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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 December 2023

Every now and again, I have a spirited debate in the office with a work colleague about Yorgos Lanthimos’s 2015 release, The Lobster.  It’s the tale of a man (Colin Farrell) who must find love in 45 days to else he’ll be turned into the animal of his choosing.  I enjoyed the film for its surprising, messed-up, quirky nature and its dark sense of humour.  My fellow employee hated it for exactly the same reasons.  It highlights that Lanthimos isn’t for everyone and the level of entertainment is dictated by personal comedic tastes.  His other works, including Dogtooth and The Favourite, provide further proof.

Poor Things is another wild journey!  It’s based on the 1992 novel of Scottish author Alasdair Gray which in turn has been adapted by Australian Tony McNamara (The Rage in Placid Lake).  It’s the story of an experimenting scientist (Dafoe) who has taken a baby’s brain and placed in the body of a deceased woman, Bella Baxter (Stone), and brought her back to life.  She can barely communicate at first but, as the brain matures, so too does her vocabulary, actions, and view of the world.  It’s easy to see why comparisons have been made Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Emma Stone has already won an Academy Award for best actress (La La Land) but she’s being talked up as a possible two-time winner for her performance here.  Her appearance doesn’t change but over the course of 141 minutes, her disposition transforms from that of an incoherent child… to that of a cunning, calculating adult.  Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight) is also very good as Duncan Wedderburn, a wealthy lawyer who seduces Bella and triggers her insatiable sexual appetite.  This explains the MA-rating in Australia and tag of “strong themes, sex, coarse language and nudity” – just mentioning in case you’re prudish.

The premise is bananas and so too is the execution.  Lanthimos and his crew have crafted a dystopian version of London which, in blending old and new, has been described by production designer Shona Heath as a science-fiction movie set in the 1890s.  The unsettling music compositions of Jerskin Fendrix adds to the film’s eye-raising vibe, and the deliberate overacting of key cast members (Ruffalo a standout) throws in a wild dash of farce.

A strength of Poor Things are its layers.  Simplistically, you could watch the film as a light-hearted spoof filled with sex and surprising one-liners.  If willing to think more deeply, it can provoke thoughts about gender, control, power, science, fate, and death.  What right did the scientist have in reusing the body of the dead woman?  How should the relationship between Bella and Duncan be perceived?  How much of our kindness is nature versus nurture?

Poor Things is a wee-bit sluggish in places and I think they overdo certain jokes (the sex stuff) but it’s still as memorable and distinctive as Lanthimos’s prior outings.  Not a film you’ll soon forget.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 04 December 2023

One of my favourite animated features of the past decade of the past decade was The Shaun the Sheep Movie.  It had zero dialogue and yet the cute animals were able to convey emotion and tell a story in the same manner as actors from the silent-film era.  It was a cool, creative device which reminded us of the adage – “a picture is worth a thousand words.”  It also won points for being a movie accessible to all – regardless of what language they spoke (no conversations means no subtitles).

77-year-old action director John Woo made a name for himself in Hollywood in the late 1990s with some big blockbusters (Broken Arrow, Face/Off) but, having made several films in his native China over the last two decades, he’s returned to North America for a new project.  The script from Robert Archer Lynn (Adrenaline) would have been a curious read given this too features no dialogue!  It’s a fresh spin on what is usually a formulaic genre.

So how do they do it?  Silent Night is centred on an ordinary American guy, Brian (Kinnaman), who has endured the worst of all tragedies.  While on the front lawn playing with his wife (Moreno) and 7-year-old son on Christmas Eve, two cars drove down the street shooting recklessly at each other as part of a rival gang war. The son was killed by a stray bullet and, while chasing the perpetrators across neighbouring streets, Brian too was seriously wounded.  A bullet to the neck has left him unable to speak ever again.

In the same vein as Bob Odenkirk’s character in 2021’s Nobody, Brian transforms from a regular parent into a vicious vigilante.  He spends months working on his fitness, learning how to use weapons, and enhancing his driving skills.  Given a disappointing lack of police assistance, he also takes it upon himself to gather intel on the city’s dangerous gang leaders.  It all leads to a serious of intense battles where Brian extracts the most painful revenge possible on those who took his son’s life.

