subgrav Reviews

The American (2010)

Interesting and visually beautiful

[9/10 · 14 February 2011]

First off, I find it interesting that the myriad poor reviews for this film were written either by: those who were duped by the misleading advertising campaign that labeled this as an action film; or film-snobs who invoke the names of Melville or Truffaut, etc to elevate their review's status as written by someone "who gets it." Rather silly. A film should stand on its own, unless deliberately copying or remaking another film.

Having said that, The American, directed by Anton Corbijn, or a beautiful piece of cinema. Given that Mr. Corbijn is most known for his gritty and moody visuals for U2 and Depeche Mode, The American follows suit visually. The dialogue and music is minimal, yet the colour in each scene takes on the leitmotif, identifying the mood (and now I'm throwing around operatic term. LOL) Nevertheless, it is a slow-paced character study, and not intended to be the next Jason Bourne series. Perhaps audiences today have forgotten what movies were like in the 1970s! I think its a mistake to compare Corbijn's work to French New Wave directors. I'd rather compare this to the action movies of the 70s, which were often very slow moving, punctuated by sudden, rapid-fire scenes of violence or action.

The film is not intended to be realistic, nor is it a movie meant for gun-loving patriots. Factual errors are inconsequential - those of us who don't feel the need to own arsenals couldn't care less what the muzzle velocity of the guns are. It shoots, makes a bang, and the bullets kill. Good enough for me!

So ignore every review, including this one. Just be warned that it is not the new Bond nor conversely the new Shoot The Piano Player. It's not Jason Statham nor is it Sir Laurence Olivier. Michael Bay did not direct this, nor did Ingmar Bergman. But it is Anton Corbijn, and there is a lot of quiet time to absorb the cinematography! Well acted, beautifully shot, and well directed, The American has joined my top-ten list of movies of 2010.

B.U.S.T.E.D (1998)

Brit gangster fare

[16 February 2001]

A great first-time film for Andrew Goth which is sure to disappoint a lot of Americans who seem to be able to decipher Bostonese, but have a hard time with English... The dialogue is gritty street slang, and the locales are real - the dismal British version of the working-class inner-city, telling the story of two gang-lords freshly sprung from prison. Goldie and Andrew Goth are cousins/brothers (it's never quite explained fully) and Goldie is basically obsessed with Goth (in a psycho-sexual kind of way). So when Goth decides to ditch the gangsta scene and hooks up with beautiful girl, Goldie naturally goes nuts and starts killing people.

Goth plays the part of the emotionally torn ex-gangsta well, trying to spend time redeeming himself at the local youth-club helping kids. The people there naturally distrust him at first for his former lifestyle, but they bond quickly enough to form a distinctly British version of a break-dance-troupe.

Goldie is brilliant as a thug - he probably draws from what he's seen as a younger lad - and plays a psychotic looney quite well... almost a little too convincingly - it's interesting to see him be the one NOT interested in music.

There is a sub-plot of Chinese gangs, which lends itself to some interest and is used to drive the plot, but is not explored quite enough. And then there's the presence of David Bowie, quite likely the reason people will rent this. He plays a cold, emotionless consiglieri and lawyer (homage to Godfather?) who keeps the gang's "honest" dealings, while blindly ignoring the murder and drug-pushing. Bowie plays the small but integral part brilliantly, in a very cold and sterile manner, proving his talent as an actor.

The movie is a great view into the criminal underworld of England - sometimes not understandable to Yanks who look to the gloss and floss of gangsta-rap and New Jack City for their dose of so-called criminal reality. This is a real world that the characters live in, where the poor people live side by side with drug pushers and killers, trying to survive despite the carnage and crime.

Highly recommended, but with a caveat - it isn't an Ice T rap video stretched out for 2 hours... This is decidedly British, with a lot of reference to their club, as well as inner-city culture, which differs greatly from the American version. Thus most of the movie will likely be undecipherable to American suburban white kids bred on MTV.