Paul Giamatti first came to prominence with his role as Bob Zmuda opposite Jim Carrey's Andy Kauffman in Man on the Moon; but I first noticed him in two very small roles. As Howard Stern's lamentable boss, Kenny, in Private Parts where he is all mouth but no bite and as a smoking bellboy in My Best Friend's Wedding who give Julia Robert's character some advice in a corridor. Both small roles and typically throwaway but there is something endearing and charming about Giamatti - the actor who gets that role as the schlub, the schmuck, the fat guy with his unique shape.
Barney's Version is directed by Richard J. Lewis, and based upon the novel by Mordecai Richler with a screenplay by Michael Konyves. The film stars Paul Giamatti as the synonymous Barney Panofsky, the unrepentant callous individual who despite being a somewhat drunk and acerbic in his intellect, is nevertheless irresistible to women. During the flashbacks that Barney has during the film's duration we see him with three desirable women, all whom marry him. The third and final wife, is in particular a saint, and he ultimately ruins his happiness with her and their life together. Ultimately, Barney's brain begins to slow down and he becomes a mere ghost in the world as his family and friends begin to shun him.
Giamatti pleasingly gets his teeth into the role, as we follow Barney from his bohemian musings in Rome in the late 70s and his first misguided marriage to Clara who he believes he made pregnant; to his second marriage to the Jewish princess played by Minnie Driver, like the novel (which saved its most acerbic comment for) is not granted a name. The sequences with Barney and this princess and her family are the most cynical of the literature and the hierarchy of Jewish stereotypes; the father in law looks down upon Barney's father, Izzy (played with aplomb by Dustin Hoffman) with disdain when he bemoans his lack of career progression saying stating maybe his lack of integrity when assaulting criminals might have served him better than focus on predjudices.
And yet, this film does have a unique heart. Barney meets his third and final wife, Miriam Grant (stunning Rosamund Pike) at the wedding of his second wife. He leaves his wedding and tracks her down saying run away with me, when cooler heads should prevail. Barney later calls Miriam as he is signing his divorce papers for a date a few years later, and on their first date he retches up all the whiskey he hoped would give him courage. Barney is an old romantic, and that is where the heart comes from, and once he and Miriam are married these are shown to be the best years of his life - two kids, success with his television production company (Unnecessary Productions - which gets a good pun) and respect from his peers.
The only cloud that hangs over him is the unsolved disappearance of his friend Boogie (Scott Speedman), who fell into the lake by his country house after an argument involving a gun. We are led to believe that Barney shot Boogie, and the unrelenting pursuit of a Detective O'Hearne (Mark Addy - yes that guy from the Tesco's adverts and The Full Monty) to prove Barney's guilt makes us believe that maybe Barney did do it.
These questions are lightly glossed over by the film's conclusion, which is a reflection on the at times whimsical screenplay and light direction, both of which are helped by a stunning central performance by Giamatti who is at times beguiling yet never less than charming. He is helped by Pike, who in a role that could easily be wafer thin on paper is elevated by her elegance and radiance she brings to the role; two tropes lacking in a lot of North American cinema lately.
It is important to note, that this is a Canadian production, and the film never over states that fact in the production unlike other films that may blare out the nationality of the piece, but the attention to period detail and set design puts some American productions to shame.
Barney's Version is for you if you like films similar to Mr.Holland's Opus that tells the story of someone through the decades and is helped by a powerhouse central performance by an under-rated performer, this is for you although it does include a little bit more swearing and sex than the Richard Dreyfuss film. And as to why Giamatti did not get a Leading Actor nomination from the Academy, well that is as tragic as Barney Parnofsky's life wants to be.
Paul Giamatti, is one of my favourite actors to come out of Hollywood in the last ten years. My favourite performance of his remains Miles in Sideways, a performance that wrongly was ignored by the Academy awards that year whilst his co-star Thomas Haden Church did get a nomination. This year Giamatti won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in Comedy, and rightly so, alas he was again ignored by the Academy for this performance, admittedly a good field of actors but should not it be time to give a guy his due.
