Set in the remote and destitute Ozark country in central America, Winter's Bone is simple story, powerfully and effectively told. 17 year old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) struggles to look after her younger siblings, with an absent father and sick mother her situation comes to a head when she finds out one day that she is at risk of losing the house, unless she can track down her drug dealing father and get him to the sheriff in time for his trial. From this simple premise Winter's Bone paints a disturbing and fascinating picture of this remote community, with its long buried secrets. The unforgiving bleakness of the environments and weather extends to most of the population as well, as Ree seeks out distant relatives and associates of her father she begins to dig into things that are best left alone, putting herself in real danger.
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In the lead role Jennifer Lawrence is very impressive, she convinces as Ree, the lost and scared girl who has been forced to grow up too fast, letting her steely outer shell give way to an inner heartbreak. She is a reluctant heroine, a million miles away from the plucky teenage girl she might have been, instead she has a beaten down resolve that propels her forward, almost instinctively. The supporting cast does a great job of populating the community with real characters, the film makers do a good job of negotiating away from mountain-town stereotypes and even the nastiest characters have an authenticity to them that was unexpected. The stand out though is John Hawkes who plays Ree's uncle. He starts out violent and unpredictable but slowly warms to Ree's plight. It's probably the nearest the film has to any kind of character arc and it is constantly affecting.
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The film is handsomely constructed, the cinematography evocative and scary, the trees that line the town constantly foreboding and intimidating. There is a palpable sense of danger and unease throughout Ree's quest which is compelling, but leaves the film feeling quite bleak and tough going at times. In some way I feel I admired the film more than I loved it, which was a shame. It is hard to fault on a technical level, but something about the story never quite drew me in as it might have. The film is quite slow as well, and the lack of sympathetic characters can cause it to drag, even the climax is remarkably subdued, the emotions always kept in check.
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Winter's Bone is not your standard thriller, or coming of age story. It mixes elements of both with a sad and low-key story about family and the secrets we keep, I just wish it had resonated with me on a deeper level.
Joe Dante is one of a handful of directors from the 1980's whose careers have all but disappeared in the past two decades. The Hole returns to many of the themes and ideas that he mined so successfully in films such as Gremlins and Explorers, mixing a great kids adventure with elements of horror. In fact the whole film feels like a throw back to the 80's, which I really enjoyed. I'm a sucker for films focusing on kids investigating mysteries in suburbia, a genre that Disturbia recently utilised to great effect.
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As seems typical for these films it centres around a single parent family that moves to a new neighbourhood. Needless to say eldest son Dane is less than impressed, constantly frustrated by his younger brother (Lucas) until of course he meets the attractive girls next door and discovers a bottomless hole in the cellar (naturally). The titular Hole then becomes the focus of the film as all sorts of creepy things start to happen as the kids try and work out just what the previously bolted trapdoor was keeping out, and how they are going to stop whatever it is they have unleashed on the neighbourhood. What is especially smart about the film is that plays everything fairly low-key, this is not some world-ending disaster but more of a personal story focusing on each character's reaction to what is going on. There are no big names in the film (there is a nice Gremlins-related cameo to check out though) but the kids all do pretty well, they work well together and I found myself getting drawn into their investigations.
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The film starts slow and takes a while to get you involved, it felt quite TV-movie like early on, but as soon as the hole is discovered in the basement things pick up. There are some effective scares in the film, and some genuinely creepy moments, but Dante does a good line in bordering the horror with the adventure and sillier elements of the film. At its best it feels like a forgotten gem from your childhood, a film that feels familiar but comforting at the same time. Admittedly there are parts of the film that fall flat, the typical crazy old man shows up about half way through to try and offer some explanation to the kids, all the sections with him feel disconnected from the film and unnecessary. Similarly while I admire the ending of the film, and actually like it from the story point of view, some of the films budget limitations become quite apparent, and what is supposed to be a nightmarish dreamscape looks more like a cheap Tim Burton movie.
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But even through this I really enjoyed the film, the enthusiasm of the kids and the pace of the story keep it moving well and satisfying overall. In the scheme of things The Hole may not rank up there with Dante's best films but it is a distinctive sign of life and a welcome return to form after many years in the wilderness. On this evidence I look forward to whatever he decides to do next.
This small, but perfectly formed, piece of animation first came to light when it appeared on the nominations of Best Animated Film at last years Oscars, and after checking it out it is very easy to see why. Told in a gorgeous and unique style the film tells the story of the fabled Book of Kells, as painstakingly written out by the scribes and scholars of a small medieval outpost. The film follows Brendan (ably voiced by Evan McGuire) an inquisitive boy who harbours desires to explore outside of the large fortified walls his Uncle is building around the town, to ward of impending Viking attacks. Though dealing with what could be rather dry material, the film does a great job of being thoroughly entertaining, but also thoughtful. As most of the outpost prepares for the upcoming battles Brendan instead starts being taught in the ways of the scholars, and he also manages to befriend a woodland spirit outside the compound, in some of the films most inventive and enjoyable scenes.
