CINEMA: Gran Torino

In America this has been actor/director Clint Eastwood’s highest grossing movie ever – not bad for the tale of one grumpy old man finding a new purpose in life through interaction with a new and alien community.

Eastwood is Walt Kowalski, a retired Ford car worker and Korean War veteran.  Walt spends his days polishing his beloved Gran Torino car, growling at everybody, looking after his dog Daisy, and finding fault with everything around him including his own sons and their families, but mostly with his neighbours whom he mistakenly thinks are Korean, when they are in fact Hmong.

It is the young Hmong family next door who eventually gives Walt a new lease of life after the son Thao (Bee Vang) attempts to steal Walt’s car after being threatened by a Hmong gang. Walt thwarts the attempt and then manages to scare the gang off, winning the undying gratitude of Thao’s family and the rest of the law-abiding Hmong community. Thao is ordered to repay the debt to Walt in any way he can and although Walt would rather be left in peace, as he sets Thao jobs to do around the community, he finds his growling bad temper losing its edge. Thao’s feisty sister Sue (Ahney Her) decides to befriend the old man and as she teaches him about the Hmong culture he finds himself more connected with her family and her people than with his own. However, he fails to understand how deeply he has offended the Hmong gang – who feel they have lost face because of him – and when they hit back at Thao and Sue, Walt has to choose whether to make a stand on their behalf, or return to his old curmudgeonly ways.

Although, as always, Eastwood tells his story with great dignity and honesty, in truth he should have cast someone other than himself as Walt.  Here, he snarls and growls like an old dog but it almost seems as if his heart is not in it.  He has none of the vim and spit Jack Nicholson brought to similar anti-social, grumpy characters in As Good As It Gets and About Schmidt. Also, Ahney Her as the feisty Sue seems slightly awkward in her role thus making the friendship between Sue and Walt less believable than it should be. Full marks to Eastwood though for tackling a movie about old age without resorting to the usual hammy old clichés.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Cadillac Records

As far as great record labels go, Chess Records is up there with EMI, CBS and Motown.

Founded in the 1950s by a white Polish émigré, Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), it was fondly known as Cadillac Records because Leonard would buy his artistes a Caddy when they had their first hit. And the artistes on Leonard’s roster had an awful lot of hits as during its illustrious history Chess signed Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), Howlin’ Wolf (Eammon Walker), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), and Etta James (Beyonce Knowles).  All of them became stars in their own right, but behind their sublime music were stories of poverty, hardship, violence, alcoholism, and drug addiction.

Director Darnell Martin tells this story of sex and drugs and rock and roll in straight chronological order, and this no-nonsense approach makes the film extremely accessible with plenty of time to enjoy the music (from Waters’ Hoochie Coochie Man to Berry’s No Particular Place To Go). But what’s lacking is a real sense of time and place, of atmosphere, and of real emotion. In a way, the story of Cadillac Records is the story of how the blues crossed over to be enjoyed by both black and white audiences and morphed into rock and roll, yet here you never feel the deep, dark, tortured history of the blues and what it actually signified. Through the rivalry between Waters and Wolf, Little Walter’s self-destructive nature, and Etta James’ drug abuse, you watch as a rather detached observer, never truly connecting with them or their pain.

On the acting front, the ever-dependable Mos Def makes a delightful Chuck Berry, while Beyonce as Etta James probably comes closest to emoting what the blues are all about.  Jeffrey Wright, being the first person to sign with Leonard, is centre stage as Waters for much of the movie, however in his efforts to be true to the way Waters’ sang and spoke, he renders much of his dialogue totally incomprehensible. So, if this is your kind of groove, then go along and enjoy some fine sounds, just don’t expect to be moved by the action on screen as much as by the music.      Dee Pilgrim

The London Critics’ Circle Film Awards

As well as being The Void’s top cinema writer and all-round movie goddess, turns out that Dee Pilgrim is also a super-important member of the Critics Circle and was celebrity co-ordinator for this year’s Circle film awards. Here is the story of this year’s event.

