Beaks here…
Strap in, folks! Tyler Turden went shit crazy at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival and sent us in capsule reviews for everything he saw! Some of these films have already been released in the U.S., but a few (like KILL LIST, which is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year) have yet to appear stateside. Regardless, Tyler’s reviews are well worth reading. Without further to do, here’s Mr. Turden…
Hey Harry and the Aintitcool gang,
I recently had the pleasure of attending the 60th anniversary of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). The festival is spread over two weeks and held at multiple cinemas in the city (all within walking distance of each other). The festival is one of the highlights of my year, I wait until the films are announced and then I devour the guide like I have film-based autism. This year I even went as far as to make myself a little calendar with all my wishlist films on it (only to find that the festival has made an iphone app that does all this shit for you, that’s four hours I’ll never get back). Now while I didn’t go overboard this year, I still saw a shit-ton of films. Being a regular reader of this site most of my choices were genre films (a lot of which I had heard about here) or docos about confronting subjects and I thought you guys might want to hear about them.
Now, I will be the first to admit that us Australians are treated like second class citizens when it comes to film geekery. You guys would not believe how late we get some films or if we even get them at all. The reason for my disclaimer is that some of the titles I review may be new to me but could be old to you. Also some of the titles were made by HBO so you lucky bastards probably have watched them on TV at home! Anyway I hope there are some titles in here that interest you guys. I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum or warn you guys if I can’t help myself.
CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELLIOT SPITZER
I found this documentary by Alex Gibney (Enron, Taxi to the dark side) to be both entertaining and informative. Being an (ignorant) Melbournian the name Elliot Spitzer didn’t mean much to me going into this film. What attracted my attention in the synopsis was the hint of a sex scandal. I have always found it fascinating that no matter how rich, smart or powerful you are that you are not immune to thinking with your dick (Hello Arnie!). The tale of Elliot Spitzer is no different (no spoilers, it’s in the title), here is a man with the intelligence, funding and means to change the world come undone by his need for (high priced!) hookers. Gibney paints a portrait of a man so determined to make a name for himself that he doesn’t care who he pisses off in the process. But as the audience comes to realize, moral crusading is dangerous when you make enemies with bottomless bank accounts. Despite dealing heavily with the jargon of Wall Street I never felt overwhelmed or disconnected with the film. It has a clear narrative drive and while not condoning his actions it is sympathetic to Spitzer’s plight. The films strongest element is Elliot Spitzer’s own involvement; he is candid and his presence helps balance the film. I was lucky enough to have Director Alex Gibney attend our screening and after the film he held a brief Q&A. He said that the film was financed by Spitzer’s detractors (which are many) and that they probably wanted to rub salt in his wounds, but Gibney only agreed to make the film if he had final cut, hence the film being sympathetic. He also said his next film would be a documentary on Julian Assange and Wikileaks, he plans on having it ready for next year’s MIFF.
THIS IS ENGLAND ‘86
I imagine you are all familiar with Shane Meadows’ masterpiece ‘This is England’ (if not get your hands on it immediately, it is that fucking good). What many of you may not know or at least I didn’t is that there is a sequel in existence. While not exactly a film sequel (it was originally a television miniseries in the UK) it is still written and directed by Shane Meadows (with help from Co-Director Tom Harper and writer Jack Thorne) and has exactly the same aesthetics. The festival cut all four episodes of the mini-series together and screened it as one long-ass movie (208 mins) and I for one would not have it any other way. The film picks up right after the harrowing events at the end of the first film, with Meadows including footage of young Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) dealing with Combo’s (Stephen Graham) actions. The film then cuts to years later with Shaun graduating from high school. The jump is quite startling as puberty has clearly changed Turgoose’s physical appearance. Shaun no longer hangs out with the same gang and has become somewhat of a loner. The actors from the previous film are reintroduced as they prepare for the wedding of Woody (Joseph Gilgun) and Lol (Vicky McClure). Early on in the piece Shaun is reacquainted with his old friends and a new series of escapades begins. The film fluctuates between main characters but eventually settles on the story of Lol. I would love to go into the plot mechanics more but I think that would do a disservice to this work. If you cared for the first film you simply must see this. Every actor reprises their roles and owns them completely. I found this to be equally parts hilarious and heartbreaking. I found myself enchanted in these actors’ company and would happily watch several more of these instalments (Meadows has hinted at more to come.) I must make mention that I found the ending of this to be the most profound experience I have had in a cinema in quite some time. I consider myself a cinematic hard-arse, yet this had me wailing like a child. A special mention must go out to the brilliant Stephen Graham and the mind-blowing Johnny Harris who plays the character of ‘Mick’. ‘Mick’ is certainly near the top of the list of all time cinematic cunts. His acting is so primal and severe that I imagined that they needed a wrangler to stop him between scenes. This was my favourite experience of the festival and I urge you to check it out.
