Film No. 82 (2015) The Program. November 21st.

Film No. 82 (2015) November 21st.  11.00 AM LUNA Leederville. 

"I used to believe in this sport and Armstrong is killing it". (Journalist David Walsh (Chris O'Dowd)expresses his anger as he becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong is a drug cheat).

I've not read the book Seven Deadly Sins: My pursuit of Lance Armstrong by Sunday Times journalist David Walsh on which The Program is based, so my review may have been different if I had. But because I'm a lover of stories told well on screen I doubt I've missed the point. The Lance Armstrong lie is a complicated puzzle and unfortunately this film tries to fit every piece of that puzzle into place. There is just too much information for the story to have been told with a gripping uniqueness.


So while one never gets a total picture of all the key events and a handle on all the relationships The Program is a slick, sequential log of the events which led to the demise of possibly the world's most respected athlete. 


The casting of Ben Foster as Armstrong in this British production was a master stroke. There are times where I felt I was actually watching the man himself. There was a menace to Armstrong when he was cornered, the barefaced brazenness of which is captured brilliantly by Foster. Chris O'Dowd as Walsh was as competent as O'Dowd usually is but Walsh was never scripted well enough for us to really feel that sense of dogged justification he deserved in the end. 


Given all the criticism I'm pleased to have relived the key moments of this story. Like 99 Homes, it is a timely reminder that corruption exists within multiple layers of life. People set standards to live by, Armstrong compromised his standards so he could win. Hence I'd really like to see a film made about Floyd Landers (Jesse Plemons), Armstrong's racing partner, who confessed to corruption but came from a background where high moral standards are fundamental to how life is led. Landers is by far and away the most interesting character here. 7GUMS. 






  

Film No. 81 (2015) Brooklyn November 14th.

Film No. 81 (2015) November 14th. 1:00 PM THE WINDSOR Nedlands. 

 

"Home sickness is like most other sicknesses, it'll pass." (Jim Broadbent's character Father Flood could not be more right with this pertinent observation to Eilis).

                    

                                                        

 

Part way through watching this heartfelt period drama I thought I was caught up in another immaculate Spielberg film . It has all the hallmarks. Brilliant costume and set design, perfect casting choices, important placings of the US flag in specific scenes and the odd scene which is fractionally too convenient to labour a point. 

 

Perhaps it's because Spielberg is the master of capturing an era in his films and that is precisely what director John Crowley has done as he combines with writer Nick Hornby (Fever Pitch and High Fidelity) to bring to life Colm Toibin's novel of the same name. It's an old fashioned film, with old fashioned characters depicting innocence, coming of age and raw love on a couple of fronts.

 

Eilis (Saoise Ronan) lives a quiet, uncomplicated life in her small Irish village. Her older sister Rose adores her to the point where she insists Eilis travels to New York to take on a life she is unable to experience. We all adopt Eilis from this point on, sailing the Atlantic, feeling her homesickness then chaperoning her through her first love. The charm of the film wraps itself around us like our favourite doona. Every character shines as they contribute in small ways to our newly adopted Irish rose.

 

 Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent, a pair of British icons of stage and screen are brilliantly cast as a landlady and priest respectively. Walters' meal table quips to her "adopted" daughters gives Brooklyn that original spark which never allows the screenplay to slip into cliche. Then there is the twist, a romantic twist which is cleverly alluded to in the trailer. Actually, it was a pleasure to see a film which lived up to its advertorial preludes. Brooklyn will be loved by many.  9GUMS.

 

   

 

   

 

Film No. 80 (2015) 99 Homes. 11th November.

Film No. 80 (2015) November 11th.  6.30 PM LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge. 

"You just got to ask yourself, what did I do wrong that works out that your family ends up living in a motel?" (Real Estate Agent Rick delivers one of his many snippets of advice to his new recruit Dennis).

 

 

99 Homes is not an easy film to watch. It is downright uncomfortable to endure because of the nature of its subject matter. Listening to many of the cinema goers who saw Homes with me, the common thread of their reaction went something like, "I could have done without that". Watching people lose there homes during the recent GFC (2007/08) will do that to you.

 

Given those reservations, rather than criticisms, 99 Homes is an extremely well paced film. Its subject matter built an anxiousness within me that I rarely feel because this journey shows the repercussions  which we all felt and continue to feel in some way. The GFC had its beginnings in the housing belts portrayed in 99 Homes. It's raw and we meet the people on the front line of this strive to survive world.

 

Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) is a carpenter working for a building contractor. The building world collapses as major financial institutions collapse. The work dries up and so does his income, morgage payments aren't met, so eviction proceedings take place on his family home. He, along with his mum (Laura Dern) and young son are homelass. Nash decrees that he will do what it takes to get his home back, as Real Estate broker Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) does deals with the overseeing bank. The "what it takes" notion becomes the key to the drama as Nash falls under the spell of Carver.

