Exodus: Gods and Kings.

Based on what is said to be the worlds best selling book, and one that has been translated into more languages than any other, Ridley Scots Epic movie Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) tells how Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt to the Land of Canaan. But before he was allowed to do that we witnessed how God forced the Egyptians by cruel and foul means to let these people go.  He inflicts various plagues that include turning the water to blood, death of livestock, frogs, lice, boils, locusts and flies but what really persuades Ramesses to let the Hebrews go is the Passover, the meanest of the ten plagues which killed all the Egyptian first born. The Hebrew’s were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a slaughtered spring lamb so God knew which houses to ‘Passover’.  Scot does very well to highlight the hypocrisy of Christian teachings whose main presentation tells us to love our neighbours and forgive others their sins, but only if it pleases the good Lord?

 

Beware of the high tides!

As well as Pinewood Studios the film was shot in Almeria in Spain and on the Island of Fuerteventura. It features various well known faces including John Turturro, Aaron Paul from Breaking Wind, Ben Mendelsohn, Ben Kingsley and Sigourney Weaver. But only Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as Ramesses are given roles of any depth, the rest are almost relegated to walk on parts. How does it compare with Cecil DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956), which at the time was reputed to be the most expensive film ever made, I would very much doubt if the images from Ridley Scot’s film will stay in your mind as long as DeMille’s film has. It is a spectacular film but does not really live up to the book.

Christian Bale as Mosses 

Out of the Furnace.

Some filmgoers will argue that to much attention is given to the soundtrack, with some commending the idea that music in a film is not required but I would put forward an argument that it depends on the movie. For example would Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) be such a great film without a soundtrack, would Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) be quite so haunting and obviously I could go on. Well get to the point I can hear you saying - ok. Scott Coopers follow up film to the award winning Crazy Heart (2009) has a soundtrack that really compliments what we see on the screen. Even without the Pearl Jam track Release that plays over both the opening and closing credits, it's Dickon Hinchliffe’s score that really underpins the gritty and grim atmosphere in an already atmospheric film, Hinchliffe was a founder of Tindersticks who were credited with six soundtracks for French director Claire Denis including 35 rhums (2008) and White Material (2010). Out of the Furnace (2013) runs the gauntlet of emotions in a film that harps back to the great tradition of tough American movies.  A cross fertilisation between the inbred inhabitants of Winters Bone (2009), the belligerent spirit of The Fighter (2010) and the bleak steelworks setting's and blue collar approach of Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter (1978) is where I see this movie drawing its influences.

 

Russell Baze.

Co-written by Cooper, the movie is set in Braddock, Pittsburgh in 2008. Basically it's the story of two brothers Russell and Rodney Baze. Russell is a hardworking man who cares deeply for his family, girlfriend Lena Taylor, his dying father and of course his troubled brother. Russell works at the local steel mill while his brother is in the army, deployed to Iran four times which has done nothing to improve his state of mind. While on leave he has run up gambling debts with the local crime boss John Petty and has to resort to bare- knuckle fighting in an attempt to pay this off. This in turn leads to his involvement with Harlan DeGroat an evil drug addicted psychopath who gets off on extreme violence. Meanwhile the hard working Russell is sent to prison for a drink driving accident. When he is released the close confines of his world have crumpled, his father is dead, Rodney is throwing fights and Lena has left him for the local cop and is now pregnant.       

 

Rodney Baze.

Be warned this is a violent film right from the opening scene in the drive in movie, up to its gripping climax. Cooper even describes it as ‘an examination of the nature of violence in a society where men solve their own problems'. Certainly an interesting concept and it may sound a familiar story with its Cane and Abel complex reworked, i.e. the good and bad side of the same coin, but don't be fooled this is a brilliantly made movie with a story that never allows the viewer to look away from the screen. DOP Masanobu Takayanagi cinematography captures a vanishing way of life with its deep sense of Americana and the economic decline of industrial America and it's effect on the population of once thriving community but still managing to find beauty in what has essentially become a depressing place. 

       

Harlan DeGroat.

                                                                                                                                           

The director has been quoted as saying that it was important for the film's credibility that it was shoot on location in the town of Braddock and he was proved right. He is obviously a man who has a clear vision of what he wanted from the films strong cast. Even the smaller parts are taken by some very experienced actors including Sam Shepard as Uncle 'Red' Baze and Forest Whitaker as Police Officer Wesley Barnes both of whom make a great job of there minimal time on screen. Willem Defoe plays John Petty a manipulating villain with a sympathetic streak with Woody Harrelson in award winning form as Harlan DeGroat a vicious man who admits to having a problem with everyone! The only female lead is Zoe Saldana as the Russell/Wesley love interest, Saldana will be seen later this year as Nina Simone in the biopic of her life. That just leaves our two main leads, Casey Affleck plays the war veteran Rodney Baze with just the right amount of calculated tension and Christian Bale, riveting as Russell, in what is probably one of his best performances - certainly worthy of consideration for an Award at next years Academy Awards.  It’s not often that I watch a movie twice within a few days!

American Hustle.

This weeks Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre Film Club screening has been rightly described as a watchable black comedy.[1] American Hustle (2013), shot using locations in an around Boston, Massachusetts, had been nominated for ten Academy Awards at the 2014 Oscar ceremony but it won none! Considering it had already won two BAFTA awards in February, one for Jennifer Lawrence[2] for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and another for Best Screenplay and three awards at this years Golden Globe’s including Best Picture, Best Actress for Amy Adams[3] and Jennifer Lawrence for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, this came as quite a surprise, considering the quality of acting from the two female leads.

 

A fantastic performance from both Jennifer Lawrence and ....

