r_j_t_kelly Reviews

The Remains of the Day (1993)

Two performances of astonishing power

[10/10 · 29 August 2006]

Whatever your views of Merchant Ivory's "heritage film-making" as it's sometimes unfairly called, this film will stay with you forever because of the remarkable performances of the superb Antony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Hopkins has never been better - and while it is easy to see how his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter won him his Oscar, this portrayal of the emotionally repressed butler, who refuses to see what is before his eyes is a better example of acting by far. The word, I think, has to be mind-blowing.There is a scene with Emma Thompson, where she teases and taunts him, eventually prising the book he has been shielding from his hand only to see that he has been reading an "old-fashioned" romance, rather than the joked off "racy book", wherein Hopkins says almost nothing, but his eyes and his body language are so expressive that it's almost hard to breath. To perform this well, you have to be matched by an equal talent - and Hopkins and Thompson had already proved their ability to play an equal game in the previous year's "Howard's End". Here, Thompson plays a woman who keeps pushing gently and decorously to elicit a response from the repressed Mr Stevens. Her final push (announcing her engagement to another man) and her defiant, heart-broken reaction to Hopkins' studied non-reaction is a great moment. It's a brilliant film. Fantastic screenplay from a terrific novel and masterclass performances - and for those who fear such things, there is no swooning adoration of lacy thrills or male musculature that is something of a feature of other Merchant Ivory films. Ugliness is allowed into the beautiful house where most of the action is set - and it's a bigger, better, more engaging film for that. Unforgettable.

The English Patient (1996)

Remarkable Juliette Binoche

[9/10 · 29 August 2006]

There have been several comments already on the site focusing on the "prestige" feel of the film - and there is a lot of heavy-weight talent on show: from Fiennes and Scott-Thomas to the magnificently rendered design and scoring, to the masterly direction. No wonder that Andrew Lloyd Webber's acceptance speech for "Evita" at that year's Oscars began "Well, thank God that "The English Patient" had no songs in it." Writing of Oscar winners takes me to Juliette Binoche, who, in a stellar cast, gives a beautiful performance. It is heartening to see that the dynamics which seem to influence the award for Best Actor (often going to showy pyrotechnic display) aren't at work in the female categories. Just as Emma Thompson's hugely well-deserved Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Schlegel in "Howard's End" proved that one of the hardest things that an actor can do is make the portrayal of "goodness" involving, so Binoche's win proved that it could be that - and seriously sexy. Her performance in this terrific film is a thing of beauty.

Orpheus (1950)

Awesome, must-see cinema

[10/10 · 23 August 2006]

How do you comment adequately on a film that has been so influential that not only is it referenced CONSTANTLY by everyone from modern film-makers (seen Schrader's "The Comfort of Strangers"?) to The Smiths to The Pet Shop Boys in "DJ Culture"? It's probably Cocteau's stand-out film.There is the trademark great design, lighting and cinematography, but here the "softness" of the visual imagination is countered with a very strong, harsh undercurrent: the motorcycle-riding harbingers of death, the sinister, authoritative voice over the radio, and (above all) the magnetic allure of Maria Casares as The Princess/Death. The allusion to the Nazi occupation and the communication between the Allies and the Resistance is well-covered elsewhere, and it certainly adds another "veil over the mirror", but this stands the test of time as an independently viewed re-telling of the great myth, told by a master.

American History X (1998)

Absolutely brilliant

[10/10 · 23 August 2006]

Even if you haven't seen the film, you probably know some of the surrounding hysteria about how its British director (Tony Kaye) tried to have his name taken off the film when a different ending to the one he had planned was imposed by the studio. Ignore the hype though: this is a stand-out film. Beautifully lit and shot in black and white it is a tale of hatred and redemption, exploring far-right racist hatred and the violence that underscores many male relationships. The cinematography and lighting are astounding: this is Kaye's debut film (preceded by an illustrious career as a commercials director) and he triumphs. The performances he draws from his lead actors (Edwards Norton and Furlong)are remarkable, career bests from both and it is depressing, though perhaps not surprising, that neither were recognised with either BAFTA or Oscar wins. It's not an easy film to watch, but it is one that will stay with you for a very long time.

