Split Review (Spoiler Free)

We Need To Talk About Kevin 

Released : January 20th 2017

Certificate : 15

Director : M. Night Shyamalan

Cast : Anya Taylor-Joy, James McAvoy, Haley Lu Richardson

Plot : Three girls are abducted after a birthday party. They soon realise that their abductor (McAvoy) suffers from split personality disorder.

Night Shyamalan, undoubtedly, returns to top form in his new film Split. After four mainstream films, that were poorly received by fans and critics, and other films that aren’t widely known, Shyamalan was considered written off by many. With Split, a film he self-funded as to retain as much creative control as possible, he recruited some brilliant rising horror craftsmen. The cinematographer for the film, Mike Gioulakis, who Shyamalan reportedly wanted to work with instantly after seeing Gioulakis work on It Follows. As well the lead of the film is played by Anya Taylor-Joy, an actress who burst onto the scene with a compelling performance in what is considered 2016 best horror film, The Witch.

Split’s premise alone is an engaging story, with such a quirky psychological concept, it’s a rarity of film making. The premise of the film would make anyone sceptical, unless you have Shyamalan and McAvoy attached to the project. And you can tell from the opening scene that there has been much care taken with the films craft. Firstly, the girls in distress, due to Taylor-Joy character, don’t fit a conventional horror film mould (a side note; it is debatable whether to classify this film as a horror). These characters are smart, and don’t just despair that the situation and have an intriguing dynamic, which was refreshing for the horror genre. Taylor-Joy character is given a backstory that is brilliantly told and bleeds into the rest of the film. The quality of her character and her performance is good enough to match McAvoy going all out in a character with 23 sides. The script deals with McAvoy’s character very well, knowing that humour is required to keep him grounded, and McAvoy’s comedic talent shines in this film.

Of course, being a story told by Shyamalan, there’s a high level of attention that audience will pay to each shot, taking in every detail. Studying the film so much for clues about the narrative, may lead audiences away from the fact, that this is a brilliantly directed film. The shot selection and camera movement screams enigma, keeping you engaged without. It’s not just the storyline that keeps you edgy throughout, Shyamalan has clearly thought through every shot very well, and it’s a joy to see such precise and passionate filmmaking. It is for this reason and the performances, that makes Split so great, because as many other critics have said, the brilliance to this film isn’t confined within the ending.

To talk more on the performances, McAvoy’s role in this film is likely an actor’s dream, and it is one of his best roles yet. A lot rides on his performance, and due to an excellent script by Shyamalan, there character couldn’t have been better realised. There are scenes that in a ‘split’ second, the character change swing from humorous and playful, to eerily sinister. And throughout he remains hugely entertaining. Taylor-Joy’s role in the film, demands slightly less of her than The Witch did, but she’s an actress with a great ability to speak volumes without any dialogue, and really shines as another compelling ‘horror’ character.

Split is a hugely pleasing film, it’s such a joy to see a filmmaker regain their spark after becoming an definitive name of the turn of the millennial. Here he displays just as much skill with script writing as with directing. A script, which has dialogue that both develops character and story excellently and contains an overall narrative that is unpredictable and rich. Directing that is so well crafted, creating sickeningly thrilling set piece of action and drama, and an ability to maintain tension throughout, despite a limited set.

Verdict : Shyamalan is back. Split is hilarious, deliciously dark, unpredictable, poignant and rewatchable. A jaw dropping experience.

Verdict : 5/5

Quote : N/A (As to reveal nothing.)

Hush Netflix Review

Don’t Look Now

Released : March 12th 2016

Certificate : 15

Director : Mike Flanagan

Cast : Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, Emilia Graves

Plot : A deaf writer has moved out of the city into the woods for peace of mind. One night a masked killer shows up at her front door, and a game of cat and mouse ensues.

Mike Flanagan goes from strength to strength as a skilled upcoming horror director. Having first broken onto the scene with the critically well received Oculus, a film about a haunted mirror in 2013. Now this year he returns with two motion pictures. Firstly, a sequel to a horror flop Ouija, the sequel titled Ouija: Origin of Evil, which according to Rotten Tomatoes score was superior to Oculus. And now the straight to Netflix film Hush. One quick point to discuss, it could be a point of criticism that the horror film victimises a disability, something that other horror films of 2016 did, most notably Shut In (a film centring around a bedridden, catatonic state boy). Hush in my opinion doesn’t do so as the film is in no way negative in its use of the disability and is purely used as a character trait and a means of developing tension.

