Documentaries

Documentaries

Hi, how have you been? I've been alright thanks. Now that my schedule has allowed some time for this, allow me to welcome you to this week's theme of choice: Documentaries.

The picture on the left there is from my all-time favourite documentary King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. A film about a man who plays Donkey Kong in his garage. This for me is where my own interest in documentaries comes from.

Whether watching a hard-hitting investigative piece into corruption in the US Government, or a story about an ageing metal band who refuse to give up on a lost cause, the best documentary films are filled with passion, love and care for their respective subjects. They find better characters than Hollywood could ever dream up and more frightening situations than any writer could manage, all thanks to their roots in reality.

As much as I love to watch films about Disney princesses with magic hair and far-away planets inhabited by blue folks, I love a good documentary, largely for the same reasons.

While a film like Kick-Ass might make you think (very briefly) about becoming a superhero, a documentary film like Man on Wire lets you know that there are real heroes, genuine risk-takers and adventurers, doing things we all dream of doing, but doing it in real life.

Real life is full of real, exciting characters, whether they are evil dictators or legendary animators. Documentary makers have an eye for a story. They do the research, make confrontational approaches and thrive on their duty to the audience by providing remarkable stories about remarkable people.

So, in my next few pages, I will be watching some documentaries and offering up my thoughts. Starting with my review of Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer. Cheers if you stay with it and hit me with some feedback if you feel like it.

Thank you

Exam

So to kick off this week of films that take place (almost) entirely in one location, we have Exam, a 2009 semi-futuristic thriller in which eight candidates vying for a position at a company must all complete an exam set by a mysterious invigilator. As they are led into their chairs, the rules of the exam are spelled out for them they receive their papers and are told there is one question asked and one answer is required. Then they turn over their papers to begin and they are completely blank.

Immediately they set about trying to figure out what it all means. Working out through experimentation what they can and can't get away with in the exam room, the candidates begin to question each other. Suspicions arise about how each of them came to be in the room, what they know about the job they are fighting each other for and more importantly, what they are willing to do to get it.

I got this film all wrong. For a start I thought it was another tired entry into the torture-porn genre, but in actual fact there is very little, almost no violence in Exam. What we see here is actually quite a smart, interesting and exciting thriller. As the clock ticks down you will move closer to the edge of your seat in anticipation of the big reveal.

The film suffers and soars as a result of its single-setting approach. Exam keeps its cards close its chest and the mystery of the job the applicants are fighting to win is preserved all the way through, the timeline is such (suggested as SOON by the opening credits) that it seems as though the world outside of that room could be nothing like the one we know and the most terrifying moments in the film come when the doors are opened.

The downside to this is that a few of the characters serve no other purpose than to expose tiny flaws in the room. Even a couple of the main characters are dull regardless of their background and some of the performances are a bit half-baked. In a film with a main cast of 8, all in one room, these things are rather noticeable.

And though that is the case, Luke Mably in the role of White, is incredible. Given the chance to shine by a slightly restrained supporting cast, his approach to solving the question and lack of empathy for his fellow candidates make him stand out as the villain of the piece but the more we learn about him and the others we begin to appreciate his honesty. It is probably fair to say it would be difficult to gain the same appreciation for his performance if it was one of many great ones in the film but he is the shining star in Exam.

Exam isn't the most original film you'll ever see but it is fresh and more fitting now than ever in these times of 'what would you do for a job?' It looks a little cheap and the ending isn't the immensely satisfying conclusion you would hope for, but it is well worth the ride to get there.

Considering its limitations, Exam makes a great effort to soar above the stumbling blocks set by its setting and potentially annoying plot and for the most part succeeds. Definitely better than it ought to be

6/10

Confined Space

I made it through my first week which has shocked and surprised me. Dreams was a fun thing to watch and I saw examples of how, in the right hands, it allows filmmakers to run wild with their imaginations and really explore things. I also saw how it can become more than a little bit messy and can sometimes be a bit more nightmarish.

