Killer Talent: A David Fincher Profile (Part 2)

With his latest film The Social Network in cinemas this month, Trevor Hogg profiles the career of director David Fincher in the second of a three part feature... read part one here.

After the production turmoil associated with his directorial debut Alien 3 (1992), American moviemaker David Fincher had given up on the idea of a career in Hollywood; his attitude changed when he received a script composed by an employee of Tower Records in Los Angeles. “I didn’t like my time in New York, but it’s true that if I hadn’t lived there I wouldn’t have written Se7en [1995],” revealed Andrew Kevin Walker (Sleepy Hollow) who, despite being told by the assistant to writer-director David Koepp (Ghost Town) that unsolicited screenplays were not accepted, pitched his idea about a serial killer who commits his murders according to the seven deadly sins. Intrigued by the concept, Koepp’s assistant agreed to read the script which was subsequently given to New Line Cinema. The dark subject matter appealed to Fincher. “I'm always interested in movies that scar,” stated the director. “The thing I love about Jaws [1975] is the fact that I've never gone swimming in the ocean again.”

“The way characters talk and how fleshed out they are are usually the reasons you say yes to a movie,” explained David Fincher. “The action set-pieces are the stuff you feel obligated to do in order to give them something to cut into their trailer. Se7en for me wasn't about decomposing bodies and jolts and scares. I liked the world and what they were talking about.” Adding to the gloomy atmosphere was the unrelenting rain. “We created a setting that reflects the moral decay of the people in it,” said production designer Arthur Max (Gladiator). ”Everything is falling apart and nothing is working properly.” New Line Cinema which was producing the $30 million psychological thriller found itself in conflict with Fincher and his leading man Brad Pitt (Twelve Monkeys) who refused to change the “down beat” ending. Initially the concerns of the movie studio turned out to well-founded especially at the test screenings where participants were told that Pitt and Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption) were in the picture. “They couldn't have been more offended,” groaned the director. “You couldn't molest the audience more than to promise Legends of the Fall [1994] and Driving Miss Daisy [1989] then to unleash this on them.”

Starring the acting talents of Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love), R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket), Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects), John Cassini (Alive), and Peter Crombie (Rising Sun), the film grossed $327 million worldwide. “You can do something that walks a line,” observed David Fincher, “and invariably, whatever that line is, it will be crossed by people who don't know any better and want to ape the success. People say, 'Wow, Se7en's about degradation, and it made some money.' I don't mean this as high-minded or artistic, but it does, I think, walk a fairly tasteful line.” Acknowledging his attraction to unsettling tales, Fincher stated, “I don't have the Tom Hanks [Apollo 13] fans. When you make the kind of movies I make, you get weird letters from people.” Se7en received a Best Editing nomination at the Oscars while the BAFTAs nominated it for Best Original Screenplay. The Empire Awards lauded the serial killer picture with Best Actor (Morgan Freeman) and Best Film.

With his reputation restored, David Fincher produced a psychological thriller featuring Michael Douglas (Wall Street), Sean Penn (Milk), Deborah Kara Unger (Crash), James Rebhorn (Far from Heaven), Peter Donat (Red Corner), Carroll Baker (Baby Doll), Anna Katarina (The Pink Panther), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Shine), and Charles Martinet (Sheer Passion). A mysterious birthday present causes investment banker (Douglas) to become entangled in an elaborate conspiracy. Describing The Game (1997), Fincher said that the character of Nicholas Van Orton (Douglas) is a “fashionable good-looking Scrooge, lured into a Mission: Impossible [1996] situation with a steroid shot in the thigh from The Sting [1973].” The movie is an intricately woven puzzle. “As a director, film is about how you dole out the information so that the audience stays with you when they're supposed to stay with you, behind you when they're supposed to stay behind you, and ahead of you when they're supposed to be ahead of you.” There was no attempt to ground the convoluted tale in reality. “You can’t look at The Game and go, ‘I was there.’”

