Review #1,280: 'Dunkirk' (2017)

There are countless stories of courage and bravery that made their way out of World War II, but perhaps none more famous or as inspirational (at least to us British) as the story, or miracle, of the Dunkirk evacuation. Following the six-week long Battle of France, Allied forces found themselves holed up on the beaches of Dunkirk and surrounded by German forces. Over the course of eight days, over 300,000 troops were rescued by a hastily assembled civilian navy of fishing boats, yachts and lifeboats called into action from Britain. Although Churchill was quick to remind the people that "wars are not won by evacuations," the incident became a symbol of British stiff-upper lipped stoicism and a powerful propaganda tool.

Many movies have covered the event, from 1942's Mrs. Miniver to 2007's Atonement, as well as Leslie Norman's underrated 1958 film Dunkirk. But none have managed to capture the sheer horror of the situation these troops found themselves in as Christopher Nolan's latest, which is an out-and-out masterpiece of technical wizardry and raw, grinding sound design. Long a passion project for the director, Dunkirk drops you into the thick of the action from the get-go with the welcome assumption that audiences will enter the film with at least some prior knowledge, and doesn't let up until the very end of its relatively short 106 minute running-time with the constant ticking of what feels like an ever-present clock. Nolan is determined to put you through the wringer, and does so by placing you up close and personal with the men on land, at sea, and in the air.

The closest person we have to a leading character is Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), a young and resourceful grunt who stumbles onto the beach after evading the Germans. He quickly plots his escape by attempting to board a boat carrying a wounded soldier, and later teaming up with a young soldier played by Harry Styles (who is absolutely fine) as they try desperately to survive the growing carnage. At sea, proud mariner Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance) sets sail from Britain to rescue "our boys" and do his part in the war. Picking up a shell-shocked soldier played by Cillian Murphy on the way, Dawson must navigate oil-soaked waters with burning ships all around and avoid the German planes screaming in the sky. Battling the Luftwaffe in the air are Spitfire pilots Farrier (Tom Hardy) and Collins (Jack Lowden), the former having to carry out his duty without the aid of his fuel gauge.

These stories do not take place chronologically, a gimmick now something of a Nolan trademark. While this works wonders in a film like Memento, it adds an unnecessary layer of confusion to the unfolding narrative in Dunkirk, occasionally removing you from the action as you try and establish where we are in the story. With Nolan's decision to do away with any backstory to the characters - who are still fully realised and wonderfully performed - there's also a lack of emotional investment. Yet it could be argued that this approach only adds to the fog of war and the terrifying randomness of combat, and this is the most thrilling depiction of battle since 1998's Saving Private Ryan, only without the spatter and gore. Nolan also avoids flag-waving patriotism and finger-pointing, something that Spielberg's Oscar-winner failed to do. Although it's not the complete masterpiece many of us hoped for (although I suspect the majority will disagree), Dunkirk is one of Nolan's most accomplished and dazzling pieces of work. It may not move you, but it will leave you in awe.


Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Tom Glynn-Carney, Cillian Murphy
Country: UK/Netherlands/France/USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #966: 'Cinderella' (2015)

Kenneth Branagh's live-action re-telling of the famous Cinderella story does not attempt to offer any kind of fresh spin on one of Disney's most beloved movies. Where the likes of Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) and Maleficent (2014) played out well-worn fairytales from a different perspective, changing the entire outlook of the tale in the process, the 2015 version of Cinderella alters very little and adds even less. The real stars of the movie are the set and costume design which, with the exception of Cinders' rather drab ballgown, are sadly the only hint of magic on show here.

Ella (Downton Abbey's Lily James) lives happily in her peaceful kingdom with her loving mother (Hayley Atwell) and kind father (Ben Chaplin), who teach her of the existence of magic from a young age. After her mother takes ill, Ella is told to be courageous and kind with her final dying words. Years later, her father attempts to fill the void in his life by marrying the recently-widowed Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), who brings her two deplorable daughters Drisella (Sophie McShera) and Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) to his home to live. When Ella's father also dies on a business trip, the Lady Tremaine reveals her dark side, dubbing the young girl Cinderella and forcing her to live in the attic while tending to their every need.

While the 1950 version can be forgiven for its rather old-fashioned patriarchal ideas of young girls fantasising about marrying rich and escaping the blandness of their existence, times have moved on and such an over-simplification of an entire gender in modern film-making really has no place. The moral message of showing kindness is of course eternally relevant, but James, aside from having a naturally sweet demeanour, injects very little personality into her character. The bulk of the first half is made up of trying to develop these themes, but without any songs to distract or cutesy animals to provide the chuckles, the narrative seems to move along with the urgency and excitement of an ITV Catherine Cookson adaptation.

It only really kicks into gear when the Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) shows up to help Cinderella on her journey to the King's palace, where the Prince awaits every maiden in the land as he searches for a wife. Although the pumpkin transformation looks very nice, her other creations - including two unfunny lizards - are rather grotesque creations unworthy of a bippity-boppity-boo. Game of Thrones' Richard Madden plays the prince blandly but handsomely, while the long-awaited dance with his Princess-to-be lacks the magic of the cartoon version. Ironically, the Prince finds himself in the same situation as that of his most famous role, Robb Stark - promised to one but insistent on another - but there is sadly no bloody massacre at the end of it all to liven things up. Aesthetically lovely but ultimately soulless.


Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter, Nonso Anozie, Stellan Skarsgård, Sophie McShera, Holliday Grainger, Ben Chaplin
Country: USA/UK

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #765: 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' (2002)

Director Chris Columbus, responsible for popular cuddly, family-friendly movies such as Home Alone (1990) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), here makes his second, and thankfully last, entry into the Harry Potter franchise. The series needed to go way darker after Chamber of Secrets, and did, and this film marked the ending of the bright, and non-threatening, adventures for Harry and co. It's also the last time Potter the film so painstakingly stuck to Harry the book, and here everything that should have been cut in fact remains. Due to this, and the exhausting running time, Chamber of Secrets is the worst of all 8 films.

Still stuck with his horrible adoptive parents (Richard Griffiths and Fiona Shaw) for the summer while he awaits another year at his beloved Hogwarts, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is visited by house-elf Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones), who warns him that he must not return to the school of wizardry this year. He finds his efforts to catch the Hogwarts Express scuppered, and instead must travel by flying car with his daft friend Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint). When he does arrive, students begin to turn up petrified (literally), with whispers of the mythical Chamber of Secrets being re-opened and unleashing a terrifying monster into the school.

While the first film needed to spend time on developing the world that J.K. Rowling so beautifully imagined and the colourful characters who inhabit it, Chamber of Secrets has no such baggage. Yet Columbus, along with screenwriter Steve Kloves, have done little other than simply film the images millions of fans already have imprinted in their mind. We seem to slog through every second of Harry's second year at Hogwarts, with little thought having been given to the humour and charm that seemed to spatter every paragraph in the engrossing novels.

Instead, we get special-effects aplenty, with long periods dedicated to a flying car with a mind of it's own, some hungry spiders in the forest, and a Quidditch match that does little that the first film didn't do already. Rowling's books are so recognisably British, with old eccentrics who all seem to have Monty Python-silly senses of humour, and that feeling of the characters all sitting near a comforting roaring fire. Even though Columbus have upheld Rowling's demand for an all-British cast, everything in the film seems fat and Americanised, all CGI and no heart, so far removed from Britain that I almost expected Steve Martin or Robin Williams to walk in.

There are a few saving graces, namely the stellar cast of adults, all returning from the first film. It also introduces Kenneth Branagh as celebrity wizard and new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart, and Jason Isaacs as the father of Harry's arch-nemesis Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton). They chew on their scenes, helping save the still-struggling Radcliffe and Emma Watson (who would get better as the films progressed). It also marked the sad passing of Richard Harris, here appearing for the final time as Dumbeldore, before being replaced by Michael Gambon in the role. But a few decent performances cannot save this bloated, sickly film from feeling stretched and an hour too long.


Directed by: Chris Columbus
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Kenneth Branagh, Jason Isaacs
Country: USA/UK/Germany

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #60: 'Thor' (2011)

As Marvel's mega-budget Avengers (due 2012) film draws ever closer, the stand-alone origin films are slowly coming to an end. Only Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), starring Chris Evans, remains to be released. So Thor arrives, amidst a worry that a portrait of the God of Thunder arriving on Earth after being banished from his kingdom in the sky may look a bit silly, especially when played by actors rather than drawings in a comic-book. But Marvel's track record has been good so far, and even very good, in the case of the first Iron Man (2008) film. Their left-wing choices for both actors and directors, and bold decisions have made for interesting viewing, and it's no different here.

King of Asgard, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), sits proud on his throne after defeating the Frost Giants of Jotumheim and bringing peace to the Nine Realms. He has two strong warrior sons, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), one of which will eventually succeed him. But when Asgard is breached by Frost Giants trying to take back their precious Casket of Ancient Winters, seized by Odin, Thor invades Jotumheim with a small band of warriors including Loki, and starts a new war. Odin, livid with Thor's defiance, banishes him to Earth and takes away his all-powerful hammer Mjolnir, deeming him unworthy. When he arrives on Earth, confused and powerless, he is taken in by a scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), while Mjolnir sits in the desert, moulded to a rock, awaiting the touch of someone worthy of it. Meanwhile, back on Asgard, war is afoot and Odin lies near-death, while Loki starts to act suspiciously.

This may all seem ridiculous and silly, and it is. The opening ten minutes, which condenses the history of Asgard and its war with the Frost Giants, is a confusing and silly blur of CGI and narration. My hopes of another Marvel triumph were somewhat dashed, but thankfully, with the arrival of Chris Hemsworth as Thor, and a bit of character development, the film started to become the enjoyable romp that it is.

Marvel's choice for Thor, Chris Hemsworth, whose CV consisted of a main character in Australian soap Home And Away, and a cameo as Captain Kirk's dad in the Star Trek (2009) reboot, is a stroke of genius. He has the charm, acting chops, comic timing, the physical presence to actually convince as a God. He was born to play this role, it seems. He juggles between irresponsible, immature and arrogant in the first half, to show off his skills as an action hero you can truly root for in the second. And when the film calls for him to play the fool, he pulls that off too.

The choice for Kenneth Branagh to take the directing reigns was a strange one. A director who is most at home directing literature, namely Shakespeare, would not have been my first choice to direct a blockbuster that could easily go tits-up if mishandled. Yet Branagh handles the duties with a natural flair and confidence. The film goes back and forth from Thor's growing humanity on Earth and his relationship with Portman, to Loki's evil plotting on Asgard without ever losing focus of the story at hand or the large collection of characters.

Overall, this is just a fun film, never taking itself too seriously, yet always maintaining a respect for the source material. The undoubted star to emerge from the film is Hemsworth, who I'm sure will go on to have a successful career. I'll be looking forward to see his character again in the Avengers film, which arrives sometime in 2012. Special mention should also go to Tom Hiddleston, who arrives from the London stage after winning several awards to play a menacing and pleasingly complex villain.


Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Rene Russo
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie