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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 March 2013

There’s been no shortage of artists who have tried to recreate Charles Dickens’ famed novel in a visual form. Great Expectations was first adapted in 1917, as a silent film, and has since been seen as a feature film, a television miniseries, a television movie, a stage play and a West End musical. There was even an animated version created in Australia back in 1983.

I’m not quite sure it’s deserved so many adaptations… but it’s clear that many have been drawn to this wonderful story set in the early-to-mid part of the 19^th Century. When we first meet Pip, he is a young orphan who is living with his nasty, vindictive older sister (Hawkins) and her husband (Felmyng), who earns a meagre wage as a blacksmith.

Visiting his parents’ graves at the nearby cemetery, Pip is confronted by a filthy convict (Fiennes) who recently escaped from prison. He has been hiding from the authorities in the marshland and he begs Pip for food and something to help him remove the thick shackles around his ankles. Unsure what to do at first, Pip eventually helps the convict by stealing food and a metal file from his sister.

Not long after this encounter, Pip is invited to spacious home of the wealthy Miss Havisham (Bonham Carter). He believes that Miss Havisham is looking for a nice, smart boy to play with her adopted daughter, Estella. That’s not the case. The mysterious, oddly dressed Miss Havisham has motives that are far more sinister. She loves to toy with people’s emotions. There’s a great scene where she meets Pip for the first time and instils fear by bringing him in close and asking if he’s “afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun since you were born?”

We then slip a decade or so into the future and discover that Pip (Irvine) has grown up and now works as an apprentice blacksmith. It’s not a life he’s happy with though as there are two things he still desires. Firstly, he wants to become a “gentleman”. Secondly, he wants to win the heart of Estella, who he has always loved since they first met as children.

They may sound like foolish dreams but an unexpected visit from a lawyer (Coltrane) will change Pip’s life forever. It turns out that Pip has been granted a huge sum of money by an anonymous benefactor. He can now give up his job as a lowly blacksmith, move to London and start mingling with the upper echelon of society.

Many of today’s movies feel “dumbed down” so as not to overexert filmgoers. Storylines are kept simple. Characters are either good or bad. Every emotion is clearly illustrated. That’s not the case with Great Expectations. My plot overview is only scratching the surface of what is a richly detailed premise. The characters are flawed, misguided but you’ll still feel sympathetic given their dark history.

It’s almost impossible to condense a classic novel into a two-hour film but writer David Nicholls (One Day) and director Mike Newell (Four Weddings & A Funeral, Donnie Brasco) are to be commended for their efforts. I enjoyed the gloomy English setting and was impressed by how many subplots they were able to explore. The only character that feels underdone is the older version of Estella, played by Holliday Grainger. It made it harder to understand why Pip had fallen so madly in love and had such an obsessive desire to be with her.

The “stand out” amongst the cast is Olly Alexander (Bright Star, Gulliver’s Travels) who plays Herbert Pocket, a London-based friend of Pip. The story gets a little heavy at times and Alexander’s excitable, outgoing personality sweeps through like a breath of fresh air. Helena Bonham Carter, looking like she’s come straight from a Tim Burton film, and Ralph Fiennes also have a strong on-screen presence.

Great Expectations should impress those who enjoy an intricate period-piece drama.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 February 2013

George and Anne are a long married couple who are well into their twilight years. Their ages are never revealed by the two characters are played by 82-year-old Jean-Louis Trintignant and 85-year-old Emmanuelle Riva.

The film opens with the pair attending a piano recital in a beautiful concert hall. They catch up briefly with the pianist after the show and then catch the bus back home. It will be their last night out together. The next morning, Anne suffers a stroke and is rushed off to hospital.

Amour is typical of director Michael Haneke (Hidden) in that he doesn’t want audiences to feel particularly comfortable. Not every piece of this story is illustrated on screen. It’s as interesting for what it doesn’t show… as opposed to what it does show. For example, we do not see Anne’s stroke or her resulting time in hospital, despite it being a key event. On the flip side, we watch Anne lying in bed reading a book, we watch George let a pigeon out the window, and we watch a housekeeper vacuum a rug in the living room.

Never leaving the confides of the modestly sized apartment, the film follows these George and Anne as they deal with the battles, both physical and mental, that come when we reach a ripe old age. It seems that Anne doesn’t have much longer to life. The stroke has left part of her body paralysed and she can no longer get around without the assistance of a wheelchair. Her condition deteriorates with each passing day and unwilling to place her in an aged care home, George employs a part-time nurse to make Anne’s remaining time as comfortable as possible.

This is a sad story, pure and simple. I didn’t find these two characters particularly interesting but it’s still hard not to be moved watching them make the most of their final moments together. Many will have gone through similar experiences with loved ones and will be able to relate. I can also understand why some may choose not to see the film. Rarely has this subject matter been depicted so realistically, so honestly. You always know where the story is heading but it’s still tough to watch.

It’s a touching performance from Emmanuelle Riva who at the age of 85, has become the oldest actor ever nominated for an Academy Award. Making it even more special is the fact this is her first nomination. I guess you’re never too old to finally make it in Hollywood! It’s a shame that Jean-Louis Trintignant, who is just as good, hasn’t received the same recognition throughout the awards season. I admire Haneke’s style… but it’s the performances of these two actors that I’ll remember most.

Winner of the Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for 5 Academy Awards including best picture, Amour is an affecting piece of cinema.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 February 2013

We’ve been waiting over a year and Side Effects marks the first on-screen appearance of Rooney Mara since her Oscar nominated performance in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.  Her character is Emily Taylor – a young woman who has been battling depression for some time.  The fact that her husband (Tatum) just completed a 4-year prison term for insider trading hasn’t made her life any easier.

After an attempted suicide attempt where she drove her car into a wall at high speed, Emily has been placed in the care of a local psychiatrist named Jonathan Banks (Law).  There are no easy answers when it comes to depression with Emily’s guarded disposition doing little help the situation.  Jonathan’s response is to keep doing things “by the book” – prescribing a few different kinds of medication and hoping they will make a significant difference.

The film’s heartbeat kicks up a few notches as a result of an “incident”.  This particular event isn’t shown during the trailer (a refreshing surprise) and it wouldn’t be right to reveal specifics in this review.  I’ll only go as far as referring to the film’s title.  One of the drugs prescribed by Jonathan comes with some unanticipated side effects.

Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven) is a creative, versatile filmmaker and I enjoyed the way he slips a few red herrings into this story.  Just when you think you know where it’s heading… it subtly changes direction.  Unfortunately, what starts out as an intriguing drama degenerates into a silly thriller during its later stages.  The rules of logic don’t seem to apply.  It left me with a puzzled look as I reflected back on the way the “incident” itself had been shown.

It’s a shame things falls away because writer Scott Z. Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum, Contagion) has crafted some good conversational pieces during the first two-thirds.  These are intelligent characters and the dialogue reflects that.  Jude Law is particularly good as a psychiatrist trying to rationalise the situation and gather support from others.

50-year-old Steven Soderbergh has recently hinted that he’s ready to pack up his director’s chair and retire.  Despite my lukewarm feelings about Side Effects, I hope that’s not the case.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 February 2013

Many have already compared Beautiful Creatures to the Twilight franchise and it’s not hard to see why. It’s based on a successful four-book series, comes with supernatural themes and features a pair of star crossed lovers still in high school. I was chatting with a cinema manager last week who had sent promotional emails to all those who bought tickets to the midnight screenings of the final Twilight flick. The target audience is obvious.

One key difference is that this film is told from the perspective of the male lead. Ethan Wate (Ehrenreich) comes from the small town of Gatlin, South Carolina and he has one major goal in life – to get the hell out of there. He’s submitted applications for ever college that’s at least 1,000 miles away. Nothing happens in Gatlin and there’s nothing tying him down. His mother recently passed away and he doesn’t have much of a connection with his father.

For the past few months, Ethan has been having trouble sleeping. It’s not because he’s been studying or out partying. Ethan has been having strange dreams about a mysterious young woman dressed in black. Her identity is soon revealed when she turns up in class on the first day of a new school year. Her name is Lena Duchannes (Englert) and she resides in an old, secluded mansion that residents are too fearful to go near.

To cut to the chase, Lena is a “caster”. She and her fellow family members have magical powers. Some use their powers for good. Others use them for evil. It’s not really a choice though. When a female caster celebrates her 16^th birthday, she will look up into the moon (hopefully there are no clouds around) and a higher power will determine whether she belongs on the “light” side or the “dark” side. For Lena, that milestone birthday is only a few weeks away.

The citizens of Gatlin don’t like the fact there are casters living in their town. Lena’s classmates are quick to ridicule her at school. The mother of one of the students (Thompson) is even trying to drum up support to get her expelled. I didn’t really understand this part of their story. When you’re a regular human trying to battle a smart, supernatural being, I don’t know how you expect to gain the upper hand. Will picketing really do anything?

Anyway, the one person who isn’t worried… is Ethan. He’s drawn to Lena and the two quickly fall in love. What’s going to happen though? Can these two be together? How can they fit into society? What will happen on Lena’s 16^th birthday, especially if she is taken over to the dark side?

There’s a solid, interesting story buried in here but I don’t think it’s been particularly well told by writer-director Richard LaGravenese (Freedom Writers). We rush through the background of the characters with the focus more on building the lovey-dovey relationship between Ethan and Lena. This isn’t any surprise given it’s marketed at the young adult crowd… but those looking for more substance will be disappointed.

I was also puzzled by the film’s visual style. I’ve no qualms with the Deep South setting (there are some fun accents too) but the “witchcraft” is illustrated through a mix of bizarre, unconvincing special effects. That’s not to say the film doesn’t have positives. While I wish some of the supporting players had more exposure, I enjoyed the lead performances of newcomers Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert. They’re far for engaging and charismatic than Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart from the Twilight stuff (although that’s not too hard to be honest).

It seems this will be the only novel in the Caster Chronicles series to make it to the big screen. It debuted last weekend in the United States with a terribly disappointing take of just $8.9m. It’s a shame because, despite my misgivings, the broad premise is intriguing. I guess if I want to know what happens next, I’ll have to do it the old fashioned way and read the book.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 February 2013

Cloud Atlas is a monumental piece of cinema that will take time to digest. It doesn’t feel appropriate to be reviewing it after just a single viewing but alas, that’s the position in which I now find myself. There was just the one preview screening in Brisbane and I must put a few thoughts into words before its official release on Thursday.

With a running time of 172 minutes, making it the longest mainstream movie of 2012, Cloud Atlas tells six stories concurrently. The first is set in the year 1849. The last is set at an undefined time well into the future. There are 13 featured actors and combined, they play 61 different characters. Five of the actors appear in all six stories – Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving and Hugh Grant.

I can understand why some members within the Academy didn’t latch onto the film as a whole but why the specialist branches didn’t honour it for its production design and make-up will forever remain a mystery. It didn’t receive a single Oscar nomination. The filmmakers have done an immaculate job creating these distinctive worlds and have used every tool possible, including visual effects, to make the actors in each story look different.

The three people responsible for Cloud Atlas all get to share a director credit – Tom Tywker, who created the memorable Run Lola Run, and Andy and Lana Wachowski, the duo who crafted the ridiculously successful Matrix trilogy. All of the major studios brushed them off but they were still able to find the $102m budget necessary to bring David Mitchell’s 2004 novel to the big screen. This makes it one of the most expensive independent films of all time.

So what is the movie all about? If you want a simple three-word answer, you only need to look at the tagline on the poster – “everything is connected”. Every decision we make today is the result of other decisions that have been made in the past. On the flip side, every decision we make today will affect the decisions of those in the future. This isn’t a ground-breaking revelation but it does provide a timely reminder that the world is smaller than we realise and all of us have an important part to play.

In isolation, you could argue that each of these stories isn’t all that interesting. The comedic, modern-day plot involving Jim Broadbent in an aged care home is silly to the point of being distracting. Yet somehow, editor Alexander Berner has interwoven these narratives and by cutting back-and-forth between them at a rapid pace, created something that will hold your attention for three hours.

Cloud Atlas has battled at the international box-office since it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last September. It’d be nice to see such a bold, risky project succeed but it was always going to divide audiences. Time Magazine named it as the worst film of 2012. Acclaimed critic Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars. I’m just glad it’s getting a release here in Australia (which wasn’t always guaranteed).

Well, that’s all I’ve got… at least until I see it a second time.