Author: Alton Williams

The Ghost ****

In the past year controversial film director Roman Polanski has been in the news quite a bit, not for anything relating to his film career but rather his arrest last year in Switzerland on an outstanding charge for a sex offence committed in 1977 from which he fled prosecution. With such controversy surrounding him it is certainly easy to forget that Polanski is in fact a highly accomplished Academy Award winning writer and director. His latest film, The Ghost (known as The Ghost Writer in the states), based on the novel of the same name by former BBC TV news reporter and political columnist Robert Harris, was actually in the post production stage when he was arrested but the process was never put on hold, him continuing to oversee every step of the film and handle all artistic decisions and even finishing editing while he was in a Swiss prison. While Polanski’s arrest is certainly justified, it is good that he at least got the opportunity to finish this film.

A ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) is hired to take over writing the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), after the previous writer dies in an accident. Soon after The Ghost accepts the assignment, a high-ranking British official accuses Lang of having illegally seized suspected terrorists and handing them over to the CIA for torture. The controversy over this alleged war crime brings reporters and protesters swarming to the Martha’s Vineyard mansion where Lang is staying with his wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) and his media-handler turned mistress Amelia (Kim Cattrall). As The Ghost continues his work, he begins to uncover what seem to be clues placed by the previous writer. Did the dead man piece together a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA? And did he somehow hide this information in the manuscript he left behind…

The Ghost is a film that is rather anti-Hollywood in its style. Such is the strength of Roman Polanski’s direction that the film never has to resort to elaborate setpieces or needless action to create tension. Instead, it manages to be a tense and taut thriller just by utilizing simple, almost Hitchcockian (the film even starts without any opening credits like Hitchcock tried out, something was quite revolutionary at the time), filmmaking techniques, with the musical score being used to great effect in amping up the sense of threat and simple cinematography giving the film a distinctive look with doing anything fancy or extravagant. Really, only a director such as Polanski could make a film as restrained as this and one that completely avoids the excesses of Hollywood movie making. The fact that the film manages to be pretty interesting both visually and otherwise is a testimony to Polanski’s filmmaking skills as its use of rather nondescript locations (the film is mostly set in American but, due to the arrest warrant on Polanski there, was actually filmed in Germany) and largely confined setting (much of the film takes place in one rather limited location) could easily have resulted in a film that failed to hold the interest. Sadly, despite the technical proficiency of Polanski’s work, the film is occasionally a bit too slow paced to fully maintain the attention, particularly with the rather long running time. Nonetheless, this narrative driven film does have a very satisfying conclusion, it just takes a bit of time getting there. The screenplay (written by Polanski, adapted by book author Robert Harris) is well structured and features plenty of sharp, occasionally even humourous (in an everyday conversation kind of way) dialogue, as well as characters that are realistic and thoroughly developed, each having their own personal demons to contend with and reflecting the complicated nature of interpersonal relationships. These characters are well realised on the screen thanks to strong, believable performances from every member of a cast that also includes Tom Wilkinson and Eli Wallach among others. The most intense performances, though come from Pierce Brosnan (whose screen time is actually rather limited, his character not being present for much of the story) and Olivia Williams who convincingly and excellently portray the strains of being individuals under siege from everyone around them. Ewan McGregor is good also but his performance is not in the same league as that of either Brosnan or Williams. All in all, while The Ghost is far from being a cinematic masterpiece, it is still a well made thriller, albeit one that is perhaps lacking in actual thrills. Nonetheless, it provides an interesting insight into both the dark side of politics and the truth about so-called ‘autobiographies’. It won’t be to everyone’s taste of course but anyone who likes a bit of political intrigue will find that this is a film definitely worth checking out.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

Remember Me ***½

It really doesn’t seem like that long ago that no one had heard of Robert Pattinson. The British actor got his first big break when he was cast as Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter franchise but this wasn’t the role that really threw him into the spotlight. The role that really made him a star was that of Edward Cullen in the Twilight film series, the role that has turned him from being a relative unknown into the object of desire for teen and tween girls all over the world, who swoon whenever he appears in anything. His fanbase is almost rabid in their adoration for him but they are used to seeing him play a certain kind of role. This is what makes his latest film, Remember Me, quite a daring career choice. Pattinson himself warned his fans that they may well be disappointed by this film and this is most definitely the case, as his in this romantic drama (notice it is a drama, not a comedy) here is completely removed from anything he has done before.

Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson) is a rebellious young man living a disaffected existence in New York City. Ever since their family was separated by a tragedy, Tyler has suffered a strained relationship with his influential father, Charles (Pierce Brosnan). Tyler also has a young sister, Caroline (Ruby Jerins), who lives with their mother Diane (Lena Olin), and he is outraged that their father can’t bear to spend time with her. One night Tyler intervenes in a street brawl but ends up getting arrested by tough cop Neil Craig (Chris Cooper), whose wife was murdered in a shooting ten years earlier. After spending a night in jail, Tyler learns from his roommate Aidan Hall (Tate Ellington) that Neil has a daughter, Ally (Emilie de Ravin), with whom he shares a class at college. Ally is beautiful, spirited and inspiring, and Tyler begins to fall for her. But with two strong and disapproving fathers to contend with, the circumstances that brought them together also threaten to tear them apart.

A warning for Twilight fans – whatever you are expecting from Remember Me, you should be informed that it is likely that you will be disappointed. You see, this is not a fantasy like Twilight but rather a story taking place completely in the real world. And this is clearly evidenced by the fact that the film opens with a tragedy, a character getting shot within the first minute and another prominent character, just a child, witnessing it. The romance presented in this film is entirely real world stuff. There is none of the fluff that is present in most romantic comedies and there is definitely no sugar coating of anything. The story does not shy away from real life tragedies, but rather embraces them. People die and tragedies occur. It does not avoid tackling the everyday problems that people face in their relationships but places them right at the heart of everything. The characters are all damaged, struggling with their own inner demons and Tyler’s family in particular is fractured with every single member experiencing the strains of their experiences on their relationships with one another. Then there are the metaphors and multiple levels of commentary and subtext, relating to all kind of issues, among them terrorism. This is a film that has much to say although for quite some time it seems like it is trying to say something but the message doesn’t seem to be coming across. For all the efforts at greatness, the story elements don’t entirely click together for the most part. The romance at the heart of the story is pretty average stuff offering little that really stands out, even if the story of two damaged characters finding kindred spirits in one another is undeniably moving, but there is a deeper meaning to the film beyond the romance. It almost seems like this meaning is not going to be revealed. But, then it happens, out of the blue – something so completely unexpected and shocking yet actually kind of hinted at in some of the subtexts running through the film and that makes so many things that have happened and been said up to this point suddenly come alive with meaning. I won’t give anything away but the last ten minutes or so translate what might otherwise have been a fairly forgettable and possibly meaningless film into something poignant and thought provoking. It is fair to say though that if you want to leave with a warm feeling inside this will be a film to avoid as tragedy has a strong presence and at points you probably will be drawn to tears. As for Robert Pattinson himself, even he is nothing like what his fans might expect here. He portrays a character who is emotionally scarred and he plays the rebellious, independent type very well. In fact, his performance here shows a whole new level of acting ability, with his performance being very powerful and quite intense. His character really is one who we can believe in and this is also true of the other actors as well. Emilie de Ravin plays an unorthodox love interest and shares a believable chemistry with Pattinson, one that reflects the realism of relationships as opposed to the fairy tale portrayal of romance that we are used to, while there are superbly intense performances from both Pierce Brosnan and Chris Cooper. These performances are key to the film working as without strong acting the entire thing would just fall apart. Fortunately, while the film undoubtedly has flaws and isn’t wholly successful in putting across its message or engaging the interest, it has more than enough going for it to ensure it is far from forgetful and may even be talked about in the years to come. Will you remember Remember Me? Quite possibly.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

Whip It *****

Every year at the cinema there are a number of underdog films that are fully deserving of broad recognition from moviegoers but invariably pass by ignored and underappreciated at the box office, failing to even achieve the status of sleeper hit. This is particularly the case with a number of films dealing with so-called alternative culture. Every now and then such a film does manage to break out but generally the best films like this can hope for is a devoted cult following. This was very much the case with last year’s Bandslam, one of the cinematic gems of 2009 that flopped spectacularly at the box office despite great reviews and word of mouth. Whip It is very much in the same situation. Already having being released in America, it too was a box office flop, but this film – the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, starring Juno‘s Ellen Page – really deserves to be seen. Based around the alternative sport known as Roller Derby (which is a real sport in case you’re wondering) and based on the book Whip it by Shauna Cross – who herself is a former Roller Derby skater with the Los Angeles Derby Dolls and skated under the name Maggie Mayhem – this is a film that delivers a whole new spin on the chick flick, a film genre that has become somewhat stale as of late, frequently being associated with the many mediocre romantic comedies being churned out by Hollywood rather than anything truly great or unique. Whip It is both of these things.

Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) dreams of escaping the tiny town of Bodeen, Texas, where her mother Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden) is convinced that she can only succeed in life if she wins the local beauty pageant. When Bliss sneaks off to the big city of Austin with her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat) she discovers the sport known as Roller Derby, with its girl-power-meets-punk-rock spirit and its liberating celebration of wild individuality. Inspired by the likes of Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig), Bliss secretly tries out for a spot on Maggie’s Roller Derby team, the Hurl Scouts, a rag-tag skate team of scrappy underdogs, whose team members also include Smashley Simpson (Drew Barrymore), Rosa Sparks (Eve), Bloody Holly (Zoe Bell) and the Manson Sisters (Kristen Adolfi and Rachel Piplica) and who are coached by Razor (Andrew Wilson). Proving a natural on her skates, Bliss is welcomed into the team and, calling herself Babe Ruthless, she leads a precarious double life, fearlessly facing off with rivals like Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) and Eva Destruction (Ari Graynor), and falling for band member Oliver (Landon Pigg) as life becomes more exciting – and complicated – than she ever thought possible, and she falls in love with something for the first time in her life.

Whip It is far from your average chick flick. It is not a cutesy romantic comedy. Nor is it a mushy romantic drama. Or even a Hannah Montana style tween movie. It is, however, a love story, just not about love between a girl and a guy but rather a girl’s love for the one thing that gives her life meaning – in this case, Roller Derby. And don’t think that because I say this film is a love story that it means the film is any way lacking edge as what we get here is a combination of drama and comedy that manages to be as raw and real as it sweet and charming, portraying a sense of female strength and independence and all round girl power that should really speak to many of today’s women. The success of this can be attributed to the winning combination of superbly quirky direction by Drew Barrymore (in her first time as director) and the fantastic screenplay written by Whip It book author Shauna Cross herself, whose experience of the sport in real life translates excellently into every facet of the writing. She clearly knows the world of Roller Derby inside and out and this shows throughout, particularly in terms of the rules of the sport, which we learn as Bliss does and that are presented in a way that is easy for those unfamiliar with Roller Derby to understand but that doesn’t seem in any way watered down or compromised for the sake of a mainstream audience as a result. Cross’ writing is also excellent in the aspects that don’t directly relate to the sport though. At the heart of the film is a sweet (if perhaps slightly predictable) coming of age story that is warm and occasionally humorous, the humour being simultaneously smart and silly, and packed full of characters that are multi dimensional, completely believable and who speak dialogue that seems completely out of real life. The characters are just as great off the page as well with every member of the cast performing to a high standard. Ellen Page channels the same energy that she put into her Oscar nominated performance in Juno, delivering a spirited performance that perfectly captures the essence of the independent and strong willed character she is playing. The always excellent Marcia Gay Harden also delivers a top notch performance as Bliss’ uptight but loving mother. In fact, everyone in the cast is excellent with particular mention going to the suitably bad-ass Juliette Lewis and the more down to earth Kristen Wiig. Now back to the Roller Derby stuff. For starters, due to a well done explanation of the rules of the sport, the Roller Derby sequences are fairly straightforward to follow, even for those with no prior knowledge of the sport, i.e. pretty much everyone. The sequences are all superbly shot and executed and the excitement of the sport into real life feeds into the scenes here which are kinetic and guaranteed to get the pulse pumping. Consequently, this is a film that offers excitement as well as heart, offering as much in style as it does in substance. Overall, Whip It is an extremely well made and hugely entertaining film that is probably going to be completely ignored at the box office. It most definitely does not deserve this fate, however, and I urge you to whip down to your cinema and see it as soon as possible.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)