Hey folks, Harry here... I'm one of thos folks that stumbled into the theater to see THE BORROWERS over a year and a half ago expecting a really shitty movie... and ya know what... I didn't get anything near approaching dung. Instead I was met with a wonderfully beautiful film that was... completely ignored by the world at large. So it was that I marked ol Peter Hewitt's name down as one of the ones to keep an eye on... and it seems from ol Holly Martins here... that he's turned in another winner. We'll keep our eyes on this one as it nears distribution.... Here we go...
Hello Harry, Holly Martins here, back from the sewers of Vienna chasing a certain black market penicillin dealer. I've been pretty much swamped by some great films at the London Film Festival, most of which have already been released Stateside, so I won't bother with them. Here are my reviews of two which I know haven't come out yet.
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith
Tonight I was fortunate enough to see the world premiere of Peter 'The Borrowers, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey' Hewitt's Whatever Happened to Harold Smith. Like much of the films I've seen so far at the festival, I went into the cinema cold, knowing nothing other than this was supposed to be a contender for 'the next Full Monty'. As it happened, the critic that wrote that in the festival program was talking from his derriere as no-one had actually seen the film before yesterday. The cut we saw (which is the final cut, complete with credits, etc) had come fresh from the lab that day, with the final edit and sound mix being completed just two days before. The atmosphere was great, as for most of the cast and crew this was the first time they had seen the film. In fact half of the audience seemed to be people from the film, and the whole cast - Stephen Fry, Tom Courtney, David Thwelis, et al - were there, with the exception of Lulu.
Anyway, in short, this film is going to be big. Whether it will be Full Monty sized, I don't know. But this does have all the ingredients of a great British film - comedy, love, well observed characters, cracking performances - alongside the rarely used ingredient of magic. For this is a tale about the magical and telepathic abilities of a down to earth northern father (played by Tom Courtney), yet from the point of view of his son, Vinny, whose biggest concern is getting the love of Joanna, with whom he works in the law firm run by David Thwelis. In many ways this film owes much to magic realism, in that in most respects it is a piece of social realism (albeit with colorful visuals and and a tongue slightly in cheek) that drops in magic with a casual smile. I mean, it's not like the magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Like Water for Chocolate - the realism here is much more paramount, and the characters are actually amazed by the magical feats that they see.
From the first sequence we know this is going to be funny. Vinny rides a rollercoaster and lets out his father's ashes on the descent. The ashes hit all the other riders in the face, and in a voice-over Vinny comments that it was probably not what he intended - his father 'was never an in-your-face sort of guy'. Later we meet David Thwelis - who redeems himself after Dragonheart and Dr Moreau - with a hilarious performance as 'turd tash' (so named because of his moustache's faeces -like appearance). He runs a law firm which he claims to be the most stylish in town, where Vinny and Joanna first meet. Joanna's dad is played by Stephen Fry in an equally brilliant performance. He plays a bearded and obsessive university lecturer who forgoes giving the family Christmas presents in place of sending money to a an African village. In a brilliant sequence Fry and his wife teach their nine year old daughter the facts of life by stripping naked and describing the male anatomy in detail - including the process of erection. 'what is the average length?' asks the nerdy and precocious daughter - 'between three and four and a half inches' replies Fry. There are other great moments, such as when Vinny and his friend go to the local nightclub to score, and his friend ends up pulling Vinny's mum, played surprisingly well by Lulu.
Set in 1977, the film deals with that change from disco to punk and rock that pervades such films as Summer of Sam or Last Days of Disco. In this instance, Vinny tears down his Saturday Night Fever poster to become a punk after falling in love with a punk girl. He purchases a dog collar from the local pet shop and tries to pierce his ear with a safety pin, yet Vinny is really far too nice to ever be a successful punk.
All round this is a great feel good piece of entertainment. Intelligent, witty and great fun, it is a refreshingly original romantic comedy with some great lines ('my client refutes all allegations that he is the second coming'). My only hesitations would be that the Vinny character is a little underwritten and some of the business is a little predictable. Nevertheless, I can't see how it would fail to win over most audiences.
The Virgin Suicides
Sofia Coppola's directing debut is adapted from a book by someone I can't remember. The good news is that Sofia can direct better than she can act, although you can tell this is her first feature. Much is 'borrowed' from Daddy such as the time-lapse photography used to show the passing of time (a la Rumble Fish). Still it is a good film - enveloping, intelligent, and darkly disturbing.
It tells the story of the Lisbon sisters, a beautiful quintet of blond virgins who live with an officiously religious mother (Kathleen Turner) and absent-minded and emotionally-retentive father (James Woods). In many ways this is a girl's film, for it deals with the concerns of a group of girls. However the whole story is told from the point of view of a group of neighborhood boys who spend much of their teens lusting after the various sisters.
This device is much needed for at times Coppola gets more than a little soppy, such as sequences where the girls dance in cornfields in slow-motion superimposed against a setting sun. They, like us, are trying to unravel the enigma that is the Lisbon sisters. When the youngest sister, Cecilia, kills herself early in the film, they puzzle over her diary trying to understand the thinking of the opposite sex.
There are some great moments, and James Woods is remarkably successful playing a dotty nice-guy - in one sequence he converse with some plants asking them if they've enjoyed their photosynthesis breakfast. In another quite cool bit of the movie, the group of boys and the sisters play their favorite records back and forth over the telephone. They never speak, yet so much is said.
Needless to say (given the title) the film ends tragically, and in this Coppola comes out on top, for the conclusion is neither sentimental nor compromising. Like the boys we are left wondering why it ends as it does, and we are never really told. Although there is a sense throughout the film that this conclusion is inevitable, like most good films where the ending is known, I spent much of the film hoping (and perhaps believing) that it would end up better for them.
I'm not sure how closely Sofia will follow in her father's footsteps - in some ways the film is quite naive in its technique, yet shows the potential that she could make a great film one day. It's a convincing portrait of American suburbia, but there are many films that deal with this, and arguably more interestingly. Sofia seems to have a strong sense for character and is good at bringing out good performances in actors, yet cinematically the film is rather pedestrian. Pretty good though, all in all.
Well Harry, that's it. Just to say THE debut feature that should be seen by all, is Lynne Ramsey's Ratcatcher - really, really brilliant, sort of like Terrance Malick does Ken Loach. There's also a Japanese film called Gemini, which I couldn't even find on the IMDB. It's directed by Shinya Tsukamoto and is the best demon-brother film, and one of the best Japanese films I've ever seen.
Till later
Holly Martins