ARMADILLO
This Danish documentary certainly packs a punch but left me oddly detached by the end. Directed by Janus Metz ‘Armadillo’ follows a group of Danish soldiers while on their first deployment to Afghanistan. This film is devoid of voiceover and rarely uses interviews. It really is fly-on-the-wall film making and ultimately I think that is its greatest weakness. This is a film the shows soldiers watching porn, listening to heavy metal and playing first person shooters (sounds like a good night in). But despite the candid access you rarely get an insight into their mindsets. Minor gripes aside, there is some startling footage in this doco. Full blown engagements and fatalities are captured in graphic detail. The film also highlights the frustration of the Afghani people, emotional sequences include men approaching checkpoints to plead with soldiers for remuneration for their bombed houses. This is a good film but I expected to be a little bit more shaken up than I was afterwards, maybe I’m just a desensitized arsehole.
WIN WIN
I enjoyed this sports dramedy (is that a real fucking term?) from Director Thomas McCarthy quite a bit, if only for the pleasure of watching Paul Giamatti do his thing for two hours. The film focus on a struggling lawyer/ high school wrestling coach who meets a troubled young man who might or might not be the answer to all his problems. Despite sounding incredibly fucking corny this film rarely goes for melodrama. Most characters behave like normal human beings and have motivations for their actions; in this day and age that is rare to find in the multiplex. The acting is uniformly strong with Giamatti and Amy Ryan leading the way, newcomer Alex Shaffer also makes a good impression as the troubled Kyle. If forced to make a bad sports analogy, I would say this film is a good all rounder.
GIVE UP TOMORROW
This Documentary about an injustice in the Philippines is confronting and enraging. The film follows the case of the murdered Chiong sisters and the chief suspect Paco Larrañaga. This heinous crime brought the entire country to a standstill. Under pressure from the public, the police made arrests of eight suspects and swiftly prosecuted them; there was just one small problem, these suspects didn’t commit the crime. Now, I get a bit wary of these injustice docos, “are they being biased? Am I rooting for a murderer? If they didn’t do it, who the fuck did?” these are all questions I ask myself. But I have to agree with this doco; Paco Larrañaga is an innocent man. Director Michael Collins follows the systematic break down of justice in the courts. Some of the shit that goes down in this case is just mind boggling, with corruption, extortion and torture just the tip of the iceberg. The film is quite epic in scope, using old (and alarmingly biased) news reports to cover the ground before the doco started shooting. This is a powerful film and one definitely worth seeking out.
13 ASSASSINS
There has been a lot said about this film on this website, so I’ll quickly chuck my two cents in. This film is fucking rad. It has beautiful widescreen photography, forceful acting and badass samurai action. The first half of the film is pure recruitment, this sets up the various personalities of the warriors (and their degrees of badassery). Also set up in the first half is the villain, the despicable Lord Matsudaira Naritsugu. This motherfucker is pure evil and in desperate need of a dirt nap (hence the warriors’ mission). After the awesome setup the warriors fortify a town and wait for the showdown. What happens next is flat out epic; people are slashed, burned and bashed for at least forty five minutes! The action is heightened but still grounded in reality, except for one warriors’ apparent invincibility (think Danny Mcbride in Pineapple Express); there is no floating on wires or magic ribbons in sight. This one keeps the Japanese weirdness to a minimum which is surprising considering the master of Japanese weirdness Takashi Miike is at the helm of this one. Highly recommend for just about everyone.
