jonathan_ley Reviews

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Perhaps the greatest film ever made, certainly the greatest zombie film ever made!

[10/10 · 10 May 2005]

Dawn of the Dead is a bona fide, cast iron classic. Forget the remakes and the cash ins (good to see someone has stumped up the cash for Romero to make Land of the Dead rather than pay-rolling every Hollywood hack, McG wannabe to rip off the master) - this is the original and the best. From the beginning, starting off in a TV station in a state of chaos, the film never lets up. It skilfully expands upon the situation that first emerged in Night of the Living Dead, cranking it up to the max. Zombies are running amok, killing and eating the living. The killed stand right back up and become zombies. The odds are already stacked against humanity and the film acknowledges this by taking the brilliant decision to follow a group of survivors trying to flee the situation. This isn't a film about coming up with the big solution to the problem, this is a film about trying to stay alive. A masterful social satire, black comedy and balls out horror film Dawn of the Dead has it all. What's truly great about this film is the way it isn't afraid to suddenly shift gears and change tone. We're fleeing with our heroes in a helicopter. Hey, lets suddenly drop in on a bunch of rednecks having a great old time using the zombies for target practise. That was fun wasn't it. Oh wait, here come some terrifying zombie kids. Scared again? Romero keeps bouncing us around, perfectly in control of his material and yet happy to let it break loose once in a while. Spontanteous custard pie fight in the middle of a pitched battle between zombies and bikers? Yeah, go on then. Dawn of the Dead doesn't skimp on the gore but it's also got the smarts to back it up. Like the other entries in the Dead trilogy (and hopefully in Land too) there is a rich vein of satirical social commentary running through the film. See those zombies wandering aimlessly around the mall? They're us they are. Whilst I love and admire the truly nihilistic ending to Night of the Living Dead (surely the bleakest ending to a film since Clouzot's Wages of Fear) Romero does right by his heroes and gives them an escape, a chance to run and try and stay alive some more. Why do I keep calling them heroes? They're flawed, selfish, stupid, honourable and brave. Guess they're us too. When there's no more room in Hell the dead will walk the Earth (undoubtedly THE greatest tag line in the history of film). It seems now that when there's no more room in development Hell brainless Hollywood execs will remake every film ever made. Give them a miss and check out the original. It will haunt you forever.

Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)

An eerie, beautiful film

[8/10 · 10 May 2005]

This is a truly amazing piece of work. Creepy and bizarre yet always humane. Firstly, yes it is a documentary. But a documentary does not have to be some guy following his subject with a camera. The verity form of documentary film-making is a great and valid one but it is not right for every subject and it is not the only documentary form. Marsh's film is a hybrid between documentary and fiction film-making. He uses dramatic reconstructions skillfully, inter cutting with contemporary, reportage material. The film is a series of snapshots, reports of bizarre events, murders, suicides and strange customs taken from contemporaneous newspaper reports of the time. It aims to provide an alternative view of an area's history by looking beneath the surface at the strange footnotes of history which somehow frequently manage to get lost in the history books. And it is absolutely stunning to look at. The dramatic reconstructions are shot in dreamlike black and white, filmed to mirror the technical conventions of the time. The contemporary footage is similarly beautiful - a filmed photo story of the town today. The film is stunning enough on its own terms but when you consider that they shot all this on a low, TV documentary budget it becomes awe-inspiring. As to the dramatic structure, the film makes it quite clear at the beginning that the stories took place between 1890 and 1900. The use of the five chapters themed by the seasons (it, tellingly, begins and ends in Winter) is intended to link the stories thematically and by subject matter. It is like the ages of man - the early stories involve children, then adolescents, then adults, then old people, etc... True, the blurb on the DVD box is slightly misleading - it suggests that the film will unravel the mystery of why all these things happened in this one town and its surrounding areas. That is not Marsh's fault and his film should not be criticised for not delivering what it never intended to. It is instead a record of some truly strange happenings. Why did they happen? Why does weird stuff continue to happen? In his highly enlightening commentary Marsh explains that he was interested in drawing parallels between then and now and I think his film exceeds in doing this brilliantly. It is a great idea, to examine life by looking at the ways in which we die. Wisconsin Death Trip is a sad, strange, beautiful, disturbing and blackly comic little masterpiece and I urge you to check it out.

A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)

One of the Best British films of all time!

