Review- Martha Marcy May Marlene (directed by Sean Durkin)

The feeling of belonging, to be part of something, to feel significant is a powerful emotion, one that can often misguide our judgment at the cost of gaining some salvation. Sean Durkin's debut film Martha Marcy May Marlene explores this idea when a young girl with no direction in life and no close family finds herself embroiled in a semi religious incestuous cult and the aftermath she faces returning to everyday life.

The film begins with scenes from a rural commune, people tend to gardens, young men fix barn roofs, the women lay the table for the men, this at first glance could simply be a naturalistic community fending for themselves in a back to basics style (the only initial hint that something is amiss is when then women are not allowed to eat before the men). Then the mood shifts as a young girl Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) tiptoes out of the compound and, when is spotted, flees into the neighbouring woods, where she is chased by members of the commune, this sounds like the set up to a horror flick but is something much more terrifyingly real. Martha is caught up with at a diner by one of the young males, but she is not physically forced to return (there is however a psychological threat) and she calls her estranged sister Lucy (Sarah Poulson), whom she has not contacted in 2 years, who lets her stay with her at the holiday lake house she shares with her husband. It is here where Martha tries to readjust to normal life whilst still haunted by paranoia that the cult are going to catch up with her, that they are still watching her every move.

The film does not present a chronological order of how and why Martha came to be part of the commune, instead it seeps in memories of her time there, the slightest sound effect sparks a remembrance, the past and present overlap with subtle effective similarities, her actions trigger recollections of the place she has left. An ill advised skinny dip in the lake is inter cut with images of the commune members naked, all bathing together in an enclosed stream. An even more unwelcome move from Martha happens when she enters her sister's bedroom whilst she is making love with her husband and lies on the bed next to them, much to their dismay and horror. This gives way to a flashback of Martha going to lay with the leader of the cult Patrick (John Hawkes) in his room, her previous experience and her unease with sleeping means she does not see the harm and inappropriateness of her actions of disturbing the martial bed.

As Lucy and in turn her husband find it increasingly difficult to deal with Martha's odd behaviour, Martha herself begins to lose her sense of what is really happening, her ordeal is still too raw and present.

The life in the cult at first seems one of harmony and togetherness, if a little too insular, but as the film teases more and more glimpses of their world, it becomes more and more sinister. It is one of sexual abuse, the women have to undertake an initiation which they try to justify as a 'cleansing' but is actually a drug induced act of rape and the girls are weened off their past lives in a discreet systematic way, given nicknames (Martha becomes Marcy May) that seems a friendly part of the lifestyle but disconnects them from their former existence. For the film to work, we have to believe that the cult leader is someone who would warrant following and one who instills a hypnotic power and John Hawkes' Patrick does just that. Whether he is delivering dubious philosophy ("Fear is the most amazing emotion of all") or playing his guitar in a fatherly manner for his disciples (he sings a song about 'Marcy May' furthering her inclusion) he is utterly and frighteningly believable as a authoritarian messiah, with Hawkes giving a commanding performance.

But this is Elizabeth Olsen's movie, as Martha/Marcy May she is a compelling memorable presence, fully committed and fearless in her portrayal of a young women who encompasses a range of emotions, from child like naivety to steely determination, when her behaviour wavers on the incomprehensible (she goads her broody sister by telling her she will be a terrible mother) she still elicits empathy and is softly bewitching. In terms of acting she is a million miles away from her squeaky sisters and is one to watch for the future. Also promising is director Sean Durkin, with his debut film, he has crafted a intensely beguiling film, one that makes the viewer work for its evasive appeal, his creates a hazy dreamlike scape that is balanced with a stark, primitive world. What is also admirable is that Durkin does not give any resolute answers to his psyche puzzle, it is a habitat that we will not come to terms with, some of the members of the cult truly feel at home in that environment, something that we cannot comprehend and one that is perhaps the most chilling of all. The final scene may be too ambiguous for some tastes but it is one that encompasses the entire position of the the film, not to distinguish the reasons why but to glimpse a fractured young woman, a soul in turmoil, that is a haunting in a beautiful tragic way.

