Author: Rosalynn Try-Hane

A hardened lapsed Catholic NY cop who comes across unexplained supposedly paranormal events. He crosses paths with a non conventional Jesuit priest fighting for souls against demon possession with the opening lines the following events are based on true events and what do you have? This year’s horror thriller that will make you quake in your boots because it is purportedly based on true events.

Does the film make you jump and is there blood and gore? Well there is some blood and the tension is maintained throughout although there are some unintentional laugh out loud moments when it just seemed a little silly especially the use of the rain machine, which I presume was to help the viewer relate to the indeterminable struggle and toil that Ralph Sarchie played by Eric Bana felt in his quest against the demons. Whatever the purpose of the rain machine was it did get irritating by the end.

If you are a fan of the 1970 style horror movies and by that I mean The Exorcist and you’ve seen Seven then it feels as if it a mixture of these two movies although the story could have been developed more and the side characters especially the wife played by Olivia Munn and Ralph Sarchie’s partner could have been developed to enrich the story.

Having said that if you are looking for a few screams, jumps and subsequent spillage of popcorn then you could do a lot worse than go and see this movie.

The film is inspired by the life of Jimmy Gralton, the only Irishman ever to be deported from the Republic of Ireland and died in exile in New York City. It only covers a limited time of Gralton’s life; starting from his return home following the death of his brother to help his aged mum run the farm in 1932, following 10 years of civil war in Ireland, his reopening of the dance hall that reopens old wounds not quite healed, the conflict with the ruling classes and his eventual deportation and exile.

The film is an obvious companion piece to The Wind That Shakes The Barley also focusing on the Irish Civil War and rejoins director Ken Loach with screenwriter Paul Laverty who wrote not only The Wind That Shakes the Barley but this latest film Jimmy Gralton.

Fans of Ken Loach will not be disappointed. He offers a master class in taking a simple symbol of a dancing hall to show the insecurity of the ruling classes trying to oppress the working man through fear that they may unite and demand the rights that they are entitled to. However, it only shows a snapshot of Gralton’s life and leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Although set in the past it is clear that Loach is commenting on the present day, the greed of the early 2000’s will come back to haunt us in the same way as Gralton’s character talks of the roaring 20s and the unlimited greed and then the bubble burst.

Having said all that, don’t expect the complex characters and richness of story that was offered in The Wind That Shakes the Barley, it is not here, in choosing not to explain fully or delve deeper into why Jimmy Gralton was held in such high esteem is a disservice. Whilst it shone a light on someone that most people including myself had never heard of is much in Loach’s favour it would have been a reacher experience if the film covered more of his life before his departure to New York, there are only a limited flashbacks.

It is well worth a look if only to learn of a person who most of us had never heard of and the outstanding scene of dancing between the characters of Jimmy Gralton and Oonagh in the hall that captures the full spectrum of emotions between past lovers who know that they can never be that way again.

Annette Bening (‘Ann’) and Ed Harris (‘Tom and Garrett’) act in the Face of Love about a widow who lost her husband 5 years before and then sees a man who’s a doppelgänger of her late husband and starts a relationship with him.

It’s an interesting premise, what would you do if you had the chance to fall in love with someone who looked exactly like you late husband – would you? It has echoes of Vertigo by Hitchcock especially the obsessiveness in which Ann hunts down Tom who looks exactly like her late husband Garrett.

The film is directed by Arie Posin and co-written with Matthew McDuffie. Arie Posin said in interviews that the idea for this film came from his mother who one day thought she saw the doppelgänger of her late husband then told it as a rather amusing anecdote and left it at that. However McDuffie and Posin take that anecdote and turn into a Hitchcock style thriller.

There is a lot to like about this film: the actors for a start Annette Bening and Ed Harris, especially given that he plays both the part of Garrett and Tom, do an incredible job. The opening scenes where she is walking around the house the audience realise that not only did her husband Garrett die five years ago but so did she and now she is just existing. The scene where she cuts her hand on a broken wine glass just to see the blood pour from it to confirm that she is living is breathtakingly simple but yet so powerful in conveying grief and what it’s like for the person left behind.

However, the question is does the premise of this film work and whilst the acting is superb, and setting aside the rather languid pace, the answer is no. Yes, the idea of meeting someone who bears a striking a resemblance to a loved one that gives you the chance to love again and maybe have a cathartic release of the internalised grief is definitely interesting, but the last 20 minutes of the film turned into melodrama rather than building up to what could have been an incredible Hitchcock worthy ending.

I should add that it was excellent casting having Robin Williams in this film. He is much underrated as a straight non comedic actor. His role made me think why don’t we see more of him in these straight roles, I may have to dig out my copy of the 2002 film Insomnia in which he plays opposite Al Pacino, in which he also excellent.

The opening five minutes of this film is silent, we see an old man replaying his happiest memory of going to surprise his wife at work. Then we meet Mark, a teenager, who thinks he is going insane as he hears the voice of a older man every night until he finally gives in to his thoughts and is transported, Star Trek Scotty style, to a parallel world. The old man is Andrew who we see at the very opening of the film and he explains to Mark that in order to survive in this parallel world they must kills monsters, defined as serial killers, to absorb their energy and stay alive. In this parallel world everyone Mark cares about is there but they won’t and can’t recognise him as it is a parallel world.

The film poses questions about morality: are we able as a society to justify the killing of “monsters” to stay alive. Is fear of never seeing loved ones again even if they don’t recognise us enough motivation to keep killing as Mark does? Neither his father or girlfriend recognise him and so he is given a choice: he can die and never see them again or he can keep killing monsters to see them. The irony is they view him as a stranger so in essence his desire to kill is purely a selfish one.

This film written by Edgar Michael Bravo is an audacious one and in a relative short duration, 1 hour, he manages to highlight that man will do anything to stay in alive and the flaws in our moral code: can two wrongs every make it right and just who is the monster? Through sparse dialogue and the convincing acting of the two principal actors the tension in this thriller builds up to a surprising ending.

A film that demands and commands your full attention, well worth a look.