Review: Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool (UK Cert 15)

Actress Gloria Grahame was a big star in the 1940s and 1950s. Appearing in such films as It's A Wonderful Life, The Big Heat, and Oklahoma! and sharing the screen with the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford, and Charlton Heston, she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in The Bad And The Beautiful. Later in life, she focused more on stage work. Whilst in London in the late 1970s, she met a young actor called Peter Turner and the two quickly fell into a relationship. When Gloria became ill, she felt that she could recover in Liverpool and stayed with Peter and his parents. This amazing stranger-than-fiction true story formed the basis of Peter's memoir, Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool, which has now been adapted for film. 

Directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin, Push) from a screenplay by Matt Greenhalgh, the film stars Annette Bening as Gloria and Jamie Bell as Peter. 

Bening is superb as Grahame. A fesity, flirty, firecracker of a woman, unashamed of her past and embracing her future. She isn't a Norma Desmond figure, living for past glories. She's a working actress, doing what she can. It's a livewire performance and one of Bening's best. The film uses footage from Grahame's films and publicity photos, but refreshingly they don't do the usual trick of superimposing Bening-as-Grahame in the original's place (as the film focuses on Grahame towards the end of her life, it would seem strange for them to do that).There's a beautiful poignancy to the final scenes, as Gloria bows to the inevitable, and she and Peter share a heart-rending scene on the stage of the Liverpool Playhouse. A truly wonderful central performance. 

Matching her in intensity and brio is Bell as her younger lover. A working-class lad from Liverpool, he's made his way as an actor (although with no great success). He meets Gloria in London and eventually gets swept up in her world; one that's a thousand miles away from what he's used to. I love that he's rough round the edges (but is never treated as Gloria's 'bit of rough'). Also good is that Peter never exploits Gloria's fame or reputation to further himself; he genuinely seems to love her for who she is (indeed, he seems shocked when the barman tells him that Gloria once won an Oscar). It's a strong performance by Bell who has firmly put Billy Elliot behind him- although it's lovely to see him dancing round Gloria's room at the start. 

Supporting roles are well filled, with Julie Walters as reliably brilliant as ever as Peter's mum Bella. What could have been a stereotypical Scouse ma, fretting over ever detail, is elevated by Walters' wonderfully nuanced performance. Kenneth Cranham is great as Peter's dad Joe, whilst Stephen Graham rounds out the family unit nicely as Peter's brother. Vanessa Redgrave gets a great scene as Gloria's mother whilst Frances Barber is nicely venomous as Gloria's catty sister Joy, who casually lays out over dinner that Gloria's fourth husband was her stepson from her second marriage (which caused a real-life scandal in the 1960s).

The script is fairly solid although there are several instances that are mentioned that it would have been nice to see dramatised- the shopping trip to get Gloria's 'ruby red slippers', or seeing Gloria in the Turners' kitchen making a bacon butty, for example. Also, the script is non-linear- it starts with Gloria's collapse in Leicester as she prepares to go on stage in The Glass Menagerie and then bounces around both time and location- from London to Los Angeles, New York to Liverpool- to tell the story of Gloria and Peter's relationship. In itself this isn't necessarily an issue but sometimes the bridging between flashbacks is a bit clunky- opening a door in the present to find you're in the past. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. 

Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool should appeal to fans of classic cinema as it tells a compelling and (I'm assuming) not widely known story. A fine ensemble cast give some of the strongest performances I've seen on film this year. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez

Murder On The Orient Express (1974)

Last week, the first trailer for the new version of Murder On The Orient Express was released. Directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot, the cast also includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, and Johnny Depp. 

However, it is not the first film adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel. There was a version released in 1974, directed by Sidney Lumet, which was the first of the all-star Christie adaptations of the 1970s and 1980s.

December 1935. The famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is travelling from Istanbul to England aboard the Orient Express. He is berthed in the Calais coach and is approached by an American businessman, Samuel Ratchett, to provide protection for him; Ratchett has been receiving death threats. Poirot turns the offer down. Later that night, the train is stuck in a snowdrift whilst travelling through Yugoslavia. The following morning, Ratchett is found dead, stabbed to death multiple times during the night.

But who did it? Was it the American widow? The Swedish missionary? Could it have been the Russian princess, or her faithful ladies' maid? How about Ratchett's secretary, or the English teacher? The Scottish soldier or the French conductor? The American businessman or the Italian car salesman? Maybe it was the Hungarian count or his wife? Or- in the best traditions of crime novels- did the butler do it? 

With so many suspects and only a short amount of time before the Yugoslav authorities arrive, Poirot must follow the clues, interview the suspects, exercise his little grey cells and find out who the killer is...

The suspects - but whodunnit?

Christie's novel was originally published in 1934 and is one of her most famous, as much for the solution to the murder as the story itself. It makes the most of its enclosed setting, has some interesting red herrings and is a masterpiece of plotting. Paul Dehn's screenplay (with uncredited work by Anthony Shaffer) maintains this intricacy.

Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot

Albert Finney plays Poirot here, the first and (so far) only time he's played the role. His performance is very different from that of Peter Ustinov or David Suchet; Finney seems to play up the bon vivant side to Poirot's nature and there seems very little of the moral dilemma which Poirot finds himself in at the end of the story (although that could be a scripting issue). Considering Finney wasn't the first choice to play Poirot- the role was originally offered first to Alec Guinness and then to Paul Scofield, both of whom were unavailable- he gives a strong performance throughout, especially during the summation where he reveals the identity of the murderer. Finney was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role, although lost to Art Carney for Harry And Tonto.

Lauren Bacall as Mrs Hubbard

The rest of the cast are superb, with particular stand-out performances by Lauren Bacall as the garrulous widow Mrs Hubbard, John Gielgud who puts in a stiff upper lip as Ratchett's valet Beddoes, and Anthony Perkins as the nervous secretary Hector McQueen. There's a lovely turn by Vanessa Redgrave as teacher Mary Debenham, who coolly responds to Poirot's questioning, and Sean Connery is strong as the taciturn Colonel Arbuthnot. Ingrid Bergman gives a nice performance as the slightly scatty missionary Greta Ohlsson, while Wendy Hiller and Rachel Roberts make a formidable duo as the Princess Dragomiroff and her maid Hildegarde Schmidt. Michael York and Jacqueline Bisset round off the main cast nicely as the fiery Count Andrenyi and the quiet Countess, whilst Richard Widmark gives an air of oily charm as the doomed Ratchett.

Murder On The Orient Express was nominated for six Oscars (including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score), winning one: Best Supporting Actress for Ingrid Bergman. Bergman also won the Best Supporting Actress BAFTA for her role, whilst John Gielgud won the Best Supporting Actor BAFTA.

Ingrid Bergman with her Best Supporting Actress Oscar

Agatha Christie had been reportedly unimpressed by previous attempts to adapt her novels- there had been a few adaptations of And Then There Were None, the Margaret Rutherford Miss Marple films, and The Alphabet Murders with Tony Randall as Poirot- and she had initially refused to sell the film rights to any more of her novels. She was persuaded by Nat Coleman (chairman of EMI) and Lord Louis Mountbatten (father-in-law of producer John Brabourne) to allow them to film Murder On The Orient Express.

Christie attended the premiere in November 1974 (on what would be her final public appearance before her death in January 1976) and it was the only film adaptation released in her lifetime that she was completely satisfied with. She particularly liked Finney's performance as Poirot, saying it came closest to her idea of the Belgian detective- although she did say that she was a little disappointed with the moustache! (I wonder what she'd make of Branagh's comedy walrus moustache in this new version!)

Dame Agatha Christie meets Queen Elizabeth II at the Murder On The Orient Express premiere

So if you need a recommendation to see this film, you can do worse than the author's own seal of approval. It's a classy, elegant adaptation of a superb novel and expertly acted by a stellar cast. Branagh's got some way to go to match the excellence of this film.

Tez

Review: Foxcatcher (UK Cert 15)

Wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and his older brother David (Mark Ruffalo) both won gold medals at the 1984 Olympics. In 1987, Mark is invited to the home of millionaire philanthropist John E. du Pont (Steve Carell), who wants Mark and David to join his private wrestling team with a view to training for the world championships and even the 1988 Olympics. Mark agrees, but David refuses as he doesn't wish to uproot his wife and young family. Mark's decision to go underneath du Pont's wing have far-reaching and ultimately tragic repercussions for the Schultz family.

