FILM REVIEW- An Education

An Education (12A, 100 mins)

A lesson in how to manufacture pure bland

Plot?

Jenny (Mulligan), is a young schoolgirl who has to decide between an easy, wealthy, married life, or working hard and achieving an Oxford University education.

Thoughts?

This is a hard review to put together. Not that this film is so bad that it’s hard to put into words. Or that it’s so good that it’s hard to do it justice.

No, it’s because this is so thoroughly ok, so perfectly middle of the road, so shockingly unremarkable it’s hard to be either too harsh, or too generous in assessing it.

Mulligan puts in a decent performance as a troubled teen. But even though she is a more sympathetic character than, say, Bella in Twilight: New Moon (she doesn’t mope all the time for one, and she *gasp* actually smiles from time to time), she can’t sustain the whole film.

Molina makes probably the biggest impression as a doting, muddled father, but this is only as the rest of the characters are so white washed and flat- his slightly lovable and occasionally amusing turn was bound to stand out. In any other film he would hardly register.

The film also rushes through it’s conclusion a bit, but not enough to be a genuine flaw. It’s almost as if the director got a bit bored with what was happening and decided to cut it short.

It does mean the film is surprisingly brief for a (supposedly) lyrical and affecting drama, at just over half an hour. Depending on who you are that could be a merciful positive though.

Another minor annoyance is that the ending does not really justify the previous hundred minutes. Jenny’s character arc is not in anyway satisfying, and the tough choice she has to make near the end was completely pointless. Without ruining it, she, effectively, loses nothing through the option she made. She’s just held back a little bit.

In summary then, if this film was a life support machine, it would be one that is just, just, faintly alive. There are tiny blips of plot developments, so that your interest is never flat lined, but never does it go for the jugular, and get you truly involved in what’s occurring onscreen.

Right, time for a word count…338? That’s easily enough. Phew. That was hard work.

Verdict?

The definition of two stars. (2/5)

Haiku?

So, so, Average

Please, please, something bizarre happen

No? Two stars for you!

Go Further (this is going to be difficult)…

· Ummm, Emma Thompson has a small role as a head teacher. She’s a bit of a jerk of a character. That’s it really. No film stealing cameo here.

· The opening credits are quite nice, styled a bit like vector graphics. Enjoy it. It doesn’t get more visually interesting than that.

· This is based on a memoir, so no wonder it feels so slight, like a mere leaf floating in an updraft.

Second Opinion?

Revered American critic Roger Ebert thinks this films slow, slight nature is intentional…

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091021/REVIEWS/910219994/1023

Trailer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXJPX0XvsHs

RANDOM RANT- Why when reading some bloggers posts you get the distinct impression they don’t care about forming coherent sentences for you to easily digest, they only want to talk and talk until you just want to reach through the screen so you can shake some actual sense out of t-t-t-t-them

I was reading Emily Bell’s column in the Media Guardian on Monday, and she had am interesting slant on newspapers and their inflexibility.

“Is this article already too long?” she enquired, but went on to explain that even if the answer is yes, she still has to “carry on writing until the space is full.”

Only problem was, her article itself demonstrated this issue better than she could have ever imagined. Her incisive opening paragraphs told you all you needed to know. The subsequent paragraphs were nothing but empty waffle. She might argue, but it is the sad truth. The article could have easily been half it’s length without surrendering anything of note.

Writing can be a superbly rewarding pastime. The fact you can carve out lyrical, emotive passages as well as rip-roaringly close to the knuckle arguments from mere words is a wonderful thing.

Newspapers’ slow death may mean the end of rigid structure and writer defined content, but I fear its replacement is a far bigger threat to truly great and worthwhile writing.

With blogs now commonplace, it is all too easy to find someone who rambles for paragraphs on end. On and on they go, with no clear structure, puking over you with their incessant and seemingly endless stream of consciousness.

