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film reviews for film fiends

[artschoolreviewz]

It’s definitely not a good time to be a nazi.

Caitlin Summerson // 23rd January 2020

Nazi Germany, Hitler youth camps, a Jew secretly living in the attic. Downstairs, a humanist single mother lives with her fanatical son, who’s imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler. This is Taika Waititi’s newest satirical dark comedy ‘Jojo Rabbit’, based on the book ‘Caging Skies’ by Christine Leunens, and it is a must see. What is surprising based on the subject matter is that it is an extremely enjoyable viewing experience, we have Waititi to thank for that. His style is striking, the colour grading, soundtrack and costume design are all beautiful, and the cast is stellar (Waititi plays Hitler himself, alongside Scarlett Johansson, Alfie Allen, Stephen Merchant, Rebel Wilson, and Roman Griffin Davis, who’s leading role in this film is his first).

Waititi manages to explore an extremely dark topic with an effortlessly light tone, he brings history into the story book realm, the atrocities of Nazi Germany are told through the eyes and experiences of a child, Hitler is placed in the innocently mischievous position of existing as a child’s imaginary friend, although certain intricacies are overlooked, the simplified version of history shown is not ignorant. Waititi and Jojo’s character bring the boundary of understanding down to the level a child could possess, this clarity works extremely well for audiences living at least two generations away from the reality of war. We are able to understand the fanaticism of the Nazi party, their skewed beliefs and race war because it is told to us as a fantastical tale of good and bad, monsters and heroes, and in true fairy-tale style, the good guys win, love conquers all, but we already know that.

The story is a comment on blind fanaticism, in believing in something that you do not fully understand, as Jojo grapples with his identity as a ‘good young Aryan boy’, a part of the Hitler youth, and simply a 10 year old boy, he is challenged by his compassionate mother who makes the dangerous decision to hide a young Jewish girl in her attic, while allowing her son to express his political views, or what he thinks they are, freely, without judgement. Her character is the voice of reason, the voice of the future, she sees past the war, committing herself only to the endeavour of being a good person, regardless of the power structures trying to stop that inherently human kindness.

Elsa: “You're not a Nazi, Jojo. You're a ten-year-old kid who likes dressing up in a funny uniform and wants to be part of a club.”

It is an untraditional love story, one of adversity, and not necessarily a romantic kind of love, rather the kind of love that only exists when everything else is lost, most importantly one we still need to treasure.

[artschoolreviewz]

The pain is calling, oh Mandy

Caitlin Summerson // 23rd April 2019

!SPOILERS!

A psychedelic drug fueled cult, a savage nightmare inducing biker gang, obsessive erotica, passion, love, revenge… Nicholas Cage!?

Mandy, the 2018 fantasy horror film from Greek-Canadian director Panos Cosmatos, starring Nicolas Cage and Andrea Riseborough (who you will probably recognise from the equally fucked up Black Mirror episode ‘Crocodile’) , tells the story of Red and Mandy, a young(ish) couple living in their own personal paradise, in a small secluded home in the woods. Their peaceful existence is brutally shattered when Mandy is spotted by cabalistic cult leader Jeremiah, who becomes completely infatuated by her. His obsession leads him to malicious means in order to get Mandy under his professed power.

All hell breaks lose when Mandy is viciously taken by a pack of demonic henchmen (in a beautifully shot but absolutely terrifying scene) and delivered to the hippy-cult-gone-wrong. She ferociously rejects Jeremiah’s advances, humiliating him in front of his devoted followers. One extremely fucked up scene later (which honestly, I don’t want to spoil or describe) Mandy is killed and Red is propelled into a spiral of all-encompassing rage and begins a brutal rampage of vengeance and revenge.

