We Are What We Are

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1620604/

I hadn’t heard or read anything about this film when I went to see it which was quite refreshing, all I knew was that it was about a family of cannibals. So I prepared myself for a ‘gorefest’ in typical horror film fashion, but this is not a typical horror film. There is gore but not an unnecessary abundance like you would expect.  The film is difficult to define as the subject matter on the surface appears as a horror film but the film does not utilise horror conventions. So, the subject matter, ‘We Are What We Are’ is about a family consisting of two brothers, a sister and a mother dealing with the death of the father, the main breadwinner, and as they are cannibals this means capturing and killing people in order to survive. Rather than this becoming an excuse for gore, the film deals with the familial struggles as the older brother is given the role of patriarch. We see the power relations between the siblings and mother and the killings are more ritualistic than gratuitous.

Stylistically the film is very dark in colour and the mise-en-scene reflects the poverty of the family and the Mexican suburb in which they reside. Throughout the film I was constantly reminded of ‘Let the Right One In’, due to the content and aesthetics, which is a compliment to ‘We Are What We Are’ and let’s hope Hollywood doesn’t remake it. The focus on keeping traditional rituals alive in a modern society is interesting and there are a lot of social comments that can be interpreted from the film.

The opening of the film sees the father die in a sterile, modern shopping centre where he is cleaned up quickly and efficiently. This juxtaposes with the shabby run down house and old fashioned watch mending trade of the family, emphasising the ancient ritual and tradition that they adhere to. The struggles of the family trying and failing to get a body become almost comedic in parts, in a dry deadpan way and the fact that the mother is judgemental of their victims, they kill a prostitute to start with, is humorous as they themselves would be the outcasts in society. The acting is gripping and believable, particularly from the actress who plays the daughter, and the ending is suitably macabre. I have deliberately not discussed the plot in depth as I feel the least known about the film the better. The social commentary within this film is refreshing and it is an enjoyable directorial debut. ‘We Are What We Are’ is by no means an outstanding film but at the same time I have nothing negative to say about it.

Black Swan

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/

Whenever a film is nominated for so many prestigious awards I am rather sceptical as to whether it is deserving of the attention, however, Black Swan is probably one of the most deserving, and also surprising, receivers of such attention. After being mesmerised by Mickey Rourke’s compelling portrayal of a wrestler in Darren Aronofsky’s last hit film I was excited to learn that he was making a film from a female perspective and Natalie Portman’s gaze is one you will be captivated by. Portman plays Nina, a ballet dancer who wins the lead in a new production of Swan Lake, she epitomises the White Swan but there are doubts as to whether she is up to playing the Black Swan. The acting from the relatively small cast is sublime, but for me the stand out performance was from Vincent Cassel who plays the Director of the ballet company. He is both detestable and charismatic and seduces the audiences just as he seduces the ballet dancers. Cassel himself describes the film as baroque in style which is fitting but there is also a contrasting sense of realism in the uncomfortable extreme close ups and grainy hand held qualities reminiscent of The Wrestler. Aronofsky’s camera is up close and personal at all the right points and draws the viewer in to the beautiful and mad world.

Black Swan has been labelled a psychological thriller, but the film has strong horror influences and uses the conventions of the genre to great effect. I consider it to contain some of the most spine tingling and nausea inducing scenes in contemporary cinema, which is quite a bold statement but the combination of extreme close ups and sound left me squirming in my seat. Music also plays an integral part in the employment of horror conventions and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake piece becomes haunting and devastating. The costumes, as you would expect, are a character in themselves and at one point we see the costume literally take over Nina. The special effects for the scene are subtle and restrained and leave the viewer truly believing in the reality of this occurrence.

I did not expect to love this film but I did, I found it intriguing and emotional and I became absorbed in the characters and the cinematic world. It left me feeling exhilarated and seduced as well as completely devastated; it is an emotional journey with visceral visuals that will affect you for weeks if not months after. This is a film from one of the most exciting auteurs today and I cannot wait to see what he does next.

A great interview

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/20/vincent-cassel-black-swan

This is an interesting article about Vincent Cassel, his choice of roles, sex symbol status and the violence.

