ILLPIRATA Reviews

Somers Town (2008)

Lazy Writing

[3/10 · 8 September 2008]

Somers Town is endless - in the very literal meaning of the word.

The opening minutes of this nicely shot black and white piece, set just north of London's Marylebone Road, are wonderfully atmospheric and you settle into your seat with a sense that you are about to be greatly entertained in some way, such is the deftness of the set-up. The acting is uniformly excellent and you quickly warm to the plight of all the characters. So far so wonderful.

But, as any screenplay-writer or script-reader will tell you, the set-up is easy, it's writing a compelling story that's the tough part. Soon the unanswered questions start piling up. What is the lad from Nottingham running from and why is no one after him? Is the Polish lad's 'Dad' really his Dad (this one gets answered eventually) and why isn't he in some kind of school? And then we get to the point at which the film stops. And stop it does because there is no ENDING. Just when the film seems to be changing up a gear and you are suckered into thinking some questions will be answered or resolved, you are left with a casually shot color sequence that would be poor as a mid-film montage but is an absolute stunner of a let-down as a resolution.

The film-makers obviously worked so hard on this film. The sets, the wardrobe, the cinematography, the casting, the acting, the editing and much of the direction are all notable for their sharp and sensitive choices but whoever thought this casually tossed off last two minutes of color film was an ending or a resolution? With some thought, and some hard choices made over the keyboard over a couple of nights this could have been a truly remarkable film.

What a shame for all concerned.

Steal a Pencil for Me (2007)

Man, wife, girlfriend, Holocaust

[9/10 · 6 March 2008]

The stars of this film, and they really are stars, met in Amsterdam as Hitler's rampage got under way. Miraculously they were transported to the same concentration camps not once but twice. Despite the fact that he was married to another woman Jaap courted the younger Ina and their love and their luck somehow delivered them from an evil so appalling that it is still impossible to grasp. Every smile from these two wonderful people and every laugh they have together reminded me of Steinbeck's comment in East Of Eden: "It occurs to me that evil must constantly re-spawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal." Certainly Jaap & Ina show us that goodness still walks amongst us in this world but the terror of what they went through in '43,'44 & '45 reminds us that all it takes is one man with a cold-heart and a clever tongue for evil to be reborn.

Vera Drake (2004)

It's not entertainment but...

[9/10 · 18 November 2004]

It's not entertainment but...this is an extraordinary piece of work.

I went to see Alexander on a Wednesday night and Vera Drake the night after and what a contrast! A story that means something, characters that feel rough and real in your hands like worn stones in an old pathway, and above all film making with a purpose with no effort to dazzle just inform.

It's not perfect, but this is the kind of imperfection all of us in Hollywood should strive for.

A word about the art direction too. I remember the 50's in England and yes it was just like that - I remember my parents kitchen being that dismal and green, and yes English people and English families can be that incommunicative, and yes they sat in front of the fire and talked about the war and the Blitz and yes we would sit in the parlour on Christmas day and eat off a table just like that.

There. I've shared secrets with you. Now go and see this and keep crap like Alexander off the screens.

Alexander (2004)

Come back "Troy" - all is forgiven.

[3/10 · 18 November 2004]

It all starts out very badly with Anthony Hopkins wandering in circles, for what seems like an age, setting up the story we are about to experience. The scene is poorly lit, poorly written and Hopkins, frankly, has been better. After a few minutes you find yourself thinking, "This is like a tired studio picture from the 60's." Shortly afterwards you revise that view down a notch or two and say to your partner: "Is it me or is this awful?"

The picture never recovers and, as you leave checking your watch, wonder: "What were they thinking?" Again you think they could have made a dozen fabulous smaller pictures with half the budget of this uninspiring snooze-fest.

Grrr!

Love Actually (2003)

Sentimental claptrap

[4/10 · 22 November 2003]

This is the Bridge Too Far of romantic comedies - having a big cast of top-lining names playing small roles does not a good movie make.

Though I'm sure we'd all agree that the world needs all the love and fuzziness it can take right now I'm not sure this is the message we should be sending. Am I the only one who's noticing that Hugh Grant and Colin Firth's characters (and I suppose Alan Rickman's as well) are all falling madly for women who clear up after them and bring them cups of tea?

The moment when Emma Thompson tells Rickman to be careful is very real and I wish the rest of this movie had this kind of power.

The Magdalene Sisters (2002)

Boarding School

[8/10 · 25 August 2003]

I spent 8 years in an English Boarding school starting in 1964. Did anyone else who shared my experience of imprisonment in the pursuit of education find spine chilling parallels with the subject of this fine film? Just the sight of those brass taps and square sinks made me squirm in my seat. The concept that these poor women were sent into this environment for life without judge or jury beggars belief. So much for the compassion of the church.