Barney's Version (15) is released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 23rd May from Universal Pictures International Entertainment with a £19.99RRP (DVD) and £24.99(Blu-Ray). The bonus features include a special featurette.
Showing posts with label Criticism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Criticism. Show all posts
Friday, 20 May 2011
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
A Screaming Man
The acclaimed director of Daratt, Mahamat-Saleh returns with a telling meditation of an ageing African male that has a deftness and humanity within it, which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010.
Said screaming man is Adam (Youssouf Djaoro) who is a happy pool attendant at a fancy hotel in civil war Chad. Adam shares the duties of his job with his 20 year old son, Abdel (Diouc Koma), yet there are fears over the future of job security owing to the investment of Chinese money into the infrastructure of the hotel. Many workers fear for their job, one is David (Marius Yelolo), a chef who in the few scenes he shares with Adam gives wisdom and advice - upon hearing the unwanted news, David says to Adam, 'the problem is we put our fate in the hands of God'.
After this news, Adam is told he has been demoted to the role of gatekeeper of the hotel - the man who must raise and lower the barrier for cars and other motor vehicles - whilst Abdel has been given sole responsibility of the pool. Hence, Adam feels embarrassed and devalued as a man as well as a trusted worker. His role as moneywinner is further but into question by the demands of a local district chief who keeps pestering him for money to help with the war effort. (It should be noted that there is never any mention or reason given as to why Adam keeps saying he is broke and cannot pay.) Yet the conversations with the chief lead to Adam making a decision that will lead to a terrible act of betrayal.
Haroun has a real assuredness behind the camera - he cleverly shows a difference between the workplace environment and the home environment; one is vibrant, the other is still - but he does this without going to lengths of changing the tone or colour of the palette, instead relying upon the performances of his actors who are front and centre. A good scene at the start shows Adam with his wife, Mariam, as they eat food together you feel the warmth of their love, but in the background is a television with news of the civil war ongoing. The scene tells you two things; the personality of Adam is enhanced as a loving husband and provider, nevertheless the civil war intrudes upon their sanctuary, as it will do later on with more tragic consequences.
The script, also written by Haroun, asks questions about duty (to work, to family, to your country), the idea of loyalty to the same factors and the father and son dynamic (an ongoing trope of Haroun's previous work). Adam is jealous of Abdel as much for his youth as for being selected for the job of pool attendant; but once Abdel's pregnant girlfriend, Djeneba (Djeneba Kone) appears this affection for his son is reassessed leading to the final act of the film.
This conclusion of the film - whilst an eventual part of the narrative - is handled deftly offering the chance of reconciliation with a distinctness and deftness you rarely see, giving ample opportunity to his DoP, Laurent Brunet to shoot some wonderful landscapes of the Chadian landscape.
Djaoro as Adam gives a strong central performance as he morphs from the the life and soul of the hotel to an aged man broken by promises and his own selfish acts. At the end a screaming man (because if the title of the film was 'The Screaming Man' it would lose that universal feel), wonders the plains and wading in the river. But he wonders around in the best African film since Moolaade.
A Screaming Man is released on Friday 13th May by Soda Pictures.
Click on the title of the film to watch a trailer.
Said screaming man is Adam (Youssouf Djaoro) who is a happy pool attendant at a fancy hotel in civil war Chad. Adam shares the duties of his job with his 20 year old son, Abdel (Diouc Koma), yet there are fears over the future of job security owing to the investment of Chinese money into the infrastructure of the hotel. Many workers fear for their job, one is David (Marius Yelolo), a chef who in the few scenes he shares with Adam gives wisdom and advice - upon hearing the unwanted news, David says to Adam, 'the problem is we put our fate in the hands of God'.
