Tackling the isolated world of the stand-up comic, Dying Laughing is an intimate documentary that breaks the barrier between comic and audience. Dying Laughing lets us into their very private world of writing, bombing, success and depression.
Filmed over two years, and thousands of miles, Dying Laughing is an impressive achievement. It manages to bring together a host of huge stars including Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx and Jerry Seinfeld into one small and very amusing package. Directors Paull Toogood & Lloyd Stanton clearly respect comedy as an art-form and are obsessed with the creative process, which leads to an incredibly interesting look at the parts of a process we rarely see. Unfortunately, their obsession with these very factors forces them to create what often comes across as a disappointingly pompous and pretentious approach. I remain unsure the requirement that interviews be conducted void of colour, as if that somehow makes their statements more profound. Toogood’s back catalogue including the ‘Songbook’ series which explores the creative process in music helps to explain this, but I couldn’t help but feel that this approach restricts Dying Laughing’s audience to those interested in the creative process rather than comedy.
Dying Laughing
Dying Laughing will be released in UK cinemas from the 16th June 2017
Dying Laughing is funny, and the character and personality of its stars genuine and entertaining. I was interested myself to see a clear divide in approach and reaction between British and North American stars to their own lifestyle, with Oceanic stars having their own unique approach as well. The pace of Dying Laughing was good, keeping attention throughout, though I felt a lull about 60 minutes in suggesting the length could had been reduced a touch. Fortunately for the directors I don’t feel audiences will be bored by the documentary as I’m sure they have by many others.
Dying Laughing brings the comedy world alive, and lets the audiences see past the stage and into the person. Although pretentious at times, it you’re into comedy and want to know more about the industry and the people in it, you won’t find a better insight than Dying Laughing.
“How often do we tell our own life story.” So the main character muses. Tony Webster comes to doubt his recollection of his own life. Our story is simply the one we choose to tell – embellished, adjusted and ultimately modified to save face.The Sense of an Ending is based on the Man Booker Prize winning book by Julian Barnes. He’s an unreliable narrator something we’ve seen In Gone Girl as well as Girl On The Train. The only difference is that here the central character is a man.
One observation is that Veronica is Welsh and yet she speaks in haughty tones. Charlotte Rampling must appear to relish such roles. We saw her in 45 years and in this film she takes on a very similar role.
Billy Howie and Frey Mavor play and excel as the young Tony and Veronica. There are moments of distraction and aborted take off – I doubted Tony’s sexuality only to realise that this is not the actual story we should be focusing on. The Sense of an Ending is directed by Ritesh Batra and written for the screen by Nick Payne.
My first impression is it could have been tighter but then on reflection, you need that space to reflect and see just what the film is actually about. It’s an unreliable protagonist and Jim Broadbent excels in this role as someone looking back. It is the younger actors that draw you in.
The Sense of An Ending is available on DVD from 6 June 2017.
Artifice, a device or expedience to trick or deceive others. Or yourself. And it does make for a pretty cool sounding title too. I’ve always had this strange fondness and fear of films that look into the psyche of the main character. I know that’s what all good films (and other story telling medias) should do. I mean when imagery and themes and other such designs are used to weave the world of fiction and reality together. Films like Jacob’s Ladder, In the Mouth of Madness and Trainspotting, even videogames like the Silent Hill franchise, all fall into that category for me. So, upon hearing the story to Artifice I got pretty excited.
Artifice follows the story of small time actor Jacob Hynes. Jacob has starred in nothing, not really. The odd play here, the extra there, nothing that really stands out. That is until he has been accepted as the lead in a new film by acclaimed, yet heavily controversial director Howard Rulin. Rulin is a very Nicholas Winding Refn like character, in that he films what he wants, how he wants and keeps everything about his films secret. He is also asking an immense amount of work from his actors. Jacob, willing to impress, starts method acting his very unconventional role and soon gets lost within the characters. Unfortunately, playing the character doesn’t stop when the cameras aren’t rolling. And reality is feeling more and more blurred by the minute.
It’s the kind of concept I can get behind. A kind of parody, in a way, of the acting methods of Daniel Day Lewis, Jared Leto, Viggo Mortenson and the late Heath Ledger. A parody told in the vein of a serious, dark psychological thriller. So, it does upset me to say that I really couldn’t get into this one. My issues with it most have something to do with the film’s tone. There is never that jarring feeling of tonal shift, it is at least constant in its tone. My issue with it is that it takes itself very seriously, trying to be as psychedelic as the likes of Jacob’s Ladder. But the story, the acting and the themes all give the impression that Artifice is intended to be a dark comedy, in the same vein as Dr Strangelove. It’s an exaggeration of well-publicised events or people, in this case method acting. But these are two separate tones that just don’t gel together. I could never tell if I was meant to laugh or be disturbed by what I was seeing or hearing. This works when the film calls for it (such as Split), but I don’t believe Artifice did.
The acting didn’t help this film much either. While it did get better towards the third act, the acting felt pretty wooden. Especially in the first act. The lead actor, before he starts to fall too far into the role, is just so unengaged and uninteresting in his performance that I couldn’t get into his character. And for the most part it’s the same with all other actors. Whenever the film within a film was not going on everyone was either downplayed or passable. This is with the exception of the actress for ‘The Queen’ and the actor for Howard. Again, come act three all the actors start engage in their performances and the film starts to become compelling. Sadly, before then the performances really do drag the film down. I do have a feeling that the underplayed nature of the performances was intentional, as a way of initially separating reality from fiction until they blend together in the end. But if that was so, then the plan had somewhat backfired for me.