[10/10 · 13 November 2004]

'A Room For Romeo Brass' is a startling piece of work and one I was quite unprepared for. I had seen some of Shane Meadow's earlier work (Twenty Four Seven, Smalltime, and Where's The Money Ronny?) and been very impressed by it but Romeo Brass is so far ahead of anything the director had done before that it knocked me sideways. Firstly the movie is a small scale drama with more emotional insight than the most epic of Hollywood movies. It is filled with stunning performances, witty dialogue and so many small moments that just feel true. For me, it's biggest achievement is the way it perfectly captures that time when you are young and your best friend is the most important thing in the world to you. The thought of them abandoning you is pure torture. This is something I had not seen represented in films before to such an extent. If you haven't seen this film yet than stop reading this and go and watch it because the film plays better the less you know about it. To discuss the film properly it is impossible not to reveal some potential PLOT SPOILERS. Like how the film throws the audience a complete curve about thirty minutes in when Morrell's character changes from a humorous man-child to a deranged psychopath. This moment is handled so well and one of the film's chief assets is the stunning performance by Paddy Considine (Romeo Brass is, amazingly, his debut). For my money Considine is Britain's most exciting actor currently working. His range is staggering. (See 'In America' where he even manages to act Samantha Morton off the screen!) The two young leads are mighty impressive too. Watching Romeo Brass is an absolute pleasure. One moment it is hilarious, the next terrifying. There is a wonderful generosity of spirit to the film. Like the work of another of my absolute favourite film makers, Paul Thomas Anderson, there is an emphasis on the quiet dignity and humanity of everyday folk. Nowhere is this better encapsulated than in the (absolutely terrifying sequence) where Gavin's father, previously something of a good for nothing type, kneels down to be sacrificed to protect his family. I have seen posted on the notice board that some viewers feel that this character is a wimp for his actions. But the sheer dignity, the reserves of humanity, expressed by him there is incredible. The film also captures violence very well in that it doesn't glamourise it, it shows what a messy, frightening, degrading experience it is. After watching the film I had to sit down and smoke some cigarettes because it really rang true for me. This film is the best British film I have seen for years. It's right up there with Shallow Grave and The Third Man. As such I think it's criminally under rated. One of the reasons for this I feel is the way it was marketed. I caught the film recently on DVD. The reason I missed it at the cinema was not that I was unaware of it but that the posters of a large pair of pants didn't exactly inspire me. This film has nothing to do with pants! If any British film should be advertised with a picture of a pair of pants it is Love Actually (and in that case the pants should be skid-marked) not this miraculous film. Go and watch Romeo Brass. Tell your friends, tell complete strangers, spread the word, the following starts here!

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)

Not Meadow's best.

[13 November 2004]

Firstly, let me say how much I like Shane Meadow's work (particularly 'A Room For Romeo Brass'). However 'Once Upon a Time in The Midlands' is, in my opinion, his weakest work to date. That's not to say it isn't a good film, it is, but somewhere along the line the Meadow's formula went wrong. It smacks of too much development, something Meadows complained about himself, almost as if Film Four wanted to bottle the distinctive spirit of his earlier work, mass produce it and sell it to the widest audience possible. The characters end up as caricatures and whereas previous Meadows films examined the wonderful humanity and quiet dignity inherent in everyday life this one ends up in danger of being patronising to its subjects. The title and tag line are great but I wonder if they weren't thought up before the actual story and at the expense of the film. I personally found the Western elements a little superfluous, the deluge of famous faces distracting (what on Earth are Reeves and Mortimer doing as clowns?!), and the Glasgow gangsters subplot unnecessary. Once these elements fall by the wayside however, as they do in the second half, the film settles down into telling a decent little story. The central love triangle comes to the fore and we actually begin to connect with the characters. All the performances are good but special mention must go to young Finn Atkins who is outstanding. If this is your first taste of Meadows then don't be put off, just know that there are better films in his back catelogue than this. The 2 disc DVD is worth investing in though as the extras include Shane's World and a really nice documentary on the film's promotional tour.

Brewster McCloud (1970)