Director Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball) has created a thoughful, absorbing, quiet character drama with a trio of strong central performances. 

Steve Carell's performance as du Pont is little short of breathtaking. It's a very unshowy, understated performance, unlike anything I've seen him give before. du Pont is a loner, an eccentric, a man in desperate desire for validation, he wants respect and wants to be liked. He has the money to do what he pleases and thinks people can just be bought. You can't help but sympathise with him initially, before the obsessional nature comes out. I don't necessarily buy into the homoerotic angle some reviewers have seen in the relationship between du Pont and Mark- I see it more as that between master and servant (or, more accurately, owner and property). Whilst Carell is undoubtedly a brilliant comic actor, Foxcatcher proves he's got some real dramatic acting chops too. 

Channing Tatum gives a decent performance as Mark. Physically imposing but also emotionally damaged, he finds a father figure in du Pont which causes some tension and estrangement with his brother (who was de facto father). You don't often get to see what's going on behind Mark's eyes, there's little development or exposition which is something of an issue. Mark Ruffalo is great as David, a caring and kind family man, always on the look-out for his little brother and there throughout it all, despite some less-than-brotherly behaviour from Mark. This is a performance without a shred of ego to it and he's rightfully garnered a lot of awards praise for it. 

Outside of the central trio, there are two other performances of note. Sienna Miller was unrecognisable in her role as David's wife Nancy, to the point where I only recognised her from her name in the end credits. She didn't have much to do but was a great foil to Ruffalo. Similarly, Vanessa Redgrave- a woman who could beguile by reading the phone book- has a great cameo as du Pont's domineering and disapproving mother Jean. She only has a handful of scenes, but the pivotal one where she calls wrestling 'low' is an absolute highlight. 

The real Mark Schultz went on a Twitter rant slamming certain aspects of the film recently. This is based on a true story. The operative word there being 'based'. It's not a documentary. Certain things have been changed to fulfil a dramatic need. What you do have is a strong, well-made film telling a gripping story and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez

Review: The Butler (UK Cert 12A)

On paper The Butler- or Lee Daniels' The Butler, as we're supposed to call it, thanks to some petty wrangling by Warner Bros because they own the rights to a 1916 silent film of the same name- should have 'Oscar-bait' written through it like a stick of Blackpool rock. Based on a true story, it's historical, it's got a veritable host of amazing actors, it's a very worthy drama... it should tick all the boxes. Yet it didn't pick up a single Oscar nomination back in January and has only had scant major awards recognition in general (SAG and BAFTA notwithstanding) 

The Butler tells the story of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), who went from sharecropper's son in Georgia to the maitre d' of the White House. Serving all American presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan, Gaines is placed at the heart of American politics while events such as the civil rights movement, Vietnam and anti-apartheid are discussed. It's very loosely based on the life of Eugene Allen, who served as a White House butler for thirty years, but I can't help but feel that a straight-up documentary about Allen's extraordinary life would have been better than this muddled, sprawling mess. 

A lot- and I do mean, a lot- of dramatic license has been used to create the storyline for this film. Screenwriter Danny Strong has thrown so much into the pot that, at times, it loses focus. At times, it feels like two films that have been inexpertly edited together- the Gaines' family drama and the upstairs-downstairs drama of the White House. Of the two, the latter is more successful and more engaging, seeing Gaines (albeit on the periphery) as American history is being made and changed. I can understand the desire to reflect the societal changes on a more personal level but it's not always successful. When the spotlight is on Gaines' family life, it feels like kitchen-sink melodrama- especially as it contrives for one of Gaines' sons to be involved in the Black Panther movement and the other to go to Vietnam, as well as giving him a wife with an alcohol addiction. The tension between Gaines- as part of the Establishment- and his firebrand son Louis is an interesting one and one played well by Whitaker and David Oyelowo but it does tend to overbalance into polemic on occasion. Oprah Winfrey is on good form as Gaines' wife Gloria but the mounting issues she has to deal with- drinking problems, the temptation of an affair- come straight from a soap-opera which really undercuts things. I also felt the opening scenes- set on a cotton plantation in the 1920s and featuring implied sexual assault and then very definitely unimplied murder- felt out of place, almost as if they'd been tacked on from a different movie.

