home-133 Reviews

The Ghost Writer (2010)

Taut thriller overcomes fundamental flaw

[8/10 · 18 April 2010]

This is a film that creates such a strong feeling of menace and claustrophobia that it succeeds despite a fundamental flaw - an insubstantial performance by Ewan McGregor in the starring role. The film is almost monochrome in its restrained palette of black, blue and grey with flesh tones. There is no relief visually or emotionally. The "hero" seems the only human being in a machine-like environment peopled by automatons. The problem is that although the script tells us at the start that the hero is a gutsy working-class lad with no respect for authority, McGregor plays him as a milk-and-water dreamer - and his mockney accent is unconvincing. That the film succeeds despite this is a tribute to Polanski's skill.

Chéri (2009)

Ravishing to look at, touching and romantic

[10/10 · 23 May 2009]

How wonderful to escape recessionary 2009 for a more glamorous world - Paris of the Belle Epoque. Every scene is a feast for the eye - including some marvellous Art Nouveau interiors - and the sun always seems to be shining on dewy gardens or a blue-green sea.

And in these luscious settings unfolds a tale of love with a capital L. It is the tale of a strong, wise heroine and a poetic, spoilt young man - a couple who never thought they would find love, both of whom recognise in their different ways that it has found them.

The acting is superb. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the heroine splendidly, and Rupert Friend has the beauty of a figure from a Burne-Jones painting. Christopher Hampton's screenplay is witty and seductive. The film score sets the tale off perfectly.

Brideshead Revisited (2008)

A good story is worth re-telling

[8/10 · 4 October 2008]

Julian Jarrold shows that a good story is worth the re-telling, despite the obvious challenges in squeezing so many years into 133 minutes. Those who have seen the 1981 TV series will find the comparisons between the two fascinating. Matthew Goode is a sensitive and believable Charles Ryder, but his character does not appear to change over the years as Jeremy Irons did so superbly in the 1981 version. Ben Whishaw as Sebastian Flyte lacks the dignity and poise in the early scenes to contrast with his later degeneration into alcoholism. Hayley Atwell as Julia Flyte is much too physically and emotionally unlike her brother to explain Charles Ryder's attraction to her, which undermines a central foundation of the story. Patrick Malahide, as Charles Ryder's father, is portrayed more sympathetically than in the 1981 version, in which John Gielgud gave a memorable performance. Emma Thompson is superb as Lady Marchmain, although Andrew Davies' script makes her crueler to Charles Ryder than in the 1981 version. Andrew Davies is good at creating drama by making his characters say things that could have been implied and understood by the audience without words. John Mortimer's 1981 script was kinder to Ryder, and the Catholicism was less oppressive. He allowed the star-crossed couple two years of illicit happiness; Davies does not permit them more than days, although his Julia does not hesitate to fall into bed with Ryder at the first opportunity, unlike John Mortimer's Julia, who at least had the self-restraint to shut the door against him on the first night. The comparisons between the two versions reveal how people's preoccupations have changed in the past 27 years. The fixation on bricks and mortar and their monetary value has permeated everything. In the 1981 version, Ryder's love for Brideshead is born of his appreciation of architecture and history and his attraction to the family, but in the new version he is accused of making love to Julia in order to get his hands on the house. John Mortimer's world is more innocent and his portrayal of youth more enchanting. The scriptwriters of the new version insist on ramming home the socialist message, just when it has become unnecessary.

Summer Hours (2008)

Money or love?

[9/10 · 26 July 2008]

This is a haunting film about the distorting effects of monetary exchange on family life and the cohesion of society. It will give food for thought to anyone with elderly parents who may have accumulated a few works of art during their lifetime. At a time of grief, the bereaved have difficult questions to answer. The film-goer is left wondering, "What would I have done if I had been in a similar situation?" It is not a film to be quickly forgotten. Although the issue of the fate of the family's country house may be a specifically French theme, others dealt with are more universal and have a deep resonance for anyone with elderly relations. Juliette Binoche may be the name that draws film-goers in, but there is fine acting from all the performers.