based mostly upon the huge hit that was 'Angels'. 

Williams is surprisingly, quite self-effacing and funny when watching himself back and very resentful of the things he has done to people - from his bitter jealousy to Gary Barlow to his casting aside Chambers' swiftly to basically not being able to trust anybody when so prevalent in the public eye.

The third episode which focuses on a very intense European leg of a tour shows the physical and mental torture his body endures going from show to show and as a document it cleverly shows the deteoriation of a body from working to breaking down mentally with shots of steroids injected (big mistake) to looking like a zombie from day to day, yet the pressure to continue on the wheel is paramount as his stage takes up 93 trucks. And yet too much time is given to the disastrous release of  'Rudebox' and the whole series misses his swing band era which was a huge success to his career.

While Beckham's look back at his career was more celebratory, Williams' look back is a reminder that warning signs were ignored and that mental health in young men, something which has been brought to public consciousness following the pandemic. A lot more is gained from watching Williams dissect his breakdowns than Beckham breaking down a free kick routine.

There is also a social comment, as Williams admits he joined Take That unable to read or write with no qualifications from school, yet he went on to become an Ivor Novello winner for his work yet that inability to communicate properly perhaps led to his unwillingness to speak out and ask for help; whereas Beckham came from a good household, a decent education albeit entirely built around his footballing prowess - he was able to batten down the hatches due to the fraternity he had at Manchester United after the red card at France 1998 and focus solely on performing. For Williams he could only find solace in alcohol or medication due to his lack of trust of others and coming from nothing and no support network there from the start for him

All in all, two fascinating documentaries about two fascinating individuals who were on the front pages for both the right and wrong reasons. Nostalgia yes but tinged with lessons to be learnt.

Beckham and Robbie are both available on Netflix now

A Tangled Web - Ken Lussey

Brand new Contemporary novel by Ken Lussey out 15th November

Prolific Scottish based author, Ken Lussey, returns with his second contemporary set novel of the calendar year. Starring his new creation, Callum Anderson, a Metropolitan Police officer, whose life has taken a strange turn and finds himself out of familiar water in the Scottish Highlands.

Callum is investigating the mysterious death of Iain Mackay, husband to Dr. Jenny, whose disappearance was first mentioned in the first novel The High Road. Callum is getting more firmly cemented into his new surroundings and in being quite taken with Jenny as a new romantic avenue to pursue.

The first book that introduced Callum had a bit more emotional baggage to navigate as he had to overcome the end of his marriage in London and separation from his twin sons, yet we followed his navigation of finding a new lease of life and purpose in the Scottish landscapes. 

This second novel, shows our protagonist as more an investigator than a policeman, delving into the dodgy dealings of Iain before his unseemly end in a lay-by. Fans of the television series Shetland will notice and wonder how such nefarious things can follow a man around small towns.

Yet for this reader, Lussey remains a capable and prestigious talent of maintaining narrative hold of the proceedings, never wavering in terms of pace and thrust of the cut that finds our lead characters in worrying moments of peril.

Lussey again weaves in historical facts of long lost locations (Drumbeg Castle) and paints wonderful pictures of lovely landscapes Callum and Jenny encounter. At times it can feel like tourist information but Lussey writes with such a passion for the history and feel of a place it does not feel like exposition and not at all unnecessary.

Written with such a verve and intelligence that it is commendable he can write with such authority and assuredness release upon release. Another great addition to his catalogue, if not completely matching previous heights, of which he has set a very high standard though.

A Tangled Web is release from Arachnid Press on all formats from 15th November.

My thanks to them for the review opportunity.

The Rich - Rachel Lynch

 

New standalone novel by thriller writer Rachel Lynch

For fans of Doctor Foster and The Only Way is Essex; this new contemporary work by Cumbrian set author Rachel Lynch, who has previously given us the series of  DI Kelly Porter novels by Canelo Crime, is a standalone novel set in the rich and luxurious lifestyles of the well to do of Cambridge, East Anglia.

A plot revolving around the rich and wealthy who seemingly have all the same hang-ups as normal people but the unfortunate problem of money and big houses to hide behind.

Set amidst the warm summer that England is experiencing more frequently, the central thrust of the narrative is based around the disappearance and then discovery of the missing Monica, trophy wife to Tony Thorpe whose slovenly nature is unbecoming to all who encounter him. 

This is a story with quite an involving plot of details and characters, a lot of people to be introduced to in a short book length of 322 pages which is both a gift and problem for the reader. So begins this quick cutting narrative as with the use of short chapters written from the that character's viewpoint we get glimpses to the multitude of characters; for me this is where I had difficulty with the book in that there was perhaps too many people to invest in at once. 

