film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Category: REVIEWS

Here is where you would find our film reviews on BRWC.  We look at on trailers, shorts, indies and mainstream.  We love movies!

  • Red Letter Day: Review

    Red Letter Day: Review

    Timothy (Kaeleb Zain Gartner) and Madison Edwards (Hailey Foss) live with their mum, Melanie (Dawn Van de Schoot) in a quiet, suburban neighbourhood where hardly anything ever happens. Then one day whilst collecting the mail, Melanie discovers three red envelopes all addressed to each member of the family.

    They open the letters and in each of them it gives them a picture of somebody living in their area with simple instructions – kill them before they kill you. Laughing it off at first, the Edwards family don’t see how anything like this could happen, let alone that anybody would take it seriously, until Melanie decides to pay their neighbours a visit.

    Red Letter Day is a high concept horror comedy and feature debut from writer/director Cameron Macgowan. Clearly inspired by a love of the genre, Red Letter Day gives a lot of nods to horror films old and new and creates something unique and surprisingly simple but effective in its conception.

    Life in any quiet suburban street is pretty dull, so the concept of Red Letter Day raises the questions of what we would do if we were given the chance to do whatever we wanted – no matter the consequences. The results making the movie into a cross between Desperate Housewives and The Purge.

    The movie’s story is also told through social media, Timothy and Madison watch as their neighbours open their letters and as the movie continues, it shows a reflection of ourselves as we so often post photos and videos online to just get people to notice us. The question is, how far would we go to get noticed and does our diminished responsibility give us carte blanche, whether it be through an anonymous letter or through the lens of a webcam?

    However, besides the deeper issues that run through the actions of the Edwards family and their neighbours, Red Letter Day is predominantly a comedy and there are enough laughs and plenty of blood and gore to please any horror junkie. The cast all do very well, particularly Van de Schoot whose desperation and increasing exasperation reaches new levels when she’s faced with doing things to keep her family together that she never dreamt of doing.

    Despite its initial slow start, Red Letter Day turns into a satisfying horror comedy that cleverly makes a sleepy little neighbourhood wake up and as the violence, horror and the black comedy laughs ensue, the audience is bound to get just what they wanted.

  • A Hidden Life: BRWC LFF Review

    A Hidden Life: BRWC LFF Review

    A Hidden Life

    Terrence Malick is a filmmaker who never fails to inspire debate. His films, while aesthetically pleasing, are often just impressionistic enough to cause a stir, and yet, A Hidden Life still had one of the longest queues at this year’s London Film Festival; for many reasons, filmgoers are always drawn to his work.

    Malick’s latest picture is the true story of Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter, who spent most of World War II under threat of execution for treason, after refusing to fight for the Nazis. With all the ingredients of a potential powerful and moving piece of cinema in place, it’s sadly disappointing to see Malick once again fall prey to the usual tendencies that have failed his works in the past; an unnecessarily padded run-time, an over-reliance on repetitive and frankly uninteresting voice-over, and countless pretentious shots that serve nothing outside of his own ego. 

    It’s absolutely breath-taking to watch, with cinematographer Jörg Widmer in particular deserving of a great deal of praise here. It’s a film worthy of being seen on the biggest screen possible, standing tall with The Tree of Life as one of Malick’s most exquisite pictures. That being said, his arrogant camerawork distracts from this a great deal, with the filmmaker’s intent often unclear or misjudged. It can be difficult to focus on the story, the character and the emotions that come with them, when Malick seemingly can’t do the same. 

    There is no denying the many moments of brilliance within A Hidden Life. There’s no shortage of scenes that’ll push the audience to the brink, with Jägerstätter’s suffering on full display; raw, brutal and anchored by a frankly phenomenal lead performance from August Diehl. Valerie Pachner’s depiction of Franz’s wife, Franziska, is steeped in humanity, with her desperation, sadness, pride and love for her husband present in even the slightest of mannerisms. Among many things, this is a story about love, and the central pair’s chemistry sells these themes wonderfully. 

    Despite its strengths, the film lacks the emotional punch it’s going for, thanks in large part to Malick’s lack of interest in his own subject. He simply cannot help himself from meandering, almost to the point of dullness, with endless unnecessary shots of clouds and scenery cluttering the picture. Malick thinks every idea of his is gold; in his eyes, every shot and every word is simply too brilliant to be removed, leaving the film with severe pacing issues amid a shroud of stunning yet utterly pointless artistic prowess. 