Review- The Artist (Directed by Michel Hazanavicius)

The modern ardent cinema-goer has every right to feel a little jaded in these current times of film with the multiplexes full of cheap knock off sequels and remakes and with 3D being trumpeted as the shiny new saviour when really it needs to be quiet and stop being overused. Even the independent market (in the UK at least) is in danger of becoming morbidly more mainstream if dynamic David Cameron gets his way (perhaps he is a distant relative of James if you look at his film sensibilities?). So in these uninspiring doldrums time we need a film to make us fall in love with cinema all over again. Step forward The Artist.

The Artist is the little French film that could, written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, it was produced with a modest budget and featured both French and American cast and crew members. When it arrived at the Cannes film festival in May 2011, the film was initially an out of competition entry but was moved to the competition a week before the festival opened and its leading man Jean Dujardin went on to win the best actor award. This came to the attention of the Weinsteins who snapped up the distribution rights and catapulted The Artist to wider audiences and universal critical acclaim.

The film starts in 1927 and George Valentin is the biggest star of the silent movie scene (accompanied by his four legged on screen sidekick Uggie the Jack Russell), he oozes charm and has a flair for comedic timing, a combination of Valentino mixed with Buster Keaton. When Valentin is posing for the press at his latest premiere, budding starlet Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) by way of accident, ends up being photographed with her matinee idol, much to the delight of the press who run with headlines asking 'Who's that girl?' Valentin, becoming a kind of mentor, helps the young actress get a part in one of his films and from there on, she begins to get more roles, her star rising each time she appears. Two years later and the advent of sound heralds a new beginning in the age of cinema, one which Valentin dismisses, even when the head of the Studio Al Zimmer (John Goodman) announces that they will no longer be producing silent films and the actor decides to go it alone, financing his own film. But Valentin's star has faded, his film is poorly received and with the stock market's great crash of 1929, he is bankrupt. In contrast Peppy Miller becomes the biggest new star of the talkies, the It pin up girl and the face of a thousand posters, she represents the star that Valentin once was but also in a way that he could never be.

For a film that is bringing feel-good back to audiences, there is much to The Artist that is bittersweet, highlighting the downward spiral many silent stars faced at the hands of the talkies, the cruel fate that stardom can take in a blink of an eye, thematically it could be a companion piece to A Star is born (1954). However it is the fresh nature and the lightness of touch that director Michel Hazanavicius brings to the material that makes the film so joyous, his love for the early silent period of cinema is evident in the detailed construction of the square framing of scenes and the old fashioned effects utilised such as jump cuts and the use of irises.

The Artist feels like a film from a bygone era yet brings something new to modern day film-making, it has an infectious cross-over potential to reach new audiences that may have previously shuddered at the thought of watching a black and white silent movie. French actor Jean Dujardin gives an irresistible performance as George Valentin, he emotes every expression with charisma, comic timing but also moments of brooding sadness and hidden depths, bringing old style acting back into the frame that doesn't feel out dated but refreshingly real, using every scene to his acting potential. Berenice Bejo meanwhile lights up the screen with fizzy enchantment, a cute as a button enthusiastic actress but one with her heart in the right place. Special mention should also go to Uggie the dog who provides comic foil and moments of pure canine glee. The score that is used throughout is bold, beautiful and entrancing, lifting the film when it needs to be light and pulling the emotional heartstrings when it needs to (Just don't mention the use of the Vertigo score to Kim Novak).

This is a film for film buffs, who will revel in the passion that is portrayed for the birth and illusion of cinema but it also is a film that could and should push over to the mainstream, Yes it is a tough sell for many and it may suffer an inevitable backlash by some in time for the Oscars (though the Weinsteins still hold a lot of clout in this area), but The Artist is the most purely enjoyable, smile on your face, tapping your feet experience you will have at the cinema this year. If given the chance, It will work its way into your heart and fill you with the magic of the silver screen, one that is impossible to resist.

Review- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher)

David Fincher's choice of next movie after The Social Network seemed a decision at odds with a director of his standing- to remake The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo so soon after the Swedish language original based on Stieg Larsson's bestselling book. It is a decision usually left to lazy studio executives trying to capitalise on the recent success of a foreign film hit. But this is not Fincher's style and by the slight differences in the screenplay's text than those of the previous film, it is better then to think that there is more than one way to remake a novel than to to think there is more than one way to remake a film.

