Five Essential... British Romances of the Nineties and Noughties

Tressa Price selects her Five Essential British Romances of the Nineties and Noughties…

5. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001 dir, Sharon Maguire)

Total escapist romance. Just imagine being torn between Hugh Grant and Colin Firth. Bridget, played by Renee Zellweger with an impeccable British accent, has to choose between her disreputable, unreliable and sexy boss Daniel (Grant) and dependable, reliable and down to earth but equally sexy Darcy (Firth). Along the way Bridget has a number of embarrassing hilarious adventures that eventually lead her into the arms of the right man.

Wonderful escapism that actually delivers the comedy. It was a pleasure to see men fighting over a real woman (Bridget has weight, chocolate and wine issues).


4. Love Actually (2003 dir, Richard Curtis)

Romantic, funny, sad, sexy, quirky, and at times excruciatingly embarrassing (see Bill Nighy’s hilarious turn as an ageing rock star). This film features a powerhouse cast of British talent - Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson to name but a few - and a varied mix of linked stories. The way the stories were joined through various characters was cleverly done and although at times the stories felt a bit staged and deliberately manipulated, this is redeemed through its charm and feel good romance.

There is a clear message running throughout the film - Love is all around and it comes in many shapes and forms - a message that Richard Curtis to my delight seems to be intent on repeating throughout much of his admirable work.

Curtis appears to have a great number of British acting talents willing to appear in his films and this just increases my pleasure in watching entertaining stories being told by a talented ensemble cast.

3. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994 dir, Mike Newell)

Screenplay by Richard Curtis. I mention this because the film clearly has Curtis throughout.. Multiple stories run throughout the film and are linked by the slow starting romance between the two main characters played by Hugh Grant as Charles and Andie MacDowell as Carrie.

Four Weddings is a feel good, humorous film celebrating love in all forms. We meet a wonderful array of diverse characters which provide the film with gentle, laugh out loud, embarrassing comic moments, drama and romance. There is a wonderful happy ever after for our main characters but it has a very modern twist to it.

Richard Curtis cleverly repeated the many story formula in Love Actually and the song ‘Love is All Around’ which was featured in Four Weddings was comically amended for Love Actually.

2. Persuasion (1995 dir, Roger Michell)

An intelligent book to film adaptation and my favourite version. Persuasion is my best-loved Austen story and this film did not disappoint. Anne (played by Amanda Root) found the love of her life, Frederick Wentworth (played by Ciaran Hinds) when young but was persuaded not to marry because he did not have enough money to support her. The film begins around 8 years later as Wentworth reappears and is in search of a wife. He is a handsome rich sea captain. Meanwhile, Anne has grown older and fully realises the consequences of not marrying when young. She realises she is past the age of marrying and as a result is cast in the shadow of her selfish older sister and pompous father.

The film cleverly reflects the idea of lost opportunity through the use of colour. Neutral colours are used a lot to give an understated even pessimistic feel. The use of green’s and brown’s give an autumnal feel suggesting Ann has past her summer years and must resign herself to spinsterhood.

The resulting re-introduction and gradual growing affection between Wentworth and Anne is gently told with touches of humour. Wentworth is still angry at being jilted and treats Anne with a simmering angry courtesy which eventually leads to a full declaration of love in a letter to Anne as Wentworth realises he still passionately loves Anne.

Persuasion is a mature thoughtful film portraying love between two older and wiser people (Anne would certainly have been considered past her prime at the age of 27 in Regency times). Anne and Wentworth are so movingly played that it is quite possible to fall in love with them and to imagine what their lives will be like when the film closes. The film is complemented by a wonderful music score and impressive scenery.

1. Atonement (2007 dir, Joe Wright)

I usually like my romance light, happy and comical. This film delivers the complete opposite with such power that I was drawn in immediately and watched transfixed until the end.