While I applaud the concept, the novelty wears thin early.  Brian can’t speak himself but the lack of chatter from others, even in the flashback sequences, comes across as contrived.  The biggest offender is Oscar nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace) who, as Brian’s grieving wife, comes across as an empty character because of her own unexplained silence.  The same applies to the gang members who you’d think wouldn’t mind a word or two amongst themselves.

The stage-setting opening act is sluggish and star Swedish Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop) runs out of different facial expressions but once the action gets going, Silent Night isn’t too bad.  This shouldn’t come as a surprise given Woo’s experience.  The actors and stunt guys, in collaboration with cinematographer Sharone Meir (Whiplash) and Oscar winning editor Zach Staenberg (The Matrix), create interesting fights which aren’t overegged.  Kinnaman does a solid job playing someone putting up a brave defence while also being out of the depth.

Would Silent Night have been better with less silence?  I think the answer to that question is yes.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 December 2023

I’m not sure which family member provided the first introduction, but I remember loving the Gene Wilder-led Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory growing up.  It was fun and colourful and memorable.  That admiration never dissipated but as I matured, so too did my thoughts about the film.  I garnered a better sense of its darkness (especially compared to family films of today), its portrayal of human greed, and illustration of wealth inequality.  It also warmed the heart to see Charlie finish up on top!

Wonka serves as a prequel to the aforementioned 1971 flick (ignore the rubbishy Johnny Depp one from 2005) and is set 25 years before the infamous Golden Ticket competition.  Details are scant in Roald Dahl’s novel and so the writing team of Paul King and Simon Farnaby, who created the cult-hit Paddington 2, had flexibility in developing a Willy Wonka backstory.  They’ve gone with something lighter and are depicting Wonka as a kind, hopeful, optimistic individual.  He’s anything but the defeated recluse we know from the earlier movie.

I’ve been a huge fan of Timothée Chalamet since his breakout, Oscar-nominated performance in Call Me by Your Name and, in playing the title role of Wonka, he again illustrates his diversity as an actor.  His talent is on show from the opening scene – a musical number where he arrives in the big city with 12 silver sovereigns in his pocket and a hat-full of dreams.  Chalamet’s dancing/singing skills are charming but it’s the blend of quirkiness and sincerity he brings to the character which makes Wonka easy to root for.  He’s also skilfully channelling a few mannerisms of Gene Wilder – a fact that will be picked up by many adults in the audience.

 The narrative is centred on Willy Wonka as he encounters the wrath of a powerful “chocolate cartel” when, in honouring his late mother (Hawkins), he tries to open his first shop.  They sense his genius and want him stopped to protect their own bottom lines.  The corrupt Chief of Police (Key) should have better things to do (the “non-stop murders” perhaps?) but he too has been bribed by the three cartel leaders and is helping execute Wonka’s demise.   

There’s much going on inside the film’s brisk 116-minute running time and while it could easily have become overstuffed with unnecessary subplots, King does a great job reigning it all in as director.  The story is easy to follow, the musical numbers fit nicely, and the production values are strong.  It fulfills its mission in being an old-school, big-hearted family flick where there’s something for everyone.  Kids can laugh at the colourful Oompa Loompa (Grant) while adults can appreciate key themes (“the greedy beat the needy”).

One could be cynical about Wonka (I’ve seen a few negative reviews) and while I admit it’s not revolutionary, I was won over by its magic. 

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 November 2023

His career has spanned 7 different decades and now, at the age of 87, English filmmaker Ken Loach has decided to fold up his director’s chair for the final time.  His films never set the box-office on fire, but he’ll be remembered for using the medium cinema to bring awareness to important societal issues, and for telling stories that feel real and natural.  He’s one of only 9 directors to have won multiple Palme d’Ors (the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival) – for The Wind That Shakes the Barley in 2006 and I, Daniel Blake in 2016.  See both if you haven’t already.

Working with long-time screenwriting collaborator Paul Laverty, The Old Oak is a story about immigration and multiculturalism – often a controversial conversation topic amongst Brits.  Results from the most recent government census, completed in 2021, showed a statistical-high 10 million people (or roughly 18% of the population) identify as non-white in England and Wales.  Some have embraced this change while others have pushed back.