After this news, Adam is told he has been demoted to the role of gatekeeper of the hotel - the man who must raise and lower the barrier for cars and other motor vehicles - whilst Abdel has been given sole responsibility of the pool. Hence, Adam feels embarrassed and devalued as a man as well as a trusted worker. His role as moneywinner is further but into question by the demands of a local district chief who keeps pestering him for money to help with the war effort. (It should be noted that there is never any mention or reason given as to why Adam keeps saying he is broke and cannot pay.) Yet the conversations with the chief lead to Adam making a decision that will lead to a terrible act of betrayal.
Haroun has a real assuredness behind the camera - he cleverly shows a difference between the workplace environment and the home environment; one is vibrant, the other is still - but he does this without going to lengths of changing the tone or colour of the palette, instead relying upon the performances of his actors who are front and centre. A good scene at the start shows Adam with his wife, Mariam, as they eat food together you feel the warmth of their love, but in the background is a television with news of the civil war ongoing. The scene tells you two things; the personality of Adam is enhanced as a loving husband and provider, nevertheless the civil war intrudes upon their sanctuary, as it will do later on with more tragic consequences.
The script, also written by Haroun, asks questions about duty (to work, to family, to your country), the idea of loyalty to the same factors and the father and son dynamic (an ongoing trope of Haroun's previous work). Adam is jealous of Abdel as much for his youth as for being selected for the job of pool attendant; but once Abdel's pregnant girlfriend, Djeneba (Djeneba Kone) appears this affection for his son is reassessed leading to the final act of the film.
This conclusion of the film - whilst an eventual part of the narrative - is handled deftly offering the chance of reconciliation with a distinctness and deftness you rarely see, giving ample opportunity to his DoP, Laurent Brunet to shoot some wonderful landscapes of the Chadian landscape.
Djaoro as Adam gives a strong central performance as he morphs from the the life and soul of the hotel to an aged man broken by promises and his own selfish acts. At the end a screaming man (because if the title of the film was 'The Screaming Man' it would lose that universal feel), wonders the plains and wading in the river. But he wonders around in the best African film since Moolaade.
A Screaming Man is released on Friday 13th May by Soda Pictures.
Click on the title of the film to watch a trailer.
Friday, 6 May 2011
Submarine - Review
Richard Ayoade, who came to prominence by performing with relish in the Channel 4 sitcom, The IT Crowd, also did a side bit of directing music videos, primarily for the English indie band, The Arctic Monkeys, even directing their only live DVD, as well as Alex Turner's (lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys) side project, The Last Shadow Puppets. Submarine, is his feature debut as both writer and director, adapting the novel by Joe Dunthorne.
The novel follows the erstwhile Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), as he comes across first love for the first time with the equally tenacious Jordana Baker (Yasemin Paige), whilst trying to keep his parents marriage together. This juxtaposition of young love with the dwindling of the adult relationship is a clever trick of Ayoade's adaptation.
The script includes numerous callbacks throughout - Oliver mentions how he reads the dictionary looking for obscure word of the day's and then when his father, Lloyd (Noah Taylor) uses an obscure word (in this case, atavistic) it prompts him to look it up. Oliver is the type of young male who uses words like schism to explain the current obstacle affecting his parents relationship; and the constant referring to the depth of the ocean (six miles) which is brought up initially and then recalled on two more occassions later in the film.
The work that Ayoade most resembles is that of Wes Anderson - this film and Anderson's are quirky, literate (the film is presented with three parts as well as a prologue and epilogue) and perhaps a bit too clever for itself, yet is not ashamed to use big displays of public emotion, which ultimately leaves the characters flummoxed. Another trait they share is that all the characters know a character better than themselves; after their first intercourse, Jordana tells Oliver, 'Don't get cocky', the formal warning of the phrase serves as an intuitive part of Jordana in forewarning how this may affect Oliver when he gets to 38 years of age, as he fears for a moment.
The period detail of the mid to late 1980s is immaculately rendered and yet the film could have been located in any post World War 2 period due to the universal themes - first love, bullying, infidelity, the fear of a broken home and cynicism of other belief systems. Yet Ayoade is able to inject nice typically British quirks on the school theme and the usual close conversation between concerned teacher and timid student. As Oliver is talking to the teacher about his fears, a middle shot is set up with them at the forefront backing onto a window onto the playground, and behind them students jump up and down mocking the serious situation whilst gesticulating for all to see, whilst the two people indoors are oblivious to it all.
All the actors on display are brilliant; Taylor and Sally Hawkins as Oliver's unhappy parents are both given key scenes to show off (especially Hawkins when she talks to Oliver in bed, and it ends up her worrying he might be gay), Paddy Considine hams it up as next door neighbour-mystic Graham, with an awful Pat Sharp mullet. However, the deepest admiration should be reserved for the two newcomers, both are brilliant yet when they are together is when there is a real spark - never more apparent than in the wordless finale at the water's edge; they merely look at each other to say it all.
The songs by Alex Turner, a key feature of the poster campaign, are a bit wistful at times and not inspiring as they should be for a film, which may rely on them more in another context. In spite of that flaw, Ayoade is helped by his DoP, Erik Wilson (who also worked on the forthcoming Tyranosaur directed by Paddy Considine) who lends a vibrancy to proceedings.
This film was part funded by the UK Film Council and the National Lottery, a travesty that that body has folded when something as rich and fulfiling as this shows that there is genuine talent in the British Isles when it comes to film-making.
The novel follows the erstwhile Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), as he comes across first love for the first time with the equally tenacious Jordana Baker (Yasemin Paige), whilst trying to keep his parents marriage together. This juxtaposition of young love with the dwindling of the adult relationship is a clever trick of Ayoade's adaptation.
The script includes numerous callbacks throughout - Oliver mentions how he reads the dictionary looking for obscure word of the day's and then when his father, Lloyd (Noah Taylor) uses an obscure word (in this case, atavistic) it prompts him to look it up. Oliver is the type of young male who uses words like schism to explain the current obstacle affecting his parents relationship; and the constant referring to the depth of the ocean (six miles) which is brought up initially and then recalled on two more occassions later in the film.
The work that Ayoade most resembles is that of Wes Anderson - this film and Anderson's are quirky, literate (the film is presented with three parts as well as a prologue and epilogue) and perhaps a bit too clever for itself, yet is not ashamed to use big displays of public emotion, which ultimately leaves the characters flummoxed. Another trait they share is that all the characters know a character better than themselves; after their first intercourse, Jordana tells Oliver, 'Don't get cocky', the formal warning of the phrase serves as an intuitive part of Jordana in forewarning how this may affect Oliver when he gets to 38 years of age, as he fears for a moment.
The period detail of the mid to late 1980s is immaculately rendered and yet the film could have been located in any post World War 2 period due to the universal themes - first love, bullying, infidelity, the fear of a broken home and cynicism of other belief systems. Yet Ayoade is able to inject nice typically British quirks on the school theme and the usual close conversation between concerned teacher and timid student. As Oliver is talking to the teacher about his fears, a middle shot is set up with them at the forefront backing onto a window onto the playground, and behind them students jump up and down mocking the serious situation whilst gesticulating for all to see, whilst the two people indoors are oblivious to it all.
All the actors on display are brilliant; Taylor and Sally Hawkins as Oliver's unhappy parents are both given key scenes to show off (especially Hawkins when she talks to Oliver in bed, and it ends up her worrying he might be gay), Paddy Considine hams it up as next door neighbour-mystic Graham, with an awful Pat Sharp mullet. However, the deepest admiration should be reserved for the two newcomers, both are brilliant yet when they are together is when there is a real spark - never more apparent than in the wordless finale at the water's edge; they merely look at each other to say it all.
