CINEMA: The Burning Plain

Writer/director Guillermo Arriaga (Babel, 21 Grams, Amores Perros) doesn’t make easy films. His movies always have an edge of longing, regret, guilt and culpability and The Burning Plain is no different. It charts the history of two forbidden love affairs and how they impact not just on the lives of those directly involved but also on those who surround them.

In New Mexico, mother and housewife Gina (Kim Basinger) finds herself in a sexless marriage after the removal of a breast due to cancer. She meets and is attracted to Nick (Joaquim De Almeida) a Mexican-American whom she meets in an abandoned trailer out in the desert for their daytime trysts. But Gina’s daughter Mariana (Jennifer Lawrence) becomes suspicious, and is soon following her mum to her secret hideout.

In the film’s other major story strand, set in Oregon, a troubled restaurant manager (Charlize Theron) tries to escape from her past by losing herself in self-harm and casual sexual encounters, not knowing that a person who loves her very much is trying to find her. As the two stories gradually come together they paint a picture of betrayal and loss, and of eventual forgiveness and acceptance.

Arriaga favours a quiet, calm approach and the film is full of outstandingly beautiful shots, many of which focus on the play of emotions across faces. The script is kept pared down as are the performances and the audience is left to piece together the story for themselves, rather than being told. This gives the film a fascinating edge – almost as if you’re holding a piece of jigsaw in your hand, waiting for the space it fits into to be revealed by the next scene. When the picture is finally complete there’s a great sense of satisfaction as the loose ends comes together, while for those who despair at the lack of meaty parts for women, The Burning Plain gives room for Theron and Basinger to both deliver brave, searing performances.        Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Bronson

Tom Hardy is fast becoming one of Britain’s most versatile young actors, switching between roles as charmers (Handsome Bob in RocknRolla) and killers and psychopaths with seeming ease. As Britain’s most notorious violent prisoner, Charles Bronson, he is simply awesome; and his transformation from slim actor to muscle-packed, shaven-headed menace is astonishing.

In 1974, at the age of 19 Michael Peterson (as he was then known) was sentenced to seven years in prison for armed robbery. But since then, after some brief spells of freedom, he has spent his life behind bars because of his inability to control his violent streak.

Does Charlie provoke violence, or does violence follow him around? It’s a question that the film never answers (although it shows his violence in graphic detail, so those who are squeamish may find some scenes disturbing). Even when Charlie takes up art and is given more freedom to mix with other prisoners, something once again sparks his inner demons into life and he ends up holding the art teacher hostage – a misdemeanour deemed so serious he is now held in solitary confinement.

However, rather than just portray Bronson as some wild-eyed, raving mad man, Hardy brings his undoubted intelligence to the fore, producing a complex, layered performance that certainly doesn’t explain away the man’s actions, but certainly gives you pause for thought. This performance is so central to the film (and so outstanding) it almost makes up for the structure of the movie – where we often see Charlie as a vaudeville or music hall artiste on stage, playing to his audience. This doesn’t really add anything to the story and a straightforward telling of what Bronson has done and had done to him may have served the film better.       Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Marley and Me

This boy, girl and shaggy dog story has a homespun, everyday charm about it and for those who go all gooey over puppies, it will weave an instantaneous canine spell. Based on the life story and book by John Grogan it charts how journalists John (Owen Wilson) and his wife Jenny (Jennifer Aniston) left the harsh winters of Michigan behind to start again in sunny Florida.

Unsure about his new life of married responsibility and the prospect of fatherhood, on the advice of his buddy Sebastian (Eric Dane) John buys Jenny a labrador puppy which they name after Bob Marley.

However, rather than being a fluffy ball of joy Marley is the most psychotic dog you could ever meet. He refuses to be trained, chews everything put in front of him, and terrorises small children and postmen alike. But he does give John all the stories he needs for his column in the local paper and soon Marley is as well loved by the local community as he is by his owners. As Sebastian goes on to win prizes for his news reporting, the once ambitious John settles down into a life of domestic bliss and chaos with Jenny, their growing family, and a still-bonkers Marley.

Everything about this movie goes ‘ahhhhh’; it’s a love story, a story about friendship and companionship, and soppy human doggy bonds. It’s mildly amusing (Marley and Alan Arkin as John’s drier than dry editor are the best things in it, while Wilson and Aniston can play ‘nice’ in their sleep) well shot and has family appeal written right across it. In fact, it’s so eager to be liked it almost sits up and begs – which is more than Marley ever learns to do.        Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Watchmen

So, after all the hype and a 20 year wait, is Watchmen all that it should be?

Well it certainly has all the action up there on screen and director Zack Snyder has brought a grim and gritty beauty to Alan Moore’s dystopian alternate view of the 1980s, with Nixon on the brink of all out nuclear war with the Ruskies. The ace up his sleeve is Dr Manhattan (Billy Crudup), one of a group of has-been superheroes who have all hung up their costumes and masks. But Dr Manhattan is different; due to a nuclear accident he really does possess extraordinary powers, and has been set the task of creating a machine that can counter anything Russia can throw at the USA. He is being assisted by two other ex-Watchmen, his lover Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman), and Ozymandias (Matthew Goode).

Elsewhere in a dark and menacing New York, The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has been brutally murdered and Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) enlists the help of Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson) to find his murderer. What they actually discover is a twisting conspiracy that leads them straight back to the Watchmen’s own actions and their own, often ambivalent, morality.