There is Dr Alex the main female protagonist, a psychologist who is keeper of the elite's dirty secrets. Carrie lives a pristine life but is unhappy. Henry likes to sleep with wives of men he works for. Grace, perhaps the most interesting character, a fitness trainer/influencer whose perfect image hides dark secrets of her own.  As the body of Monica is revealed, Dr Alex knows that anybody is capable of murder if pushed too much. 

This is not a total criticism, as said previously the Grace part of the novel is the most delicately handled of the story, the influencer struggling with the influence she pervades and the pressure of self-image and self-esteem is so prevalent to our culture of today.

This reader could see the influence of such works as The Slap, that cross-cultural dissection of modern Australian society based around the conduct of one person and the branches of impact that causes. As here, when one person's passing can have an impact on many and the different levels of trauma and anguish each experiences.

A thrilling trashy getaway vacation read by a talented author who has written something different from the comfort of their detective serial reads. Yet, all in all, it is a shot that just misses the bullseye.

The Rich is out from Canelo in all formats from Thursday 9th November.

My thanks to Canelo for the review copy.

Parachute - Raindance Review

Debut directorial feature by Brittany Snow 

Brittany Snow, American female actress who starred in Pitch Perfect won the Audience Award at SXSW for her directorial debut, Parachute. An original film about addiction and self-abuse.

Riley (Courtney Eaton - Yellowjackets) is a well to do young woman, who we first meet when leaving rehab for her bulimia and addiction to Instagram. She does not like the woman she sees when comparing herself to every girl on social media, when to the naked eye she is a young and attractive woman. At a party shortly after her release, she meets Ethan (Thomas Mann) who is genuine and kind to her plight providing support for her.

And yet Riley's demons will not abate and she cannot stop looking at social media and comparing herself. She wards off good intentions of her remaining friends, yet finds a job in a murder-mystery dinner theatre where her aspirations of writing may come to fruition.

Riley has inherited her good fortune, the huge apartment and yet cannot shake off the entitled streak within her. She believes that she will be a great writer and will be beautiful to any bachelor, yet the film makes the comment that for all her attempts to avoid the lure of social media it is unavoidable and therefore her suffering will persist and dismissing Ethan's genuine feelings for someone she feels she is entitled to.

Halfway through the film you hope this is a nice love story between Riley and Ethan in the wonderful setting of New York, yet the demons return and we have to endure some hard watches for Eaton to depict some genuine dark moments. The script co-written by Snow with Becca Gleason about her own battles, is a personal project for her and she admits she knew how to shoot the film from storyboards to production. The interweaving of intimate shots of the two leads as their courtship grows is a nice touch, but by the end it becomes the focus of lost moments than forever love.

Helped by some great casting and support by known names, Joel McHale as Ethan's alcoholic father who he cannot help, Dave Bautista as Riley's new employer and Gina Rodriguez as Dr. Akerman, Riley's therapist.

Special mention also to the soundtrack and original score by Keegan DeWitt (check out his work on 2010 film Cold Weather) who weaves a great atmosphere here, along with Kristen Correll's cinematography.

Parachute was screened at the 2023 Raindance Film Festival. Hopefully it obtains a distribution deal in the near future.

KING AND COUNTRY

Brilliant new 4K restoration of anti-war film King and Country (1964) by Joseph Losey

This mostly unknown British film by acclaimed American director, Joseph Losey, is another collaboration with renowned British thespian Dirk Bogarde. Their partnership bore great riches together and this is there little film but the one that speaks the loudest in terms of relevancy to today's modern age. 

The film follows the famous anti-war narrative familiar in literature from Journey's End and Catch-22, the futility of war is apparent for all to see, and in the depiction of Private Hamp (Tom Courtenay), a deserter from the front-lines during the Great War, you have another anti-hero. 

Dirk Bogarde portrays Captain Hargreaves, a lawyer, sent to defend Hamp as he faces court-martial for desertion with the threat of execution by firing squad. Hamp just wants to go home as many wanted to do no doubt, and yet the stigmatism of cowardice is thrown around by those in command, those who are not on the front-line.

Hamp has his reasons, he volunteered on a dare, he is the only survivor of his group remaining and his wife back home has been unfaithful in his absence; and yet the political machine chooses to use Hamp as an example before another futile offensive manoeuvre in the quagmire of the first world war somewhere in France. 

The film is set for the most part in real-time, and shares a lot of cinematic DNA with Kubrick's Paths of Glory where Kirk Douglas defended deserters and the squalor and downtrodden mess of the trenches is clear to see as rain constantly falls on young men fighting for their lives and freedom in or near No Man's Land.

