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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 August 2022

Juniper fits nicely into the genre I call “two people reluctantly coming together and unexpectedly helping each other out.”  There’s an element of predictability which such films but when done well, they remind us about the value of great friendships and connections.  This particular effort was funded by the New Zealand Film Commission and marks the feature film debut of director Matthew J. Saville (not to be confused with the Australian director of the same name – sans the J initial).

The two unlikely folk in this instance are a teenage boy and his grandmother.  He is Sam (Ferrier) – a rugby-loving kid who attends a boarding school in New Zealand and is struggling to deal with his mother’s recent death.  Rebelling against his father (Csokas) and the school principal seems to be his way of processing grief. 

She is Ruth (Rampling) – an alcoholic, insult-loving grandma who broke her leg while living in England and has been brought by her son to New Zealand to recuperate.  The pair want nothing to do with each other at first.  Sam would rather hang out with friends than look after his injured nan (who he hardly knows).  Ruth hates the idea of being waited upon and yearns for her independence back.

With the dad conveniently written out of the story (he goes to London for “business matters”), the stage is set for the Sam and Ruth show.  She needs help physically, he needs help mentally, and they subsequently forge a much-needed friendship.  Ruth loves pushing his buttons and asking about his friends and his sex life.  Sam seems to enjoy their verbal stoushes and is quick to fire back with insults and pointed questions of his own.

The script is decent but it’s the two worthy central performances which drive the film’s emotional soul.  The experienced Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) has fun in portraying Ruth as a 70-something-year-old woman with a 20-something-year-old mindset.  She delivers her barbs with precision.  In the case of newcomer George Ferrier, Juniper marks his first lead role in a motion picture and he brings the right amount of innocence and naivety to the character of Sam.  Hopefully this is the start of fruitful career.

Released in New Zealand almost a year ago, it’s taken a while for Saville’s film to make it across the Tasman Sea and it’s nice to see it getting a run, albeit a limited one, in this country.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 July 2022

North Carolina, 1969.  The body of a young man has been found at the bottom of a fire tower in the middle of an expansive swamp.  A twenty-something-year-old woman, Kya (Edgar-Jones), is on trial having been charged with his murder.  The prosecution argue that the pair fought and Kya pushed him from the tower’s outer balcony.  With a guilty verdict likely to lead to a death sentence, Kya puts forward a different set of facts which point towards her innocence.

The trial is the most interesting element of Where the Crawdads Sing.  From To Kill A Mockingbird to My Cousin Vinney to A Few Good Men, I’m a sucker for courtroom spectacles where a seemingly weaker party tries to outsmart and outmanoeuvre the other side.  It’s not a flashy role but Oscar nominee David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) is very good as the subdued, experienced defence lawyer working in Kya’s best interests.

Unfortunately, the court scenes are fleeting.  They help maintain the film’s energy but the bulk of time is spent on flashbacks across the 1950s and 60s which serve as mini biography of Kya’s life.  We understand more about her tough childhood where she was abandoned by her mother and raised by her alcoholic father.  We learn she is looked down upon by townsfolk and referred to as “the Marsh Girl” because of her shy nature and the rundown swamp shack she calls home.  We see her fall in love for the first time with a patient teenager, Tate (Smith), who offers good looks and a kind heart.

These scenes are necessary but I’d argue they aren’t overly interesting.  It comes across as a generic romantic drama where the dialogue is stiff and the character development is unfulfilling.  Kya is an intriguing individual.  You’d expect that given she spent her teenage years living alone and learning how to fend for herself.  However, it’s a struggle to get inside her head and reconcile some of the choices she makes.  I don’t think I knew her that much better during the closing credits as I did during the opening ones.

Perhaps more detail is on offer in the novel authored by American Delia Owens upon which the film was based.  Reese Witherspoon picked it as part of her public book club in September 2018 and, sensing its potential as a movie, she optioned the film rights through her production company, Hello Sunshine.  I’ve heard it’s a good read (at least that’s what my boss says) but something has gone missing in translation with chunks of the film feeling like a corny, trashy Mills & Boon romance.

English actress Daisy Edgar-Jones (Norman People) is admirable in the lead role and composer Mychael Danna (Life of Pi) deserves credit for his seductive music score but Where ihe Crawdads Sing needed a better script to fully draw me in.

You can read my chat with director Olivia Newman by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 July 2022

You can theorise and speculate but you never truly know how you’ll handle a perilous situation until it happens.  What will be your first instinct and will you regret it in the aftermath?  If you’re looking for a great film on this topic, check out Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure from 2014.  An avalanche descends on a ski resort and, in a split-second decision, a man runs safety while leaving his wife and children behind.  Suffice to say it causes a bit of tension in the days which follow!

The Forgiven isn’t as strong but it taps into the same ideas.  David (Fiennes) and Jo (Chastain) are a well-to-do British couple holidaying in Morocco.  It sounds idyllic but they’d rather not be there.  Their relationship is strained and they’ve only made the trip so as to attend the party of an old friend (Smith) who they don’t like anyway!  Their actions reaffirm the saying – money doesn’t necessarily make you happy.