The Butcher Boy (1997)

Superb and troubling film - so where's the DVD?

[10/10 · 22 August 2006]

This is a terrific film from Neil Jordan: paving the way for some of his later, more famous works - but to my mind, this is his best film. Once you get past the quirk of casting Sinead O'Connor as Our Lady (a performance of great respect and ability, it turns out...) and get into the film, it's clear from an early stage that you are watching something pretty special. The acting is first rate throughout. The plaudits awarded to Eamonn Owens as Francie Brady are entirely deserved - it is a REMARKABLE performance, devoid of any guile or staginess, full of the intensity and sadness of childhood. He is supported by acting greats Stephen Rea and Fiona Shaw as his father, and nemesis respectively, and there isn't a bum note in the whole thing. It is an imaginative and almost unbearably sad film (and as only sad films can be it is also remarkably funny) that deserves to enjoy huge success and CERTAINLY deserves a DVD release, which at time of writing, was already long overdue.

Performance: Richard II (1997) Season 6, Episode 3

A totally successful experiment

[10/10 · 22 August 2006]

This production caused a storm when it premiered at London's National Theatre, largely due to the casting of Fiona Shaw as the eponymous king. But (as both Shaw and her long-time collaborator, the supremely talented director, Deborah Warner) pointed out at the time: this was no gimmick - it was true to the nature of the character (who doesn't see himself as a man, but as a god) and it enables the audience to engage with the play without being distracted by the "issue" of Richard's sexuality. With the same cast as the National Theatre production (which was reviewed either ecstatically or savagely) and with a similar glowing, golden palette as the designer Hildeggard Bechtler (the third point in the long-running, and still fertile Shaw/Warner triangle) used in the theatre, this is a class act. Shaw's performance is beautifully judged: moving from boyish confidence, arrogance and silliness to a true and total appreciation of mortality and pain. It is marked by her signature intelligence and clarity of thought and it works perfectly. She is complemented by a cast of equal talent to create a flawless vision of a great play.

Mind Games (2001 TV Movie)

A new angle on a familiar tale

[9/10 · 22 August 2006]

I presume that this was written for Fiona Shaw. It is hard to imagine anyone else who could bring such certainty and conviction to the character of a Catholic nun, turned criminal profiler, whose faith informs her understanding of psychology to help her understand what we worry about calling "evil". Like Lynda LaPlante's other great creation, Jane Tennyson, Frances is initially mocked, ridiculed and doubted by her co-workers, but her collaboration with another female (played in this case by the magnificent Sara Kestelman) provides the missing link to a terrible serial killer's identity. Great performances all round, with Shaw so good that one wonders why she isn't on screen in lead roles more: it's an intelligent, gripping and fresh take on the analysis and psychology of killing and killers. Great stuff.

Damage (1992)

Richardson raises the stakes

[7/10 · 18 August 2006]

The Josephine Hart novel on which this movie is based is the literary equivalent of fast food, whatever its pretensions - and the same is (perhaps unsurprisingly) true of Malle's film. There are some crack actors in this, but the biggest disappointment is that Irons isn't at his best (in fact, he is at times cringe-inducingly awful) in this story of sexual obsession. Binoche is great (although her on-set feud with Irons, who tried to direct her performance, is apparent in their lack of chemistry), but she's not called upon to do very much, and Rupert Graves is also good as Irons' son. It is Miranda Richardson - particularly in her final showdown with the husband who has both betrayed her and (she believes) killed her son - who takes the acting honours: absolutely visceral, immediate and able to access huge depths of grief, she shows up Irons' tricks for what they are. It's an accomplished TV movie with an A-List cast, but not all of them are at the top of their game in this instance: nevertheless, it's certainly worth catching.

Swann (1996)

Brenda Fricker Quietly Dominates A Great Film.