February and March are the silly season when it comes to film award ceremonies with the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and the Oscars all taking the opportunity to strut their stuff down the red carpet. But The London Critics’ Circle Film Awards, which take place just before the BAFTAs, aren’t just any film awards, they are a little bit different. For a start they are voted for by around 100 of Britain’s film critics – people writing for newspapers, magazines and blogs, and reviewing on TV and radio. Secondly (and more importantly from a personal point of view), I happen to be a member of the CC Film Section (since 1994 no less) and I’ve been handing out an award at our annual bash for over a decade.

This year marked the 29th time critics and stars, directors, producers and agents have got together to celebrate everything that is great and good about cinema and for me it has been a landmark year as my role on the film awards’ committee has changed to that of celebrity co-ordinator – yes, it was up to me to make sure as many of the nominees as possible turned up to the Grosvenor House Hotel on the night. The British weather was conspiring against me, dumping huge amounts of snow all over the place and making the organisation of cars for stars scattered across the country a nightmare, but in the end, as is often the case, everything pulled together and it turned into an amazing night. 

For a start the absolutely fantastic Dame Judi Dench had agreed to accept our lifetime achievement award named after legendary critic Dilys Powell. Not only is Dame Judi ever gracious, she’s also got a filthy laugh and used it to good measure when critic David Gritten fluffed his lines while making the presentation, seemingly saying he had serviced Dame Judi. Earlier on, nominee Sir Ben Kingsley had agreed to present the Attenborough Award for British Film. Normally, Sir Dickie himself would hand out this award but he had a fall before Christmas and as he was still convalescing Sir Ben stepped into his shoes and gave a fine speech about the rich tradition of British film. As he finished off he went into Sir Dickie mode: ‘luvvies, darlings, remember you must pass the baton on, pass it on,’ he urged us. And we did by instigating a new award for Young British Performer. This joint Critics’ Circle and NSPCC award (the recipient of all profits made on the night) has only one criterion; it must go to a British actor or actress who was under 18 when they made the film they are nominated for.

All our young nominees (Georgia Groome, Asa Butterfield, Dev Patel, Thomas Turgoose, Bill Milner and Will Poulter) had turned up for the night, all were hugely excited (Bill and Will even more so when we asked them to do the after dinner raffle), and all were absolutely star-struck that the utterly gorgeous Nick Hoult had agreed to hand out the award. Nick, who just happened to be sitting at my table for the evening, was quite nervous about the presentation but comforted by the presence of his old mucker from Skins, Dev (he confessed he was rooting for Dev to win). In the end the award went to Thomas Turgoose who gave a charming speech and later hit the dancefloor with his girlfriend. Also on my table was Irish charmer Liam Cunningham who had arrived at the red carpet fag in hand and bowtie undone asking me in a loud brogue (one of my duties was to be celebrity greeter at the door): “Do you fucking know how to tie this fucker? I’ve been fucking standing in front of the mirror for hours and I still can’t fucking do it!”

Unfortunately, tying bowties is not a skill I have ever learnt (but I’ll definitely do so before next year) and Liam’s tie remained defiantly untied for the remainder of the evening. To further unsettle his night Eddie Marsan pipped him to the post in the British Actor in a Supporting Role category and while Eddie made a very funny acceptance speech, Liam leaned over to me and in a stage whisper said: “That’s the second time that fucker has stolen an award from me!”

Other stars dotted around the ballroom included Hunger director Steve McQueen, the charming director Richard Eyre, Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle, actor Mark Strong, actress Kristin Scott Thomas and the winning director of The Wrestler, Darren Aronofsky. Darren is married to the lovely Rachel Weisz and had made a huge effort to get to the awards via the Eurostar from Paris. As I shook his hand on the red carpet he absolutely made my evening by giving me a huge smile and saying: “I do like your dress!”

But luvvies, darlings, this night was not about me but about the power and wonder of film. It also turned into a huge networking opportunity for all the industry bods there – actors were talking to other actors, actors talked to directors, critics talked to absolutely everyone, and as far as I know everyone had a great time. At one point Liam Cunningham and Nick Hoult could be seen discussing the next film they are making together, Clash Of The Titans, while tiny Asa Butterfield from The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, came very humbly up to one of his acting heroes, Nick Hoult, to inform him he will be playing Nick’s character’s younger self in their next movie together. So, all in all a great success –and the evening made a staggering £65,800 for the NSPCC – so everything really was all right on the night!

