ESSIE GETS ALL EMOTIONAL

"Well" I said to myself eying the 1300 + word count, "That one definitely goes up on its own".

It's not because I am obsessive about how many words a week I post or something. No, it's a bit more complicated than that. But then again, feelings often are, aren't they?

This week's update brings me crashing up to date with cinema as promised. It is the Oscar season my dears, so let's cast an eye over the favourites! And one film that has conjoured up no end of chatter everywhere is 12 Years A Slave. Now, the reason this film goes up on its own is that I feel very strongly about it. It is a film that has a lot to say for itself and, in turn, it conjours up a lot of things to say about it. I think it deserves its own spotlight. Well, it definitely got a spotlight from me, in the shape of one of my more gargantuan blog posts. Go on, scroll right down. Let's see what you think (or indeed feel) about the whole thing.

P.S The review below does contain spoilers. I'm sorry about that. But then again, it's tough getting all het up about a film and not giving anything away :)

happy viewing,
Essie

OSCAR SEASON MUSINGS AND A DISCUSSION ON EMOTIONAL CINEMA : "12 YEARS A SLAVE"

Well. With the Oscar® season now officially upon us with the nominations and the dates set, what remains for us movie buffs is to discuss the nominees and put the finishing touches to our own guesses as who this year’s little gold men will go to. One cannot, of course, guess everything. But one thing seems pretty certain from where I’m sitting, judging from all the discussion it has raised alone, 12 Years A Slave will be walking away with some awards on March the 2^nd. So, in my quest to get up to date with the Oscar ®buzz this year, this is where I started.

I just want to add a quick parenthesis here and add: Man, I missed actually going to the cinema! Watching films from home is just so easy these days thanks to various different platforms enabled by 21^st century technology. I have, in the process discovered one of my favourite cinemas to date : The Screen On the Green in Angel. I loved the “double seaters” complete with little foot stools for couples, the café / bar INSIDE the screening room itself and the fact that the toilets led straight off the screening room itself – allowing one to nip in and out quickly and discretely J I know I digress but just… The whole experience was great. I mean sure, the film would not be any less great if I had watched it at home in my jammies but… The whole experience was awesome. Seriously. Look up your local independent cinema. Go to it more often. You’ll be pleasantly surprised; especially if, like me, you’re lucky enough to be able to go during “office hours”.

But I digress. The film. Quite. Now, you probably have, if nothing a vague idea of what goes on in the film. But let me quickly go through it anyway. Solomon Northup was an accomplished violin player who lived in New York in the mid-19^th century. He was a black man, but a free man as he was lucky enough to be born in “the north”. And he was living a quiet life with his family, his beloved wife and 2 small children until a business deal that seems almost too good to be true has an unexpected… Backlash… Kidnapped, taken south and sold into slavery, Solomon has to wait 12 years before any real hope of salvation comes his way. In the meanwhile, through his memoires, we follow him move from master to master, plantation to plantation and fight to keep his sanity… And his life…

Steve McQueen and script writer John Ridley use Northup’s autobiography to cast an unblinking gaze on the utter horrors of slavery in the 19^th century. Northup is passed on from pillar to post much like a piece of furniture and virtually no consideration for even his most basic need and comforts. Once on the market, the rest is purely pot – luck. You could end up with a kind and fair master like Ford (Benedict Cumbarbach – incidentally I was so sure for some reason he would be the “mean” master; I think he would make an excellent villain. Oh well. That’s for another film I guess). But even so you had no guarantee that the overseers you were made to work under would be just as kind. Paul Dano is beyond brilliant as Tibeats, Ford’s overseer. Tibeats is a typical, small-minded and mean middle-management figure. You know the type. That particularly mean boss who always has plenty of snide comments but no constructive criticism on your work. The one who is on the lookout to chip off your breaks and benefits whenever he can. Yeah. Except Tibeats can actually kill the people he is overseeing and get away with it. But then… Then he is moved on to Epps (Michael Fassbinder). We, along with poor Solomon, thought Tibeats was bad. Suffice it to say compared to Epps, he is a fluffy kitten with a bow round its neck. But I will let you discover the delightful Master Epps and the way he runs his plantation in your own good time.

