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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 March 2003

The 14 person jury was headed by director David Lynch (Mulholland Drive) and included Martin Scorsese (the director of Gangs Of New York), Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Tilda Swinton (The Deep End) and Sharon Stone.  They would decide the winner of the Palm D’Or.  Recent winners included Dancer In The Dark, Secrets & Lies, Pulp Fiction and The Piano.  After deliberation, their selection as winner of the Palm D’Or was… The Pianist.

Adrien Brody shines in his role as Wladyslaw Szpilman.  He is the only featured actor in the film and he appears in almost every scene.  Living in Poland, he was a beautiful pianist who was well known and played regularly on the radio.  Then World War II began.  The film isn’t directly about the war and its horrors, it’s more about Szpilman’s place within the war.  We only see things from his perspective and I enjoyed this decision made by the filmmakers.  There’s a part in the film where he lives in a locked apartment for several months with a view overlooking a hospital.  In the cinema, that’s all we see too.  We don’t know the progress of the war, we don’t understand what’s going on outside and it’s as it should be.

The Pianist plots Szpilman’s quest to stay alive.  When the war begins, he and his wealthy Jewish family are forced to leave their home and move into a Warsaw ghetto where all Jewish people are ordered to live.  As conditions deteriorated and numbers grew, families were rounded up and sent to Nazi labour camps and other places of horror.  His family would perish but with the help of a police officer, Szpilman was able to escape.  There would be many more years of suffering and many close shaves but Szpilman continued his fight for survival.

Director Roman Polanski (Chinatown) has made a great film but the real star is Adrien Brody.  His performance is incredible and you can he is devoted to the cause of this movie.  He looks terrible in the later scenes and it’s not just from make-up.  His Oscar nomination for best actor is well deserved and I’ll be rooting for him when the winners are announced in two weeks.  Polanski has been nominated in the best director category but won’t be able to attend the ceremony since he’s wanted in America on a statutory rape charge from 1977.  I won’t comment any further on that matter.

There are a few minor luls but generally, it’s a very interesting film given the way it is told.  There’s an abundance of films showing stories of war heroism but this is uncommercial and different.  It’s based on Szpilman’s own biographical novel and Polanski’s own parents lived in Poland and were taken to German concentration camps (his mother died there).  The Pianist is a film you won’t easily forget.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 February 2003

Adapted from his autobiographical novel, Swimming Upstream tells the story of Tony Fingleton's childhood and his quest to win both swimming medals and his father's love.  Born and raised in Brisbane, Tony (played by Jesse Spencer), and his older brother, John (Tim Draxl), excelled in the swimming pool.  Their father, Harold (Rush), was oblivious to their talent as he was either working as a wharfie down at the docks, or getting blindly drunk in a pub somewhere.

On hearing from his wife, Dora (Davis), that they could swim, he suddenly developed an interest in them.  He began personally training them but not solely for their own interests.  Harold wanted to become someone and this was his chance to live a dream - he could be the father of the greatest swimmer of all time.

The Fingleton's were a broken family where arguments were common and fights usually followed.  There was an unspoken division in the family with Harold the primary cause.  He developed a favoritism with John since he offered the least resistance.  Tony was on the outer and despite developing a loving bond with his mother, was looked upon as dirt by his father.

Both John and Tony would go on to become great swimmers.  They would compete in the Queensland titles and Australian titles in the 1950s.  But Tony was battling more than just the other competitors.  His father was doing everything in his power to make sure John was the better swimmer - he was giving him secret extra training sessions, finding him media exposure, and offering the devoted encouragement that Tony wasn't allowed.

If you’re old enough, you may remember how this story ended but if not, I won’t ruin the experience.  This isn't just a sporting flick but rather a touching family drama that will stir emotions.  Geoffrey Rush's brings much hate to his character which is just what the story requires - he's a classic bad guy yet somehow realistic.  People will recognise Jesse Spencer from Neighbours and he shrugs off his “Billy Kennedy stereotype” by savouring this first opportunity to appear in a noteworthy feature film.

Shot entirely in Brisbane in late 2001, those from the area will identify some of the locations.  Director Russell Malcahy’s best scenes are those in the swimming pool with his split-screen camera technique.  I first saw the film back in September 2002 when it was screened for Australian Film Institute members.  Disappointingly, the film was overlooked in the best picture category but received worthy nominations for actors Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis alongside a screenplay nomination for Tony Fingleton.

Following the release of Far From Heaven and The Hours, you’ve now got the chance to see three separate films set in the 1950s.  As they say, when you hang on to things long enough they come back in style.  The nifty fifties have returned. 

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 March 2003

Marisa Ventura (Lopez) is a divorced mother with one son, Ty (Posey).  For several years, she’s happily worked as a maid at an exclusive hotel.  There she has formed some valuable friendships who have encouraged her dream of moving into hotel management.  That opportunity arrives when decide to promote someone in-house but Marisa must compete against others interested in the position.

Cleaning out the suite of a wealthy guest, Marisa is asked to return a $5,000 dress on the guest’s behalf.  Before doing so, and encouraged by her friend, she tries the dress on and admires the beauty of it.  At the same time, her son Ty walks in with a man he had met in the elevator – politician Christopher Marshall (Fiennes) who is campaigning for the U.S. senate.  The 10-year-old Ty is interested in politics and asks if he can accompany Chris on a walk in the park with his dog.  But on meeting Marisa, Chris has fallen head-over-heels and asks Marisa to come with them.