Trying to remain enthusiastic while reading someone’s thoughts but seeing you are only a small fraction of the way through several hundreds of words can be a difficult task. In most cases it’s not worth wading through the verbal stodge.

So I ask; is it possible to have an easy halfway solution? Is there a middle ground that can be reached between newspapers rigid chains and the internet’s infinite word dump?

I fear not. The incentive to ramble on is far too tempting for some. Where else are they going to get their thoughts off their chests? But I won’t take any more of your time. I’ve gone on too long already.

FILM REVIEW- Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (15)

Gives you plenty of reasons to be cheerful*

Where?

At the Empire cinema at Tower Park

Plot?

The biopic of eccentric 70’s-80’s rocker Ian Dury, who had to fight through childhood of suffering polio, and then years later faced another struggle, having to balance both his band and family commitments.

Thoughts?

Opening with a flurry of quick cut editing alongside a dizzying cocktail of animation and live action, many viewers will be begging only a few minutes in for the the film to slowdown so they can catch up.

Luckily for those easily susceptible to migraines it does. But throughout this biopic there are enough flashes of the films manic opening to keep you engaged with ease.

This film is eager to show you some of Dury’s more bizarre mannerisms, but it is more than eager to go further under his skin to show you why he was a man who was always fighting back against difficult circumstances.

Not eager to offer you a straightforward, clear cut three act structure, the film ambitiously blends flashbacks from Dury’s troubled past with the highpoints of his career to impressive effect. It helps to create a rambunctious but surprisingly coherent tale.

But easily the most convincing element of this biopic is Ian Serkis’ as Dury himself. Stepping into such a maverick and unique character must have been a huge challenge, but Serkis pulls off a totally believable version of Dury on and off the music stage, but never slips into offering a one-note impersonation. His skill is making us see him as Dury, and not simply as an actor playing him, and for this he deserves all the inevitable Oscar speculation.

Ray Winstone (Dury’s soft spoken father), Naomie Harris (his loving but emotionally torn assistant) and Bill Milner (his confused son) all offer up solid support, but much like Dury himself, no-one out performs the main man.

The film doesn’t cover everything however, and those uninitiated in Dury lore may not be convinced, that he is worth his own film. At least a little knowledge of Dury’s exploits are a necessity here.

And for hardcore fans, there may not be enough of Dury’s actual music and gigs shown, with a surprising lack of coverage of the actual songs and records being made that made his legacy.

As well as this the film does feel a little stretched, and could have done with exorcising some seemingly superfluous scenes to cut down the near two hour running time.

But excess baggage (of the emotional kind) is the overiding impression you get from Dury, so this is quite a fitting flaw.

Despite being an occasionally frustrating and flawed persona, Dury was capable of entertaining in a way that was funny as well as moving. The same can be said of this admirable effort at documenting him.

Verdict?

A bumpy ride, but one worth taking thanks to Serkis’ great performance and Whitecross’ assured and unique direction. (3/5)

Go further…

· With this and Nowhere Boy, as well as Telstar from last year the British film industry seems on a roll making solid music biopics.

· Ian Serkis seems to have a future in voice-overs if his film career goes downhill- he can not only do Dury gravelly tones, but he has also lended his vocals for the voice of Gollum in Lord of the Rings.

Haiku Summary…

Eccentric story,

Made by people who love it,

Enjoyable stuff!

Second Opinions?

Times writer Kevin Maher thought Serkis was convincing, perhaps unerringly so, in this article-

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6942759.ece

Mark Kermode thinks Serkis’ performance goes beyond mere impersonation, in this video-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spopVKc9vMk&NR=1

Trailer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMKjx8ilLCY

*Other obvious taglines included- Hit Me With Your Decent Film Stick, Back to Blighty For Another Music Biopic, Just a Load of Cacka Boom?, Does This Have Delusions of Grandeur?, Will Make You Happy Hippy, and What a Waste (if the film was bad).