Maddeningly original

[5 November 2004]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!! I absolutely loved this film for the first hour. It's so bizarre, so twisted, so spitefully funny. It was great to realize than an hour in you still didn't really know what the hell was going on but had been having too good a time to really care. Enigma follows enigma, so many questions are raised, the pay-off's going to be incredible right? Unfortunately, by the time the film is reaching it's conclusion you still don't really know what the hell is going on. I understand that the film is a flight of fancy but still, even fantasy creations must be governed by their own internal rules of logic. I wanted to know why all the victims were strangled. I wanted to know who by. Who was Brewster's mysterious, beautiful companion. She seemed to be a guardian angel who had had her wings removed (literally) but really, what does that mean? I'm not an idiot, I like to be made to work hard in a film and I don't want it all handed to me on a plate but you can only string an audience along for so long before you have to reward their patience with something satisfyingly tangible. Undeniably the end possesses a certain poetry but it comes at a high price. I guess this is the filmic equivalent of the difficult second album. After M.A.S.H., Altman went off on one a bit leaving the audience behind. However I must qualify my criticism. I'm on a bit of an Altman kick at the moment after seeing the excellent McCabe and Mrs Miller. I'm also a big fan of The Long Goodbye (frustrating ripped off recently by some cat food commercial) and am eager to see as much as of his back catelogue as possible. Hence why I tuned into Brewster McCloud on TCM. And even though the second half left me a little non-plussed the first half is so great and there are still so many great moments in the remainder of the film that I don't begrudge Altman his little indulgences. He reminds me of another film maker whose work I admire, Spike Lee. With Lee, as with Altman, sometimes his films are fantastic and sometimes they suck but they are always interesting. Both film makers are constantly experimenting and in an age of homogenised studio fodder that has to be saluted. So I'm glad to have seen Brewster McCloud, I just wouldn't rush to see it again.

All the Pretty Horses (2000)

Unreleased Potential

[3 November 2004]

Cormac McCarthy's novel, All The Pretty Horses, the first part of his breath-taking Border Trilogy, is one of the most perfect source materials ever written. Add to this the impressive line-up of talent (Ted Tally adapting, Thornton directing, Matt Damon, back when he was a hot property the first time around, starring) assembled for the film version and it's fair to say my expectations were raised sky high. When the film came out it was buried by the distributor. I managed to catch it in the one week it played at a single cinema in Edinburgh and I would be lying if I didn't admit that the whole experience was a crushing disappointment. It wasn't that the film makers had ballsed the whole thing up, no it was much more frustrating than that. You could tell that somewhere in that film there was a masterpiece straining to get out. Individual sequences impressed but the whole thing moved at such a frenzied pace that the main characters' journey, a true rite of passage in the novel, had become damagingly truncated. The result was underwhelming but at the same time as been annoyed at the film I could tell it wasn't the film makers' fault. It was all too apparent that this was a great film that had had it's guts, it's heart, it's very essence, chopped out of it by a greedy distributor trying to market the film as some kind of Titanic / Young Guns cross over. Guess what, this movie was never going to appeal to the teeny boppers. If only the studio could have realized that and been true to the property they acquired in the first place. My suspicions were confirmed recently when I read an article wherein Matt Damon, a fine actor despite the criticism, claimed that Billy Bob Thornton's integral cut of the movie is the best he's ever been involved in. I don't know about you but that makes me want to see it. Apparently the studio are willing to release this extended cut on DVD (all revenue streams reach the ocean eventually) but Thornton won't settle for anything less than a full cinematic re-release. I can't say I blame him, I get the impression his film deserves at least that much. So for now I can't recommend this film, check out the novel instead and then the rest of Cormac McCarthy's back catalogue. But let's hope that in the not too distant future this film finally gets the treatment I suspect it deserves.

Urban Ghost Story (1998)

Impressive, low budget ghost story

[10 October 2004]

I caught Urban Ghost Story on t.v. recently and I have to say I was very impressed. I was familiar with the film makers through their authorship of the Guerilla Film Makers Handbook but, to be honest, after reading about their first two features 'The Runner' and 'White Angel' (neither of which I have seen) I wasn't expecting great things from Urban Ghost Story.

It turned out however to be a very effective piece of film making which works just as well as social realism as it does as a genre film. The central performance, given by a young non-actor, possesses a raw, natural quality which helps to ground the film's supernatural aspects in a very well observed reality. Stephanie Buttle as the girl's mother is a real find as well, having to work hard against her natural beauty to make her portrayal of a dirt poor single mother convincing. Less impressive are the star turns. Billy Boyd is an ineffectual, stuttering gangster and Jason Connery (a questionable piece of stunt casting) does little with his role as a shady tabloid journalist. The film works hard though to create a believable locale, a Glasgow tower block, and succeeds totally. The film makers have clearly taken the Robert Wise 'Haunting' approach to depicting the ghostly activity and for the most part it works. These scenes could have done with being a little scarier perhaps but a bizarre seance scene does unnerve. Most impressive of all though is the fact that Urban Ghost Story was made for a reported £250,000. For that money they have created an atmospheric film which feels cinematic, complete with a jaw dropping explosion and stunt work. If only more British low budget film making was this adventurous. I am surprised to see that the director has not made a film in the six years since release whereas Merchant Ivory (whose films have gone largely unwatched since Remains of the Day) get money thrown at them. I only wish that more film makers like Ms Joliffe would emerge to shake up the British film industry.