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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 14 January 2021

If you visit room 41 at London’s British Museum, you’ll find an array of precious artifacts from an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the early 7^th century.  Their discovery in 1939, labelled as one of the great archaeological finds of all time, is the subject of The Dig.  Australian director Simon Stone (The Daughter) and English screenwriter Moira Buffini (Jane Eyre, Viceroy’s House) have drawn from the John Preston’s 2007 novel – a work described as part historical, part fictional.

A two-hour movie about an archaeological dig may not sound like riveting cinema but those involved have done a wonderful job in making this tale both interesting and genuine.  A significant chunk of the credit belongs to Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient) who bring the two leading characters to life through their moving, subtle performances.

Mulligan plays Edith Pretty, a wealthy widower who lives with her young son on an expansive estate in Suffolk, England.  She’s always been curious about a series of man-made mounds on the southern part of the property and so, after years of procrastination, she’s hired the services of an amateur archaeologist to learn if anything of value lies beneath.  His name is Basil Brown (Fiennes) and he’s a married, subdued, not-so-wealthy man who has taken the job as much for the money (he’s handsomely paid) as for the experience.

I’m not sure we have a word for it in the English language but what develops between the two is more than a friendship but less than love.  They increasingly rely upon each other for advice and support but, knowing that Basil is happily married with a kind-hearted wife, they never “cross the line” into anything sexual.  When the dig bears fruit, they become a formidable pair as they push back against many advice-givers and decide what to do with their discovery.  The imminent threat of war (World War II was about to kick off) adds a layer of complexity.

This film is strongest when Mulligan and Fiennes share the screen and conversely, it’s weaker when devoting time to other characters involved with the excavation.  The most obvious is a love triangle between other archaeologists that feels like it’s only been included to satisfy romantics.  It’s cliched, poorly fleshed out and adds little to the broader story.

Helping bring to light a remarkable piece of British history that few will be familiar with, The Dig tells a damn good tale.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 December 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided us all with an unexpected… but perhaps timely break from the superhero genre.  The last big blockbuster was DC Films’ Birds of Prey back in February 2020 and for devotees of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s been nothing since Spider-Man: Far From Home was released in July 2019.  Given the challenge of keeping these films fun, fresh and original (particularly with heavy studio influence), I’ll admit to not having missed the genre too much.

All of that said, I could still feel a pinch of adrenaline running through my blood stream during the action-packed (but also irrelevant) opening to Wonder Woman 1984.  Those here in Australia have the opportunity to enjoy this $200 million blockbuster on the big screen in packed theatres… provided you’ve done the QR code check-in.  It’ll be the busiest we’ve seen cinemas all year.

The original Wonder Woman took place near the end of World War I but, as made clear by the title, this sequel is set in a world with big hair, stilettos, shoulder pads and parachute pants.  Wonder Woman (Gadot) aka Diana Prince is still doing her thing – saving the world and remaining anonymous – but despite her incredible powers and inability to age, she’s not immune to the effects of loneliness.  It’s been close to 65 years since she lost the love of her life (Pine) and, strangely, she hasn’t been able to move on and meet someone new. 

Every action film requires a villain and here, the responsibility falls upon Chilean actor Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian).  He plays Maxwell Lord, a dodgy businessman who would give Bernie Madoff a run for his money.  Lord pitches himself as wealthy TV personality who has profited from oil investments but in reality, he’s just the orchestrator of a Ponzi scheme on the verge of collapse.

There’s a lengthy back story (too long for my liking) but Lord ultimately gets his hands on an ancient phallic stone that can grant each holder a single wish.  He outsmarts the object by transferring all of its wishing abilities across to him and this provides Lord with unlimited power – tricking others to do wishes for his benefit while destroying those who stand in his way.  It doesn’t make a lot of sense (you’d think one person might wish for him to lose his power) so it’s best not to think too deeply.  In terms of his motives, there’s not much nuance there either (wetting the bed… really?)