The outing is perfect but there’s a problem in Marisa’s eyes.  Chris thinks she’s one of the hotel’s wealthy guests and not a mere housemaid.  Marisa then vanishes off into the sunset but Chris is using his contacts to track her down.  He understands the media is watching him like a hawk but he’s too much in love to let her get away and is willing to risk his political reputation.  Soon enough, all the secrets will be exposed and the two will confront each other to see if a future together awaits…

Mmm, we all know the answer to this question.  If you don’t, then start watching more movies.  Jennifer Lopez puts on her cute and innocent routine and its fine for a while but becomes tiring.  She’s such an unrealistic representation of a woman in that situation.  It makes no sense when you look at one with her looks, her persona and her intelligence.  The supporting cast are very ordinary and the subplots thin and cheesy.  Ralph Fiennes is the only player who impresses and it’s most likely because he’s chosen a role outside his usual range.

At bottom, Maid In Manhattan is a fantasy film crafted to give everyone hope that romance is well and truly alive.  They have their place in cinemas (to cater the audience I described above) but in my critical opinion, the screenplay just doesn’t perform.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 23 February 2003

The Hollywood musical is back.  Moulin Rouge unlocked the door and the genre is primed to bring back memories for generations past and be introduced to those a little younger.  Miramax Studios has had an Academy Award best picture nominee for ten consecutive years and the award-hungry company will continue the trend with Chicago having all the qualities of a sure Oscar winner.

After playing as a musical on Broadway for almost three decades, the time has arrived to tell the story to a bigger audience.  The theatrical show has been loved and adored by so many but a movie version provided unique opportunities.  It allowed every scene to be re-shot until perfected, it allowed bigger sets and real-life locations to be exploited, and most importantly, it allowed varying camera angles to bring razzle-dazzle to the whole production.  42-year-old director Rob Marshall, who has a heavy background in Broadway, has made full use of these opportunities and his direction can only be described as flawless.

There is a perfectly seamless mix between songs and spoken words.  The introductions to the songs are remarkably well timed and there are no examples of poorly timed music throwing the audience into a lull.  Songs dominate the opening two thirds of the film and once you get past the initial reluctance of having people sing rather than tell this story, you’ll appreciate the words to these songs and the way they shape the story.

If you’re unfamiliar, Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones) is a nightclub star before being arrested for the murder of her sister and husband.  Roxie Hart (Zellweger) is a wanna-be performer who has just shot and killed her lover on discovering he had lied about getting her an act.  Both are in jail awaiting trial and the only person who can get them off is the stylish lawyer Billy Flynn (Gere) who’s never lost a case.

After working on Velma’s case and getting her great publicity, Billy performs the same media trickery for Roxie and soon she starts dominating newspaper headlines as a wrongly imprisoned sweetheart who acted in self defence.  But there’s only room on the front page for one name and Velma isn’t happy to relinquish her mantle.  Roxie is the new star.  But both plan on using the press to clear there names and will be prepared to betray each other to do it....

All the main cast members get the opportunity to sing with Zeta-Jones the standout.  Zellweger has an annoyingly high-pitched voice and whilst you may hate it, it’s perfectly suited to her character.  These musical numbers are Chicago’s heart and it’s Marshall’s direction coupled with the ideal cast that will leave your eyes glued to the screen.  It’s a completely original concept - a mix of a people acting in reality with the same people performing on Broadway - and the camera moves back and forth between the two.  Don’t ask me how this was visualised on paper but I’m sure Oscar winning writer Bill Condon (Gods & Monsters) was another big influence.

It’s looks a shoe-in to claim the coveted Academy Award and a worthy musical for the honour.  That’s Chicago.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 01 March 2003

Set sometime in the future, the film begins with Kelvin (Clooney) getting a phone call from a friend, Gibarian, on a space station above the planet of Solaris.  He speaks cryptically of problems, says that Kelvin is the only person who will be able to understand and then asks him to join them on the station.  Space authorities had previously sent security patrols to rescue those aboard but they had not returned.

Kelvin travels to Solaris and on boarding the station, finds it eerily silent.  There’s no greeting, not a word to be heard and smearings of blood lining the floors, walls and ceilings.  He finally meets two “survivors”, Gordon (Davis) and Snow (Davies), who like Gibarian, aren’t direct about what happened.  They inform Kelvin that Gibarian committed suicide.  They also give the impression there’s no point talking about what happened because he wouldn’t believe them.  Instead, they’re going to let him see for himself.

Kelvin goes to bed that night and dreams of his late wife, Rheya (McElhone).  He recalls the time they first met and the romantic courtship that led to the marriage.  He awakes.  His wife is lying right next to him, hugging him.

No more I’m sorry.  That’s because I don’t want to spoil it and also because I didn’t really understand it.  This film deserves an award for the worst film to take popcorn to.  There is not a hell of a lot of dialogue.  There are scenes which stretch up to five minutes where not a single word is spoken.  The background music score from Cliff Martinez (which reminded me of the score he composed for Traffic) is incessantly repetitive almost to the point where it’s hypnotising the audience.  Which such silence in the theatre, it can be a very uncomfortable experience.

I love a film where things aren’t handed to you on a silver platter but these characters bored me to the point where they became unlikeable.  It’s not a thriller.  It’s a sappy love story woven against the mysteries of space.  Kelvin was dull and so was his wife.  The creepy Jeremy Davies was the only interesting character of the bunch but he’s given few scenes.

The reception for the film has been mixed.  Critics have called it everything from “thoughtful” and “astonishing” to “incoherent” and “shapeless”.  At the recent Berlin Film Festival, a journalist at a news conference for Solaris described the film has “boring”.  George Clooney, who is clearly passionate about the film (more so than his character) then gave the journalist a huge serve by saying “What a jerk!  I mean honestly, you know, what a shit thing to say!”  It seems this film is generating more interest outside the theatre rather than in it.