12 years a slave will, without a shadow of a doubt, grab you by the gut and not let go until 2 and whatever hours later. I defy you not to cry. Hand on heart, even the slightly “Deus ex machine” ending of the film completely eclipses your attention (I will get to this in a second). At this point, I have actually read reviews that criticise the film, and if not the film, the fact that there is not enough intellectual involvement in films like this and that the "tear jerker" nature of the film is a bit of an "easy way out"  (Click here for a particularly fine example of this school of thought). I mean, there is some truth in this. I will fully admit that even as I sat in the dark crying my eyes out, I knew exactly what was coming in the end and I loved the fact that I was right. And that is not the mindset of an “intellectually engaged” critic of the movie. Lets get back to the Deus ex Machina bit. I mean, ok, I do get that it would take a large dose of chance for Northup to get out of the condition he was in. But still… A chance encounter with a stranger (I’m talking about Brad Pitt’s character) and “puff”, 12 years of agony at an end…  It would possibly be more realistic if, instead of – or possibly after – his reunion with his family, we at least saw something of his struggle in the courts and his ultimate failure to prosecute anyone who had harmed him. But no, the emotional reunion with his family is the end of the film and Northup’s later struggles are only seen in writing on a black screen just before the credits. I mean yes, add all those in too and we’d have a film 3,5 hours long… But would it maybe push us to think more about the political system of the time? One of the reasons Northup couldn’t have justice is the fact that the colour of his skin prevented him from testifying against a white man. Another fact that potentially gets washed away in our floods of tears at the finale.

So. I’m landing on the side that argues that 12 Years a Slave should be less emotional and more intellectual, is that it? Well… That leads me to another question though. Is it the obligatory function of all art to make us think and nothing else? Ah, now there’s a discussion for you. I would argue, no. Sure, art has a duty to educate the masses if nothing else by using the power that comes of being so “widely spread”. But it has another function. To make us feel. Art is primarily an emotional creature and from there springs its beauty; if art didn’t make us feel passionate and involved, if it didn’t sweep us off our feet from time to time, well… All art would be like those French films that are “meant” to make you feel disengaged and give “useful” messages. And we all know how popular those are.

So maybe 12 Years A Slave is more emotional than intellectual. Why is this a bad thing? In a world where racism is a sadly common occurrence, it gives a plain message. A message that we clearly needed reminding, seeing that racism is as common as it is: “Racism is a terrible thing”. “Slavery is a terrible thing” and before anything yes there still are people working in conditions approaching slavery, if not the actual thing, in this funny old world of ours. If we don’t have any “actual” messages, well maybe it’s because we haven’t come that far yet, so to speak. Once we can fully grasp that we should treat each other with equal respect regardless of race, sex, colour and creed we can move onto the complicated stuff…  In the meanwhile though, 12 Years a Slave shouts out its message loud and clear. And you should really, really stop and listen if you haven’t already.

ESSIE SPEAKS OF FAMILY

Well happy Sunday folks!

Sunday, family, well it all goes together really doesn't it? Sunday dinner with the whole extended family together, complete with long-standing grudges and awkward arguments... But, overlying it all the love, loyalty and bond ties us together. Of course, all families have their quirks - some more serious than other. Indeed there are almost as many "kinds" of family as there are people. But isn't it this great variety what makes life truly interesting?

So if your lot are giving you grief and you're looking for a bit of an escpe, check these unconventional families out... I guarantee it will make your own family look good!

Oh and by the way... No, I'm not completely oblivious to the Oscar nominations that came out this week. You can look forward to some reviews of the nominees and maybe even an opinion piece or two in the week to come. Keep your eyes on this space ;)

Oh oh oh one last thing - if you missed it, check out my little mid-week update here. One of my personal favourites ya know... :)

happy viewing!
Essie

THE (BRIEF) RETURN OF MY FAVOURTE SUPERHERO : "SHERLOCK SEASON 3"

Two years. We have been waiting for two blessed years. They knew we’d wait. They knew we’d “do the time” so they took their own sweet time planning practising and filming. But oh… Oh what an end result. The one thing that really frustrates me about this series is that how quickly it’s all over. I mean, especially for me, because I waited for the whole series to be finished (skilfully avoiding any spoilers pertaining to the finale) and “marathoned” the whole series in a day (at the time this article was written it was still available on BBC I-player for UK residents).  And now… Well I have to wait for another two years I guess… Which reminds me, I should really check if there are any clues circulating as to when the next series will be broadcast…  But anyhow. Before we turn our eyes to the future, let us dwell on the recent past. What did we make of season 3?

