TV Show Review: The Night Manager (2016)

© BBC | Source: gstatic.com/images

UK, USA; 6 episodes; crime, drama, mystery, spy thriller

Channel: BBC1, AMC

Screenplay: David Farr, based on a novel by John le Carré

Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander, Elizabeth Debicki, Alistair Petrie, Natasha Little, Douglas Hodge, David Harewood, Tobias Menzies, Antonio de la Torre, Adeel Akhtar, Michael Nardone

"Children grow up thinking the adult world is ordered, rational, fit for purpose. It’s crap. Becoming a man is realising that it’s all rotten. Realising how to celebrate that rottenness, that’s freedom." - Richard Roper

When putting together the schedule for this month, I was looking for a new and exciting TV show to dig my teeth into. My eyes fell on The Night Manager, a BBC miniseries based on the 1993 John le Carré novel of the same name. Both are centered on Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston), a hotel night manager who signs up for an undercover operation of a joint British-American taskforce to bring down ruthless business man and arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). During its 6-episode lifespan, we see Pine assume multiple identities, become the lover of two beautiful women, befriend and defeat said arms dealer, and travel all over Europe and the Arab world. First broadcast in the UK on BBC1 in February to raving reviews, I figured The Night Manager must really keep what it promises. I mean an 8.4 score on imdb.com and critics gushing over the reinvention of the spy thriller don’t lie, right? Well, in this case they might have… or at least exaggerated quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong, The Night Manager isn’t terrible. It isn’t even a bad show per se. But in my opinion the miniseries just fails to live up to the hype. Yet, since it started in the U.S. last week, all I have seen are stellar reviews all over again. How can that be?

© BBC | Source: serieslyawesome.tv

As a fan of intros, this usually is my first clue as to whether a show is going to make a good first impression and set the right mood. Here we have a beautifully designed opening montage that in style, visuals, and music right on made me think: Downton Abbey – but with guns… It’s Downton Abbey meets James Bond! Awesome – love Downton, love James! So far so good.

What really is brilliant about this show is its international setting. Taking place in an affluent environment in Egypt, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, and London you get to enjoy secluded beaches, snow-clad mountains, as well as oriental 5 star hotels. The scenery is truly beautiful and (except for the Swiss mountainside and rainy London) might as well be a travel ad for the Mediterranean. To those of us, who don’t immediately associate Mallorca with drunk and raging Brits and Germans, Richard Roper’s island home might be somewhat out of a dream world. Kudos to the location scouts none-the-less. In fact, all the sets were absolutely breathtaking and detailed. Even if they weren’t postcard-worthy (i.e. supposed to be pretty) in a particular scene, the props and coloring were always to the point of what they needed to be. So well done set design and props departments. 

Also, what could be greater for an exciting spy thriller than an international setting? Well, nothing really, but still The Night Manager tries a bit too hard here. You don’t have to include all the super spy drama hotspots except Moscow here. It is a Europa or even worldwide operation, we get it, but every single place they went to gave me an immediate association with and feeling of another movie or show: Spectre in the Swiss Alps, NCIS in the Middle East, and Ocean’s Twelve at the Mallorquian villa just to name a few.

Another job well done by the creative minds behind The Night Manager is that they stray a bit from the novel the show is based on. Admittedly, I haven’t actually read it, but I read enough about it to know that they changed the setting to the Arab Spring (the novel was published in 1993, so this uprising hadn’t taken place yet). Changing the setting to events everyone can distinctly remember and which deeply influenced the current global refugee crisis, gives The Night Manager an acute relevance. In the context of recent world affairs, the show’s storyline more or less asks for critical thinking regarding the topic of illegal arms trade and governments’ involvement in furthering the current plight of millions. In addition to the change in time, the writers changed the sex of the lead

© BBC | Source: cimg.tvgcdn.net

investigator from male Leonard Burr to the female intelligence operative Angela Burr (Olivia Colman). While law enforcement is still mostly (portrayed as) a boy’s club, this gives nice credit to current discussions in film and society about equity at the work place. In quite a statement Angela Burr is not only a woman holding down the fort of truth and justice, but a pregnant yet still strong and career-driven woman with a stay-at-home husband. 

Where it feels like the show strayed too far from the original is in plot and pacing. Again, I haven’t read the novel, but a lot of times, especially in the first two episodes, where the scene is set for the whole series, scene changes are perceived as jumps in plot. You get the distinct feeling of many pages having been axed in editing. What suffers most from this predicament are interpersonal relationships. Though you’d think that a six-hour series gives you more room for character development and interaction than a 90-minute movie, a lot of the encounters between strangers seem to come out of nowhere and then you jump to a deep and devoted relationship between characters two scenes later. This is especially the case for the first episode in which Jonathan Pine is approached by Sophie Alekan (Aure Atika), a woman-kept by shady business man Freddie Hamid (David Avery), to copy some incriminating papers. Suddenly there seems to be this immense attraction between the two of them and Pine gives up everything to get her to safety. When Sophie is murdered about 5 minutes later, it becomes the reason for Pine’s involvement in the Richard Roper case. The whole plot of The Night Manager and the main motivation of its protagonist stems from a brief encounter with a lady that, a few days before, Jonathan Pine didn’t even know. Now he’ll spend years trying to avenge her death – yeah, right. Storytelling elements like dreams, foreshadowing, and déjà vu are pretty conventional, too.

An admirable skill (yeah, right), when regarding the previous findings, is that even though a lot of plot elements and developments were rushed in the making of this series, the story is very slow to get going. It feels like nothing significant or plot-furthering happens in the first two episodes. For a spy thriller, there never really is much suspense to make you nervous and get your heart pumping. I am a bit of a fraidy-cat when it comes to crime and horror (even though I love it) and really there were only two occasions when I got slightly jumpy. One occurred in the middle of episode three when Jonathan Pine breaks into Richard Roper’s secret vault, the Citadel. That lasted about four minutes… The other occasion was in the middle of episode six, when Angela Burr sneaks into Roper’s hotel room to steal some papers from his safe. I really hoped the badass pregnant lady wouldn’t get snuffed by the enforcer Roper sent to secure his room. But really, not a lot of writers are that cruel and the whole endeavor was over in a flash. Kind of disappointing that the supposed re-inventor of the spy thriller genre turned out to not be such a thrill after all… That the grand finale basically played out as a neat 25-minute ride into the sunset for the good guys – Tom Hiddleston even got the pretty girl in the end, I mean come oooon – by then really surprised no one.

Performance wise The Night Manager has nothing to be ashamed of. Even though I still can’t really

© BBC | Source: gannett-cdn.com

decide if Tom Hiddleston got his poker face on for the entire series to save his character or if his acting is just that impassive, I choose to believe he does pull off Jonathan Pine. Although there doesn’t seem to be real depth to his performance, it is nice to see Hiddleston’s face for once. Hugh Laurie plays Richard Roper (what a brilliant sounding character name, come on!), ruthless arms dealer, lover, and father. As per usual, I was amazed that Laurie’s seemingly stiff Britishness allows him to play all range of emotions from gentle and loving to ruthless and scary, even if there is always a certain reserved-ness in his portrayal. Plus, whoever can pull off lines like “War’s a spectator sport,” or “Nothing is quite as pretty as napalm at night,” deserves some recognition. 

The two female leads, however, are the ones who really know how to use the stage they are given. Olivia Colman portrays pregnant operative Angela Burr in a remarkably hands-on way. She isn’t overly dramatic. She doesn’t have to constantly stress her status as being pregnant, in fact she seems to ignore it most of the time or uses it as a “perfect disguise”. The only time Burr reverts from her “let’s just get the job done” attitude, is when she is almost caught in Roper’s room by his bodyguard. She breaks down in the elevator and we get to see, that Coleman really has a feeling for the character she is portraying. In this instance, her performance is positively rattled. Yet, her character is stone cold and determined, no matter the cost, when pressured by corrupt higher-ups. Elizabeth Debicki plays Jed Marshall, the young and beautiful lover of Richard Roper. She brings a woman to life that is very free in showing her body, while closing off her mind and heart. Debicki endows her character with an air of mystery that leaves the viewer wondering who Jed really is. When we find out she is keeping secrets and possibly even spying on her lover, Jed just gets all the more intriguing. Seemingly frail and emotional, there is still an inner strength and determination to her, that makes her risk her life for a good cause and withstand torture.

Overall BBC’s The Night Manager is a decent enough spy drama that, if you don’t have to watch it in one sitting, can be an almost pleasant pastime. Still, I believe a movie (or different writers) might have been the better option to ensure a fast-paced thriller. The basic idea of the story is intriguing and the show does a good job of relating back to our reality with its real problems, yet the spark of excitement never really catches on. The cast, on the other hand, is great and, if it wasn’t for the lack of developed personal relationships, I am sure they’d have been able to benefit from and play with each other nicely. The star of the show, however, is by far the scenery. The beautiful travelling shots over snow-capped mountains and blue Mediterranean lagoons are almost enough to justify sitting through six hours of spy blabbing – or at least enough inspiration to make you pick up your phone and look up travel destinations for your next vacation.

Rating:

Film Review: Taxi Driver (1976)

© Columbia TriStar | Source: Cinema Jam

USA; 113 min.; drama, crime

Director: Martin Scorsese

Writing: Paul Schrader

Cinematography: Michael Chapman

Cast: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris

“I think someone should just take this city and just... just flush it down the fuckin' toilet.” – Travis Bickle

It’s time for the Tribeca Film Festival, y’all, and quite a few exciting new films and TV projects have been shown over the last days. Katie Holmes premiered her feature film debut All We Had last Friday, upcoming Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi showcased his New Zealand indie flick Hunt for the Wilderpeople yesterday, and Tom Hiddleston is there to talk both his work on the dystopian thriller High Rise and the BBC series The Night Manager. There are many more topical things going on at the New-York-based festival, of course. However, this post is all about nostalgia.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Martin Scorsese’s cult classic Taxi Driver. Its star, Robert De Niro – one of the two founding members of the Tribeca Film Festival –, decided to hold a special screening of the film tonight. Afterwards, Scorsese, producer Michael Phillips, writer Paul Schrader, De Niro and his co-stars Jodie Foster and Cybill Shepherd will join in to discuss the film and pay tribute to its significant role in movie history.

Since, sadly, the BSP team cannot be in the Big Apple to witness this memorable occasion live and in colour, I still don’t want to miss out on letting you in on my own personal experiences with Taxi Driver: to be completely honest, until yesterday, I really didn’t have any. While I wait for you cinephiles out there to leave your state of shock, let me tell you that I actually took the movie’s anniversary celebration as an opportunity to close the glaring hole in my cinematic knowledge. After all these years of ignorance, I was finally ready to be blown away by a film that, in 1994, the Library of Congress selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. A film that won the Palme d’Or in Cannes and is among the one hundred best films of all time chosen by Time.

Suffice it to say that Taxi Driver is critically acclaimed, highly regarded, universally admired and, basically, the wet dream of anybody in love with moving pictures. Anything other than a full five-star rating is considered blasphemy, and every person who is brave enough to actually voice their criticism of the film simultaneously feels the need to apologise for doing so. Taxi Driver is one of those movies that has people believe that film criticism is utterly objective and that you either ‘get it’, thus demonstrating that you are a true and dignified film connoisseur of the highest order, or that you don’t ‘get it’, which has you end up with the reputation of a lowbrow simpleton with a thorough love for Michael Bay flicks. I, however, do not intend to apologise for saying that Taxi Driver left me underwhelmed in some respects.

Following the psychological breakdown of Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), Scorsese’s fifth feature film ambitiously tries to portray the deterioration of New York city life, interpersonal connections and, well, society as a whole. Trapped in a world that doesn’t understand and value him, Travis is looking to leave his mark. He wants to be acknowledged, respected and loved, but instead is judged, ignored and belittled – until his diseased mind and paranoia have him take drastic measures.

The premise is fascinating and, after 40 years, still resonates with our own reality in a frightening way and manner. Travis is a man without the ability to connect with others. He becomes emotionally numb and selfish, and is on the brink of vigilante violence. He finds empowerment in weapons and in the fear he induces in others. The fact that, in all his insanity, he seems to follow a certain moral code, a plan with which he intends to rid the city of its seedy underworld elements, gives him an endearing complexity. Back then, a society shaken by the effects of the Vietnam War could probably relate to his lack of empathy, his numbness in the face of brutality, his longing for heroic action. Today, in the world of Columbine, Norway, Aurora, Afghanistan, Paris or Brussels, we find ourselves confronted with self-righteous vigilance every day. 

Taxi Driver is solely about Travis’ mind. There is no conventional storyline to follow. The film much more explores his psyche and how he perceives his surroundings. Michael Chapman’s masterful cinematography captures a gritty, sinister picture of New York, with dark allies populated by prostitutes, pimps, punters and porn cinemas. Here, New York is a place of crime and exploitation, a place in which whoremongers such as Sport (Harvey Keitel) lure in young women such as Iris (Jodie Foster) to sell their every orifice for a few bucks. Hope seems to be long gone, and even the city’s presidential candidate Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris) appears to be more showmanship than substance. There’s a constant atmosphere of unease as well as a very postmodern juxtaposition of beautifully arranged cinematographic images and the rotten things they actually portray. Furthermore, the on-point editing and sound editing help to establish Travis’ incoherent mind.

De Niro – long before he agreed to do Dirty Grandpa and Meet the Fockers – shows why he is considered one of the greatest actors of all time. His Travis is upsetting, unsettling and utterly unlikeable. He is filled with self-loathing and self-destructive tendencies. He’s mad as hell and yet passes for an inconspicuous everyday person. It is this Average Joe quality, which De Niro brings to the role, that makes Travis truly creepy, reminding me of Anthony Perkins’ portrayal of Norman Bates in Psycho. It is under the surface where a person’s soul plunges into the darkest abysses.  

For a film, however, that is crafted so beautifully and acted so dedicatedly by its main actor, I can’t help but wonder why Taxi Driver left me so cold. Travis certainly is an intriguing psychological case study – but I guess there’s something about Scorsese’s approach that is just too clinical, too sterile for me to truly become invested. There are no relatable or likeable characters, everything and everybody is filtered through Travis’ unhinged mind. His crush Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) is first an angel and then a stuck-up bitch in his eyes. Palantine is first an ally and then a disappointment. Iris is a woman in need of salvation and remains so till the very end. All characters besides Travis are pretty dull and flat. Instead of enjoying this lack of an emotional, relatable anchor as a device to demonstrate Travis’ one-sided world view, I find it rather tedious after a while. In the end, Travis’ deterioration is well thought through in theory but, as an actual cinematic experience, doesn’t manage to hit me in the stomach and make me feel the frightening consequences of his fall into emotional coarseness.

Anyway, Taxi Driver has undoubtedly influenced cinema. It still serves as a shining example of films that feature antagonists in the lead, that use the contradiction of aesthetic pictures vs. ugly subject matter, that rely on depicting psychological mechanisms through imagery rather than on telling a conventional, straightforward story. I applaud Taxi Driver for the mark it has left in movie history and I congratulate it wholeheartedly to its 40th anniversary today. However, I won’t shy away from saying that there is a subjective component to every movie experience. Whatever makes your emotions, your enthusiasm overflow can fail to move somebody else. Taxi Driver doesn’t move me. I find it wanting. I have no shame. You want to question me? Oh yeah? You talkin' to me?

Rating:  

Top 3: Favourite Things From Eddie the Eagle (2016)

© 20th Century Fox | Source: Montreal Gazette

Michael Edwards - better know as Eddie the Eagle - is one of those people whose life story makes for great movie material. As the first ski jumper to represent Britain in the Winter Olympics, he came in last in both the 70m and 90m competitions in Calgary in 1988, but managed to garner a whole bunch of fans and a reputation based on perseverance and sportive spirit. 

And, almost 30 years later, there finally is a movie about him out in cinemas. Starring Taron Egerton as the flying sportsman who hides his lack of skill behind a big heart and an unswerving determination, and Hugh Jackman as his washed-up trainer Bronson Peary, Eddie the Eagle is a sweet and uplifting underdog tale that is bound to warm the cockles of your heart.

Squuls and Rina watched the film last week. But instead of giving you a broad review, we'd like to get to the gist of things. So here are our respective Top 3s of our favourite things from Eddie the Eagle.

Squuls:

3. Eddie's Mom

We all know moms are the best. They give great hugs, tell you how to dress weather appropriately, and are there for you no matter what. But none more so than Eddie Edward's mom. From early on she is very supportive of her seemingly non-athletic son's dream of participating in the Olympics and, more importantly, she takes him seriously. The Olympic committee is embarrassed to be associated with Eddie in any way. Mr. Edwards is grumpy and trying to get Eddie to grow up and give up his dreams, but Eddie's mom is constantly finding new ways to circumvent her husband's disapproval and to finance each new shot Eddie takes at making it to the Olympics somehow. She cancels holidays, new cars, and even fends of the bailiff all so Eddie can see those five rings in person. When Eddie the Eagle finally gets to soar, she could not be more proud. Even though he doesn't bring home any medals, her son did what he set out to do and became a crowd favorite in the process. Mrs. Edwards' spirits are embodied in her "I am Eddie's Mom" sweater she proudly wears for anyone to see.

2. Hugh Jackman's Jump from 90 Meters

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The most over the top, ridiculous scene of Eddie The Eagle just had to make it into my Top 3. There was no other option. Hugh Jackman plays drunken snow groomer and failed ski jumping talent Bronson Peary. One night after having one too many at the pub and being ridiculed by the Norwegian coach, he decides to take the plunge from that big-ass 90m ski jumping hill - in jeans and a shirt with rolled up sleeves, without protection or helmet. On top of the hill, Peary gets in position and gets a serious look on his face, like it's high noon and he's getting ready for a duel. And what self respecting cowboy would go into that without a lit cigarette tugged into the corner of his mouth? Cue the cheesy 80s motivational music and we are good to go. A close-up of Hugh Jackman's face that feels like dangerous Wolverine and steam emitting cho-cho train all in one takes us down that hill. On the way he casually spits out the cigarette and finally lands perfectly. The spectators in party mode stare in wonderment at the all too suave drunk that they thought they'd seen the last of. You know, just your regular kitsch spectacle intermission you didn't really know you needed until you saw it.

