I heard very little about this before it was released and it came as a great swell of surprise when I saw it. Make or break for me is identification with characters - whether or not you are willing to take the journey of the film with them. The opening of this trailer will give you an idea how easy it is to go anywhere with this 'Boy'.
James Rolleston was a late starter for the part. He turned up at a wardrobe call for extras and won the role after a series of auditions. During the long preproduction rewrites, the original Boy had grown into adolescence and out of contention for the role. Spare a thought for this mystery 'Boy' who must occasionally think of the 'Might have Beens' as he watches the stellar trajectory of the film. Spare another for the girl Judy Davis replaced as the lead in 'My Brilliant Career' all those years ago, whose name (surprise, surprise) escapes me.
Taika Waititi plays the father and his wonderful performance is made more stunning when you realise he is the director and writer and just about everything else. Along the path to production, he took his script to Sundance and worked and reworked his ideas until the film arrived at its current state as highest grossing New Zealand film of all time. The last high grossing New Zealand film was the 'World's Fastest Indian' with famous expat NZ director Roger Donaldson and Anthony Hopkins. To measure Waititi's accomplishment it is worth considering that there is not one familiar face in this production.
Once were warriors, now are gentler 'Boy's and oh my God, years of hard work.
Click here to see the trailer of 'BOY':
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
To Be or Not to Be?
When you first see 'Me and Orson Welles', you might wonder if you can accept Christian McKay as Welles BUT it won't take long before you think the man has come back to life. This actor had played Orson before and it certainly shows.
From the credits onward this is an unusual film. The production originates from the Isle of Man - a small tax haven off the coast of England. The film itself is peopled with faces from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the story of the shoot would inspire anyone battling with a smaller budget than the film required. The Isle of Man took the place of New York and the same set at Pinewood was used over and over again from different angles to represent the whole Big Apple. Who cares? You'd never know.
Both Zac Ephron and Claire Danes are good with particular credit to Danes who manages to mix hard heart with hard head and still keep our sympathy.
I went with an actor friend who laughed out loud. This is very close to what happens behind the scenes and it is crowned by a representation of the Julius Caesar / Welles production which made his name. Don't laugh too much - some of the scenes are practically documentary footage of theatrical life.
Click here to see a trailer of Me and Orson Welles:
From the credits onward this is an unusual film. The production originates from the Isle of Man - a small tax haven off the coast of England. The film itself is peopled with faces from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the story of the shoot would inspire anyone battling with a smaller budget than the film required. The Isle of Man took the place of New York and the same set at Pinewood was used over and over again from different angles to represent the whole Big Apple. Who cares? You'd never know.
Both Zac Ephron and Claire Danes are good with particular credit to Danes who manages to mix hard heart with hard head and still keep our sympathy.
I went with an actor friend who laughed out loud. This is very close to what happens behind the scenes and it is crowned by a representation of the Julius Caesar / Welles production which made his name. Don't laugh too much - some of the scenes are practically documentary footage of theatrical life.
Click here to see a trailer of Me and Orson Welles:
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Is She in Heaven?
Last week was a big week for me. Not only a bit of a big birthday but a big surprise in the letter box. I got a thank you from one of the wonderful stars of 'The TREE' after we had all been to see 'Toy Story'. I had never seen any of those films and it was fascinating. A big charge to go with a young man in a black leather jacket and his beautiful sister.
Gabriel is 5 now. He was four when I met him and the other members of the cast in Boonah, Queensland. All the four children where good actors and all got on with each other. The eldest, Christian Byers, is a young man and stood in for an elder brother. Both he and Tom Russel had both been in films before - the younger two had not.
Gabriel made friends with everyone on the set. He had an untarnished attitude to his performance which I found irresistible.
After several takes one day, his shoulders slumped and he quietly said 'It's boring now.' Oh how many of us have wanted to say that but not having a mop of golden hair and big blue eyes, have given the impulse a miss. Also the pleasure the children took in their food was wonderful. I have a photograph of Gabriel eating an ice cream with only his hair and eyes showing above the cloth.
Morgana had not acted either before and she is another Big Deal actress in the making. That's if she wants to be. At the Sydney film festival I tried to nod at her when she was asked if she wanted to act again and she wasn't having it. Morgana knows her mind and to see this film is to know she knows.
If you do it only for them...go and see 'The TREE'. It's out in September. Also to be hip. Charlotte Gainsbourg is a giant star in France. Those frenchies seek her everywhere!
Gabriel is 5 now. He was four when I met him and the other members of the cast in Boonah, Queensland. All the four children where good actors and all got on with each other. The eldest, Christian Byers, is a young man and stood in for an elder brother. Both he and Tom Russel had both been in films before - the younger two had not.
Gabriel made friends with everyone on the set. He had an untarnished attitude to his performance which I found irresistible.
After several takes one day, his shoulders slumped and he quietly said 'It's boring now.' Oh how many of us have wanted to say that but not having a mop of golden hair and big blue eyes, have given the impulse a miss. Also the pleasure the children took in their food was wonderful. I have a photograph of Gabriel eating an ice cream with only his hair and eyes showing above the cloth.
Morgana had not acted either before and she is another Big Deal actress in the making. That's if she wants to be. At the Sydney film festival I tried to nod at her when she was asked if she wanted to act again and she wasn't having it. Morgana knows her mind and to see this film is to know she knows.
If you do it only for them...go and see 'The TREE'. It's out in September. Also to be hip. Charlotte Gainsbourg is a giant star in France. Those frenchies seek her everywhere!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
'Ello 'Ello
I always wanted to see this film. Having heard an interview with the director Christian Caron, I wanted to see it even more. His description of the problems making 'Farewell' is enough to give any director, producer and 1st assistant the heeby jeebies.
The original lead actor pulled out at the last moment, the part was recast with director Emir Kusturica in the lead role. For me, this worked so well that personally, I would have preferred him in the lead male role for 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'.
I love cold war stories and this one holds its own with the best. It is scary and skillful and tense like 'Gorky Park' and 'The Spy who came in from the Cold' and it is no surprise that it is based on a real story. The REALLY real story is much worse apparently and says little for our allies or our own security.
I thought the camera work and casting supreme and it brought back that very late cold war period with horrible clarity. It has the usual long trips into bleak winter landscapes under leaden snow filled skies which I remember from a few months spent in Finland as a child.
The idealism and hopeless dodginess of the amateur spooks winds up the audience like a spring and added to this, two devastating domestic lives which stretch and strain under the burden of the secrets the men are carrying. This is not just a spy story but carries with it a broader scope that even non spooks will react to.
Hurry, before it really is 'Farewell' for a cinema screening of this.
Click here to see the trailer of 'Farewell':
The original lead actor pulled out at the last moment, the part was recast with director Emir Kusturica in the lead role. For me, this worked so well that personally, I would have preferred him in the lead male role for 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'.
I love cold war stories and this one holds its own with the best. It is scary and skillful and tense like 'Gorky Park' and 'The Spy who came in from the Cold' and it is no surprise that it is based on a real story. The REALLY real story is much worse apparently and says little for our allies or our own security.
I thought the camera work and casting supreme and it brought back that very late cold war period with horrible clarity. It has the usual long trips into bleak winter landscapes under leaden snow filled skies which I remember from a few months spent in Finland as a child.
The idealism and hopeless dodginess of the amateur spooks winds up the audience like a spring and added to this, two devastating domestic lives which stretch and strain under the burden of the secrets the men are carrying. This is not just a spy story but carries with it a broader scope that even non spooks will react to.
Hurry, before it really is 'Farewell' for a cinema screening of this.
Click here to see the trailer of 'Farewell':
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Nature or Nurture?
There's an old saying amongst actors... Never work with children, animals or Jacki Weaver. To see 'Animal Kingdom' is to know why. She shines in this film - a perfectly cast and beautifully acted role. She is supported on every side by wonderful actors, including Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton and newcomer James Frecheville. It all makes for a intense couple of hours in the cinema.
I was particularly impressed by the opening sequence which, like the first battle scenes in 'Gladiator' not only gives a realistic impression of violence but also the sadness and waste of it. The music by Antony Partos was an integral part of this marvellous first glimpse and it put us in the picture without tedious expositions of the armed robberies that had formed the careers of the men you are about to meet.
