Tetro

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What: Film.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola.
Actors: Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, Maribel Verdu.
Where: Soho Film Lab, London.

71 years old he may be, but Francis Ford Coppola still knows how to have fun. With his new film Tetro the ‘new Hollywood’ heavyweight reproduces some of the form he displayed in some of his 20th century masterpieces like The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now. Combining this with the artistry demonstrated in the more independent The Outsiders and Rumble Fish, Tetro is a beautiful, visually arresting and dramatic piece of film-making.

Set mainly in the vibrant, bohemian ‘La Boca’ district of Buenos Aires, Tetro is a story of two brothers reacquainted after over 10 years apart. Indie film icon, Vincent Galllo, plays older brother Tetro a troubled writer who had sworn that he would never see his family again. Meanwhile, twenty year old newcomer Alden Ehrenreich plays younger brother Bennie, who is eager to heal the family wounds and get to know his estranged sibling. Initially this relationship is fraught with tension but as the film develops their bond grows.

Three stand-out, but very different, performances light this Film. Gallo, who has remained under the commercial radar for so long, will gain wider recognition for this role and we may see more of him because of it. As expected, he stinks of effortless cool throughout the 120 minutes, but Coppola also seems to get more substance from him than we’ve seen before in films like Buffalo 66. His striking Richard Ashcoft-esque, Rock ‘n’ Roll look serves his moody, emotional character well and his looks certainly fit with the film’s stylish direction.

Ehrenreich is a Hollywood star of the future and will have to put up with years of comparison with Leonardo De Caprio. They're impossible to ignore, however, he's got a bit more about him than just the looks. He credibly switches from the cute, nervous 17 year old younger brother in the first third of the film, to a driven and talented creative displaying a Buddy Holly haircut and a convincing desire to make a difference. So, a better looking De Caprio; not bad for someone still getting drunk at New York University student nights.

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Completing the trio is the magnificent Maribel Verdu who has appeared in two of the most important films of the twenty first century: Alfonso Cuaron’s Y Tu Mama Tambien and Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. Here she maintains the high standards she has set and gives the film’s best performance as Miranda, the devoted and quite lovely girlfriend to Tetro. European cinema veterans Carmen Maura and Klaus Maria Brandauer complete the lineup and add depth to the film as the brother’s domineering father and a famous, literary critic.

In tone Tetro shifts from the vibrant buzz of urban Buenos Aires to the serenity of rural Patagonia with a black and white chic that befits the artistic nature of its director and cast. To better Coppola’s best work is impossible, but this is a 70’s film legend making films in the modern age and he’s still cutting it. Just when Tom Ford thought his use of pretty boys in beautifully crafted sunglasses would be enough to push him to the forefront of cinema, back comes one of the old masters to level things up. Tetro needs to be seen. We’ll be talking not only about the cast, but also the film itself, for years to come.

Rating: 7/10
Comments: FFC (nearly) back to his best.

White Material

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What: Film.
Director: Claire Denis.
Actors: Isabelle Huppert, Isaach De Bankole, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Christopher Lambert.
Where: Soho Screening Rooms, London.

Claire Denis returns to Africa for her impeccably acted, beautifully shot, if slightly flawed latest film. A strong French / African cast perform well to a superbly scored, if not perfectly written, harrowing story of colonial heartbreak, revolution and violent rebel uprising.

Isabelle Huppert, President of the Jury at last years Cannes film festival, plays a defiant French coffee plantation owner who, despite civil war and warnings for French nationals to leave the country, is determined to complete the harvest of her current crop. Combining true natural beauty with the kind of work ethic that Alan Sugar demands of one of his new recruits, she nails a kind of industrious chic that, it seems, only a French actor could get this right.

Her character, Maria, is the fulcrum of the film and she credibly and quickly switches between elegance and endeavour as she fights to keep her business in the black. One minute she’s gliding (and sometimes running) through this beautiful rural African setting wearing delicate boutique clothing and painted nails, the next she’s digging a hole with her bare hands in the dry African soil to bury a goats head. That’s true Lara Croft come Carrie Bradshaw but with an elegant French twist that makes it impossible to take your eyes off her.

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The familiar face of Ivorian actor Isaach De Bankolé, who has appeared in Hollywood blockbusters such as Miami Vice, Casino Royale and Coffee and Cigarettes as well as episodes of 24 and The Sopranoes, pops up again as the character of ‘The Boxer’, who is the rebel’s missing leader. Strong performances from Christopher Lambert and Nicolos Duvauchelle add a further depth to this story even if the speed of Duvanchelle’s character’s growth from harmless layabout to psychotic maverick seems a little non-organic.