1. The Norwegian Ski Jumping Team

© 20th Century Fox | Source: twimg.com

Truly, these Scandinavian guys are the highlight of the movie! When Eddie travels to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany to start his training as a ski jumper, he first encounters the Norwegian ski jumping team. Immediately they start to make fun of that slightly chubby British dude, who thinks he can learn how to jump just like that. I mean, they are arrogant as fuck and walk around like they own the place when really... What the hell are they even doing there?! The setting is the Garmisch ski jumping hill, yet all you see is Norwegians: Intimidating Eddie on the hill, naked in the sauna (not that I objected to seeing that), beating up a drunk Hugh Jackman at the local pub - they're everywhere and they're hilarious! Their accents, overconfidence, and perfect athlete physiques are so over the top you cannot not love them. And really, when it counts, their hearts are in the right place. The Norwegian team and coach are actually impressed that Eddie made it to the Olympics (even more so when they learn he only started jumping a year ago) and are happy for the way Eddie the Eagle shows bravery and true Olympic spirit in Calgary.


Rina:

3.  A Jumper in Jumpers

© 20th Century Fox

Throughout the film, Eddie sports quite a large number of diverse woolly jumpers. Not only does this evoke 80s fashion in all its (often) questionable glory, no, it also makes me happy. I've always had a thing for these kind of pullovers, with their colourful patterns and cozy-cuddly texture. There's just something about them that screams nostalgia, snow and winter holidays just as much as "Hey! I'm here, and I'm taking pride in my granny's knitting needle skills." And Eddie does, indeed, wear those clothes with pride and grace. But - as you can see from the picture above - he's learnt from the best since Mama Edwards certainly knows how to rock a sweater in her own right. If you feel like designing your very own personal virtual Eddie Edwards spirit sweater, just hop over here and let your creativity run wild.

 

2.  The Groovy Training Montage

Back in 2009, (500) Days of Summer showed us that every great scene can become even greater by adding the Hall & Oats song "You Make My Dreams" to it. Now, Eddie the Eagle put this universal wisdom to good use and endowed its training montage with the tune. Everyone who's read my review of the Rocky franchise already knows that I'm a sucker for good training montages. They're uplifting, full of underdog spirit and, often times, groovy as hell. As a sports movie, Eddie the Eagle needed one of those sequences, of course. And while watching Eddie master his balance and train his telemark landing is great, it's even greater when Hall & Oats is playing in the background.

1.  That Welshman in the Lead

I know, I know, I'm going for the obvious choice here by gushing over the lead actor. But as someone who wasn't entirely sold on Taron Egerton's charisma in Kingsman: The Secret Service, I'm happy to say that he completely won me over in Eddie the Eagle. His transformation into Edwards is strong on a visual level, but succeeds especially when it comes to delivering sincere emotions. He makes you laugh with and cheer for Eddie, and turns him into a man full of heart and dedication. He endows him with quirks, cuteness and an endearing naivete, but also with a winsome inner strength and an unshakable drive to fulfill his dreams. In a film about the power of the underdog spirit, Egerton's portrayal is key - and he delivers perfectly.

Have you watched Eddie the Eagle? What did you like best about the film?

Film Review & Theme Park: Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

© Columbia Pictures | Source: tokyofox

USA; 145 min.; drama, history, romance

Director: Rob Marshall

Writing: Robin Swicord

Cinematography: Dion Beebe

Cast:  Zhang Ziyi, Ken Watanabe, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Youki Kudoh, Suzuka Ohgo

A story like mine should never be told. For my world is as forbidden as it is fragile. Without its mysteries it cannot survive. I certainly wasn't born to the life of a geisha. Like so much in my strange life, I was carried there by the current. -- Sayuri (Narration)

March is almost over and Women’s History Month is coming to a close. The movie I chose is Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) about Sayuri Nitta, a small town child who managed to rise on the social ladder thanks to her unusual eye-colour, her diligence and some help by fate. 

Source: immortalgeisha

Arthur Golden, who’s eponymous novel the movie is based on, modelled Sayuri loosely on the retired geisha Mineko Iwasaki. However, after publishing the novel, Iwasaki sued Golden for breach of contract. During their interview, he had assured her that he would protect her anonymity, but then mentioned her in the book’s acknowledgements. Since secrecy is an integral part in the life of a geisha, Iwasaki feared for her good name and even received death threats. She distanced herself from the portrayal of Sayuri - not because it was untrue, but because Sayuri was too obviously based on her, though in a way that did not correspond to reality. For example, some events she considered positive were rendered in a negative way, to the point of even offending her and her profession. 

So Memoirs of a Geisha is not about an actual, historical character, but it still gives insight into the way women in Japan lived in the 20th Century (although from a slightly too western-ish point of view). Even knowing that a geisha is an artist and not a prostitute, the somewhat negative depictions of every male character, save for the Chairman, whom Sayuri is in love with, leave you with a bitter taste. Not thinking of geisha as prostitutes is especially hard, with the images of Sayuri’s mizuage in mind. In the movie, the mizuage is a rite of passage, during which an apprentice geisha, a maiko, sells her virginity to the highest bidder in order to become a real geisha. Sounds a lot like selling your body and not your art, doesn’t it? Yes, it does and no, this is not what happened. The mizuage is not about defloration but a new haircut and that’s just one of the movie’s many inaccuracies. So if you are looking for authentic information about the delicate role of a geisha, neither the book nor the movie should be a part of your primary sources. But they are both beautiful pieces of art and allow us a glance at a long lost world, shrouded in mystery and hard to understand with our cultural background, and that was enough for me to make the movie a part of our Women’s History Month. 

