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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 September 2015

As of last week, Straight Outta Compton had grossed $135 million in the United States and had become the highest grossing music biopic of all time.  It has surpassed the likes of Walk The Line, Ray, Coal Miner’s Daughter, La Bamba, Amadeus and Jersey Boys.  It’s an impressive statistic that shows the movie has broad appeal and is not just for fans of the hip hop group N.W.A.

The film could be described and categorised a number of ways.  For starters, it’s a likeable rags-to-riches tale.  In 1986, a group of rappers from southern California visualised stardom.  It’s a dream that so many musicians have had but few have achieved.  There’s a scene where one of the rappers, Dr Dre (Hawkins), is berated by his mother for skipping work and school in pursuit of his fanciful goals.  I’d have said the same thing if in her position.  These guys had no back-up plan.

We’re now watching a movie about their lives and so it’s obvious that they found success.  They formed the group N.W.A. (with stands for Niggaz Wit Attitudes), helped create a record label, and released their first album in 1988.  The lyrics were considered too violent and profane and so they received no radio or television coverage.  Even MTV refused to play their music videos.  The controversy only helped boost their notoriety.  They became an underground sensation through word-of-mouth and it wasn’t long before they’d sold 3 million copies of their debut album.

This movie is about much more than their achievements.  It provides important insight into the discrimination they endured both before and after they found fame.  The lyrics for one of their most widely discussed songs, “Fuck tha Police”, highlighted the racial profiling and police brutality that was being experienced by the African American community but rarely discussed in the media.  The film also makes reference to the police beating of taxi driver Rodney King in 1991 and the subsequent riots in Los Angeles.  Has much changed over the last 25 years?  It’s something to think about.

An equally interesting layer to Straight Outta Compton is that it draws attention to the power struggle that existed within the group.  Given the cash being generated, there were disputes about contracts, royalties and entitlements.  An uneasy partnership had been formed between group leader Easy-E (Mitchell) and music manager Jerry Heller (Giamatti).  This didn’t sit well with Ice Cube (Jackson Jr) who decided to pursue a solo career.

The film hasn’t been immune from criticism despite the healthy box-office.  Given it was produced by Dr Dre and Ice Cube, some believe the film paints them in a better light than they deserve.  It overlooks the fact that Dr Dre physically abused several women during the early 1990s (which has since apologised for).  It also fails to explore N.W.A.’s misogynist lyrics that refer to women as “bitches” and “hoes”.  It seems counterproductive to be using their music to help raise awareness about discrimination against black Americans… while demeaning women in the process.

I won’t begrudge anyone for disliking Straight Outta Compton for the aforementioned reasons.  That said, I believe the film’s strengths far outweigh its negatives.  N.W.A. aren’t portrayed as saints (Easy-E starts out as a drug dealer) and while yes, some details were left out, this was always going to be tricky given the abundance of characters and long time frame.  It all clocks in at just under two and a half hours which is best that director F. Gary Gray (Friday, The Italian Job) could do.

The young cast are superb with O’Shea Jackson Jr, the real life son of Ice Cube, being the obvious standout given his uncanny resemblance to his father at the same age.  The screenwriting team are also to be commended for the way in which the film blends comedy, drama and tragedy… with a bit of contract law thrown in for good measure.

To someone unfamiliar with the American rap scene, Straight Outta Compton will provide an absorbing look at a group of flawed, yet wonderfully talented artists.

You can read my chat with star O'Shea Jackson Jr by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 August 2015

Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo were two high school students who fell in love during the mid-1970s.  Tim was a drama student.  John was captain of the AFL team.  It sounds like plot from a cheesy American teen movie but this is actually a true story.  Their relationship went through a number of ups and downs before both were diagnosed with HIV in 1985.

In the weeks prior to this death in October 1994, Conigrave put the finishing touches on his memoir, Holding The Man.  He died not knowing how big his story would become.  The book was first published in 1995 and won the UN Human Rights Award for Non-Fiction that same year.  It 2006, playwright Tommy Murphy adapted it for the stage and it has been performed across Australia as well as in London, Auckland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

It’s a beautifully told story but a big reason behind the book’s success is that it chronicled a same-sex relationship and helped pull back the curtain on dealing with AIDS and HIV.  The homosexual community latched onto it immediately.  Someone finally had the courage to write about their world and their experiences.  It was different from many other novels sitting on library shelves.

