Review #788: 'Maleficent' (2014)

Anyone who has seen Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959) will no doubt remember the horned wicked sorceress that is Maleficent. She appears only briefly, but her extremely dark persona and complete lack of empathy make her a memorable and intriguing Disney villain. Maleficent the film continues the trend of allowing female fairytale antagonists to tell their side of the story, as well as Hollywood's desire to re-make every film ever made that was ever a success. Disney is sitting on a treasure-trove of beloved stories, all ripe for 're-imagination' and money-making. But, cynicism aside, Maleficent is actually not that bad, thanks mainly to a purring performance by Angelina Jolie as the titular witch.

Opening in the CGI-heavy world of the Moors, we meet a young girl with mighty wings. She is Maleficent, the fairy-queen who is one with the strange-but-loveable beasties and natural kingdom all around her, which borders the land of men. She meets a young man named Stefan, and the two becomes friends and eventually fall in love. As they grow older, Stefan stops visiting the Moors, and when he becomes an adult (Sharlto Copley), begins to work for the greedy King Henry (Kenneth Cranham). Henry, terrified of Maleficent's magical power, declares war, only to be beaten back by Maleficent and her army of tree creatures.

On his death-bed, the King announces that whoever kills her will become his heir. Stefan, befriending Maleficent, tricks her into drinking a sleeping potion and, unable to kill her, cuts off her wings and brings them to his king. Years later, with Stefan now king and announcing the birth of his daughter, Aurora, Maleficent gets her vengeance by gate-crashing the party and cursing the child with the dreaded spinning wheel spell, promising release only by true love's kiss, something she knows not to exist. As Aurora is cared for in the woods, Maleficent watches closely, and sees Aurora (Elle Fanning) grow into a person capable of uniting the two lands.

Directed by visual effects artist Robert Stromberg (who won Oscars for his Art Design on Avatar (2009) and Alice in Wonderland (2010)), Maleficent has spectacular special effects, but the world it takes place in feels almost entirely soulless and fails to capture the magic created by those using a pencil 55 years ago. The story often goes to dark places, but it's difficult to care about the characters that inhabit the film, who aren't allowed to develop any extra dimensions other than the ones they were given in Disney's original vision. However, Maleficent, in the hands of Jolie, dominates the film as expected. She manages to juggle the understandable darkness brewing inside of her character as well as the humane, caring side. The film may be good-looking nonsense, but it's nice to have an interesting, morally grey female lead in a mainstream film for once.


Directed by: Robert Stromberg
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Sam Riley, Kenneth Cranham
Country: USA/UK

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #532: 'Killer Joe' (2011)

Texan drug-dealer Chris (Emile Hirsch) lands himself in hot water, owing money to a gang of big-time criminals. After being refused money by his father Ansel (Thomas Haden Church), Chris comes up with a plot to have his mother murdered, collecting the life insurance money that he believes will pass to his sister Dottie (Juno Temple). To do the deed, they hire police detective and part-time contract killer 'Killer' Joe (Matthew McConaughey). Unable to pay his fees up front, Joe decides to take Dottie as collateral, who he asks to spend the night with, until the debt is paid.

Killer Joe's poster tagline reads 'A totally twisted, deep-fried, Texas redneck trailer park murder story', and really, that's precisely what it is. The central families sheer utter repulsiveness becomes the comedy vein that prevails throughout the plot, as we are greeted by Sharla (Gina Gershon), Ansel's second wife, opening her trailer door to reveal her hairy bush to a disgusted Chris. But Chris's loud-mouthed ineptness, Ansel's zombie-like idiocy, and Sharla's blatant man-eating are neutralised by Juno Temple's strange, quirky presence, and her submissive relationship with Killer Joe that is as unsettling as it is oddly sweet. It's a quite amazing performance, and her scenes with an almost equally impressive McConaughey provide the film's highlights.

If the film has a definite strong point, it is in the performances. While the aforementioned Temple and McConaughey will steal the plaudits, Haden Church's dumb, lurch-like performance reminds us why he was Oscar-nominated for the sublime Sideways (2004), providing a sympathetic character amongst Chris's waster and Sharla's trailer trash whore. It's a shame that the plot can't match the performances, and although the story takes a back-seat to the mish-mash of human monsters, this really could have been a whole lot more. This is Coen Brothers territory, taking place in that sweaty world of the Deep South, full of smoky bars, rusty trailers, cowboy hats, motorbikes and overweight, middle-aged men in vests, a modern-day noir world ripe with possibilities, one that I feel has been slightly wasted here.

But if you've ever wondered if a film's climatic scene would ever involved a woman performing fellatio on a chicken drumstick, then here is your answer. Killer Joe's final frames will undoubtedly divide audiences between those who get director William Friedkin's intentions to take things to Jacobian absurdity, to those who will feel it as a silly contradiction to the film early, more subtle black humour. It's a splurge of extreme, uncomfortable violence with a sprinkling of farce, as the true psychological unbalance of Killer Joe becomes evident. Myself, I found it rather hilarious, and it managed to cement what is really an average film with only spatters of inspiration into my memory.


Directed by: William Friedkin
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie