Gloriously Grim

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2008, dir. Tim Burton)

Tim Burton does Gothic and he does it well. In fact, Tim Burton does Tim Burton well and when he's pressurised by the studio to compromise to what they want, we see his filmmaking drastically deteriorate. Planet of the Apes (2001) is a prime example of the director caving in to the pressure from a studio and producing a film without integrity. Burton's vision and style were like passing references in a churned out Hollywood 'Blockbuster'.

Burton may well be one of very few filmamkers who could be classified as an auteur, owing to the fact that when you watch his films you know you couldn't be watching anyone else's. The mise-en-scene, story telling, cinematography and editing all complement a director who has a vision and wants it splashed on to film. Usually (not always) Burton's films leave you with a satisfying aftertaste, even when the setting and story is rather grim. His Gothic view of the world hints of romance that's complex and dark, but has suggestions of hope and lashings of humour. Edward Scissorhands is a compelling love story set amongst American mediocrity and prejudice; Beetle Juice is twisted and dark, but celebrates difference. Burton is a good story teller, but an excellent painter of a picture and celebrator of the quirkiness of human life and imagination.

Sweeney Todd was an excellent platform for Burton to wow us with his understanding of the (musical) story. It's a grim tale, set to the backdrop of a grim London. Thankfully he doesn't disappoint and draws the audience in to a gloriously bleak story of twisted love and unquenchable vengeance. The film opens with the fresh, young face of a sailor singing of London and the hope she brings. His song is cut short by Todd (played to perfection by Johnny Depp) who sees London as a city of "shit". The film seesaws between the hope of the sailor, Anthony (Jamie Bower) and Todd's nihilistic road to destruction. One particular scene paints this contrasting picture most vividly with a song that (literally) cuts between Todd and Anthony singing of Joanna, Todd's daughter.

As a musical it works well and the songs reflect the disjointed protagonists. Bonham Carter adds well timed humour to the role of Mrs Lovett and keeps the film from drowning in misery and despair, which never seems far away. The death toll too is high, but is kept within the realm of detached oddness through the thick and gooey blood the flows from Todd's victims. It doesn't glorify the violence but simply reinforces the unreal world Todd occupies in his mind. The victims to Sweeney Todd are not human but representatives of all that is rotten with London and a means to reaching his goal of true revenge. That goal is played by Alan Rickman, and he does slimy and morally corrupt with finesse.

Burton does give us a bloody, tragic yet humour tinged story and it is wonderfully acted by the majority of the cast. Criticism would come at the performance of Bower as Anthony. He irritates more than intended and does not leave us supporting his romantic venture. A combination of Burton's direction and maybe miscasting left Bower out of place with the rest of the cast, but then he had a high standard to work alongside.

What we have though is Burton's film, which the studio has not corrupted and you leave not supporting Todd, but pleased you were allowed to glimpse into his depraved world.

* * * *

* - Insult to filmmakers
* * - Mediocre
* * * - Not bad but disappointing
* * * * - Excellent
* * * * * - Truly wonderful filmmaking

Heath Ledger (1979-2008)

Very sad news circulating today that actor Heath Ledger died yesterday. He was a real acting talent and the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight, is rumoured to showcase Ledger's incredible versatility as a film actor. This site pays tribute to him.

Ledger was clearly loved and respected around the world and his family honoured the man he was to the press.

"Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life, but few had the pleasure to truly know him.
He was a down-to-earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving and unselfish individual who was an extreme inspiration to many."
Kim Ledger (Father of Heath Ledger).

Recommended films this weekend

There's a plethora of great films being shown over the weekend. If I had to pick two then I would recommend AI, as it is a piece of cinema seriously underrated for its time. Spielberg has created a visionary film that many completely missed. Go back to it and be surprised. The other film to see would have to be Little Miss Sunshine as it is beautifully crafted. Very funny and, at times, very moving. It is character driven and does not disappoint.

Friday 18th Jan
AI: Artificial Intelligence
7:45pm BBC3

Little Miss Sunshine
9:00pm Sky Movies Indie

O Brother, Where Art Thou?
9:00pm Film4

The Long Kiss Goodnight
9:00pm TCM

Lost in Translation
10:00pm More4

The Usual Suspects
10:00pm Sky Movies Modern Greats

Batman
11:50pm Sky Movies Modern Greats

Saturday 19th Jan

Breakfast at Tiffany's
1:35pm More4

Children of Men
5:00pm Sky Movies Max 2

Good Night and Good Luck
02:10am Sky Movies Max 3

The Fly
9:00pm Sky Movies Premier 3

Transformers

I know this film has been released for a while now, but I only recently watched it and felt compelled to review it. Oh how I despise this film and everything it stands for. Is there a genre Michael Bay won't desecrate?