This, at times disturbing work, isn’t as commercial as Denis’ last film (35 Shots of Rum) and includes deeply atmospheric scenes involving young children carrying and using weapons. The sight and behaviour of these child soldiers and the shockingly realistic use of these weapons throughout is one of the big factors in keeping the viewer strapped in for the 100 minutes it takes for this film to unwind. The other is the fate of the resilient Maria who seems almost unmoved as chaos ensues around her. An involving build-up hands over to only a somewhat satisfying finale as one twist too few slightly tarnishes this interesting work.

Rating: 6/10
Comments: Not her best, but Denis' work is always intriguing.

The Godfather

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What: Film.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola.
Actors: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton.
Where: At home, hungover, on a Sunday evening on DVD.

Re-watching this 1972 classic, the first of the trilogy that really put Coppola on the map, reminds you what a timeless piece of work it really is. You can’t help but think that if it was made in 2072 it would have the same significance it had when it changed the world of film forever in the second half of the twentieth century. The ‘Movie Brats’ more than knew what they were doing, they lit up this era of Hollywood New Wave cinema.

Lucky for us they did. HBO would not be the force they are today and we wouldn’t have big-hitting Hollywood Directors like Martin Scorsese working in the kind of Television that has shaped popular culture in recent years. No Mad Men, no The Wire, No Rome, No Entourage, No Six Feet Under and most importantly No Sopranoes. And without The Sopranoes, well, we’re not even going there.

Except we have to. David Chase and his gang of writers have taken the content and genuine realism of The Godfather and combined it with the same approach to scoring moving images that Scorsese used in Mean Streets to make The Sopranoes quite simply the best television ever made. We can’t ignore what inspired the making of that TV series that kept us up until 4am time after time. Elements of Chase’s work can be seen in almost every frame of The Godfather.

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One of the advantages of a TV series over a film is that you really get to explore deep into the character's personalities. Coppolla doesn’t need 12 one hour episodes to introduce us to Corleone’s mob. After three hours of intense conversation mixed with cold blooded killing, you’re familiar with the whole family. 31 year old Al Pacino is effortless as he stylishly nails the role of Michael Corleone. Robert Duvall impresses as the advisor to the mafia family but both are overshadowed by a breathtaking, Oscar winning performance of Marlon Brando as he plays the big man himself.

Rating: 9/10
Comments: Perfectly realistic. This has shaped every mobster film since.

Alice in Wonderland 3D

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What: Film.
Director: Tim Burton.
Actors: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman.
Where: Holloway Odeon, London

Tim Burton has made the full transition from a quirky, inspirational, indie film auteur to superstar Hollywood director working with big egos and even bigger budgets. Big money special effects and box office names have replaced the dark, groundbreaking and individual film classics that originally pushed Burton to the forefront.

With money and profile comes the requirement for fame. It’s the way things roll but unfortunately in the case of Alice in Wonderland it means that you leave the cinema only with memories of good special effects and an even better cast but not the memory of a great story. There’s too much going on and too many familiar faces (and in this case, voices).

The best performances in this film are in the minor parts. Burton got it spot on when casting Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Alan Rickman as Absolem and Timothy Spall as Bayard the bloodhound. Helena Bonham Carter, playing the Red Queen, produced a performance which seemed entirely based on Miranda Richardson’s Blackadder character, Queenie. Mixing things up and casting someone like Richardson in this role would be a breath of fresh air but Burton continues with the same casting choices we’ve seen so many times before.

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Johnny Depp produced his usual Burton led, above average performance and it’s certainly true that his acting skills are perfectly suited to the unusual characters that dominate Burton’s films. The disappointing and ridiculous dance at the end of the film was so clearly demanded by the big studios to keep the kids interested. However, this continuous Burton-Depp relationship seems too predictable and certainly detracts from the film plot. Both have too much talent to hide behind each other for any part of the remainder of their careers.

It’s so easy to say but Tim, it’s not money and celebrity that we want to see you involved with. You’re too good for it but it’s ok, we understand. A future box office flop could be the best thing that ever happened to you. It may push you back to your roots. The problems is, while the kids love you as much as they do, you may never see failure again.

Rating: 6/10
Comments: The minor roles and the 3D effects hold the latest Burton-Depp collaboration together.

Moon

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What: Film.
Director: Duncan Jones.
Actors: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott.
Where: At home on a spring afternoon (on DVD).

There are a few reasons why I enjoyed the Bafta’s award show more than the Oscars this year. The main reason being that our acceptance speeches put the yanks to shame. I cannot accept that my three favourite (Colin Firth, Jacques Audiard and Duncan Jones) were scripted but if they were then those guys should be getting Oscar nominations next year for acting improvisation.