Cosmatos has created one long psychedelic trip gone wrong, and a bloody great horror film. Not only is it visually stunning but it is truly terrifying. And not in a cheap jump-scare-the-murderer-is-behind-you kinda way either.  The plot is layered, a little complicated, but well developed, and so are most of the characters. Yes, it is shocking and violent but not aimlessly so. The savagery of the inhuman biker gang is explored and explained in detail, and so is the stimulant behind the cults strange and wicked behaviour. It is a complex journey but we are not left out in the cold for too long. We follow Red closely on his path to absolute vengeance, along the way he too becomes slightly savage and inhuman, but we are lead to sympathise and understand, we’re very much on his side, he is consumed by grief and anger, and we are rooting for him to really fuck the bad guys up. Yeah avenge Mandy!!! Yeah chop his head off!!!

In terms of visuals, I was stunned. The saturation of colours, heavy pinks and reds contrasted with cool chilling blues. The opposition of light and dark, good and bad, fantasy and reality is mesmerising. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen, even at some particularly graphic moments when perhaps I should have (don’t have a big meal before you see this film unless you have an iron stomach). It is indeed nightmare inducing but its beauty transcends the horror. The red hues are overwhelming, they lit up the whole cinema hall, every face glowing, reflecting the cult on screen with chilling accuracy. 

This is a film you really should see in a cinema, it needs to be on a big screen to allow for the true impact of this experience to be felt, especially for its visual aspects, and sound design, which need to be overwhelming, we’re meant to be a little uncomfortable. Sadly, this may be difficult to achieve as it was only released to a limited number of cinemas back in October. I saw a last minute screening with a friend in Queen’s University film faculty where I was studying in Belfast, but there was only one screening, and i’m glad I made it. Perhaps the limited release is because this film is so graphic, so insane and clearly not made to appeal to mass audiences. But it is a masterpiece of fear, violence, grief and vengeance, and shows Nicholas Cage in a whole new realm. It should have been more widely available. 

Mandy redefines horror, fantasy, and reality. It will confuse you, excite you, anger and entice you. You will not be on the edge of your seat, or hiding behind your hands. Instead, think about A Clockwork Orange, Alex’s torturous experience in a cinema of the Ludovico Technique, I’d describe watching Mandy to be a little like that. But, our eyes are not forcefully held open with a specula, instead simply by the macabre curiosity of the human condition. It is an intense trip, an accidental double dose of LSD laced with crazy, but worth every nightmare that may come after. 

Caruthers: “ What you're hunting is rabid animals... and you should go in knowing that your odds ain't that good... and you will probably die.

Red Miller: Don't be so negative.

Caruthers: When I've seen... them things... they were in a world of pain. But you know what the freakiest part was?

Red Miller: What's that?

Caruthers: They fucking loved it.”

[artschoolreviewz]

I thought models didn’t eat?

By Caitlin Summerson  //  3rd April 2019 !SPOILER ALERT!

Beauty. Pain. Jealousy. Murder.

Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2016 film ‘The Neon Demon’ dives head first into all of these intense topics, and attempts to dip its metaphorical toe into so much more. Set to a trendy but original electronic soundtrack, this movie will fulfill all of your aesthetic hipster needs, but i’m sad to say, it won’t do much else.

The plot follows Jesse, played by Elle Fanning, a beautiful barely sixteen-year-old aspiring model who moves to Los Angeles hoping to make a name for herself after both of her parents apparent demise (this is the first of many plot points that aren’t explored at all, let alone with any detail, and is also the first reason why I didn’t love this film, despite my hipster art school bias towards anything neon). After Jesse is signed to a modelling agency in LA,  her career quickly begins to take off, much to the dismay of fellow models, Sarah and Gigi. They are both imbued with an overwhelming jealousy of Jesse’s special je ne sais quoi. Their spite is so fierce that they end up going to extreme lengths to try and capture and subdue Jesse’s exceptional allure.

This film has so much potential to be deeply twisted, dark and disturbing, and to a certain point it is, but it does not go nearly as far as I hoped it would. I was seriously disappointed in the brief encounter with necrophilia and cannibalism Refn chose to tease us with. Is it bad for me to admit I wanted to see them eat her? Come on, you can’t hint at cannibalism. If you are going to take the risk to use something so taboo as a plot point in your film, s h o w  m e  i t, shock me.  There is such immense suspense built up before we actually see any action take place on screen, that when it does eventually come, in its incredibly mediocre form, its impossible not to be underwhelmed.