THE GUARD
I thought I must be in the wrong line when I went to see the ‘The Guard’ as the median age of the audience was 65 years old. Isn’t this film meant to be a scabrous, profane film about a drug taking, racist Irish cop? Well it is and the old fuddy duddies (as well as I) laughed their asses off the entire running time. This film is a showcase for Brendan Gleeson and he takes the opportunity with both hands. The plot centres on Agent Boyle, a man bored by his station in life but who finds ways to pass the time (drugs, prostitutes). But when an international drug ring moves into town he is forced to make a stand. Gleeson’s character of Boyle is one of the most irreverent and blunt creations in modern cinema, but it is a credit to his skill that he makes Boyle wholly sympathetic even when he is servicing two prostitutes half his age. The supporting cast is also superb; Don Cheadle is great as the fish out of water, his constant look of bemusement is often mimicked by the audience. The drug dealers are all awesome (Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham and David Wilmot) with their existential struggles being highlights of the film. The film this most resembles is Martin McDonagh’s ‘In Bruges’(though not as good) and it is no coincidence as this is directed by John Michael McDonagh, his brother. Definitely check this one out, especially if you are a Gleeson fan (who isn’t).
JANE EYRE
Why did I choose to see the umpteenth adaptation of Jane Eyre when I could have been watching Beat Takeshi madness? Two words: Sin Nombre. Cary Fukunaga’s Sin Nombre was one of the best movies I had seen in recent years. It blindsided me and I thought it heralded a new talent to watch. Gladly my intuition paid off; as this is a great film. Gothic in tone and superbly acted this is a most involving film. Mia Wasikowska is phenomenal as the blunt Jane and equally matched by Michael Fassbender’s reptilian Rochester. Their exchanges charge the film with sensuality and passion. Fassbender is on a red hot streak at the moment and between Tom Hardy and himself I think the future of acting is in safe hands. Every element of this production is first class, the sets are magnificent, and the costumes handsome. If you are new to this tale you will be shocked by its plot developments and I can think of no better way for an audience to be introduced to these rich characters. Cary Fukunaga is going places, expect to hear about this one come awards time.
HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN
Rutger Hauer is the fucking shit. Rumour has it that he was invited to a retrospective screening of Blade Runner at a cinema near my house, when he showed up he was stoned out of his mind and preceded to play with a stray cat in the lobby of the cinema. Respect. This is a man who has been involved in so many cool projects; Blade Runner, the Hitcher, Sin City and Salute of the fucking Jugger. Now he adds another string to his bow with ‘Hobo with a Shotgun’. Is the film perfect? Fuck no. Does the film have Rutger saving up for a lawn mower to start his own hobo-business only to decide a shotgun can do more good? Fuck yes. This is a trashy, violent and ridiculous film and if you find yourself whinging about your sensibilities being affronted while watching a film called ‘Hobo with a Shotgun’ you are an Idiot. All you need to know about the plot is that a bunch of professional level date-rapist scumbags fuck with Hauer and he gives them the horns. If this synopsis mildly excites you go see ‘Hobo with a Shotgun’.
TYRANNOSAUR
Directed by the great actor Paddy Considine ‘Tyrannosaur’ is a film of serious intent and power. Let me set the scene; the film opens with Joseph (a fucking intense Peter Mullan) being kicked out of the bookies. “Fuck ya, ya cunts!” he screams in a drunken rage as he stumbles out the front, he pulls on his dogs leash for it to follow him, the dog hesitates and Joe boots it in the ribs (Bateman style) delivering a fatal blow, cut to the titles. There were many gasps in the audience and with this film the gasps keep coming. The plot centres on an alcoholic called Joseph; he is abrasive to everyone he meets and strives on confrontation. After one such confrontation Joseph hides in a local thrift store run by Hannah (a devastating Olivia Colman) and so begins an unusual relationship. This is a highly atmospheric film and despite being a suburban landscape, the setting is about as inviting as Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’. Every character is either an alcoholic or a sadist. A special mention must be made of Eddie Marsan, he has been great for a while now, but in this he is just something else, his character is so poisonous and so vile that it’s hard to keep looking at the screen whenever he appears. If you are a fan of Shane Meadows’ work (Dead Man’s Shoes) check this one out. Great stuff.