The new restoration gives the film a real shine and sheen to these sad sights and Bogarde plays Hargreaves in a fine line between right and just and true and sceptic. When a superior officer questions the defence of mental health, stating, 'Is he a lunatic?' it puts a black mark on all proceedings and how nearly a hundred years later, male mental health only came to fruition when men were battened down in their households during a global pandemic with little or not much to do.

'I just wanted to get away from the guns sir'

Courtenay is quite astounding in the role of Hamp (he won Best Actor in Venice that year) and this was in the purple patch of his run of performances in the Angry Young Man era from The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Billy Liar to this performance. His heartfelt and honest portrayal reminded this viewer of Ed Norton's debut in Primal Fear when his role depicted a fugue like state in a post-traumatic stress event.

Bogarde holds court himself as the true star of proceedings akin to a George Clooney in those days as he cross-examines witnesses such as Leo McKern as the doctor who does not notice the effects of shell shock upon Hamp. Bogarde when facing a jury who have already made their decision in terms of Hamp's verdict shows that justice can be just as ineffective as war on occasion.

Timely and timeless, this film serves as a constant reminder that the real cost of war is the loss of innocence.

Special features include an interview with Tom Courtenay about the film; an archive interview with Dirk Bogarde from 1964 and Behind the Scenes stills

King and Country is released by Studiocanal UK on Blu-ray/DVD on 6th November

Matthew Perry (1969-2023)

Celebrity deaths are frequent but as the old adage goes there are only two things certain in life - death and taxes. Well there should be a third one and that is friends. In any walk of life, they will come into your life perhaps fleetingly or cement themselves in your ether, or they may leave just as quickly as they arrive due to circumstances beyond your control in this weird spectrum of life.

These friends may be people you grow to cherish or resent depending upon the attachment you have, or they may be people you do care about due to what they mean to you. The latter applies to celebrities and sportspeople - you grow this unhealthy at times attachment to a person you may never meet in person for fear of having your expectations broken. You watch a show religiously and the character the person depicts may become your favourite person and when that show ends you give that actor the benefit of the doubt and hope they can strike gold again.

For all six members of the Warner Bros television show, Friends, which first aired in September 1994, nobody could have forseen the universal popularity of a simple premise of a show of six people (three men, three women) who live in each other's pockets constantly. A sitcom of simplicity that grew into a juggernaut of world domination and changed the lives of all six fairly unknown (though Courtney Cox had done film work) into household names and the most recognisable six-person group since the Chicago Bulls.

Everybody has their favourite Friend, be it dipsy Phoebe, hunky Joey or lovesick Ross, but for me and many my favourite was Chandler Bing, portrayed by Matthew Perry. Chandler was handsome, clever and most importantly the funniest most sarcastic character ever committed to screen. Before Chandler arrived on our screens, we had witty people - perhaps Seinfeld and Frasier Crane - but this was a character whose sarcasm hid so much trauma underneath the surface, and a deflection mechanism to combat his hopelessness with women that it was no surprise he ended up falling for someone who already knew him pretty well.

His sarcastic streak was something, this writer, as a teenager when the show began was something I aspired to - that zeal to hit a one-liner, to be the funniest guy in the room but also the nicest guy in the room. Be honest sometimes to your detriment and be left dancing alone by the end of the night, but be somebody that people can rely upon when needed and valued. I saw so much of me in Chandler growing up as I navigated my own strange 

Perry though was a different breed of actor. Growing up in Canada, he was an established tennis player at junior level with aspirations for the pro tour before the acting bug got him and the road to stardom began. Perry had an ease about his performance that was reminiscent of say Cary Grant or James Stewart, he made it look easy in his delivery and style from those early season bowling shirt combo he along with Rachael and her hair-do became to me a fashion icon. And the best chemistry he had on the show was not with his screen wife, Courtney Cox, but with Matt Le Blanc as room-mate Joey. Their partnership and love for each other was an integral part of the show's stratospheric success, you need only look at the episode where they swap apartments with Monica and Rachael, the same episode that announces Phoebe's pregnancy (Lisa Kudrow's real-life pregnancy utilised for effect), a great episode 'The One With The Embryos' (Season 4, Episode 12)

Which makes the tumultuous middle years of the series when he succumb to pain medication abuse and painkiller addiction all the more sad. Perry became someone you worried for as much as a real-life friend, so to see him during the Friends Reunion looking a bit dishevelled and not half as witty as in previous years was all such a shame.

As with all the other cast members, the reach for film stardom did not come easy, he starred opposite Bruce Willis in The Whole Nine Yards; a hit-man comedy which was a box-office hit and yet the films dried up. His best film performance was in Fools Rush In, where opposite Selma Hayek he had some decent chemistry as Alex Whitman and his everyman appeal was played to the fore, yes he is a bit Bing-lite but the film is quite good if you have ever seen it.

