Believe it or not I saw this film about a year ago.... and lost track of it. If memory serves it's quite good. But memory has faded, here's The Duck to refresh us all, and to enlighten those that have never seen it!
Looking at your site I noticed that you haven't got any news about the film Plunkett and Macleane and wondered why, seeing that it's been out here in the UK for a few weeks now, and then it dawned on me: the film's not out in America yet because it's a British film. Therefore, this is the perfect opportunity for me to review the film for you. So I will.
Plunkett and Macleane is, for want of a phrase with less cliché, a period drama with a difference. Starring Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty, Hamish Macbeth) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting, Afterglow, Regeneration), the film contains modern language and music to accompany all of the 18th century costumes and location. After yet another painfully long title credit sequence the film opens with Macleane (Miller), a gentleman who has run out of money, witnessing Plunkett (Carlyle) rob a stage coach. For various reasons that I won't go into they strike a deal: Macleane goes and mixes with the aristocracy to find out who it's worth stealing from, and then Plunkett leads the hold-ups. Yes that's nice, but is it any good?
The short answer is yeah. Not "yes", but "yeah". You see, the first time I saw this film I didn't really like it. There wasn't (and isn't) anything very wrong with the film, but I felt that it lacked a certain something. Maybe I didn't know quite what to expect. The main problem with the film is the unconvincing love story between Macleane and Lady Rebecca Gibson (Liv Tyler). The main reason that the love story is unconvincing is that Liv Tyler doesn't actually do any acting in the film. Harsh, but true. She spends most of the time looking glum and talking slowly in an attempt to sound English and posh. However, upon seeing it a second time (to accompany my girlfriend who had yet to see it) I enjoyed it far more (and my girlfriend loved it). Maybe that was because I was expecting it to be rubbish and so was pleasantly surprised, or maybe it was because I knew what to expect. You see, it's a very strange sight, to see a group of people in period costume dancing a period dance to modern dance music. Strange, but cool. The camera angles and upbeat nature of the film are unlike any you'll see in a period drama, and maybe that phased me the first time. Who knows? You say yourself, Harry, that the mood you're in greatly determines what you think of the film, so maybe I was in a bad mood the first time.
There are a few flaws, where the direction means that you don't know exactly what's going on, but these are few and don't mar the experience the second time around (or the first my girlfriend insists). There's a suitably nasty bad guy, Mr. Chance (Ken Stott) who goes around gouging eyes out and beating up subordinates. There are plenty of amusing moments and Carlyle and Miller play their parts with flair, making the film a lot better than it could have been. Overall I'd recommend that you see the film. After all, it's a bit of a larf, innit?
If you're interested, the film's website, which contains the trailer for the film, is at http://www.robtherich.com
the Duck