The Old Oak is set in a small town in North-East England which, due a decline in the mining industry, has fallen on tough times.  There’s an early scene where a resident complains about the declining value of his home – a product of the fact no one wants to move into the area.  The sole pub in town, The Old Oak, is a dump with only a handful of regular customers.  It’s so rundown that the kitchen/function room, a thriving hub back in the day, is now boarded up and unused because of safety concerns.  The cost to repair would far outweigh any new business.

The crux of the movie is about a group of Syrian refugees who move into town and start filling the many empty homes with the help of the government and charity organisations.  You might think new blood would be embraced by the financially struggling community, but factions are quickly formed.  There are some who cling to a view of the town they had several decades ago, and don’t want their neighbourhood overrun by non-English speaking Muslims.  On the flip side, there are some who do lay out the “welcome mat” and, appreciative of the trauma these migrants have been through, offer support wherever possible.

Loach has a knack for great casting and that’s again the case here.  He uses lesser-known actors which adds to the film’s “realness”.  The characters speak and interact in an ordinary manner and, in avoiding cliches, he creates a vibe that is more like a fly-on-the-wall documentary than a fictional drama.  The film’s two leads are Dave Turner and Ebla Mari who have next-to-zero feature film experience between them, but their performances are both superb.  In real life, he’s a retired fireman turned pub manager while she’s a Syrian national who lives in a town which borders Israel.

It’s a film is also to be admired for astutely capturing the best and worst of the human condition.  Topics like multiculturalism can easily be trivialised when covered by vote-grabbing politicians, and clickbait-generating journalists but Loach digs deep, and gives audiences something to think about and reflect upon.  Movies are often focused on providing simple entertainment (nothing wrong with that) but The Old Oak has loftier ambitions and wants to make the world a better place.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 06 December 2023

Technology evolves and with it, the medium of cinema.  Black and white silent films became colourful talkies.  Physical film was binned in place of digital hard drives.  Elaborate sets and miniatures were replaced with the latest CGI.  Despite the changes, there are some filmmakers with an affection for “old school” techniques.  We saw it recently from Christopher Nolan who, for Oppenheimer, shot the three-hour epic on 65mm without any digital effects.

82-year-old Hayao Miyazaki, director of the Oscar-winning Spirited Away and other great works, has stuck with a familiar approach his entire career.  In an era where almost all animated features are created using computers (Toy Story kicked it off in 1995), Miyazaki still firmly believes in hand drawn imagery and the power of the pencil.  Passionate in his beliefs, he’s gone so far to describe computer animation as an “insult to life”.          

Miyazaki has referred to The Boy and the Heron as his last movie (although he’s said that before) and, while he hasn’t given any interviews about the completed project, he’s drawn from his own upbringing in creating the story.  Set during World War II, it’s the tale of a 12-year-old boy, Mahito (Padovan), who moves to the countryside with his father following the death of his mother in a tragic hospital fire.

It’s at the new home where Mahito is whisked into an assortment of alternate worlds which feature a conniving heron, nasty parakeets, a helpful maid, and a wise wizard.  They provide Mahito with life lessons while guiding him back home.  Miyazaki has a knack for creating weird, wonderful characters but these folk are a notch below what we’ve seen in prior works.

There are two version of The Boy and the Heron screening in Australian cinemas – one with the original Japanese actors/dialogue, and one dubbed into English during Hollywood actors.  I saw the later and the cast includes the distinctive voices of Robert Pattinson, Christian Bale, Gemma Chan, Florence Pugh, and Willem Dafoe.  Regardless of which translation you watch, it’s hard not to be wowed by the animation (a delivery room scene involving wind swept paper is a highlight), and the delicate music score of long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi. 

The weakness here is the narrative.  It’s a weird mix of storylines which don’t generate humour and/or emotion until the final 20 minutes or so.  I was hoping for a more engaging adventure in the same vein as Spirited Away (which I must have watched a dozen times by now).  Perhaps there’s deeper material I’ll appreciate more on a second viewing but for the moment, The Boy and the Heron is fine as opposed to fantastic.