Keira Knightly as Celia and James McAvoy as Robbie were passionate as the young thwarted lovers and I found myself following their story avidly throughout the film. Celia’s younger sister Briony tells a life changing lie at the age of 13 that divides the young lovers. The film follows the lives of all involved in the consequences of the lie. Cut to Briony’s older self, played by the sublime Vanessa Redgrave, who did not get much screen time. In the time she did get, she delivered such a powerful performance that I was left in tears at the end of it and the twist, involving Briony at last telling the truth, delivered by Redgrave was so unexpected and powerfully delivered that I was left speechless and crying.

Atonement is a film I will revisit. It boasts a top quality British cast, delivers a startling, unexpected emotional jolt and the period detail was so detailed and accurate that it was beautiful to watch.

Honourable Mentions...

The English Patient (1996, dir, Anthony Minghella)
Shadowlands (1993, dir, Richard Attenborough)
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004, dir, Beeban Kidron)
Notting Hill (1999, dir, Roger Michell)
Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990, dir, Anthony Minghella)

Tressa Price

Essentials Archive

I Sat Through That? #2 - The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

In which Gerry Hayes wants to believe it can be better than this...

The X Files: I Want To Believe, 2008.

Directed by Chris Carter.
Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz.
Starring David Duchovny, the lovely Gillian Anderson, Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet, X to the Z.

Full disclosure: In common with many men who were fans of the X Files television series, I had a crush on Gillian Anderson. I’m not certain why - perhaps it’s that whole ‘thinking man’s crumpet’ thing or perhaps it was the rather spiffy white tights that she wore in some early episodes. Who knows. Incidentally, wives and girlfriends of men who had crushes on Gillian Anderson were even more confused by these crushes than their partners themselves. This made the whole thing even more delicious.

Now that’s out of the way you should note: there will be spoilers.

Big spoilers.

Really big spoilers. Right now, in fact.

Look away...

Head transplants? Frickin’ head transplants? Gimme a break. What? Head transplants? Yeah, I’m getting ahead of myself but, I mean, head transplants?

Anyway.

I was a fan of the X Files up until about season five when it started to get too much like hard work. It was all too confusing. Stuff with Mulder’s dad and Mulder’s mum and Scully’s baby and Harley Davidson and The Marlboro Man and that bloke with the rubber arm who liked tea. Trying to keep up smacked of effort and I drifted away. 1998’s X Files film did little but top up my Anderson crush and bewilder me further with its talk of bees and alien swine flu and whatnot.

The X Files: I Want To Believe, on the other hand isn’t confusing, at least in the same sense. It’s a pretty self-contained film without too much reference to all of the craziness of the series or previous movie.

Anderson is older but still looking well. Duchovny is older. Despite no longer working for the FBI, they’re helping the FBI investigate the abduction of an FBI agent. Also helping is a psychic - Billy Connolly plays a paedophile priest (was it too unrealistic to feature a priest who wasn’t?) who has visions about the crime. Mulder laps it up and, as usual, Scully gets all tetchy about paranormal powers while utterly failing to apply her sceptical eye to her belief in her own invisible friend, God.

Billy, or Father Joe, leads them, mysteriously and paranormally, in their search. He finds a bundle of arms and legs in the snow but no missing FBI Agent. The search continues and things meander about inoffensively enough with some scruffy Russians, Mulder and Scully getting it on (to the collective sighs of relationship-fiction losers around the world) and some cryptic visions from Father Joe - he even cries magic tears of blood at one stage. Or possibly pokes himself in the eyes - it’s not completely clear.

If you can suspend your disbelief sufficiently, it’s all fairly enjoyable...

Right up to the point where even an X Files fan finds the belief-suspension hard to maintain and the whole house of crackers crumbles to broken crumbs of disappointment.

Head transplants? That’s what it was all about? Oh for the love of- Head transplants? Really?

Really. Some ugly Russian blokes head sown, rather poorly, to the female FBI agent’s body.

