Rush - Review

With a busy screening in East London full of veteran cinema-goers, Cineworld offered their Unlimited card holders a preview screening of Ron Howard's latest feature, Rush. Although some minor technical difficulties (we were shown the first five minutes of You're Next before the technical crew realised their mistake), the crowd was alive with excitement for what could possibly be the film of the year, and we were not let down one bit.

Rush tells of the rivalry and personal feuds between two racing drivers in the '70s, James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Their lives on the race track and behind the spotlight are portrayed so magnificently by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl in this biographical drama that hits screens in the UK on the 13th September. 

Speaking of the actors, the performances given by Hemsworth and Bruhl were absolutely phenomenal, their characters and the lives they lead were so unbelievably captivating, the film raced by (no pun intended) with the performances being the leading factor in how well the film flowed and how beautifully received the twists and turns of the plot were. If Oscar nominations are not given for the acting in this film, I will have no words on the Academy's ridiculous decisions, with the best acting I have seen in a long, long time, I felt a genuine connection and involvement in the character's lives and it was brilliant.

My one fear going into this film was that the emphasis on the racing element would be too strong and would draw away from the characters and other aspects of the film, however my fears were put aside instantly, with the racing scenes never dragging on at all, the less dramatic races were shown for a couple of seconds and only the races that were crucial to the plot and character development were shown, making watching a lengthy racing scene all that more tense due to the knowledge that something is going to happen. Cinematography was strongly considered and after effects used in order to make the races an experience for the audience as much as the characters, the competitions were a break from all of the drama surrounding the other scenes, yet still held interest into the outcome of the characters and their situations. 

The film transcends any words that any critic or fan can label it with, standing out as the film event of the year so far for me, I have no doubt that this is a high point not only in Hemsworth and Bruhl's careers, but also for Ron Howard. Once a director makes a brilliantly received film (such as Howard's The Da Vinci Code) they are often known as the director who made that one film that one time. Yet with Rush, I feel Howard has proved his worth in the filmmaking business and stomped on the heads of critics of the film. This film is truly moving, outstandingly beautiful and so beautiful to watch. Don't miss out on this film.

Half Nelson - Review

"One thing doesn't make a man."
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a teacher at a high school in inner city New York. He is also a man struggling with a crack addiction. Half Nelson explores the two extremely separate lives this broken man lives, and the consequences of those lives meeting when one of his students finds out about his addiction and an unlikely friendship develops between the two characters.

The most immediate point of conversation regarding this film is Ryan Gosling's Academy Award nominated performance. From scenes where his character is teaching history to his class to ones of him lying on a bathroom floor after smoking too much crack, we never forget that the character we are following is fragile and in need of help. Living a predominantly solitary life, a lot of the acting comes not in the form of dialogue but in movements and subtle expressions, when watching Gosling's performance, one would never have guessed he was the same actor as the happy go lucky character we see in Crazy, Stupid, Love or the youthful and romantic portrayal he gave us in The Notebook. Dunne's choices and unawareness of the harm he is bringing to the children he cares so much about through his supporting of local drug dealers is infuriating to watch, the film presents drug addiction so poignantly as a character flaw, not as something that defines a character, and the anger that is stirred in the viewer regarding Dunne's lack of ability to look past the positive effects of his addiction is accompanied by a deep, most sincere sympathy. This film is without a doubt one of the most thought provoking and emotion-inducing independent films I have watched in a long time.

The film is a debut from director Ryan Fleck, and the haunting themes it deals with so effortlessly are moving to the point of tears at times. Fleck fired himself head-on into the independent film scene, proving himself to be a more than capable director and screenwriter and the combination of such well written characters with detailed backgrounds and the interesting shooting style (natural looking lighting, hand held shots - reminding me of Dog Day Afternoon), the film screams realism at the viewer, allowing a much deeper and more believable engagement with both the characters and the plot. The film was a roaring success when it circulated the 2006 film festivals and quite rightly so, showing that you don't need masses of experience in order to make a film that blows people away, Half Nelson is a treasure, one that will keep its sentimentality for years to come and should not be passed up on watching.

Annie Hall Review

Annie Hall is often considered to be Woodie Allen's best work. It revolves around the rocky relationship between Alvy Hall, played by Allen, and Annie Hall, played by Diane Keaton. We see the couple live their day to day life in New York, take a trip to Los Angeles and... not much else, really.

It appears to me that the film was missing a plot. The film feels like a collection of home videos thrown together in chronological order, and although interesting to watch, there is a sense of emptiness about the whole film, especially once the ending is revealed. This lack of story is almost mimicked in Annie Hall's lack of ability to connect with Alvy on an intellectual level. It appears that as we are watching the film, and realising that a good plot is vital in sustaining an audience's attention, Alvy is realising that intellect in a partner is vital in sustaining a relationship and understanding a pessimist such as himself. Perhaps the intellect is in the script of a film, and if so, Allen chose a beautiful way to get across his message, however, as the film was originally intended to be a murder mystery but the idea got dropped last minute, it seems to me that this is not the case.

