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  • Bring Down The Walls: Review

    Bring Down The Walls: Review

    BRWC at Sheffield Doc Fest 2020: Bring Down the Walls

    Esme Betamax | @betamaxer

    Bring Down the Walls asks one question: How can we deconstruct the prison industrial complex? With prisoners numbering in their millions, the US has created a lucrative business model and a monster. Changes in police tactics and laws over the past 40 years have propped up a system that is heavily stacked against Black people. 

    Directed by artist and filmmaker Phil Collins, Bring Down the Walls is a multi-level project. He uses a former firehouse in Lower Manhattan as a community hub (school by day, dance club by night). Collins documents the stories that people share about prison, and the performances of formerly incarcerated DJs and singers. Collins’s previous projects share themes of music and overlooked people. This video, relating to his documentary Tomorrow Is Always Too Long (2014) gives you a sense of his motivation and interests.

    Bring Down the Walls was filmed in two locations. The Firehouse, Engine Company 31, New York, in 2018, and Sing Sing Correctional Facility, New York in 2015. Correctional Facility. They don’t even call it a prison any more, and the power of language is one of the discussions you can hear at talks in the community. Collins’s decision to house the project in a firehouse is notable too–a public service dedicated to protecting people as the police are supposed to. (No one ever made a song called fuck the fire department)

    Bring Down the Walls

    There is no better time to talk about abolition, and Bring Down the Walls shows how these conversations can come about. It introduces concepts through the voices of people who have lived their lives in the shadow of the American penal system. With so many of them sharing stories of vulnerability, fear, and shame. This is a space where gay and trans People of Colour are able to speak openly about their trauma and find common ground.

    Bring Down the Walls

    The stories told in Bring Down the Walls are arresting, and necessary. They require reflection. In the context of the film they serve as an in-breath. The out-breath manifests in sequences filmed in the club, a pattern that repeats throughout the film.

    Collins asserts that house music and politics are inextricably linked, originating in the late 70s, when this particular form of police brutality was on the rise. House music is at the core of the film, and it is a vital form of communication. They have produced a record, also called Bring Down the Walls. It is a double album of classic house tracks, covered by former inmates, and is available on Bandcamp. Bring Down the Walls is dedicated ‘In solidarity with the millions of human beings held in cages in US prisons and jails, and their communities and loved ones’

    Watch the trailer here

  • The Rental: Another Review

    The Rental: Another Review

    Two couples, Michelle (Alison Brie) and Charlie (Dan Stevens) and Josh (Jeremy Allen White) and Mina (Sheila Vand) are spending the weekend away together in a rental by the sea. However, when they meet the owner of the rental, Taylor (Toby Huss) they start to get a sense that he may not be as welcoming as he could have been.

    Charlie and Mina are business partners, working closely together, they are not only great friends, but they have a great working relationship and rely on each other heavily to get through their work. Once settled, they start to enjoy the evening, but as the influences of their good time takes effect, things happen that cannot be taken back so easily.

    The Rental is a slow burn horror and directorial debut from Dave Franco who also co-wrote the screenplay. The setting for the film may not be all that original (four friends going to an isolated house has been done to death) but the performances of the cast keep it compelling as their fleshed-out relationships keep the audience wondering where the story will go next.

    It just may take a little longer to get there than some audiences may prefer. Thankfully though, the director and cast (including Franco’s wife, Alison Brie) don’t indulge too much in their performances so much as to distract from the plot.

    As the film does finally get to the point and for some the direction may not be all that surprising, there’s still enough to go on as far as what’s going to happen between the couples, whether the owner’s as corrupt as he appears and who exactly may be watching them.

    Unfortunately, as the film goes into its final act it does veer into very familiar horror territory, which may delight some, but may also put others off as they may have been expecting something more unexpected. Also, the person who is really watching them is as generic as they come.

    Whereas with some villains the little the audiences know about them the better, in this case it just feels like the villain’s motivations weren’t all that well thought out.

  • Kat And The Band: Review

    Kat And The Band: Review

    Seventeen-year-old, music obsessed school girl Kat Malone (Ella Hunt) tricks her way into managing struggling band Dollar Days, pretending to be a band manager in her twenties.