Having personally no prior conceptions towards The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I have not read the book and as yet have not seen the Swedish version, the only knowledge I had it was the faint grasp of the plot and the notion that Noomi Rapace's female lead performance was and is the definitive version of the character Lisbeth Salander. So my eyes were very much open to interpretation from Fincher to cast his own inimitable take on the text.

The film opens with assault on the senses bravado, perhaps the first blow to the naysayers against a second, American adaptation of the novel, with a mash up of music video aesthetics (akin to the work of Chris Cunningham) and James Bond style credits, albeit one for the spiky, jilted generation set to a Gothic punk version of Led Zeppelin's 'immigrant song'. We are then introduced to Media disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig, who appears to lose his Swedish twang after his first sentence uttered), his recent loss in libel trail against crooked business man Hans-Erik Wennerstrom becoming the catalyst for his summons to the Vanger estate to meet elderly patriarch Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer on subtle stellar form). Blomkvist is assigned to investigate the 40 year old mystery of the disappearence of his niece Harriet, an unsolved crime whose conclusion has eluded Henrik and which encompasses a labyrinthine family tree, rooted in mistrust and suspicion, as he tells Blomkvist 'You will be investigating thieves, misers, bullies--the most detestable collection of people that you will ever meet: my family.' Blomkvist takes the job under the rouse that he is writing Henrik's memoirs and on the promise that he will provide not only money but more importantly damning information on Wennerstrom, who is a former employee of Henrik.

The girl's path meanwhile, takes its time in aligning with Blomkvist's journalist and must first traverse the murky waters of her being a ward of the state due to being diagnosed as mentally incompetent, the restraints of her probation and her subsequent dealings in the world of computer hacking. These are all fully realised in a graphically harrowing encounter with her new legal guardian lawyer who betrays his position of trust with brutal consequences. The revenge for the violent act establishes Rooney Mara's Lisbeth may appear slight in frame, but still packs a gritty tenacious punch, her porcelain face (beneath the piercings) is in discord with her determined demeanor. The role of Lisbeth Salander is an iconic, strong character, one that is rare for actresses in Hollywood and Mara takes the opportunity bull by both horns and runs with it to make a formidable impression.

When Lisbeth joins the Vanger mystery as Blomkvists 'research assistant' it is a partnership that quickly works, Blomkvist controlled but thorough, Lisbeth flirting round the edges of anarchy that brings results, and so the unravelling of Harriet's disappearance comes closer and closer to its sinister conclusion. With a multi-thread plot to cover, it would be easy for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to become overlong and slow in pace but Fincher manages to make the film detailed yet punchy creating a growing, pounding sense of dark doom. His is a master auteur with twisted shadowy text, an artist of effective morose visual flair who perhaps doesn't get the recognition of how at the top of his game he is (this accolade seems to be reserved to Christopher Nolan of late). Like the sorely underrated Zodiac (2007), Fincher also shows he has a fluidity to crime centric narratives, building clue solving investigation into a tense thriller, making the wise decision to keep the Swedish setting whose snow capped landscape lends another dimension to the icy proceedings and the buried secrets of the story. If there is one misstep, it is that the pacy structure gives in to a hurried final twenty minutes that swiftly tie up all the loose ends and the last shot of the film is something of an anti climatic damp squib.

But small grumble aside The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is compelling agile thriller, Fincher takes us on a journey to the dark side, one of a sordid nature but one that we cant help but follow him on. It is bleak but hypnotic film making and shows that Fincher didn't waste his time on reworking the Swedish version. All that and he also manages to make the music of Enya surprisingly scary.

Review of the Year

The Gems, Duds and Heroes of Cinema in 2011

And so another year rolls by and so another list is compiled. I don't know about you dear reader but I enjoy this time of year to look back, evaluate and rejoice/cringe at the last 12 months of film. I like to read all the periodicals and magazines' takes on the movie winners of the year then I usually get angry that one of my favourite has been left out of the list, thereby I then create my own. So here goes.....