There are clever cinematic tricks to emphasise the abrupt demise of some of the characters but above all there is no sense of the hyped up violent jitteriness which seems to fuel most crime family stories. This is a character study and a sobering one. I remember the murder of those two young policemen in South Yarra. In South Yarra of all places, the style capitol of Melbourne, it seemed as if a monster was stalking the streets. Unfortunately, this is no monster movie.
Look out for whatever writer/director David Michôd does next.
I was particularly impressed by the opening sequence which, like the first battle scenes in 'Gladiator' not only gives a realistic impression of violence but also the sadness and waste of it. The music by Antony Partos was an integral part of this marvellous first glimpse and it put us in the picture without tedious expositions of the armed robberies that had formed the careers of the men you are about to meet.
There are clever cinematic tricks to emphasise the abrupt demise of some of the characters but above all there is no sense of the hyped up violent jitteriness which seems to fuel most crime family stories. This is a character study and a sobering one. I remember the murder of those two young policemen in South Yarra. In South Yarra of all places, the style capitol of Melbourne, it seemed as if a monster was stalking the streets. Unfortunately, this is no monster movie.
Look out for whatever writer/director David Michôd does next.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Cannes Do
I have watched people drift up and down the red carpet in Cannes for years so I was really thrilled to see some of the children in the 'The Tree' having a great time just a few days ago. They looked wonderful and the director Julie Bertucelli looked as proud as can be. It's not easy to keep your dignity around these children as you can see by the location shot below.
And to cap it all, they are great actors. Calm, inventive and clever.Worse, they are funny and sweet. What's an actor to do?
'The Tree' got a 7 minute standing ovation when it featured as the closing film in the Cannes Festival. The director Julie Bertucelli, has been working flat out since we finished shooting last November and she arrives in Australia this week to see 'The Tree' at the Sydney Film Festival - this Saturday night 5th June at 6.45pm at the State Theatre.
The experience working on this film was one of the best in my life. Everyone was committed to the story and half of us were in love with the Tree itself. Well...I was. Its beautiful branches moved and trembled as if it had a heartbeat. See for yourself...
Click here to access 'The Tree' website: http://www.thetreefilm.com/
To see Cannes Red Carpet photographs, Click here:http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/Kb1fPIL0lwa/Tree+Premiere+63rd+Cannes+Film+Festival/RSBgdehhqri/Gabriel+Gotting
Friday, April 23, 2010
Stay Premium, Gentlemen
A quote from Australian poet Peter Porter reads:
"The only things more boring than someone telling you their dreams,
Is someone telling you the plots of movies they've seen".
And so I won't tell you the ending of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. Not just because its a shame to spoil it but because I have serious problems with this popular franchise - which is what it hopes to become.
I loved the opening with its rapid fire entry into Northern European life and its sad eyed heroes in their freezing landscapes. These are my tribe and I was thrilled as the train made its way through the winter snow to the small town where the action is to happen. I was still there when the camera lingered over the tortured remains of beautiful women and I managed to sit through a terrible rape. Or two... but by the third sadistic sexual act, the gloss was coming off a bit.
The clever techniques used to piece together the research bring the hunt to life and certainly the wonderful casting of the girl are real assets. The thrill of this avenging angel racing after her quarry excited the audience so much, there were audible gasps. But what was it all for?
'Revenge', 'Payback' whatever you want to call it, it boils down to the Biblical 'Eye for an Eye' which I find unsatisfying. Europe of all places knows this sort of bloody revenge begets more of itself and so, if I am going to be forced to stare at a wall of tortured remains, I need to know it's for something transcendent.
To entice me along a road called 'Horror' and flip me off with 'Caper', won't do. I am not won over when my hero trades her leathers in for something she liked the look of in a magazine but, lift your game and you got me
"The only things more boring than someone telling you their dreams,
Is someone telling you the plots of movies they've seen".
And so I won't tell you the ending of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. Not just because its a shame to spoil it but because I have serious problems with this popular franchise - which is what it hopes to become.
I loved the opening with its rapid fire entry into Northern European life and its sad eyed heroes in their freezing landscapes. These are my tribe and I was thrilled as the train made its way through the winter snow to the small town where the action is to happen. I was still there when the camera lingered over the tortured remains of beautiful women and I managed to sit through a terrible rape. Or two... but by the third sadistic sexual act, the gloss was coming off a bit.
The clever techniques used to piece together the research bring the hunt to life and certainly the wonderful casting of the girl are real assets. The thrill of this avenging angel racing after her quarry excited the audience so much, there were audible gasps. But what was it all for?
'Revenge', 'Payback' whatever you want to call it, it boils down to the Biblical 'Eye for an Eye' which I find unsatisfying. Europe of all places knows this sort of bloody revenge begets more of itself and so, if I am going to be forced to stare at a wall of tortured remains, I need to know it's for something transcendent.
To entice me along a road called 'Horror' and flip me off with 'Caper', won't do. I am not won over when my hero trades her leathers in for something she liked the look of in a magazine but, lift your game and you got me
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tell us another, Tolstoy
I almost missed the Last Station. The crowd was enormous and once in, the woman next to me gave her husband constant updates on her feelings, the plot, the volume of the dialogue etc. She had brought snacks too which she carefully unwrapped from a noisy piece of plastic. Near the end of the movie, I asked her to stop and it got ugly.
So, my comprehension of the plot may be a little hazy. I looked forward to seeing this film because of the cast and the wonderful story. I am a Tolstoy lover and have great admiration for a man who could write so well about women. I do not have admiration for anyone who claims to have the people in his heart yet marries aristocrats (rich, beautiful and need one say, younger) breeds like a rabbit and then decides to leave his worldlies to the State. So, any mention of his wife's poor qualities seems like a pimple on a whale to me. Of COURSE she was crazy and manipulative - who wouldn't be under those circumstances?
It puts me in mind of Mr.Bennet in Pride and Prejundice - so calm and dismissive of his wife's hysteria when he knew she would be in penury after his death and so would his herd of unmarried daughters. How DARE he sit there and read books!
Anyway, Helen Mirren is a dream of a Countess, and Chrisopher Plummer is what I would like to think Tolstoy was (a great deal shorter I know from old movies) and the ghastly brigade of hangers on are repellent but strangely effective in their manipulations. I still don't know what being a 'Tolstoyan' is but I did get more perspective on the last days and why he ran off to the railways. There was a strange lack of emotional engagement when the Countess and Tolstoy were off the screen and I think some of the plotting doesn't make a lot of sense though I know this was taken from exhaustive research.
This is a snapshot of the end of Old Russia and the beginning of the descent into chaos and eventual Communism. It is also a picture of a long and enigmatic love.
To watch the trailer for 'The Last Station', click here:
So, my comprehension of the plot may be a little hazy. I looked forward to seeing this film because of the cast and the wonderful story. I am a Tolstoy lover and have great admiration for a man who could write so well about women. I do not have admiration for anyone who claims to have the people in his heart yet marries aristocrats (rich, beautiful and need one say, younger) breeds like a rabbit and then decides to leave his worldlies to the State. So, any mention of his wife's poor qualities seems like a pimple on a whale to me. Of COURSE she was crazy and manipulative - who wouldn't be under those circumstances?
It puts me in mind of Mr.Bennet in Pride and Prejundice - so calm and dismissive of his wife's hysteria when he knew she would be in penury after his death and so would his herd of unmarried daughters. How DARE he sit there and read books!
Anyway, Helen Mirren is a dream of a Countess, and Chrisopher Plummer is what I would like to think Tolstoy was (a great deal shorter I know from old movies) and the ghastly brigade of hangers on are repellent but strangely effective in their manipulations. I still don't know what being a 'Tolstoyan' is but I did get more perspective on the last days and why he ran off to the railways. There was a strange lack of emotional engagement when the Countess and Tolstoy were off the screen and I think some of the plotting doesn't make a lot of sense though I know this was taken from exhaustive research.