“I think a movie set's a fascist dictatorship,” remarked David Fincher who has a reputation for being a controlling perfectionist, “you have to go in and know what it is you want to do because you have to tell 90 people what it is you want to do and it has to be convincing.” The director did not outright dismiss creative suggestions from Oscar-winning performers Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. “I try to give actors a lot of opportunities to contribute. The first three or four takes, do what's in your gut, and then let's start honing it in.” The main character of The Game follows a general cinematic principle. “Most of the drama in movies is the person who refuses to give up, or the person who refuses to turn away, and what happens, and then the glory that comes from that.” Contemplating the theme of his third picture, Fincher said, “The purpose of The Game is to take your greatest fear, put it this close to your face and say, ‘There, you’re still alive. It’s all right.’” Commenting on the $50 million Hollywood production which earned $109 million worldwide, Desson Howe wrote in the Washington Post, “It’s formulaic, yet edgy. It’s predictable, yet full of surprises. How far you get through this tall tale of a thriller before you give up and howl is a matter of personal taste.” Film critic Mick LaSalle stated in his San Francisco Chronicle movie review, “At times The Game is frustrating to watch, but that’s just a measure of how well Fincher succeeds in putting us in his hero’s shoes.”

Adapting Fight Club (1999), a book by author Chuck Palanuik was next on the cinematic agenda for the Denver born filmmaker. A traveling automobile company employee (Edward Norton) who suffers from insomnia becomes addicted to attending various support groups where he pretends to be a victim; he decides to form his own club involving underground bare-knuckle fighting. “It's a movie about people who hit themselves,” stated David Fincher. “They're looking for ways to feel again. There is a malaise, frustration and sadness the movie has at its core.” Questioned about the brutal nature of the tale, the director responded, “I always saw the violence in this movie as a metaphor for drug use.” Fincher added, “You have a responsibility for the way you make the audience feel and I want them to feel uncomfortable.” Unlike his previous experience with 20th Century-Fox over Alien 3, the studio executives supported the director. “I think they [the Fox brass] fell in love with it, warts and all, in the dailies. A lot of people get back on their heels about this movie and feel assaulted. But I think if you take that assault over twenty weeks of shooting, then you have a better chance of people warming to it.”

Responding to the accusations that the picture encourages violent behaviour, David Fincher stated, “I don't know how you'd get out of bed if you had to worry about how two hours of controlling everything somebody sees and hears can be misconstrued.” Fincher remarked further, “If we could predict how people were going to behave, we wouldn't have Columbine. But to say that because we have Columbine then we have to be very careful about the ideas we put out there is inane - ludicrous.” Cast in the movie production which cost $63 million to make are Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter (A Room with a View), Meat Loaf (The Salton Sea), Zach Grenier (Talk Radio), Richmond Arquette (The Heist), and David Andrews (Fair Game). Gary Crowdus of Cineaste wrote, “While Fight Club had numerous critical champions, the film’s critical attackers were far more vocal, a negative chorus which became hysterical about what they felt to be excessive graphic scenes of fisticuffs.” Fight Club grossed $101 million worldwide; it received an Oscar nomination for Best Sound Effects Editing and was awarded Best British Actress (Helena Bonham Carter) at the Empire Awards.

The Hire (2001 to 2002) is a series of eight BMW internet car ads co-produced by David Fincher featuring the directorial work of John Frankenheimer (Ronin), Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Kar Wai Wong (In the Mood for Love), Guy Richie (Snatch), Alejandro Gonzálex Iñárritu (Babel), John Woo (Face/Off), Joe Carnaham (Smokin’ Aces), and Tony Scott (Man on Fire). Amongst the actors featured in the ten minute commercials are Clive Owen (Children of Men), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Madonna (Desperately Seeking Susan), Stellan Skarsgård (Thor), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus), Danny Trejo (Machete), Adriana Lima, and Gary Oldman (The Fifth Element).

