Review #652: 'The Killer Inside Me' (2010)

The Killer Inside Me, a brutally violent neo-noir from British director Michael Winterbottom, raised hell at Sundance, sending audiences into frenzies of disbelief and light-headedness. Of course, as usual with premature festival outrage, the film is really not as appalling as the uproar would have led you to believe. There is one truly sickening scene - as gut-wrenching as any burst of violence I've seen on screen - but, the real tragedy is that this insistence on portraying it so graphically actually takes the focus away from what is a very stylish, if tonally uneven, pulp thriller. Although Winterbottom has juggled genres and styles with relative ease in his previous work, mainly to positive results, perhaps his inexperience with tackling a project so deeply rooted in Americana leads to the film's downfall.

Small-town deputy sheriff Lou Ford (Casey Affleck) is sent to warn off prostitute Joyce (Jessica Alba), who is having a dangerous affair with the son of construction tycoon Chester Conway (Ned Beatty). After realising they have the same violent sexual tastes, they begin a love affair and devise a plan to extort $10,000 from Conway, as Lou believes Conway to be responsible for the death of his brother. Unbeknownst to Joyce, Lou, despite his pleasant demeanour, is a violent sociopath, and after Lou beats Joyce to death with his bare hands and runs with the money, county attorney Howard Hendricks (Simon Baker) is called in to investigate. So Lou is forced to cover his tracks while he dotes on his fiancee Amy (Kate Hudson).

Pulp writer Jim Thompson was possibly the grimmest writer of his ilk, and The Killer Inside Me is widely thought of as his best work. I have not read the novel, so I am unaware as to how Lou Ford is written, but here he is a blank but undeniably fascinating character. He is a character that always seems in control, even when he seems surprised at just what he is capable of. Yet for someone seemingly so clinical at killing, he's not very good at it. His extortion plan is full of holes that could lead back to him, and it doesn't take long for Hendricks to figure him out. Often a glance or a word will make you wonder if he even understands himself or anything he is doing. Casey Affleck is a fine actor, and his Lou Ford is intimidating. Even though he's slightly built and his voice is a high-pitched drawl, he is a scary character to spend 90 minutes with, and he even surpasses his performance in The Assassination of Jessie James By the Coward Robert Ford (2007), of which I felt he was robbed of an Oscar.

Winterbottom wisely steers away from any psychological analysing of Ford, only hinting at childhood abuse (but not the way you would think), and glimpses of his intellect. Instead it makes you ponder this hideous character, and stay with him (but not necessarily root for) throughout the duration of the film. But it's Winterbottom's approach that is the problem here, blending a mixture of styles that causes the film to seem contrasting and haphazard. There are moments of pure noir - headlights approaching in the dust, characters sat in empty diners, cynical narration - and these scenes are at ease with the sleaze of the film's focus, but often it will kick in with some banjos at inappropriate moments that caused me to wonder whether I should be taking the film seriously. When it does take itself seriously, it's often inspired, but the final scene is so badly handled that I did wonder if a different director with more experience in the field would have made a much better film.


Directed by: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Ned Beatty, Elias Koteas, Tom Bower, Simon Baker, Bill Pullman
Country: USA/Sweden/UK/Canada

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #294: 'Network' (1976)

American cinema in the 1970's revealed a more personal, "gritty", and quite often profoundly moving approach to film-making. This was in part due to the "changing of the guard" at the studios that began happening in the 1960's. The Moguls that had created the studio system, and also the golden age of cinema, were leaving, and the studios were being sold off to corporations that had no connection to the cinema industry. This led to a multi-million dollar industry being run by companies such as Coca-Cola; therefore, the studios were being run by people who did not know what makes money. Fantastically for the new film makers, this led to a certain amount of freedom, and produced some of the most challenging and interesting films. It seems to me that this all occurred simultaneously with some interesting social and political challenges in the real world.

In the media throughout the 1970's, there were many stories about political kidnappings (such as the well-known Patty Hearst kidnapping that had the world gripped through the bizarre change in the newspaper heiress and socialite who eventually became a member of the terrorist gang), and of course the biggest political story of the decade, the Watergate incident. This latter event highlighted the inconsistencies of political power, and (along with the JFK assassination in 1963) almost essentially created the conspiracy theory - and the modern political conspiracy was born, and is now a popular part of culture. So it seems incredible today that under this atmosphere of paranoia, and particularly with the corporate mergers of industries, that Network was made - a film that is mainly about a television network that is going through changes after a corporate merger/takeover.