Nothing is straightforward in this two and three quarter-hour long movie so you need to keep your wits about you to follow the changing dynamics within the group. There’s the morally upright Nite Owl, who seems uptight and holier-than-thou, before stealing Silk Spectre from Dr Manhattan; the quietly spoken but hard-hitting Ozymandias; the humanity-loathing Rorschach who can see only depravity and evil around him; and finally the enigma of The Comedian, who seems to find everything one big black joke. There’s less emphasis here than in Batman on gizmos and technology, more on people talking through their feelings, but the dialogue fair whizzes past and it never feels like the film is flagging. There’s also great use of music throughout the movie, and some stunning night shots of the city.

So, this dark and unflinching look at superheroes who are not so much flawed as emotionally crippled comes as a welcome antidote to more saccharine fare, but because interest is spread over too many different characters, it never packs the punch of The Dark Knight, where we get a more detailed view of one man’s monsters and demons. Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: The Young Victoria

The stories of Jane Austen have cornered the market in successful period costume drama and although this view of the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign is firmly based on historical fact, it actually reads like a Jane Austen novel.

Our feisty, intelligent heroine is none other than Victoria herself (Emily Blunt), there’s a dashing hero in Albert (Rupert Friend), an impossible mother (Miranda Richardson), a plotting courtier (Mark Strong), and some wise advisors (Paul Bettany and Michael Maloney).  Victoria must face adversity and setbacks before triumphing over her own wilful nature and settling down to a contented married life.

With a screenplay by Julian Fellowes, the film fairly dashes through courtship, conspiracies, assassination attempts and the political machinations of the time with a light touch and a knowing air, while the movie looks sumptuous from the very first scene (and yes, those costumes are spectacular). But rather than detailing the frivolities of court life, this handsome movie concentrates on the protocol within the court, showing how Victoria deftly handled the constant battle for power between opposing factions (including her own family). At times Emily Blunt looks almost impossibly beautiful, but she handles Victoria’s maturation from ingénue to wise Queen with aplomb in a movie every bit as entertaining as Pride And Prejudice.     Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Wendy and Lucy

Here’s a new twist on the one boy and his dog genre – one girl and her mutt.

Wendy (Michelle Williams with cute pixie haircut) is driving across country with her dog Lucy. She is on her way to Alaska to work in the fish canning factories in order to earn some much-needed cash. With her expenses worked out to the last cent, Wendy can’t afford to stay in motels and when her car breaks down she finds her money won’t stretch to the repairs it needs. However, her decision to shoplift in order to feed Lucy proves disastrous, leading to a fine and to her losing Lucy. Even with the help of a friendly security guard (Walter Dalton) Wendy can see no way of getting to Alaska on her existing funds and when she eventually finds Lucy she must make a heart-breaking decision.

This is a film of long silences and extreme close-ups, which gives its few characters space to really inhabit their roles.  At times the camera lingers on Michelle Williams’ face and she doesn’t need to say anything, you can see her thoughts played out across her features. Meanwhile, Lucy (played by director Kelly Reichardt’s own dog) should get a best supporting actor award, her breezy, fun-loving nature is evident to see and Wendy’s love and affection for her are palpable.

Few movies these days can say so much while being so quiet – it’s like a little pool of poignant peace in a sea of hectic noise.       Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Surveillance

As the daughter of director David Lynch it’s not surprising this Jennifer Lynch movie has so many Lynchian moments – in fact, at times it seems to inhabit Twin Peaks territory.

But all is not as it seems as two federal officers (Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman) arrive at a small town police station in order to question the survivors of a highway massacre. As each witness is recorded, different versions of the same story emerge, but who is telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but? Are the police officers that were there (Kent Harper, French Stewart) entirely honest in their interpretation of events? What about young Stephanie (Ryan Simpkins)? It seems the deeper the Feds dig the more murky events become.

Although much of this movie is intriguing, it is also so wilfully ambiguous you want to give it a good shake. It’s just 98 minutes long but at times the very format of the taping of the interviews makes it seem incredibly static, with scenes lasting too long. Had the pacing been quicker, the build up to the explosive finale would have been more effective and the outcome more satisfying.

Unfortunately, it just gets frustrating to watch and you’ll find yourself wanting to fast forward the tapes to discover just exactly what is going on.
Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: The International

First there was Bond, then there was Bourne, and now there’s The International. This latest Euro-pudding hi-tech spooks scenario certainly has the locations and all the action, trouble is the plot becomes so complicated and convoluted you’ll be missing what’s happening onscreen while you try to unravel who is doing what to whom.

In a nutshell, Clive Owen stars as Interpol secret agent Louis Salinger. He provides the brawn, the firepower and the cunning spy know-how. Meanwhile, Naomi Watts supplies the looks and the brains as Manhattan assistant district attorney Eleanor Whitman who does all the paperwork and schmoozing of the powers that be.

Together the pair are trying to nail a hugely successful international bank that they suspect of funding wars, terrorism, torture, illegal assassinations and every other ill under the sun. Their investigations take them all the way across Europe (including Berlin, Luxembourg, and Milan) to New York and Istanbul, and it is these last two locations that the film’s two stand out action sequences occur – in a massive shoot out using the circular space within the Guggenheim Museum to brilliant effect, and across the terracotta tiles of the roofs of Istanbul (a sequence already seen in both Bourne and Bond). Owen would have made a good Bond as he has an uncanny ability to keep his face impassive even when he’s dodging bullets and he brings a certain rugged charm to Louis, but Watts is really wasted in her role here, almost consigned to being arm-candy.

It’s fast, it’s brutal and it’s efficient but The International pales in comparison to Bourne – the new benchmark as far as spy movies are concerned.
Dee Pilgrim