THE WOMAN
I’ve been pumped to see ‘The Woman’ ever since I read Drew Mcweeny’s awesome review over on hitfix (well worth a read). I even managed to sell this film to a few friends by telling them it was going to be the most fucked up film of the fest. As I sat in the cinema I was bracing myself for a serious ordeal, but instead I found the film to be very well made and relatively tasteful. Don’t get me wrong, ‘The Woman’ is a very violent film, a film that has rape, murder and degradation in spades. It also has some interesting psychological themes running under the surface. The plot focuses on a country lawyer Chris (played with cold malice by Sean Bridgers, who also looks a lot like Will Ferrell) who discovers an uncivilised woman while on a hunting trip; he captures the woman and plans to domesticate her through extreme means. What makes the plot of this film interesting and unusual is the inclusion of the Lawyers family. In any other film the abductor would go to extreme measures to keep his prey away from discovery, not in this film. Chris automatically makes his family his accomplices and this is where the psychological themes come into play. All the actors impress, especially Bridgers and Angela Bettis as the husband and wife. Director Lucky McKee puts his individual stamp on proceedings by punctuating harrowing sequences with disarming use of pop music. Despite having limited forms of communication, actress Pollyanna McIntosh manages to create a simultaneously sympathetic and terrifying creation as the titular woman. While not in the league of recent cinematic gross outs (Serbian film) this is a tough and well made film. Aicners should lap it up.
POLISSE
Having won the Jury prize at Cannes and being compared favourably to ‘The Wire’ (which I think is the greatest thing made by humans, followed closely by pizza) I was excited to see Maïwenn Le Besco’s French procedural ‘Polisse’. It turns out the praise is not un-wholly justified. The film follows France’s Child Protection Unit (CPU) and their daily struggles to stay sane and objective in the face of heinous crimes and high stakes. The film has the fragmented docudrama style of ‘The Wire’ and frequently injects us into the private lives of these officers. This style helps to paint a clearer picture of characters that initially feel desensitized or hot headed. The cast are all naturalistic (and seriously French; everyone smokes and eats croissants!) and their camaraderie is realistic. Being fragmented there is not one main character per se but rather a bunch of leads that have different coping mechanisms; this gives the film a balanced perspective. One of the more striking elements of this film is the way it handles the child sex crimes. Le Besco never goes for dimly lit shots of sweaty paedophiles; rather she exposes heinous crimes through frank interrogation scenes. The film never feels exploitive while managing to elicit emotional performances from the children involved. This is a welcome change from your standard crime film.
HOW TO DIE IN OREGON
This hugely affecting Documentary by Peter Richardson is heavy going but should be mandatory viewing for everyone. Following the decline of several terminally ill patients, Richardson follows them as they come to grips with their mortality and the life ending services available to them in the state of Oregon. The film primarily focuses on a woman named Cody Curtis, despite her beauty and can-do personality, Cody is dying of terminal liver cancer. She knows she will die; that is inevitable. What Cody wants is to minimize her suffering. This is where the strength of the film lies; the moral implications are not up for debate. When you see suffering on this level your empathy can only lead you to one answer. Richardson spends little time on the religious scum who picket and oppose such services; if he did I think it would be too enraging to bear. Instead he chooses to focus on acceptance and compassion, qualities the aforementioned are sorely lacking. This was one of the highlights of the festival for me; but I feel I should disclaim that I have never been touched by terminal illness in my immediate family. If I had I imagine that this would be an even more emotional experience. Highly Recommended.
NATURAL SELECTION
I enjoyed this quirky comedy by Robbie Pickering, but not as much as the rest of the audience; if you were to go off their reaction you would thing this thing was a game changer. The film centres on fundamentalist Christian couple Linda and Abe White; their life is thrown into turmoil when Abe suffers a stroke while rubbing one out at a sperm donation facility. This discovery of Abe’s secret life sets in motion a series of events that will challenge all of Linda’s beliefs. This is a clever film with some great twists in its tail. Despite wrangling with some fertile ideas: infidelity, paternity and duty to god, I never embraced this film as I felt I should. It skirts around some darkly comedic ideas but pulls some of its punches. It should be said that Rachel Harris does give a superb performance in this. Her Linda is so full of vitality and life that it is hard not to like her as naive as she is. I imagine this film will play quite well and with the right distribution could be a small hit.