A home invasion served as the basis for Panic Room (2002), the follow-up effort for David Fincher. “It's about a woman who buys a New York Brownstone with a panic room,” explained the director about the story scripted by David Koepp. “It's like a safe room in a house. Rich people would sometimes build these secret rooms in their homes. So these guys break in and the woman takes her kid and hides in the panic room. But the guys don't leave. What they're looking for is in the panic room. So she and the girl are trapped inside the room.” The contained thriller was a welcome break from his previous picture. “After Fight Club [which had nearly four hundred scenes and almost two hundred locations], the idea of doing an entire story inside one house appealed to me.”

When an Academy Award-winning actress left the project because of a knee injury; cast in her place was fellow Oscar-winner Jodie Foster (The Silence of the Lambs). “I don't know if I see myself really as an action hero, but I like doing physical movies and I like doing movies where the writing is very lean,” stated Foster. “You have somebody who absolutely doesn't know who she is, and through the course of the drama, learns that she does have all the answers, and that she if had listened to her instincts initially instead of being talked into this bad idea for all the wrong reasons, the bad things might not have happened.” Playing Meg’s daughter Sarah Altman is Kristen Stewart (Twilight), “Everyone always says, ‘Kristen got Panic Room because she looks like Jodie Foster,’” revealed the actress, “But it was actually Nicole Kidman [The Interpreter] who was supposed to play my mother.”

Stewart was impressed by the main movie set. “Everything in the house in Panic Room worked.” The house was not only built to accommodate the performers. “The whole place, a three-story apartment,” stated David Fincher, “was all built on stage and we had cameras that could go literally anywhere. They could move and follow the actors from the third floor to the first.” The cinematography became a point of contention for many critics of the film. “As much as people thought Panic Room was a chance to fly a camera around and show off, that was an extension of our philosophy about how the story should be told and not like, ‘I'd really like to rent this piece of equipment.’ When somebody says, ‘You don't want to make this movie — it all takes place in one house,’ those are fighting words.” Actors Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam (Sling Blade), Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream), Patrick Bauchau (Ray), Ann Magnuson (Chasing Tchaikovsky), Ian Buchanan (Double Exposure), and Paul Simon (Bedazzled) perform in the $48 million picture which earned $196 million worldwide. The Online Film Critics Society Awards nominated the thriller for Best Editing, while Kristen Stewart contended for Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture at the Young Artist Awards.

Assessing his approach to filmmaking, David Fincher concluded that he was over relying on detailed storyboarding and pre-visualization. “It just felt wrong, like I didn’t get the most out of the actors, because I was so rigid in my thinking,” admitted the director. “I was impatiently waiting for everybody to get where I’d already been a year and a half ago. And I’ve been trying to nip that in the bud. I felt like I needed to be more attentive to watching the actors.”

Returning to the serial killer genre, Fincher made use of a documentary style in a movie about a notorious murderer who preyed upon the community of his childhood.

Continue to part three.

For more on the director be sure to visit The Works and Genius of David Fincher.

Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada.

Music Videos Inspired by the Movies

Cherokee Summer explores ten movie-inspired music videos...

Film and music have always gone hand-in-hand ever since sound was incorporated into moving images, so it’s natural once in a while for an artist’s music video taking a lean towards a certain film. Whether it be a shot-for-shot re-enactment, or little hints, here are a select few music videos that have been inspired by the movies...

Kanye West - Stronger

The ever-so-talented producer-turned-rapper Kanye West proved his love for the 1988 classic Akira by paying homage to many scenes from the iconic film, casting himself as the teenage Tetsuo.

Stronger video:


Akira trailer:


Stars – Your Ex-Lover is Dead

Indie band Stars put pen to paper and churned out Your Ex-Lover is Dead, a song dedicated to the wonderfully heart-warming Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The band went one better though and re-enacted Joel and Clementine lying on the frozen lake with their whole crew in tow.

