Lockdown film recommendation: Dumbo (1941) U

Many of you are probably familiar with the Dumbo story, especially due to the 2019 release of Tim Burton’s CGI laden remake. Considering the original was made almost 80 years ago (!), I encourage you all to revisit the beautiful original animation.  

The premise: there’s a new baby elephant at the circus who happens to be a little different: he’s got enormous ears! The other animals ridicule him for this and, as his mother tries to defend him, they are separated, leaving Dumbo to fend for himself. Luckily, he meets Timothy, a mouse who helps Dumbo discover he has an unusual talent. 

Why is it so good? 

Disney has become a household name, synonymous with high-quality family entertainment, stories of great friendships and adorable anthropomorphism (giving animals human characteristics) and the studio’s fourth feature film, Dumbo, is no exception. The traditional, hand-drawn animation is far more simple than previous Disney feature films, due to economic constraints, but it still manages to retain a high level of realism, with the animators famously bringing real elephants into the studio to study their motion for accuracy in their drawings. The trippy pink elephant scene is so memorable due to the extremely catchy song ‘Pink Elephants on Parade’ and for demonstrating seamless transformation and metamorphosis, harking back to the early days of animation in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

  

As with many of the classic Disney animations there are universal themes and messages aplenty in Dumbo. Perhaps the most important one for me is that you should use what makes you different as your strength, a message that we all need reminding about from time to time - what makes us different, makes us great! 

Considering Dumbo was made to recoup the losses from ‘Fantasia’ (1940), I believe the studio has produced a timeless classic that will have you teary-eyed and laughing in equal measures. 

At a mere 64 minutes, it should be easy to find the time to watch this wonderful coming-of-age fable and, interestingly, Dumbo is the very first Disney protagonist to not speak at all in a feature film, can you think of any others?

Lockdown film recommendation: Rear Window (1954) PG

Ever wondered what it would be like to be stuck in your house all the time with only your neighbours to watch? Well, due to this lockdown we all have some idea of what this is like now, but we are lucky enough to have a vast array of technology to entertain us. However, long before the quarantine and minus all the devices, Alfred Hitchcock used this idea for his masterpiece Rear Window.

The premise: photojournalist L.B Jefferies (brilliantly played by James Stewart) is stuck in his New York apartment due to having a broken leg. He occupies his time, during a sweltering heat wave, by observing his neighbours and ends up thinking one of them may have committed a horrific crime. However, is this just a figment of Jefferies’ over-active imagination or has his neighbour really murdered his own wife?

Why is it so good? 

Alfred Hitchcock is, rightly, known as the master of suspense and this film really shows off his slow-burning storytelling skills. It is very easy to rely on action-packed, fast-paced movies these days for entertainment but Rear Window reminds us that good storytelling and character development do not need to be accompanied by special effects and action to be entertaining. As our lives have slowed down, now is the time to enjoy a much slower style of film. 

Hitchcock immerses us in the New York apartment and perspective of the protagonist Jefferies through the use of long takes, a slowly drifting and panning camera and plenty of point of view shots, allowing us as the audience to feel like we are there. Dialogue is crucial to this film and the well-written script, especially the humorous interactions between Jefferies and his nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter), also help to draw us into this world. This is an astutely observed film, with the subtle interactions and observations of the neighbours giving everyone something to identify with.  

If you are new to the work of Alfred Hitchcock or Classical Hollywood cinema then Rear Window is a great film to start with. Hollywood stars James Stewart and Grace Kelly are a joy to watch and  we are transported to a time when life was very different. 

Rear Window explores people’s desires, imagination and obsession as well as exploring voyeurism which, in a time where social media is such a large part of our lives, feels very apt. 

I encourage you all to step out of your comfort zone and try something different, you might be pleasantly surprised! 

Lockdown film recommendation: Jurassic Park (1993) PG

In these troubled times, what better way to escape than with a classic monster movie and this one certainly passes the test of time. 

The premise: a theme park with genetically engineered dinosaurs has been developed by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), who invites palaeontologists Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and his own grandchildren to test out the park. The problem: a power failure results in the dinosaurs being let loose…

Why is it so good? 

With a combination of animatronics and CGI, the special effects are impressive, especially for when it was made. Both the characters and the dinosaurs are believable and even the smaller character roles are well-developed. Jeff Goldblum is particularly amusing as chaotician  Dr Ian Malcolm and has some of the best lines in the film: 

“Your Scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they Could, they didn’t stop to think if they Should.”

Jurassic Park is a film to be enjoyed on many levels, on the one hand it is a classic popcorn blockbuster to be entertained by but, it also has depth and will make you consider what is ethically and morally right at this time of huge technological advancements.  

There are some of the most iconic scenes in cinema within this film and the classic chase scene has never been so tense. Expert Hollywood composer John Williams provided the iconic music for the film with director Steven Spielberg successfully turning a story into an event. The film cleverly fuses the past with the future, providing entertainment and thrills along the way, as well as humour in all the right places. This is blockbuster filmmaking at its best and all the family can enjoy it.

Jurassic Park is a hugely successful film franchise, so you might as well start at the beginning and indulge in all 5 films while you have the opportunity! 

Jurassic World 3 is anticipated to be released in cinemas next year.

“Welcome to Jurassic Park” 

Lady Bird (2017)

Lady Bird will become a victim of its own success. Due to all of the hype surrounding this film during the awards season, it is difficult to be amazed by it when watching it for the first time. It is almost impossible to view a film with this much praise and not have high expectations, which are inevitably going to be dashed by an understated indie comedy-drama. This is definitely a well-observed and well-acted coming-of-age film, however, is it worth all of the excitement? It is difficult to get on board at first.

Yes, it is fantastic that a female has been nominated for best director for only the fifth time in the history of the Academy Awards, and Saoirse Ronan is wonderful in the titular role, but is this one of the best films of the year? Doubtful. Yet, on the positive side, this is more an issue with Hollywood and the Academy Awards as a whole rather than Greta Gerwig’s first solo outing as a director.

Christine, or Lady Bird as she prefers to be known (for reasons we never find out), is seventeen and living in Sacramento, California. She “lives on the wrong side of the tracks” both literally and figuratively, and craves escapism to a place with more culture - her plan being to apply to colleges in New York to get away from the town where everyone knows everyone. We see Lady Bird as she argues with her mother repeatedly, an amusing opening scene in a car where Lady Bird jumps out of the moving vehicle to escape her mother’s derogatory comments sets the tone of the film, she embarks on her first relationship, befriends the coolest girl in the school and takes part in the school play.

In true coming-of-age fashion Lady Bird goes on a journey and we are there with her through the ups and downs. Funny and moving, this is a charming film with a more realistic portrayal of youth and particularly a teenager’s complex relationship with her mother - a brilliantly observed scene in a thrift store where Lady Bird is trying to find a dress for Thanksgiving sees herself and her mother, played superbly by Laurie Metcalf, arguing one minute and then best friends the next as Marion finds her daughter a suitable dress. It is moments like this that really make this film.

Shot with a sense of naturalism, the film’s realism allows the focus to remain on the central characters and, if you do invest in these characters, Lady Bird is a rewarding and thought-provoking film that will make you want to phone your mum and tell her you love her.

Ignore the hype and make up your own mind. For me, the film beautifully meditates upon the idea of reality versus fantasy; how we can only truly value something once we don’t have it/aren’t there anymore.  

People should go and see this film, not because of the awards hype, but because this is what cinema can be for mainstream audiences too: a truthful, thought-provoking character study rather than a mundane, overproduced display of machismo.

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Set in an idyllic Italian village in 1983, the film centres around seventeen-year-old Elio (Timothee Chalamet) struggling to find his identity and shifting into adulthood; from dealing with having sex for the first time, to re-establishing his pride in his Jewish heritage. The catalyst for these, equally beautiful and often emotionally painful, experiences is strapping all-American Oliver (Armie Hammer), who joins Elio’s father as a research assistant for the summer.

Infused with the Italian heat, Elio and Oliver’s relationship develops over the weeks. Oliver’s initial impression of an arrogant and confident ladies’ man subtly changes as time progresses and Elio challenges him. At first it seems that Oliver holds all the power in the relationship but his vulnerability is delicately revealed towards the end of the film. Whereas Elio’s vulnerability is apparent from the start, both physically and emotionally, we very much see things from his point of view: an adolescent dealing with desire, possibly confined by societal and cultural ideals, none of which are explicitly depicted in the film, instead running as an undercurrent throughout – pop music constantly reminding us of the era of the film and hinting at the knowledge of the AIDS epidemic.

The film interlaces cultural references, classical music, literature and art, which are often interpreted as metaphors for the blossoming relationship between Oliver and Elio. At one point, explicitly: Elio’s mother reads a traditional folktale to him and his father, Elio physically lying in his mother and father’s arms suggesting his childlike qualities and also his closeness to his parents, stating that in the story a prince could not tell a princess of his love for her, asking "is it better to speak or to die?”. As he passes the story on to Oliver, Elio uses it to reveal his true feelings for him.

Cultured and intelligent characters drive the narrative and make the developing relationship all the more interesting. We see as Oliver, along with Elio’s father, reviews slides of beautiful Renaissance sculptures of the male form in all its glory – both men acknowledging the sensual nature of the artwork. It sounds cliché but it works within the world we are presented. This being a world where the characters are surrounded by beautiful landscapes that evoke a dreamlike quality to the six weeks of summer. This is juxtaposed with the harsh snowy winter towards the end of the film, as if the dream is over.

The central performance from Chalamet is what really makes this film, he is definitely the actor of the moment, also starring in the popular Lady Bird although in a much smaller role. Chalamet depicts a precocious yet vulnerable soul who we want to see triumph. Kudos should also go to the actor for performing a bizarre and memorable scene featuring a peach. Hammer is suitably American in the role of Oliver but is not as likeable as he is perhaps supposed to be.

There has been lots of discussion surrounding this film, firstly, due to the issue of statutory rape, as Elio is 17 and Oliver is 24. However, the film never condones this behaviour as such and this is an element which makes the relationship more fascinating and so complex. Many have also criticised the differing ways the heterosexual and homosexual sex scenes have been shot, the latter panning to a window view of trees instead of showing the intercourse. Perhaps this is to allow the viewer to imagine more graphically than a 15 certification would allow, maybe it is to symbolise the depth of the moment.  

Whatever criticisms there may be, this is undoubtedly a beautiful love story with poetic nuances throughout, alongside sizzling sexual tension which builds to a well-crafted finale.