Don't get me wrong, the film was enjoyable to watch, perhaps due to the fact that it only runs for an hour and a half, and the quirky character of Alvy is hilariously easy to relate to. His exaggerated misanthropist opinions make for great comedy, and nobody I can think of would fit the role of Alvy more than Woody Allen himself. We listen to him and relate to what he is saying, be it through his bluntly honest opinions on Sylvia Plath, and the 'college generation' readers of her poetry, his opinions of the two states of being, the miserable and the horrible,  or his flashback to his school days.

The most interesting feature of the film is the way it shows its awareness of the differences between the film world and the real world. Alvy actually states "If only this was real life" to the camera, and frequently turns, breaking the fourth wall, and showing us his feelings, he is aware that he is only a character in a film, it appears. We see him visit his school class back in the days when he was a student, with him, a fully grown man, sitting at his desk and arguing with the teacher, and also taking Annie and Rob back to his childhood home, in a time where his parents are arguing and there is a party going on. Allen is aware of the possibilities of the film form and uses them interestingly and engagingly.

The camerawork of the film is remniscent of indie cinema. The use of natural lighting, off-screen space and sometimes handheld camerawork allows us to feel that New York is not the concrete jungle that sits thousands of miles away, but a reachable place that contains people just like those from our own towns and cities. Split screens are used for comparisons and superimposition is used to represent Annie's lack of mental interest in sex, the technicalities of the film are done very straight forwardly, which works, I don't think it was Allen's goal to achieve any groundbreaking technical work on this film, he wanted to create memorable characters, and that he did.

I did really like this film, the performances were brilliant and a definite highlight for me. The film collected awards upon awards at the Oscars and the BAFTAs back in 1977, and for a reason, an extremely quirky romantic comedy with laugh out loud scenes, this film is hilarious and a pleasure to watch.

There Will Be Blood Review

Set during the transition period from the 19th to the 20th century, There Will Be Blood tells of Daniel Plainview, a self-proclaimed 'oil man' looking to expand his business of digging wells and collecting oil. With his child and his knowledge, he is tipped off by a son of the Sunday family that their ranch contains oil. Giving Paul Sunday the benefit of the doubt, Daniel Plainview and his son travel up to the ranch to check out the land, finding oil and buying up nearly all of the surrounding land. What follows is a story of love, hatred and deceit, with morals being questioned and death never being too far away.

Perhaps the most evident point this film is trying to share is the drastic changes that happened with the coming of the 20th century. Pre-20th century, religion was a necessity in every man's life, especially those trying to make a name for themselves in business and the film beautifully shows the tension between these independent businessmen and those still fully committed to religion through the use of two characters, Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday. What we see in Daniel through most of the film is a man who is in love with his family and his business, things that he knows full well exist and does not have to argue or preach to prove anything. These characteristics are contrasted in Eli, a man wholly committed to God, seeming to resent his family, especially his father, the supposed figure of male authority in his life. Tense moments between the two characters are frequent throughout the film, with Paul Thomas Anderson never giving too much away about the character of Eli, his motives are questionable to the audience, therefore allowing us to feel the same suspicions and judgements of his actions that Daniel feels. With this, we are thrown into the mindset of people living in the 20th century, questioning the motives of both the religious figures in the film and the decisions of those dealing in the oil business.

The performance given by Daniel Day-Lewis is raw and emotional. With an Oscar being awarded to him for his role in this film, his acting gives the film a whole new level of meaning, with the relationship between himself and his on-screen son becoming more important than any of the other plot points surrounding it. The brilliant characterisation of Daniel Plainview is matched in the outstanding performance that Day-Lewis gives, bringing the character to life and allowing the audience to see Plainview as if he were a real person. The perfect combination of Anderson's writing and Day-Lewis' performance can be seen during the scene where Plainview is reunited with his son after sending him away. The camera is chosen to stay at an extreme long shot, giving the characters their privacy and intimacy that we feel they deserve. The development of these characters is so well-done that we do not feel an urge to intrude on this moment, as we would not choose to intrude on that moment were it happening outside of the film world. The relationship was indeed a highlight to watch, and perhaps brought a sense of magic to those scenes that would otherwise seem slow and monotonous.

Cinematographer Robert Elswit, who has worked on several Paul Thomas Anderson films, shows just how much beauty can be captured by a camera in this film. The camera seems to have a fascination with the mechanical structures that are constantly being developed further as the time-frame of the film moves on. These technical machines are featured in a lot of the main shots, with the tall frame of one of the oil wells lighting on fire being one of the most memorable images from the film that sticks in the audience's head. Again, we are put into the mindset of people living in turn of the century America, looking at these large structures with both wonder and contempt, knowing that they cause death and greed among many other things. The framing of the film is often extremely aesthetically pleasing also, with the final shot of Plainview in his bowling alley again being one that audiences remember time and time again.

The film's script is extremely strong, the characterisation is perfect and the camerawork is done expertly. All of the elements of film that need to be perfected in order to make a movie work are perfected and therefore the film is an extremely enjoyable viewing. There Will Be Blood is a film that can be watched again and again, with the viewer gaining something different yet equally enjoyable from each watch.