Brooklyn review

Based on a novel by Colm Toibin, Brooklyn charts the journey of a young Irish woman called Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) from her native Enniscorthy to the big streets of Brooklyn, New York. Once there, Eilis suffers from homesickness and struggles to adjust to the fast-paced Brooklynite lifestyle. Her happiness changes for the better, however, when she meets a charming Italian-American man called Tony (Emory Cohen) at a local dance. As their relationship blooms, though, Eilis receives tragic news from Ireland. This forces her to travel back to Enniscorthy and once there she finds her feelings tested by the advances of eligible bachelor Jim (Domhnall Gleeson).

Brooklyn works well on multiple levels. On one end it explores some interesting areas such as the nature of home and the experiences of young migrants coming to America. On the other it contains a touching and unforced love story.

All of this is anchored by some strong performances from its cast with Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen giving endearing turns as Eilis and Tony. Also worth mentioning is Julie Walters who appears in a scene-stealing role as Eilis’s landlady Madge Kehoe, a woman whose opinions cover everything from the sinful nature of giddiness to the complexions of her tenants. 

A solid script from Nick Hornby also keeps things ticking along and is complemented by some good directorial work from John Crowley.

Although it doesn't quite reach the heights of other period dramas such as Atonement, Brooklyn still manages to be both beautiful and moving. 

Star Rating: 4/5

Trumbo review

During the 1940’s, Dalton Trumbo was one of Hollywood’s most respected and highest earning screenwriters. He was also a keen supporter of worker’s rights and was one of many Americans who joined the Communist Party during World War Two. 

After the end of the war, however, and amidst increasingly hostile relations between the US and the Soviet Union, members of the Communist Party, like Trumbo, were viewed with suspicion. A group called the House Un-American Activities Committee was even used to investigate those thought to have Communist sympathies.

In 1947, Trumbo was one of ten people who were charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions posed by the committee. As a result of this, Trumbo served eleven months in prison and was blacklisted. This meant that he was effectively prohibited from working in the film industry. Trumbo circumvented this, however, by writing scripts under various pseudonyms and by getting friends to take credit for his work. During this period, two of Trumbo’s scripts – The Brave One and Roman Holiday – received Oscars, although he was unable to take credit for them.

Jay Roach’s film follows Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) through this dark period up until 1960 when he was welcomed back into the Hollywood fold after being publicly credited for his work on the hit film Spartacus.

To Trumbo’s credit, it manages to avoid the po-faced seriousness that might easily befall a film with such subject matter. Indeed, it is less concerned with making political points and more with illuminating the personality of Trumbo himself. 

Bryan Cranston imbues his character with a dry wit and quiet intelligence that makes him both likeable and fascinating to watch. There are also strong performances from a talented supporting cast that includes Michael Stuhlbarg and Louis C. K, although it is Helen Mirren who really gives a scene-stealing performance as a delightfully venomous gossip columnist.

Both funny and compelling, Trumbo offers an interesting and long overdue look into one of the darker periods of Hollywood history.

Star Rating: 4/5

Room review

A woman (Brie Larson) and her five-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) live their lives within a single soundproofed room in which the woman – who the boy only knows as ma – was imprisoned seven years before. 

Since he has known nothing but it, Jack only recognises the reality of the room and everything within its walls: the sea can’t be real, he reasons, because it is too big. He thinks the same about trees although he recognises the existence of plants since there is a potted one actually in the room.

As the film progresses, Jack’s mother tries to convince him of the existence of the outside world whilst also trying to contrive a means of escape from the room and their captor ‘Old Nick’ (Sean Bridgers).

Lenny Abrahamson’s adaptation of the novel by Emma Donoghue (who also wrote the screenplay) is profoundly moving. Its examination of the effects of a child’s environment on their psychological development is also interesting and insightful.

Despite putting what might be the climax of a similar movie in the middle of the film, Room never loses its ability to interest. This is thanks to committed performances from young Jacob Tremblay and Brie Larson as well as Abrahamson’s direction, which does an excellent job of capturing a child’s silver lined view of the world.

It will be interesting to see how the film fares at the Academy Awards where it has, rather deservedly, been nominated in four categories – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress (for Larson).