That said, let’s move on from the background to the actual movie. As children Chiyo Sakamoto (Suzuka Ohgo) and her older sister Satsu (Samantha Futerman) are taken away from their poor family and sold to geisha houses, so called okiyas, in Kyoto’s most famous geisha district Gion. Little Chiyo ends up in the Nitta okiya, while her less attractive sister is sold off to a brothel. The main geisha of the okiya, Hatsumomo (Gong Li), renowned for her beauty and wickedness, sees a potential future rival in Chiyo and goes out of her way to put obstacles in the little girl’s way, hindering her from becoming a geisha. After having missed her one chance at escaping with her sister, Chiyo realises that she will probably never see her again and will spend the rest of her life as a serving girl. Visibly downcast she walks through the streets, when a stranger she comes to know as the Chairman (Ken Watanabe), gives her money, wrapped in a handkerchief. He treats her to ice cream and offers words of encouragement to raise her spirits. Moved by so much kindness, Chiyo donates all the money to a local shrine, praying to one day become a geisha and have a chance to see the Chairman again.

© Columbia Pictures | Source: iwatchedthismovie

Time passes, and while Chiyo’s fellow maid Pumpkin (Youki Kudoh) becomes a geisha under Hatsumomo’s tutelage, there seems to be no hope for Chiyo of ever advancing from her role as a serving girl. That is until one day Gion’s most famous geisha and Hatsumomo’s rival Mameha (Michelle Yeoh) shows interest in Chiyo and decides to adopt her as her little sister. Chiyo becomes a geisha and receives a new name: Sayuri. And while her heart is sparked by new hope of seeing the Chairman again, Sayuri suffers greatly under the rivalry with Hatsumomo, who is determined to make her life a living hell.

There is a lot of drama, rivalry, intrigue and unrequited love going on, and we have a strong female heroine, who is unwilling to accept her lot in life and does whatever it takes to fulfil her dreams. This is especially remarkable if you consider that in old Japan women were clearly inferior to men in terms of social hierarchy. Yet the movie shows how geisha make use of the talents given to them by nature like their beauty, wits and female charm to manipulate the men around them. 

© Columbia Pictures | Source: artimagesfrom

While the plot as such is entertaining enough, what really makes this movie a special gem is the beautiful cinematography. It’s really not surprising that Memoirs of a Geisha received three Academy Awards (Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design). While watching the movie, you can just blind out the big city hullaballoo going on around you and dive straight into the mesmerising world of 20th-century Japan, with its foreign and thus all the more fascinating traditions and values, the beautiful leading ladies (who happen to be Chinese and not Japanese, which is definitely a reason for criticism), draped in lavish kimonos and not to forget the scenery (most of it filmed in California, though).

© Columbia Pictures | Source: hayochifabricfilms

Like I said at the beginning, this isn’t the kind of movie to watch for accurate information about life in Japan’s past, but if it’s just about fulfilling escapist fantasies, go right ahead and prepare to be enchanted.

Rating: 

Film Review: Midnight Special (2016)

© Warner Bros. | Source: Little White Lies

USA; 111 min.; drama, sci-fi, mystery

Director: Jeff Nichols

Writing: Jeff Nichols

Cinematography: Jim Denault

Cast: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Jaeden Lieberher, Adam Driver, Paul Sparks, Sam Shepard, Bill Camp, Scott Haze

“Dad. It’s okay.” – Alton Meyer 

Midnight Special is one of those films that really had me brimming with anticipation. Its writer and director Jeff Nichols, who has already given us a couple of cinematic gems, certainly is a talent to look out for in the future. He has a way with creating rich characters, atmospheric settings and beautiful homages to cultural greats. His second feature film, Take Shelter (2011), an intense, psychological piece about a family man haunted by visions and dreadful nightmares, put Nichols’ name on everybody’s lips back then. His follow-up Mud (2012), a Huckleberry-Finn-like coming-of-age adventure with a darker, more violent edge, manifested his status as an up-and-coming filmmaker indeed worthy of praise and, well, my anticipation.

Now, with Midnight Special, Nichols finds himself ready to take on the sci-fi genre and pay tribute to one of its pinnacle directors, Steven Spielberg. The film, it seems, sets the bar quite high and sadly, I have to admit, ends up being a small disappointment in my eyes. I know, I know, part of it is my own fault. As a huge fan of Nichol’s work, I probably got a bit overexcited, expecting genius and rainbows, cinematic ecstasy and unicorns all at once. What I got definitely wasn’t a bad film, don’t get me wrong. But knowing that Take Shelter is very well capable of delivering all those aforementioned things (minus the unicorns, maybe), I think that Midnight Special indeed could have been better.

Telling the story of Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher), an eight-year-old boy with special powers, the film throws us right into the middle of the action. His biological father Roy (Michael Shannon) and the family friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) have abducted the wunderkind from his foster father, the leader of a religious cult, to save him from exploitation and restore him to a more secure place. So while the religious fanatics and the FBI are closing in, the trio unites with Alton’s mother Sarah (Kirsten Dunst) and takes flight.

There’s a mystery at the heart of Midnight Special. What are Alton’s powers? Why does he have them? What can he do with them? Is he dangerous? Nichols refrains from giving clear answers and, thus, is able to maintain an aura of enduring mystique and wonder. His film is slow-burning, tense, dark and brooding, beautifully atmospheric in all its vagueness and presentiments of possible threats. It is accentuated by a haunting piano score and engaging, dimly lit visuals. And while the finale might be spelling out things a bit too explicitly, taking away from the general mystery, there’s still something about this film that stayed with me long after I had left the theatre.

However, what Midnight Special lacks is truly intriguing characters. Nichols, as a man perfectly capable of writing deep, down-to-earth, multi-layered roles, here mostly presents us with one-dimensional stereotypes. There’s the strong, caring father and the emotional, caring mother. There’s the reliable best buddy throwing in a bit of comic relief here and there. There’s the freaky cult leader and the nerdy FBI specialist. In a film that heavily relies on presenting interpersonal bonds, I’d expect those bonds to feel heartfelt and sincere. Midnight Special, at its core, is about parents making sacrifices for their child, about friends leaving their own safe haven to help out pals, about rationalists abandoning their disbelief in order to serve something greater. While Nichols has gathered an impressive cast to play out his characters, his minimalist dialogues hinder them from becoming round and relatable. Their respective relationships never appear real or deeply felt. I simply don’t care about them.