After Friends finished in 2004, he starred in Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which sadly only ran for one series but showed his ability to skate between comedy and drama. His timing as always was so spot on and yet as he found out, people could only see him as Chandler.

He wrote his autobiography and that was heralded for its openness and truth, and his retelling of being unable to remember three years of the series due to his addiction problems. The abuse sadly has taken a hold on him seemingly and has cut short a life that was not lived fully. 

Another talented individual has left us too early, could I be anymore sad? Yes I can. 

Half Eaten By Dogs - The Serfs

 

New album by thrilling Ohio trio via Trouble in Mind Records

In a world where pristine pop rules the mainstream - think Harry and Taylor - the trio from Cincinnati, Ohio of Dylan McCartney (vocals, guitar, bass), Dakota Carlyle (electronica, bass) and Andie Luman (vocals, synth), have curated a musical maelstrom of sound and wonder that is both thrilling to listen to and difficult to pigeon hole.

From the album opener, 'Order Imposing Sentence', this is a long player that is distinctive in tone and is happy to wear a multitude of influences on its sleeve from Depeche Mode in the post-Vince Clarke days before the stratospheric late 1980s run they enjoyed to that of Suicide. Its more like surf rock but howling at the moon as they ride the crest of the wave.

'Spectral Analysis' samples Air's 'Sexy Boy' as if it is a transmission from a by-gone era or another dimension and yet there is a thrust and drive to the album that should be applauded. This trio is sticking to its guns and shooting for the moon.

'Electric Like An Eel' has this pounding sound that is unrelenting and yet is infectious and bouncy; it is this constant contradiction and juxtaposition of genres taking place that is seemingly unsettling to a listener but also keeps them on their toes, unsurprisingly this was a single release of the album.

This refreshing album is great to hear and reminded this listener of new sounds discovered such as FACS and Activity - that unnerving distortive sonic soundscapes being created.

It does strike me that this is a band who are on the cusp of bigger and better things to come, and while this album is their third album it smacks of maturity and a keen sense of what direction they want to be going in. 

The simplest way to state this album is that it is electronica just not as you know it infused with punk goodness and thrashing guitars.

Half Eaten by Dogs is out on Friday 27th October via Trouble in Mind Records

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Beyond Utopia

 Brand new documentary released by Dogwoof on Friday 27th October

This new documentary directed and edited by Madeline Gavin, is sobering and equally heart-breaking. It delves into the recollections of North Korean's who have taken the brave step to leave the totalitarian regime and seek a new life over the border in either China or South Korea.

The regime of North Korea goes to great lengths to paint a picture that all is rosy in their country, one newspaper, one television channel, one dictator leadership, and the lengths to keep the population in the country with barbed wires and the bullying tactics of the police force through this feedback is startling to the viewer. The crossing across the Yalu River is daunting and petrifying, using footage by those seeking refuge which makes this as thrilling as any found-footage film as we witness first hand the struggles.

The film follows the efforts benevolent pastor Kim can sometimes get double digit requests for people wanting to move and he obtains footage of apartments in North Korea, built with no lifts and they use wood for cooking and heating. Two stories run parallel one is the five person family Ro who give up everything to seek freedom and reunite with family in Seoul, South Korea and the other a mother Soyeon Lee awaiting the news of her son escape attempt. 

You see elders and youngsters fighting back tears as they recall the journey to get to safety, how they are taught that the western world and America are the most evil people in the world and yet the majority of North Koreans live in poverty and squalor.

The realisation upon most of the evacuees' faces as they learn of the true depiction of the Kim regime is refreshing, and how in this world which has a whole heap of problems to deal with constantly, anyone born must have the will to move where they wish. North Korea denies their citizens that basic liberty and then lie to them to make them think this is as good as it gets. Those who soldier on to China or Thailand learn the truth.

An eye-opening document that the whole world should see and by focusing on the people and not the politics makes the documentary both brave and frightening and most importantly accessible to the plight suffered.

Beyond Utopia is out from Dogwoof in selected UK/Ireland cinemas from Friday 27th October

Typist Artist Pirate King

 

New Carol Morley film based upon Audrey Amiss released by Modern Films on Friday 27th October 2023

Carol Morley is one of Britain's most creative film-makers and yet she remains for the most part unknown to the mainstream film watching public. From her debut feature, she has navigated a career of unique features building upon real life stories, autobiographical content and the role of women in modern society. This is not a filmmaker looking to the past to explain the now, this is the here and now, best to understand it as best you could.

Her influence for the new feature is the similarly unknown avant-garde artist, Audrey Amiss (Monica Dolan) whose diaries inspired Morley's film. Incorporating the tropes of the road trip genre as Amiss seeks recognition for her career, she convinces her psychiatric nurse Sandra Panza (Kelly Macdonald) to escort her back to where it all began with many a diversion in place.

