Young Adult review (The List, Issue 693)

(15) 94min

This reteaming of Juno director (Jason Reitman) and writer (Diablo Cody) is a fiercely dark character comedy that once again demonstrates the pair’s refusal to be limited by genre conventions, no matter how sacred. The set-up is straightforward enough: recently divorced writer Mavis (Charlize Theron) decides on a whim to leave her bombsite Minneapolis apartment and drive back to her tiny hometown in order to win back Buddy (Patrick Wilson), her one-time college sweetheart. But Buddy is now a happily married new father, a fact that Mavis has convinced herself can only be superficially true; how, goes her reasoning, could anyone really be happy in a hick town where nothing of significance ever happens? Buddy obviously needs to be rescued.

It all sounds far-fetched enough to make for standard quirky rom-com material that will all rather improbably but reassuringly turn out nice in the end. But despite initial appearances, Young Adult is not that kind of film; somewhat daringly, Reitman and Cody are aiming for something much more truthful and ultimately more painful. Mavis is a conceited car-crash of a woman - the prom-queen who never grew up - and her solipsistic worldview and searing tactlessness are not character foibles that can be neatly ironed out by this story’s end. Theron’s performance was ignored by the Oscars in favour of more family-friendly fare, but in truth her portrayal of Mavis is perfectly judged, and delivered with an unflinching disregard for audience sympathy that few actresses of her standing would have the guts to go through with. The film also features a very strong supporting turn from Patton Oswalt, one of the great ‘where-do-I-know-him-from?’ character actors who, as Matt, the formerly ignored high-school nerd attempting to deal some truth back to Mavis, brings a touch of warmth and acts as a much-needed go-between for the audience.

As in his previous film Up in the Air, Reitman is interested here in offering a patient, perceptive and often very funny analysis of a problematic character. But where the former film was subtly subversive, particularly in its conclusion, here Reitman wears his rebellion on his sleeve. Young Adult’s consistently jarring tone, powered by Cody’s crackling self-aware dialogue, further confirms Reitman’s instinct for original approaches to storytelling. And as a bonus, the film will delight fans of peerless Scottish indie band Teenage Fanclub, whose song The Concept is the cornerstone of the film’s perfectly selected 90s rock soundtrack.

This review was originally published at The List's Film website.

January - The Iron Lady, War Horse, The Descendants, Haywire and The Artist reviews

George Clooney and Shailene Woodley
 in The Descendants

Since I'm generally rubbish at keeping this blog up-to-date, I've decided to just do it monthly, and post links to the current films I've reviewed, along with the odd bonus thought on anything else I've been watching that I didn't properly write or talk about anywhere else. So here's January. Following months will be a bit more timely, maybe.

The Iron Lady (The List)
A film about the cost of power that features a brilliantly convincing lead performance from Meryl Streep, but offers no significant insights on the lady of the title.

War Horse (The List)
Unashamedly romanticised, old-fashioned big-screen storytelling. Absolutely wonderful cinema.

Haywire (The List)
A stripped-down action chase movie directed, shot and edited by Soderbergh with a level of energy and invention that puts most action directors to shame.

The Descendants (The List)
A rich mix of relationship drama, character comedy and weighty meditation; fertile ground for Alexander Payne, a filmmaker with a fine-tuned ability to balance humour and heart in ways that ring true.

Ralph Fiennes profile - Coriolanus (The List)
"There’s no easy access into Coriolanus, but I like playing characters with no easy access."

Movie Cafe - Radio Scotland
26th January - I reviewed The Descendants on this edition of Movie Cafe, as well as discussing the Oscar nominations with host Janice Forsyth and fellow critic Nicola Balkind. You can download the show as a podcast from the link.

22nd December 2011 - Officially yes, this aired last year, but we began the show with a review of The Artist, which was only properly released in the UK in January. There's lots of other fun stuff on this show as it was a review of the year featuring much witty chat from Hannah McGill, Siobhan Synnot and Janice Forsyth.

Also...
I thought Steve McQueen's film Shame was very good, featuring an excellent performance from Michael Fassbender and being a timely and appropriately disturbing portrayal of a man effectively enslaved by an addiction to sex. I also found a lot to enjoy about Like Crazy, an indie romance about the pressures and struggles involved in trying to maintain a long-distance relationship. Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin are very likeable as the couple, and while the film starts out feeling a little too self-conscious and wilfully low-key, I found myself slowly drawn in, and by the bittersweet end I really cared about these two.