When it comes to underlying themes, Midnight Special is ambitious. Nichols has stated that his main motivation for writing the script came from expressing his feelings as a new father. Naturally, the film is about the lengths to which parents go to protect their children. It is a tale about letting go off your offspring and allow it to explore its own ways. However, the movie also forays into different directions. With a constant focus on outside surveillance and governmental control, the film appears quite topical and manages, despite its lack of interesting characters, to build another layer of intrigue besides the atmospheric execution.

Midnight Special is a visually enthralling road movie, aiming at up-to-date social and political discourses as well as a more human, family-related approach. It pays tribute to established genre conventions and yet also tries to tread on unique paths. It is strangely powerful and yet so void of actual heartfelt human emotions. It simply fails to make me connect with its main players. So, while the atmosphere drew me in completely, the flat and aloof characters spit me out cold. Next time, try and put in a unicorn somewhere? Maybe? No?

Rating: 

TV Review: Downton Abbey Season 6 [Spoilers]

© ITV | Source: The Seattle Times

UK; 9 episodes; drama, romance, soap opera, period

Channel: ITV

Creators: Julian Fellowes

Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt, Rob James-Collier, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton, Kevin Doyle, Allen Leech, David Robb, Raquel Cassidy, Samantha Bond, Jeremy Swift, Douglas Reid, Paul Copley, Sue Johnston, Matthew Goode

"Sometimes it's good to rule by fear." -- Dowager Countess

It's time to get out your handkerchiefs and wave goodbye to Downton Abbey. The British TV show that charmed audiences around the world finally found its conclusion in the finale of its sixth season, and certainly had devoted fans shed some tears over the fact that, come autumn, there won't be any new stories to be told, no new Christmas specials to be had.

Centred on the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants living and working on the grand estate of Downton Abbey at the beginning of the twentieth century, the show has always served as a prominent means of escapism for those of us who like to dwell upon nostalgia and revel in the idea of a time gone by. The ridiculously romanticised glance at noble quirks and domestic toils allowed us to leave behind our own everyday troubles and, at least once a week, dive right into a life that seemed so much easier and more ordered on screen. In Downton, the blue bloods had us live vicariously through their fairytale-like experiences of grandeur and splendour, and the servants conveyed a sense of humbleness and bliss that, apparently, can be found in manual labour.

Realism, it became obvious, never played an integral part within the show. Downton was pretty much an expensive soap opera, boasting a spectacular, detailed set and costume design, a dedicated ensemble cast ready to make the most of their roles - even if the script wouldn't always let them -, and an invaluable amount of fun one-liners and precious witticisms certain to make your day. Especially when delivered by the impeccable Dame Maggie Smith. The show never took itself too seriously and embraced its melodramatic nature. Additionally, it always was what its die-hard fans needed it to be: a place of beauty and happily-ever-after endings, a place in which obstacles would always lead to something joyful and good. Bad luck, bitterness and intrigues, so it seemed, were temporarily invited in, only to be thrown out by the deus-ex-machina mechanisms of the Downton universe.

As sweet and lovely as such a setup may be, it is hardly enough to keep a show running for six entire seasons. Having lost most of its steam midway, Downton's season four and five already relied too heavily on repetitive plot patterns, an airy-fairy treatment of the rise of the working class and an aura of lovey-dovey feel-good moments. And while some kitsch and cheese are always enjoyable as a side order, they're bound to eventually bore your brains out when served as the main course.

This has never been more obvious than in the sixth and last season of the series in which any attempt at innovation, subtlety or suspenseful excitement is thrown overboard for uninspired, same-old-same-old storytelling. While, for example, Lady Sybil's sudden death in season three endowed the show with a well-needed sense of ill-fated consequence and heartfelt tragedy, season six is in desperate need of truly bone-shaking, sincerely felt moments of interpersonal drama. Every conflict arising from the individual storylines is solved within no time. Anna's (Joanne Froggatt) and Mr. Bates' (Brendan Coyle) struggle to have children, Lord Grantham's (Hugh Bonneville) health issues, Thomas' (Rob James-Collier) depression over the fact that nobody really cares about him - everything is rushed through, allowing no room to actually feel for the respective characters and their inner turmoil.

Add to this a whole bunch of redundant plot elements and your interest in the series is bound to fall below zero. Anna's conceiving issue is reminiscent of Lady Mary's (Michelle Dockery) same problem in season three. Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) and Molesley (Kevin Doyle) find themselves in a very poor man's version of the already sufficiently exhausted criminal plot surrounding the Bates family. Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) still struggles with the farmers who functioned as foster parents to her daughter born out of wedlock and, in another plot, tries to FINALLY get married. Meanwhile, Lady Mary, as usual, finds herself chasing and abandoning the man of her dreams, and Daisy (Sophie McShera) exercises her talent in pushing away a boy who has an interest in her, only to run after him once he's lost all hope of winning her heart. Oh, and then there's also cousin Isobel (Penelope Wilton) running after Lord Merten (Douglas Reith), and the Dowager Countess trying to have her way. But it's Maggie Smith, so I'll leave her be.

Anyway, there really is nothing new this season, and maybe this wouldn't be such a big problem if the characters weren't so annoying while performing their well-established routines. Daisy, in an attempt to save the livelihood of her father-in-law (Paul Copley), certainly climbs to new heights when it comes to performing silly actions and babbling on when really her mouth should be shut. The married life between Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) and Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) is another sore sight. The fact that it only focuses on breaking established gender perceptions, doesn't do the two characters any justice and makes them appear rather flat. Thomas' journey from mean-spirited villain to perfect Mr. Nice Guy really comes out of nowhere and lacks proper character development. Mary's to and fro with her sweetheart Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode) is downright unbearable and their chemistry really non-existent. Goode definitely knows how to play charming, but there's hardly a moment in which I actually believe that Mary and his character are destined to be together. The drama surrounding their relationship only exists to prolong the road to happiness for a little while longer.