 

There are no twists in 99 Homes. We know where it is headed. The cast is perfectly aligned and the rhythm of their words suits the pace of the film perfectly. A couple of moments don't add up but convenience is essential to a part of this film. More importantly for me this film is a reminder of what could easily have been avoided if there was less corruption in our world. Unfortunately the Rick Carver's on our landscape will always exist but more unfortunately they exist in higher places than where he is depicted in this racy, effective film.  9GUMS       

 

    

 

 

 

 

Film No. 79 (2015) Now Add Honey. November 10th.

Film No. 79 (2015) November 10th.  7.00 PM GREATER UNION Innaloo.

 

"One of your piping bags is out" (One of a few slivers of humour in Honey)

 

 

Director Wayne Hope and wife Robyn Butler have set new standards in Australian TV comedy (Middle Class Bogan and The Librarians) over recent years. Because of the standards they set it was not surprising they turned their talents to a feature film. I'd have to say that if Now Add Honey had appeared as a tele movie on an evening slot one Saturday I'd have been impressed. However as a stand alone feature film it doesn't escape from it's television tendencies.

 

The Parenthood series had a warmth which gave us an opportunity to relate to the characters of its dysfunctional family. Now Add Honey is immaculately choreographed but we rarely get a moment to attach ourselves emotionally to any of the characters, except perhaps for the clowning escapades of Alex played perfectly by Hamish Blake.

 

Caroline (Robyn Butler) runs her family. She's a mother, a sister, an aunt and a wife. We get that in the first 15 minutes then the complications arrive on two fronts. Her sister Beth (Portia De Rossi) and niece Holly (Lucy Fry) arrive in Oz from the US to release a single which is going to separate Holly from her Honey persona which is big in the TV kids market. And husband Richard(Eric Thomson) is causing grief because he isn't always where he  says he is or should be. Then Beth falls foul of customs at the airport so Caroline must become the mother to Holly for a time. And so the complications proliferate.

 

And the film deals with all of those complications in short sharp sequences. But the film is all about relationships and I knew what Hope wanted us to feel with each of the interactions but unfortunately it rarely happened. The production is slick and colourful but I think it will gain a bigger audience when it is streamed to a TV audience.  6GUMS 

 

  

 

 

Film No. 78 (2015) 45 Years. 8th November.

Film No. 78 (2015) November 8th.  4.00 PM LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge. 

"When a lovely flame dies, smoke gets in your eyes". (Extract of the lyrics from the very famous Platters song played during the concluding scene).

If your first preference as a film goer is to avoid slow moving films, no matter the subject, then you'd best avoid 45 Years. I'm glad I'm not of that mind set because I have not stopped thinking about a few particular scenes in 45 Years. 


Kate and Geoff Mercer (Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay) seem on the surface a quietly contented couple living the country life in the greenery of England. Quiet scenes of each living their routine retired lives change beat slightly when we, along with Kate, learn of a find in the glaciers of Switzerland which relates to Geoff's life before he met Kate.


Charlotte Rampling is the star of this film because it is through her eyes we begin to understand why she might feel a sense of intense loneliness in their childless marriage. The film unravels a little like a mystery because as Kate becomes a domestic detective we learn more about her husband's past. She makes choices about how far she wants to delve and maybe, just maybe, she will find secrets she could have let rest.


While Rampling drives the film, Courtney is the point of reference to which we are constantly drawn back. Geoff Mercer is a wonderfully gentle character who's life takes a turn because of a letter he receives. The sum total of what we get with Geoff is captured in the speech Courtney delivers late in the film. It is sincere and heartfelt but Kate's reaction will leave you thinking. I guarantee it!   10GUMS       

Film No. 77 (2015) Freeheld. November 4th.

Film No. 77 (2015) November 4th.  6.30 PM GREATER UNION Innaloo

"You're sticking to a losing position because of some personal beliefs"?. (A constituent asks the question of his Freeheld representative).

Laurel Hester, the real life Laurel, fought a dogged fight on two fronts and won just one of those battles. Freeheld is the interpretation of her fight for justice but more importantly it is a love story played out to stike at the heart of its audience. As an Australian I walked out applauding the gains America has made on the equality in marriage front. Something my fellow compatriots have not embraced.


Laurel (Julianne Moore) is a well respected detective. Her sexual preference is never an issue at work because it isn't relevant. She courts and falls in love with Stacie Andree (Ellen Page) and they live contentedly together in the house Laurel can afford to hold a mortgage on. Moore and Page are well matched and the sequences depicting their domestic bliss are effective.



The complication comes in the form of a major health issue, cancer of the worst kind for Laurel. So while the pain of fighting the ultimate battle, the moral issue of the legitimacy of their union, is fought out in an "only in the US" forum where 5 "stuffed shirts" decide if Laurel is able to bequeth her pension to her partner Stacie.


And so the film slips into  formulaic territory in the second half except for the legitimacy of the relationships built earlier between Laurel, Stacie and Dane (Michael Shannon) Laurel's partner on the force. The disappointment is that the Steve Carell character, Steven, who leads the gay rights advocates, doesn't suit the pace of the film. He has some sharp quips which work but he's not the right fit. Either way most film goers know what to expect with Freeheld and they won't be disappointed. 9GUMS.