Monsters

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1470827/

After hearing Mark Kermode stress that this is not a typical monster movie and they are just in the background, I was surprised as to how much the monsters are actually in the film. This is definitely not a typical monster film but the monsters are very prevalent and there are typical scary monster scenes. The film is essentially a travel/road movie with a love story at the heart of it. The notion of aliens being established on earth for six years and people carrying on with their lives is interesting and the film’s hybrid genre is refreshing. The level of realism is so high that at times it feels more like a documentary than a fiction film and the acting and dialogue are believable.

It is difficult to discuss this film without mentioning the budget, a mere £500,000. Due to the level of special effects and the locations it is impressive, especially considering the mammoth budgets Hollywood films demand today. The couple, at the centre of the story, are brought together in Mexico and have to travel through the infected zone to get home. There are moments of tension and moments of fascination as they make their way through the monster ridden landscape. The ending felt slightly clichéd but this did not ruin the overall enjoyment in watching an entertaining and original film.

Somewhere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1421051/

‘Lost in Translation’ is one of my favourite films so when I heard Sofia Coppola had made another film I was very excited. However, ‘Somewhere’ left me feeling disappointed in both Coppola’s storytelling and her choice of music. Coppola is renowned for her innate taste in good music for her films, but I found the soundtrack to ‘Somewhere’ dull and predictable. The film is shot beautifully, with stunning cinematography, but the story and characters are lacking. The film follows a Hollywood actor reconnecting with his daughter and is supposedly to some extent autobiographical. Perhaps this is Coppola’s mistake. The main character is not particularly charming or likeable and I found myself not caring in the slightest what happened to him or where he was going. The daughter Cleo is not unlikeable but like the soundtrack is rather bland and you feel could have been a lot more interesting.

There are a lot of nice visual metaphors such as the opening where a fast car goes round and round a circuit and the camera remains static, representing Johnny’s static life going round in circles. It is also quite amazing how two pole dancing scenes within the film are not the least bit sexy or tantalising, showing the actor’s disinterest in his life. However, it also embodies the whole feel of the film, one of disappointment and boredom.  

Why are there so few film magazines?

Empire and Total Film are okay for surface level ‘reading’ material and Sight & Sound is perhaps a little too dense for many. Little White Lies is one I have dabbled in but never committed to. I would like a film magazine that discusses film in an intelligent but non-pretentious manner with thought-provoking articles and an appreciation for all aspects of filmmaking. Not a lot to ask for is it?  

127 Hours

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1542344/

Not a film shown by the Penwith Film Society but one that I have seen recently and really wanted to write about. Let me begin by saying that I am not a fan of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and seem to be in a minority in thinking it was undeserving of all the attention it received. On the other hand I am a fan of ‘Shallow Grave’ and ‘Trainspotting’ and even ‘The Beach’. So I was somewhat reluctant to watch the latest offering from Mr Boyle but the story sounded interesting and like many I was intrigued to see how Boyle had created an interesting film about one man trapped in one place. ‘127 hours’ is Boyle back on form. Stylistically the film harks back to Trainspotting, with one particular scene, where Aron Ralston interviews himself with the help of his video camera, reminiscent of Renton’s cold turkey scene in ‘Trainspotting’ with a Dale Winton quiz show. The hallucinations that Ralston experiences are also reminiscent of Renton’s toilet diving scene in ‘Trainspotting’ and so I began to see Boyle the auteur again.

The opening titles to the film have a frenetic energy , with the use of split screens and extreme close ups immediately letting the viewer know that this is going to be expressive filmmaking. Music is integral in establishing the fast paced lifestyle of Aron Ralston and creating a juxtaposition with the later scenes in which time slowly ticks away in the crevasse. Water becomes a recurring motif in the film, which conveys the extreme dehydration the protagonist endures, and technology, a video camera, is cleverly used to show Aron coming to terms with himself and his imminent fate. Knowing, as most people will, how the true story ends did not affect my viewing experience and I was surprised at how quickly the grisly scene was over. Sound is the most effective and powerful element within this scene and it is difficult viewing but Boyle resists the temptation to go all out gore fest.

James Franco is charismatic and charming as the lead and predominantly only character within the film and has the ability to show sincerity and fragility within a both physically and mentally strong person. ‘127 Hours’ has restored my faith in Boyle as an interesting British director who will hopefully never return to the slums.