Your Ex-Lover is Dead video:


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind trailer:


Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé - Telephone

The marmite pop phenomenon Lady Gaga surely had an all-nighter, binging on Tarantino’s back catalogue when she came up with the concept for the Telephone video. Tarantino dug Gaga’s pitch of her video so much; she managed to bag The Bride’s Pussy Wagon from Kill Bill.

Telephone video:


Kill Bill trailer:


Foo Fighters – Everlong

Multitalented drummer/guitarist/singer Dave Grohl took on The Evil Dead and a Freaks and Geeks-style Sid Vicious punk look with Everlong’s video, marking a humours spoof of the cult 80’s hit.

Everlong video:


The Evil Dead trailer:


Michael Jackson - Thriller

The daddy of music videos and a short film in its own right, the late King of Pop Michael Jackson took such a shine to An American Werewolf in London that he had to create his own little masterpiece; a video that still has the power, 30 years on, to have little kids cowering behind the living room sofa.

Thriller video:


An American Werewolf in London trailer:


Jay-Z ft. Pharrell Williams – Blue Magic

Music mogul Jay-Z was so taken with American Gangster that he opted for a change in his whole image – from the baggy jeans to the smart suits and cigar; he even managed to write a whole album about the movie in the process, notching up one of his best records to date.

Blue Magic video:

American Gangster trailer:

30 Seconds to Mars – The Kill

Actor Jared Leto decided to walk the rickety bridge from actor-to-musician, and managed, as he did with his acting career, to garner a fan base, and still remains to be one of the few actors who have transcended into the music industry so easily. The man didn’t totally forget his acting routes, and with his fellow band members, the four create a pretty good homage to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

The Kill video:


The Shining trailer:


The Killers – Mr Brightside

The Killers have Moulin Rouge! vibes in their, without a doubt, most remembered song Mr Brightside. Eric Roberts, probably now most known for his role in The Dark Knight, sneaks his way into the video too.

Mr Brightside video:


Moulin Rouge! trailer:


Madonna – Express Yourself

Man of the hour David Fincher started off like many of Hollywood’s big-guns by directing music videos, and for Madonna’s 80’s hit Express Yourself he looked to the classic 1920’s silent science fiction film Metropolis for his inspiration.

Express Yourself video:


Metropolis trailer:


Hot Chip – Ready for the Floor

The British electro band Hot Chip have flashes of The Joker in their 2007 single. Lead singer, Alexis Taylor, when explaining his vision for the video, cited Tim Burton’s Batman as his inspiration, particularly on the main chorus line, “You’re my number one guy”, which was a line spoken by Jack Nicholson’s Joker.

Ready for the Floor video:


Batman trailer:


Cherokee Summer

Music News by MTV

Thoughts on... A Single Man (2009)

A Single Man, 2009.

Directed by Tom Ford.
Starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult and Matthew Goode.


SYNOPSIS:

After the death of his long-time companion, a middle-aged college professor decides to kill himself and goes about getting his affairs in order in what would otherwise be a normal day.


I’ve seen A Single Man twice and I am pleased to say it lost none of its impact upon a second viewing. The first time I watched it I was shocked at how I connected with it emotionally. It was the sort of heart squeezing link I only usually make with a piece of music or a poem; it was less a film than a piece of art saying something, expressing something, profoundly true about existence.

Of course for many critics the idea that this film was a glorious piece of visual art, a stimulating feast for the eyes, was simultaneously a strength to be applauded and a glaring weakness deflating all worth from the project. I had previously only come across the director and co-writer Tom Ford as the man who designed Daniel Craig’s suits for the Bond reboot Casino Royale. Whilst the tux was suitably suave my lack of expertise in the area meant I withheld judgement on Ford as an artist and a filmmaker until after the film. Those who knew better than me talked knowingly of Ford’s accomplished designing abilities and the inevitable shiny gloss of beautiful high fashion that would be evident in every frame of A Single Man. However critics also questioned the designer turned director’s ability to make his first film something more than a 90 minute perfume ad.

