Frank and Lola is a stylish thriller, come love story come film noir from first-time writer/director Matthew Ross. Frank is played with brooding magnificence by Michael Shannon and the fragile, vulnerable and mysterious Lola by Imogen Poots.
In this film, the obsessive lover role is given to the male lead. Michael Shannon convincing conveys the irrationality and all-consuming power love can have on a person. Frank and Lola is stylish and dark both in subject matter and tone – it compels you to give it all your attention. There’s also consumption of a different kind through the delicious meals that Frank cooks for Lola as well as others in the film. For the launch of the DVD, BRWC was invited to emulate Frank’s deftness as a chef sadly without the truffles but duck confit cigar rolls and freshly made tagliatelle.
However, even though Frank’s role is that of a chef – the love and obsession he has for producing the perfect dish are transferred to slavish devotion to Lola even when it is clear that she is not all she seems. What’s that old saying again – Love is Blind and so very true in Frank’s case.
With two talented actors in the principle roles and a notable supporting cast – Frank and Lola is an interesting examination of love. The problem is the moving premise – that works with an experienced filmmaker such as Jeff Nichols and his film of Midnight Special. In Frank and Lola it would have been better if the film just chose one premise and stuck with that.
Having said all of that, it’s refreshing to see Michael Shannon as a romantic lead albeit a deranged one.
Frank and Lola is out now on DVD and Digital Download.
Public voting opens tomorrow for this year’s Virgin TV Must-See Moment
Shortlisted programmes represent the most-talked about TV programme moments of 2016 from fighting mammals to dancing politicians
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has today announced the shortlist of nominated moments for this year’s Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment, the only award voted for by the British public at the upcoming Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards, taking place on Sunday 14 May at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
·The Late Late Show: Carpool Karaoke Michelle Obama
·Line of Duty: Urgent Exit Required
·Planet Earth II: Snakes vs Iguana Chase
·Strictly Come Dancing: Ed Balls’ Gangnam Style
·Who Do You Think You Are: Danny Dyer’s Origins
The Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment rewards the TV highlights that had the nation gripped last year: the dramatic scenes, the cliffhangers, the laugh-out-loud and the edge-of-your-seat action. A panel of leading media and entertainment journalists collated the shortlist, which this year champions everything from British drama and global entertainment showstoppers to nature documentaries and factual history programmes.
From Tuesday 11 April (08.00) until Wednesday 10 May (17.00) members of the public will have the opportunity to vote for the Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment at www.virginmedia.com/bafta. Early voters will also enter a prize draw to win tickets to attend the event*.
For the first time TV fans can also vote through their television sets- Virgin TV customers can vote through the app on the TiVo® platform. Voting via TiVo closes on Thursday 4 May at 23:59.
David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin TV, said: “The Virgin TV Must-See Moment celebrates the role that TV has at the heart of British entertainment and culture. Great television has the power to fire our emotions and get us talking and laughing. From snake chases and huge battle scenes, to seeing big names trying to sing and dance, there is something for everyone. With the nominations we are announcing today, the Great British public has a tough decision to make. I can’t wait to see the final results.”
Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, added: “With our title sponsor Virgin TV, we are thrilled to announce the shortlist for a new public-voted award this year – Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment. The shortlist demonstrates an incredible range of unforgettable TV moments from last year and I’m sure it will be tough to pick out a favourite. I look forward to the winner being revealed on Sunday 14 May.”
The nominations for the Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards will be announced tomorrow live on Facebook (facebook.com/bafta)
The winner of the Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment will be announced at the Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards, which will take place on Sunday 14 May at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
David Tennant is monstrously good as RD Laing in Mad To Be Normal. For the uninitiated, R.D.Laing was a Scottish psychiatrist who became this mythic rock star like figure in the 60s and 70s culminating in establishing a community of individuals with varying psychiatric conditions at Kingsley Hall. He used LSD and promoted self healing. Aside from being a non linear biopic, the film questions what is normal; what the mainstream do?
R.D. Laing’s larger than life personality is captured David perfectly by Tennant supported by a stellar supporting cast including Laing’s lover Angie Wood (Elisabeth Moss) and patients Jim (Gabriel Byrne), Sydney Kotok (Michael Gambon). Mad to Be Normal is co-written and directed by Robert Mullan.
There will be criticisms that the script jumps around there is a lot of poetic licence taken with events that took place in Laing’s life. The answer has to be this is cinema, deal with it. There’s a definite trend in the film biopics currently being released, for example Hidden Figures, to spread the focus on both the central person and also the supporting characters so in Mad To Be Normal we see more of Angie. However, whilst there is more of Angie on screen we don’t necessarily understand her. It is frustrating not to be shown her back story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6-i3Uo05C0
I prefer biopics that aren’t linear and some people may find this hard to deal with. Laing is already famous, enjoying rock star fame. How famous is famous? Well, Laing appeared on stage with Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead. It’s refreshing not to see him as a child or young adult. We are catapulted into his story resplendent with the dense fog of cigarettes and whisky. Laing’s idea was that schizophrenia is the internal struggle between two identities. He would know a bit about this struggle as the film clearly shows him as alcoholic and clinically depressed and probably in as much need of help as his patients.