Yet, happiness it is that awaits all the characters in the finale. The happily-ever-after ending really is the only redeeming feature of the season, in which all the characters find what they were looking for all along. No realism, no subtlety, no bitterness - just pure kitsch and cheese on the side. But if the entire main course is already made of kitsch and cheese, a kitschy and cheesy finish is less likely to stand out.

Sadly, the last season of Downton Abbey was everything I came to dislike about the show: predictable, endlessly repetitive, allowing precious characters to go to waste. In the end, what's left is grand costumes and beautiful sets. And Maggie Smith. Always Dame Maggie Smith. 

Rating:

Film Review: Spotlight (2015)

© Open Road Films | Source: churchmilitant.com

USA; 128 min.; drama, biography, history

Director: Tom McCarthy

Writing: Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer; based on a series of articles by The Boston Globe Spotlight team

Cinematography: Masanobu Takayanagi

Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci

"If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse them." - Mitchell Garabedian

While summer is a time for flashy, light movies the darker part of the year comes along more subtle and, well, deep. Whether or not it’s that our attention span is actually shorter during the hot months or whether we are conditioned that way by film studios, the fact remains that heavily plot-based movies are more likely to hit us in winter. One of those films is Spotlight, a promising Academy Award prospect, which truly deserves to be – wait for the bad pun – in the spotlight.

Tom McCarthy’s 2015 motion picture is based on the true story and articles of the 2003 Pulitzer-Prize-winning Spotlight team of The Boston Globe. It provides an in-depth look at the investigation into a grand-scale child molestation scandal within the Catholic Church at the beginning of the new millennium. In a deeply Catholic city such as Boston, this is an even bigger scandal and – as it turns out – much harder to unravel. While there had been reports of isolated incidents before, it is the impulse given by an outsider, new editor Marty Baron (Live Schreiber), which starts a systemic investigation of this problem. So the Spotlight team starts to turn over every rock available – putting in hours at the archives, tracking down witnesses, filing law suits to get access to hidden data – all with significant hindrance and harassment by the local archdiocese. While more and more people come forward (victims, lawyers, private investigators), it also becomes more and more apparent that this is not only a cover-up by the church, but by the whole devoutly Catholic community. Spotlight shows the struggle of a newspaper editorial team to fulfill its duty of informing the reluctant public of their home base, while trying to discretely hold their competitors in the dark. Their thorough research is rewarded with a detailed series of articles that not only document and uncover one of the biggest religious scandals of recent times, but move many people to come forward and finally shed the cloak of secrecy.

Many a movie of the 2015-2016 season comes along with breathtaking visual features, be it action-packed special effects or breathtaking, wide-angle scenic shots. If that’s your thing, Spotlight is not for you. There is no visual spectacle to be found here. Instead there are small, fluorescent-lit rooms, hectic tracking shots of a character trying to meet one deadline or the other, and close-up personal shots that reflect interview situations and in-depth conversations. As I said earlier, Spotlight is all about the story: the shots complement it, the subtle yet nervous score underlines it, and the cast’s performances highlight it. And really, it does not disappoint. There is a scandal that is socially relevant and even more shockingly: true. It is a problem we all have heard of and that in its deceit and inappropriateness is appalling to most of us. It shakes our very foundation of who we can trust and what is good in the world. 

Luckily enough, Spotlight also has a team of morally righteous investigators, who stop at nothing (no personal failures, religious beliefs, old friends and connections) to uncover the truth. As a spectator you can really feel their effort. The movie does a brilliant job at intriguing its audience, inviting us to make guesses about different characters’ loyalties, and grasping the perceived urgency and danger of the situation. While in some parts the conspiracy aspect might seem a little exaggerated and the cover-up on a slightly too grand scale, simply because it’s too awful to be true, I find that it only serves the purpose of highlighting the audacity of the system. Also, if you regard the number of incidents and people involved by the real Spotlight team, it kind of puts things into perspective. Tom McCarthy and his team did an excellent job in trusting the material they had and not making a graphic action flick out of it, but rather a gripping and deep biographical and social thriller.

Apart from the story, it really is the cast that makes Spotlight stand out. It’s not for nothing that the actors took home the SAG Award for Best Ensemble Cast (the equivalent to Best Picture at the Oscars) this year. Everyone, and I mean everyone, on screen in this film does an excellent job of being true to their roles, but it is the main cast that really brings home the story. Mark Ruffalo plays Mike Rezendes, a Boston journalist of Portuguese decent. His portrayal reflects a stop-at-nothing mentality that makes this assignment not a job, but a personal vendetta as well. His desperation is palpable. Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton), another Boston native, is the chief editor of the Spotlight team at The Boston Globe. He went to Catholic school and knows many of the high-ups involved in the scandal. Keaton’s portrayal shows that Robinson is determined to unravel this system of abuse, but is also deeply shocked and ashamed by his own failure to detect a scandal of this scale on his home turf. Rachel McAdams impersonates Sacha Pfeiffer, the only female member of the team. She is close to her grandmother, a devout Catholic, and it hits her hard to have to shatter her grandmother’s beliefs. McAdams does a great job at portraying both the relentless journalist and the compassionate granddaughter. On the one hand, I can’t shake the notion that, because she is a woman, she was given more private and emotional and less tough, investigative screen time. On the other hand, McAdams has one of the most gripping scenes of the movie when her character directly confronts a retired priest about allegations against him. Martin Baron (Live Schreiber) is the new chief editor of The Boston Globe. Born in Florida and of Jewish faith, he is the true outsider that gets the investigation going. His devotion to good journalism and difficulty at getting to know how things are run in Boston are well portrayed. John Slattery is Ben Bradlee Jr., a reluctant believer in the story. As supervisor to the Spotlight team, he is not central to the actual investigation, but Slattery manages to make his unwillingness to believe in the scandal leave a constant air of suspicion against him in the audience’s minds. Matt Caroll (Brian d’Arcy James) is the member of the group with the most personal fear involved. The actor portrays the urgency of a father to protect his and his neighbors’ kids from known perpetrators in their street. Finally, the always amazing Stanley Tucci plays Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney of child abuse victims. Tucci’s portrayal is slightly eccentric as per usual, but mellows down to a sincere and fiercely protective personality when talking to the victims. In most cases a big cast has some standout performances, but in the case of Spotlight the star is the ensemble.

