Compliance - DM Review

"Based On True Events"... without that statement this would have been a ridiculous and incredible film. But knowing that this actually happened (and not just once) turns this film into an uncomfortable watch. This has stayed with me over the couple days since viewing and led to google searches and my reading around this subject.
This reminded me of last year's "The Imposter" in terms of truth stranger than fiction plot but the difference between the two is the approach. The Imposter went for docu-drama style whereas Compliance took the facts of the case from court transcripts etc. and dramatised them (but as the film itself states "Nothing Is Exaggerated"). For me, both approaches work well.

Compliance is a competently constructed film, well paced and engaging throughout. The beginning of the film sets the relationship between the main players with great subtlety and nuance and allows the plot to then unfold before your eyes. 

Entertaining and thought provoking.

7/10

The Paperboy - DM Review

Trashy, bonkers, lurid, colourful, confused and not very good....BUT during viewing it gripped me in a strange way and had me locked in until the end. It bullied me into submission and by the end I was almost convinced.
Away from the cinema and upon reflection however, it was a bad film. The plot ridiculous, the direction a bit of a shambles, the editing messy and the soundtrack blaring.
Some good points - I liked the Zac Efron/Macy Gray relationship. Actually Zac Efron was my favourite thing in this film (I never thought I would write those words).

A crazy film that had me during the viewing but ultimately The Paperboy failed to deliver (boom boom).

4/10

Side Effects - DM Review

A film of two halves and both enjoyable. 

The first half setting up the premise and genuinely thought provoking. For me, it raised questions over the US approach of medicating against sadness. It seemed everyone was on anti-depressants and discussing different types they have tried as they would brands of washing powder. Also big pharma's role in all of this...do they provide a cure or in fact (by decidedly dodgy tactics) actually create the problems to which they may have the answer? 

The second half turned into an almost whodunnit Hitchcockian (is that a word?) thriller, the conclusion of which was a little disappointing for me. Not so much in that it didn't answer the questions raised which does not bother me. It was the plot itself that jarred.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Cracking performances from the two leads and brilliant casting. Rooney Mara is totally believable as the precious, damaged girl. Jude Law plays this to perfection with a subtle smug arrogance. A timely reminder of how good he can actually be. Casting a Brit in this role was a masterstroke highlighting the disparity between healthcare approaches on the different sides of the pond.

In the end, there was no-one you were rooting for...all of them were pretty despicable in their own way. And I guess that was the point.

The film was constructed masterfully and looked great.

7/10

Broken - DM review

A kitchen-sink drama...however more in the sense of trying to include everything in this film including the kitchen sink.
This started promisingly enough with an interesting set-up and plot time shifting (despite the John Lewis-esque music). The performances drew me in. Eloise Laurence, much feted in reviews, lives up to this and is cracking. A lovely honest performance. Tim Roth, Cillian Murphy and Rory Kinnear provide great support.
But about two-thirds through...oh dear. I desperately wanted to stay with it and like this but the film made this tough for me. There were too many strands and ideas. It needed maybe 2 or 3 plotlines to be pruned. Amid this swirling mass, the film's message was getting lost with violence used as a lazy plot device. Disappointing end but half of it was great.

5/10

Stoker - DM Review

A case of style over substance for me. Some interesting directorial ideas and solid acting (except for Nicole who seemed to dial in her performance) made this film less than the sum of its parts. It just didn't come together...frustratingly so.

5/10

MD - Stoker

In Chan-Woon Park’s first English language movie, ooky kooky teen India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska now does Malice in Wonderland) loses her dad in a car accident. Before even changing the bedsheets, winsome mum Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) has moved creepy “hmmm where has he been all these years?” Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) into the house and suddenly the housekeeper is put on ice. 

For all its pretentions of mystery and suspense, as the supporting cast drop like flies, smarmy unlikable Charlie is so obviously a wrong’un there is little sense of shock or surprise in his actions or backstory.

By toning down the dark looks and giving the characters some empathetic traits this Manson/Addams Family mash-up might have been an interesting look at the consequences of hidden family secrets, patriarchy and elicit desire but as it stands these people deserve each other and we don’t root for any of them. It ends in a predictable risible mess in all sorts of ways.

As you’d expect with such a stylised a director there are some classy looking set pieces, framing and motifs. But window dressing is a bit redundant if there’s nothing in the shop. Lots of staring, little caring – a big disappointment.

4/10

MD - Beautiful Creatures

This no-plan-just-passing-a-cinema experience turned out to be a very enjoyable one. The new witch in town comes lugging familial baggage and falls in love with local good egg in the run up to her eighteenth birthday  - a day which may bring the potential for all sorts of major world-ending bad stuff to go down.

The central relationship is believable and engaging whilst the supporting thesps have a camp-athon. Emma Thompson turns it up to 11 channelling her best Maleficient whilst Jeremy Irons, his wobbly accent sometimes changing mid-sentence, hams with aplomb. Their ecclesiastical showdown is a treat.

Keep an eye out for a young actor – Alden Ehrenrich – in both this and Stoker. Alongside Jack Reynor he’s one to watch.

Big grinning fun without the grating earnestness of many a teen supernatural franchise.

6/10

MD -To The Wonder

The now prolific Malick has produced another soufflé of a movie that trades the dinosaurs for cornfields. It takes us dancing and prancing through the infantile mind of Parisian Marina (Olga Kurylenko) as she deals with the real world of grown up relationships rather than the froth of holiday romance. Paris is for lovers - it's everyday small town America where relationships live and die.

The ephemeral shimmer of the cinematography and lack of narrative plays into the sense of this being an insignificant and wistful movie. Often it is. However the rock at the centre is the near mute Ben Affleck as Neil whose anchor of wavering masculinity gives the gravitas and interest. It is his character who has much more to say for all his silence and would have been a more welcome focus than the frighty flighty Marina. This is a woman who skips and dances around more annoyingly than Kate Blanchett in the excruciating Benjamin Button. 

But for all the fluff, the dissection of relationships is clinical. Malick's wavering scalpel is capable of a sudden incision that pierces both our defences and hearts. Cutting though the beauty of the image to the rough and ready taut canvas below. 

To The Wonder is a work of art that demands longitudinal scrutiny. It will offer both annoyance in its focus and joy in its composition. 

7/10

Arbitrage - DM review

Not very original nor thrilling. Distinctly average and uninspiring. One thing of note was the number of continuity errors including a blindingly obvious one involving a locked door. When you come out of a film and that is the abiding memory, you know you've seen a turkey.

3/11 3/10