I enjoyed the first movie in this franchise, I’m energised by Hans Zimmer’s music score and I think Gal Gadot is a terrific choice for the lead role.  However, this is a formulaic superhero movie that takes few chances.  There’s the standard mid-film scene when Wonder Woman has the chance to take down the villain but instead, she’s distracted by the need to save some unrelated kids in danger.  There’s also a feeble attempt by the writers to tug on the heartstrings when Wonder Woman must choose between her own love and everyone else’s happiness.  Oh, let’s also not forget the abundance of slow-mo bullets.

Stretching out an unnecessarily long 151 minutes, Wonder Woman 1984 comes up short when compared to its predecessor.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 January 2021

A period piece with minimal dialogue about two quiet, repressed woman who collaborate on a project, take walks along a rocky coastline, and ultimately have a short, passionate love affair that sticks with them forever.  If it sounds like a movie you want to see, I’d suggest streaming/buying Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire (one of my top 10 movies of 2019).  Its emotions resonate strongly, the performances are outstanding, and every scene has been thought through in immaculate detail.

In creating Ammonite, British writer-director Francis Lee (God’s Own Country) uses an analogous storyline and adopts similar techniques but when making the comparison, it feels a lesser version of Sciamma’s film.  It’s still worth seeing but the leading characters are less interesting and their development feels more stilted.  It’s a long wait to get to the film’s emotional punch.

Set in the 1840s, Lee has made the curious decision to create a fictional love story involving real-life people.  Mary Anning was a pioneering palaeontologist who roamed the English shoreline and unearthed Jurassic fossils during the first half of the 19^th century.  Some of her discoveries can be viewed today in London’s Natural History Museum.  You’ll find her name in modern day encyclopaedias but she wasn’t well known at the time given the sexist, male-dominated nature of her industry (e.g. the Geological Society of London didn’t admit women as members until 1904).

Portrayed in the film by Oscar winner Kate Winslet (The Reader), the Mary Anning we’re introduced to is a rude, abrupt woman.  She’s living just above the poverty line and she resides with her nagging mother (avoiding small talk wherever possible) in a small home that also serves as her workshop.  You get a sense that continual disappointments throughout her life, both personally and professionally, have worn her down to the point where she cares about very little.

It’s at work where she’s introduced to Charlotte Murchison (Ronan), a melancholic woman trapped in a loveless, one-sided marriage.  Her husband (McArdle) is a geologist off on a 6-week European expedition and while away, he asks Mary to provide his wife with support and friendship.  Mary wants nothing to do with the idea but the offer of financial reward is too hard to overlook.

It 's a lengthy wait (the above takes about an hour to establish) but a relationship finally develops between the pair.  Charlotte comes alive with a burst of excitement and happiness and these same personality traits are taken on by Mary who lets down her guard.  Their fervent love scenes make quite a contrast from their frosty first meeting.

Ammonite could have used more pace during the first two acts but the climax and worthy performances of stars Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan provide ample compensation.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 December 2020

In 2016, I hired a car with a friend and went on a golf-related road trip from New York down to Florida (visiting 10 states in total).  I passed by gated communities with large mansions, manicured lawns and idyllic views.  I also drove through small towns where every second place was boarded up and residents were sitting on the sidewalk with little to do.  Wealth inequality exists all around the world (that’s no secret) but to see the contrast presented so starkly in the space of a few days in the United States left an impression I’ve often reflected upon.

Nomadland opens our eyes and has us looking at a part of America that is seldom explored in cinematic form.  There are people who have given up their homes, for a variety of reasons, and now travel around the country in “wheel estate” – vans, campers, cars and rundown RVs.  They have no fixed address (that itself creates legal issues) and they pick up short-term casual work to cover their few costs – the biggest ones being food and petrol.