The plot has a good base line, using the monster that is the modelling industry is a strong allegory and lends well to the new genre of horror film this film is undoubtedly trying to become a member of, like David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows from 2014, or Tom Ford’s second film Nocturnal Animals, from 2016. Nicolas Refn has the eye and the skill needed to give this film the impact I expected, after all he directed Drive (2011) which was a stunning masterpiece, employing hipster aesthetics, an amazing soundtrack as well as a strong plot and detailed character development. However, it seems that his focus on upholding the delicate balance between style and substance has been dulled. The Neon Demon simply puts no effort into character development, no kind of attention is paid to detail, context or building a vaguely believable story. 

I can’t deny the film is visually pleasing, it is very neon, there is some beautiful imagery, well designed lighting but still, none of it blew me out of the water. I was instead stuck lying next to Jesse at the bottom of that drained pool. There was nothing I hadn't seen before, Refn just pumped the same elements he used in Drive and Only God Forgives full of steroids, while neglecting the actual plot and character development necessary for such an obscure film. How could he expect it to have any substance this way? The whole this is beautiful but completely fucking empty. 

Perhaps that was the point, because so is the fashion industry? And so is Jesse? 

Regardless of his intention, I was left unsatisfied and hungry.

[artschoolreviewz]

Elio, Elio, Elio, Call me by your name

By Caitlin Summerson  //  19th March 2019 

I remember once being told, although by who I can’t remember, that to really be a good critic, it is integral that you enjoy the art which you are critiquing. This does not mean that you cannot be critical, experiencing enjoyment and understanding is not exclusively linked to a well produced artwork. I bring this up because I feel that, to some, my recent reviews may come across as too agreeable, but this purely positive review of  Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Call me by your name’ I will not apologise for.

It left me with teary eyes, an aching heart, and a genuine lust for more. Luckily, Guadagnino has not ruled out sequels, but by saying this, do not think that I left this cinematic experience feeling unfulfilled. It is absolutely and unequivocally stunning, from beginning to end. In style. In cinematography. In location. In plot. In dialogue. In casting. Everything.

The film is set in 1980’s Italy, and follows a complicated blossoming romance between Elio, played by Timothée Chalamet, a seventeen year old high school student and Oliver, played by Armie Hammer, a slightly older college age man, who is hired by Elio’s father to be his research assistant over the summer. It is a coming of age story, a beautiful love story, an exploration of sexuality, of freedom, of adulthood. Watching it is a completely visceral experience, the choice Guadagnino made to only use one 35mm lense throughout the whole filming process, (which cannot switch between different focal lengths or different perspectives) imitates the human eye, putting nothing in between the audience and the performance. A confronting experience for us as viewers because it truly feels like we are confronting our own feelings and ourselves. The camera consistently stays on Elio and Oliver for a little longer than is comfortable in certain intense and intimate moments, this creates a slightly voyeuristic feeling, like we’re intruding on a beautiful but deeply private moment, however, we’re not made to feel unwelcome. This is especially overt in the final shot of the film, an extreme long take of Elio quietly crying by the fireplace after an emotional final phone call with Oliver. We have no choice but to witness his pain, and we too also feel it. The memory of these feelings becomes fresh in our minds, whether we like it or not, the intensity of a first love is impossible to forget.

This final scene is the first time that we see the films slightly obscure title ‘Call me by your name’ displayed on the screen, however we are exposed to this saying throughout the story as one of the most intimate connections Elio and Oliver have with each other. It is representative of the truest and most sincere form of love, which they are lucky enough to share. The moment when you look at the one you love and you see yourself. You are one. For the first time you can see yourself in a way which you have never before experienced and usually cannot. It is terrifying. It is confronting. It is intense. Is is a moment of genuine vulnerability. Elio and Oliver have a desire to be like one another, Elio craves Oliver’s confidence, maturity and self-assurance whereas Oliver desires Elio’s freedom, creativity, cultural knowledge and his open, accepting, European family. They call each other by their own name, they are merging, becoming one. They each leave the dreamy Italian getaway with a piece of each other remaining, which lingers even after their physical connection is severed. Desire is undoubtedly what motivates the characters throughout the film but it ends on a moment of self awareness and discovery, with Elio knowing who he is.