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take this anymore!" This is the mantra of Howard Beale (Peter Finch who won a posthumous best actor Oscar for this role), anchorman of the UBS Evening News, who at the start of the film, is told that due to poor ratings, he was to be fired. On his next broadcast, Beale announces that he will kill himself in a live broadcast next Tuesday. This of course creates a bit of a media sensation, and the interest in the anchorman extends, making the network executives take notice. This leads to the freedom for Beale to have a platform in which he berates the consumerist world, along with the machinations of the financial and media industries. Whilst the "downfall" of Beale's psychology seems to be the main event in this film, he is simply a protagonist that gets the narrative going. the main focus here is the relationship between news executive, Max Schumacher (William Holden) and the younger programming executive, Diana Christenson (Faye Dunaway). This relationship is essential to the narrative. This is where we discover that she will stop at nothing for the acquisition of ratings and therefore money, and that Max, whilst obviously enjoying his affair with the young woman, is fundamentally concerned with Beale's well-being.

This last point raises an interesting question about the nature of sanity. Whilst the money-men in the executive offices simply look at the ratings boost, and care less about the content, Max is worried that his friend is losing the plot. Of course this would be easy to say when we see Beale, soaking wet and dishevelled, ranting in a seemingly frantic manner. However, the fact that he is voicing opinions that were very popular at the time, shows that maybe he has in fact had enough of the machinations of the "system".

To say that the film is still relevant today is an understatement. In fact, much of what occurs in the film has become very much an everyday reality. So it could be argued that the film was an incredible piece of prescient cinema. Network has an amazing cast, and all performances are first rate - particularly Ned Beatty's small role, where he informs Beale of the future of industry which is stunningly shot also. Network should be celebrated in the same way that other films of the decade are, such as Taxi Driver (1976). It has utterly relevant social commentary, and rings as true today as it did 35 years ago - perhaps a depressing thought, highlighting that nothing has really changed, and that in fact, we are living in an unchanging civilisation that has only one obsession: Money.


Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty
Country: USA

Rating: *****

Marc Ivamy

Review #230: 'Nashville' (1975)

Films with multiple storylines and an ensemble cast are commonplace nowadays, but it all stems, really, from this film - Robert Altman's formidable Nashville. Sure, there were films before that handled large casts before, but never before had a film so successfully told an overlying story using so many characters, and have their lives so delicately intertwined. These characters have full histories and complex natures, yet they are only glimpsed and suggested in short scenes that say more in two or three minutes than most films can manage in a feature length running time.

The film takes place over the course of five days in Nashville, Tennessee, and focuses around the minor and major players in the music business, and the hangers on that seem to always be around. The key characters are Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson), a spangly-suited veteran singer with political ambitions, Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley), a mentally unstable country music darling returning to her home town, Tom Frank (Keith Carradine), a member of a folk group trio who is trying to make it on his own and having as many woman as he can along the way, Linnea Reese (Lily Tomlin), a white gospel singer who is being pursued by Tom, and Del Reese (Ned Beatty), Linnea's manager husband, who seems to be oblivious to the strain on his marriage. All their lives are interconnected and are usually linked by an incident or a set-piece.

The first scene of the film sees the campaign van for Presidential candidate Hal Phillip Walker setting off for a tour around Nashville, and appears throughout the film. The film even climaxes at a political rally for Walker, with Hamilton and Barbara Jean both appearing on stage, and the scene brings together nearly all of the films' characters. Although I didn't get from the film that it is necessarily making any kind of political statement, it was made soon after the Watergate scandal, and was released to an America that was looking for answers. I think Nashville is making both a warm and cynical statement about the optimism and the arrogance of America, and also the confusion and the uncertainty that came with the 1970's.

Such is the beauty of Nashville. I couldn't sum up what it was about in one sentence, and couldn't describe a clear aim or message it was trying to deliver. It is a number of things, and touches a number of emotions. The real greatness is in its small moments, such as talentless and desperate aspiring country singer Sueleen Gay (Gwen Welles) singing to a room full of men, and then being told that she was brought there to strip; the cold detachment that Tom deals with Linnea when she reveals she can't stay any longer; the various characters who all think that Tom is singing to them in a crowded bar, as he gazes over them all to the back of the room; or the uncomfortable scene in which Barbara Jean keeps talking to an uneasy crowd rather than singing a song, as it becomes clear that she is truly losing her mind.