    E.E. Hegarty’s Kat and the Band is a beautifully touching film that delves into the inner relationships and turmoils of a promising band that doesn’t have much luck when it comes to scoring gigs. It’s a film that is most certainly not without its problems, but it managed to put a big smile on my face and swept me off my feet from the beginning all the way until the end.

    A large portion as to why this movie works as well as it does is because of the relationship between the band members and the titular Kat Malone. I have seen quite the number of music-related films that are similar to this film, but this particular movie does an excellent job of showcasing a band that is not without its faults. The music that Dollar Days plays is actually quite good, but they struggle to find anywhere to play. They spend most of their time either practicing or simply playing at the cheapest possible venues because they are that desperate to even have a few people hear some of their songs.

    But Kat immediately takes notice of the band’s potential and wants to help them out because she too is a hardcore music lover and has a dream of one day becoming a professional band manager. But, instead of being outright and forward with the band, she simply approaches them by already stating that she is a manager with lots of experience under her belt.

    It takes her a lot of convincing, but eventually, she wins them over after she manages to find them a remarkably talented drummer named Sid (Idris Debrand). When all seems to be going alright for the group, they run into one misstep after the next, and it not only becomes incredibly entertaining to watch them figure their way out of the sticky situation but poignant and uplifting. It truly felt as though I were watching a real band trying their best to succeed. I felt the raw passion that these band members had, which is impressive considering that these were all actors.

    All of the cast do wonderful jobs in their respective roles, but none come close to reaching the levels of energy and warmth that lead-star Ella Hunt manages to radiate. I have been a fan of her work ever since the extraordinarily unique and exciting Anna and the Apocalypse and I loved her portrayal of Sue Gilbert in Apple TV+’s Dickinson series from last year. While her performance here as Kat isn’t as great as the aforementioned performances, she still manages to pull off a sweet and captivating performance of a teenage girl who loves music and will stop at nothing until her dreams come true. Watching her character in this film was greatly rewarding and inspiring.

    When it comes to issues with the film, there are definitely a few as I hinted at earlier. For one, the plotline isn’t anything original and does, at times, feel quite familiar. It follows a tried-and-true formula of a music-related film and doesn’t have a bunch of shocking surprises up its sleeves. Gratefully though, it ended up being rather unpredictable, as I thought I had the ending all figured out at one point, only for the film to go in the completely opposite direction which was a pleasant diversion.

    Furthermore, there are some moments in which the film feels as if it is moving along a bit too quickly. With a running time of only ninety-two minutes, there is only so much time that is dedicated to fleshing out a few of the characters. For example, Kat’s best friend Jane (Jennifer Leong) feels pushed to the side compared to the other actors. I didn’t really get a strong sense of what her character’s purpose was, other than to love and support her best friend.

    All that being said though, E.E. Hegarty’s Kat and the Band is a beautifully touching and inspiring music-fueled coming-of-age tale with a sense of life and wonder oozing through. It’s a movie that I think a lot of us could use right now.

    Kat and the Band is a beautifully sweet and uplifting music-fueled coming-of-age tale with a great sense of heart, and an excellent performance from Ella Hunt.

  • Relic: Review

    Relic: Review

    When Edna (Robyn Nevin), the elderly and widowed matriarch of the family, goes missing, her daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) and granddaughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) travel to their remote family home to find her. Soon after her return, they start to discover a sinister presence haunting the house and taking control of Edna.

    If there is one thing that can definitely be said regarding Relic, it is that first-time feature director Natalie Erika James knows how to craft tension that feels authentic and grounded, and she ensures that the feeling is never lost. Here, she manages to craft a film that attempts to say quite a bit of things and it does so relatively well, but what’s most impressively displayed with this film is its slow-burning pace and its quiet scenes that oftentimes leave you feeling deeply uncomfortable and a little bit nervous.

    Many are going to watch this movie and call it extremely boring and will say that nothing really happened in it. I can definitely understand that point of view, but I respectfully disagree. This is a creepy and unique way of telling the story of a broken family and the lengths that one may go in order to hold on to somebody within that family. As I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t always handle its themes in the most careful ways. It does, unfortunately, feel a bit messy at times and there are some moments where the overall story gets lost along the way, but there are plenty aspects to the film that were greatly enjoyable and left an impact on me.