So, the first thing we find out – I’m sure it’s not a spoiler at this point – is that Sherlock Holmes is alive. The cynics among us will mumble something about “killing the goose that lays the golden eggs”. We can’t actually say that this is unfair. That said, we all need a superhero of some sort in our lives (and those claiming that “no, we don’t” are actually in denial). Now, some superheroes are, you know, your average superhero:  Handsome, inherently good, superpowers, saving the world, all that malarkey. Others are well adjusted sociopaths with off-the chart IQs and very poor interpersonal skills. My kind of superhero tends to be the latter. And that says something or other about my subconscious or my childhood but let’s not go there now. Anyway, long story short, superheroes never die. So  Sherlock is back. And he is mildly surprised that actually, life has gone on without him. But once both Sherlock and Watson have got over the shock; there is work to be done; there is serious evil afoot in London. Which is basically why Mycroft had him shipped back to London, I mean, why else would he bother, right?

Basically, what can I say? The series exceeds itself once again in my view. And we have the classic Sherlock tropes running through the tale. In the second series it was Sherlock’s death in a face-off with Moriarty. Ok, there were no waterfalls involved but they are in rather short supply in London. This time round its Watson’s wedding. Now, hand on heart, I was a bit worried about that. I mean, injecting a bit of comedy into an otherwise rather dark and cryptic series is well and good, not to mention necessary, but still. You don’t want it made into a laughing stock. I was, I need to confess especially worried about the wedding episode. I mean ok, for those who haven’t watched yet, one of the three episodes actually takes place at Dr Watson’s wedding. It starts off looking as if it’s going to be one of those epic failures when a very serious series tries to be a comedy for one episode and fails miserably. It’s just a smoke-screen, trust me. Just trust me. Trust Sherlock.

And the finale… Oh my goodness. I don’t want to give you too many details. You know that the whole point of this series is the surprise factor. But there is a truly odious arch-villain that will try Sherlock in ways he has never been tried yet. And you better watch all three episodes very, very closely. Because there is a point in the third episode where you are going to have to trace your way back to little bread crumbs dropped in the first episode. I mean, obviously the series does it for you complete with flashbacks but you know… Just so you know… There is a massive bigger picture. And more than one plot-twist.

All that not enough to tickle your fancy? How about  if I told you we meet Sherlock’s parents? That we get a glimpse at his and Mycroft’s early childhood? What if I told you that, for one split second, we actually see his inner sociopath face to face? I’m telling you… This season is good.

The one thing that might get you slightly is that they do a wonderful, emotionally charged finale. You’re left  with literal tears streaming down your face… Only to find, minutes before the end credits roll down, that they haven’t even waited for the next season to conjure up Sherlock’s “miracle return”. I found it destroyed the flow of the piece slightly but then again… I mean come on. We knew he’d be back. Call it golden eggs, call it superheroes… I guess it was pointless to pretend he was gone for good – because emotionally charged as the finale is, at the end of the day, none of us is really going to “believe” it, are we? So you might as well use the opportunity to give us a taster of what is coming next. And incidentally, judging purely by the little breadcrumb dropped, I’m very curious as to how they are going to “pull that one off”. Oh well. We just have to wait another two years or something to find out… 

AND THERE'S NOTHING QUITE LIKE FAMILY... ESPECIALLY THIS FAMILY... "DESPICABLE ME 2"

Phew, ok. Now, let’s try something a little happier, shall we? For all my “realism”, even I can’t abide 100% darkness the whole time. And when I say “let’s lighten things up a bit” I’m going all out. As we discussed above, the world can be a dark and scary place. Luckily we have things like family, laughter and more importantly animated movies to get us through the dark places…

I am deeply suspicious of sequels. I always have been. I strongly believe in leaving at the top of your game and all that. I know that the crew behind Despicable Me was good. But still… Good crews have tried other sequels and failed. This could have been the same. I mean it’s a good bet the kids would love it anyway but would we? The answer is yes. Yes, we would.