Nashville is one of the key films of the 1970's, and one of the finest examples of the American New Wave that emerged in that time, and produced some of the finest films to ever come out of the country. Although Altman had been around for a while at that time (he had already done the brilliant MASH (1970) and the thoroughly underrated revisionist western classic McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)), this is the film where he truly found his forte. It's been imitated endlessly, but never has a film managed to do so much with so many different stories. An absolute great, and one of the finest American films ever made.


Directed by: Robert Altman
Starring: Ned Beatty, Henry Gibson, Ronee Blakley, Lily Tomlin, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Murphy, Gwen Welles, Scott Glenn
Country: USA

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie

Review #195: 'Restless Natives' (1985)

This is one of those films that I almost blindly rented on video as a naive ten year old cineaste. I knew nothing about it, but remember that the film stayed with me long after viewing it. So much so, that I remembered it as an adult, yet had not seen it since that one rental in 1986. I absolutely adored the film as a youngster, and did not hesitate in telling all of my friends about it. And the chain continued, as I "turned on" my mates to this little Scottish gem of a film. But would the film charm me as it did back then?

The film focuses on Will (Vincent Friell) and Ronnie (Joe Mullaney), friends from Edinburgh who work together in a novelty shop. They both dream of bigger things. They start to hold up tourist buses in the highlands. Whilst they manage to get money from the American tourist, they also act them out in incredibly polite manner. Wearing clown and werewolf masks there highwayman charm filters into the tourism trade in Scotland, as floods of American tourists are flocking to coach trips in the hope of being robbed by these friendly folk heroes. However, one American tourist, Bender (Ned Beatty), who decides it is his duty to solve the crimes to the chagrin of the local police.

This film is absolutely wonderful. The leads are excellent, the script is sharp and funny. It has it all. It shows in some of the actors involved in this little British film. Not only the aforementioned Ned Beatty, but also cameos from Nannette Newman and Mel Smith. The naivety of the leads makes the film so much more charming, as they blunder their way through the newly found (secret) fame, as they gain international interest - including some brilliantly stereotypical Japanese television producers, who follow them round the highland roads filming ever movement. I would absolutely recommend this film to everyone, and their nans! Charming, beautiful and funny.


Directed by: Michael Hoffman
Starring: Vincent Friell, Joe Mullaney, Teri Lally, Ned Beatty
Country: UK

Rating: ***

Marc Ivamy

Review #173: 'Rango' (2011)

After the debacle of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, Gore Verbinski needed a project that would possibly rejuvenate his reputation (he did some interesting work on films such as The Ring (2002) remake, and the little-known, but very effective comedy, Mousehunt (1997). So we come to Rango. another collaboration with Johnny Depp, and written by John Logan (Gladiator (2000), The Aviator (2004)). This delightfully animated film, tells the story of a chameleon (Rango, voiced by Depp), who is a wanna-be thespian, who wants to escape the confines of his glassed habitat. This dream comes true as he is knocked out of the back of a travelling car, onto a desert road.

Rango wanders into the small "wild west" town of Dirt. a town that needs a sheriff. Here Rango decides to perform a character (as he realises there is no need to be himself). His stories of bravery infect the population and they take him on as sheriff. He then becomes involved in a conspiracy that endangers the lives of all the locals, as the water supply is dwindling, and Rango has to investigate to get to the bottom of the situation, with many ideas "lifted" from Chinatown (1974).

The film is a western, and certainly the writer knows his films, as there are many references to the Hollywood classics, as well as the more well-known Spaghetti westerns (there is even a scene with Spirit of the West - a character that is quite obviously Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name from Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy. In the opening sequence, Rango attempts to cross a very busy road (clearly in this story the animals are somewhat behind than the humans - there are roads and cars in this universe, but the animals live in a rickety town of the post-civil war era), and when he is flung into the air, he lands on the windscreen of Hunter S. Thompson: "It's another one of those damn things!". Thompson is on his voyage of gonzo-discovery, fearing and loathing on the way to Vegas.

Like Thompson's journalistic travels, Rango is looking for the American dream. Whether he finds it or not is irrelevant. This film is utterly delightful. A fantastic cinematic experience, beautiful animation, a collection of interesting (some obviously cliched) characters, and a simple, yet strong story. All delivered in a package that works incredibly well for both adults and children.


Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Voices: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Stephen Root, Harry Dean Stanton, Timothy Olyphant
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Marc Ivamy