Flanagan has stood out in his short career as a fresh, and thoughtful horror director, and Hush is no exception. Likely his most thrilling film to date, the film puts a clever spin on the home invasion horror premise. The films scenes leading up to the meet of our hero and villain are mesmerizing and well thought out. The film from then on is a white knuckled thrill ride, that makes it an undiscovered gem on Netflix. While not every aspect of the film revolves around the deafness of the lead character or directly implements it in all her action against our villain, the film is still cunningly clever. The home invasion genre with a twist of the sense was a theme of popular horror films of 2016, with Don’t Breathe being another big success of the year. Having not scene Don’t Breathe, I review Hush with its own rights and merit.

The only real flaws that can be found in the film are that it doesn’t quite revolutionise the home invasion film to a huge degree, as it still follows the basic tropes and conventions. And secondly the villain played by Gallagher Jr was on and off at points. But overall this is an extremely well-crafted thriller. What are surprising aspects about the film, and the key to a good thriller is its ability to evoke real concern for the outcome. Many thrillers, especially the mainstream films of most recent years, fail to generate a real sense of urgency or genuine concern for the lead character(s). Hush does this very well. It is achieved through both Flanagan’s skill and his out of nowhere use of graphic violence that adds brilliantly to the charge of the film.

At a time when so few horror films are up to good quality, and even fewer filmmakers are taking the genre seriously, films like Hush should be celebrated. Granted this isn’t a game changer, and neither are the rest of Flanagan’s films. However, this film alike Oculus, not to spoil anything, shows Flanagan’s ability to play and toy with the narrative at hand, create good thrills without using the generic jump scares or CGI scary faces, and knows where to put the camera to place you right in the moment of the horror.

Verdict : Flanagan has made three horror films, each a success and each a good time, Hush is another superb outing

Verdict : 4/5

Quote : “I can come in anytime I want. And I can get you, anytime I want. But I’m not going to. Not until it’s time.”

 

Anomalisa DVD Review

(Adult) Toy Story

Released : March 11th 2016

Certificate : 15

Director : Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson

Cast : David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan

Plot : A man (Thewlis) who is depressed by the mundanity of his life, finds hope in a chance meeting with a stranger (Jason Leigh).

Famously wacky none mainstream filmmaker, Charlie Kaufman returns with Anomalisa, a film adaption of his play of the same name. Most famous for his writing ability, with a number of his films being Oscar nominated for their screenplay, including Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich. For this film he ventures in directing as well (this being his most famous director role), along with little known film maker Duke Johnson. Anomalisa gained an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.

Several imaginative qualities are obvious within the framework of this film. Firstly there is the stop-motion animation work, and as well as this how all but two characters, our leads, are voiced by the same actor, Tom Noonan. This latter feature is obviously a clever way to convey how our lead character, Michael, views everyone as the same and finds no variety or pleasure from his interaction with people. A Guardian article (and others) have suggested, due to this voicing effect, the films dream sequences and how the all the character are animated to look alike (apart from our leads), that Michael suffers from Fregoli delusion. This is a delusion where a person believes everyone else to actually be the same person who changes their appearance. Without further research into Kaufman response or inspiration for the film, I am unaware if this theory carries water. But alike many of the Kaufman’s films, they are so jarring and imaginative in their storytelling, that is seems wrong to attempt to narrow it down to one meaning. If Kaufman’s intention here was to convey messages about the nature of mundanity and depression, instead of the delusion, then these effects are very creative.

The script for the film is much less subtle or effective in this respect of conveying meaning. While not all of his films preach about life’s deeper meanings and the human nature, this film and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, do carry these. Unfortunately ‘Eternal Sunshine…’ far surpasses Anomalisa in richness of dialogue and overall script. The overall negativity and pointless conveyed in the dialogue of Michaels character with everyone else is rather ‘obvious’ and unimaginatively done. People in the hallways of the hotel and always swearing or masturbating. As well as this the dialogue of the romance that ensues between Michael and the shy self-conscious Lisa, who he falls for were lacking in panache . While realistic, the scenes weren’t half as moving or gripping as his previous work which so greatly captured people’s spirits.