Gru and the crew are back. Although God only knows Gru didn’t want this. The plan was to give up “villaining” all together now and concentrate on legitimate business and family life- Gru does have three kids to raise now you know. How will they live? Well Dr Nefario and the minions are helping Gru develop a line of jams and jellies… It’s err… A work in process. But yeah. Sadly for Gru, his criminal talents are needed and they are needed urgently. There is a brand new super-criminal afoot and there is only one person the Anti Villain League can think of to help stop him: Gru! He takes a bit of convincing but Gru finally agrees to do “one last job”…  Coupled with the rather eccentric agent Lucy, Gru sets off to work saving the world once again. But what with teenage daughters and disappearing minions,  he may not quite have his mind on the job…

This is another one of those ones where I’m dying to literally tell you all about it but I don’t want to mess up any of the surprises. Suffice it to say that all our friends that we know and love are back and up to more tricks. The kids are as adorable as ever and Gru, not surprisingly, has got more of handle on parenting this time around. Look out for the minions – as if you needed telling – they have a considerably larger piece of the action this time around. I’m so glad they’re getting their own movie – aren’t you? Never fear, as you probably know, the rumours are in fact a reality. Check the end credits for this film if you don’t believe me J

So ok, I love Despicable me and I love the minions, but am I going to say “it’s perfect” and gloss it over? Well, no. I was a little upset that the series felt the need to “round off” Gru and the girls into a perfect family (oh come on. You KNEW Lucy was a love interest the moment I mentioned her. Don’t pull that face. You totally did). Having spent the larger part of my life growing up in a single-parent family I resented that a tiny bit. It’s a personal thing. I mean yes, of course having two parents is the ideal thing, no one can dispute that. But still, my point is single parent families do just fine thank you very much, they don’t necessarily need to be “rounded off” for the sake of being rounded off. But then again… I guess the film is more about love. And the fact that being a family doesn’t necessarily mean being blood relatives. The love comes, it brings people together and at the end of the day it even conquers “small details” like genetics. Which, I suppose, is also a worthy message. Ok yeah, it totally is. Besides it also puts out the message that love can come at any age etc. Gru is a “proper grown up” as opposed to the young 20-somethings (I can officially say that because the only two I’m getting in my age is on the far right from now on. Except if I live to a 120. Which is well… Unlikely.) finding love and settling down right at the beginning of “things”. So yeah. Actually a good mix of relevant real-life messages with your comedy. That’s exactly the kind of thing I like to see in a film. 

ESSIE SPEAKS OF TAKING A DRIVE

The title is ment to be ironic by the way. At the grand old age of almost 31 I'm not even vaguely close to being able to drive. So yeah.

Ok so this is a one-film update this week. It wasn't going to be. I was rather excited about having found one of my top 5 favourite films (and I really need to make that an actual list one of those days) and couldn't wait to share it with you. I had a lot to say about this one. A LOT. Hence, when I got to over 1000 words, I said, "hang on a second". It had turned into an update in its own right. It had a lot of heart and emotion attached to it. I decided it deserved to be in the spotlight all by itself. So here it is. In all its glory.

And in case you thought "oh she totally couldn't get two updates done in time", well, there will be an actual "other blog update" this Sunday. It will contain the film I've already written up. It will contain my review on the latest season of Sherlock Holmes. I suggest you check it out, though I say so myself ;)

happy viewing,
Essie

ABOUT FINDING YOURSELF IN A DARK PLACE... "DRIVE"

I fully intend to get more “up to date” on my reviews by the way. Just putting it out there. I was chatting to a colleague at work the other day and I was glad to hear that I am in fact not the only person who makes about ten New Year’s resolutions. I mean, you know, it’s good to have spares. I have like 5 or 6 this year. Tidying up the blog is one of them. Making my reviews more up to date comes under that heading. I mean, I will keep these randoms. Because this blog has always been about me going “Oh my God you guys, you’ll never guess what I discovered!” But yeah. Let’s  not lag too far behind either. I know this isn’t the clearest possible description of what changes I have in mind for the blog but don’t worry, it will become clearer. In the meanwhile let us concentrate on a more important question. How the heck did I take nigh on 3 years to watch Drive? It’s only, oh I don’t know, one of my top 5 favourite movies.