There are moments that feel a little too polished. In particular a flashback sequence in black and white that pictures Colin Firth and his dead lover sunbathing on an impossibly rocky, empty hillside. The Guardian critic picked out this scene as one that felt too crisp, too artificial and more at home in the fashion world than the realm of gay, grieving George’s story. I was inclined to agree but perhaps I was being too harsh. Having seen the whole film twice and loved it both times I am certainly more than happy to overlook an artificial feel to what was after all a dream sequence.

Besides those critics too focused upon the abundance of style in A Single Man may be missing the whole point of the story. Colin Firth’s bereaved, suicidal character comes to see that life is greatly lacking substance; style wins the day. Be it the style he hides behind for his neighbours, colleagues or students, George the lecturer deals mostly in the triumph of style over substance. His substance used to be Jim, his long term lover, but this was taken from him. The film charts a single day in this single man’s life, showing us mostly the tedious motions of his stylish act, with occasional glimpses of substance through the excellent, restrained performance of Colin Firth. That essence of suppressed British emotion so often seen in trashy romantic comedies finally finds its perfect place here in a gay man pondering the meaning of life. The film climaxes with a kind of answer to this question, as through an encounter with a student who reminds him of youth, George comes to treasure the handful of meaningful moments, when all seems clear, that really do make the veneer of stylish everyday nonsense worthwhile.

So first time director Tom Ford must be praised for pulling off such a story. He should not listen to those who criticise the stylishness of his film as it simply irresistibly oozes the essence of an era I absolutely love and as discussed above, the sheer beauty of every frame adds to the meaning of the piece. He also co-wrote the script which seems to be a sensitive adaptation of Isherwood’s original work and is just the right length; this is a man capable of fine tuning the components of storytelling not just the image in front of a camera. Colin Firth’s performance, along with those supporting him, is also completely believable and compelling. Most films with a voiceover inevitably disappoint but this one pulls it off, largely due to Firth. A Single Man is certainly not a gripping, edge of your seat film experience but it is a compelling story beautiful enough to hang on your wall. If you could do so you would, for every time you see it you will ponder the nature of the human condition profoundly and re-examine your life.

Liam Trim (follow me on Twitter)

Movie Review Archive

The Other Guys lead the way again in a poor weekend for UK cinemas

UK box office top ten and analysis for the weekend of Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd October 2010.

For the first time since October 2008 there wasn't a single film in the UK box office chart to surpass the £1m mark, with the Will Ferrell / Mark Wahlberg buddy-cop comedy The Other Guys holding on to top spot for the third consecutive week with just £976k.

Ben Affleck's highly-rated second directorial effort The Town climbs one place to take second in its second weekend, while Ryan Reynolds thriller Buried is the highest new entry of the week in third with £820k. Julia Roberts drama Eat Pray Love slips two places to fourth with supernatural thriller The Hole (in 3D!) rounding out the top five after falling one position from last weekend.

Despite positive reviews Brit flick Made in Dagenham opened to less-than-expected numbers and has to settle for sixth place with £674k, while the 25th anniversary re-release of Robert Zemeckis' time-travelling classic Back to the Future pulled in a decent £461k to take seventh. Pixar's Toy Story 3 continues to creep towards the foot of the chart after twelve long weeks in UK cinemas and falls to eighth this week, ahead of Devil and Grown Ups in ninth and tenth respectively.

Number one this time last year: Fame

Pos.	Film	Weekend Gross	Week	Total UK Gross
1	The Other Guys	£976,459	3	£6,030,653
2	The Town	£890,309	2	£2,611,742
3	Buried	£820,631	1	£820,631
4	Eat Pray Love	£800,533	2	£2,865,695
5	The Hole	£700,763	2	£1,881,312
6	Made in Dagenham	£674,059	1	£674,059
7	Back to the Future	£461,194	1	£461,194
8	Toy Story 3	£413,759	11	£72,944,299
9	Devil	£332,949	3	£2,488,305
10	Grown Ups	£302,196	6	£7,372,455

Incoming...