The top ten gems of the year

10) Crazy Stupid Love

The best example of the non rom-com, rom-com of the year, Crazy Stupid Love was the surprise unexpected treat of the year for me. Not one for chick flicks, this film managed to be romantic and funny but with pathos and honesty to boot, elevating it from the usual humdrum fluff of Hollywood onscreen relationships. Dealing with a myriad of characters, circling within each others narrative strands, the film manages to make each storyline, whether heartbreaking, funny or

cringe worthy, worth the screen time from Steve Carrell's sad sack dumped husband to Ryan Gosling's womaniser to the awkward teenage babysitter with the improbable crush. Carrell is particularly affecting when trading off the laughs and instead using those sad puppy dog eyes to bittersweet effect, much like his performance in Little Miss Sunshine. Crazy Stupid Love should be seen by more people as a refreshing antidote to the usual bland, over sugary romantic comedies.

9) Meeks Cutoff

Kelly Reichardt continues her ascendancy as one of the most visionary female directors in cinema with her fifth feature Meeks Cutoff. The film is set in 1845 as a band of settlers try to traverse the Oregon desert but find themselves lost and at the misguided mercy of their inept guide Meek as they try to find their way and survive the harsh conditions. Full of stunning cinematography and brooding ethereal long shots, Meeks Cutoff is a beautifully brutal film of the importance of choices and consequences in a simpler yet tougher time. Those familiar with Reichardt's work will know she is concerned with the minor details, with extracting significance from the minimal, leading to a slow pace, but one that is hypnotic, reflective and discerning. Though the final scene will infuriate many who like a clear resolution, it is an ending that resonates true and will stay with the viewer for days.

8) Warrior

The reasons that I liked Warrior so much is all the reasons why I shouldn't have liked Warrior so much. It is contrived, predictable, sentimental and overtly manipulative, the very things that usually have me running for the aisle and then for the exit. Yet this film managed to take all the bad cinematic plot devices and make them into an unashamedly rousing entertaining air punching joy of a movie. Like its character's Warrior speaks to our most primal instincts within film and sometimes you just have to give in and go with your gut feeling. That and any film that features songs by The National can't go wrong in my books.

7) Tree of Life

A film to confound, astound and divide opinion like no other. By now if you have seen The Tree of Life you will no doubt know which camp you fall into, however there is no denying the beauty of this film, that it co exists in the same cinematic timeline as Transformers ans The Chipmunks (though not likely in the same cinema complex) is both bewildering and inspiring. Terrence Malick's existential, artistic tour de force is a compelling, enriching experience, one that may not want to be repeated but will never be forgotten.

6) Drive

Undoubtedly the coolest film of the year (this sounds like a bad thing but hey we need to acknowledge the cool sometimes), Drive burst onto cinema screens with its 80s pulp aesthetic and with the hippest soundtrack of 2011. Adapted from the novel by James Sallis and directed by Danish auteur Nicholas Winding Refn, Drive created a violent sucker punch for film goers and also provided the perfect vehicle (ahem) for Ryan Gosling to cement his status as the intense leading man of choice for the discerning creative director. A tale of softly blossoming romance then ferocious disruptive vengeance, the film was a deafening showcase of style and substance.

Expect more euro cool from the dynamic duo of Refn and Gosling in their next project when they take on sci fi classic Logan's Run.

5) Bridesmaids

The mammoth hit that no one really say coming. What sounded like a nightmare to many on paper and those unfortunate enough to still be carrying the scars of Bride Wars, turned out to be funniest film of the year. Some critics have complained about the film's championing of women actually being funny when us intelligent/feminist/open minded people have known this all along, but any film that makes Hollywood sit up and taste the sugared almonds should be cause for celebration in my eyes. That a film with all female leads that are not defined by their need for a

love interest (ok there is a love interest in this film but the main arch is the women's friendship) is a step forward in an often stereotypical movie landscape.

The infamous Bridal shop scene is cited as the funniest moment of the film and whilst this is hilarious, for me the best and most cringe worthy of the film is that of the engagement party speech. It encompasses and highlights the main themes of Bridesmaids and actually shows that female friendship can be fraught with rivalry and jealousy in a time when you should be happiest for your best friend.

4) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

And now for some class. Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of John le Carre's famous novel brought to the screen the most elegant and impressive cast of 2011 all working at the top of their game to recreate the murky, smoky world of 1970s espionage. A pitch perfect Gary Oldman plays George Smiley, coaxed out of semi retirement to uncover a Soviet spy within MI6's ranks and so leads to a tangled web of deception, deceit and murder. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the kind of grown up film making that is sadly largely absent from cinema screens in present times, amidst an age of 3D gimmickry and sloppy sequels. The film demands your attention to piece together its intricate interweaving plot but also commands your respect by accomplishing a taut intelligent thriller that many cinema viewers want and so sorely miss in the often overrun dumbing down multiplexes of today.

3) We need to talk about Kevin

Lynne Ramsay's astonishing adaptation of Lionel Shriver's controversial novel brought to the screen two of the best performances of the year and one of the best films of the year. Tilda Swinton excels as the post natally depressed mother of the son from hell, while newcomer Ezra Miller is repulsively mesmerising as Kevin, the 'context' of the movie. Often shot like a dream which then cruelly yields to a nightmare We need to talk about Kevin is a harrowing masterful piece of film making, tackling subjects which are still taboo in our society. Ramsay's direction is intense, at times shot like a horror movie, but also composed and ethereal, lingering on the smallest details and highlighting the fragility of life and how easily this can be ruined in a heartbeat. Uncompromising and afflicting beautiful, this is thought provoking cinema at its best.

Joint 1) Blue Valentine

When it came to choosing between my top 2 films of the year, I couldn't decide whether to go with my head or my heart? Then I remembered it was my list so to hell with it, the 2 would hold the position together. So first comes the film that had my heart, Blue Valentine, Derek Cianfrance's achy breaky love story of Ryan Gosling and Michelle William's couple on the verge of relationship ruin. Filmed in heartbreaking fashion, we see the couple in the worst part of their romance and through flashbacks see the tender beginnings of their love story. Shot through with honesty and a biting edge absent from most romantic dramas, Blue Valentine depicts the subtle anguish that befalls many relationships with Gosling and Williams on achingly raw form. It also boasts a beautifully fitting score from Grizzly Bear that enhances Cianfrances dreamy yet melancholy aesthetic. The film may be too real for some used to the more saccharine version of romance but its sincere nature is what makes it all the more devastating. Sad swooning cinema to die for.

Joint 1) The Skin I Live In

Wow is all that can be said about The Skin I Live In. No other film this year shocked, entranced and repulsed me more than Pedro Almodovar's latest. A heady concoction of Horror, Science Fiction and romantic obsession, The Skin I Live In took body manipulation to a whole other level with the twisted tale of Antonio Banderas' controversial surgeon and the women he holds captive in his mansion whilst perfecting a new form of skin. From this opening gambit comes a twisty tale of serpentine proportions that is repellent yet entirely entrancing, the deeper the rabbit hole goes, the more compelling it becomes. Almodovar is a director working at the top of his game, able to weave through genres with deft skill and playful creative abandonment. Banderas meanwhile has never been better or more dangerously brooding whilst newcomer Elena Anaya is a beautiful beguiling presence. The Skin I Live In is an extreme experience, one that disorientates and bewitches, one to get under your very own skin and literally stay there for days to come.

The Duds of the Year

Your Highness- I expected good things from this, since I enjoyed Pineapple Express and it starred the goofy but pretty James Franco. Ok so it was never going to compete with fellow fantasy adventure comedy The Princess Bride but still I was unprepared for the heap of crap that Your Highness turned out to be. Unfunny, extremely sexist (but doesn't Portman play an ass kicking warrior I hear you cry- why yes she does, one with an inflated cleavage and a bum she likes flashing) and most painful of all, a waste of good talent. It is like they let Danny McBride ad lib all the way through and the director didn't have the heart to tell him the jokes were not hitting the mark. An extreme low point.

Paul- Bloated, self indulgent film making starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who follow Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz with this painful miss fire. Perhaps director Edgar Wright, absent from this film, is the missing ingredient to making this duo funny because left to their own devices in this fan boys wet dream of a movie, they are irritating and bland.

Unknown- Liam Neeson continues his career as the thinking woman's muscle for hire in this latest slice of action/thriller tomfoolery. We all know Taken was a guilty pleasure that first showcased Neeson's ability to kick ass however trying to recreate that act with a lazy Bourne style rip off was a mistake. Neeson screams paycheck, January Jones sleepwalks through her role and the lovely Diana Kruger really deserves better.

The Adjustment Bureau- Based on a Phillip K Dick story, this Matt Damon vehicle could have good with its interesting central premise. However it turned out to be a completely pointless

dull film that could not execute its initial set up. Damon seemed to be on auto pilot and again in a year that contained quite a few lazy lady performances, Emily Blunt looks comatose despite being cast as a dancer. There is little chemistry between the leads which means you care little about the romance and the fate of their relationship and even less about the botched attempt at thoughtful Sci-fi. File under wasted opportunity.

Women of the Year

Kristen Wiig

Bubbling under the cinematic surface for a while after her regular stints on Saturday Night Live, with kooky roles in Whip It! and Adventureland and consistently stealing scenes in a number of cameos (Ghost Town, Knocked Up) Wiig hit the big time with Bridesmaids.

Funny, pretty, but not in an overtly sexy way, and talented (co-writing Bridesmaids), she is the new girl crush for many women. A defiant knack for comedy timing but also to deliver fragile humility, Wiig has a bucket load of skill and is not afraid to be self deprecating for the cause. Expect a lot more for this lady.

Tilda Swinton

People who know me, know I have been championing the actress for some time but my love affair with Tilda hasn't always been an easy one. When I first saw her in Orlando I was unsure of her, her distinctive looks and androgynous demeanour was something I wasn't used to but these are the reasons I love her now. That and her unflinching character portrayals and her no nonsense attitude to fame and pretty much everything else. In 2011 for me she gave the best female performance of the year in We need to talk about Kevin, a brave, unglamourous depiction of a reluctant mother who ends up losing everything. Swinton is incredible, allowing herself to be drab and at times highly unsympathetic, her face can hold a thousand emotions without saying a word. Having already won a best supporting actress Oscar for her brilliant performance in Michael Clayton, if she doesnt at least get a nod for Best Actress for Kevin, then serious fingers will be pointed at Hollywood. Yet knowing Swinton, she doesnt care much for these things anyway.

Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams has been on my radar for the past few years. Managing to break away from the binds of Dawsons Creek with her perfomance in Brokeback Mountain, she continued to traverse through films, finding herself more attuned to Independent films where she excels. Still reeling from her intensely naturalistic turn in Wendy and Lucy, this year she gave two of the best performances of the year. In Meeks Cutoff she combined tangible humanity with instinctual determination, showing girl power was alive and kicking in 1845. But it was her turn in Blue Valentine that really stole my heart this year, again like Swinton, she finds herself at times in an unsympathic role (after all who could fall out of love with Ryan Gosling?) being the half of the couple who seems more resilent to fighting for their doomed relationship. But she is also tender, adorable, vunerable and entirely human, her sad expressive eyes conveying what a thousand love up/out of love women have felt. Williams is now courting the mainstream more, most recently in My Week with Marilyn and though I will probably pretty much watch anything she is in (she is THAT good) I hope she stays true to her indie roots for which she can shine in brave roles.

Review- We need to talk about Kevin

The idea that a mother would struggle to love her child is a subject that seems taboo in society, there is still, in some cases, a reluctance in women to accept they may have succumb to Post Natal depression in the time that is supposed to be filled with joy. But even if the mother does grapple with her lack of maternal instincts for the newborn, and some resentment for the new bundle of responsibilities is laid bare, does this lay the foundation for the child to become a monster? Or they destined to align with evil no matter what the environment?

Lynne Ramsay's adaptation of We need to talk about Kevin, from the bestselling book by Lionel Shriver navigates this battlefield of a mother's love for a truly unlovable child. Tilda Swinton plays Eva Khatchadourian, a woman living with, and reliving the events leading up to, and following her son, Kevin's massacre of fellow students at his high school. The film begins with Eva at a low ebb, jobless, sleepwalking through life with a room full of pills and wine bottles. Her house is vandalised with red paint and she is verbally abused daily by the parents of the children that her son killed and injured. Even the respite of a new job is short-lived with the daily vitriol that consumes every thing she does.

Ramsay's film moves from the present to the past, cutting between what was and what is now, scenes appear like longing memories, others jarring with past pain and harsh realities return of the relationship between Eva and her son Kevin and what lead to his terrible actions. From the beginning of his conception it is clear Eva sits ill at ease with pregnancy, removed from her free spirited life as a travel writer, she now appears trapped, uncomfortable in antenatal classes,surrounded by bumps. The birth of Kevin is filmed like a scene from a horror movie with oblique angles and screams of pain and after the labour, Eva seems detached from the experience, unwilling to hold her newborn.

Once home, she struggles to stop Kevin from crying and various attempts to bond with her child are thwarted by his resilience to play along and his stubborn refusal to learn the word 'Mommy'. Only when dad Franklin (a sweet but naively dim-witted John C Reilly) returns home does the child come to life and converse with his father. Though Eva at first voices her discomfort with her role as a mother in her post natal depressive state, at one point Franklin catches Eva telling baby Kevin if he wasn't around she would be happy and living in France, she tries to connect to her child but there is something so inherently wrong with Kevin, something that no amount of withheld nurture could nature.

As Kevin grows up, through his toddler years, where he continually goads Eva with defiant acts, through to becoming a teenager, his disdain for his mother also grows with increasingly chilling behaviour, all the while still undetected by his father, culminating in the most ill advised Christmas present in history. If Shriver's novel had fallen into the wrong hands, this could have been played out as a cheap horror movie, the devil child terrorising his mother, and though there is an element of horror to the novels subject and, in turn the film, it is the heartbreaking context delivered to heartbreaking effect that elevates the film to agonising brilliance.

The film is one of the best examples of right director for the right material, Lynne Ramsay's art house sensibilities perforate the narrative with vivid imagery and dreamlike wounds. The colour red punctuates many of the images from the paint thrown on Eva's house, that she so metaphorically cannot completely clean away, to innards of sandwiches bursting with vibrant jam to the blood that defines Kevin's final sadistic act. The use of sound is particularly effective where subtlty reigns when it needs to and the use of songs have a bittersweet juxtaposition to what is unfolding on screen. If Ramsay is the right director, then Tilda Swinton is the right actress for the film, she is able to say show much with her face, without saying anything at all, quiet devastation etched on her features, she is fearless in her portrayal of Eva, unafraid to be exposed warts and all. Newcomer Ezra Miller, who plays the teenage Kevin, is a mesmerising screen presence, wholly repulsive in his treatment of his mother, yet unable to turn away from his hypnotic snide demeanor.

We need to talk about Kevin is a beautifully afflicting film, a tragedy composed with deft skill of direction, it is a story of suffering, guilt and the fragility of life. For some it will be the best advertisement for being careful with contraception, for others it will be a emotional reminder to cherish your loved ones and be thankful for everything you have.

Review-Contagion

In an average day, think about how many times you touch your face, doorknobs, surfaces and how many people you interact with and who have also touched similar public surfaces. Now think if there was a highly infectious virus was born into the environment, spreading with every touch, cough and contact. This is the question that Steven Soderbergh’s latest film Contagion asks and in doing so becomes the non horror ‘horror’ film of the year.

Contagion begins with the clever subtitle ‘Day 2’ leaving the audience and the characters in the dark as to what happened on Day 1, as a philandering wife Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) begins with a cough in Chicago airport on a stop off from her way back from Hong Kong. We see her travel home to her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) and son in Minneapolis, whilst also seeing the people she has come into contact with begin to fall seriously ill, and then Beth herself two days later suffers a seizure and dies from the unknown disease. This fatality becomes the catalyst for a chain of events from the initial outbreak of the virus, to attempts to contain it, to the widespread panic, which leads to social disorder and chaos and trying to find a vaccine for the disease. The narrative runs over several interconnecting plotlines- Dr Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) works for the Centre for Disease control and prevention, trying to grasp the severity of the virus and how to handle the impending crisis. He sends Dr Mears (Kate Winslet) an Epidemic Intelligence Officer to Minneapolis to investigate and to trace back. CDC Scientist Dr Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) tries desperately to first try to find the characteristics of the virus, to then find a vaccine against it, risking her own life in the process and motivated by her father, who is one of the infected. Dr Orantes (Marion Cotillard) is an epidemiologist from the World Health Organisation who travels to Hong Kong to identify patient zero and in turn, the origins of the virus. Jude Law plays the appropriately named Alan Krumwiede, a conspiracy theorist blogger, who tries to push a homeopathic cure onto desperate people for his own financial gain. And Matt Damon is the everyman ordinary Joe, a guy who appears immune from the virus yet has lost his wife and stepson, he is mourning whilst trying to protect his daughter, who has returned home, from harm.