[9/10 · 16 August 2006]

This is a great film: serious-minded, gentle and affectionate. It's contained, assured and interested in serious themes - but the genre (however improbable this sounds) is "thriller". The key character is the unseen poet, Mary Swann, whose simple poems of domestic life are being claimed by the literary establishment as the works of a marginalised genius. It is while researching her planned critical study of Swann, that Sarah Maloney (Richardson) comes to Swann's hometown, and finds Rose (Fricker) the librarian and unofficial guardian of Swann's literary "estate" - such as it is. What unfolds is a story about the poetic tradition, stories handed down by word of mouth and a feminist comment on the idea of authorship and ownership. That makes it sound like heavy-going: it isn't. Brenda Fricker's remarkable performance as the shy Rose, whose secret provides the film with its great twist and key thesis is a masterpiece of observation and restraint. Miranda Richardson as the confident, sexually-charged academic "out of towner" gives a much bigger performance that at first seems mannered, but which serves as the ideal foil to Fricker and to the world of Mary Swann. Great stuff, marginally let down by a couple of the male performances.

My Left Foot (1989)

Can there be a better group of actors in one low-budget film?

[10/10 · 16 August 2006]

Seriously, can you imagine such a spread of talent in one film without a huge budget: Daniel Day-Lewis, Ray McAnally, Brenda Fricker, Hugh O'Conor AND Fiona Shaw? There's no doubting that Fricker and Day-Lewis deserved their awards: but it would have been entirely justifiable to have seen O'Conor (as Young Christie) and McAnally awarded: the cliché is true here: they don't perform the roles, they inhabit them. Day-Lewis' performance is a tour de force - such a transformation that it is awe-inducing, but it was truly a mark of the Academy's intelligence that alongside this performance, they also honoured Brenda Fricker's beautifully restrained, still and heart-wrenching work as Christie's mother. By the way, if you haven't seen this magnificent actress in "Swann", that's another film well worth checking out for her contribution (and the sublime Miranda Richardson).

Dick Tracy (1990)

Richard Sylbert - Design God

[10/10 · 16 August 2006]

When they write the history of 20th Century cinema design, Richard Sylbert will be up there with Ken Adam, Scarfiotti, Beaton and Richard Day as the untouchables. This is a stunning film: an absolutely brilliant comic book adaptation, wherein the saturated colours, magnificent cinematography and spot-on performances (including that rare thing, a very good Madonna performance) coalesce into something pacey, fun and accomplished. Sets aside, the prosthetics used to transform such crime icons as James Caan, Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman into hideous gargoyles of the comic book world are staggeringly good: enough remains of the actor beneath the mask for it to be a performance, rather than a voice-over. It's an absolute joy to watch - and a key film for anyone who's interested in the achievements in design (or who may have enjoyed the recent, accomplished but inferior "Sin City").

My Fair Lady (1964)

Cecil Beaton's contribution deserves special mention

[10/10 · 15 August 2006]

What lifts this film from the very good to the magnificent is, in fact, its design. Designers seldom are credited with the same respect that cinematographers are - and I've always found this odd: after all, someone has to put it there to be photographed - think of the way that the praise is accorded to Storaro for "The Conformist" with seldom a mention of Ferdinando Scarfiotti's flawless sense of line, texture and pattern - but in this case, the design is so central to how the film works that it is perverse to consider it in its usual lowly position. The work of Cecil Beaton, most famously the Ascot scene in its Beardsley grey, black and white, is astounding in its daring and beauty. It's impossible to imagine that it would enjoy the position that it does were it not for the alchemy of Beaton, who does wonderful work on "Gigi" and "On A Clear Day..." but on "My Fair Lady" produces the sort of effects that can make you draw breath more deeply.

Dance with a Stranger (1985)

Magnificent in every way

[10/10 · 14 August 2006]

Understandably, most of the attention went to Miranda Richardson's virtuoso performance as Ruth when this film first appeared, and time has done nothing to dim what must be one of the truly great female performances. Richardson's brilliance is in never taking a quick shortcut to sympathy for Ellis: she makes her selfish, vulgar and cruel, as well as vulnerable, haunted and uncertain. It's a stunning performance. It's worth noting though, that both Ian Holm and Rupert Everett are also excellent as the two men between whom Ruth vacillates. The design is inch-perfect: no love letter to the past, but a visceral recreation of a glamorous world with an unpleasant "backstage" and the script is magnificent: suggesting that Ruth's real crime is not murder, but not knowing - and sticking to - her place in 1950s British society. A cracking film.