This is a snapshot of the end of Old Russia and the beginning of the descent into chaos and eventual Communism. It is also a picture of a long and enigmatic love.
To watch the trailer for 'The Last Station', click here:
Monday, March 15, 2010
Good Persons
Not all actors who emerge from a serial success like E.R. become as well known as George Clooney. Having worked with Julianna Margulies in 'Paradise Road', I wondered where she had been for a while. Now I know. She took time off to have a family and then looked about for a suitable vehicle for her return. 'The Good Wife' is it and a worthy role it is too. Not in the Frank and Ernest tradition but in the 'this is what happens in life' tradition, with all the subtleties and challenges being a grown women in the professional world can present.
For her erring husband there is no one better than Chris Noth. He is every one's idea of a good sort, no matter how bad his roles make him and fits so easily into the various types of challenging partner most women have had that it is good to know he IS happily partnered and has a young child. Noth is also a poet, builder of log cabins and owner of several restaurants in America. No wonder he is known for his wide warm smile!
The episode last week showed a scene were the two as Mr and Mrs Florick had a 'conjugal' visit in gaol which was enough to put anyone off A. marrying a goal bird and B. being one.
This series is set in Chicago and boasts a really marvelous support cast including Christine Baranski whose attitude to the newcomer in her law firm is fabulously two faced. Superficially delighted to see another woman in the workplace she never the less wages a quiet war against her escalating success rate. There are no trite plot lines in this which may be the result of a husband and wife writing team, Robert and Michelle King.
I look forward to this every week and that's not easy to say these days!
To watch a trailer of 'The Good Wife' click here:
For her erring husband there is no one better than Chris Noth. He is every one's idea of a good sort, no matter how bad his roles make him and fits so easily into the various types of challenging partner most women have had that it is good to know he IS happily partnered and has a young child. Noth is also a poet, builder of log cabins and owner of several restaurants in America. No wonder he is known for his wide warm smile!
The episode last week showed a scene were the two as Mr and Mrs Florick had a 'conjugal' visit in gaol which was enough to put anyone off A. marrying a goal bird and B. being one.
This series is set in Chicago and boasts a really marvelous support cast including Christine Baranski whose attitude to the newcomer in her law firm is fabulously two faced. Superficially delighted to see another woman in the workplace she never the less wages a quiet war against her escalating success rate. There are no trite plot lines in this which may be the result of a husband and wife writing team, Robert and Michelle King.
I look forward to this every week and that's not easy to say these days!
To watch a trailer of 'The Good Wife' click here:
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I Told You So!
I spent most of yesterday trying to avoid hearing Oscar news so I could watch it last night with some friends. Its a tricky act and I didn't make it. I knew 'Hurt Locker' came in as it is so extraordinary that it popped up in the main news sections on most media.
Of the film's Best Picture Award, Sandra Hall - film critic for the Sydney Morning Herald, told me 'The Hurt Locker' had almost been pulled for review, so little confidence did they have in it! These sort of upsets, when great blockbusters like 'Avatar' are raking in the dollars are quite unusual. Unusual for a woman director of a war film, unusual for a film without a major star and unusual for the editing, sound mixing and script writing to achieve such acclaim in this world wide forum for film!
I loved the 'The Hurt Locker' and I am still stunned at Kathryn Bigelow's achievement. What a world we live in when all those years of feminism have led us to this radiant woman and her muscular achievement illuminated with such wit and warmth that despite the hellfire, there is something infinitely beautiful about the story.
She had collaborated with Mark Boal on another story about war,'The Valley of Elah' which was a lot darker.They are a great combo and you only have to see their acceptance speeches to realise how shocked about their six awards they were themselves. Kathryn Bigelow looked as though she had to mentally keep herself upright! It was a delight to see her trio of lead actors line up arm in arm behind her too.
So...here's to you:
Kathryn Bigelow - Best Director
Mark Boal - Best Original Screenplay
Bob Murawski and Chris Innis - Best Achievement in Film Editing
Paul N. J. Ottosson - Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Ray Becket and Paul N. J Ott0sson -Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
THE HURT LOCKER - BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR!
Click here to see a Kathryn Bigelow post Oscar interview:
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