Two-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand (Fargo) is central throughout with her performance as the 60-something-year-old widower Fern.  She lost her house and her factory job in the aftermath of the economic downtown that rocked the United States a decade ago.  Unable to find permanent work and too young for retirement benefits, Fern now travels around the country in a simple van with a few small modifications (it’s only worth a few thousand dollars).  Despite her tough financial circumstances, she maintains an upbeat attitude and describes herself as “houseless” as opposed to “homeless”.

Fern is a fictional character but the others you’ll meet in the film are not.  Chinese director Chloé Zhao (The Rider) blurs the line between documentary and drama by using non-professional actors she encountered while travelling across America’s west.  Producers visited actual nomadic settlements a few days in advance of the shoot, listed to residents’ stories, and chose a select few to appear on screen.  It was a loose, spontaneous process that proved effective.

Those we see Fern interacting with include a Vietnam veteran dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and folks who have lost family members to cancer and suicide.  There’s an unspoken bond between the nomads where they offer help and support to each other.  This could be as simple as listening to stories around an open fire or something more tangible such as sharing sustainability ideas or exchanging food, utensils and furniture.

Backed by a beautiful film score from Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi, Nomadland pulls you into this world and makes you feel part of it.  It doesn’t offer huge character transformations or a “they all lived happily ever after” finale.  It’s the kind of movie that asks you to observe.  You’ll care about these fragile people while also reflecting on the structural issues in society that allows them to be so easily abandoned.  It’s far from “black and white” though.  Some take comfort from the nomadic lifestyle and there’s a powerful conversation shared between Fern and her sister that touches on this point.

Winner of the prestigious People’s Choice Award at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, where Green Book and Jojo Rabbit have won the last two years, Nomadland offers much to think about.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 04 January 2021

While I have a few issues with the script (we’ll get to that in a moment), there’s no doubting that writer-director Emerald Fennell (Killing Eve) and actor Carey Mulligan (An Education) have created one of the year’s most intriguing characters.  Cassie (Mulligan) is a 30-year-old woman who dropped out of medical school, works in a dead-end coffee shop, and still lives at home with her parents.  She sounds like the kind of person who belongs in a movie like Office Space or Failure to Launch.

There’s so much more to Cassie however.  Her best friend committed suicide after being raped at a party several years ago and it’s as if every subsequent decision in her life has been shaped by that event.  Cassie originally sought justice through traditional channels (going to the police, talking to college administration) but when that amounted to nought, she ceased her studies, gave up on a career and devoted her life towards a more vengeful cause.

 Her “work” is demonstrated in the film’s opening scene.  She goes to a crowded bar alone, pretends to be inebriated and, like a spider spinning a web, waits to snare her prey.  Her goal, and it’s a dangerous one, is to be picked up by a sleazy guy who will take her home for non-consensual sex.  At the last possible moment, she reveals her sobriety and shifts the power dynamic in an instant.

A catalyst is required to create change and it arrives in the form of Dr Ryan Cooper (Burnham), a man from Cassie’s past who bumps into her at the coffee shop.  Their first encounter (it involves spitting in a coffee cup) is a memorable one.  Cassie is standoffish at first but a romantic connection soon develops and it’s not long before she’s questioning her current lifestyle.  Can she trust another man and fall in love again?

Promising Young Woman is loaded with interesting, provocative ideas but the contrived nature of the storyline makes it difficult to fully buy into.  Given how untrustworthy Cassie is of men, it’s hard to believe she could so overwhelming fall for a man with a connection, albeit a loose one, to her deceased best friend.  Was there not one genuine guy she met while frequenting bars each night?  I wish the film had of put the foot on the throttle and gone flat-out crazy instead of stalling with these manufactured, semi-redemptive moments during the second act.

Limitations aside, Fennell’s first feature film is still a memorable one.  From the difficult subject matter… to the splashes of dark comedy… to the distinctive music score of Anthony Willis, Promising Young Woman provides an unsettling experience where you’re not always sure what lies ahead.  Carey Mulligan excels in the lead and it again shows her versatility as an actor and her willingness to take on challenging roles.  It’s a film worth seeing.