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Una (Cinema Review)

30th August 2017 By Tim Isaac

Starring: Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Ruby Stokes
Directed by: Benedict Andrews
Written by: David Harrower
Certificate: 15
Running time: 93 mins
UK Release Date: September 1st 2017

Our Score

In 2006, Jodhi May and Roger Allam starred in a West End play called Blackbird, which was a sensation. David Harrower’s play was an intense, claustrophobic two hander about the effects of an affair between a 12-year-old girl and an adult man 15 years on. He went to prison, she cannot move on, and she turns up to his workplace to – well, what? Find closure? Thump him in the face? Tell him she still loves him? All of those things?

Blackbird took one of the biggest taboos in our country and looked at it from every point of view. It’s unthinkable, but maybe, just maybe, a man can genuinely love a 12-year-old girl, and perhaps she can love him back. It’s clearly illegal, and he ends up in prison, but he seems to have pieced his life back together – what about her? Is he even interested in the adult version of her?

There is a huge problem with this film adaptation of Harrower’s play, which is the use of flashbacks. In Blackbird we were in a room with May and Allam, and that was it – no escape, no easy way out. When they talked about their affair we had to imagine a 12-year-old girl. Here we get to see her, all too often, and it breaks the spell, as well as making for a very queasy feeling. The film even risks an obvious Lolita homage, when she turns around from her sunbed and smiles. No fault of the excellent Ruby Stokes, but when we actually see the 13-year-old Una smiling at Ray (Ben Mendelsohn) while wearing a bikini, it means the complex relationship spelled out in the play is reduced to a far more simplistic atmosphere. One scene, where we see Una hide in a bush in the park, shortly followed by Ray, is truly stomach-churning.

Ironically these flashbacks never help overcome the other main weakness – the obvious staginess of the film. The main action takes places in a bleak break area of a factory, and despite the action being moved around into various meeting rooms and toilets it never feels more than a play put on screen, despite those flashbacks. It’s hardly the most visual of settings (even the flashbacks look harsh) with both characters living in grubby houses near the sea with a permanently grey sky, and the local pub looks like it’s straight from the 1970s.

Rooney Mara plays the adult Una, who we quickly learn is a deeply troubled woman, possibly alcoholic and prone to brief sexual encounters in club toilets. She still lives with her mother in her childhood home, has a rubbish job and no boyfriend. She tracks down the man with whom she had a three-month affair when she was 13 (changed from the play’s 12 for some reason) and decides to confront him in his factory.

Ray is now called Pete, is married and has a new life, a house and a wife. His face crumples when Una turns up, and they relive their ‘affair’. The brilliant thing in the writing is that Ray is clearly wrong in every way – he was an adult, he knew it was wrong to have sex with a girl, he organised their liaisons, but he is never presented as a mere monster. He continually points out he was “never one of them” – predatory paedophiles, presumably – and insists he was attracted to her and her only, no other girls. His plan for them to run off together on the ferry to Calais is ill-conceived and clearly doomed, but appears to be genuine.

She on the other hand counters that he must have merely wanted her for her body – “there was nothing else”. At 12 she was probably right, but he insists she was special. She also wants to know why he ‘left her’, why he disappeared at the story’s crucial juncture, and keeps repeating this mantra, even in court. She even tells the whole court she still loves Ray.

This argument continues, getting deeper and more detailed, towards what we assume will be a resolution of sorts, but cleverly it never does. There is no resolution, both lives are ruined, in very different ways.

By the end, in which minor characters such as Ray’s wife and factory worker Riz Ahmed are drafted in as plot points, the intensity has deflated, although there is still one trick left up the writer’s sleeve to remind us who really has the power in this pairing.

Overall Verdict: Disappointing film version of a ground-breaking play, which never rids itself of the staginess. Excellent performances by the leads can’t overcome the structural problems with the film’s use of flashbacks.

Reviewer: Mike Martin

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Ruby Stokes  DIRECTORS: Benedict Andrews  

Ready Player One Trailer – The Iron Giant & BTTF DeLorean appear in Steven Spielberg’s reference-heavy world

23rd July 2017 By Tim Isaac

Ready Player One is one of the more intriguing movies of 2018. Ernest Cline’s novel was packed with references to 80s and 90s culture and films, including much of the work of Steven Spielberg. So when the great bearded one announced he was going to direct a movie version, many were intruigued about how they’d incorporate references to films owned by a wide variety of companies – especially as Spielberg said he would be going easy on references to his own films.

Now we’ve got out first look at the movie, and the references are there, including the Back To The Future DeLorean, and The Iron Giant. The last of those Spielberg says is a major part of the movie. It does look pretty cool though, and more ambitious than anything we’ve seen from SPielberg for a while.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the science fiction action adventure “Ready Player One,” based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name.