The writing didn’t help out much either. I get the feeling that this film within a film was supposed to be a pretentious art project, oozing with meaning and philosophy and questions that only the audience could answer. Therefore, it makes sense that the dialogue is how it is during those scenes. I can even attribute that to Howard as a character. Howard being something of an unhinged artist and perfectionist, so there is the excuse to use such dialogue as well. What doesn’t make sense is who the dialogue throughout the film, even before the characters start filming, always feels a little of kilter and slightly pretentious. The story itself is very well paced and the blending of scenes is well thought out, but once again the tone bogs it down.
Oddly enough I also found the film making to reflect the acting. When the film starts I found the cinematography and editing to be very dull and unengaging. There was a moment where the cinematography actually felt a little homemade, when Jacob came home from his audition. But as the film continues it gets more creative, and then compels in the final act. It’s almost like the director was trying too hard to make things feel so mundane and realistic in the opening that he made the film uninteresting to look at. It is when we have the film within a film that the director really starts to show his passion for this project. And it is clearly a labour of love; this is a film that director Steven Doxey wanted to make.
A shot from Artifice. Lush red light!
So when his passion is shown it is at least fun and interesting to look at. But this does turn out to be a double-edged sword. Because of how bland the rest of the film is compared to the fantasy sections I could always tell whether we were in reality or fantasy. There are scenes that bank on the audience not knowing where they are in the film. These scenes would always fall flat because I could tell where I was. This is with the exception of the films excellent ending, that did catch me and have me wondering what had truly happened here.
Artifice finishes great, and the final act succeeds in capturing what the film had set out to do. But it’s sadly not worth an uninspired opening and an overall tonal mess. I do wish to see this story again, as I do still love the idea and the themes to be had. If Artifice was more focused on being a dark comedy or a psychological thriller then more would have worked in its favour. As it is, I am still glad I saw it but I was left mostly dissatisfied. The film has been deceived by an artifice of its own making.
My Life as a Courgette is a 2016 Swiss and French stop motion ‘adult animated comedy-drama’ film directed by Claude Barras and based on a novel by Gilles Paris.
Following a successful festival run, the english-dubbed version of the film features a stellar cast including Will Forte, Nick Offerman, Ellen Page and Amy Sedaris. While the film speaks for itself, this casting and the performances really bring it to life for the english medium. Nick Offerman’s ‘cop that cares’ is instantly lovable but also has his own depth.
Don’t let the title fool you; the story at the heart of this film is completely serious; although there is some comedy and light-hearted moments in the re-telling.
After losing his mother, a young boy (with the titular nickname ‘Courgette) is befriended by a police officer, Raymond (Nick Offerman), who accompanies him to his new foster home filled with other orphans his age. At first he struggles to find his place in this often strange and hostile environment. Yet with Raymond’s help and his newfound friends, Courgette eventually learns to trust and love, as he searches for a new family of his own.
We start off by seeing some of his troubled child-hood and alcoholic mother inter-twinned with the ‘normal’ life of a child (in this case; his toys are beer cans) and then move on to his interaction with other misfortunate kids of similar but varied backgrounds and we get to see their naive views of several adult themes (i.e sex and drugs) which are woven into the story which is quite frankly charming but important. The animation here is similar in style to the studio Laika (BoxTrolls, Paranorman, Coraline) and similarly deals with ‘adult’ issues through a childs eyes. It also continues. the great tradition of French stop motion and animation such as The City of Lost Children and The Triplets of Belleville. I really appreciated things like little details they added into backgrounds (i.e. Courgettes drawings) which help tell the story in their own way.
A subtle and understated score from Sophie Hunger compliments the picture beautifully which is in some ways melancholic but always moving forward.
My Life As A Courgette
This is an easy 5/5 –Moving, beautifully real and thought-provoking for children and adults alike. Go see this film!
My Life As A Courgette is distributed in the UK by Thunderbird Releasing(Formerly Soda Pictures) and is on limited theatrical release in UK from June 2nd – catch it while you can!
It’s 2008. Jean Delaware (Margot Leicester, Charles III) awakes suddenly in her hospital bed, startling the nurses in attendance. They’re right to be startled: Jean was admitted to the coma ward at St. Jacob’s general hospital in 1960. She hasn’t moved in 48 years.
At Jean’s request, the hospital contact Ernie Child (David Warner, The Omen), to let him know she’s awake. Ernie is a dusty old man running a dusty old pawnbroker’s, idling away his remaining hours steeped in memories, and regret. Who is he to Jean? Husband? Lover? Friend? Ernie visits the hospital and delivers to Jean a letter, which he wrote to her half a century previously. She reads it, and then Ernie asks her what she’d like him to do.
Blue Borsalino
Shot over four days across London and the Essex estuary and entirely crowd-funded via a Kickstarter project, Blue Borsalino is a noir-flavoured, melancholy tale of loss; of time, of life, of the opportunity to make amends. What happened to Jean back in 1960?
Why has she been comatose for almost fifty years, and why has this incident effectively placed Ernie’s life in stasis as well? I shall not say, but writer/director Mark Lobatto allows us to witness the event in fragmented backstory where Ernie and Jean, played with such pathos and poignancy in their advancing years by heavyweights of TV, film and stage David Warner and Margot Leicester, are played with no less gravity but with evermore hope, belief and even a hint of fledgling romantic frisson by Bart Edwards (Peep Show) and Laura Dale (Lake Placid vs Anaconda).
Blue Borsalino
Beautifully shot with a dreamlike quality and with a keen, painterly eye for detail, Blue Borsalino* will be available to all online “soon” according to the movie’s official Twitter feed and, as soon as it is, it’ll be well worth fifteen minutes of anybody’s time. Recommended.
*What is a blue Borsalino, anyway? Well, Borsalino is a fine old Italian hat manufacturing company, and they have been making quality headpieces for 160 years, such as the blue felt Fedora favoured by Ernie.