Though this sounds like a lot to take in and to cover, Steven Soderbergh is a director who knows how to juggle a multi strand plot, as shown in previous film Traffic, and does with ease and clarity, the time frame of days, from the first outbreak helps to keep track of the events and also highlights how quickly it escalates. Attention is needed but the viewer is rewarded with a more grown up version of the medical disaster movie. It is the matter of fact manner direction that makes it all the more intensely real, rather than a Hollywood style race for the cure hero version. The film is boasted by a stellar cast who weave through the film, intertwining but never trying to outshine each other, theatrics are kept to a minimum, a rarity for a film with so many big names. Some, inevitably, are short changed on screen time, notably Cotillard whose narrative strand is left in limbo for some of the running time and the less said about Law’s dodgy American/Aussie accent the better.

Contagion may feel at times less like entertainment and more like a biological warning, but cinema’s functions are not always focused on the pleasure aspect. It is a smart and very scary film, one to make you squirm and to induce a sense of paranoia, one that may leave you a little wary next time you open a door in public.

Review- Troll Hunter

The mockumentary/found footage approach to a narrative has become a sub genre that lends itself to films with a modest or low budget, combating the restrictive productions with lo-fi techniques such as handheld cameras and naturalistic locations. The Blair Witch Project (1999) was the game changer of this new breed of cinema, using amateur footage and unknown, untrained actors. It also used the internet to begin an online back story that what the audience was seeing was actually real, enhancing the feeling that this was something that had taken place, or at the very least that this was based on a real legend. Since this milestone, there have been many movies, particularly in the horror genre that have used this approach such as Paranormal Activity, My Little Eye, Rec and The Last Exorcism combining the simple home movie/documentary style with shocks galore.

The latest addition to this cinematic persuasion is Troll Hunter, a Norwegian mockumentary film written and directed by André Øvredal which carries a horror element but also is a dark fantasy mixing with the mundane. Troll Hunter begins with news footage of a spat of illegal bear killings that have taken place in the Norwegian western countryside, three college students are filming the events and begin to follow a mysterious man named Hans (Otto Jespersen), whom they believe to be the poacher behind the bear slaying. Through their persistent trailing of Hans, they stumble across what he is really doing and who he really is, a Troll Hunter and although the crew of students are at first skeptical of what he has told them, despite one of them suffering a bite at the hands of a creature, they ask if they can join the hunt and film it, to which Hans agrees. What follows is expeditions with frantic shaky footage, tussles with Norwegian bureaucrats and really really big Trolls.

Troll Hunter is a curious unique watch, it uses the shock doc technique for all its worth and with creative aplomb, the modest budget uses the most of the stunning Norwegian landscape as its backdrop but also affords to create visually effective creatures amidst the amateur camera feel. The film also manages to incorporate humour into the mix, the scene where Hans tries to extract a blood sample from a troll, dressed like a iron welder from the past, looks like something from Monty Python and fun is poked at the folklore of trolls with references to 'Three Billy Goats Gruff'.

But what is most striking about Troll Hunter is the juxtaposition of the film from the everyday and the fairytale. As the hunter, Hans is a veteran of his job, his almost blase nature to what he does seems at odds with the risky, life threatening position he is constantly throwing himself into. Whenever he kills a troll, he has to fill out a form as part of his job working for TSS (Troll Security Service), it is this mundane activity, like that of an office pen pusher, that highlights how the mystical quality that the presence of a creature such as a troll should instill, has become so normal to Hans. Otto Jespersen is an imposing enigmatic presence as Hans, he commands the authority but also empathy, he is simply a man doing his job, albeit one of a very dubious quality, he is one who questions his role in the field he is in, his acceptance to let the students film his actions reveals his contempt for the government he works for. This also raises the morality of his, and the Norwegian governments actions to the audience, the trolls are simple creatures acting in nature as other creatures would, they hunt for prey, they fight for seniority and their inability to stay within the borderlines that have been drawn for them, makes them an issue for the government. If the trolls were any other endangered species, would it be inhuman to kill them off?

Part horror, part fantasy and part social satire, Troll Hunter takes a now familiar concept of the found footage film but uses it to new creative heights. Bursting with originality, Nordic folklore and a great central performance, Troll Hunter is a surprising gem, one that should be seen in its pure form before the Hollywood remake, that is already in progress, taints the entertaining original.