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Full list of winners for the 29th Critics’ Circle Film Awards

Film of the Year: The Wrestler – Darren Aronofsky

Attenborough Film of the Year: Slumdog Millionaire – Danny Boyle

Director of the Year: David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

British Director of the Year: Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire

Actor of the Year: Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Actress of the Year: Kate Winslet – The Reader/Revolutionary Road

British Actor of the Year: Michael Fassbender – Hunger

British Actress of the Year: Kristin Scott-Thomas – I’ve Loved You So Long

British Actor in a Supporting Role: Eddie Marsan – Happy-Go-Lucky

British Actress in a Supporting Role: Tilda Swinton – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Screenwriter of the Year: Simon Beaufoy- Slumdog Millionaire

NSPCC Award: Young British Performance of the Year: Thomas Turgoose – Somers Town / Eden Lake

Breakthrough British Film-Maker: Steve McQueen – Hunger

Foreign Language Film of the Year: Waltz With Bashir – Ari Folman

The Dilys Powell Award: Dame Judi Dench

CINEMA: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

If you really want to enjoy the numerous delights of this film you are going to have to suspend your disbelief and just go with the flow.

Based on a short F. Scott Fitzgerald story, it details in wonderful colour and light the extraordinary life of Benjamin (Brad Pitt), a child who is born old and gets younger as he matures.  Throughout his curious existence he meets and is loved by a number of people including his surrogate ‘mom’ (Taraji. P Henson), an aristocratic English woman (Tilda Swinton), and his childhood friend Daisy (Cate Blanchett). He has many adventures while sailing the seas in a tugboat with weathered Captain Mike (Jared Harris), but finally returns to the retirement home where he was abandoned as a baby (his father believing him to be some freak of nature).

Director David Fincher manages to pull off what should be unbelievable due to some lovely acting (Brad and Cate have real chemistry together), amazing special effects and a screenplay by David Hare that is full of magic. There is plenty of humour, lots of fantastical camera work, but overall a poignancy about the film as it explores the passage of time and our slow march towards death.

However, the film is hopeful in tone rather than despairing, and Benjamin repeatedly demonstrates how by living life to the full and never ignoring an opportunity to explore or learn, humans can in effect overcome their own mortality.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Doubt

Doubt started out in life as a play – and it really shows in this film version, which feels far more like something you would watch at the theatre than in the cinema.

In the mid-1960s a new priest arrives at St. Nicholas Catholic School in the Bronx.  He is Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an energetic, well-liked man who wants to move with the times and modernise things for the students. However, his intentions are continually undermined by the stern, disapproving principal, Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), who thinks things are fine as they are, thank you very much.  When the school admits its first black student, Donald (Joseph Foster II), even Sister Aloysius can’t stop change from happening. Then young, naïve Sister James (Amy Adams) reports an incident involving Father Flynn and Donald to Sister Aloysius who makes it her mission to get the priest removed from her school.

While the acting throughout is excellent (Viola Davis as Donald’s mother even manages to blow Meryl Streep away) there’s something very dry and way too theatrical for Doubt to really work as a film. Also, writer/director John Patrick Shanley deliberately never lets the audience know if Father Flynn has actually done anything wrong or not and this doubt, although it forms the core of the story, actually gets very annoying because it stops you connecting with the characters on any deep level. Is Father Flynn truly a monster or has he been the victim of rumour, deceit, and doubt? It’s left up to you to decide. 

Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: The Broken

Yet more British horror in this small, intense, but rather detached movie from Sean Ellis, who won an Oscar for his short movie Cashback.

Gina (Lena Headey) works as a radiologist at a large, grey London hospital, and enjoys a close-knit relationship with her family. So, on the occasion of her father’s birthday, she gets together with her brother (Asier Newman), his girlfriend (Michelle Duncan) and her fiancé (Melvil Poupaud) to have a magnificent dinner. When a large mirror falls off the wall and smashes during the meal they make nervous jokes about seven years of bad luck – before their lives take a decidedly sinister turn for the worse. Gina feels anxious and is worried she is becoming psychotic when she thinks she sees herself driving by. She is so disconcerted she has a car accident and ends up consulting a counsellor – which is where her nightmare really begins and the bad luck starts to kick off.