Driving in the middle of the night towards their holiday villa, the car strikes a local Moroccan boy and kills him instantly.  The bulk of the film is then devoted to the way in which this couple deal with the tragic event – both in terms of their physical actions and their mental scars.  As the driver of the car and someone who had a few alcoholic drinks before stepping behind the wheel, David becomes the film’s focus.  It’s a textbook case of grief’s five stages – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

It’s the audience’s responsibility to size up these characters and form their opinions.  Was it a true accident or was David at fault?  Can his actions be forgiven by the boy’s family?  Does Jo have any responsibility to bear?  Should the party still go ahead?  Is it time to flee the country?  Writer-director John Michael McDonagh (The Guard, Calvary) leaves us with plenty to ponder in that the heroes and villains of this tale are not made clear.

The scenes involving Jo and the boozing party hosts/guests become repetitive but the film is at its best when following David.  Unwilling at first, he agrees to escort the body of the boy back to his home town and attend the funeral with his family.  I’ll leave it up to you to decide his reasons for doing so (guilt, remorse, forgiveness, fear) but most will agree it’s a terrific performance from Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient) who, as he often does, relishes the chance to play a complex individual.

Making the most of its Moroccan scenery, The Forgiven provides an interesting story worth reflecting on.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 July 2022

Released in the United States a month ago, The Black Phone arrives in Australia as a proven hit.  It has already grossed over $100 million USD at the global box-office and will turn a tidy profit.  Based on a short story authored by Joe Hill (the son of horror guru Stephen King) and directed by the skilled Scott Derrickson (Deliver Us from Evil, Doctor Strange), it reaffirms the public’s interest in a twisting horror-thriller.

Set in 1978, the story is centred on a small community in Denver where several children have disappeared.  The police and parents are clueless but as the audience, we know the person responsible is “The Grabber” (Hawke), a serial killer who is big on creepiness and light on intelligence and motives.  His latest target is Finney (Thames), a kid he shoved into the back of his black mini-van and is now keeping captive in the basement before deciding what to do next.

The story is largely told from two perspectives.  The first is that of Finney who must find a way to escape The Grabber’s clutches before it’s too late.  Introducing a splash of the supernatural, Finney is contacted by the ghosts of previous victims who offer their past learnings (what worked and what didn’t) in trying to get the upper hand on The Grabber.  The second perspective is that of Gwen (McGraw), Finney’s worried sister who has a few curious talents of her own which will help in saving her brother before it’s too late.

The Black Phone has stuff which is really good… and then other stuff which is questionable.  Starting with the positives, I enjoyed the blend of drama, horror and supernatural.  Such movies can become very formulaic (borrowing heavily from previous works) but this held my attention all the way through.  It’s got everything from simple jolt-out-of-your-seat scares… to heart-pumping escape sequences… to intriguing plot points involving the afterlife.

The film also features a superb lead performance from 15-year-old newcomer Mason Thames who goes through a range of emotions.  He skilfully portrays Finney as a shy, reserved kid who must step out of his comfort zone and harness every ounce of smarts and courage if he wants to survive.  Thames creates a character worth cheering for and this should set him up for more great roles in the near future. 

Turning to the not-so-positives, the screenplay is littered with inconsistencies and contrived moments.  It’s the kind of movie where the more you think about it, the less sense it makes.  The police detectives are incompetent, the townsfolk don’t show much interest, and there’s an overexcited private investigator who adds nothing.  Perhaps the script is to blame but Ethan Hawke isn’t particularly convincing as the one-note serial killer.  A creepier individual with a clearer agenda could have added significantly to suspense levels.

It misses opportunities to become a standout within the horror-thriller genre but there’s still enough on offer in The Black Phone to warrant your time and money. 

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 July 2022

There’s an oft referred saying – before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes.  It’s the first thought which came to mind in expressing my appreciation for Full Time, the latest drama to earn a wider release from the recent French Film Festival.  We may not personally relate to the problems of the film’s leading character but, thanks to the skills of writer-director Eric Gravel, it feels like we’re walking alongside her throughout, and this provides us with a deep appreciation of her troubled life and fragile emotional state.

Guided by a pulsating music score from Irène Drésel, the opening scenes give the film a Run Lola Run-type vibe.  We follow Julie (Calamy) as she leaves home in a small French town, drops her kids off at the babysitter, and then endures a long, frantic commute to her workplace in Paris.  She has a strong resume but unable to land the job of her choosing, she works as a maid for a 5-star hotel where the guests are as demanding as her bosses.

They’re long, long days.  It’s dark when Julie leaves of a morning and it’s dark when she gets back home.  She’s a single mum who puts up a brave face when around her two children but we, as the audience, can see how exhausting and stressful her life is.  Julie is getting no help from her ex-husband (he’s behind on alimony payments), the bank balance is dwindling, and she has few people to call upon for emotional support.  The only moment of the day where she can “switch off” is the handful of minutes when she’s put the kids to bed and relaxes in a hot bath.

There’s a glimpse of a better life on the horizon.  Julie has been accepted for an interview at a marketing company which will offer more job satisfaction and significantly more money.  However, a series of untimely events threaten to derail her chances.  This includes a public transport workers strike in Paris which brings the city to a standstill, and problems at her existing job which are putting her offside with all around her.

Star Laure Calamy won the best actress prize at last year’s César Awards for her wonderful performance in Antoinette in the Cévennes (worth a look if you haven’t seen it).  Full Time continues her run of great roles and shows her dramatic talents are the equal to her comedic ones.  She will make you care genuinely for the character and hope that a few good breaks go her way.  It’s a stressful watch though!  As she hastily rushes between locations and a sense of hopelessness builds, it’s hard not to feel the same way.

Clocking it at a tight 88 minutes, Full Time takes on an intense, memorable journey and delivers a worthy punchline.