‘Ready Player One is in cinemas March 30, 2018 and stars Tye Sheridan (“X-Men: Apocalypse,” “Mud”), Olivia Cooke (“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” “Bates Motel”), Ben Mendelsohn (“Rogue One – A Star Wars Story,” “Bloodline”) and T.J. Miller (“Deadpool,” “Silicon Valley”), with Simon Pegg (the “Star Trek” movies, the “Mission: Impossible” movies) and Oscar winner Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies,” upcoming “Dunkirk”).

‘The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.’ [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, TJ Miller, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance  DIRECTORS: Steven Spielberg  FILMS: Ready Player One  

Darkest Hour Trailer – Gary Oldman plays Winston Churchill on the eve of WWII

13th July 2017 By Tim Isaac

When you first look at Gary Oldman, you wouldn’t think he’d be the first choice to play British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill. However, as the pic above and trailer below show that after an impressive transformation, he’s far better than you’d think.

Here’s the synopsis for the Darkest Hour, ‘A thrilling and inspiring true story begins on the eve of World War II as, within days of becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman) must face one of his most turbulent and defining trials: exploring a negotiated peace treaty with Nazi Germany, or standing firm to fight for the ideals, liberty and freedom of a nation. As the unstoppable Nazi forces roll across Western Europe and the threat of invasion is imminent, and with an unprepared public, a skeptical King, and his own party plotting against him, Churchill must withstand his darkest hour, rally a nation, and attempt to change the course of world history.’

Kristen Scott Thomas, Lily James, Stephen Dillane, Ronald Pickup and Ben Mendelsohn also star, with Joe Wright directing. It’s due in UK cinemas next January. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Gary Oldman, Kristen Scott Thomas, Lily James, Stephen Dillane, Ronald Pickup, Ben Mendelsohn  DIRECTORS: Joe Wright  FILMS: Darkest Hour  

Final Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer – Felicity Jones heads for a galaxy far, far away

13th October 2016 By Tim Isaac

rogue-one-slideWhile there have been rumours of trouble behind the scenes of Rogue One, with Disney said to be concerned about the tone, and the need for extensive reshoots, in the past few weeks the vibes seem to have been improving for the first of the planned movies that take place outside the main Star Wars story arc. The final trailer has now arrived, which certainly makes it look like this could be a good one.

The film follows the mission that got hold of the Death Star plans that played such a vital role in the first movie, with the trailer not just teasing the planet destroying weapon, but also the fact Darth Vader will feature in the movie. And after the success of Rey, the trailer introduces us to another strong heroine in the form of Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso.

The movie hits cinemas in December. Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed  DIRECTORS: Gareth Edwards  FILMS: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story  

New Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer – Felicity Jones heads for a galaxy far, far away

12th August 2016 By Tim Isaac

rogue-one-slideWhile the first teaser trailer for Rogue One was pretty cool, there have been rumours of trouble behind the scenes, with Disney said to be concerned about the tone, and the need for extensive reshoots. However, the latest trailer continues to make this look like it could be awesome. It certainly has a different feel to The Force Awakens,  and it’s not surprising they have gone for a slightly 1970s look, as the film is set just before A New Hope.

The film follows the mission that got hold of the Death Star plans that played such a vital role in the first movie, with the trailer not just teasing the planet destroying weapon, but also the fact Darth Vader will feature in the movie. And after the success of Rey, the trailer introduces us to another strong heroine in the form of Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso.

The movie hits cinemas in December. Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed  DIRECTORS: Gareth Edwards  FILMS: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story  

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer – Felicity Jones has a very important mission in a galaxy far, far away

7th April 2016 By Tim Isaac

rogue-one-trailer-slideNow this is an interesting one. There was a lot riding on the trailer for Rogue One after the success of The Force Awakens, as not only did it have to show it wasn’t a follow-up to last year’s movie but it also needed to show those uncertain about it that it wasn’t just a shameless cash-in on the Star Wars name.

I think it’s fair to say it does a great job, displaying a darker, more adult tone, while showing an impressive feel for the look of the original Star Wars trilogy, mixed with some very modern special effects. It’s not surprising they have gone for that slightly 1970s look, as the film is set just before A New Hope.

The film follows the mission that got hold of the Death Star plans that played such a vital role in the first movie. And after the success of Rey, the trailer introduces us to another strong heroine in the form of Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso. Take a look at the trailer below.

The movie hits cinemas in December. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn  DIRECTORS: Gareth Edwards  FILMS: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story  
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