Sound It Out review (The List, Issue 690)

The tagline for this affectionate record store documentary is ‘High Fidelity with a Northern accent’, and it is a rare case of the marketing being bang on the money. A labour of love for director Jeanie Finlay, who also produced the film and did most of the camerawork, Sound It Out is as low-budget as professional filmmaking gets, but Finlay’s passion for the subject is evident in every frame; the film resonates with the soul of a music lover.

The subject in question is Sound It Out Records, Teeside’s last surviving record shop, and something of a haven for Northern England’s record-lovers, music completists and social misfits. Through interviews with employees and customers, as well as plenty of in-store footage, Finlay builds up a picture of the community this store, and more specifically it’s devoted owner Tom, has cultivated and in many ways cared for for over 20 years in Stockton. It’s touching, at times very funny and also surprisingly moving. As well as crafting an insightful portrait of a specific place, Finlay effectively captures the moment of transition that record collectors worldwide are in, as the physical, tangible aspect of owning music gradually disappears. Highly recommended.

Showing at Glasgow Grosvenor on Weds 16th November, 6.30pm and Edinburgh Cameo on Thurs 17th November, 9pm, with a post-screening Q&A from director/producer Jeanie Finlay at both screenings. More info at www.sounditoutdoc.com. This review first published in The List.

David Mackenzie - Perfect Sense interview (audio)

David Mackenzie on the set of Perfect Sense

Perfect Sense tells the story of a chef (Ewan McGregor) and a scientist (Eva Green) who begin to fall in love as the world begins to fall apart, when a series of inexplicable epidemics strike across the globe. Listen to my interview with the film's director David Mackenzie (Young Adam, Hallam Foe) from June this year at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. It's a fairly in-depth discussion of some of the film's themes, so probably best listened to after you've seen the film.

David Mackenzie - Perfect Sense interview by paulcgallagher

As I wrote on The List blog during the Film Festival, Perfect Sense is a uniquely ambitious work in which Mackenzie picks up some fascinating ideas and uncompromisingly follows them through, with the help of a solid cast, and a great lead performance from McGregor. It's a demanding film, but also thought-provoking and quietly moving. As Mackenzie says in the interview, ‘what I saw in the script was a poetic attempt to tell the story of a possible end [of humanity], and that felt interesting to me. It felt like a subtle and rather magical way of looking at these things as opposed to a bombastic and genre-led thing.’

And if you want more Perfect Sense goodies, check out the exclusive content in the player below from Sigma films:

The film features a haunting score by Max Richter (Waltz with Bashir, Shutter Island), and you can hit the green button to watch a featurette with Mackenzie and Richter discussing their motivations with the score.

Perfect Sense is released on October 7th.

Red State review (The List, Issue 688)

Outspoken filmmaker Kevin Smith hit a creative and commercial low with his last studio-backed production, the Bruce Willis-starring flop Cop Out, but before that film was even released Smith had shifted focus to this long-gestating personal project. Red State defies categorisation, but could, for some of its lean running time, be described as a political horror movie. Having independently raised funds, Smith shot the film entirely on digital cameras to allow for the quickest possible turnaround. The result is an uneven and often unpleasant film that leaves a bitter aftertaste, but despite its flaws suggests Smith has rediscovered his creative mojo, and is not beyond challenging himself yet.

The film begins with a class teacher in the unspecified titular state decrying the homophobic protests of a local fundamentalist Christian church. We soon see first-hand the horrific practices of this church, led by charismatic pastor Abin Cooper (Michael Parks, giving a creepily authentic performance), as three teenage boys get more than they bargained for after responding to an internet post seemingly offering no-strings attached sex. Smith refashions the traditional backwoods horror movie with Christian fundamentalists as the monsters, and while subtlety is clearly not on his agenda, this is an effective and scary first half hour, expertly put together and shorn of any of Smith’s usual wisecracking comedy. But the introduction of FBI agent Joe Keenan (John Goodman) signals a distinct change in tone, and Smith abandons horror in favour of an attempt at more nuanced political drama. While his ambition is admirable, Smith’s characters – with the notable exception of Keenan – are unsympathetic caricatures, and feel too much like convenient mouthpieces for the issues he wants to tackle. An inspired and bizarre final twist almost works, until Smith pulls the rug and backtracks for a West Wing-lite philosophising conclusion.

Red State was released on September 30th. This review originally published in The List magazine.