Amiss documented her experience of the world and how she saw it through the prism of her own self-proclaimed lunacy; this is a road trip between an eccentric and a reluctant chauffeur.

What is so pleasing about the this film - apart from obviously passing the Bechel Test - is that you get two top notch performances at the helm of the film. Dolan, so often the ensemble player and erstwhile supporter, is given free rein to go for glory and she sinks her teeth into the role of Amiss with aplomb and relish. From the outset, she plays her as a firebrand and rebel and yet one who has been misunderstood for much of her adult life and artistic career.

The partnership of Dolan and Macdonald is key to the film's success and how it will translate to the mainstream, how refreshing to see a film led by two females and in Macdonald returning from Hollywood, willing to play second fiddle to Dolan's lead. The medium shot set-up of the two head on as they drive on their road trip is indicative of this partnership in a moving vehicle, the fondness for the two initially frosty is slowly one where warmth grows similar to that of Jimmy and the Duke in Midnight Run. 

NB (I as a male writer realises this is stupid to write and compare this to an all-male bond when the ultimate companion to this film would be Thelma and Louise surely, where both women's roles alter from the film's beginning and find themselves upon the journey.)

As they drive around, the everyday people they encounter become conduits or people from her past who Amiss use to vent her frustrations with her misgivings and incidents. The constant conflict and unease Amiss creates could be unnerving were it not for the performance of Dolan who incorporates equal rage and equal vulnerability.

The story untangles as more about Audrey's past culminating in the admission that she suffered a major fall when she was 19 leading to her mental health issues and the estrangement between her and her sister Dorothy (Gina McKee) who is the ultimate goal of the journey.

Interspersed with pictures/drawings from Amiss' extensive archive and featuring music she would have wholeheartedly approved of upon the soundtrack, this is a call to arms of a film questioning roles of female artists in general and the biases we may have towards those with mental health issues, everyone is capable of something and that the support they receive is what matters. 

A winning formula with strains of British film-making history from the absurdity of Audrey hitting upon an Anglo-Saxon v Viking re-enactment which smacks of Monty Python to the influence of Ken Russell in the melding of an artist's life with dramatisation, this is a film shot with a softness and a kindness to the crippling nature of mental health, Morley should be applauded for this film that is sympathetic and energetic to a character she is quite fond of.

This is a film that should be commended and enjoyed by a wider audience.

TYPIST ARTIST PIRATE KING is released in UK/Ireland cinemas on Friday 27th October.

OUR RIVER...OUR SKY

 Out Friday 20th October on limited release, a new film by Maysoon Pachachi

Distributed by Tull Stories and produced by the BFI and the National Lottery, Pachachi is a Baghdad born, British raised female director who has returned to her roots to create an intertwining narrative about the individuals who live within the cloud that pervades them in Baghdad in the days leading up to the death of former leader Saddam Hussein.

This is a period of deep transition for the whole region as the rule of Saddam is coming to an end, the various characters we encounter are going through changes themselves and others are still seeking answers for solace amidst the surrounding madness.

The veritable lead Sara (Darina Al Joundi) is the well meaning woman who pervades everybody and she is mostly worried for the future of her daughter Reema (Zainab Joda), for instance how is she going to get to school if the driver has been shot and she gets asked questions is she Sunni or Shia, Sara's response is, 'You are Iraqi'.

Shot beautifully by Jonathan Bloom in actual locations, the film is a wonderful and stirring embodiment of the human spirit. The power with which these characters have to go about their every day business is commendable as bombs go off so unexpectedly and without warning. 

However, the notion of an intertwining story was perhaps not the best means to tell this story. If the film had focused solely on Sara and her family with the periphery characters intruding upon her life may have served the story better. The film is an achievement in being made and yet it could have been so far-reaching and universal if the script was a bit tighter.

It reminded this viewer of a film called Heights (2005) by Chris Terrio, a 24 hour film set in New York again when five characters lives collide and remember that film failed to nail the drama despite having good actors at its disposal. In this instance, the film was unable to nail the message despite the drama and performance being present.

Released by Tull Stories, the film is memorable for existing and yet the final image of the film following news of Saddam's death is one of less of optimism but the fact that the cloud that they live under may never totally rescind - the pessimism is there for all to see. And following recent atrocities in a not too distant location from Baghdad in the last few weeks, we are no nearer to peace in the Middle East which makes this film all the more poignant.

OUR RIVER...OUR SKY is out on limited release in UK/Ireland from 20th October

My thanks to AR-PR for the review link.