We’re now at a point where the book that became a play has now become a movie.  Murphy took on the screenwriting duties with Neil Armfield, largely known for his theatrical work, sitting in the director’s chair.  After an extensive audition process they settled upon Ryan Corr (Not Suitable For Children) and Craig Stott (East of Everything) for the two leading roles.  They are supported by Australian acting royalty including Anthony LaPaglia, Guy Pearce and Geoffrey Rush.

The dialogue in the early, getting-to-know-each-other scenes is clunky.  It’s also hard to picture two actors in their mid-20s playing high school students (kind of reminds me of the Beverly Hills 90210 television series).  Thankfully, the film settles when we skip into the future and see them as full blown adults.  You can see what makes them different (Tim is more outgoing, John is more quiet) and also get a strong sense of their romantic connection.

It’s hard to summarise a life inside of two hours but Murphy has done a great job with the screenplay.  Tim and John’s story isn’t told chronologically.  We slip between years and observe them during different challenges in their lives.  It’s kind of like watching a Mike Leigh film – the focus is more on who these people are (aka a character study) as opposed to what they achieve.

Perhaps the film’s strongest attribute is the way it encapsulates the era.  We’re looking back 30-40 years (not all that long ago when you think about it) to a time when homosexuality wasn’t as accepted as it is today.  There are tough conversations shared between Tim, John and their parents that help provide perspective on the difficulties they faced in just being themselves.  The timing of the film’s release is ironic given the passionate debate currently being conducted in Australia on the subject of same-sex marriage.

Likely to be a strong contender at this year’s AACTA Awards (to be held in early December), Holding The Man is a moving drama that beautifully balances its broad timeframe.

You can read my chat with star Ryan Corr by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 30 August 2015

Acclaimed author Bill Bryson has received a lot of phone calls over the past 30 years.  One he never expected to receive was a film production company.  Bryson writes non-fiction books predominantly about science, history and travel.  They don’t feature wizards, vampires or hobbits.

Yet, it was Robert Redford’s own company that was looking to acquire the rights to Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, first published in 1988.  The book chronicled his attempts to hike the Appalachian Trial – a 3,500km journey through the eastern United States that passes through 14 different states.  He was accompanied by a long-time friend who had been battling alcoholism and was looking to get his life back on track.  Bryson doesn’t reveal his real name in the book so he goes by the pseudonym of Stephen Katz.

Redford had hoped to bring A Walk in the Woods to the screen much earlier.  The rights were purchased in the early 2000s and he thought it would the perfect vehicle for he and Paul Newman to reunite on screen.  They had only collaborated twice previously – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969 and The Sting in 1973 (which won the Academy Award for best picture).  Sadly, Redford’s dream never eventuated with Newman passing away in September 2008.

After sitting in limbo for a few years, the project was finally reinvigorated with Nick Nolte (Warrior, The Prince Of Tides) stepping into the shoes of Katz.  The film opens with Bryson expressing a desire to his wife (Thompson) that he wants to walk the lengthy Appalachian Trail and see one of America’s great natural treasurers.  She thinks he’s mad and suggests that he simply go on a road trip using the family Volvo.

Bryson is undeterred but doesn’t want to make the journey alone.  After calling several friends who brush him off with a litany of excuses, he is finally contacted by Katz who is keen.  It’s obvious from their opening hour on the trail that they’re ill-equipped for the trip ahead.  Not only do they lack the physical fitness, they are also struggling when it comes to general hiking knowhow.

The spirit of this film can be summed up by the famous saying – “the journey is the thing.”  It’s not like a sporting movie where you’re hoping the team wins the grand final or a gold medal.  It doesn’t make a difference if Bryson and Katz make it to the end of the trail.  The trip is about what they discover about each other and what they learn about this beautiful piece of the American landscape.

Parts of the film feel a little over-exaggerated.  They come across a fellow hiker named Mary Ellen who raises the bar when it comes to the use of the term “annoying”.  It’s also hard to fathom how Katz is able to survive more the day given his age (Nick Nolte was 73-years-old at the time of filming) and lack of preparation.  I put these questions to the real Bill Bryson during a recent Q&A session here in Brisbane who defended what is depicted on screen.  It turns out Mary Ellen really was that annoying!

Films like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel have highlighted that there is still a healthy audience for movies about elderly folk trying to find love and friendship.  A Walk In The Woods is pitched at the same crowd.  It features two great leading performances from Redford and Nolte who find the right balance of comedy and sincerity.  It also offers a brief history lesson into the Appalachian Trail and will encourage many to go out and experience it for themselves.

