gavinlockey Reviews

Velvet Goldmine (1998)

zzzzzzzzzz too long and pretentious, the absolute WORST!

[1/10 · 8 January 2008]

1 songwriting ...Bowie has talent...Slade has none, the pieces written for the movie are abysmal, the lyrics are the kind a teenage wannabe writes one night and tears up the next morning.

2 acting...dire in the extreme or should that be extreeeeeeeeme. McGregor two dimensional Jim Morrison/Iggy Pop amalgam (an awful piece of casting. Christian Bale worked hard but with no script and dismal direction had little to go on. Eddie Izzard was Eddie Izzard wiv a touch of Michael Caine thrown in. As to Slartybartfarst Meyers...yeuch!! Not remotely inspiring in the role.

3 direction ....lost and spiralling out of control from first frame

4 script ...see direction

5 costume and hair and makeup were quite lovely really even if a little anachronistic at times (also the early promo Brian Slade film short that was far too polished with expensive late 20 C. effects).

6 watch the movie if you can...I believe it important to understand the absolutely worst to appreciate the best.

The Paradine Case (1947)

Hold Vertigo in the back of your mind and watch this again!

[7/10 · 5 December 2007]

Please watch this again. I'd first like to cover what I view are this film's major weaknesses.

1. Gregory Peck. He struggles with revealing emotion and instead looks merely constipated. I believe he should be portraying a character completely immersed in his own fantasy of beauty as he gazes upon Mrs (Madaleina) Paradine. The role of Tony Keane should express his self-inflicted torture, in this Peck fails. It is said that when asked Peck said if he could burn any of his movies this would be the one.

2. Clunky courtroom scenes. One gets the feeling that a lot of context has been lost in the courtroom scenes due to editing by Selznick. It is known that he attempted to cut as much as he could with Hitch's works and that Hitch deliberately made this difficult for him with his shooting style giving little collateral in the way of alternative takes and also in his development of the long take. I think Selznick probably had a lot of control over the courtroom sequences post-production and I sense a lack of direction in these scenes which plod along with too much dialogue.

Now having said all this I still feel that we are left with a good film that stands up in the Hitchcock oeuvre...this is a film about relationships and fantasy.

By the time of production Hitch and his wife Alma (credited as script adviser on the movie along with James Bridie) had reached almost 50 years of age and been together more than half their lives. Although we know that they were an outwardly close couple there are many who knew them who were aware of strains in their marriage. I feel this movie more than any other seeks to explore these strains of marital fidelity and is a precursor to Vertigo in its awareness of male fantasy and the male gaze. Many shots show the constraints of both profession and marriage...the courtroom set is very claustrophobic and we get shots of Ann Todd contrasted with Valli showing the former appearing more imprisoned than the latter.

The male parts in this film of Keane and La Tour are shown as weak men. Indeed we see Peck and Charles Coburn's character's unwilling to believe a woman of such beauty capable of murder. Keane vacillates and attributes words and intentions to Mrs Paradine from the off. One gets the impression that if the blokes had shut up for a minute at their first meeting with Mrs P. she may well have just told them the truth. IT IS THIS ELEMENT OF THE MALE ENDOWING THE FEMALE WITH HIS IDEAL OF BEAUTY AND TRUTH THAT IS THE CENTRAL POWER OF THE FILM. The contrast and counterpoint to the male fantasy is the woman back home, BARRYMORE/TODD. There are fascinating exchanges between the Barrymore and Charles Laughton characters which give an indication of the regrets and sadism that relationships can be filled with if the underlying problems are not faced.

I find all the acting apart from Peck's to be competent. Indeed I find Valli expresses the character - a blank canvas upon which others make their marks - as similar to Kim Novak's Madeleine Elster each giving there best performances of their careers. They're not great actresses but they accomplished what was required in this film very well. So there you have it...think Vertigo, think also Hitch and Alma. Watch the movie, see this professional man obsessed with the beauty (male-attributed) of a woman. See him almost ruined but then return to his wife. Along with Vertigo, the most autobiographical of movies, believe it or not.

Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

a scene that will chill

[8/10 · 30 September 2007]

I've read a number of comments on this movie and agree we have a fine film here with the most sumptuous photography imaginable. In a different vein I'd like to concentrate on one scene that is so chillingly evil especially when viewed of its time.

Gene Tierney's evil wife of Cornel Wilde has had enough of Cornel's little brother...."he is after all a ...cripple" she tells his shocked specialist. So as he won't go live elsewhere she has him killed. How does she do it. She rows out to the middle of the lake and encourages him to swim to the shore. The boy is keen and spunky about the task. She knows he will tire. He does tire, she lifts not a finger to help. That's the bare bones of the scene. The chill is in the details 1. Gene Tierney is beautiful and beautifully shot during this. 2. She wears sunglasses that make it impossible to see her eyes. 3. She watches closely the youngster drown 4. The music stops 5. We watch with her the child coming up for air, crying for help, she remains absolutely still.

It is this utter stillness that is so powerful with mostly just the sound of the water and occasional muted cries.

