wilderfan Reviews

Casino Royale (2006)

Fleming's Bond is back (finally)

[9/10 · 7 December 2006]

There is a credit in "Casino Royale" that has never appeared before- "based on the novel by Ian Fleming". For all of us who gritted our teeth through the Pierce Brosnan years, we fret no more- this is the best Bond film since "The Living Daylights" in 1987 (coincidentally the last 007 film to use Fleming's material in any meaningful way) and is a serious rival to "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" as the best installment EVER.

The Bond movies go in cycles; after an excessively ridiculous entry, the producers will bring the series back to basics. Many amends had to be made for 2002's "Die Another Day" and I was thrilled to hear that an origin story based on Fleming's first (and best) book was to be filmed. What's so surprising is how close this film is to the novel.

The first hour or so is a spectacular adventure film with action sequences that stun and amaze. Martin Campbell's terrific staging and Stuart Baird's nimble editing gives the film a drive and energy that most movies lack.

But the movie really kicks into high gear when Fleming's original plot takes over. Aside from modernizing touches and a more spectacular finale, the book is faithfully adapted- Le Chiffre's inhalation of Benzadrine, the high stakes gambling, the infamous torture scene, Bond's fear and loathing of women are all present and correct. And what a thrilling tale it is! The spectre of terrorism makes a perfect substitute for Cold War fears.

Daniel Craig makes a fantastic Bond- he fits the description of a hard, cruel man who can be tipped over into sentiment. Eva Green is one of the most gorgeous women alive and gives a wonderfully three dimensional portrayal of Vesper Lynd. The shower scene is unforgettable.

Those who prefer their Bonds to be cartoonish may be disappointed- certainly the teenage boys who sat near me voiced their displeasure in no uncertain terms. I was in seventh heaven- Fleming's Bond is back!

Eureka (1983)

"You'll find what you're looking for. But afterwards?"

[10/10 · 10 April 2005]

Based loosely on an famous unsolved murder mystery (the multi-millionaire Sir Harry Oakes, who was brutally killed at his island retreat), Nicolas Roeg's "Eureka" takes this bare bones idea and transforms it into one of the most daring, ambitious and insightful films of all time. The film's screenwriter Paul Mayersberg packs each line of dialogue with thematic clues.

The opening half hour is so stunning that it makes your head swim- the camera sweeps into the snowfields of British Colombia whilst Stanley Myers' hauntingly repetitive theme throbs on the soundtrack. Jack McCann (Gene Hackman) is prospecting for gold and ditches his partners. Surrounded by wolves, he gets a small talisman that he takes back to a brothel. The madam Frida fortells the future: "You'll find what you're looking for. But afterwards?"

Jack sets off and discovers the gold (a genuinely amazing sequence). His ecstasy is short lived when he returns to his dying mistress. A burst of flame shoots forth and the film cuts to twenty years later when Jack is nostalgically telling the story to his daughter Tracy (Theresa Russell). Tracy is in love with an insubstantial dilettante Claude Mio Van Horne (Rutger Hauer), who Jack loathes. At that moment in time Tracy is looking forward, Jack is looking back.

Jack is bored. He says "Once I had it all. Now I only have everything". He is aware that his daughter is his soul-clone. On the surface, they appear quite different- he's bitter, she's a hedonist. Yet small details (both admonish Jack's alcoholic wife Helen to "lay off the sauce" and they both have a stunning gift for mathematics) tell the truth. They understand each other perfectly.

Jack is under siege from a pack of wolves who come in the shape of gangsters who want to develop Jack's island. Eventually the gangsters and Claude invade the house and Jack is brutally murdered. After this terrifying yet beautiful sequence, the film becomes more problematic. The courtroom scenes that follow contain dialogue that spells out the movie's themes and Russell's performance is hysterical. But the punchline as Tracy emasculates her husband is a doozy: "Claude...they despise you because you have me and I'm worth having. They despise me because I'm Jack's daughter and I have too much. And of course, they still despise Jack because he found what they're all still looking for". The movie atones for a lot with its gorgeous final moments as Claude paddles away.

It's difficult to articulate the power this movie has. It has an extraordinary power to sweep you away- it's a crazy, violent, lovely, magical experience. It's about the human condition and it deals with issues that are almost never talked about- the price we pay for getting what we want, the moments in life where we find our purpose, the essence of people that is passed down through the generations, the difference between old and new souls. The film's main flaws (clumsy dialogue) are directly linked to the main virtue (the sheer overwhelming density of the material). Its a movie that will speak to you personally or leave you cold (there's no middle ground) and I find it almost an affront when somebody doesn't respond positively to it.

The Apartment (1960)

"Some people take, others get took"

[10/10 · 18 January 2005]

C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is an employee in a huge corporation. To promote himself, he lends out his apartment to his superiors so they can have extramarital affairs. Things get complicated when he falls in love with Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), the mistress of his boss, JD Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray).

I first saw The Apartment when I was 17 years old. I instantly liked it, but it would never have occurred to me to label it "my favourite film". It isn't cinematic ally dazzling. It doesn't feature any of my favourite actors. It doesn't push the boundaries of what's acceptable in film. Yet over the next thirteen years, I kept getting drawn back to it- because I could see the parallels that it had with my own life. This is a story about priorities and the bittersweet nature of relationships that I found to be haunting. Not bad for a comedy.