Michael Douglas returns to his iconic role as ruthless businessman Gordon Gecko in Oliver Stone's long-awaited sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (cert. 12A), which is the big release this coming Friday. Also hitting screens is Howard Marks biopic Mr. Nice (cert. 18) starring Rhys Ifans as the former drug-smuggling kingpin, along with Zac Efron drama Charlie St. Cloud (cert. 12A), Josh Duhamel / Kathrine Heigl rom-com Life As We Know It (cert. 12A), and Euro-animation A Town Called Panic (cert. PG).

U.K. Box Office Archive

British Cinema: Withnail & I (1987)

Withnail & I, 1987.

Directed by Bruce Robinson.
Starring Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths and Ralph Brown.


SYNOPSIS:

Two unemployed and down-on-their-luck actors take a holiday in the countryside. Trapped inside a dank, empty cabin with an endless downpour of heavy rain, the two men form a complicated bond fuelled by booze, disaster, and nihilism.


British cinema has always prided itself on providing the gritty, realistic, earthy, antithesis to Hollywood cinema. Kitchen sink realism, working class folk, the struggle against the drudgery of life, the bleakness of the wet and windy landscape, and the longing for greener grass. Far less often than American cinema is prone to, British cinema will not glamorise the surroundings and situations. The locales become an integral part of the films, almost as an extra character. Such examples could include Get Carter. The setting evoking a time and place brilliantly, with no sprinklings of Hollywood glitz and style. I’m all for a lavish epic such as The Godfather, but to me it all looks too good, where-as in the apex of Brit cinema, I think we can ground the audience into the settings very well. Maybe that’s down to smaller budgets, meaning more use of natural light, on location shoots, or less time for set ups, and perhaps also because of that, more emphasis on characterisation and often a feeling of intimacy in our best cinema. Naked by Mike Leigh another example. Ranking up high in the pantheon of great British cinema is Withnail & I.

It is a film that has achieved cult status. It’s a favourite amongst students, particularly film students. Now that might not be the best endorsement, but for once those beer-swilling, debt laden, tax-dodging young folk are quite right. Withnail is indeed a cinematic triumph. It’s a simple tale to say the least. This isn’t a film with an emphasis on the plot, it’s purely character based. It could quite easily translate to a theatre production without losing much at all. There’s a central core of two characters, with an additional couple of key roles also thrown in.

As two out of work actors who decide to escape the grimy surrounds of home in London, to a country cottage holiday in Penryth, Paul McCann (as I) and Richard E Grant (Withnail), both shine. McCann’s character is neurotic, nervy, tetchy, and a hypochondriac. As Withnail, Grant is a preening, posturing, pompous, obnoxious, melodramatic ham. Quite an odd couple, but with fantastic chemistry. The relationship between the two is of enduring, of two men in the same boat, floating through life as non-entities. In particular, Withnail holds Marwood (I’s given name but never referred to in the film) back. Indeed there’s a sense that Withnail is either a wasted talent, or someone who’s enormous opinion of his own talent is very wide of the mark. McCann and Grant are both exceptional here, brilliantly crafting their characters. The film is of course very funny, but the underlay of poignancy running through the film rests on the ability of the cast to make, particularly in the case of Withnail being such a vile character at times, the audience empathise. Both actors achieve this with aplomb, with Grant in particular delivering a performance more than worthy of an Oscar nomination (though sadly ignored at the time).