This week's theme will be films that take place (almost) entirely in a single location. I'm sure anyone who watches films will have seen examples of this and the problems it can cause when handled poorly. And again I'm sure you'll have seen examples where it can be an unflinching and brave approach to making a film as opposed to a budget-friendly, gimmicky plot device.

In this week's watching of films, I am sure I will be seeing examples of both though I don't yet know what films I'll be watching. But watch this space, I'll be back soon with more on this subject.

MirrorMask

Well so far in the week it seems that dreams are the perfect setting for films. I've seen some of the most imaginative and colourful films that I ever have in this week of dreams. Now we have MirrorMask. It sounds good on paper: written by Neil Gaiman (who I am a huge fan of) the man who brought us Coraline, 2005's MirrorMask suffers hugely as a result of its style over substance approach and the film that we get is a turgid mess full of nonsense dialogue and completely lacking in plot.

MirrorMask is a fairytale told in the style of Alice in Wonderland. When we first meet Helena, she is shouting at her mother that she does not wish to be a part of the family business (which is a circus) and wishes she could run away from the circus and join real life. Helena's mum suddenly becomes ill during a show and Helena struggles to cope with the situation so she drifts off to another world, where things aren't much better.

The situation here is that Helena must find the MirrorMask in order to get home and escape the strange and terrifying world she is now a part of. With the aid of her wise-cracking guide, Valentine, she travels across the Black and White Kingdoms to meet with the Queen, meeting plenty of hilarious and unsettling folks on the way.

From what I've read elsewhere a great majority of people consider this to be 'a visual triumph' and 'stunning and wonderful.' I am always pleased to see that people have managed to enjoy films where I have not, I would be much happier to think the problem was with me. That being said, I do completely disagree. I will attempt to explain.

First of all, there is pretty much no story here. Characters are introduced, sequences are in place purely to showcase the artistry involved and there is not one event that takes place in this film, that in any way advances the development of the characters or the plot. Secondly, the visual effects are really not that impressive, though six years old now, I can't imagine that I would have been that excited by them in 2005 either. Plenty of re-used environments and backdrops give MirrorMask the look of a cheap videogame and the acting backs up that comparison.

I found no joy whatsoever in watching this film and would find it very difficult to say anything positive at all. If nothing else I suppose the film was well-intentioned and tried to make something a bit different, and creativity like what is on show here is all subjective. But for me it fails on almost every level. Even the overbearing soundtrack refuses to just give you a quiet ride through this film, adding more stress to an already unbearable situation.

I had high hopes for MirrorMask and it sounded, on paper, like a film I would enjoy a great deal. However the film is, in truth, a mess. Littered with half-conceived ideas and completely uninteresting, and at times irritating, characters. I would say that it's worth watching to make your own mind up of course and I know a few people who have said they enjoyed it.

I found that when I compared it against other films I've seen this week it failed at every level. It failed to balance out the imagery with the story (as The Fall did effectively) it over-complicated a story without remembering its audience (like Inception managed to avoid) and it failed to tread carefully around a potentially grating main character (as Where The Wild Things Are managed to do to great effect.) A huge disappointment and a real effort to finish watching.

2/10

Where The Wild Things Are

Where The Wild Things Are is a 2009 film based on Maurice Sendak's classic 1963 childrens' book of the same name. The story sees Max, a frustrated young boy who is struggling with being a child, drift off to an island inhabited by huge creatures, who on a normal day would eat him up, but today declare Max their king.

The rest is a complete celebration of the innocence and the abandonment of childhood. The pain felt in growing up echoes through each character and every moment of beauty is rewarded by several more of anguish. It is a story you have probably already seen in your lifetime and if you're at all like me, it may resonate quite profoundly.

At the beginning, Max gets involved in a snowball fight with his sisters' friends. It gets out of hand and they crush him beneath an igloo he has made and he starts to cry. It is at this point we can see Max has reached an awkward age, too old to get away with behaving the way he does, too young to really understand what to do next. So when his mother sends him to bed with no supper, he instead jumps on an imaginary ship to become the king of the Wild Things.