You can read by chat with author Bill Bryson by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 August 2015

We live in a world that is full of contradictions.  People are happy to illegally download movies off the internet but they would not steal a DVD of the same movie from an electronics store.  A drug dealer can be sentenced to death in one country while being given a slap on the wrist in another country.  A farmer who creates food can be paid next-to-nothing while a person who kicks around a football can be a multi-millionaire.

Woody Allen is a filmmaker who appreciates that life isn’t always fair and reasonable.  In his brilliant 2005 thriller Match Point, he followed a former tennis professional who murdered his mistress so as to protect his relationship with his wealthy fiancé.  The cops were closing in and were about to press charges until a stroke of good fortune saw him get away scot-free.  It highlighted the fact that sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Allen taps into similar themes with his latest effort, Irrational Man.  When we first meet Abe Lucas, he’s a depressed philosopher who admits that he’s “hit rock bottom”.  He lives alone, he drinks too much and he now has a very bleak view of the world.  Abe has accepted a plum role at a prestigious college and from his first day, staff and students are gossiping about his troubled past.  It’s as if he’s taken the job solely to pay the bills rather than to reinvigorate what was once a successful career.

While at a diner with Jill (Stone), one of his brightest students, he overhears a conversation in the adjoining booth.  A woman is in tears while talking about her fight to get custody of her children.  She believes the corrupt judge is going to rule in favour of the father because they are old friends.  While he has no knowledge of these people and this case, the story enrages Abe.  He hates the fact that he lives in a world where a judge could so easily abuse his power and get away with it.

What happens next may surprise you.  Abe decides to kill the judge.  If carefully planned, he believes he can get away with it because he has no obvious motive.  It could be a perfect murder.  As horrible as it sounds, Abe suddenly finds himself coming “alive” again.  He’s happy and he’s writing some of his best ever work.  His life suddenly has meaning.  Things get even more bizarre when Jill starts to fall in love with Abe.  He tries to resist so as to protect the teacher-student relationship but she has developed an unstoppable attraction to a man she finds fascinating.

You’ll have to see the film to find out where it goes next.  It’s not Woody’s best work but it’s still a delightful black comedy with a few observations to make about fate and justice.  Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone make a great pair with Parker Posey doing her best with a scene-stealing performance as a lonely academic competing for Abe’s affections.  It comes with Allen’s traditional fingerprints – great casting, great dialogue and a great punchline.

A few moments feel out of place (such as a bizarre game of Russian Roulette) but most of the scenes stick and add up to something that is wickedly funny.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 August 2015

Ever got a Facebook friend request from an old high school buddy you have no interest in reconnecting with?  Do you accept just to be polite?  Or do you decline and hope they get the hint?  I’ve been on both sides of that equation.  There are times when I’ve been ignored and other times when I’ve been the ignorer.

It’s hard to make that situation into a movie but writer-director Joel Edgerton has made the non-social media equivalent.  Simon (Bateman) and Robyn (Hall) are a married couple who have just found a large, spacious new home in Los Angeles.  He works in IT security.  She works as an interior designer.

They’re shopping together one afternoon when a stranger comes up to them and introduces himself as Gordon Moseley (Edgerton), one of Simon’s old high school acquaintances.  Simon doesn’t recognise him at first but then it clicks – he’s the guy they teased at school and used to call “Gordo the Weirdo.”  Simon acknowledges he was mean to Gordo but he’s one of those people he never expected to see again, let alone interact with, after graduation.

It’s not long before a gift appears on the doorstep of Simon and Robyn’s new home.  It’s a bottle of wine from Gordo.  Robyn believes it’s a kind gesture and feeling sorry for the “socially awkward” Gordo, she invites him over for dinner.  Simon isn’t so sure and would rather have nothing to do with him.  Their differing opinions on Gordo threaten to disrupt their idyllic relationship.

The Gift marks the directorial debut of Joel Edgerton who had written several screenplays (Felony, The Square) but was still waiting for a project that would make a great directorial debut.  The small budget (just $5m) and fact that he wanted to cast himself in the “creepy” role of Gordo made this is the best choice.

Edgerton has done a great job and this is an above average thriller.  The house features spacious rooms and huge glass windows which add to the suspense of the situation when characters are alone.  There’s a noticeable lack of music too which amplifies the smallest of sounds during the film’s scarier scenes.  You may not be jumping out of your seat but you’re likely to be feeling a little uncomfortable.

Hollywood has a tendency to favour characters that are either purely good or purely evil.  The Gift doesn’t take that path and a result, without giving too much away, you’ll be kept guessing about these three characters until the very end.  Which will you feel the most empathy for as the credits start to roll?  Opinions will vary.

You can read my chat with writer-director Joel Edgerton by clicking here.