Review: Knives Out (UK Cert 12A)

Renowned mystery writer Harlan Thrombey is found dead in his attic study. It looks like he's died by his own hand? But is that really what happened? Gentleman sleuth Benoit Blanc is hired by an unknown benefactor to investigate Harlan's death and finds that foul play has indeed been done. But who in the household would have murdered the old man? In traditional Agatha Christie style, more than one person had reason to want him dead. Blanc must utilise his skills to work out what really happened... 

Rian Johnson (Looper, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi) directs an all-star cast star- including Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, and Jamie Lee Curtis-  in a fitfully funny, cleverly plotted mystery that will have audiences talking long after the credits finish. 

When Johnson was editing the film, he tweeted out a series of movie posters which he was using as inspiration for Knives Out. These included the all-star Christie adaptations of the 1970s and 1980s (including Murder On The Orient Express, The Mirror Crack'd, and Death On The Nile) as well as comedy murder mysteries (Clue and Murder By Death) and period thrillers (Gosford Park). You can feel those influences throughout - the all-star cast, the trail of clues, cross-examinations in large rooms, the old overstuffed house- but Johnson puts his own spin on these, and on the tried-and-tested tropes of the genre. 

Performances are solid throughout. Daniel Craig affects a mellifluous Southern accent as gentleman detective Blanc, initially a taciturn presence with a mind as sharp as one of Harlan's many knives. He lays on the charm as he works through the case, ably assisted by two policemen: Lieutenant Elliott (LaKeith Stanfield) and Trooper Wagner (Noah Segan). Elliott is a traditional by-the-numbers cop, trying to get answers against Blanc's occasional flights of fancy. Wagner provides comedy relief as a star-struck nerd who fanboys over Harlan's works. The three performances work together very well.

Jamie Lee Curtis is tough and forthright as eldest child Linda, married to a shifty sod named Richard (a delightfully unctuous performance by Don Johnson), whilst there are laughs to be had by Toni Collette as a slightly airheaded lifestyle-guru-cum-influencer (imagine Gwyneth Paltrow and her Goop enterprise and you're not far off). Michael Shannon gives a wounded air of melancholy as Harlan's son Walt, publisher of his father's works. Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell play members of the younger generation of Thrombeys but their characters aren't particularly fleshed out, being more "types" than people (more on that in a moment). Seen almost exclusively in flashback, Plummer makes for a warm yet strict character (in the sense that, once his mind is made up, it isn't being changed) and it's interesting to see his interactions with various family members. 

Rounding off the cast nicely are Chris Evans as Harlan's playboy grandson Ransom (the polar opposite of Captain America), and Ana de Armas who plays Harlan's nurse Marta. Marta is recruited by Blanc to help with the investigation, as Marta has a rather unusual trait which Blanc describes as "a regurgitative reaction to mistruths". She is physically incapable of lying, because she vomits if she does. This comes into play a few times during the film, only once graphically, but it provides a darkly amusing counter to the cerebral workout that Blanc goes through to work out who the killer is. 

As a murder mystery, it's well plotted - the dripfeed of information, misinformation, red herrings, half-truths and downright lies comes at a good pace, and there's a couple of times where the rug is pulled out from under you as what you've seen (or, more accurately, what you THINK you've seen) proves to not be the case. It's not convoluted, it doesn't disappear up its own fundament, doesn't rely on cheap tricks or obfuscation, and doesn't rely on a massive leap of logic to solve it. I was impressed by that. I also didn't work out the solution, but the solution presented didn't feel wrong. There are some clever moments that, on a repeated viewing (thus knowing the solution), will have greater significance. 

One thing, however, that lets the film down for me slightly is the politics. Some sly bits of subtle commentary are interesting and work well (for instance, the Thrombeys claim Marta is "part of the family" but they don't seem to know which country her family's originally from: Cuba, Ecuador, and Paraguay are all mentioned) but some bits get a bit too on-the-nose. Langford's character Meg is described as attending a liberal arts college, so automatically gets called a "snowflake" at one point, whilst Martell's character Jacob is permanently attached for his phone and is described as an alt-right sympathiser and troll. All very pertinent in these polarised and divisive times. But on both of these cases, we're just told this rather than shown it. There's also a conversation between Richard and some of the others, re: Trump, which again feels a little unnecessary- Richard has already been shown to be an absolute raging douchebag so to drive that point home by having him espouse the usual Republican line about immigrants (and humiliating Marta into the bargain) felt a bit pointless to me. 

That's a minor niggle, and not enough to ruin the film for me. It's a well-cast, beautiful-looking film (kudos to the production designer, the art designer, the set decoration and the costume designer) and the central mystery is engaging and expertly-constructed. A fine whodunit, and a late addition to my Nice List for 2019. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez

Review: The Shape Of Water (UK Cert 15)

Garnering an impressive 13 Oscar nominations and numerous other awards, Guillermo del Toro's The Shape Of Water is a dark fairytale suffused with romance and menace. 