Overall I'd have given the film an even higher rating if it hadn't had the happy ending as it was scarcely believable that Gene's sister would be found innocent at the trial, even less so that Cornel's character would risk it all again with another woman from the same f***ed up family.

Human Desire (1954)

Lang loses clarity of character

[6/10 · 30 September 2007]

I watched this movie for the second time the other day. First time round as a young man I watched this and enjoyed it relieved that the "hero" doesn't get dragged down by the heartless "femme fatale". now quarter of a century I see it somewhat differently and am disappointed in the lack of clarity concerning Gloria Grahame's character. For the first half of the film she elicits much sympathy, we can see that she has had a rough life and was probably raped as a 16 year old by the man whom her husband made her go and beg for a job. Knowing her as he did, he was suspicious of what "favours" Owens (the dirty old man/prospective employer and once she gets him his job back by undergoing further abuse he beats her up then takes her with him to watch him kill the guy! He then proceeds to blackmail her. Earlier comments describing Grahame's character as "pure evil" and "heartless" were surely not paying enough attention. Unfortunately as the film develops and Glenn Ford's Jeff gets involved as her lover it seems that Lang loses the thread also. As he now becomes the primary focus there is a requirement for a moral imperative within the ending. Hard war vet Jeff rejects Gloria's pleas and brings a statement of peace to her refusing to kill her husband he condemns her to death by leaving her to him. The irony of all this is that the 30 something "Jeff" is now going to look forward to having his way with the teenage daughter of his best friend.

Anyway this is a pretty good film despite this with many good performances especially Gloria Grahame and a sublime piece of acting from Broderick Crawford as the abusive killer husband who just can't keep up with life. Good filming of trains and what looks like documentary footage also. At times the sets and filming felt oppressive, nothing new there though with the often wonderful Fritz. Not his best, but make a point of watching.

Escape from Dartmoor (1930)

beautiful, poetic and haunting

[10/10 · 4 June 2006]

Firstly, let me say that my little lad eats the occasional rusk and loved them when a baby (now nearly 4). I loved this movie...I saw it for the first time last night on the BBC. I too enjoyed the flashback vehicle, which by using the exclamation (via title) "Joe!" jolted us into flashback. I thought the use of mirrors imaginative and symbolic (Norah appearing at times a disembodied - if beautiful - head among possessive men in the barbershop. I was quite enthralled by the big farmer coming in for a manicure (wink-wink). The images are on reflection quite disturbing in the barbershop...a man having his hands caressed by a pretty girl whilst a cut throat razor is applied to his throat. I too found the trip to the cinema memorable and also poignant. The director at pains to reveal to us the value of the cinema orchestra at a time when their jobs would have been in extreme peril. Couple this with mention of a "talkie" earlier (this received a blank response) and these elements could be viewed as a swan song for the silents. You must see this film, it is truly wonderful. The performances are spot on and it does not always take the predictable turn. Considering the intensity of obsession the male lead character conveys, the film develops great warmth. UNIQUE!!

High Voltage (1929)

High Voltage...low wattage

[3/10 · 4 April 2006]

OK the movie is none too clever, but I did enjoy one or two things. I was impressed that the filmmaker allowed off-screen dialogue although obviously hampered by the difficulty in being unable to have different sound levels. I guess I was most impressed by my first encounter with William Boyd. I guess his hokey, folksy voice went a long way in his future career as "Hopalong", but I must say that I was bowled over by his assured performance and his naturalistic style which for the late twenties was a breath of fresh air. He was particularly impressive in his reflective and thoughtful facial expressions. I sense that his style was ahead of its time and that he could have been a great actor in the Gene Hackman mould in the modern movies.

Sabotage (1936)

Here lies Hitchcock!

[9/10 · 6 June 2005]

Look closely and you will find this film has layer upon layer. With its elements of meta-cinema and characters like Verloc and the bomb-maker, we can see that Hitch is using the Conrad original as a base for revealing his darkest thoughts...his power as a film maker to sabotage an audience's preconceptions...simultaneously empathising with a woman that no-one seems to listen to. Verloc just wants his food on the table and Spenser just wants her to be the woman he believes her to be. Desperately she will try to assume her own path and confess, only to be confounded and captured by Spencer his hand gripping her wrist more tightly than any handcuff.

At first glance you may not recognise all the elements of H. But believe me they are all there.

Watch it...then watch it again...Hitch is there...really no need for a cameo this is truly Hitch's most personal work in Britain and second only to Vertigo when viewed across the whole gamut of his work.

The Skin Game (1931)

a much overlooked early Hitchcock work

[8/10 · 31 December 2004]

I feel many writers and critics, David Sterritt, Donald Spoto to name but two are too dismissive of this movie. With the technological restrictions of the very early talkie, Hitchcock as used his artistry to compose fluidity and cinematic suture to a rather stolid Galsworthy play. Already mentioned are the innovative zip pans, he also has intelligent use of dissolve, symbolism aplenty within montage sequences, sheep v horn (Hillcrest v Hornblower). The juxtaposition in the opening sequence of the car and the horse sets the theme beautifully. Occasionally there is daring reverse shots of the same objects defying the 180 degree rule, especially noticeable as we break into the proscenium arch of theatre.