From the moment we meet the Wild Things they are the perfect mix of cute, funny, curious and downright terrifying. They all debate about whether to eat Max up, as seems to be the done thing, until he tells them he was a king for twenty years in his old world.

Each of the Wild Things is a little bit like Max, none more so than Carol, who shares his extreme mood-swings, but more importantly his enthusiasm, creativity and warmth. When they all come together they have moments of pure childlike fun, building forts and indulging in dirt clod wars, but sometimes Max goes off with each of the individual Wild Things and listens to their problems. Max kindly suggests to Douglas that "no-one ever really listens to him." It's as if Max is addressing these issues within himself.

And this may sound like quite a lot of drama and action of sorts is involved but in actual fact Where The Wild Things Are is very much a mood-piece. Though the emotional range shown by Max and the creatures varies wildly, this is mostly because they are portrayed as young children and the events that take place may seem fairly trivial. This is because the action is all taking place within Max, the sadness and disappointment in watching someone grow up against their will is all too real. While many children will be bewildered by the actions of the Wild Things, that is because they have yet to experience the loss most adults have in moving out of that part of life.

Spike Jonze has used a range of colours that allow the characters to be as vibrant as they wish. This is not a film that sacrifices personality and charm in favour of special effects and spectacular visuals. What it does is capture emotional performances using CGI of such high quality that you wouldn't even know it was there, alongside terrific voice-acting from some dependable actors and a tremendous performance from Max Records as Max, giving us the maturity of someone who can understand what it's like to have to grow up before being ready for it.

You probably won't notice that you've been affected by this film until the last 15 minutes or so. Where The Wild Things Are sort of creeps up on you. When you begin to realise what all of the film has meant and how Max has chosen to approach the real world, it's everything you'd expect it to be.

The important thing here is that Max strikes an absolutely perfect balance between being a bit of a shit and being lovable. As he stands on the table and yells "Feed me woman!" You can't help but laugh. When he lies to the Wild Things we can forgive him in the same way that they do. And every step of the way you'll believe that he is having the time of his life on that island, playing with his imaginary creatures, which is quite an achievement.

And the soundtrack is absolutely marvellous by the way.

9/10

The Fall

I first discovered Tarsem Singh's The Fall in 2008 when I briefly became fixated with Pushing Daisies and, more specifically, leading man Lee Pace. Lee was last seen appearing in Marmaduke and later in the year, we'll see him in the next installment of the Twilight series: Breaking Dawn.

That being said, he's still a great actor, as evidenced by this film. The Fall is a story, set in a 1920s LA hospital, about Roy, a stuntman, confined to his bed after an injury suffered on set and the relationship he begins to form with a young girl, Alexandria, also living in the hospital after breaking her arm. Roy begins to tell Alexandria a story about a group of adventurers in another world and Alexandria becomes more and more absorbed by the story, returning daily to hear the new developments.

After a while it becomes clear that Roy has suffered more than his physical injuries and as his mind begins to slip, the story drifts in and out of reality. As Roy starts to twist the story into dangerous territory, it is up to Alexandria to keep Roy alive and save the group of adventurers in Roy's imagination.

The story Roy tells sees five men: an Indian warrior, a former slave, an Italian explosives expert, Charles Darwin and his pet monkey and a masked bandit who are united in a revenge mission against the evil Governor Odious, who has wronged each of the men in their lives. Each man has sworn that Odious will die by their hand.

The Fall was shot in over 20 countries around the world, over a period of four years, financed largely out of Tarsem Singh's own funds. The result is an absolutely beautiful film, one that will have you questioning the fact that there are NO computer-generated effects on show here, each of the locations you see are genuine and some really are breathtaking.

The efforts involved in producing the most colourful, vibrant settings possible have paid off as the environment of our imaginations are suitably recreated in The Fall. Places that look like they could only possibly be real in dreams such as floating temples and huge, beautiful gardens are on show here and with each step the adventurers take, with every frame, is a new, luxurious feast for the eyes.