Star Rating: 5/5

The Best Films of 2015: Birdman

Just making this rundown of the year’s best films – it was released on January 1^st, 2015 in the UK - is the Academy award winning Birdman.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s fifth feature film follows washed-up actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), the star of a film franchise revolving around the eponymous superhero Birdman. After leaving Hollywood, Riggan is now attempting to jump start his career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway play based on the work of Raymond Carver.

As well as the numerous challenges that arise from putting on a Broadway play, Riggan must also contend with an embittered daughter (Emma Stone), an all too serious method actor (Edward Norton), and hallucinations in which he has superpowers.

Birdman is a film with both style and substance: shot and edited so as to appear as one continuous shot, the film seamlessly pulls the viewer down winding theatre corridors into claustrophobic dressing rooms and then out onto the dark streets of New York. It’s an entrancing experience for anyone used to watching films shot and edited in a more conventional manner.

In regards to substance, the film has themes many of us can relate to: wanting to be recognised for our achievements, wanting to feel like we’ve done something worthwhile with our lives, these are things many of us experience every day.

If this isn’t enough to convince you of the merits of Birdman then, please be assured, the film is also tremendously funny. A scene where Edward Norton’s character gets a little too ‘excited’ after an intimate scene during a preview of Riggan’s play is a highlight.

In its examination of the world of theatre and the egos of actors, Birdman stands as a unique film. It also makes for a witty, visually fascinating, and wonderfully engaging introduction to the work of its director, whose next film The Revenant – out in January – is already generating a fair amount of critical praise. 

The Best Films of 2015: Whiplash

With the New Year fast approaching, a rundown of the year's best films (in the humble opinion of this critic) seems appropriate. First up: Whiplash.

Young and talented drummer Andrew harbours dreams of greatness but doesn’t seem challenged at the music school he attends. That is until he meets Fletcher, the conductor of the school’s leading jazz band. As a result of Fletcher’s brutal, unorthodox methods and his perfectionist attitude, Andrew finds himself pushed to the very limits of his musical ability and sanity. 

Whiplash was nominated for five Academy awards and it’s not hard to see why. Everything about it from its screenplay, cinematography, and acting – J. K. Simmons won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars for his portrayal of Fletcher – is superb.

It’s also relentlessly exciting. The scenes in the jazz band’s practice room where Fletcher pushes Andrew and the other students for even better and better performances feel like something from a thriller, with Fletcher taking on the role of the role of the supercriminal whose job consists of throwing obstacle after obstacle in front of the film’s hero. Sedate drama this is not.

Director Damien Chazelle’s next film is a musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling and is set for a release in the summer. If it is crafted with any of the passion and care of Whiplash then it is surely worth the price of a cinema ticket. 

Sicario review

The opening text of Sicario reveals that the word refers to ancient Jewish zealots and is also the Spanish for ‘assassin.’ Why this is relevant is only made painfully clear towards the film’s end.

The plot of director Denis Villeneuve’s fifth feature sees FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) drafted into a special task force to help take down a Mexican drug cartel. This task force is headed up by the shady pairing of defence adviser Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro). As the campaign against the cartel intensifies, Macer finds her ideals challenged by the brutal and unorthodox methods of those around her.

Sicario works as both a thriller and a commentary on the drug war consuming Mexico. In its depiction of the actions of the cartels and of the law enforcement agencies trying to combat them, the film pulls no punches. In one scene, Kate is driven past a bridge from which the dismembered bodies of the cartel’s victims hang. Although she is shocked, the agent with her can only speak admiringly of the cartel’s terror tactics and call them ‘brilliant.’

The idea that Kate is entering a different world with a very different set of rules to those she is used to is continually emphasised with Alejandro telling her: ‘This is the land of wolves now.’

Villeneuve also makes use of an interesting device by presenting us with a separate storyline running in parallel to the main one. In this, we see a Mexican police officer called Silvio as he recovers from his night shifts and interacts with his family. The true significance of this storyline is not clear until the film’s end yet it adds a different and very human perspective to the central narrative.

Another thing that makes Sicario effective is the strength of its performances: Emily Blunt is convincing and likeable as the protagonist, Josh Brolin is appropriately aloof and obnoxious, and Benicio Del Toro weaves a portrait of a restrained but rage-filled man whose true motivations remain a mystery until the film’s dénouement. Indeed, it is Del Toro who stands out the most and in his performance as Alejandro we certainly have a worthy contender for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.

Thought provoking, unrelenting, and brutal: Sicario may just be one of the most interesting films released this year.

Star Rating: 5/5