As for the story as a whole, without spoilers, the film will likely leave the bulk of the audience feeling unfulfilled. Not that a film is obliged to perform this task, and critiquing of a storyline sometimes feels obtuse, due to its very subjective nature, but I too was left dissatisfied. For those who enjoy and respect ending that rebel against a conventional film ending of boy meets girl, then there may be something here for you. But for a film that examines life and human nature, it would have been nice to have an ending that attempted to answer these questions or approach them a little better.

Anomalisa is alike all of Kaufman’s films, beautifully made, with create creativity and flare. This films approach to the topic matter is a bit more generic and less aesthetically surprising than his other films. But it still packs a lot more heart and craft than many other films of last year, just not up to his regular work.

Verdict : One of Kaufmans weaker films. It’s not quite as entertaining or thought provoking as his other works, but is still a heartfelt well-made study of the human condition.

Verdict : 3/5

Quote : “At last! Another person!”

Silence Review

The Last Samaritan

Released : January 1st 2017

Certificate : 15

Director : Martin Scorsese

Cast : Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Yōsuke Kubozuka, Tadanobu Asano, Issey Ogata, Liam Neeson

Plot : Two Jesuit priests travel to Japan to find their mentor who apparently has renounced his faith after persecution.

Scorsese follows is most humorous and ludicrous films with his long-desired project Silence, a film that he has desired to make for thirty years now. This being his third film that deals with faith, he re-joins with frequent collaborator Michael Ballhaus and relative newcomer Rodrigo Prieto, both cinematographers, to ensure that if nothing else this biblical epic is one of the best-looking films of the award season. And speaking of awards season, Andrew Garfield stars in Silence, making him a lead role in two of this year’s award tipped films.

Silence is a true epic, in both runtime, semantic scope and technical mastery of its creation. To deal with the second feature, the film obvious deals with the deeper questions of God’s silence, what is means to betray him and general religious philosophy. What was a surprise, was the character drama on show here. While it was to be expected that Garfield and Driver’s character carry the weight of the drama via their character arcs, the supporting casts performance and their scene with our two leads were outstanding. The film contains an abundance of brilliantly scripted set character interaction of brilliant quality. These scenes added much to the film as they developed the character of the oppressed and the oppressors of Japan at the time. This gave a great level of humanity to all the characters allowing for a story much less black and white then; Christianity is goodness and all else is wrong.

Dealing with Scorsese work, for those who appreciate the subtle methods of direction that convey meaning, this is the wrong film. As Scorsese techniques and bold and striking when telling this tale. Initial high bird’s eye view shots create the sense of a God like over watch, and the wide-angle shots of Japan show the immense magnitude of our lead character’s task. Not that these or any other of the shot choices within the film are bad, On the contrary the delivered the story excellently, in the third act a reliance on POV shots from Garfield’s character really build the atmosphere. However, for such as intruding topic and story it was just missing the presentational edge that other Scorsese films had. But when you’re dealing with Scorsese there is always a certain level of excellence, the opening scene one of the most strikingly well shot scenes openings of recent memory.

The opening scene also shows off some of the acting from the well-known trio of actors that star in the film. With Neeson having largely retreated into action roles, it is easy to forget his skill, and he’s actualisation of grief within this film is so real. Grief being a key emotion that all three actors have to deal with, and Garfield does so excellently. Garfield being an actor that can manipulate his voice very well to convey emotions, as for his eyes, which convey so much. Apart from a single over the top scene (on both Garfield and Scorsese part) he is working at the top of his game, and his character tackles with a high magnitude of complex emotions than many other awards contenders.

Silence is not a film that is ‘enjoyed’, due to the gruelling emotional weight, thought provoking nature and graphic scenes. Yet in the same vein of 12 Years a Slave, it is a film that conveys great talent both behind and in front of the camera. Other similarities include character drama that is both intelligent and realistic, and manages to make the audience think.

Verdict : Scorsese may be very forward in how he tells this tale, but that’s a small issue with what is probably the best religious drama of recent years.

Verdict : 4/5

Quote : “I pray but I am lost. Am I just praying to silence?”