Before the screening began there was a short introduction about what are the ingredients of a good film? I have always said it’s down to a good story that’s well told, but that’s probable an over simplification, and to be honest there’s a lot more to it. Hollywood mainstream movies tend to have guaranteed star-pulling power and American Hustle is no exception, therefore it would not have been a problem raising the budget to make it, unlike lets say British independent movies which always have problems raising even a small budget and at times have to go abroad to raise the cash. This weeks movie is said to have cost between $40 and $50 million dollars to make, but up to the 6^th February 2014 box office receipts were said to be in the region of $187 million dollars and that was before the BAFTA’s and of course would of greatly increased if it had won some prominent awards at the Oscars.

 

....and Amy Adams....

But even if you have got the stars and the money you still need a good story. The narrative is loosely based an a FBI sting operation that took place in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and began its life as a screenplay entitled American Bullshit (I’m not surprised they changed the name!) written by Eric Warren Singer, and rewritten by David O Russell who replaced the characters with caricatures of their respective real-life figures, Christian Bale[4] revealed in an interview that the majority of his character interactions were improvised in multiple takes in which he questioned David O. Russell about the plot. Russell responded that what he had wanted was to focus on the characters, rather than the plot.

 

....whose characters can't quite bond....

Next we need a director of some standing to turn lots of money and a screenplay into something that people will pay to watch. For this production we have the aforementioned David O Russell who, based on his last two feature films is the right man for the job. In 2010 Russell made the award winning biographical sports drama The Fighter, the story of welterweight boxer Mickey Ward and starred Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo and Amy Adams. He followed this with another award winning film Silver Linings Playbook, which won Jennifer Lawrence a Best Actress Award. It’s a film with which Russell manages to walk a thin line between romance, comedy and a dark psychological drama. As well as Lawrence it stared Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and the wonderful Jackie Weaver.

 

....mainly due to an FBI officer and a con man!

You will have noticed that the star power I mentioned involves some of the actresses and actors I have spoken about in connection with Russell’s previous work. They include Christian Bale[5], Bradley Cooper[6], Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence with the addition of Jeremy Renner[7], and in an uncredited part Robert De Niro. That just leaves us to acknowledge the technicians and crew without whom this, or any other film could have not been made.

 

A Hollywood movie with style.

Basically a full house at the RBC went home entertained by a film that after it got into its stride was very funny and impeccably cast especially as I said previously, the two female leads. With the best scene in the film featuring Jennifer Lawrence in yellow marigolds singing Live and Let Die (see link below). It’s a film with oodles of style and looks so good up on the big screen made even better by the choice of soundtrack (any film that starts with America singing A Horse with No Name is never going to disappoint). And yes the director was right to concentrate on the characters. Film critic Mark Kermode asked the question “Is this film anything more than a brilliantly window dressed period piece with a ring-a-ding performances from an all star cast remains to be seen” my answer to this would be yes, it’s a film that’s great fun and one I can’t wait to see again.

http://youtu.be/20sc40RDRP4

---

[1] Peter Bradshaw The Guardian 20/12/2013

[2] Lawrence's lead role in Debra Granik's Winter's Bone, which won best picture at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010, is often cited as a breakout performance for her. She portrays Ree Dolly, a seventeen-year-old in the Ozark Mountains who cares for her mentally ill mother and her younger brother and sister.

[3] Junebug (2005), Charlie Wilsons War (2007) Doubt (2008) The Muppets (2011) The Master (2012) On the Road (2012)

[4] To prepare for the role, Christian Bale gained 50 pounds.

[5] Bale, famous for his radical physical transformations on screen, received great commercial recognition for his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the three Bateman films (2005,2008 and 2012).

[6] The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)

[7] Best known for his roles in The Hurt Locker (2008) for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor,

The Dark Knight Rises.

The Masked Crusader.

Its unusual for me not to be bowled over by movies based on comic books, or as there know known graphic novels, and I have especially enjoyed Christopher Nolan’s interpretation of the Batman story in the first two films of his trilogy. Batman Begins (2005) explored the origins of the crime fighter including the death of his parents, how he travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and how he unleashes his alto ego the masked crusader with the help of his trusty butler Alfred. In the second film, The Dark Knight (2008), Batman continues his fight against organised crime in Gotham City that falters when he has to pit his strength and intellect against the criminal mastermind known as The Joker.

Catwoman in all but name.

The final part of the trilogy The Dark Knight Rises (2012) is a spectacular looking movie with the production designers along with Nolan’s regular Director of Photography Wally Pfister on top of their form. But what undermines this film is its lack of humour and a sense of fun, which are essential to carry this style of movie. The only character that gets anywhere near this requirement is Anne Hathaway’s red lipped Selina Kyle, a version of Catwoman in every thing but name. Also we seem to have a somewhat baffling and unnecessarily complicated narrative with characters that are hard to empathise with, even Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman, proves quite difficult. 

Bane.

The main villain this time is a character called Bane (a barely recognisable Tom Hardy) who wears a sinister facial leather mask and is a giant of a man who leads a gang of mercenaries with the usual intention of ruling Gotham City. Two problems, the mask makes his speech a little unclear and I’m afraid we have been spoilt by Heath Ledgers ultimate villain The Joker, who too my mind is probable the best comic book screen antihero.  A small niggle I know but the wonderful Juno Temple (Killer Joe 2012) who plays Jen, a friend and accomplice of Selina Kyle, is woefully under used. With out meaning to give anything away, are we really introduced to Robin at the end of the movie? Therefore is this indeed the end of the franchise?

The woefully underused Juno Temple.