Mad To Be Normal makes for contradictory and uncomfortable viewing and that is where the power lies. Mad To Be Normal lingers well after the credits have finished rolling. You’ll have flashbacks and question what you’ve seen. Laing may have been a maverick and ostracised by the establishment yet 30 years techniques introduced by Laing are being used to treat various psychiatric conditions.
Mad To Be Normal is released in cinemas on 6 April 2017.
I was lucky enough to sit down with Philip Winchester on the eve of his new TV showing airing, Chicago Justice, on Universal Channel UK to hear why; he’s left his action hero life behind, dealing with difficult themes in an adult way and how we’re now in the platinum age of television!
BRWC: So from action hero in Strike Back and 24, what attracted you to this role [Pete Stone in Chicago Justice]?
PW: Look, I think people oh he’s this guy or he’s this guy and the work is always going to be like that. For me it came down to I had a meeting with Dick Wolf, who is the godfather of t.v. and he said shall we give this a shot. I said well I would be a fool to say no to him. So really the decision was made for me by being in the presence of such an impactful and powerful man of television. I came off Strike Back and The Player and I had the time of my life on these two shows. I enjoy action. He [Dick Wolf] was gracious and kind and gave me the space to learn and grow and he surrounded me with amazing actors and gave me amazing words so a lot of the hardwork was done for me. Michael Chernuchin who wrote on Law and Order for 20 years is our lead writer and so we are really fortunate. He took me under his wing. In essence they created this space for me to fail and to learn and that’s the safest environment an actor can hope for.
BRWC: Picking up on that how much influence did you have in developing the character?
PW: I was really fortunate. I could speak to Michael Chernuchin and say this is stuff that interests me/works for me. He’s such a good writer that he could pick up on who I am as a man and what I find interesting and don’t . We talked about politics and religion, race, culture. This stuff is important so we put this into the character.
BRWC: Do you ever allow that kind of social commentary, like what’s happening in politics right now, to get put into the show?
RW: Right, well none of that stuff is going to make its way in. It’s more sort of the essence about what would fire me up about a situation and that stuff happens to Stone. I like that. Politics and television and that kind of stuff, I mean there are platforms to do that and I don’t think [the show] is the right place. Actors talking about politics is never the right thing because we’re never really going to be perceived as that person wholly because that’s not who we are. It’s a character that we portray and we shouldn’t have that character portray who we are as real people as that is confusing.
Philip Winchester
BRWC: That’s refreshing to hear.
PW: That’s not my 10 pence.
BRWC: That’s good because it means the show is a show.
PW: Exactly, the show is a show. Peter Stone is not who me by any stretch of the imagination.
BRWC: The show follows the Law and Order format.
PW: Exactly [Jon and Joelle] go out and get the bad guys and bring them into me and we follow that Law and Order format not to a T but mostly.
BRWC: For the strike back role, I read you really like to prepare so how did you prepare for this?
PW: I watched Law and Order and read Law for Dummies and hung out with M Chernuchin who is our lead writer and used to be a lawyer.
BRWC: Do you think there’s a danger of fatigue, with all the plethora of legal shows out there?
PW: Part of the brilliance of Dick Wolf is he knows what works and what doesn’t. We’ve only done 13 episodes. I heard someone say it’s not the golden age but the platinum age of television. There’s so much good stuff out there you’ve got to have a good, quirky or sexy show and I think Dick Wolf makes damn good drama.
BRWC: So what makes Chicago Justice stand out from the rest? How would you describe this show?
PW: I was impressed we were tackling hot button issues and not shying away from those. We [Carl Weathers and I] sat down together and said we have a Black states attorney and have an assistant state’s attorney. Can we get in a room and talk about race as adults and not beat around the bush. He agreed. We went to our writers and said lets talk about race like men and women and not like children. It’s honest and it hurts to be honest and that keeps people watching.
BRWC: TV is like radio either you’re in or out in the first few mintues.
PW: Yep, I think Dick said you get three chances to make a first impression. If it doesn’t work then you’re out.
Chicago Justice
Chicago Justice airs Thursdays at 9pm on Universal Channel.
Chicago Justice is the latest addition to the Dick Wolf television empire. If you were at all concerned; Chicago has all your health, fire, policing and now justice worries covered.
Dick Wolf creator of the seminal tv series Law and Order now brings forth his latest baby: Chicago Justice. If you enjoy and are familiar with the format of Law and Order then watching Chicago Justice will feel a little like deja-vu.
Each episode of Chicago Justice follows Assistant State Attorney Peter Stone (Peter Winchester), Assistant State Attorney Anna Valdez (Monica Barbara) and their boss State Attorney Mark Jeffries (Carl Weathers) as they try to prosecute cases they are given by the investigators lead by Chief Investigator Antonio Dawson (John Seda). The series promises to address issues such as; race, politics, equality and other hot topics in an adult way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_7TwxgdEzc
On watching the pilot it is clear that Wolf and lead writer Michael Chernuchin are trying to be bold by having a protagonist who is not likeable and hard for the audience to engage with. This tactic is a double edged sword – do you want your audience to engage with the character or the story? Maybe as the season continues we will see a shift. For those familiar with Peter Winchester’s previous tv roles it is interesting to see him shift from action to legal hero. First impressions from watching the pilot is the adjustment is a slow one but there is promise.
However, the real question is do we need another legal television drama. The answer – only time will tell.
Chicago Justice airs Thursdays at 9pm on Universal Channel.