    One of the strongest being the performances all across the board. Perhaps the greatest of the bunch is none other than Robyn Nevin, who portrays the eerily mysterious Edna. Every single time she is on screen, she radiates a sense of uneasiness that was never lost. She felt remarkably cold and quiet in all the best ways. There was even one scene in particular where all she is doing is having a conversation with Kay, but her way of speaking mixed with the uncertain dread lying behind her eyes gave me goosebumps.

    Speaking of Kay, Emily Mortimer also does a terrific job here, as does Bella Heathcote. All three of these actresses feel in complete control of the film. Never once did it feel like they were actors portraying characters. It truly felt as though I were watching a family going through the worst time of their lives.

    Something else that was excellent in Relic was the atmosphere. The entire movie is littered with tons of dark colors and hues that give off a strong unwelcoming vibe, but in a good way. Right from the opening scene alone, I got the sense that this world was a tragic and scary one that has a lot of intrigue within it. These colors and the dark lighting, mixed with the impressive cinematography by Charlie Sarroff make this film a treat for the eyes.

    If there is one big problem I have with Relic, it is most certainly the ending. It’s the type of ending that you can tell was created to make viewers go “What in the world just happened? That was so weird”. But, really, it will make viewers go “That was kind of dumb”. It feels incredibly pretentious and makes the rest of the film beforehand feel somewhat inconsequential. Even still, the film’s cold tone mixed with the mysterious story make it a horror journey worth going on, despite its flaws.

    Relic‘s mysterious and eerie story accompanied by the excellent performances across the board make it a delightful horror film, messy as it may be.

  • The Sunlit Night: Review

    The Sunlit Night: Review

    By Alex Purnell. This easy on the eyes romantic tale set in idyllic Norway feels like an unfinished painting, directionless and skeletal.

    The Sunlit Night starts off on the right foot, painting a picture Frances (Jenny Slate), a young artist stuck in a messy home life when her sister gets engaged and her parents announce their divorce, Frances takes an opportunity to work as an assistant on a remote island in northern Norway. Here she meets her new mentor, acclaimed Norwegian artist Nils (Fridtjov Såheim) and is tasked with helping out on an art project in which the two paint a decrepit barn in multiple shades of yellow. Just next door, a model Viking town is preparing for a traditional Viking funeral for the father of the film’s love interest, Yasha (Alex Sharp).

    Directed by German-born David Wnendt, The Sunlit Night is somewhat of a letdown, from the politically humorous and eyeopening Look Who’s Back (2015)to the grotesquely beautiful coming of age story that is Wetlands (2013), Wnendt has overtly proven that he is capable in taking the helm. The amount of character his past work bleeds is in stark contrast to his newest piece, though I can see these issue arising more-so from the script than the direction.

    The glaring issue with The Sunlit Night is its failure to follow through with its various narratives and characters. The said characters are frustratingly two dimensional, making it challenging to care about them as they lack development. To top this all off, the use of actors such as Zach Galifianakis, who plays the out-of-touch American tour guide who takes his job as a Viking a bit too seriously, for comic relief felt unnatural and superfluous, a strange direction to take which does nothing but muddy the films already non-existent personality.

    The romantic plot between Frances and Yasha feels like it has been built upon perilous foundations, the curious Frances initially seems inquisitive of our glum, Russian born, Brooklyn raised love interest, though a romance does blossom between the two, there’s no real justification for it doing so. It’s an unlikely love story, and not like Romeo and Juliet, instead of its more the case that the two have no chemistry, and although there are a couple of engaging moments between the two, the relationship is far too shallow for any emotional investment on the side of the audience.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUHu1e0MI8Q

    Visually, however, is where the film manages to hold up. Set amongst the grey Scandanavian skies, a beautiful hue of earthy colours pop out throughout the film with the use of classic artwork complimenting the story. Frances describes her thoughts through the use of famous paintings and artworks, people and situations around her are compared to said artworks, seemingly pulling them out of the frame and projecting them onto the picture. 

    Despite this, though, The Sunlit Night comes across as weak, missing key elements, it attempts to be a quirky-comedy, coming of age drama but comes across as brittle and lightweight, unable to harness these qualities the feature doesn’t present much, but at least it’s pretty to look at.