The driver (Ryan Gosling) is a man of few words. When you talk to him, you get the feeling life has made him this way. And to be absolutely frank, the life he leads doesn’t leave him much time to be touchy – feely. By day, he is a stunt driver on Hollywood movies. By night, he is one of the best get-away drivers that can be had for the right amount of cash. Meet his terms and he is yours, no matter what. And more often than not, he will get you out of no matter what. In short, as far as driving is concerned, he has a God given talent and he is using it every single way he knows how. And he has a rather solitary if fast-paced existence until his next-door neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her little son come into his life. This in itself is not a bad thing; it’s not a bad thing at all. It’s when his relationship with his neighbours enters a head-on collision course with his dark night-time dealings that the driver reaches a very dangerous point. He will need all his courage and talent to salvage even some of the things he loves. If he makes it out alive that is.

Ok, several things. First of all, be warned this film is full of dark places. I mean, you know me. I’m all about dark places and ultra-realism and all those things that make a film… Well not a fluffy romantic comedy. You know what I mean. No. The world of the driver is hard and dark. You may, at the beginning, be tempted to judge our hero as “bad” but it soon becomes very obvious that he is just keeping his feelings under lock and key. Why? We can only imagine. Because even in the credits Ryan Gosling is listed as “Driver” –we never even learn the hero’s name. And then, a ray of sunlight enters his world. A true, bright, warm ray of sunlight he cannot help but turn to. Unfortunately though, as is often the case with these things, clouds quickly scurry on to cover the sun and the driver is left bewildered and more vulnerable than before. Because those feelings he had under lock and key were there for a reason and now innocent lives are at stake.

Ryan Gosling is absolutely marvellous as the driver. One thing I loved about the whole film is that he is completely silent for a very large part of it. It is almost the character’s trademark. This, among other things, makes it very easy for us to project ourselves onto him. Well think about it; since you’ll be using your own experiences and imagination to figure out what’s going through his head, you will create a character sympathetic to yourself. Thus, anyone who has anything marginally similar to the Driver is going to end up adoring him. You might have been down on your luck relationship-wise and feeling lonely. You might be in a job you’re not particularly happy in and desperately want to get out. You might have been unlucky enough to have been backstabbed or may, for whatever reason, feel you need to keep your emotions hidden. You will like this guy. You will find something of yourself in him. The genius of the film is the fact that it makes it so easy for you to put it there J . Oh don’t get me wrong. I love the driver too. I’m just pointing out to you I reckon this comes about.

And then of course there is the supreme contrast of this state with his changed state when Irene enters his life. Pay attention and you will see all the little details like the changes in the lighting, the softer colours… But more importantly, the Driver speaks. He smiles. And the couple work so well together, the acting is just so brilliant your heart swells. I mean, at this point a word or two needs to be said about Carey Mulligan. She is one of the brightest stars of our time and yet I love the fact that she pulls of being completely, believably normal.  Yes, even an old cynic like me was rooting for a happy ending on this one. Did I get what I wanted? Well… Like a lot of things in life – and in this film – nothing is black or white. You will have to watch the film and figure the answer out for yourselves.

What I love about this film is that it is so close to real life and I saw – as I am confident a lot of you will – so many emotions I have felt and psychological places I have found myself in. I know that some people advocate a completely different you know, restful world where all the problems are nicely tidied up and any rough edges on characters are nicely filed down by the end. Thing is, that doesn’t tap into my real emotions. Life simply does not work out like that. I find it is rare that a film grips me at the heart strings like this and has me pausing the film now and again, simply because I just feel so tense I just can’t take any more adrenaline. It will not come on you all at once, oh but it definitely will grow on you… Now go watch the darn thing…

ESSIE SPEAKS OF WOMEN'S TROUBLES

Hey there! Good to see you're still around! I know, I'm late again, but hey, I come baring awesome film reviews to make up for it! That'll make up for it, right? Right. You'll forgive me. I'm sure you will.

Besides, we have serious stuff to talk about. You know me, my blog has always ever been about films. I endeavour to keep my political and religious views out of the "main" story, although of course writing reviews is a creative process and my views do, no doubt, bleed into my writing. But they are never the main event.