OUR IDIOT BROTHER
I had my back up about this film before it started; Paul Rudd plays a stoner type who teaches other humility; so far so formulaic. So I’m glad to report that Jesse Peretz’s film is actual one of best comedies this year. This thing is funny, dramatically smart and has heart by the bucket load. Surrounded by an impeccable cast, Rudd gives an incredibly endearing performance; his character of Ned is sweet and good natured, but it is this nature that turns out to be a huge catalyst for those around him. The film starts when Ned is thrown in prison for selling weed to a uniformed police officer (because the cop tells him he is having a bad week) and on his release he has nowhere to stay and so he is bandied around his sister’s houses. The sisters are played by Emily Mortimer, Zooey Deschanel (who is in a lesbian relationship with Rashida Jones!) and Elizabeth Banks and all turn in nuanced, complimentary performances. The male talent are no slouches either with Steve Coogan and Adam Scott both giving wildly different but comedic performances. This film had one of the best tones of the festival and left me with a big smile on my face. I was lucky enough to have Director Jesse Peretz in my screening and he did a brief Q&A with us afterwards. Peretz said he waited years for Paul to be available and then the other cast just fell into line. He also said he had showed us a new cut of the film with a different ending (one that the studio insisted on) and that he liked it. Very light but highly recommended.
NEDS
Peter Mullan’s film Neds is an unflinching coming of age tale set in Scotland in the 1970’s. The Neds of the title is an acronym of Non-educated delinquents and the cast of young actor more than live up to their title. This film is extremely uncompromising; it has lashings of violence, profanity and some of the most unsocial behaviour in recent cinema history. The film follows the story of John McGill a brilliant student who gets caught up in the rivalries of local gangs. Despite the support of his teachers and mother, John is enticed by the lifestyle led by his brother and his cronies. Conor McCarron is excellent as the conflicted McGill; Mullan surrounds him with a bunch of great young actors that are so convincing I imagined some of them were recruited off the street. The adults are also superb in this film: Peter Mullan is imposing as McGill’s alcoholic father and Steven Robertson is affecting as a disappointed teacher. As good as this film is I did have some problems with it; the accents are so thick that it would be advised that you watch this one with subtitles. More problematic is the character of McGill; he is frequently referenced as being a genius but that is rarely demonstrated through his dialogue or actions. Also the character is a serious thug; some of his actions are downright malicious; with one act being one of the most repellent scenes in recent memory (it involves the use of a gravestone and made the whole audience gasp). Not one for the faint of heart but highly recommended.
KILL LIST
I thought this film by Ben Wheatley was totally kick ass. A serious genre bender; this one plays leapfrog with your expectations. What starts out as exercise in British miserablism soon morphs into a tense hitman drama and then into something else entirely. I imagine this will become a serious cult hit; it is one of those films you either go with completely or you’re left scratching you head. The plot concerns Jay, a hitman who is running out of money and his wife Shel, who is running out of patience. After a disastrous dinner party Jay is coaxed back into the business by his friend and co-hitter Gal. What transpires next is some of the most thrilling, intriguing and flat out fucking violent filmmaking you will see all year. I would love to go into more detail with this one, but trust me, go into this one cold and let it rock your world. One of the best films of the festival.