I'm a sucker for Hollywood. I studied film for three years at university and watched a massively eclectic mix of filmmaking. Some of it was profound and some of it was pants, but trying to be profound. Some of it knew what it was and didn't try to be anything else. Hollywood though has always attracted me most because of the diversity I guess. Scandinavian films are superb, but you won't get much diversity. They make their films with simplicity and usually a desire to critique social 'norms' or family structures; Festen is a masterpiece for instance. It may appear to be random digression, but I have seen so many films where the filmmakers have understood their audience and their intent and created something beautiful, shocking, inspiring, moving or terrifying. Hollywood is no exception and even the age of Blockbusters have produced masterpieces in their own right.

I will bang on about Spielberg far too much probably, but when he created Jaws (1975), he created the first Blockbuster and he created a hugely excellent piece of cinema. The script is superb, the cinematography is well thought out and innovative (watch the camera work during the beach scene where Brody sees the little boy being attacked by the shark; the zooming in on Brody's face, whilst tracking backwards is genius) and adds weight to the scenes themselves. Shots aren't wasted. Too many Blockbusters nowadays waste the film they're shot on and Transformers is no exception.

Firstly it's worth noting the positives about this film; Shia LeBeouf is a credible comic actor and the special effects are very, very good. Good special effects don't make a good film though and good acting capabilities don't make a good film when badly directed, edited and scripted.

Transformers relies far too heavily on the special effects to keep the film afloat and fails because the plot, script, cinematography, editing and direction create a car crash of a movie. The desperation to make the film funny means certain scenes just don't work at all and are cringe worthy, such as the Autobots trying to hide from Sam Witwicky's (LeBeouf) parents. This scene is truly abysmal. The editing is so frantic, the fight scenes between the robots is beyond confusing to the point of boring and Michael Bay needs to learn that there's more ways to creating dramatic impact than having a camera circling characters or action from a low angle. It's not artistic individuality, it's dull and shows lack of creativity.

Blockbusters were created to entertain a mass audience, whilst still maintaining high filmmaking standards. They're now an excuse to show off how much money was spent on them whilst negating quality. That's why I dislike the film, because with Transformers I get the bitter taste of the other films that have gone before. Transformers represents many films out there that believe loads of money and great special effects will wow the audience into submission.

Where have all our great filmmakers gone?

Rating: 2/5

I Am Legend

Recent reviews of this blockbuster seem to criticise it for its very poor CGI. I tend to disagree with this assertion. I disagree with it for two reasons. Number one; the CGI wasn't dreadful and, in fact, I believe much of the criticism comes down to the simple fact that the creatures portrayed weren't designed the way film critics wanted. The creatures served their purpose adequately for the film and their purpose was to scare.

Secondly, poor special effects shouldn't actually create reason to criticise a film. This may appear odd to write, but take a look at Jaws (dir. Steven Spielberg, 1975). We expect so much of special effects now, that we seem to base the quality of direction on whether we believed an animal or monster looked realistic enough. The shark in jaws was a mechanical nightmare, but Spielberg still made it scary because the focus was on the situation, not the shark.

I Am Legend does not have the same master at the helm to direct in Francis Lawrence (Constantine, 2005), but it is in the situation of Will Smith's protagonist where the tension mounts, not the quality of computer graphics. We feel the fear and bewilderment of Robert Neville (Smith) as he finds his collapsed world, collapsing even further in the madness of solitude.

Smith puts in an excellent performance as someone going stir crazy from being alone. His interaction with his dog Sam is excellently done, with Neville treating his dog like a human in most amusing (and psychologically worrying) ways. Chiding the dog for not eating its vegetables is a particularly nice touch.

With blockbusters forgetting their heritage of the need for good scripts, direction and cinematography (remember the days of Jaws, Jurassic Park and Gladiator?) nowadays, it was refreshing to watch a blockbuster that was character driven.

I think the film's weakness was its lack of exploration of the morality behind medical research - but then is that the place for a film of this genre?

4/5