Elsewhere in support is Ralph Brown, as Danny the drug dealer. He almost borders on ridiculous in his creation, but Brown is so into the role, the nature of the character and time the film is set, manages to make him wholly believable. Eminently quotable, he flits in and out of the film brilliantly. Of equal brilliance to Richard E Grant is Richard Griffiths as Uncle Monty. Monty is a work of artistic brilliance. From conception, to writing, to the performance, it’s a wonderful bit of character work, beautifully played by Griffiths. Sad and tragic, and something of a fool and a letch it’s an example of acting that any upcoming thesp should aspire to. Like Grant, Griffiths would have been thoroughly deserving of an Oscar nomination at the time. There’s such poignancy with Monty. He’s equally ridiculous as a person as he is tragically and desperately (and destined to remain) alone.

The brilliance of the film also rests in its unconventional style. As a plot outline it probably doesn’t look much, but it’s filled with so many morsels of brilliant humour, and characterisation. Bruce Robinson as writer and director, manages to craft a film that doesn’t follow conventional formula, or film-making text book. Scenes play out like mini-plays. Dialogue isn’t here to further plot. It’s almost like a collection of scenes, interactions, between the inhabitants. It’s great actors bringing to life moments in the lives of these characters, that somehow from start to finish connect, and move the film from a-b-c. It shouldn’t really work, but it does. The scene for example, with the now infamous line; “We demand the finest wines known to humanity! We want them here, and we want them now!” does little in furthering the story, but it’s brilliant none-the-less. At times too, the film looks beautiful. There’s some wonderful photography, and Robinson isn’t afraid to indulge in a few artful shots. It adds to the ambience, and again acts as a few extra brushstrokes that paint a picture of the films settings wonderfully. Really the film plays out like moments in someone’s life, and indeed it is part based on Robinson’s own experiences of the time. It’s less filmic, and more bio, given it a sense of reality and integrity. We’re given a collection of apathetic characters, who hardly aspire to much, don’t push to achieve much at all. Only Marwood ends the film with some form of hope, resolution, but that is as such, like real life. Not everyone can get the breaks, and not everyone steps out of their comfort zone to get them.

Aside from anything, perhaps the greatest strength of the film is in it’s humour. Wonderfully witty at times, and in others silly, subversive and sometimes bizarre, Withnail & I is packed full of fantastic dialogue and hilarious moments. Even at it’s most ridiculous it feels authentic. Most importantly is the fact that the film seems to get better with every repeat viewing. Having been a student of film myself, I relented and watched the film, almost as an obligation to my choice of study, upon countless recommendations from fellow students. On first viewing I liked it, but didn’t quite see why it was so highly regarded. However on second viewing the penny dropped, I got it, I could see why people quote it incessantly, attend conventions, apply it to drinking games. Every time I re-watch it’s as funny as before, and if not more. New morsels reveal themselves while certain moments enhance their standing in my favourite moments list.

But the film will stand the test of time because it so delightfully, brings to life a small group of colourful characters. It’s an example of going against the grain as a screenwriter, and something and budding writer should take note of. Without engaging characters you have lost your audience before the film has even started. In closing it would also be a travesty on my part not to mention the fantastic soundtrack too.

Tom Jolliffe

Movie Review Archive

Full length trailer released for the Coen brothers' True Grit

Following on from the teaser which was released just last week comes the full theatrical trailer for Joel and Ethan Coen's upcoming Western remake True Grit, starring Jeff Bridges as US Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn, a role which bagged John Wayne the Academy Award for Best Actor when the film first hit the screen back in 1969.

True Grit centres on a 14-year-old girl named Mattie Ross (newcomer Hailee Steinfeld), who sets out on a quest to avenge her father after he is murdered by a drifter named Tom Chaney (John Brolin). Step forward alcoholic US Marshal Rooster Cogburn, who is persuaded to join Mattie in tracking down the outlaw and bringing him to justice. The film also stars Matt Damon, Barry Pepper and Domhnall Gleeson, and according to Ethan Coen, will deliver a more faithful adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name.

Check out the trailer...


True Grit will open in North America on December 25th, with a UK release following on January 14th 2011.