Elisa Esposito is a mute young woman who works as a cleaner at a secret research facility. One day, a new 'asset'- an amphibious humanoid- is brought to the facility and is subjected to brutal testing. Elisa starts to form a bond with the creature which sets the stage for a daring rescue attempt as Elisa and her friends must free the creature before it is vivisected. 

All of Guillermo del Toro's films are a bit weird (which might be a bit of an understatement). He utilises the tropes of horror and fantasy to create a mad nexus of styles within the stories he tells. The Shape Of Water is no exception to that. At its core, the film asks you to accept a romantic relationship between a woman and an amphibian. If you can't get behind this, then frankly this isn't the film for you. 

I was surprised at how explicit the film was; I wasn't expecting the level of nudity and sex that the film contains, and there's several instances of quite graphic violence which are shocking, and a few instances of body horror which are decidedly queasy. There's also a truly bizarre song-and-dance routine towards the end of the film which evokes the Fred Astaire-Cyd Charisse dance numbers- albeit with the amphibian man in Astaire's place. That said, by the time that happens in the film, there's been so much other weird stuff that's gone on that you really just go with it. 

Sally Hawkins is a revelation as Elisa, even more so because she doesn't speak- she uses ASL (American Sign Language) and she's either subtitled or another character interprets for her. You see every emotion pass across her face- anguish, rage, happiness- and her plea to her friend Giles to help her rescue the creature is one of the most powerful scenes of the film. It's a very different role from some of Hawkins' other film appearances, so if you've only ever seen her as Mrs Brown in the Paddington films, you might be in for a bit of a surprise.

Richard Jenkins (The Cabin In The Woods, The Visitor) plays Giles, Elisa's neighbour and friend, and provides a lovely counterpoint to Hawkins. An artist who works from home and shares Elisa's love for classic movies, he's also a gay man at a time when acceptance was in short supply- and a scene where he is brutally shot down by someone he fancies is heartbreaking. It's a warm and very endearing performance. Octavia Spencer shines in her supporting role as Zelda, Elisa's co-worker. She provides a lot of the humour- she's a no-nonsense woman who's quick with her opinion- which is a nice contrast to Elisa's silence. But she's also fiercely protective of Elisa and- even though she isn't initially involved in the rescue attempt- she stands by her friend.

There's also a nice supporting turn by Michael Stuhlbarg, as scientist Dr. Robert Hoffstetler, who arrives at the facility with the creature and wants to keep it alive- but for his own reasons. It's a fascinating performance and there's a neat twist to the character which is revealed fairly early on but which helps to inform later actions. Creature maestro Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrith, Hellboy) plays the amphibian man and he's brilliant, moving sinuously and emoting beneath the prosthetic make-up (which is just superb). 

But what's a fairytale without a monster in the dark to scare us? And, boy, does Michael Shannon deliver on this in spades. He plays the sadistic Franklin, a security agent brought in to oversee the creature. He's a thoroughly unlikeable character- arrogant, racist, sexist, predatory, and absolutely convinced of his own superiority. There's a perverse thrill in seeing him outwitted, especially by the very people he's denigrated. A sinister and intense performance. 

It's a beautiful-looking film, from the crammed cosiness of Giles' flat to the barely-used cinema beneath it and the spaces within the research facility. Alexandre Desplat's sublime score is otherworldly and ethereal and really fits the narrative well, and there's a good use of period music (such as 'I Know Why (And So Do You)' and 'You'll Never Know') to evoke the mood. 

I enjoyed The Shape Of Water and I liked it. It was just a bit much to take in on the first viewing. I think I need to see it again; now the surprises of the film are known to me, I think I'll enjoy it more. I can see why the awards bodies have embraced it, too.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Tez

The Shape Of Water is on general release from February 14 2018

Review: Loving (UK Cert 12A)

It's a surprising (and sobering) fact that interracial marriage has only been legal in the US for fifty years, following the Supreme Court's 1967 ruling in the case of Loving v Virginia, brought by an interracial couple- Richard and Mildred Loving- against their home state. Now, the story of the Lovings' marriage and their legal fight have been turned into a film, directed by Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter, Midnight Special).

Despite dealing with heavy themes and a very emotive subject, the film is gentle, thoughtful, restrained. There's barely a raised voice throughout. 

The lion's share of the praise for the film has come for the dignified performance of Ruth Negga as Mildred, whose lead performance gained the film's only Oscar nomination. There are times when she's fragile and times when she's forthright. There are no showy look-at-me histrionics, it's a very low-key and natural performance which is absolutely magnetic. Negga has a very expressive face and there are times when she doesn't say a word but you can see the emotions play across her face. This is a star-making role for an incredibly gifted actress. 

It is a shame that Joel Edgerton hasn't been praised more but his performance as Richard is just as strong as Negga's. Richard is a man of few words, a laconic, taciturn presence, but utterly devoted to his wife and children. In one of the most powerful moments, when the ACLU lawyer asks Richard if he has anything he wants the lawyer to tell the court, the response is simple: 'tell them I love my wife'.