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It's hard to get much further into this without once again focusing on the films remarkable visual style. Using the real-life Book of Kells as an inspiration the has an extremely stylised and colourful palette, full of geometric shapes and intertwined patterns. The colours seem to blend and pop as well, if you have a blu-ray player then I urge you to check it out as the cleanness of the lines and detail really come to life. This style then informs the film and truly make it unlike any other modern animated film. It fits the story as well, as it is a small quiet film that plays well to children, but also deals with some heady issues. It is about as far from the loud, wacky CGI cartoons of recent years as you can get, and I appreciated it for that.
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The film is short, but doesn't feel rushed. It manages to introduce a host of interesting characters and tell a fun tale, and some of the decisions made late on surprised me and subverted my expectations, which is always a good thing. Another things the film does well is make good use of the abstraction of animation, the Viking enemy for example is never mentioned by name and shown as silhouetted ominous figures that are genuinely imposing and threatening. There is a palpable sense of danger that is rare in animated films, and this is because of the films more adult approach to the emotional sides of the story, something that has helped it linger in the mind in the days since I saw it.
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I don't know if the film is one that I will ever revisit, but I found it a surprisingly enjoyable and unique experience and given the hegemony of most animated films these days, that is definitely something to be applauded.
Tom Cruise has, for a while, been a divisive figure at the box office. Once arguably the biggest star in the world, some questionable film choices along with the rabid interest in his personal life has lowered his profile somewhat. Knight and Day is his latest effort to recapture some of what made him so popular in the first place, a breezy romp of an action film in which Cruise gets to look cool and save the world.
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Director James Mangold, who helmed the pretty decent remake of 3:10 To Yuma, provides the film with a much lighter tone than similar action fare, the film is flat our ridiculous and knows it, the film kicks off with an improvised plane landing and only gets stranger. Cameron Diaz plays June, an ordinary mechanic (just go with it) whose rather mundane life is shattered when she comes into contact with Roy Miller (Cruise) a secret agent on the run. Cue plenty of car chases, doubles crosses and plot shenanigans right out of the James Bond playbook. Both Cruise and Diaz give it their best, Cruise's slightly manic charisma and energy is here in full effect and he makes Miller a suitably unhinged force of nature. Diaz fares less well, she hardly convinces as a boring, ordinary girl, but she has an easy chemistry with Cruise and her goofy charms serve the tone of the film well.
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Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Dano (sporting a hilarious beard) and Maggie Grace all provide support, but the film largely keeps them on the periphery, focusing instead on the two main stars. However the film's main issue is that it just isn't that memorable, there are few stand out scenes or creative set-pieces. It is entertaining enough to sit through, but there is little here that doesn't stick to well tested formulas. It seems to be common for these buddy action films of recent years to all fall into these same patterns, familiar yet ultimately forgettable. Once again there is no really memorably threat or adversary for them to team up against, and the outlandish nature of the stunts and situations can work against the film, lowering the stakes and removing any sense of realism.
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Knight and Day clearly wants to be a painless and enjoyably silly riff on the secret agent action movie, and to some extent it succeeds, it's just a shame that at times it feels more like a vanity outlet for its stars than a film with anything new or interesting to add to the genre.
Both John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill have spent the last few years heavily involved in the Apatow comedy circuit, yet those going in to Cyrus expecting a similarly raucous affair will be disappointed. As much a drama about loneliness, and family Cyrus is a gentle comedy at best, one that is sweet and strange and low-key, and all the better for it.
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Reilly plays John, a divorced man whose life has been on a downward spiral in the years since the split. He still sees his ex (played warmly by the venerable Katherine Keener, who must have it in her contract to appear in every indie film at the moment) and her new husband. At their bequest he goes to a party one night and meets Molly (Marisa Tomei), the two get along and, much to John's surprise, start seeing each other. But there's a problem, Molly's son Cyrus, played with surprising menace and nuance by Jonah Hill. Right from the off there's something not quite right about Cyrus, and yet the film never takes the obvious route in making him either the villain, or one dimensional. He is manipulative, but insecure and afraid, his somewhat uncomfortable relationship with Molly evident in his behaviour.
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Again it is to the film's credit that it never goes for the big set piece, or over the top gags. It keeps it real and small as John cottons on to Cyrus's intentions and their competition escalates. All through this Hill and Reilly do great work, Hill in particular is a revelation, playing this disturbed and haunted man-child in a way that still elicits sympathy. Equally Reilly's ability to go from playing broad comedy, to sincere drama in a heartbeat serves him well here and his earnestness makes you route for John throughout. Despite this it is Tomei who arguably has the toughest role in the film, as she largely takes a backseat to the others, yet must remain convincing as the person they are effectively fighting over, something she does effortlessly. She is warm and sweet, but human as well, over protective and blinded to her son's problems, adorable as she is, she never fails to convince.
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At the end of the day Cyrus is a small film, it has few characters and is more concerned with the little ways in which people relate to each other, and the ways we value our friends and family, than making any great point about the world. It is a funny film, but rarely laugh out loud, and it's not afraid to shy away from some of the darker sides of the emotional spectrum either. I enjoyed it for what it was, a refreshingly human comedy with something to say.