Now of course, transplanting my head to a lovely lady’s body is something I’ve thought about from time to time myself - what man hasn’t. But seriously? That’s it? Girls being abducted so the Russian bloke can have his head popped on their bodies? Why Chris Carter, why? I liked the series - I can buy the little alien blokes that only show up when Scully’s looking the other way. I can buy that crap-monster that lived in the sewers but this?

Head transplants?

Really?

Read more I Sat Through That? right here.

Gerry Hayes is a garret-dwelling writer subsisting on tea, beer and Flame-Grilled Steak flavour McCoy’s crisps. You can read about other stuff he doesn't like on his blog at http://stareintospace.com or you can have easy, bite-sized bits of him at http://twitter.com/gerryhayes

Who Watches the Watchmen (Director's Cut)? Not Me!

No international release for the extended Watchmen DVD...

So I was browsing the internet looking to pre-order a copy of Zack Snyder's Watchmen (released on July 27th), only to discover that Paramount have no plans to released the Director's Cut outside of North America. Oh, isn't that just great? So let's take a look at what's on offer...

Here in the U.K. Amazon are offering the theatrical Watchmen 2 disc DVD for £15.68, or the Blu-ray for £17.98, while over in the States, Amazon have the 2 disc Director's Cut DVD for $19.99, and the Blu-ray (and DVD copy) for $22.99. Going by today's exchange rate ($1 = £0.617588933), that means we're being asked to fork out £3.33 more for the theatrical DVD and £3.78 more for the Blu-ray. More... for less!

What a fantastic deal!

Okay, okay - maybe I'm getting a little frustrated over nothing. Why not just order a copy on import? PlayUSA.com have the extended DVD for £16.99 and Blu-ray for £17.99. What am I complaining about? Well, it's NTSC for a start, and it still costs more. I want my PAL!

A similar thing happened a couple of years back with the extended and recut Sin City - no plans for an international release, buy the import for inflated prices and a while later the region 2 version is clogging up the sales for under a fiver.

Well I already paid to see the film at the cinema, and in all honesty I'm not that desperate for more. Besides - if Watchmen's home video release is as successful as its box-office run we'll be able to pick up the 5-disc Ultimate Cash-In Edition from the bargain bins for a few quid before too long.

Movies... For Free! Five Minutes to Live (1961)

Welcome to this week's "Movies... For Free!" column, where we showcase classic movies freely available in the public domain (with streaming video!). Read the article and watch the movie right here!


Five Minutes to Live, a.k.a Door-to-Door Maniac, 1961.

Directed by Bill Karn.
Starring Johnny Cash, Vic Tayback, Donald Woods, Cay Forester, and Ron Howard.

Originally released in 1961, Five Minutes to Live (reissued in 1966 under the more ominous title of Door-to-Door Maniac), is low-budget film noir thriller which is notable for marking the big-screen acting debut of music legend Johnny Cash. It also features Country Music Hall of Famer Merle Travis, along with an early appearance by a young Ron Howard.

Cash stars as Johnny Cabot, a notorious and cold-blooded killer who, at the beginning of the film, is hiding out in a cheap motel after the murder of two police officers. Cabot is approached by crime boss Fred Dorella (Tayback, best known for his work on the American sitcom Alice), who wants Cabot’s help in pulling off the ‘perfect’ bank robbery. Dorella’s plan appears simple enough – he enters the bank and asks to speak to the manager (Woods) while Cabot visits his house (posing as a door-to-door salesman) and takes his wife (Forester) hostage. Dorella gives the bank manager an ultimatum – pay $70,000 or his wife dies. The only problem is that the husband has been having an affair with another woman, and he intends on leaving his wife that very night…

Although the film suffers from poor production values it moves at a swift pace with plenty of tension and suspense, and Cash (at the height of – and no doubt enhanced by - his addictions) gives a truly unsettling and charismatic performance as the sadistic killer Johnny Cabot. Five Minutes to Live is an entertaining if somewhat flawed low-budget thriller, but absolutely essential viewing for all fans of the Man in Black.



Embed courtesy of Internet Archive.