    Malick spends so much time on the things that don’t matter, and very little on those that do. We are sympathetic towards Jägerstätter’s plight because we already know to be, not because of the way it’s executed. The aforementioned moments that work so well are interspersed with sequences that add little or nothing to the overall feature, slowing it down and taking the viewer out of said moment completely. 

    The film isn’t short of artistic attempts at emotion, but this emotion is forced and never genuinely earned. A Hidden Life works solely on the viewer’s prior knowledge of the war, the Nazis, good and evil, as opposed to the work that’s been done. 

    A Hidden Life is not the Palme d’Or-nominated masterpiece many people were hoping for from Malick, but rather a repeat of his usual mistakes; a potentially moving and shocking story, buried underneath an artistic vision that simply doesn’t suit, from a filmmaker focused more on his ego than his subject. 

  • Brittany Runs A Marathon: The BRWC Review

    Brittany Runs A Marathon: The BRWC Review

    Brittany Runs A Marathon is that feel good film, completely unexpected and a total surprise because it has substance that will have you cheering at the end.

    Brittany Forgler (played pitch perfectly by Jillian Bell) is in her late twenties, failing at life and morbidly obese except she doesn’t realise that until she goes to the doctor and gets the shock of her life after standing on the scales. She uses humour to deflect from the banality of her everyday life and avoid seeing the choices she’s made result in where she is today.

    Does Brittany; run a marathon, figure out who she is, fix up her underemployment situation, start setting healthy boundaries, get rid of toxic friends and above all get healthy – after all that that New York City Marathon won’t run itself!

    You’d be forgiven during the opening scenes of Brittany Runs A Marathon of thinking: “oh no please don’t say here we go again” and just like as life is unpredictable this film takes the audience on a brilliantly unexpected journey. These are the types of films we want to see more of complex female characters who don’t just look real but, especially for a feel good movie, are not looking for love nor are completely likeable – she judges people just in the way she’s felt judged over the years and those scenes aren’t sugar coated at all. 

    Brittany Runs A Marathon is quite an achievement from first time screenwriter and director Paul Downs Colaizzo. It is inspired by the story of his friend Brittany. Maybe it’s due to this that he does something that shows just what good writing irrespective of gender – he manages to get inside of the female head. Brittany on screen doesn’t feel cliched or contrived just brutally honest and relatable so much so that I felt inspired to sign up to run a half marathon. What Colaizzo and Bell manage to do is ensure the audience is never laughing at Brittany by avoiding the cheap, tired tropes and jokes.

    The supporting cast is superb too especially because they all have a story that doesn’t take any from the central one but equally doesn’t feel like a cinematic device. They are all memorable. However, it is Bell who carries this film not least because we watch not only her physical but emotional evolution on screen, yes she really is losing weight through running on the screen. It is a feel good film about loving yourself, self worth, and self image and we want more of this, please.

    It’s sassy, stylish, got substance and inspiring. You will laugh lots. Go run and see this at the cinema.

    Brittany Runs A Marathon is released in cinemas across the UK on 1 November 2019.

  • Official Secrets: BRWC LFF Review

    Official Secrets: BRWC LFF Review

    Official Secrets: BRWC LFF Review

    Gavin Hood’s extraordinary Eye in the Sky was one of the great surprises of 2015; a remarkably tense yet thought-provoking conversation-piece that remains one of the finest portrayals of modern warfare in mainstream cinema. His latest thriller is a real-life story of a whistle-blower who risked everything; a film with an entirely different feel to his last, but one that aims to encourage every bit as much of a discussion.

    Official Secrets tells the true story of Katharine Gun, an NSA worker who receives a memo requesting she research potentially compromising information regarding UN Security Council members that could be used to ‘convince’ them to vote in favour of the Iraq War. Gun risks everything to leak this to the press, in the hope she can prevent it. 

    The film is wonderfully riveting from start to finish, with the stakes never really lost on the viewer, and Keira Knightley producing one of her career highlights to sell the character completely. It’s one of many fine performances in a film that also features Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode, Rhys Ifans and Matt Smith.

    This is a story that should make people feel particularly uncomfortable; essentially a tale of how the government manipulated public opinion about something as serious as war. While this is no longer news, with the illegality of the Iraq War now indisputable, these are still incredibly relevant themes, with Western governments coming under attack more and more every day by a disillusioned society. These are questions that need to be asked and Hood isn’t afraid of doing so, and there’s no doubt at all that this story will bring about conversation every bit as much as he clearly wishes. 

