Good Kill good preview

Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, the writer of  The Truman Show, Good Kill sees Niccol reunited with the star of his other famous work Gattaca, Ethan Hawke.

Hawke plays Las Vegas fighter pilot turned drone pilot Tom Egan who fights the Taliban via remote control for half the day and then goes home to his lovely wife (January Jones) for the other half.

 

Yet following a comprised mission Hawke's character learns to question the objectives of his position in this war pushing away his family when he comes to terms with what constitutes a good kill.

The trailer marks the film out as a character driven piece taking a different slant on the war overseas by focusing on the torment it causes at home. Often soldiers or pilots are away from their loved ones, in Tom's case he goes home every night safely to his bed and his loving family, however the torment of war clouds his emotions and complicates matters such as is Tom creating more terrorists than killing them?

As Lt. Colonel Johns played by Bruce Greenwood states, 'Don't ask me if its a just war. For us its just war'.

With Hawke enjoying a hot streak following the critical acclaim of Boyhood, this allows Niccol to again bring a philosophical and intellectual slant on current affairs - with Gattaca it was about cloning and stem cell research, with the Truman Show it was about everyday celebrity and Big Brother. Niccol again seems to have struck the right note between entertainment and discussion.

Good Kill is out in UK cinemas on April 10th from Arrow Films

Public Enemies

Originally broadcast in January of this year on BBC One, the three part series which was transmitted on consecutive evenings was created by Tony Marchant, and starred Anna Friel (back from Hollywood) and the underrated Daniel Mays.

The story revolves around two people who are off the rails who are attempting to get back on track.  Probation officer, Paula Radnor (Friel) has an assailant under her supervision but who on release murders a young woman.  Under great scrutiny, Paula is suspended and pleads, 'as much as you want to, you can't hold their hand 24 hours a day.'

Three months later, she is given the case of Eddie Mottram (Mays) who is out 10 years after strangling his girlfriend , 'I am out, but I'm not free'.

The writer Marchant, has a penchant for writing gritty, hard-edged material that does make you realise you have not got it as bad as you might think.

The episodes have a real zip to them, conveying a lot of information without succumbing to needless histrionics. This is thanks in part to the formidable acting display by Mays, who is slowly coming to national prominence after being under the radar for so long.  Friel does what she can with a role that could have been unlikeable, and one written where she should not garner such sympathies, yet Friel is adept at being strong when her character is weak or put upon.

A really gripping and sustainable piece of British drama that is a competent mixture of acting, writing and befitting of the current social climate.

Public Enemies is released by BBC Films on DVD on Monday 30th April, and distributed by Arrow Films