They are not the main event this week either. But they do get talked about more. Because I am, at the end of the day, a woman. And women around the world are getting, to put it mildly, "a bit of a rough deal" in many, many walks of life. I feel we should be, at the very least, aware. Because this is the first step of doing something about it.

Of the two films I review today, one, I feel, does a great job of pushing us to think. One, I feel, could have done a whole lot better. But both give us food for thought. Check 'em out, feel free to tell me what you think (I'm still on @Essie_Tweets )

happy viewing,
Essie

P.S. Don't forget to check out the trailers of the films too! I post them whenever I can find them and they "live" at the bottom of the main home page. Just scroll down to see 'em! :)

UNBELIEVABLE TALES FROM A LAND NOT FAR AWAY, NOT SO LONG AGO... "THE MAGDELENE SISTERS"

In the developed world, we read with horror, the stories of people incarcerated or even sometimes put to death for “matters of the heart”. The examples range from countries that punish homosexuality by death to those stories of families that put their daughters through punishments that range from ostracism to death for flirting with a boy, or even being suspected of flirting with a boy.  While we roll our eyes and thank whatever gods may be this no longer happens where we live, it’s very easy to forget that it actually did happen, until relatively recently, in a land not so far away…

The Magdelene sisters is the true story of life in the Magdelene Laundries, an “establishment” for “fallen women”. These institutions were first founded in the 18^th century and continued to function in much the same way until 1996 when the last of the institutions closed down in Ireland. The institutions could be found all over Europe, North America and Australia and aimed to “reform” fallen women through a gruelling regime of manual labour (often laundering clothes but also other forms of labour, cleaning, needlework etc), prayer , enforced silence and the giving up of all worldly luxuries (such as decent food and sleep). Our story focuses on the stories of three young Irish women who are sent to just such an asylum for “crimes” such as flirting, getting raped and having a child out of wedlock. Once dumped here, more often than not their families wanted nothing more to do with them and the girls faced a life of drudgery and dehumanization, as some of the more unfortunate ones who were either orphans or the offspring of very strict families were never “claimed” or asked after again… The three heroines of our story realise quickly that “gritting your teeth and baring it” is really, really not an option and that unless they take their fate into their own hands quickly they are going to get “swallowed” forever by the establishment and never heard of again. The question is, will their friendship give them enough strength to break free?

I defy anyone to watch this film from beginning to end without welling up at some point. Geraldine McEwan gives an absolutely stellar performance as Sister Bridgette, the head nun who runs this particular branch of the Magdalene laundries with an iron fist. The girls are “institutionalised” for crimes that are mostly not even their fault; some of the girls don’t even quite understand what it is they have done as finding people with serious mental issues is quite common. The institution calls itself an asylum but very little is done in the way of actually trying to “treat” the girls. The girls have to “redeem” themselves through drudgery and suffering. They can, supposedly, leave when the nuns decide they are ready but this rarely happens. The only real ways out are joining the order of nuns, being “reclaimed” by a male relative or escape. Failing those, the girls are pretty much left in the laundry to “redeem” themselves until the day they die. But as you watch the film and rejoice when the happy endings come round (be warned, not all of the “stories” in the film end happily) please spare a thought for the millions of women around the world today who suffer the same sort of treatment on a psychological level. There are so many cases where rape victims are considered to have “provoked” their attacker and getting pregnant outside of wedlock is considered the greatest of all sins. The film may be set in the 60’s but the stories it tells are sadly quite current in some countries, some far, some closer to home than you may think…

The film not only does a wonderful job of telling a chilling story through truly amazing acting and some seriously quality filmmaking, hopefully, through these stories, it provides a stepping stone for people of the developed world to start thinking about these stories, these stories that are getting repeated all over the world today in different settings. The film is a far cry from being a “call to action”; in fact it is more a testament to something terrible that happened in the recent past and a voice that has been leant to thousands of victims that were forced into silence. But it does bring you to the question “why stop there?”. A couple of well selected key words in to the search engines and you will see that the story is as current as ever… Now this little multiple award winner has given you something to think about… Who knows, you may want to do something about it as well…