    The messages can sometimes be a little on-the-nose, with the dialogue at times feeling more like headlines than genuine conversation. Knightley says lines such as ‘they’re all bloody liars’ and ‘just because you’re the Prime Minister, doesn’t mean you get to make up your own facts’. If we’re being honest, nobody really talks like this and these moments feel a little forced, but thanks to the genuine truth and heartfelt anger at the heart of this story, along with Hood’s clear talent for suspenseful filmmaking, flaws such as these are disguised well.

    While Eye in the Sky is a contained thriller, taking place during one day and focusing on a singular incident, Official Secrets is a story that focusing on the far greater scheme of things, told over the course of a year, fundamentally as a character study of what could push an ordinary member of society to do something like this. Naturally, both feel like very different films. They have entirely unique feels to them and the pacing is adjusted accordingly, and one could argue that Official Secrets feels a little more conventional that its bold predecessor, but it’s no less effective in its study of political moralities at the potential cost of human life, and Hood’s authorship is present throughout. 

    This is a strong, engaging thriller with significant themes, anchored by strong performances and told with great skill. It’ll frustrate people and make them think, undoubtedly Hood’s intent, and testament to the film’s success. 

    If you don’t know how the story ends already, don’t read up on it. Let it surprise you. 

  • The Lighthouse: The BRWC Review

    The Lighthouse: The BRWC Review

    The Lighthouse: The BRWC Review

    Two lighthouse keepers named Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) and Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.

    Every once in a while, a film comes along that just gives you pure chills when watching it. While watching it, you know you are watching something that is going to go down as a favorite movie of yours for the next couple of years, or maybe even forever. Sometimes, a film can be so strange, mysterious, and downright bizarre, but you know whatever it is you just watched, was something that you enjoyed.

    Robert Eggers’ 2015 feature film debut The Witch was most certainly one of those movies for me. Going into it, I did not have a clue as to what it was about or who was in it. I had just heard it was an excellent horror feature with a unique approach and chilling effect that leaves the viewer haunted long after the credits roll. Not only was The Witch one of the best horror films released that year, but it is one of the greatest of the decade.

    You can probably imagine then how excited I was to watch Egger’s new follow-up The Lighthouse, which had garnered even more praise than his predecessor at various festivals such as Cannes. It was clear the moment the titlecard and the two lead actors appeared that I was in for a treat, and I definitely was, because The Lighthouse not only surpasses The Witch on virtually every level, but it is one of the best films of the entire year so far.

    So many times you hear a certain actor is good in a particular movie, but when you get around to watching it finally, you sometimes feel like the hype behind them was a bit overblown. I have felt this way when watching some movies in the past, too. But when it comes to Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe here – believe the hype. These two actors are nothing short of mesmerizing in every single scene that they are in. They sell every scene, and it is not an easy task to act in this movie as so much is asked of them. There are some sequences later on in the picture that a wide variety of actors would not be able to pull off or make it seem convicing, but Pattinson and Dafoe do. They almost make it seem effortless.

    Throughout the film, we learn bits and pieces about their characters Thomas Wake and Ephraim Winslow, and their development throughout is extremely interesting. Every time of the men opens up to one another, it was an incredibly suspenseful, sometimes funny, but always intriguing moment. There are two sequences in particular in this movie in which Pattinson and Dafoe go on long rants and the acting in these scenes are utterly brilliant. If the two of them do not get nominated for Academy Awards come awards season, it would be the biggest travesty since Toni Collette not being nominated for her masterful work in Ari Aster’s Hereditary. The other big travesty would be if Florence Pugh gets snubbed for Midsommar. Here’s hoping the Academy finally starts to notice horror as a legitimate genre that has true talent working in it.

    Something interesting about The Lighthouse is that the entire film is presented in black and white and is in the 1.19 : 1 aspect ratio. We really do not see movies presented in these formats these days, and it is such a welcomed addition here. To be completely honest, I think if the picture was shot in full color and with the standard aspect ratio, it would not have been as effective.

    Speaking of the technical aspects, the cinematography present is some of the best of the entire year. It is shot by Jarin Blaschke, who previously served as director of photography on Egger’s aforementioned The Witch. Every frame of the film is absolutely gorgeous to look at, and everything is framed perfectly. That mixed with Mark Korven’s haunting score, and the smooth, effective editing by Louise Ford make this film dazzling.

    Finally, one of my favorite aspects of the film is that it is most definitely going to stir up numerous theories online about what the entire story meant and I am sure people are going to dig extremely deep into everything, because this film is surely scattered with interesting tidbits that are easy to miss on the initial viewing. The ending is one that will stick with me for a long time, much like some of my favorite horror movies of all time.