Click here to view all previous entries in our Movies... For Free! collection.

British Cinema - Genova (2008)

Genova, 2008.

Directed by Michael Winterbottom.
Starring Colin Firth, Catherine Keener, Willa Holland, and Perla Haney-Jardine.


SYNOPSIS:

A haunting, eerie journey to a place where souls stir and hearts go to mend themselves, Genova is the dark, brooding voyage of discovery for one family, torn apart by tragedy.


Acclaimed British director Michael Winterbottom continues to demonstrate his ability to shift effortlessly between genres with Genova, a drama about a family’s efforts to deal with grief and loss after the mother is killed in a road traffic accident. Colin Firth stars as Joe, a British college professor who decides to move to the Italian city of Genoa (Genova in Italian) with his two American daughters, 16 year old Kelly (Holland) and 10 year old Mary (Haney-Jardine), hoping it will help to aid their recovery from the tragic loss.

Joe takes up a university teaching position alongside old flame Barbara (Keener), while arranging piano lessons to occupy his daughters as they wait for school to start. Barbara gets close to the family to help with their transition (and, undoubtedly, because of her ongoing romantic interest in Joe) showing them around the winding alleyways, beaches and countryside of the beautiful Italian city. However, once Joe starts work we begin to see how each family member looks to deal with their emotions on a personal level. Joe immerses himself into his teaching, striking up a friendship with an Italian student who also appears keen for his affections, while oldest daughter Kelly begins to explore the city and her emerging sexual identity.

For me, the most interesting strand of the film is that of youngest daughter Mary, who feels responsible for the accident and through this guilt, begins to envision an image of her mother. The performance of young actress Perla Haney-Jardine is entirely convincing and a stand-out among the cast, while the addition of a ‘supernatural’ element helps to differentiate the film from a typical drama. Couple this with the claustrophobic setting and slow, simmering pace and it is easy to draw comparisons with Nicolas Roeg’s classic supernatural thriller Don’t Look Now (1971). However, despite the sense of foreboding that runs through-out the streets of the city, Genova leaves the viewer with optimism for the family’s future rather than building towards any kind of shocking or downbeat conclusion.

Unlike much of the prolific Winterbottom’s back catalogue – such as Welcome to Sarajevo (1997), In This World (2002), 9 Songs (2004), The Road to Guantanamo (2006), and A Mighty Heart (2007), all of which deal with controversial themes – Genova is a safe and straight-forward character-driven film about coping with bereavement, and benefits greatly from convincing performances all round. The cinematography once again employs Winterbottom’s trademark documentary style and is exceptional through-out, making great use of the fantastic locations to draw the viewer into the family’s world. Rather than being plot-heavy, Genova serves as a subtle and intimate observational piece and – while far from earth-shattering – the film is certainly an interesting effort, and one that successfully manages to stray from the more clichéd aspects of the genre.

Gary Collinson

World Cinema: The French New Wave

Santosh Sandhu discusses the French New Wave...

French cinema in the post war years consisted mainly of genre movies with high production values. It was often studio bound and formulaic. The Gaullist regime came to power in the late 1950s and wanted to promote a home grown industry to compete against the dominance of Hollywood. A film subsidy called the avance sur recettes was put in place which enabled many new directors to get their first films made. Roger Vadim’s commercially successful Et Dieu créa la femme (And God created Women, 1956) had given production companies faith in young directors working with low budgets.

In this regard, a group of new filmmakers began making their own films. Advancements in technology meant that film and sound equipment was cheaper and lighter making it easier to film on location. Many of these new directors did film on the streets of Paris. Their films were often independently financed without support from a major studio. The technical crews were relatively small and the actors were often non professionals. The actors in these films were young and lifelike often indulging in anti-establishment behaviour. These films had a contemporary setting and were distinctly French despite their sometimes foreign influences.