This film is an emotionally exhausting experience, completely cathartic but brilliantly beautiful. It is not somber, it is joyful, even though it is full of pain, because this pain is necessary, the outcome is that Elio becomes a man, he blossoms through the agony. This is eloquently expressed by Elio’s father in a striking speech near the end of the film that genuinely made me ugly cry;

“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should that we go bankrupt by the age of 30 and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to feel nothing so as not to feel anything - what a waste! … Right now there's sorrow, pain, don't kill it and with it the joy you felt.”

[artschoolreviewz]

The only exciting thing about 2002 is that it's a palindrome

By Caitlin Summerson  //  17th March 2019 Teenage angst. Hometown blues. A surprisingly cliche free search for love and acceptance.

Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut ‘Lady Bird’ is a stunningly realistic depiction of the ever clumsy path between teenage and adulthood we have all, at one time or another, had to blindly navigate. It is a coming of age film, constructed in the most beautiful and poignant way, starring Saoirse Ronan as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, a seventeen year old growing up in Sacramento, California, desperately trying to figure out who she is, where she belongs and what she is going to to with her life to make it meaningful, and more importantly, artistic. Underneath the carefully assembled layers of teenage turmoil, the overriding message that called out to me during this film is to value what is around you, and it tenderly reminds us just how easy this sentiment is to neglect.

“Is that your given name? Lady Bird? Why is it in quotation marks?

Yes I gave it to myself. It is given to me, by me”

‘Lady Bird’ is one of the few coming of age films I have seen in the past few years that truly tugged at my heartstrings. It is sentimental. It is nostalgic. Above all it is real. It transported me back to my, also sometimes painful, Catholic school days with ease. While watching Lady Bird incessantly quarrel with her mother, awkwardly figure out the difference between genuine friendships and empty popularity contests I wondered if Gerwig had somehow stumbled across my teenage diaries and was using this film to air them out. It is scarily raw and relatable, this is especially true in one of my favourite scenes of the whole film, where Lady Bird uncouthly lose her virginity to Timothée Chalamet’s character ‘Kyle’ in the most anticlimactic and realistic way, with Chalamet telling Ronan after they’re (he’s) finished “You’re gonna have so much unspecial sex in your life”, an equally sad but true statement coming from the mouth of a pretty shitty teenage cool boy. What you think is the start of the annoying, but almost always necessary romantic subplot of these films, quickly becomes a disappointing flop, no imagination is needed here to sympathise with Lady Bird, romantic expectations are shattered for us all as a teenager and Gerwig has captured it flawlessly.

The real love story of this film is between Lady Bird and her mother, Marion. Interestingly, the film is shot both from the perspective of a teenager and a the parent of said teenager, what I imagine to be the most brutal and thankless job. The timeless and universal struggle between a doting but overworked mother whose only wish is for her daughter to be successful and happy, and a restless teen who has only the fantasy of adult life in her young and naive mind. Lady Bird asks the same question we have all pondered - Does mom hate me?

Gerwig has stated that the film is not fully autobiographical but extremely familiar, undoubtedly a gift to the place that formed her. It is a depiction of what home and family means, the tricky love affair with our hometown and parents, that you only ever learn to fully appreciate after you leave them. The film is beautifully written and constructed, well worth a watch, and then a second viewing. However, it will make you want to call your mother immediately and apologise for being such a little shit as a teenager, probably a call that is well overdue anyway.

[artschoolreviewz]

A dystopian disaster movie, live

By Caitlin Summerson  //  11th March 2019 Predetermined fate vs free will. Utopia vs dystopia. Human vs androids. Red vs white.

