A black comedy from the US with enough laughs to make it enjoyable.
Shannon is a sex addict, which has resulted in her losing job after job. Hitting bottom, she has returned to her shabby home town to live with her sister Martha, and work with her as a hotel chambermaid. Having supposedly overcome her problems Shannon is reluctant to let Martha know that she is still shagging anyone she can. So when she's found in bed with a hotel resident she cries rape and, in the ensuing struggle, the man is accidentally killed.
The remainder of the plot revolves around their attempts to cover their tracks and dispose of the body. Their preferred route is via a pet crematorium, but that leads to blackmail and they have to get together a large sum of money very fast. The storyline moves along at a decent pace, even if somewhat improbable at times. I mean, would people really donate $12,000 of cash at a bar mitzvah?
This production has 'TV Movie' written all over it, and it somehow feels wrong to be watching in a cinema. Overcome those doubts and you'll find Fresno is a lot of fun, with a few great lines thrown in. (My favourite came from the guy who, on being told of Shannon's addiction, says he thought if was something Tiger Woods had made up.) Martha is the more empathetic character and at times it's hard to sympathise with her sister who seems to destroy all she touches. Redemption does win through though and happy endings of a sort do close off most of the story arcs.
Sex addiction is a taboo rarely tackled in films so it's good to see someone having a go. There will be better movies to come on the subject, but for now this is a decent attempt.
Sunday, 28 June 2015
Saturday, 27 June 2015
Meet Me in Montenegro, Cineworld, Edinburgh Film Festival
Written, directed and starring real life lovers Alex Holdridge and Linnea Saasen, this is the hidden gem of my 2015 festival. What could so easily have been yet another formulaic romcom has been turned into a movie that's sharp, witty, beautiful and has something important to say about relationships. The writing often felt like something Woody Allen might have turned out three or four decades ago, and I intend that as high praise.
Impoverished film maker Anderson had a brief and passionate affair with dancer Lina, which ended when she suddenly left him on a beach in Montenegro, and the loss has tainted his love life ever since. When he returns to Berlin the two meet again and there is a predictable will they/won't they element to what follows. This is redeemed by the complexities we see in the relationship and the struggles each has to voice their own needs (the premise of the film is based on the tale of how the real life Holdridge and Saasen got together).
Running alongside this is a look into the relationship of the couple Anderson is staying with. She wants a threesome, he says he does too, but who is kidding who? Rupert Friend is excellent as the not-quite-as-up-for-it-as-he'd-like-to-be Stephen showing a real talent for comedy. The cute kitten is a further bonus!
There are faults of course. The 'film within a film' narration by Anderson's professional character can be as annoying as such devices often are, and there is a cartoonish element that seems at odds with the rest of the movie. None of which can quite strip this film of it's charm and sense of involvement.
The film's low budget may have been a bonus, for it forced the directors to use whatever locations they could get, and this adds a layer of seedy realism. There are some gorgeous Montenegro based scenes, but the city of Berlin is a major asset in creating a sense of excitement, diversity and experimentation. It's hard to watch this film and not immediately want to go there.
The film gets a US release next month. It would be good to see it come to the UK too.
Impoverished film maker Anderson had a brief and passionate affair with dancer Lina, which ended when she suddenly left him on a beach in Montenegro, and the loss has tainted his love life ever since. When he returns to Berlin the two meet again and there is a predictable will they/won't they element to what follows. This is redeemed by the complexities we see in the relationship and the struggles each has to voice their own needs (the premise of the film is based on the tale of how the real life Holdridge and Saasen got together).
Running alongside this is a look into the relationship of the couple Anderson is staying with. She wants a threesome, he says he does too, but who is kidding who? Rupert Friend is excellent as the not-quite-as-up-for-it-as-he'd-like-to-be Stephen showing a real talent for comedy. The cute kitten is a further bonus!
There are faults of course. The 'film within a film' narration by Anderson's professional character can be as annoying as such devices often are, and there is a cartoonish element that seems at odds with the rest of the movie. None of which can quite strip this film of it's charm and sense of involvement.
The film's low budget may have been a bonus, for it forced the directors to use whatever locations they could get, and this adds a layer of seedy realism. There are some gorgeous Montenegro based scenes, but the city of Berlin is a major asset in creating a sense of excitement, diversity and experimentation. It's hard to watch this film and not immediately want to go there.
The film gets a US release next month. It would be good to see it come to the UK too.
Scottish Mussel, Cineworld, Edinburgh Film Festival
Billed as an old fashioned comedy that all the family can enjoy, this film hits the old fashioned spot. Director Talulah Riley also stars as Beth, an English conservationist leading a project to protect Highland wildlife. And particularly the freshwater mussel which is being targeted by pearl pirates (yes, really....). Attracted by the possibility of easy money, Govan ned Ritchie (Martin Compston) inveigles his way on to the project team so that his colleagues in crime can get the information they need to carry out their search for pearls. But when (surprise, surprise) he falls in love with Beth there's the possibility that he may see the error of his ways.
You can fill in the gaps for yourself. Because there is very little in the storyline that isn't entirely predictable. Real old fashioned films, Ealing comedies for instance, remedied this by overdosing on charm and a lot of laughs, something this script seems to have omitted. A skinny man in a bright pink wetsuit really isn't much to laugh about in 2015. Compston does his best with what he's given, but it could never be enough. At least there are some stunning views of the Scottish countryside to please the eye.
There are cameo appearances from some familiar faces, the most notable, for all the wrong reasons, being Harry Enfield's cringe-worthy attempt at some form of Scottish accent. I'm guessing he thinks Brigadoon is a documentary.
Old fashioned? Yes. Comedy? Not so you would know. Some families might it enjoy it if they are after an undemanding bit of fun, but for me it was a huge disappointment.
You can fill in the gaps for yourself. Because there is very little in the storyline that isn't entirely predictable. Real old fashioned films, Ealing comedies for instance, remedied this by overdosing on charm and a lot of laughs, something this script seems to have omitted. A skinny man in a bright pink wetsuit really isn't much to laugh about in 2015. Compston does his best with what he's given, but it could never be enough. At least there are some stunning views of the Scottish countryside to please the eye.
There are cameo appearances from some familiar faces, the most notable, for all the wrong reasons, being Harry Enfield's cringe-worthy attempt at some form of Scottish accent. I'm guessing he thinks Brigadoon is a documentary.
Old fashioned? Yes. Comedy? Not so you would know. Some families might it enjoy it if they are after an undemanding bit of fun, but for me it was a huge disappointment.
Thursday, 25 June 2015
Bereave, Dominion, Edinburgh Film Festival
Garvey (Malcolm McDowell) is irascible, insulting and unpredictable. His wife Evelyn (Jane Seymour) is baffled and hurt by his behaviour, especially as today is their fortieth wedding anniversary. Their grown up children despair of the way their parents' marriage is becoming so troubled.
It becomes apparent that Garvey's choleric attitudes cover a secret he is withholding from his nearest and dearest, and that he is deliberately creating distance between them and himself. This is tough on Evelyn and when he runs off for the day she ends up drinking heavily, flourishing a fencing sword, and wandering off into the night. Meanwhile Garvey has recruited a beautiful young woman to stand by the family funeral plot, ready to deliver a eulogy he gives her when the moment is right. Impending death is a constant companion throughout the film.
There is an eccentric performance from Keith Carradine as Victor, Garvey's younger brother, and most of the scenes he's involved in bring little to the development of the
storyline. Other than to show that his sibling, despite his obsession with his own problem, cares enough to help him out when he's in a jam. (Victor gets arrested for, as his driver describes it, "stabbing a door".)
While it's good to see another (still too rare) movie focussing on the lives of older characters, and the ending provides some genuinely moving moments, the overall impression is one of confusion and I ended up unclear what the film was wanting to say to the audience. Except perhaps that that's how families are - confusing, messy and full of uncertainties.
A film that turns out to be less than the sum of its parts.
It becomes apparent that Garvey's choleric attitudes cover a secret he is withholding from his nearest and dearest, and that he is deliberately creating distance between them and himself. This is tough on Evelyn and when he runs off for the day she ends up drinking heavily, flourishing a fencing sword, and wandering off into the night. Meanwhile Garvey has recruited a beautiful young woman to stand by the family funeral plot, ready to deliver a eulogy he gives her when the moment is right. Impending death is a constant companion throughout the film.
There is an eccentric performance from Keith Carradine as Victor, Garvey's younger brother, and most of the scenes he's involved in bring little to the development of the
storyline. Other than to show that his sibling, despite his obsession with his own problem, cares enough to help him out when he's in a jam. (Victor gets arrested for, as his driver describes it, "stabbing a door".)
While it's good to see another (still too rare) movie focussing on the lives of older characters, and the ending provides some genuinely moving moments, the overall impression is one of confusion and I ended up unclear what the film was wanting to say to the audience. Except perhaps that that's how families are - confusing, messy and full of uncertainties.
A film that turns out to be less than the sum of its parts.
Wednesday, 24 June 2015
The Incident, Cineworld, Edinburgh Film Festival
THE INCIDENT
Meet Annabel and Joe - young, good looking well off. Beneath the smugly have-it-all surface there are fissures in the relationship, cracks to fall into.
Meet Lily - a young prostitute and petty thief, who convinces Joe to have a quickie with her while he waits for pizza (the least convincing moment of the film, the sullen teenager exhibiting all the seductive charms of an Ann Widdecombe speech....).
When Lily accidentally discovers where the couple live she turns up when Joe is away on business. Knocking back a bottle of champagne from the garage, she sneaks in through an open door, and terrifies Annabel when she appears in the bedroom, before making her getaway.
When Annabel is offered the option of confronting Lily through the victim support programme Joe's guilt kicks into overdrive and he is faced with the choice of revealing his indiscretion, or risking his wife discovering it for herself. When the meeting goes ahead we know the marriage will never be the same again.
What's also clear is that the real victim is Lily herself. Vulnerable, thrust into sexually exploitative relationships, a child at odds with the adult world she has must survive in, making the problems the couple face look trivial and of their own making.