Some of these new filmmakers had been critics for the French film magazine ‘Les Cahier du Cinéma’ co founded by André Bazin in 1951. Heavily influenced by Hollywood, these filmmakers consisted of François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer and Jacque Rivette. As critics they had admired American, Japanese and European cinema but felt disgust for indigenous cinema particularly the ‘Tradition de Qualité’ (Tradition of Quality) classical French Cinema from the post war years.

These former critics felt that French cinema conflicted with their preferred concept of ‘politique des auteurs’ (Auteur theory) which promoted the role of director as ‘author’ of the movie. In this instance, the films these former critics made would be known to the public by the directors who made them. These new directors would collectively become known as the ‘La Nouvelle Vague’ (New Wave) together with other filmmakers who would emerge at roughly the same time.

Of the Cahier critics, one of the first to find success would be François Truffaut. Having had a troubled childhood of truancy and delinquency, François Truffaut was given a job by André Bazin writing for Cahier du Cinéma in 1953. In 1954, Truffaut wrote the article 'Une Certaine Tendance du Cinéma Français' (A certain tendency of French Cinema) in which he suggested that French cinema needed to be more personal as it had become seriously cynical. The article criticized the technically adept but pessimistic literary adaptations of the tradition of quality French cinema.

Truffaut often had very outspoken views which resulted in him being banned from the Cannes Film Festival in 1958. He would return triumphant a year later however as a director with his first feature length film Les Quatre Cents Coups (The 400 Blows, 1959). The title is taken from the French phrase ‘faire les quatres cents coups’ which translates as ‘to raise hell’.

The film was semi-autobiographical and was about Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a troubled twelve year old boy rejected by his parents and sent to a reform school from which he escapes. The film was mainly shot on the streets of Paris in a documentary style using 16mm black and white film. The film’s protagonist was an unknown. The film was dedicated to Truffaut’s mentor André Bazin who died before the film was released. Truffaut took the Best Director award at that years Cannes Film Festival and it signaled the beginning of the French New Wave and a series of aesthetically distinctive French films.

Whilst he had been working as a critic, Truffaut had come across the novel Jules et Jim (Jules and Jim) by Henri-Pierre Roché in 1956. Truffaut’s third film (after Tirez sur le pianiste (Shoot the Pianist, 1960)) would be an adaptation of this book. Made in 1962, the film would be a period piece with a decent sized budget. The film begins in 1912 and centers around two writer friends, Jim (Henri Serre) a Frenchman and Jules (Oscar Werner) an Austrian, and their various relationships sometimes even with the same women. They lead relatively carefree lives until they meet the eccentric Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) who initially has a relationship with Jules who she later marries. When the First World War breaks out Jules and Jim fight on opposite sides and constantly worry about killing each other, they do however survive.

After the war, Catherine and Jules have a daughter but their marriage is in trouble as Catherine is unable to stay loyal. Jim and Catherine then get together. When Jim moves in with Jules and Catherine, a bizarre threesome develops. Catherine continues to have affairs however especially with an acquaintance called Albert. After attempting to have a baby with Catherine, Jim leaves and goes back to his long time partner Gilberta. He receives correspondence from Catherine that she is pregnant. When he meets her they discuss why they shouldn’t be together. Jim has also decided to marry Gilberta. Catherine pulls a gun on Jim but he manages to get away. Jim meets Jules and Catherine a few months later in a cinema showing a newsreel of the burning of Jewish literature. Catherine then takes Jim for a drive and goes off a bridge into a river. Jules then has both their bodies cremated.

The film was very skillfully made with Truffaut exercising a firm grasp of directorial techniques. These included freeze frames, stills, documentary footage, narration and subtitles. Despite the film’s subject matter there was never any clear indication of suffering or pain. Catherine is self absorbed and treats Jules and Jim disrespectfully and their reaction to this is still admiration for her. Jules reaction at the breakdown of his marriage and the death of Catherine and Jim was surprisingly reserved and the full horror of war was only hinted at when Jim went looking for his fallen comrades in a cemetery. Catherine again is only thinking of herself when she drives off the bridge as the burning of Jewish literature signals the rise of Nazism and she now realizes she can no longer live a carefree life so she ends it taking Jim with her.