As is often the case in a visually-focussed, art-conscious film such as this, story and character can be forgotten about. That is not the case in The Fall. Watching Roy toil in his bed as he recounts the story is affecting and it becomes even more so as Alexandria starts to worry for him. The story under the surface of the world-conquering adventurers is incredibly simple and this fact is used to provide uncompromising visuals, uninhibited by plot details, again the stuff of dreams.

In the end, it is a beautiful film, both emotionally and visually. Roger Ebert stated in his review that it should be seen as "there may never be another like it." Considering the film must have cost a huge amount to make and made a return of $3million he is probably right. So give it a look, because it really is lovely. Also, on a sidenote, it features a small role for Shameless's Sean Gilder (aka Paddy Maguire) so if that alone doesn't make you want to see it then you are a lost cause.

9/10

Inception

So I have already done a review for Inception, but just to make sure I felt the same I watched it again last night.

It is a credit to the good body of work that Christopher Nolan has already built up that Inception has gathered the hype that we have seen already. Ordinarily, a film about dream extractors and architects designing within the realms of the subconscious doesn't exactly sound like your standard Summer blockbuster. But such is Nolan's meticulous and loving approach to film, Warner Bros have given him every backing in making Inception the film he wanted to make. They have not been let down.

So the story goes that Cobb, (DiCaprio) the world's greatest extractor, has been tasked with the impossible; Inception. While normally Cobb delves deep into the mind to extract one's deepest secrets and ideas, it has been suggested that if there was enough skill and preparation involved someone could plant an idea in someone's brain and convince them it was their own.

So Cobb sets about putting a team together for the fabled Inception, with the promise that if he completes the job, he can finally go home. So he puts together the components of his team and gets to work, but as the remnants of his past and familiar memories from his subconscious seek to destroy him, can he plant the idea before it's too late?



Inception is not just a good idea, it is a fully realised, perfectly executed film. Every little detail is in place to reinforce something we have already learned, every new element introduced furthers the story, the characters and the mechanics of the dream-layered world. When a train comes thundering down a busy city street, you can rest assured there is a perfectly good reason, in fact you'd probably be annoyed if it didn't.

The dream ideas lend themselves to some excellent narrative devices, such as the fact that the further into dreams you go, the more time seems to have passed. 20 seconds in reality is a day in a dream, in a dream within a dream, well you get the idea. In this sense, the time it takes to push a button, can be the same amount of time it takes to have a fully-realised shoot-out in the snow, while others roam for days in barren wastelands and it is all completely plausible.

It's not all just flash and CGI, what lies underneath is a perfectly crafted, unique and involving film. Though with all the exposition going on, there isn't a huge amount of time dedicated to character development, that is forgiven, particularly when the character who does recieve a bit of time, Cobb, holds our interest right up to the end, while Ariadne (Ellen Page) serves as our man in the field as the audience, sneaking into Cobb's dreams and showing us the details of his past that we would otherwise be unable to see, making him endearing and furthering our involvment in his cause.



Inception will sit in your brain for a long time after the credits roll, I for one had a rather strange dream last night! But it is the open ending that will leave debates raging for years. It is testament to the script that every tiny hole can be explained away and patched right up again, no stone is left unturned and when you consider that at times in this film we are simultaneously shown the deep subconscious mind of four different people in the form of varying locations and circumstances, Nolan has done a fantastic job to keep it all together.

It is definitely not over-complicated considering the subject matter and is instead rewarding viewing, as you invest in the characters, when they decide to go deeper, you can share with them a fleeting feeling of excitement giving way to dread and you feel very much at their side.

A lesser filmmaker could have made this film with no regard for the audience but that is where Nolan's strength lies. He has made a deep, involving, labyrinthine story which is heavy on exposition and high on conversation fodder. You get the feeling as you leave the cinema that Inception will be a film to remember and one we will be talking about for a long time to come.

10/10