Performances are solid throughout, with some being quite exceptional. Whitaker's stoic, dignified and humble central turn is one such performance- without such an empathetic central character, the film would suffer more than it does. There are good performances (albeit glorified cameos) from Robin Williams, Richard Nixon and Alan Rickman as Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan respectively. Other presidents served by Gaines- Ford and Carter- appear only in archive footage in what feels like a quick rush towards the finish line. 

The Butler has an intriguing and interesting story at its heart but the end result is muddy, unbalanced and scattered. It had the potential to be a great film; it's just a merely good one. 

However, I would suggest to anyone interested in the story of The Butler to read The Washington Post article it's based on - A Butler Well Served By This Election by Wil Haygood- and the Independent's obituary of Eugene Allen, who passed away in 2010.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Tez

Review: Coriolanus (UK cert 15)

If you asked most Shakespeare fans to name the Bard’s plays, it would be a rare occurrence for someone to name Coriolanus first. It’s arguably one of his lesser-known plays, written around 1608. It’s quite a tricky play and this is the first big-screen adaptation of it, directed by Ralph Fiennes (who not only makes his directorial debut but also plays the eponymous character).

The setting of the play has been changed from Ancient Rome to a modern Balkanised warzone, which ‘calls itself Rome’. Caius Martius (Fiennes) is a soldier for Rome, whose mortal enemy is the Volscian general Aufidius (Gerard Butler). After a particularly crushing defeat of the Volsces at the town of Corioles, Martius is lauded and given the name ‘Coriolanus’. When Coriolanus is asked to run for the Senate, his contempt for the hoi-polloi leads the public tribunes to denounce him as a traitor and have him banished. Coriolanus then tracks down Aufidius and offers himself as a soldier to the Volsces to bring Rome down…

It’s a powerful portrayal of the downfall of a great soldier, directed with some real visual flair by Fiennes (especially with the very visceral battle scenes especially, played without music so you hear every grunt, groan, stab and shot). The quieter scenes are no less powerful, as Fiennes allows the characterisation to grow surrounded by an eclectic but powerful cast.

I was as surprised to learn that Gerard Butler was doing Shakespeare as I was when he was cast as the Phantom of the Opera. Luckily, Butler can speak Shakespearean verse better than he can sing and provides a decent foil for Fiennes in their scenes together. Jessica Chastain rounds off a year of amazing supporting roles by playing the slightly thankless role of Virgilia, Coriolanus’ wife. She only has a few scenes but plays them well- starting as an anxious figure awaiting his return but growing in confidence throughout, to the point where she attacks the public tribunes who banished her husband.

John Kani and Brian Cox appear as Coriolanus’ comrades and friends, both of whom deal with Shakespearean verse as if it were second nature to them. There are two lovely performances by James Nesbitt and Paul Jesson as the public tribunes whose sly, wheedling, snake-in-the-grass politicking gets Coriolanus banished. To round the cast off, giving one of the strongest supporting performances I’ve seen this year to date, is the utterly brilliant Vanessa Redgrave. Every scene she’s in is so riveting and she speaks the verse so fluently that it’s a joy to behold. Volumnia is one of those great but oft-overlooked roles in the Shakespearean canon and Redgrave grabs it by both hands, never more so in the final scene where Volumnia goes to Coriolanus, now allied with the Volsces, to plead for Rome.

Updating Shakespeare to modern times is nothing new (you can thank/blame Baz Luhrmann for that) but there is something interesting at play to see what would have been messengers and soothsayers represented by scrolling 24-hour news. Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow pops up in a few places to deliver the dread news of banishment or victory. When Coriolanus meets the public, many of them have mobile phones recording the encounter; similarly, the public meeting where Coriolanus is denounced is done in a television studio. Bizarrely, none of this seems out of place, given the setting and isn’t overly intrusive.

This isn’t going to be for everyone. Coriolanus is an intense play and the transition to film hasn’t softened it. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare and haven’t seen or read this play, it’s an accessible and well-made film full of stand-out performances. Personally, I enjoyed it very much but I can appreciate it may have a rather niche audience.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Tez