Truffaut would also provide the story for the breakthrough film of one of his Cahier colleagues, Jean-Luc Godard. A Boute de Souffle (Breathless, 1960) is about a criminal Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) who kills a motorcycle cop and goes on the run. He meets up with his American girlfriend Patricia (Jean Seberg) who later notifies the police of his whereabouts. Michel is then gunned down by the police on the street. This film like Les Quatre Cents Coups made full use of location shooting with Parisian landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe clearly visible. The references to American cinema was also in evidence particularly to film noir as Michel modeled himself on Humphrey Bogart through his attire and stopped to admire a poster of a Bogart film called The Harder they Fall (1956). Patricia sported a very trendy short hairstyle and often wore sunglasses adding to the modernity of the setting. The couple were often smoking and conversing frankly about sex, relationships and sometimes trivial subjects. The pacing of the film was very brisk, notably due to the frequent use of jump cuts accompanied by a very pleasing jazz score. Godard also reminded the audience at times that they were watching a movie as Michel occasionally spoke straight to camera. Whilst the film was innovative in many ways there were also scenes that suggested inexperience. The shooting of the cop at the beginning and Michel’s death at the end were disjointed as the preceding events were not properly depicted. Despite this the film was very modern with an attractive young cast and was a big success.

Godard’s Bande À Part (The Outsiders, 1964) would also feature an attractive young cast heavily influenced by American culture who decide to take part in a robbery. Arthur (Claude Brasseur), Franz (Sami Frey) and Odile (Anna Karina) plan the robbery of the house where Odile lives but the robbery goes awry and Arthur is killed. Franz and Odile then escape together. This film had an imaginative title sequence with the main character’s faces flashing past in quick succession. Like Breathless, this film also featured a nice jazz score and swift editing but also included narration by Jean-Luc Godard. Godard’s narration often reminded the audience that they were watching a movie. When the three protagonists observed a minutes silence the soundtrack cut out completely. Moreover there was a fun sequence in a café where the trio danced. The music was interrupted by the narration but the trio continued dancing making for an interesting effect. There were further references to American culture as Franz and Arthur reenacted the killing of Billy the Kid by Sheriff Pat Garrett and as the three miscreants waited till nightfall to execute their robbery in homage to B- movie tradition. The trio also ran through the Louvre, again Godard making full use of Parisian locations.

New Wave films were often low budget and did well at the box office at home and in art house cinemas abroad. These films did not however need to rely on the box office abroad. By the late 1960s, New Wave directors were acquitting themselves to different styles and genres of filmmaking especially Truffaut. Godard’s aversion towards American involvement in the Vietnam War resulted in a series of politically motivated films which increasingly alienated his audience. Hollywood in the late 1960s was also going through a difficult period. American cinema had become increasingly stale with overblown big budget musicals flopping at the box office. Changing public tastes, the rise of television and the decline of the family audience were factors which contributed to this. Hollywood was governed by old men out of touch with the needs of the public. French New Wave films had grown in popularity in art house cinemas in the States. The writers David Newman and Robert Benton were heavily influenced by A Boute de Souffle and set about writing Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

Although based on an American legend, Bonnie and Clyde incorporated many stylistic elements from the French New Wave such as a young cast, themes of sex and violence, innovative cutting and a sometimes overbearing pessimism. Its most significant incorporation from French cinema however was auteur theory as the role of director grew in significance and popularity. This film appealed to a new audience namely teenagers and young adults. Since the rejuvenation of Hollywood in the 1970s by the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll generation, the influence of the French New Wave can still be felt today with director Quentin Tarantino often citing Godard as a major influence. Tarantino’s films are often low budget independent affairs with many pop culture references and in-jokes. In Reservoir Dogs (1992), a group of criminals plan to rob a jewellery store called Karina’s named after actress Anna Karina. Tarantino also named his production company Band Apart and reworked the film’s dance sequence in Pulp Fiction (1994). The New Wave’s lasting legacy will be that today films are deliberately targeted towards the lucrative teen market and that directors are now as important as movie stars to the public.