PAX & THE MISSING HEAD

 

New YA book from David Barker PAX AND THE MISSING HEAD out via Tiny Tree Books 19th October

This reader, has followed David Barker's career since he returned to writing following a career change from economics to literature. He wrote a series of espionage thrillers with adults at the helm involving the threat of water levels to the world and this was pre-pandemic and Greta Thunberg bringing notions of climate change awareness to the reader that others might be wary of.

However, Barker has again changed course, now writing for young adults. In the first of a new series, this is the tale of Pax, virtually a slave in a dystopian future London that is encased by a new London wall, draconian rule is enforced yet Pax is a young man of initiative and industry who yearns to be an engineer and not dwell in the nefarious mines forever.

By chance, he gains a place at a prestigious and mysterious school and from there the book follows the the template of Tom Brown Schooldays mixed with the boarding school tropes from a certain wizard storyline with a dash of science fiction tomfoolery abounding.

Barker has always been able to write with a zip and thrust to his narrative, maintaining good character arcs and believable dialogue, luckily the transition to the young adult genre has not diminished any of this quality. A book that is under 300 pages it has that same cut and dash this reader recalls from his Gold trilogy and it was a pleasure to read.

While the influences are somewhat obvious, Barker is keen to embrace with great effect those narrative motifs to enhance his own world-building which nails the landing like a drone capturing a flag. 

Aimed at the pre-teen market by the publishers, this is an enticing read for capable readers between the ages of 9-12 and is a good gateway into the world of dystopian science fiction.

PAX AND THE MISSING HEAD is out from Tiny Trees on 19th October

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CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY

 

New 4K Restoration for little seen anti-apartheid film set in South Africa

This 1951 release was directed by Zoltan Korda (The Four Feathers), based upon the novel by Alan Paton and starring Sidney Poitier and Canada Lee, in his last film role while being photographed by Robert Krasker, who shot The Third Man, this is a welcome addition to the StudioCanal library

The film follows the story of a black priest Kumalo portrayed by Lee, who leaves the township he resides over to go to the big city, in this case Johannesburg to search for his estranged son, played by Poitier. Each step on his journey, much like Joseph Cotton's he is blindsided by sudden revelations that leave him shattered, from the discovery that his sister is a prostitute to finding his son has been charged with death for the murder of a prominent white figure in the community.

Meanwhile, back in the village white farmer Jarvis (Charles Carson) who is indifferent to the injustices of apartheid, hears of the murder of his son who was an activist combating the oppression of Black South Africans and so learns more of their struggles and begins to understand.

This is a story adapted from Alan Paton's novel of the same name, and it marks out as a key text in the unification of grief and the admonishment of the apartheid rule, two fathers dealing with the death of their sons and how this could bring peace amidst the turmoil.

Shot on location in South Africa, this is a deeply poignant political drama and it is a marked segway between two different styles of picture. The white farmer scenes are shot like the dressing room dramas that is reminiscent of Ealing Studios perhaps while the location shots of Johannesburg shows a new brevity and bravery in film-making, shooting on location makes the city a character and with illustrious actors such as Lee and Poitier being so prominent shows a production unafraid to comment on racial injustices by putting the oppressed front and centre instead of this becoming a white saviour narrative; unfortunately that would become the norm in Hollywood cinema such as Mississippi Burning or A Time To Kill but British cinema has never been afraid to voice the stories of black characters such as Horace Ove.

Extras on the Blu-Ray and DVD include an interview with Mona Z Smith - biographer of Canada Lee, archive footage of the production, a documentary on cinema under apartheid and interviews with African filmmaker Lionel Ngakane and writer Alan Paton as well as a fascinating 16 page booklet.

CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY is out 9th October on Blu-Ray/DVD from Studiocanal UK

BEWILDER - From the Eyrie

 

New album by Southampton duo Bewilder from Tiny Engines label

The duo comprise of vocalist/guitarist George Brooks and multi-instrumentalist Thom Wilkinson, whom have been performing as Bewilder for over a decade now. The LP From the Eyrie showcases a sophisticated more mature focus of the pair due to the nature of its genesis.

Demos for the songs started to appear in 2019, where the pair would send demos to each other. This had to continue during the global lockdown of 2020. For example, 'Twin Lakes' was finished in May 2020 and with the sweeping violins enwrapped in the final track, the intention was to create a full long playing album. Brooks, a long time fan of emo bands such as Jimmy Eat World and American Football, the goal was to make an album of feeling but remaining fresh and original.

Songs that are full of originality, it is somewhat befitting the film that has this warmth and good-feeling running through the sequencing is released during the late period Indian summer we are experiencing in the UK currently. While the political landscape may seem murky and unchartered, the release of music such as this from the South Coast offers hope and sunshine, as Brooks and Wilkinson channel these notions of nostalgia (as the album cover attests to) and nature. 