Thoughts on... American: The Bill Hicks Story (2009)

American: The Bill Hicks Story, 2009.

Directed by Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas.


SYNOPSIS:

Photo-animated documentary on the life of comedian’s comedian Bill Hicks.


Now here’s an odd fish. A film about the life of Bill Hicks that’s roughly half as vitriolic, hardly anywhere near as controversial, and barely a fraction as funny as the man himself.

American, devised by animators/directors Paul Thomas and Matt Harlock, relies on extensive interviews with family and close friends, interspersing their recollections to narrate a overly drawn out, rambling story about the life of a comedian. A comedian who, on the evidence of the stand-up material displayed here, was clearly a quick-witted, darkly hilarious and fiercely individualistic man.

Sadly, the only evidence that such a man existed and that his name was Bill Hicks lies in the aforementioned excerpts of live stand-up material, which are few and far between. The bulk of the film is taken up by Hicks’ family and friends, taking us through a living, moving photo album of his life.

Well. They might be living, moving photos if cardboard cut-outs counted as life and their jerky, side to side shaking counted as movement.

This ‘photo-animation’ dominates all of American (excluding the odd stand-up clip or rare home video snippet) and boy does it get irritating. Any glimmer of introspection, any prospect of a thoughtful moment is utterly demolished by a crude CG puppet show that masquerades as animation.

Granted, these visuals give the viewer a strong sense of place and time. We’re always certain where and when we are in Hicks’ life. The trouble is that we don’t care. A fascinating and somewhat tragic life is dealt with in the most generic and skittish fashion as the family and friends spout forth old chestnuts and clog up valuable screen time with mushroom anecdotes that go nowhere and provide no punchline, and certainly no insight into Hicks the human being.

Dedicated Bill Hicks fans will get considerable pleasure from the rare early footage of his highly successful teenage career. These thoroughly enjoyable clips reveal a Hicks the world might hardly recognise, but for his wry delivery and refreshingly intelligent approach.

American gives a fairly comprehensive account of the facts and events surrounding Hicks, but it seems oddly oblivious to the power behind a good documentary, which is people. People can be fascinating; people can be engaging; people can tell a story. Photo montages don’t quite have the same effect.

That Hicks is dead and can’t be interviewed is no excuse – he befriended and influenced an entire generation of comics; American shuffles this potential goldmine of documentary material into a confounding Hollywood walk of fame style sequence. We’re forced to watch names like Steve Martin, Jay Leno, and even David Letterman float past, wondering why we aren’t seeing these guys sat in a chair, cracking jokes, waxing lyrical about how Hicks changed the comedy scene forever. That would’ve been a documentary worth seeing.

The film attempts to cover Hicks’ alcholism and depression with glancing, careful strokes, but even Hicks’ worst mistakes and indiscretions are glossed over and dealt with in the crudest fashion possible, thanks again to the ill-judged cut-out photo album approach.

Thankfully, American finally and definitively grounds itself in Hicks’ overriding humanity and clarity of vision, making a better case for Hicks’ ongoing legacy in the last five minutes than it managed in the preceding ninety five.

It seems that Bill Hicks has regrettably joined the pantheon of cultural icons whose genuine worth is too often lost amongst overdone sentiments, hero worship and post-mortem publicity. Just as the life and work of Jimi Hendrix casts a long shadow over every boy who picks up an electric guitar, Bill Hicks’ unshakable label as the comedian’s comedian looms over any young comic who picks up a microphone. American sets up Hicks as the be-all and end-all of modern comedy, and it just doesn’t fit. It seems too manufactured, too laboured, and worst of all, misses the point he was trying to make:

“It’s not enough just to make jokes. You gotta kick over some tables.”
- Bill Hicks, 1994

Simon Moore is a budding screenwriter, passionate about films both current and classic. He has a strong comedy leaning with an inexplicable affection for 80s montages and movies that you can’t quite work out on the first viewing.

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