Santosh Sandhu graduated with a Masters degree in film from the University of Bedfordshire and wrote the short film 'The Volunteers'.

British Cinema - Get Carter (1971)

Get Carter, 1971.

Directed by Mike Hodges.
Starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, and Britt Ekland.


SYNOPSIS:

Jack Carter (Michael Caine), a classy but brutal criminal, travels to Newcastle from London in an attempt to find out the real cause behind the suspicious death of his brother. As the sinister facts behind his brother’s death begin to unfold, so does Jack’s aggressive and corrupt personality.


Get Carter has been described as “a landmark British thriller” and “Britain’s most hard hitting and stylish gangster movie.” You would be hard pushed to find someone who has watched the film that wouldn’t back these statements up. The film begins with Jack Carter standing alone by a window with very little light exposing him. The sound of a sinister wind blowing and the now iconic slow, repetitive music composed by Roy Budd creates an instant dreary feeling. A group of smartly dressed gangsters flick through pornographic images while a beautiful woman named Anna (Britt Ekland) is obviously uncomfortable as criminal boss and partner Gerald Fletcher (Terence Rigby) rubs his hand along her thigh. This indicates the perversion and the sordid sexual activity that will be ever present in the film. The way that Anna and Jack look at each other gives a subtle insight into their relationship. Jack plans to travel up to Newcastle to conduct his own personal investigation into the suspicious death of his brother. He is warned not to go by Gerald - “things could get messy” - an understatement of what later occurs. When told by Gerald “the police said it was suicide”, Jack responds “since when was that good enough?” - a lovely little indication that these men operate outside of the law.

When Jack reaches Newcastle he questions those who knew his brother, including local mobsters, in attempt to uncover more details about his apparent suicide. Jack becomes increasingly frustrated when he can sense that something is being hidden from him. As the plot unfolds, Jack’s approach to revealing the facts becomes less diplomatic. This aggressive strategy from Jack is in some part fuelled by the discovery that his niece had been pushed into the illegal porn industry by those who had claimed to be friends of his brother. Jack brutally murders his rivals; stabbing one behind the back of a betting shop and throwing another off the top of a car park. The grim location of these murders adds to the sleazy interior of the film.

Get Carter serves as an exemplary specimen of the typical British ‘gritty’ crime genre. The film’s slow, yet brooding pace and dark tone are superbly executed, from the film’s visual and aural aesthetic to Caine’s performance as the vengeful gangster Jack Carter. Despite the bleak, sinister feeling that surrounds Get Carter, the absorbing storyline coupled with Caine’s captivating screen presence and charisma provides an engaging spectacle from start to finish. Throughout the film a question frequently repeats itself in my head; is Jack Carter, the so called hero of the film, any better than the ‘villains’ he pursues? The answer is a resounding no. As well as viciously dispatching other mobsters, Jack’s treatment of women throughout the film is particularly disturbing. He assaults two women and murders one of them to set up gang boss Cyril Kinnear (Osborne). Jack is a great example of the protagonist also being the antagonist, something not uncommon in British films. Another example of where this type of character exists is Alan Clarke’s Scum (1979), where Carlin (Ray Winstone) horrifically fights his way to the top of the Borstal youth system. In both Get Carter and Scum the idea is portrayed that these ‘heroes’ have to conduct themselves in such a manner in order to survive in the corrupt worlds they live in. Even so, at times it becomes very difficult to feel sympathy for Jack.

Get Carter is a timeless British classic which explores the criminal underworld of the illegal pornography industry that existed in 1960’s Britain with explicit brutality and graphic realism. Yet the classy, composed and stylish manner that this examination is carried out in, accompanied by Caine’s breathtaking performance, results in Get Carter being simply unmissable.

Tom Conran