From album opener 'Heavy Sweater' there is a warmth from the opening arpeggios, strings soar on 'Breaking' and in 'Home' you have acoustic traditional folk. This all marks the album out as one that is a gateway to your new favourite band, and yet a duo that seemingly has so much left in the locker to explore and discover.

FROM THE EYRIE is out via Tiny Engines on all platforms from October 6th 

OINK - Fragments Festival

 

OINK, the first stop motion animation film made in the Netherlands

The first animated film to win the Golden Calf (Netherlands Oscars) in 2022, tells the story of a young girl Babs who is granted the birthday present of a pig by her eccentric grandfather. Based upon the book Revenge of Oink by Tosca Menten and directed by Mascha Helberstad.

Following in illustrious footsteps of Aardman and Burton, the animation says as much about human life as any live-action depiction could do. Acerbically satirical yet endearing towards the human relationships it depicts there is so much to admire in the production here.

Babs at the film's beginning is a sort of vegan who bemoans the meat industry, and yet when she is bestowed the gift of Oink it is love at first sight for her. 

Entertaining for all the family (with some scenes that may be unsuitable for young ones), this is a wonderful film that translates across many languages about belonging and responsibility.

OINK is part of the Fragments Festival at Genesis Cinema this weekend, screening at 10.45am 

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My thanks to them for the screening link

Unidentified Objects - Fragments Festival

 

Premiere at Fragments Festival, directorial effort from Juan Felipe Zuleta

An off-beat indie road trip movie about two people who start off as strangers and are en route to an alien pick up point in Canada.

Winona has the belief she is to be abducted and convinces her neighbour, to borrow his car and they drive to the abduction site together. Together the two forge to find their place in the universe.

Using distinct details such as the hot pink car in which they travel, the pair encounter some oddballs on their journey such as a nefarious border agent and two admirers of Winona who is a sex worker. Interspersed with odd vignettes and side-tracks that can be disruptive in other hands, yet Zuleta shows a deftness in handling proceedings throughout.

The film has an unusual energy thanks in part to the casting of small person actor Matthew August Jeffers as Peter and Sarah Hay as Winona making the odd couple. The chemistry between the two of them make for good viewing as they come to terms with their lot in life, overcoming the difficulties the planet in this galaxy has thrown them forcing Winona to seek answers elsewhere and smart Peter to question the rationale of it all, in a dwarf body he struggles to come to terms with his place as he feels he does not belong in this world.

For any road movie, the journey is always forward it is only when the characters stop and talk in diners or in the car, when those periods of calm arrive they get the opportunity to reflect and understand themselves and each other. The destination as ever is not the goal, the journey is the reward for these two outcasts on this world as they seek the answers on some other strata.

Unidentified Objects screens as part of the Fragments Festival on Friday 29th September at 9pm in Genesis Cinema 

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Melenas - Ahora

 

Spanish quartet Melenas return with third album AHORA from Trouble in Mind Records on 29th September 

The spanish foursome brandish their influences brazenly upon their guitar necks and 88 keys, this long player shows the band are exploring notions of identity and personality in their work.

For fans of Hinds (Spanish counterparts), nevertheless this is a band who are immersed in the inspiration of early 1980s synth and new wave records from Depeche Mode to New Order with a hint of Kraftwerk. The use of synthesizers are paramount and welcome in this album. An indie album that is electronica, an alternative album with mainstream appeal.

Ahora is translated as Now. The album according to the band shows, 'the importance of time, to reflect on how we live our everyday lives, with whom we share our moments and how we want (or don't want) to do it.

The dreamy pop of '1986' is married with somber songs such as 'Flor de la Frontera', and yet this is indicative of that life in which they mention. Since the pandemic, when we had that prolonged period of inner reflection with ourselves, we experience high highs and then have to suffer low lows, those lows may last longer and we seek those highs more and more.

There is a real harmonious and melodic rhythmicality to the works, it reminded this listener of a sole artist such as Sweet Baboo - who uses keyboards to make beautiful melodies with heartbreaking vocals. Take a song such as K2 which has this lovely sound as the band use those harmonies to create a lushness to proceedings following the album opener/introduction of the title track. 

While all the songs are written and sung in Spanish, the universality of the musical sonic landscape is key to the growing appeal of the band who have been released in the United States without the necessity of an English language dubbed version for instance.

Since their beginnings, Melenas have always been an intriguing act and with this third album they again forge an identity as a band who are bold and unique in their production creating a catalogue of music that is embracing with its warmth and intelligent in its construction. Melenas return with that difficult third album, and they are having fun here.

Ahora is released by Trouble in Mind on all platforms from 29th September.

Smoke Sauna Sisterhood

Anna Hints' Estonian film is the official entry for the Academy Awards in 2024 for Best Foreign Language Film.

