Hey folks, Harry here - Is it wrong that I have zero desire to sit through GEORGE MICHAEL: A DIFFERENT STORY - yet I'm dying to see ASYLUM with Ian McKellen and Natasha Richardson. EliCross says the first is good, while the second is not. But I'd rather watch a bad Ian McKellen film (Which I refuse to acknowledge could possibly exist) than George Michael. I mean, unless there's a WHAM reunion or something...
Before I get into my reviews I want to take time out for films I encourage everyone to go to that have already been reviewed. Before the festival is over, it would be worth while to catch the superb thriller ANTIBODIES which is a nice breathe of fresh air into the genre and SPECIAL THANKS TO ROY LONDON that gives a touching and very entertaining portrayal of one person that influenced a great many.
Both are still playing and are truly must sees.
Now on to the "movie magic"
GEORGE MICHAEL: A DIFFERENT STORY
Times have been trying for musician George Michael. He has had success both as part of the group Wham! and on his own as a solo artist. He's is not often interviewed here in the states and his many gaps in work remain a mystery to some. Through clips from his many music videos and the people who know him best, this documentary seeks out to fill those many gaps in progress and in work along with a little taste of his most recent record.
A Different Story is a portrait of a man who has the reverse effects of success and the effort to get through it despite it's many setbacks and roadblocks along the way. Southland Morris covers the last year with George reflecting back on the start of Wham!, his friendship with Andrew Ridgely (who is one of the many interviewed for this piece), his success as a solo artist and the many battles he has had with both the public and the music business alike.
This viewer notices a very private man who now is a little more comfortable with looking back at some of the peaks and valleys in life under the public eye's microscope. I will admit hearing all the music in this piece brought me back to the time when I had first heard it and really appreciated it. Today I still do and it sounds just as good as ever.
The documentary covers a good deal of Michael's personal life in between all of his albums as well as some of the close inspirations for many of his songs. It discusses the many gains, losses and the mysteries of George himself with some regrets but an effort of hanging in there long enough to pull together.
Very few things are left out (the dispute over the Too Funky video) but like every good concert, not every good song can be done in the short time period and the audience has to accept it's absence no matter how disappointing it may be. Nonetheless, George Michael: A Different Story is hardly disappointing and entertaining all the way through with a nice musical flow.
ASYLUM
With talent like the director of Young Adam, the writer of Closer and the author of Spider, an audience would think that this would be a solid combination for a project starring Ian McKellan and Natasha Richardson. But the question remains, would this promising film at the Tribeca Film Festival be the right combination to open the safe and find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?
It's the 1950s and a husband (Hugh Bonneville) takes a high priority job at an asylum. Meanwhile, his wife Stella (Natasha Richardson) notices one inmate (Martin Csonkas) and his slight attractivity to her. He once had a wife but could not keep her for he was found guilty for her dismemberment. She refuses his advancements but once she notices her husband puts his work before her, she takes him up on his flirtations and turns them into time in the bedroom with him. Little do they know, an associate (Ian McKellan) is watching everything going on for he was passed over for the husband's position.
It sounds interesting, it should be interesting but the final result is a 97 minute movie that feels like a 2 hour and 30 minute movie with one scene going to the next at a very snail like pace. This viewer didn't feel that there was any connection between Stella or any of the two men. Nor did I feel anything within the story and the connections between the characters.
There is also a more useless subplot involving a friend of the inmate. What starts out as a torrid affair extends into a lot of heightened drama of the slowest kind as well as the occasional "let's show just how powerful this can be by shouting" scene. Anyone can connect with that when it's in the right flow. In this case, it's a distinct case of overacting.
Maybe if the film took a more non-linear approach instead of the straight forward approach, there might be a decent attempt at creativity and something new to an otherwise straight story. Asylum is like a simple blackout, nothing works.
Even my boy Burt can do a jig around that, or better yet, a charleston!!!
And to all that have crossed Eli's path, thank you for your company.
EliCross