As you may not be surprised to learn, because the focus is so much on the main couple, the other characters are not fleshed out as much. However, there's good support from Marton Csokas as the utterly deplorable police chief who arrests Richard and Mildred, Bill Camp as a sympathetic small-town lawyer who attempts to help them, and frequent Nicholls collaborator Michael Shannon in a nice cameo as Life Magazine photographer Grey Villet who helped to bring the Lovings' case to the public eye.

The film plays out against the civil rights marches and protests of the 1960s and the period detail, from the music to the cars, is spot-on and really helps to evoke the age. It's a quiet, well-made biopic about an important piece of American history.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez

Review: Nocturnal Animals (UK Cert 15)

Nocturnal Animals is the second film from fashion-designer-cum-director Tom Ford (after 2009's A Single Man)

Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) is a Los Angeles art gallery owner whose privileged surroundings are providing her little comfort as her marriage is breaking down and her husband is sleeping with another woman. She receives a manuscript of a novel called Nocturnal Animals, written by her ex-husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal) whom she cruelly mistreated then dumped. She begins to read the manuscript, a violent revenge thriller in which a young family are terrorised by a brutal gang of rednecks. 

Honestly, this film was one of the most pretentious piles of bilge I've had the misfortune of sitting through this year. Now, people who know me know I quite like films that certain people may describe as 'pretentious'. But this... this takes the cake. And then frames it badly on camera and gives it a lingering close-up to show how deep it really is. 

I don't know what's worse: the poor camerawork, the heavy-handed symbolism, the shoddy editing, the awkward and obvious juxtapositions or the facile script that has characters either spouting inane platitudes or fortune-cookie bon mots. The most egregious thing is A Single Man was a subtle, nuanced, occasionally very beautifully shot film. What happened? There's no subtlety here. No nuance. You are sledgehammered over the head with every piece of imagery- even down to casting Isla Fisher as Tony's wife Laura (because she looks so much like Amy Adams, don't you see? Isn't that clever?)- and, when you need to put a blatant jumpscare in to check whether your audience hasn't actually slipped into a coma, you're on shaky ground. Also, I have major issues with the opening which depicts several obese naked women doing a drum majorette routine in slow motion. Quite what is this supposed to mean? Is it a metaphor for the grotesque and soulless world of Los Angeles? If so, there are perhaps more appropriate and more tasteful ways to do it than to go down the route of fat-shaming. 

Performances are a mixed bag, to be fair. Amy Adams is an extremely talented actress that will undoubtedly win an Oscar one day, given the right role. And God love her, she's trying here. She's trying in earnest to turn this rotten sow's ear into a silk purse but there's only so much you can do with a script with the emotional depth of a stagnant puddle. Still, she tries to imbue Susan with some semblance of character which the script is sorely lacking. 

Gyllenhaal plays a dual role, as Edward and as Tony, the main character in the novel which is handily dramatised for our viewing... well, I'd usually say pleasure but in this case I'm gonna have to make an exception and say endurance. As Edward, he's sweet, naive, sensitive. As Tony, he's all of those things and then he isn't as the cruelty of the world breaks him. That is literally what this film is like. I'm really hoping one day Aaron Taylor-Johnson will look back on this film and cringe. Like I did, every time he was on screen. He's the leader of the redneck gang that intimidate Tony and his family and his performance is just dire. It is buttock-clenchingly, sphincter-tighteningly bad. He's about as intimidating as a wet paper bag and has clearly been directed to go for wide-eyed crazy as a default. 

However, there are some saving graces. Laura Linney is superb in her cameo role as Susan's ghastly, materialistic mother whilst there's a certain amount of gravitas to Michael Shannon's performance as Detective Bobby Andes, the taciturn and morally flexible lawman who helps Tony get some kind of justice for his family.  

I didn't enjoy the film. I found it boring, pretentious and convinced of its own worthiness. Am I wrong? Am I missing something? Seriously, if you watched Noctural Animals and liked it or enjoyed it or 'got' it, feel free to leave a comment below or drop us an e-mail and let me know what I'm missing. Because I genuinely couldn't see it. 

Frankly, if this is the best he can come up with, then might I respectfully suggest Tom Ford sticks to fashion design (which he knows a lot about and is very good at) rather than film-making. 

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Tez

Programme 32: Superman Special

The Watchers Film Show: Ep32 Superman Special from The Watchers Film Show on Vimeo.

The Watchers Superman Special is here!

In this programme, we take a look at the Superman movie franchise from Superman: The Motion Picture (1978) to Man Of Steel (2013), giving our thoughts on each classic instalment- and yes, that includes Superman Returns (2006)- and then turning our eyes onto Man Of Steel. But is it a worthy successor to the films that have gone before? You'll have to watch to find out.

Enjoy!