This is a film covering dark material and shot in dark greys and neutral tones. In fact, it is sometimes so dark you cannot see what lurks in the shadows. Although the shots are beautifully composed, their lack of clarity and a rather clunky script means scenes seem to go on interminably. The film’s other problem is a lack of sophistication; at times things are spelled out as if for a child, so what should be really spooky and otherworldly is simply a little uncomfortable. In this case less really would have been more.

Although Ellis is obviously a director to watch in the future, he needs better material than this with which to make his mark.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Revolutionary Road

So, after the feelgood factor of Slumdog, we get a movie full of lies, guilt, duplicity and regret. Kate Winslet’s second outing in the last few weeks (directed by husband Sam Mendes) is a sombre, sober contemplation of broken dreams, unfulfilled promise and the slow, inexorable wearing away of idealism.

Set in the 1950s, Revolutionary Road revolves around a young couple, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April (Winslet), who seem to have everything going for them. Bright, attractive and very much in love, the world really is their oyster as they meet and marry. However, a few years into the marriage, things seem to fall apart: the passionate April is stuck in suburbia with children, while Frank is on the daily commute to alcoholism and infidelity.

As the pair sink into a round of fruitless arguments, blame and silent seething, April hatches a plan to get them out of the hell they have descended into – the family will relocate to Paris and rediscover its lust for life. But even the best-laid plans go awry and just as April sees a glimmer on the horizon everything she dreams of comes crashing around her ears.

For many, the relentlessly downbeat tone of the movie will just be too much, but as a piece of cinematography it is pitch-perfect – one can really feel the hopeless emptiness of Frank and April’s lives. Although DiCaprio still looks far too young to be a father, Winslet excels as April, a woman watching her youthful blossom slowly being sapped from her. Mendes directs with great discipline – never letting the suburban drama slip into melodrama and often using images reflected in windows or mirrors to tell his story.

This is a staid and unshowy exploration of quiet despair and a timely reminder not to let one’s dreams and life wither on the vine.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Frost/Nixon

If you really want a lot of tension in a film, then look no further than this intelligently scripted, taut, tight look behind the scenes as British TV host David Frost (Michael Sheen as spot-on as ever) and disgraced American president Richard Nixon (a truly great performance from Frank Langella) locked horns for a series of television interviews.

The year was 1977, three years after Nixon had been forced to resign over the Watergate affair, and no one had been able to get him to admit his guilt in the buggings. But clever, ambitious David Frost thought he had the measure of the man and proposed a TV show based on their conversations and when no TV company would fund his project he almost bankrupted himself and his friends in order to pay Nixon to take part.

Much of the movie deals with the intricate preparations for the interviews, including meticulous research by Frost’s two helpers (nicely played in chalk and cheese fashion by Oliver Platt and Sam Rockwell). But everything leads to the inevitable showdown on screen as the pair play cat and mouse with each other looking for chinks in their armour.

If you want to watch two actors giving pitch-perfect performances, then don’t miss this fascinating battle of two intellects matching each other blow by verbal blow until Frost finally gets in the sucker punch. You’ll watch him fall with great satisfaction.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Valkyrie

The most you’ve probably heard about this movie is that it stars Tom Cruise as a Nazi – albeit a Nazi with a conscience. What you may not have heard about is the wealth of British talent making up the bulk of the rest of the cast. How’s this for any director’s wish list – Ken Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, Eddie Izzard, Kenneth Cranham, Terence Stamp and Tom Wilkinson. They play the other Nazi officers who join forces to plot the assassination of Hitler who they believe is undermining the good name of Germany concentration camps and a war he cannot win.

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise), badly injured in the battle for Tunisia, returns to Germany determined to oust Hitler. When he is called upon to rewrite Valkyrie – Hitler’s plan for emergency powers in the event he is killed – Stauffenberg changes the scheme to place all the power in the hands of his co-conspirators, giving them complete control. But to put the plan into action, they must first get rid of Hitler.

Although the film opens in stunning style with some truly visceral scenes of the Tunisian battle, with allied planes strafing German positions, it soon gets bogged down in the intricate nature of the conspiracy. There are so many different characters involved it is difficult to keep track of the relationships between them and about an hour in everything just fizzles out. Being the only Yank among a bunch of Brits, Cruise’s American accent sticks out like a very sore thumb and overall Valkyrie lacks director Bryan Singer’s usual firm control on tension levels.      Dee Pilgrim