The best way to see this movie is a letterboxed DVD. It captures the intimacy of the characters better than the cinema experience and the loneliness of the spaces surrounding them better than a pan and scan version.

Jack Lemmon was a theatrically trained actor who gave his all and took quite a few critical hits for it (and praise too; he won several acting prizes). The Apartment contains most of his finest work as Wilder keeps him under firm control. Lemmon finds the right tone and understands the material perfectly. In interviews, he remarked of the ending: "Billy threw a rose into a garbage pail". C.C. Baxter is an engaging character, although he can be a little overbearing at times. Lemmon is at his best in the quieter moments- that perfect stone face he projects as he says "I said I had no family. I didn't say I had an empty apartment". At times, he doesn't seem to be in control of his own body- witness him dancing around like somebody else is pulling the strings.

Shirley MacLaine is wonderful as Fran. She stays totally focused on the person she's talking to and delivers her dialogue sharply. You get a real sense of loss when Fran attempts suicide, because you don't pity her. MacLaine is totally unsentimental here- it's more an attempt to get somebody's attention than self-annihilation.

Fred MacMurray's best two film roles were for Wilder (this and Double Indemnity (1944)) and the director uses him for maximum effect. Probably the most sordid scene in the film is family Christmas scene as Sheldrake's son opens his presents and has just discovered the word "profligate"- it's very subversive watching the all-American dad being a philanderer and a liar. MacMurray embodies everyday, uncaring, ordinary meanness here. You can see the charm and power that makes him attractive to women like Fran. You can also see the transparent snake-oil salesmanship that alienates him from people who know better and don't have to be nice to him.

What I love about Billy Wilder's films (and this one in particular) is the fact that you don't have to make any allowances for him. More than any other director of his era, Wilder deals with the basic elements of humanity and these never date. Although The Apartment is a film very much of its time in its setting (Sheldrake getting his shoe shined by a black man) and references (a secretary complains that she can't rendezvous with her boss because The Untouchables is on TV that night), it seems more modern than ever. I can't think of another film that depicts life choices as realistically and as entertainingly as this one does. I've related to this film in so many ways. I've often been too eager to please and unsure whether people like me or what I do for them. I've had a crush on a co-worker who didn't return my affections. I'm often helping out damaged women. I think the movie captures the bittersweet nature of life perfectly.

I revisit The Apartment once a year. Watching it is like revisiting an old friend who sets you straight. This isn't a film for everyone (despite winning a Best Picture Oscar)- it often leaves a sour aftertaste to people who may find some elements objectionable. Yet it fits in with my jaundiced but romantically hopeful view of life and that's why it's my favourite movie.

Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession (1980)

"If we don't meet, there's the possibility that it could have been perfect"

[10/10 · 18 January 2005]

Based on an obscure Italian novel, Nicolas Roeg's upsetting and brilliant film details the doomed affair between a cruel psychoanalyst and a melodramatic free spirit. The film begins with the girl comatose and a detective investigates the circumstances. Through flashbacks, the audience learns a terrifying love story has ended with a criminal act.

What makes this film so uncomfortable is that it relentlessly focuses on a time in our lives that most of us would like to forget- that is, the time when you know is relationship is doomed, but you have to wait until it hits rock bottom before you finally part ways. Roeg understands that people can't divorce themselves from their emotions, even when they know intellectually that something is wrong.

Although Theresa Russell as Milena is the undoubted star of the film- she simply overpowers everything with her vivacity and directness- special mention must be made of the "miscast" male leads. Art Garfunkel gives a superb, selfless performance as Alex Linden. Alex is not a sympathetic character. He's a controlling, possessive person who gathers data on his unpremeditating mistress. Even an innocent game (the Luscher color test) ends up as part of a psychological profile that's handed in to a security agency. He's resentful as he watches Milena kiss other men but doesn't confront her about it until she's helplessly sprawled on the floor. He never relaxes except in post-coital moments and he becomes frustrated that Milena is untamed, unmarriageable and has a past that she won't share or give up.

Harvey Keitel is very charismatic, if unconvincing as an Austrian detective. His performance as the moralistic Inspector Netusil (the name refers to somebody who knows everything who knows one small detail) does not soften the arrogance or the self-righteousness of the character. A thorough investigator who knows that there's more to the case than a suicide attempt- he says plainly "How, Dr. Linden, do you account for a girl getting in such a state- drugs, depressions?" Milena is somebody who has no idea who has no idea what she wants out of life, sees pleasure as an end in itself and is prone to bouts of melodrama and selfishness. The best scene in the film is her drunken outburst at her uncaring lover: "We are celebrating the death of the Milena and the birth of the Milena you do want". It's a powerful sequence, but it begs the question- why would this beautiful, intelligent girl let herself get so messed up? Beautifully shot by Roeg's regular cinematographer Anthony Richmond and filled with small, telling moments (e.g. the handwritten note that says "I wish you understood me less and loved me more"), this is a picture that demands multiple viewings. Roeg at his peak made the busiest films of all time- they're bursting at the seams with ideas and this film, often shocking and heartbreaking, is one of his most accessible. It's unfortunate that this brilliant movie is not more well known- maybe Roeg was right when he said "people don't like it when you hold a mirror to their face".