Author: Rosalynn Try-Hane

Throughout all of Steve McQueen’s previous films; Hunger and Shame, he deals with imprisonment and loss of freedom whether literally or metaphorically.  It’s as if his two previous films were the overtures before the earth shattering crescendo that is 12 Years A Slave.  His latest film is based upon the autobiographical book of the same name by Solomon Northup.

The film starts off with gaiety and joy showing Solomon as a free black man living in upstate New York with his family, shopping in a store owned by a white shopkeeper and being treated as an equal in Pre-Civil War America. His descent into slavery happens after he is tricked by two kidnappers to travel with them on a supposed circus tour of Washington DC for a week, earn money from playing the violin and then be back before his wife returns from her annual two week working stint. Except that it all goes horribly wrong. One of a number of powerful images is that of Solomon being kept imprisoned, before being shipped to the South as a slave, in a disused building in the State Capital so close to freedom and yet so far.

There are times when Solomon is treated with kindness by his first master, master Ford, and then with such brutality by the overseer that he’s hung by the neck whilst the other slaves turn away. We see him struggle to keep his spirit, be quick thinking when he’s double crossed by a white farm hand and pursuing a futile mission to convince Mistress Epps to divert her hate from Patsey to her husband as Patsey is but a slave and is only following orders.  The 12 years that he endures as a slave we endure with him until his eventual escape from bondage.

The scenes are beautifully shot and one would not expect any less from the Turner prize winning director Steve McQueen.  There are so many outstanding scenes in this film – one of my favourites is when the group of slaves stumble across a group of native Americans and share their roast and watch and listen to them dancing. The first of many paradoxes in the film: both groups are made up of non whites yet the native Americans are free and the blacks are treated as slaves in the South.

Similarly, McQueen does not flinch in showing the brutality and degradation of slavery; slaves being sold naked at auction, the whippings and beatings.  The latter scenes are so harrowing and even if I admit to closing my eyes, which in some respects was futile, the wails and sounds that accompanied the whippings were worse than actually watching them  This is not a popcorn munching film it’s far too distressing.  However, even if we flinch at these scenes we have to remember they are much sanitised; the daily realities of slavery were far worse.

The film is not without its’ weak points – much of the film is given over to Michael Fassbender’s character Master Epps to rage and rage some more thus stifling the character’s evolution as there is nowhere to go and that is a shame.  Also not enough time is allowed to examine the moral quagmire that decent men who held slaves faced, we see a little when Master Ford, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, goes to buy slaves at auction and the compassion he feels towards a female slave who is separated from her children.The small role played by the wonderful Alfre Woodard as the black Mistress Shaw should have been expanded – it’s never explained how she rose to that position. The scenes between Mistress Shaw and Patsey are sublime on so many levels – the fact that they give Patsey hope of a better life and something she might aspire to but for the fact that she is Master Epp’s property.

Having said all that 12 Years A Slave is a film about slavery that had to be made to show it’s true horrors.  A definite must see and a film that is and should be rewarded for the work of its’ director and actors bravery in making it.  It will haunt you for days afterwards and ponder the cost of slavery both past and present on us all.

If a person is clinically depressed and asks their psychiatrist to prescribe a new anti-depressant drug which has certain side effects, one of which the person already suffers from which ultimately results in the person committing a murder, who is guilty: the psychiatrist who knowingly prescribed the drug or the perpetrator? Oh and what is the side effect – sleepwalking.  If I gave away any more of the story it would ruin it in that Sixth Sense sense of the word. It’s an interesting premise and the basis of the Stephen Soderbergh’s film casting Jude Law and Catherine Zeta Jones both as psychiatrists and Rooney Mara as the “victim”.

This is a film that makes one think of about big pharmaceuticals and their ethics in the way in which their promote their pharmaceutical drugs. It also raises pertinent questions on the use of drugs to treat mental disorders and if other solutions shouldn’t be tried insteqd.  There is a scene in the film where Jude Law’s character prescribes his wife a little sedative ahead of her big job interview, which she’s very stressed about, and reassures her that everyone takes them and that is means nothing.

The film does work to a certain degree as a  thriller as there are a number of twists that are a complete surprise.

However, the screenplay is dense and I had to re-watch the ending twice with friends and spend a few days reflecting on it to finally make sense of it. All of that to say that this is not a film to talk through or to watch whilst swiping away on the Ipad. It commands 100% of the viewer’s attention and nothing less. I certainly recommend renting it on dvd.

This is the latest offering from François Ozon and his observations on class and human sexuality after his last film “In the house/ Dans la maison” in 2012.

In Young and Beautiful we are introduced to a very beautiful young woman, Isabelle, who is regarded as an object by all the men around her. The opening shot shows her young, 13 year old brother, watching her sunbathe naked and then later masturbate on a hot summer’s afternoon. Their relationship is rather too close for comfort. Even her step father walks in on her having a shower and ogles her.

During the summer holiday’s she loses her virginity in lacklustre fashion to a dull, teenage boyfriend after which we see her prostituting herself to older men. Why does she do it? We are never told explicitly although it is suggested that maybe after watching a documentary something clicked in her head.What does she do with the money? She hoards it. What is certain is that she doesn’t do it for the money coming from a very upper middle class.  The film follows Isabelle turning tricks up until the moment one of her older client’s has a heart attack in the middle of the act and the consequences that ensues once the police inform her unsuspecting mother of her daughter’s extra-curricular activities.

Whilst the actress, Marince Vacht, is perfectly cast in the title role, the film lilts from one act to another and ensuing consequences never quite providing any explanation.  Ultimately without providing any satisfactory conclusions to the audience, François Ozon doesn’t give us much reason or desire to care about Isabelle and what happens to her. Or maybe that is the genius of the film, can there ever be a black and white conclusion when the subject matter includes human emotion and sex?

Having said all of the above, there is a certain beauty in the way in which each act of the film follows the Seasons and a cameo role by consistently excellent Charlotte Rampling at the end as the widow of Isabelle’s older client  lifts the film and provides much needed direction.

The opening scenes of this film are quite something to behold with the flashing images of tits and ass from various porn sites. You see Don Jon, the main character and title of this film, wants to introduce us into his world in which he objectifies everything.  The things most important to him are namely; his car, his body, his place, his family, his friends, the church, sleeping with the ladies and porn. Yes, porn, he explains to us that whilst picking up women is great and there’s no shortage in supply of gorgeous women nothing quite makes him climax like sitting in front of his computer masturbating to porn.

The film does contain some great scenes of our protagonist, Don Jon, sliding out from under a gorgeous lady in his bed, slipping into the other room turning on his computer and masturbating to porn. Or his weekly visits to the confession box to receive his 10 Hail Mary’s and 10 Lord Prayer’s as penance for all the sex and porn he’s watched. However, Don John meets his perfect 10 in the form of Barbara Sugarman (played by Scarlett Johansson) and starts to fall in love. The only question is: will the Don give up his love of porn for his perfect woman?

Whilst on the surface the film is pretty frothy, the references to the reality show Jersey Shore are easy to spot but peel back the layers and what you find is a film asking deep questions about male use of porn and it’s affects on modern day relationships, intimacy and casual sex.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in his directorial and writer debut gives us a film that is filled with some laugh out loud moments and if we can get past the frothiness which does happen towards the end with a star turn by Julianne Moore, it is definitely a film worth seeing.  It’s only a shame that the audience has to wait for the final 30 minutes of the film to see more of the central character’s depth and realization of what is really important.