Tom McCarthy’s 2015 feature film Spotlight comes along as a visually humble and seemingly understated motion picture. Yet, the seeming simplicity of the movie in reality is a brilliant testament to confidence in a story that is socially relevant and emotionally gripping. There is no need for any flashy extras when you have plot, performers, and audio-visuals all moving in sync to make a thrilling and highly relevant contribution, not only to this year’s award season, but to motion picture history in general.

Rating:  

Film Review: Trumbo (2015)

© Entertainment One | Source: Hitfix

USA; 124 min.; drama, biography, period

Director: Jay Roach

Writing: John McNamara; based on the biography Dalton Trumbo by Bruce Cook

Cinematography: Jim Denault

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K., Michael Stuhlbarg, Elle Fanning, Alan Tudyk, David James Elliott, Dean O’Gorman, Stephen Root, John Goodman

“Friends? What friends? Who the hell has the luxury of friends? I’ve got allies and enemies. There’s no room for anything else.” – Dalton Trumbo

The early Cold War period is not only the time in which the USA fought the Soviet Union in a proxy war far away in Korea. It is also the time in which they heavily prosecuted their own people right at home. Men and women who were suspected of favouring socialist views and communist doctrines found themselves indicted, imprisoned, shamed, blacklisted, sometimes even deported. McCarthyism scarred lives, destroyed careers and endangered one of the pinnacles of modern democracy: the freedom of speech.

Jay Roach’s biopic Trumbo tells the story of one of those men who suffered under a regime dominated by oppression and the Red Scare. In the film, Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston), a celebrated Hollywood script writer, is under scrutiny for his passionate support of organised labour and his membership in the Communist Party of the USA. When summoned in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee and questioned about his political views, Trumbo refuses to answer and, in 1947, is convicted for contempt of Congress. Blacklisted after an eleven-month prison term, he has a hard time finding work and keeping his family afloat. Yet, continues to try.

Let me state right away, Trumbo is definitely flawed. Attempting to depict both a significant historical era and the personal struggle of a talented writer and dedicated family man, the film hardly moves beyond the surface. We see a man up against a tyrannical regime, we see a father working his butt off trying to earn money for his wife (Diane Lane) and three children (Elle Fanning, amongst others), we see a man facing betrayal by the hand of a very good friend. There’s a pretty basic formula at work here, guiding us through cornerstones of Trumbo’s life story, channelling some soapy drama, teary eyes and tenacious defiance while doing so. The characters fall rather flat, and an effort to explain McCarthyism rests on pointing out that everybody is plainly hysterical and nuts. Not to say that this isn’t true at its core, but a more in-depth look at the machinery behind this malicious political agenda would have been nice and could have helped to elevate the film out of triviality.

Despite the overly simplistic approach, however, I can’t claim that I didn’t enjoy Trumbo. While its triviality prevents the film from really gaining ground, it also offers a rather engaging 101 on the McCarthy era and its influence on Hollywood. The reason why I say ‘engaging’ is that I found myself perfectly intrigued by the way in which the film brings the classic movie industry of the 1940s, 50s and 60s to life. The set and costume design is lovely. Characters such as John Wayne (David James Elliott) and Kirk Douglas (Dean O’Gorman) appear. The use of fictional as well as actual radio and movie footage gives the whole thing a documentary style and evokes Hollywood greatness. For example, the voices of Lucille Ball and Gregory Peck are featured, and scenes from Roman Holiday (1953) and Spartacus (1960) incorporated. Combined with the at times vivid editing, the film boasts a rich and energetic atmosphere that is fun to watch.

Besides, the cast manages to move beyond the platitudes of the script and deliver memorable performances. Cranston’s Oscar-nominated portrayal of Trumbo carries the film through a bumpy script. He brings a loveable, slightly neurotic charm to the character, presents wit and passion with ease and has me invested in his journey from start to finish. Helen Mirren shines as fancy-hat-wearing, gossip-spreading Hedda Hopper. A character that could have easily been a mere evil-minded broad becomes a complex, classy, quick-witted evil-minded broad in her capable hands. She spices up the screen every time she’s on it. Furthermore, John Goodman delivers a fun stint as foul-mouthed B-movie producer Frank King, Louis C.K. adds some dry humour as fellow blacklisted screen writer Arlen Hird, and Michael Stuhlbarg steals the show as (apparently historically inaccurate) treacherous actor Edward G. Robinson.

Story- and character-wise Trumbo keeps things very much on the lighter side. It’s thanks to the atmospheric execution, dedicated cast and witty one-liners that the film makes for engaging and entertaining popcorn cinema after all. Trivial it may be, but never incomprehensible or alienating. In the end, Dalton Trumbo and his spirit of defiance against a ramshackle political system resonate strongly.


Rating: 

Data Base: Supernatural

© The CW | Source: Fanpop

Series Premiere	September 13, 2005
Series Finale	---
Genre	Supernatural, Drama, Sci-fi, Mystery, Horror, Adventure
Country of Origin	United States
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	229
Running Time	40-45 minutes
Channel	The WB (2005-2006) The CW (2006-present)
Website	http://www.cwtv.com/shows/supernatural
Developed by	Eric Kripke Robert Singer
Starring	Jensen Ackles, Katie Cassidy, Lauren Cohan, Misha Collins, Jared Padalecki, Mark Sheppard

Synopsis

Supernatural is the story of Sam and Dean Winchester - two brothers who grow into their family business of slaying demons. They live on the road and travel from one location of supernatural activity to the next, all the time on the lookout for their father, who left to hunt down the yellow-eyed demon that killed his wife.

Yay or nay?

Well, there is a reason why Supernatural is currently the longest-running North American science-fiction series. The unique mixture of ghost-hunts, urban legends, roadtrips, difficult family relations and a great soundtrack is definitely worth watching.