DVD meltdown!
Words by Tom Leins
Leading the charge this week is Bronson (Vertigo Films), the thrilling story of Michael ‘Charles Bronson’ Peterson, the armed robber and bare-knuckle fighter whose violent jailhouse behaviour has seen him spend a staggering 34 years behind bars. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (the man behind Pusher and Bleeder), Bronson is a hyper-stylized excursion into Charles Bronson’s unhinged headspace. Tom Hardy (recently seen in the exhilarating Sky 1 crime drama ‘The Take’) is in incendiary form as the protagonist, and behaves like the demented ring-master of his own blood-splattered circus! Gripping and horrifying in equal measure, Bronson is vicious, amoral and utterly reprehensible – but thoroughly compelling throughout. A cross between Chopper and 24 Hour Party People, Bronson is a surreal, hyper-violent treat. Although the art-house style will undoubtedly leave some viewers cold, Bronson is an anarchic cocktail of brutality and chaos that packs a fearsome cinematic punch.
If ever a movie didn’t require a sequel, that movie was the wonderfully odd Donnie Darko. Nevertheless, in a bizarre attempt to tap into a younger audience, the powers that be have concocted s.Darko (Lionsgate), a curious straight-to-DVD follow up that focuses on Donnie’s misfit sister Samantha (Daveigh Chase). The fact that Darko creator Richard Kelly distanced himself from the project won’t fill film fans with encouragement, but, in fairness, s.Darko is unsettling and engaging, with a nice line in bleached-out, hallucinatory visuals. It may lack the mind-melting narrative power of Donnie Darko, but s.Darko is an enjoyably kooky filmic footnote. It isn’t as audacious as its predecessor – in fact you can trace many of its plot developments back to the earlier movie – but, taken on its own terms it offers a dark, stylish slice of oddball Americana.
Short but rarely sweet, Wendy and Lucy (Soda Pictures) is a quirky, unusual depiction of small-town America. Directed by Kelly Reichardt, who achieved cult success with film festival favourite Old Joy, the movie focuses on Wendy Carroll (Michelle Williams), a frustrated underachiever on her way to Alaska where she hopes to make some money working at the Northwestern Fish cannery. When her car breaks down in Oregon, Wendy’s financial frailties become all too apparent, and a handful of poor decisions send her delicate world crashing down around her ankles – and part her from her beloved dog Lucy in the process… Reichardt’s movie is a quiet, emotionally frazzled mood piece that presents a truly bleak vision of disenfranchised urban America. It may be too minimalist for the mainstream, but Wendy and Lucy is a breathtakingly sad little movie, buoyed by a fine performance from Williams.
If you think that Wendy and Lucy sounds vague and unfocused, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Rachel Getting Married (Sony) stars Anne Hathaway as Kym, a disturbed woman let out of her rehab clinic for the weekend in order to attend her sister Rachel’s wedding. Although Hathaway dredges up the requisite angst for the role, the interesting elements of the story are swamped by the meandering, ‘naturalistic’ documentary style. It all boils down to a ponderous, self-indulgent dirge of a movie that’s akin to watching a home movie belonging to someone that you don’t particularly like! In truth, the most interesting thing about Rachel Getting Married is the presence of Tunde Adebimpe - singer in art-rock titans TV On The Radio – who stars as Rachel’s husband-to-be. Director Jonathan Demme is the man responsible for classics like Silence of the Lambs, and you yearn for a peckish Hannibal Lecter to turn up and spice things up a bit! Regardless of the endless plaudits thrust in its direction, Rachel Getting Married is nothing more than a particularly ugly episode in cinematic therapy…
On a more cheerful note: Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Sony) is a quirky romantic drama set against the backdrop of the New York indie underground. Michael Cera of Juno fame stars as heartbroken guitarist Nick, whose love life changes irrevocably over the course of a madcap night out in the Big Apple. The magnificent Juno is an obvious stylistic influence, and despite a typically bumbling performance from Cera, the stuttering courtship between him and Norah feels slightly strained. Compared to Juno’s pitch-perfect quirkiness Nick & Norah feels far too ramshackle for its own good, and the inspired moments are drowned out by too much half-baked whimsy. Essentially a bog-standard rom-com dressed up in indie kid’s clothing, Nick & Norah will excite undemanding teenage viewers, but it lacks the sophistication to tap into a more discerning audience. Cool soundtrack though…
Posted Wed, July 08, 2009