The Last September (1999)

A film that deserves a wide audience

[9/10 · 14 August 2006]

This is a great piece of work by first time film-maker, Deborah Warner. A stellar cast of film and theatre heavy weights (Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Fiona Shaw) star in a Chekhovian "comedy" of changing times and politics. Set among the Anglo Irish, the film is a coming of age story for its young heroine (a great performance from Keeley Hawes) who lives with her aunt and uncle (Smith and Gambon) in aristocratic insulation and isolation from the increasingly violent struggles that edge ever closer. Apart from the performances (Gambon and Shaw being particularly fine), what impresses is Deborah Warner's complete grasp of her material. Her reputation in the theatre is of a quiet, incisive intelligence that can cut to the heart of a text and present it new and clear to the audience. The evidence here is that she has a career every bit as impressive ahead of her in film: The Last September is fluent, assured and extremely watchable, with every last detail (music, design and lighting)beautifully and sympathetically realised. Wonderful.

The Triumph of Love (2001)

Weirdly amateur

[4/10 · 14 August 2006]

Yikes. This is pretty bad. The play isn't great to begin with, and the decision to transfer it to film does it no favours - especially as Peploe doesn't decide how she wants to treat the material's theatrical origins (we get occasional glances of an observing theatre audience etc.) and has decided to go with a jumpy editing style that is intended to keep reminding you that you're watching a film, whereas in fact it only serves to remind you that you are watching a very poor film by a director who is overwhelmed by her material. Mira Sorvino's central performance is breath-takingly poor: stage-y and plummy, it's as if she's playing the part via Helena Bonham-Carter's Merchant Ivory oeuvre. Only Fiona Shaw delivers a performance of note - and it may be that her theatrical pedigree means that she is best able to handle the material - but it's hard to watch a film for one performance alone, even if that performance is as light, truthful and entire as Shaw's. Ben Kingsley turns in an average and disengaged turn, and Diana Rigg's daughter, Rachel Stirling plays her supporting role as just that. Sadly, none of Bertolucci's magic has rubbed off on his wife if this film is to be the evidence.

The Waste Land (1996)

Urgent and unique

[10/10 · 7 August 2006]

When the actress Fiona Shaw, and her oft-times collaborator, Deborah Warner first staged T.S. Eliot's celebrated poem in a disused Victorian music hall in London's East End, it was hailed as a seminal event. Shaw, alone on a stage lit by a single bare bulb, became every voice in Eliot's haunting masterpiece. But this was no academic feat of memory or worship: the poem became something else - a highly dramatic and lively examination of culture, destruction, despair and forgiveness. The show went on to tour the world, in every instance (from New York to Sydney) care was taken to find a setting that enhanced the text. This adaptation of that staging does not replicate the theatrical experience (and therefore create a pale imitation) - it embraces its own format and triumphs in those terms. It's a great bit of film - not a good bit of filmed theatre. Fiona Shaw is rightly hailed as the greatest actress of her generation, so it is no surprise to see a performance of absolute dedication and feeling - but it is exhilarating none the less.

Performance: Hedda Gabler (1993) Season 3, Episode 3

The greatest performance of this role ever

[10/10 · 7 August 2006]

I cannot tell you had good this is. Maybe it's best to quote the theatre critic of London's "The Guardian", who, when he saw the theatre production this film is based on opined: "the word, I think, has to be mind-blowing". And so it is: this production saves "Hedda Gabler" from the mire of over-familiarity and reconfigures it, not through a radical, wilful over-turning of the text, but through a real re-examination of the story. There is not one lazy moment, not one second where anyone plays the conventions and the clichés - and the result is a piece of cinema that is as mind-blowing as the stage production. In Fiona Shaw's performance as Hedda, you see what I would suggest is certainly the greatest performance of this great role there has been - and I would suggest, one of the greatest performances ever filmed. It is THAT good - and no, I'm not related to the magnificent Ms. Shaw... She is superbly supported - notably by Stephen Rea as Eiljert Lovborg - in a production that will live in my mind forever. This is a must-see. A superb piece of work.