100W: Iron Man 3

As a writer, it is a regular expectation to keep to a strict word count. Every time you pick up a magazine, articles can be a small 100-word write-up or a 1000-word review. My own notes for the many films seen are always over 100 words - so this is a new feature that will focus on reviewing films in a concise 100 words.

Iron Man 3 (Dir. Shane Black/2013)

Robert Downey Jr returns as Tony Stark in the seventh Avengers instalment – and the third in the Iron Man series. Iron Man 3 seems to pack a punch and carry a change in tone to the Phase 1 ‘Avengers’ canon as Stark is self-reflective and the film carries a subtle political relevance – via a memorable Ben Kingsley (harking back to the original Iron Man). Unfortunately, like many Marvel films, we know it’s just explosions, OTT CGI and a smell of arrogance. The child-inside will be gratified - but adults won’t be. In the age of Christopher Nolan, we expect better.

100W: Catch Me If You Can

As a writer, it is a regular expectation to keep to a strict word count. Every time you pick up a magazine, articles can be a small 100-word write-up or a 1000-word review. My own notes for the many films seen are always over 100 words - so this is a new feature that will focus on reviewing films in a concise 100 words.

Catch Me If You Can (Dir. Steven Spielberg/2002)

Leonardo DiCaprio is Frank Abagnale Jr. Influenced by his Father, his creedo is image and identity. He plays the part and uses his appearance as a way of life. Tom Hanks is Detective Hanratty - clumsy but unravelling Frank's lies. Spielberg jumps between time to clarify what is true and false - and what is right and wrong. Frank lives an extraordinary life while Hanratty struggles. Like Up in the Air, Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can tackles themes of loneliness but primarily it’s about how your past always catches up with you – and what great fun that can be!

100W: Deliverance

As a writer, it is a regular expectation to keep to a strict word count. Every time you pick up a magazine, articles can be a small 100-word write-up or a 1000-word review. My own notes for the many films seen are always over 100 words - so this is a new feature that will focus on reviewing films in a concise 100 words.

Deliverance (Dir. John Boorman/1972)

Deliverance is known for the "duel of the banjos" when we see a man-child compete with Ronny Cox. But the “crazy hicks” look at the city-guys suspiciously too – and this tension is central. Lewis (Burt Reynolds) is arrogant; Ed (Jon Voight) is innocent; Bobby (Ned Beatty) is the victim. Canoeing downstream, they meet local men who rape and hold them at gunpoint. They survive, but scars run deeper than skin. An influence on Mean Creek amongst others, Deliverance continues past the holiday itself too - and shows that you can’t erase memories, despite how much you try and bury them.

The Long Good Friday (John Mackenzie, 1980)

What I'm looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius. A little bit more than an 'ot dog, know what I mean?"

Introduction

"My pitch was terrorism meets gangsterism" says Barrie Keeffe - writer of The Long Good Friday. This single film made Bob Hoskins a star and managed to balance the political status of England, shortly after Margaret Thatcher came to power. May 4th 1979 saw Thatcher elected into power - The Long Good Friday was released in 1980. Based over a long-weekend in London - it showed Harry Shand (Bob Hoskins) return to London to secure an investment from the Americans - only to find that his own turf was under attack from the Irish. Using the IRA as the threat to Harry Shand and his criminal empire was a brave decision by Keeffe and John Mackenzie, but it paid off as The Long Good Friday remains iconic in its depiction of London and its attitude towards British Gangsters. John Patterson, for The Guardian goes further noting how The Long Good Friday "is also a grownup, despairing look at Britain on the edge of an economic and political precipice."

London

London was beginning to grow - Keeffe himself writes that his initial thoughts were spurred on by the buildings beginning to grow out of the docklands in Greenwich. Harry Shand "believes" in London - keen to brand the city as the "Capital of Europe". His attitude -  and ours as viewers - changes as a bomb destroys his mothers car as she attends a Good Friday church service. The situation gets worse - a bomb fails to set-off at a casino Harry owns and a third bomb explodes in a pub that Harry has invested in. Someone is after Harry Shand and he doesn't know why. And, of all days, this has to happen when he is trying to conduct big business with the Americans ...

London is a different place to what it is now. The Long Good Friday knows its Brixtons from its Docklands. It knows who the "Finsbury Hilly-billies" are - and we are expected to join in on the search across the the city. Harry Shand has connections across the land as his closest associate, educated Jeff (aka, Derek Thompson who moved on to play Charlie Fairhead in Casualty) and Razors (P.H. Moriarty), amongst others, assist Shand in hunting down those behind the bombings.When it is revealed that it is the Irish who are responsible it was - and still is - a controversial outcome.

London is a changing society and a world whereby Harry - an old school gangster - is clearly having trouble keeping up. He doesn't realise how explosive the "paddy factor" is - he is a gangster who aspires to be affluent; rich; established. The IRA are idealists- they fight for more.

A Globalised World

Throughout the film we see how powerful Harry Shand truly is. He manages to 'round-up' the villains of London and hang them on meat-hooks in an attempt to establish who is responsible for the bombings. He conducts business on a yacht and his wife (Helen Mirren) is as intelligent - if not moreso - than he. Together, the two know exactly where they want their business to go.