Hints' film can be best described as one of neo-realism in this vain millennial age in which we live. A film depicting the talks that women have in an Estonian sauna, conversing about their lives, the struggles in life from cancer to abuse to dealing with the everyday worry of body image and consciousness. 

One woman is the focal point as a conduit for us the audience, listening rapt to her friends while the women speak to her with just their bodies on display and their heads cut off by the frame, slowly though the frame becomes larger and the women are more seen as the film progresses. The filmmaker is making a statement here that the woman speaking are all women, sometimes unseen by society and yet living with such difficulty because of that same society putting such constraints upon them in terms of expectations when it comes to beauty and ability.

The film is broken up with views of Estonian life in the cold climate, how the sauna is constructed, folk music being performed and viewed. One clever scene, shows how the smoke begins in an empty sauna and how quickly it takes over the space and the women in a sense become hidden; and that what they speak of is private in this confessional booth of a hot room.

The film plays as a metaphor for how women are hidden or shunned from society, yet the sauna is a place to cleanse yourself of the pain and it is a blessing such as baptism was. It is no mistake that the film starts with a mother cradling her new born baby skin to skin.

Ironically, I have got this far into a film review featuring naked females and not mentioned the nakedness. However, there is nothing titillating or violating about the depiction of the female form in this instance, it is an exercise in showing that all forms of female are perfect just with minor imperfections, those same imperfections that certain members of society put far too much emphasis upon. You learn that all women are beautiful in their own right, each body is beautiful and to quote one women's story, 'a human is a human'.

Sweat it out! Sweat it out!

Sweat the pain out!

Out! Out! Out!

There is also something about the sound of natural laughter between a group such as when one woman talks about being on Tinder and dick pics, there is an absurdity to the situation she describes that makes people giggle but the infectious nature of it makes it grow to a chorus of giggles that envelopes you with warmth.

Open, raw and forthright - this is a film to be cherished, embraced and held in close regard. One of the best in recent years that says so much about so many things without a threat of politicisation or grandstanding.

The film has one standout story - a graphic retelling of a rape by one of the women. It is told with such bravery and honesty, that at the ending of the recollection, the rest of the sauna is silent as was this viewer. The mother asks, 'I want to protect my daughter from all this. How do I do that?' and I suppose that is the problem the film is addressing, we have come a long way but still so far to go. The film ends with the women after the sauna walking to a nearby natural waterway, spiritually returning to the calming water for peace, we start our life's journey in the calm water of our mother's womb and seek that tranquility throughout life.

A triumphant film that is revitalising in the power of the human spirit to overcome all the obstacles life throws at you, so often these women are alone in their struggle. However, they are strong and the stories they tell speak volumes of where we are still and how far women still have to go for equality.

SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD is the closing film of this years Fragments Festival at Genesis Cinema, Mile End, London this Sunday 1st October 5pm. Tickets are still available.

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THE HIGH ROAD by Ken Lussey

 

New contemporary novel by Scottish based author Ken Lussey from Arachnid Press

This reader has followed the career path of Ken Lussey since he published his first World War 2 novel back in 2018. A writer who is both prolific and knowledgeable in his depiction of fictitious espionage tales in historical accurate settings. 

This time we see him take a different tact as writers of series are prone to doing such as Brian McGilloway does from time to time. This time the story is about a cop Callum who returns to his Scottish roots following the death of his father to scatter his ashes. The disappearance of a cousin, Alexandra, leads to him staying in central Scotland and the North-West while serving a suspension from the Met Police. 

Lussey has always been fond of Scotland and takes pleasure in the landscapes and transposing the lush vistas to parchment, with a keen eye for mood and atmosphere. Here the road less travelled is key to the narrative of Callum as he must follow hunches and visit towns he has never heard of to find the missing persons.

Callum shows himself to be a deft detective, capable of inducing information from people and overcoming obstacles when necessary such as several guns pointed in his direction. The criminal underworld comes to the surface on occasion, and Callum reeling from his wife leaving him for his boss, finds affection in the arms of female policewomen. 

Yet there is growth and development for the character as the narrative progresses, he grows as the roads get narrower further up the western coast line.

The story is well told and at a pace familiar to readers of Lussey's other works, the concluding shoot-out and fallout is handled delicately and you admire the moxie of a character like Callum, a man who is not necessarily outside of his comfort zone but he is dealing with this almost notion above his station with aplomb and getting his mojo back in more ways than one.

The film ends on a high and it calls to mind the film Local Hero, where a fish out of water finds that this is his best place to live. And in the author's note, there is a promise of a sequel.

THE HIGH ROAD is out now from Arachnid Press, my thanks to them for the review copy