ESSENTIAL KILLING
I was very curious to see this new film by Jerzy Skolimowski. I knew it had an intriguing premise (a captured insurgent escapes into the woods and has to kill for survival) and had won numerous awards (Special Jury Prize and best actor at the Venice film festival). But I was worried that this could be one long, slow, pretentious visual metaphor or something equally as avant-garde; boy was I wrong (at least for the first three quarters of the film). This thing plays like an art house Rambo. It is singular, propulsive film making. It starts off in an undisclosed desert’s cave system with douche-bag soldiers looking for insurgents and talking about getting high. Their distracted state allows our film’s protagonist (an unnamed Vincent Gallo) to get the jump on them (with a fucking RPG no less) and he is soon captured. The rest of the film chronicles his escape and his will to survive. Gallo is great in this despite the fact he doesn’t utter a word the entire running time, the rest of the cast are faceless soldiers or locals that get no character development. As impressed as I was by the first three quarters I was equally disappointed by the finale. You could consider this spoiler material but I don’t, I consider it a warning. Near the end, the film becomes unfocused, repetitious and just boring. This is a film without an ending. It was as if they just ran out of ideas. Now I didn’t need this to be tied into a neat bow, but after the exhilarating start I didn’t want this film to end with a whimper. Worth checking out but be prepared for the end.
TAKE SHELTER
This film by Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories) is powerful, meditative and very well acted; it is also veeerry slow burn. Michael Shannon turns in another great performance (so fucking good on Boardwalk Empire) as Curtis, a man struggling with increasingly disturbing visions; visions that often culminate in a biblical storm. Curtis’ visions start to affect his family, his friendships and his work. Is Curtis crazy or is he a messenger of some kind? Director Jeff Nichols makes this dilemma the backbone of the film; careful to not lead the audience too far down either path. This delicate balance is maintained all the way until the very end of the film; and herein lies my only criticism, two hours is a long time to be strung along. About an hour in you are begging for some sure footing but Nichols offers none, some viewers may enjoy it but I didn’t, I found it exhausting. The support cast are all great, especially Jessica Chastain as Curtis’ increasingly worried wife. This film contains some very striking imagery; this coupled with Shannon’s great performance makes this is a film you should see.
DRIVE
To close the festival, MIFF has a special closing night party. It consists of a film and an exuberant after party (unlimited beer!); at $100 a ticket it is not cheap. I had never been before and I thought fuck it, this year I’ll go. I just had to wait for them to announce the closing film. This year’s closing film was announced as ‘Red Dog’ a film about a fucking sheep dog that unites a community. I couldn’t be less enthused, and my party plans were pooped. But then a week later something amazing happened, ‘Red Dog’ was out. In was Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive Fuck. Yes. So with my party plans back on, I got dolled up and met some friends for what turned out to be an awesome night. This film is fucking sweet. It is a bizarre mash up of (in no order) 80’s Michael Mann visual sheen, Jean Claude Van Damme posturing, David Lynch weirdness and Paul Verhoeven violence! No shit! Ryan Gosling Stars as Driver, a man who does Hollywood stunts by day and drives heists by night. Gosling is the shit in this. He says maybe thirty words in the whole piece, but it works. This has cool turns from Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman as two ruthless motherfuckers, Carey Mulligan as a sweet neighbour, Oscar Isaac as a troubled ex-con and Bryan Cranston as driver’s mentor. Firstly, fuck this film is violent! It has a handful of holy shit moments that made the audience squeal. I knew to expect nothing less from the Danish Madman behind ‘Bronson’ and ‘Valhalla Rising’. The whole way through this film I couldn’t stop thinking “this shouldn’t exist”. You know when those awesome collaborations or bat shit crazy films are announced and you say to yourself “I will never see that in a cinema” (Darren Aronofsky’s Wolverine is a recent example). This is one of those films! This would be an awesome double feature with another of those films: ‘Wild at Heart’. For all the reasons I love this film others will probably hate it. It is arty, it is fucking violent, it does have a bizarre overpowering electro pop soundtrack. My one complaint and this is kind of spoiler material is that the film ends in a reasonable fashion; from the way this was going I thought this would end in an unprecedented orgy of violent retribution, alas it didn’t. But hey, I’m sure Refn will make it up to me soon.
The after party was sweet and a good way to cap off a great festival. They had hotted up muscle cars out the front of the venue and actors chewing toothpicks while wearing Gosling’s soon to be infamous scorpion jacket. Sweet. And for your information I got shitfaced.
Thanks for Reading and I hope you guys already do or can get access to these films!
Peace out
Tyler Turden