The songs by Alex Turner, a key feature of the poster campaign, are a bit wistful at times and not inspiring as they should be for a film, which may rely on them more in another context. In spite of that flaw, Ayoade is helped by his DoP, Erik Wilson (who also worked on the forthcoming Tyranosaur directed by Paddy Considine) who lends a vibrancy to proceedings.
This film was part funded by the UK Film Council and the National Lottery, a travesty that that body has folded when something as rich and fulfiling as this shows that there is genuine talent in the British Isles when it comes to film-making.
Monday, 2 May 2011
Ballast DVD review
The debut feature from Lance Hammer finally reaches the UK screens, and this is the DVD release of the film that graced selected scenes in April. The film took 3 years to reach our shores after it won major prizes - Directing and Cinematography - in 2008, and also major critical reaction from cineastes in America, including Roger Ebert.
Ballast is a gritty evocation of life on the Mississippi Delta, as three people encounter tragedy and the weight of it that befalls them.
Three black people encounter each other. Lawrence (Michael J.Smith) is paralyzed with grief after the death of his twin brother. Twelve year old James (JimMyron Ross), comes under the wings of terrible youths with unfortunate results, whilst his mother Marlee (Tarra Riggs) is unbeknowst of his behaviour. When violence erupts in the life of the mother and son, they flee in the night and safe harbor is on Lawrence's door step. This then rekindles a bitter longstanding conflict between Lawrence and Marlee, who was once married to Lawrence's twin; whilst James has robbed Lawrence to try and pay off the youths who have attacked him.
Director Lance Hammer, graduated as an architect and with the British cinematographer Lol Crawley (Four Lions), has created a film of real humanity where race does not enter the equation. If this was a film depicting white people, there maybe a possibility of sentimentality or happy endings, but on this occasion, the non-professional actors provide the neorealism and independent feel of a film unlike anything seen before in American cinema.
Credit to the actors for taking us on this emotional rollercoaster, but the true credit belongs to the writer-director Hammer who shows a real command of proceedings which is genuine and surprising for a feature debut.
The DVD is released by Axiom Films, is certificate 15 and a running time of 93mins. The DVD features a 'Ballast Scene Development', a featurette that runs 36mins, also an exclusive limited edition booklet, theatrical trailer and English HOH (Hard of Hearing) subtitles.
The DVD is out now and is £15.99RRP
Ballast is a gritty evocation of life on the Mississippi Delta, as three people encounter tragedy and the weight of it that befalls them.
Three black people encounter each other. Lawrence (Michael J.Smith) is paralyzed with grief after the death of his twin brother. Twelve year old James (JimMyron Ross), comes under the wings of terrible youths with unfortunate results, whilst his mother Marlee (Tarra Riggs) is unbeknowst of his behaviour. When violence erupts in the life of the mother and son, they flee in the night and safe harbor is on Lawrence's door step. This then rekindles a bitter longstanding conflict between Lawrence and Marlee, who was once married to Lawrence's twin; whilst James has robbed Lawrence to try and pay off the youths who have attacked him.
Director Lance Hammer, graduated as an architect and with the British cinematographer Lol Crawley (Four Lions), has created a film of real humanity where race does not enter the equation. If this was a film depicting white people, there maybe a possibility of sentimentality or happy endings, but on this occasion, the non-professional actors provide the neorealism and independent feel of a film unlike anything seen before in American cinema.
Credit to the actors for taking us on this emotional rollercoaster, but the true credit belongs to the writer-director Hammer who shows a real command of proceedings which is genuine and surprising for a feature debut.
The DVD is released by Axiom Films, is certificate 15 and a running time of 93mins. The DVD features a 'Ballast Scene Development', a featurette that runs 36mins, also an exclusive limited edition booklet, theatrical trailer and English HOH (Hard of Hearing) subtitles.
The DVD is out now and is £15.99RRP
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