Ruta Gedmintas is excellent as Annabel, forced to confront the problems, and fears, she faces and conveying her inner monologue wordlessly. This a discomfiting film, filled with sharpnesses and angles, awkward moments and painful silences, unsaid truths and hidden lies, and the ninety minutes flew by for this viewer. I hope it can find a way out on to general release.
Meet Annabel and Joe - young, good looking well off. Beneath the smugly have-it-all surface there are fissures in the relationship, cracks to fall into.
Meet Lily - a young prostitute and petty thief, who convinces Joe to have a quickie with her while he waits for pizza (the least convincing moment of the film, the sullen teenager exhibiting all the seductive charms of an Ann Widdecombe speech....).
When Lily accidentally discovers where the couple live she turns up when Joe is away on business. Knocking back a bottle of champagne from the garage, she sneaks in through an open door, and terrifies Annabel when she appears in the bedroom, before making her getaway.
When Annabel is offered the option of confronting Lily through the victim support programme Joe's guilt kicks into overdrive and he is faced with the choice of revealing his indiscretion, or risking his wife discovering it for herself. When the meeting goes ahead we know the marriage will never be the same again.
What's also clear is that the real victim is Lily herself. Vulnerable, thrust into sexually exploitative relationships, a child at odds with the adult world she has must survive in, making the problems the couple face look trivial and of their own making.
Ruta Gedmintas is excellent as Annabel, forced to confront the problems, and fears, she faces and conveying her inner monologue wordlessly. This a discomfiting film, filled with sharpnesses and angles, awkward moments and painful silences, unsaid truths and hidden lies, and the ninety minutes flew by for this viewer. I hope it can find a way out on to general release.
Tuesday, 23 June 2015
Manglehorn, Cineworld, Edinburgh Film Festival
Some lonelinesses are forced upon us, some we construct for ourselves.
Al Pacino is Manglehorn, a Texas locksmith who keeps the world at arms length. He can provide love for his ailing cat, but is unable to engage with his troubled son. On a date with a woman who is clearly falling in love with him he talks at length about the love of his life and his regret at losing her. He can walk past a major car accident and fail to notice the suffering of those involved. Only with his young granddaughter does he allow himself any real emotional connection
Mangelhorn can help people get into their locked cars, or crack into an old safe to which the combination has been lost, but he can't find a way to open up his own feelings and let himself enjoy the life he has. That heavy handed metaphor, and the too frequent use of voiceovers, is partly compensated for by Pacino's performance. The over the top persona he can bring to the screen has been locked away and we get a very human, fallible and morose man who can't, or won't, communicate. A misanthropic tale, but brightened by the possibility for change at the end.
This is no classic movie, but it's enjoyable enough.
Al Pacino is Manglehorn, a Texas locksmith who keeps the world at arms length. He can provide love for his ailing cat, but is unable to engage with his troubled son. On a date with a woman who is clearly falling in love with him he talks at length about the love of his life and his regret at losing her. He can walk past a major car accident and fail to notice the suffering of those involved. Only with his young granddaughter does he allow himself any real emotional connection
Mangelhorn can help people get into their locked cars, or crack into an old safe to which the combination has been lost, but he can't find a way to open up his own feelings and let himself enjoy the life he has. That heavy handed metaphor, and the too frequent use of voiceovers, is partly compensated for by Pacino's performance. The over the top persona he can bring to the screen has been locked away and we get a very human, fallible and morose man who can't, or won't, communicate. A misanthropic tale, but brightened by the possibility for change at the end.
This is no classic movie, but it's enjoyable enough.
Monday, 22 June 2015
North v South, Cineworld, Edinburgh Film Festival
An every day tale of psychopaths and star (double) crossed lovers.
Like a modern take on Romeo and Juliet, where the infatuated couple are children of two rival gangland dynasties, each of whom dominates organised crime in the north and south of the country. The attempted rapprochement between the two mob bosses swiftly falls apart when one of the southern acolytes casually slits the throat of a friend of the northern godfather. From then it's just a matter of who will kill and/or frame who, and how quickly.
There are some outstanding performances, particularly from Bernard Hill as the head of the northern clan, and some nice visual moments. But they fail to make any dent on a predictable and unrealistic storyline in which it's hard to empathise with a single character. The violence escalates, there are a few improbable survivals, the odd laugh and - well, that's about it.
In the end the lovers get away together, but by then I was just pleased that it signalled the end of this turgid piece.
Tedious.
Like a modern take on Romeo and Juliet, where the infatuated couple are children of two rival gangland dynasties, each of whom dominates organised crime in the north and south of the country. The attempted rapprochement between the two mob bosses swiftly falls apart when one of the southern acolytes casually slits the throat of a friend of the northern godfather. From then it's just a matter of who will kill and/or frame who, and how quickly.
There are some outstanding performances, particularly from Bernard Hill as the head of the northern clan, and some nice visual moments. But they fail to make any dent on a predictable and unrealistic storyline in which it's hard to empathise with a single character. The violence escalates, there are a few improbable survivals, the odd laugh and - well, that's about it.
In the end the lovers get away together, but by then I was just pleased that it signalled the end of this turgid piece.
Tedious.
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