As you enter the theatre hall, the show has already begun. The stage is set, a dozen actors are already present on stage, clad in identical clean, almost clinical overcoats. They all bear a flashing LED square on their left breast, worn like a shared coat of arms of whatever universe we have just stepped into. There is music playing too, a repetitive, upbeat country-style tune, quickening in pace as more theatre goers find their seats. It is coming from a small ensemble located in a raised section to the back of the stage, open to the audience, purposefully visible. There is a tall brightly lit column to the right of the stage, perched atop is a lone actor. The lights go out.

What we encounter when the light returns is a thoroughly intense but absolutely stunning dystopian masterpiece. It is Guy Wieszman’s latest spectacular production ‘Brave New World 2.0’, performed by the Noord Nederlands Toneel Group. It is a glorious fusion of The Hunger Games, Black Mirror, A Handmaid’s Tale and In TIme. You will notice here that I am comparing it to multiple big screen productions, afterall, film is my forte, however this is because I have simply never seen anything like this on the stage before. It elevates theatrical elements in an unfamiliar but breathtaking way, so much so that I could not peel my eyes away from the action for the duration of the performance, and it is pretty long (over two hours, no interval). It had me completely enthralled, and I am by no means a theatre junkie, I left pleasantly surprised by how it managed to capture my complete attention, and it’s grip was tight.

The plot is layered and complex, but even with the mixture of Dutch and English speech I was never left behind. ‘Brave New World 2.0’ shows us perhaps a not so distant future, one in which humanity has been divided into two groups, separated by that brightly it column I mentioned earlier, that throughout the performance fluidly moves across the stage, a simple but dynamic set design that blew me away. On one side is the red zone, inhabited by humans who have been declared useless within this new society fuelled by efficiency, their existence is bleak and brutal but they are truly free. On the other is the white zone, a mecca of performance and productivity, populated by workers, some human and some programmed ‘androids’. The play brilliantly explores the struggle between humanity and technology, between genuine connection and artificial progress, between work and freedom. It will definitely make you think about our present world, and undoubtedly question our future. What does it mean to be human? What does it take to be happy? What does the future hold?

‘Brave New World 2.0’ is on tour until May 18th 2019. It is definitely an intense ride but one I would fully recommend you take. 

[artschoolreviewz]

This is California

By Caitlin Summerson  //  28th February 2019

Nostalgia. Melancholy. Zeitgeist. Jonah Hill’s directorial debut ‘Mid90’s’ will awaken your soul to memories of a simpler time. Like the sweet smell of freshly brewed coffee early in the morning, first a gentle nudge, and then a redolent overwhelming jolt to the senses.

‘Mid90’s’ takes us through a portal back to Los Angeles mid 1990’s, where we find thirteen-year-old Stevie, a teenager growing up on the west coast. He spends his summer navigating between his tumultuous home life and a new group of friends whom he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop. Stevie is slowly welcomed into the cult of skateboarding, gradually developing deep friendships with its long-standing leaders Fuckshit and Ray. No, Fuckshit is not his given name, apparently that doesn’t fly even in LA.

This film is a cathartic experience from beginning to end, exploring the disorientating teenage experience you may have just forgotten. The transition from blissfully ignorant childhood to merciless adult existence is set to a dreamy soundtrack made up partly of an original score, alongside evocative 90’s classic recordings from The Pixies, Morrissey, Nirvana as well as some good old quintessential hip-hop.  

It is reminiscent of ‘This Aint California’, a fellow coming-of-age film from 2012, and an unmistakable source of inspiration for Hill. Similarly following a group of teenagers and their passionate love for skating, however, as the title so kindly states, this ain’t California, it’s the German Democratic republic in the 70’s and 80’s, so their issues are not only personal, but national, but most poignantly, un-apologetically human.

Both films are quests for freedom, from suppression, from harsh realities, from shitty families, and you’re rooting for all of them. You can almost feel the wind flowing through your own hair while watching the skating mob cruise down a wide west coast road, away from life’s brutal punches and into the arms of a warm sunset.

A directorial debut triumph for Hill, it is a true tale of friendship, belonging, dedication and lust for life. This film will transport you to a time you didn’t realise you missed, make you want to call old friends more and maybe even dust off that old skateboard.