BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR... "SEVEN PSYCOPATHS"

Now, the name of this film does not give much away. I mean, it does and it doesn’t. As you probably guessed, from the trailer and from the name, yes, it is basically about seven psychopaths. Basically.  There is quite a hefty dose of violence mixed up in all of this. Come on, we are dealing with psychos here. But it is also about something you might not actually expect. Creativity. We all know that any sort of creativity – writing more than most perhaps as it is such a solitary occupation when you get down to the nitty-gritty of it – is a bit of a battle. But of course no man is an island. And if you have not chosen your friends as wisely as you could have done, they might well leak into your creative endeavours to create what we might call an “explosive” mix… Especially in Hollywood the land of dreams…

Marty  ( Colin Farrell) is a struggling screenwriter trying to place together his “next hit” – a screenplay called “ Seven Psychopaths”. Now, the title may be catchy but sadly it is about as far as Marty has got. Billy (Sam Rockwell), an actor who is not all together very stable himself, is Marty’s best friend and as such is dying to use his own rather original approach to get Marty out of his predicament. There is, however, a very slight problem. It involves actual psychopaths. And the head of a gang (Woody Harrelsson) who is out to basically kill them all. There’s a Shih Tzu in the mix. And of course, an almighty shootout at the end, worthy of the name “Seven Psychopaths” – or so Billy hopes anyway. Well, one thing is for sure. If he makes it out of this mess alive, Marty really is going to have one heck of a story to tell.

As you will be able to tell from the get go, there is not one iota of material that is “serious” about Seven Psychopaths. True enough, there are some moments of “genuine” emotion, but only to serve as a breather for the onslaught of absurd comedy that reigns supreme throughout the show.

Now, the onslaught of absurd comedy is not a bad thing. Nor is the profusion of violence – as long as you don’t mind that sort of thing. The film is a bizarre one. I suspect that a lot of people will see a lot in it that they like. But almost definitely some things they don’t like. Stylistically the film is quite “modern”. Multiple characters and merging storylines (the name of the script should be a hint here), each slightly larger than life and the previous hero come together to form the film. This means very slick and quick editing and a lot of laughs / emotion based exclusively on violence. In fact, I have just found the word I was looking for, it’s cartoonish. I’m specifically thinking of Road Runner and Wiley E. Coyote, where more and more elaborate weapons come out as the two immortal cartoon heroes “duke it out”. While this is all well and good as entertainment and for some, you may well want a tad bit less pointless bloodshed (by pointless I mean for comedic value only – or close enough for it not to matter), fewer characters and slightly fewer “branches” on the storyline. Or at least branches that are tied together a little more “tidily”. I feel you. I kind of feel the same way. But on the other hand, I honestly doubt this film was ever made for serious dissecting. It is loud, bawdy fun and you should take it as such. Or not take it at all if you don’t have a stomach for violence – but that’s another story all together…

RUNNING A BIT LATE - WITH MY APPOLOGIES

My dearests, I am so sorry. I'm having a bit of a busy couple of days. It has been, to put it mildly, slightly mad over here in my world.

I just wanted to drop you a couple of lines to let you know I have neither forgotten nor abandonned you. I will not, however, be able to update the blog today. However fret not, I should be able to sort things out by tomorrow and we will enter the weekend fully "filmed up" as it were.

In the meanwhile, please accept my sincerest appologies and enjoy your thursday!

much love,
Essie

ESSIE SPEAKS OF NEW PERSPECTIVES

Ok that is a reasonanbly adequate way of describing this week's fare. I should maybe have added that it is rather a dark one.

This week we lay family life, childhood/ school years under the camera and take a good hard look at it. Things are not, as you probably already guessed, quite what they seem. I'm not quite sure why my film watching has taken such a dark turn this week. It contrasts so awfully with the beautiful spring weather we are enjoying over here these days. Then again I suppose, in every light there is a spot of darkness and vice versa. I may or may not have meant to go down this particularly philosophical train of thought. However, here we find ourselves, so reflect on it while you are here. Because this dark side can be found not only in the weather, but in the very hearts of our own families and even in the hearts of innocent school children sometimes. What do I mean? You'd better scroll down to find out :)

happy viewing,
Essie

FAMILIAL LOVE - THOUGH NOT QUITE AS YOU KNOW IT : "WINTER’S BONE"

As we all know probably far too well, families are complicated things. Sometimes all goes well, things are smooth and your family is your sanctuary from the big bad world outside. If things don’t quite go according to plan, you have each other to cling to. Other times, however, things are not so rosy or smooth. And the thing that upsets our lives the most is the family itself – bits of it if not the whole thing.

This is something 17 year old Ree (Jenniffer Lawrence) knows only too well. Her father is part of the local drug trade and therefore often “out of the picture” for one reason or another. Her mother is depressed and withdrawn. All Ree’s younger siblings have to depend on is their older sister who is a mother to all of them – including her own mother – living a very tough life in a poor, mountainous town. Their peaceful yet precarious existence will, however, be shattered by a visit from the local sheriff. In his latest brush with the law, Ree’s father has put their house up as collateral. This means that if he doesn’t turn up for his trial in a week’s time, the family will lose the house. And true to form, Ree’s father is nowhere to be found. So, to save her family, Ree sets out on a route that will bring her face to face with shady characters and members of her own family who tell her to just stay out of it. Staying out of it, however, is definitely not an option. Whether Ree will like the truth she finally uncovers however, is a different matter altogether.

First of all, I love the slightly gritty and tough take this film has on the concept of family. There are many rather beautiful examples of families rallying together in the face of danger, the self-sacrificing, protective “parent” figure and all that. The problem with that is that the films do have a slight “penchant” towards the saccharine. Not this one. Oh no. Ree is very, very real. Her affection for her siblings is more the “tough love” kind and she shows her love and dedication for her family not with frills, but by moving Heaven and Earth, putting herself in genuine danger, just to secure a home for her loved ones. Actions, after all, do speak louder than words. And in that sense, Ree is positively screaming.

The film is technically brilliant too. First of all, as you know Jennifer Lawrence’s Oscar® winning character Tiffany annoyed me. Quite a bit. I love Ree. And it’s a credit to Lawrence that she is equally brilliant at portraying both. I mean, I guess I’m not saying she was bad as Tiffany, I’m just saying I enjoyed this a lot more. Imdb reliably informs me that this is only director Debra Granick’s second feature film. First of all, kudos to the fact that she has literally whipped the floor with her opposition in every festival and awards ceremony she was a part of. It always makes me happy to see strong female directors, as you may have noticed. I really look forward to seeing more of her stuff!

AN EARLY MEETING OF "LIKE MINDS"

What is it with our fascination with psychopaths? I guess it has something to do with the fact that they are the closest thing we have to an alien species. Seeming like any one of us in so many ways, and yet not quite the same. I think it also has something to with the charisma often associated with psychopaths as well. I mean, I have not (to my knowledge) ever met a psychopath but they do seem to put across a bit more of a certain something than your average guy (they generally are guys. Female psychopaths exist but are much rarer). I mean, to the point that I did read an article somewhere that analysed the common traits between psychopaths and successful entrepreneurs, which in itself tells us something or other about the state of the business world today. But I digress. Well, not really.

Like Minds is the story of a psychopath in the making. Alex, the 17 year old son of the headmaster of a very privileged school is being held in custody at the local police station. The charge? The murder of a fellow student, Nigel and possible links to other heinous crimes committed in the area. However, the explanation he provides for the death of his friend is so bizarre that a forensic psychologist has to be brought in. The police chief is sure he’s as guilty as sin but Susan, the psychologist is not that sure. Alex’s tale is one of those yarns that is so tall it just might be too fantastic to be imagined up. He speaks of a world marked with mind games, manipulation and obsession. And as Susan plunges deeper and deeper into this case, one thing becomes painfully clear. Finding the identity of Nigel’s killer is not going to be as easy as it seems. 

Now you might, as I was, be slightly sceptical as to how many more psychopath movies you can take. I mean, yes, we are rather fascinated by this particular kind of killer, especially in harmless movie form. However, this also means that the market is fairly saturated with films about them. And not all of the “saturation” is of the same quality. In this cinematic multitude however, Like minds stands out as certainly a lot more than “just tolerable”.  The performances by the two leads, Eddie Redmayne – who later edged into the limelight with My week with Marilyn among other films and Tom Sturridge are quite superb. And the film gives a rather spine chilling “blow by blow” (if you pardon the pun) account of how a psychopath is born. How, if you will, the step is taken from “tendency” to reality.

I mean yes, it has to be said, there are bits – especially towards the end – that unfortunately slip into the slightly stilted. There were bits where a little originality (though of course I couldn’t say what – but that’s originality for you!) would have been very welcome indeed. Then again though, like I said, Like Minds, for all its original features, is a member of a large extended family, as we have just discussed, so I guess there is bound to be a “family resemblance”. I only wish it wasn’t from the “cliché” branch of the family. But nonetheless, I was easily able to overlook them and have a positively nail-biting time. And that says something, given the quantity of crime drama I watch. Let’s see what you lot make of it. 

ESSIE TAKES A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

I'm rather pleased with this week's line-up. No I really am and yes, more than usual.

See, I love the way these two particular items come together. Today ladies and gents, I proudly present to you, a very comprehensive slice of life from the '60s. Almost the entire decade is spanned with a little spillage (temporal spillage, as it were) on either side. We do not walk in the super rich or super famous. In fact we walk with the common people. The ones that tend to get forgotten in grand narratives usually. The poor, the underpriviledged, the ones trying to make a living no matter what the stakes. We have two separate yet similar views from two sides of the pond today. One is a series full of heart and warmth that a lot of you here in the U.K. will be familiar with. The other is a cinema classic, one of the first efforts of a director that is today a household name. On the surface, they look stylistically quite different. But really, it's only a change in perspective. And isn't that true of most things in life? So many things are really two sides of the same coin if we look hard enough - but I digress. We're kinda heading into a whole different blog :)

I'd be really interested to know what you think of these two items watched in succession actually. Can anyone give me some feedback on what they think if they do it? It would make me SO happy :)

happy viewing,
Essie

A STEP BACK IN TIME TO AN UNEXPECTED PLACE: "CALL THE MIDWIFE"

I started watching this one out of curiosity more than anything else. I mean yes, we all know what a midwife does. We all know the appeal of medical dramas such as Casualty, Grey’s Anatomy, House M.D. etc. Seriously, could there be something untapped and original in there somewhere? Then again the BBC did seem to be on to something good here. I mean this was an actual true story (and you know what a soft spot I have for those. I call it having a sense of history. I strongly suspect it is more commonly known as being nosey. But I’ll let you be the judge of that move hastily on…  So I decided to check out one episode. Just to see what the fuss was about. I was instantly hooked. Now, in case you were also wondering, I shall attempt to explain to you guys what the fuss is about. J

Call the Midwife is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth who worked as a midwife through the 1950’s and 60’s in London’s East End slums. It beautifully records everyday life, the colourful characters and the many incidents all punctuated with the miracle of birth. When the newly qualified Jenny Lee first arrives at Nonatus House she isn’t quite sure what to expect. Especially since she was not aware that she would actually be living in a convent alongside a group of nuns – who also acted as midwives. Jenny Lee is slightly taken aback at her rather novel surroundings – be it the convent or the sheer poverty of post- WWII East London. But in time she comes to think of it as home and family. And along with her so, in a way, do we.

I have always thought that it must be particularly difficult to portray real people. I mean people who really existed. In writing the story, creating the characters for television or film, you have to keep the interest of the audience. But at the same time you can’t really afford to lose anything from the “realness” of the characters and events. It really must be a precarious balance. Especially in cases where the character portrayed is still alive. Even more so in a story like this. I mean think about it, it’s a story of London in the ‘50s. No gadgets, gizmos or special effects. There really has to be a large dose of something to make a successful television series – especially with so many “rivals” around.  I was especially interested to read the reaction of the daughters of Jennifer Worth to the series. Mrs Worth, it would seem, departed this world shortly before the series was broadcast. It turns out that her daughters really felt as if they were “seeing” their mother as a young woman, before they knew her. I think that is saying quite something, don’t you?

Well, Call the Midwife really and truly steps up to the plate. The characters and the stories are so incredibly warm, real and easy to identify with one gets swept up in a matter of minutes. It helps that, despite being set in a completely different era, the story largely revolves around an event that has, in its essence, remained unchanged throughout the ages:  childbirth.  Well, the event itself is unchanged of course, but the circumstances under which it happens have, it has to be said, has changed quite a bit. Yes, there are undoubted plugs for the NHS in the script, and you can think of that what you will. But the problems depicted – that are often, thankfully, no longer an issue – were very real at the time.