The chic, French women who spoke in English on behalf of Jacques Audiard, after he chose to continue in his native tongue, delivered bohemian cool beyond anything LA could throw across the pond. But for a refreshing, genuine but modest realisation that he had hit the big time by doing something he so obviously loved, Duncan Jones got things spot on.

And so to his film Moon, which is a sad, disturbing but unique piece of film-making with a stand-out performance from Sam Rockwell. Rockwell seems to have deliberately managed his acting career to opt for credible roles and characters rather than picking big-paying Hollywood features. He most often appears as a supporting actor but here, even with very few other actors to ’bounce’ off, picks up the lead and runs with it with a real intelligence and precision.

The message hidden in this film predictably sits well to the left of the real power-message of recent times that we experience in The Hurt Locker (which overall is neither a pro or anti war film). But the film hints at capitalist, ethical and green issues we are likely to face as a human race in the long-term future. The finale neatly ties up loose ends and tells us in no uncertain terms that as humans there‘s not as much happiness to be found in following the crowd as leading your own life. Just like DJ himself has so clearly been doing in recent times.

Rating: 8/10
Comments: A great, British feature debut.

District 9

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What: Film.
Director: Neill Blomkamp.
Actors: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James.
Where: At home (and hungover) on DVD.

With all the talk being of Avatar breaking every box office record in this or any other galaxy, there’s not been too much time to talk about other recent sci-fi films. But the academy recognised District 9 by nominating it for four Oscars including the big one, Best Film, which is high praise indeed.

The low-budget, amateur feel to the start of the film seems to work in the film’s favour to provide a credibility to the modern day Johannesburg we arrive in where aliens and humans live together. Sharlto Copley plays the main character whose job it is to evict 1.8 million aliens from the area known as District 9 and it’s been reported the actor improvised all of his dialogue for the film.

Like Avatar, a lone-human gets immersed in an alien world that, it turns out, is as, if not more, moralistic than the human-run earth. Where Avatar hinted at references to the wars fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, you get the feeling that the racial tensions that surfaced during apartheid may motivate the message that District 9 sends out.

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Although there’s a few questions unanswered come the end of the film, there’s a general sense of satisfaction and it’s clear that Blomkamp has left the door wide open for sequel to this originally shot film. Although this is more a directors film than one filled with great performances from it’s cast, it’s clear that Copley has hit the big time. We’ll be seeing him later this year in the Ridley and Tony Scott produced A-Team which is sure to strike gold at the box office.

Rating: 7/10
Comments: Pushing boundaries in the world of sci-fi cinema, District 9 gets it just about spot on.

A Single Man

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What: Film.

Director: Tom Ford.
Actors: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode.
Where: Curzon Mayfair Cinema, London.

It's hard to look past the immaculately dressed cast, the beautiful Mercedes Coupe, the delicately coloured cigarettes and the perfectly prepared Tanqueray Gin and Tonics to give an objective opinion on this film. However, once you can find a way round the effortless chic, the latest output of the Tom Ford product range has got a lot of soul.

Colin Firth deservedly picked up the best actor award at the BAFTA's on Sunday night for this performance as the gay college lecturer tormented by the death of his lover. And although Jeff Bridges' lifetime contribution to film will probably mean that Hollywood give him the nod at the Oscars this Sunday, Firth is funny, passionate and beautifully depressing in this career-defining role.

Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode and Julianne Moore provide an excellent supporting cast. Although Moore doesn't quite hit the heights she did in Boogie Nights she is still irresistible as a middle-aged ex-lover and friend to Firth's character. Hoult exhibits the perfect mix of behaviour you'd expect of his college student character. His youthful personality frustrates against Firth's maturity which reminds the viewer of his performance in About a Boy but later the bravado he demonstrated in Skins becomes evident. This won't go un-noticed in the Hollywood studios.

There's no doubt that Tom Ford has a future in the film industry. Let's face it, he has film starstatus himself and if Firth's BAFTA acceptance speech was as genuine as it sounded, he's the kind of guy that everyone wants to be around.

This is a season of Mad Men squeezed beautifully into 2 hours. And like Mad Men it's not just people who love TV and cinema that are going to take to this. The fashionista crowd are going to be all over it. I can see them now heading for the beach at Cannes come festival time, Tom Ford shades glinting in the sun and a not-so-well thumbed copy of Isherwood's A Single Man tucked under the arm.

Rating: 8/10

Comments: A beautiful story, beautifully acted and it all looks so Tom Ford-beautiful.