But the end of an era is clearly hinted at as a key scene takes place at a destruction derby. We see old, beaten up cars on their final lap. They have had their prime but in a mark of desperation, they fight on a course, ready to go out in style. Harry Shand is unaware that he is out of touch. He has taken his finger off the pulse and his old-style of gangsterism is dated. Are we seeing a commentary between the business relations of the UK and the US? A stand-off between the two sides solidifies Harry's position - Harry Shand doesn't take kindly to such a flippant disregard of his offer. Though I have a feeling the Americans leave the country unscathed ... Harry Shand should be so lucky.

Iconic - and Influenced

The Long Good Friday became a staple hit of the gangster genre. Ranked No.20 on a list of Best Crime Films compiled by The Guardian, it is clear that it is a film not to be taken lightly. Akin to The Godfather, there is a disgust for the drugs and the street. A gangster clinging onto old-school values is as prevalent in The Godfather as it is in Sexy Beast.

Guy Ritchie was clearly a fan too, casting P.H. Moriarty and Alan Ford as the villains in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells and Snatch respectively. And even Matthew Vaughan knew a trick of two - using a final sting to end Layer Cake as Mackenzie ends The Long Good Friday. How perfect that it is Pierce Brosnan who manages to become the unforgettable face Harry Shand see's before the closing credits - the James Bond of the future.

The Long Good Friday remains a powerful film to this day and if you want to see the city Margaret Thatcher came to power in as she became elected, then this is a small hint about what London was like. It also shows the types of business proposals that could take place too - and how those, like Shand, could prosper. Add to this the outstanding jazz soundtrack by Francis Monkman and dialogue that pops like Cockney-firecrackers and it is clear that this film is well up in the ranks of Top British Film. A true classic.

Originally written/analysed for Man I Love Films on 25 April 2013

Sightseers (Ben Wheatley, 2012)

"He's not a person, he's a Daily Mail reader!"

When I watched Ben Wheatley's second feature-film Kill List, I couldn't help but recall Shane Meadows Dead Man's Shoes. Both films centered around assassin-like killers who lived within poverty-stricken areas while both films technically shot (primarily) hand-held and were rooted in Brit-realism. Whereas following Dead Man's Shoes, Meadows continued to explore Brit-realism and drama in early 80's-set This is England, it seems Ben Wheatley has veered into comedy territory with Sightseers. With Edgar Wright producing, Wheatley utilises the writing and acting talents of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh regulars Alice Lowe and Steve Oram respectively. Wheatley has moved into a completely different direction that surely shows his flexibility and diverse skill-set. That's not to say that Kill List and Sightseers have nothing in common, but considering Wheatley wrote and directed episodes of a comedy-series The Wrong Door and even directed a documentary on Steve Coogan, it may be that Ben Wheatley is more Edgar Wright than he is Shane Meadows.

Sightseers

Set in the North of England, we join Chris (Oram) and Tina (Lowe) as they travel from the city-scape of Redditch and onwards into Yorkshire, passing by quirky caravan stop-offs and pencil museums. Chris and Tina are 'those' people who seem to thoroughly enjoy caravanning and visiting obscure tourist attractions. Head to toe in cajoules and walking-boots, Chris and Tina, we feel like we know - but something isn't exactly 'right' about them. A small confrontation with a litterer soon ends in tragedy - with, initially, an ambiguity over whether it was purposeful or not. In either case Chris and Tina are a little too comfortable with the death of a fellow man.

A comparison made by Ben Walters in Sight & Sound, is Mike Leigh's Nuts in May. Mike Leigh's kitchen-sink drama's do seem to be a clear connection to Sightseers - especially within the middle-aged, middle-class couples our travellers meet. The other comparison, interestingly, would be Bonnie & Clyde, as we are regularly told about the "search" for the murderers on the local radio-station our culprits listen to.

The Wrong Tarantino Film

Co-writer and actor Steve Oram compares murder in Sightseers to murder in a Hollywood film; "Tarantino does it and it's really cool - and then we come along and we're wearing cajoules and being Brummies". He explains how it is "an American idea, but done in an English way". This is Sightseers strongest asset as this thoroughly 'English' depiction of the beauty and character of the UK country is something we rarely see across the cinema-screen - indeed, the last time I recall such beauty was the landscape shots that appear in the Scotland-based, final-act of Skyfall.

This country-village sentiment goes a long way when reflecting on British comedies too - especially Edgar Wright's output in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Hot Fuzz particularly has a stronger connection to Sightseers than Wheatley maybe lets on. The countryside peace; the strange characters in villages; the murder and death - and sudden-moments of gore. The difference is the realism Wheatley feeds into the story - and the subtext regarding social-classes (Chris has been made redundant while Tina is a carer for her insulting and argumentative Mother). Does Wheatley believe that the constant change in economic status within communities in Britain will explode? Akin to Falling Down - something will have to snap.


It is this underlying tension that is truly terrifying. The moments of gore are all played for shock - and they are often followed by strange mannerisms and statements by our lead couple cushioning the blow. The use of a hammer in Kill List seems to linger with you throughout the film - and remains an unexpected, deeply shocking moment. Sightseers doesn't hold such horror - but it does get under your skin in a different way. Surely, people are angry; and it is only a matter of time before their anger and outsider status becomes a purpose for reaction. Tina and Chris' reaction is clearly excessive - but the frustration they feel is something that the current climate knows all too-well.

Originally written/published on Flickering Myth on 23 March 2013