Peter O'Toole in Venus

I've had Venus sitting on my dvd hard drive for a while now, before finally getting round to watching it. Strangely enough, it turned out to be pretty much exactly what I expected. It confirmed my initial instincts which were a) to want to see the film, but b) to not go out of my way to catch it.

Starting with the positive, the triumvirate of Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips and Richard Griffiths is not to be sniffed at. I'll watch O'Toole in anything, he is just magnificent. It was also nice to see Leslie Phillips playing a sweet old man for a change, rather than a lecherous cad. That role, of course, went to O'Toole in this film. Griffiths is always good, but especially as a character reminiscent of Uncle Monty in Withnail and I. The problem was that they were just not on screen enough. The scenes at the coffee shop, with the three of them together, were the best moments of the whole film. The rest of it, well, it was mostly quite vile.

O'Toole's Maurice inexplicably falls under the spell of his friend's brash young niece Jessie. Goodness knows why, she's horrible. I always hate it when you have to believe something just because it's in the script, but there's no other explanation as to why Maurice falls for Jessie. He has to. It's in the script. Straight away, we've been booted out of the realms of believability and into a world where everything that happens on screen happens because somebody wrote it. That means the person to blame for Venus is Hanif Kureishi, celebrated author of My Beautiful Laundrette and London Kills Me.

Kureishi's ideas always interest me, but his characters never fail to disappoint. It's not that I always need to see good, decent people on screen. Far from it. I love a bit of ambiguity. But I want the characters to ring true. Maurice needs more of a reason to fall for Jessie than just her youthful beauty. Honestly, she's so unsympathetic, even when we reach the point in the film where she reveals she had an abortion, it's impossible to feel anything but hostility towards her.
The problem for Jodie Whittaker, the young actress playing Jessie, was she was up against a stellar cast. And whereas O'Toole can make Maurice (a plain and simple dirty old man on paper) into a real, human being, vulnerable and full of yearning, with just a blink of his world-weary eyes, Whittaker simply cannot do the same with Jessie. She offers us no subtle insight into Jessie's character, and sadly neither does the script.

The only other positive aspect of Venus is the wonderful performance of Vanessa Redgrave as Maurice's ex-wife. It seems extremely sad that actors as talented and respected as Redgrave and O'Toole are reduced to working in films as tawdry as Venus. The screen time they share is absolutely electric, and if only the whole film had been about their relationship instead it would have been a winner. Unfortunately, their chemistry only serves to further emphasize what's lacking in the relationship between Maurice and Jessie.

So, Venus, distinctly less than the sum of its parts, but worth watching, if it's on the telly, for Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips and Vanessa Redgrave. How nice it would be to see them in something of real quality.

Picture: Peter O'Toole in Venus, Free Range films.

Christian Bale Rant

I know it's all over the web, but I only just got round to listening to Christian Bale's abusive Terminator Salvation on-set rant. Several versions are on You Tube - this is an unexpurgated one (so do not listen around small children or sensitive types). I have to admit, for me it brought back a flood of memories that had been squished way down into the back of my unconscious. Memories which serve to remind me why I write about films now rather than make them.

Back in the day, I worked on quite a few low budget films. I don't really have any big name horror stories to share, and even if I did I wouldn't name names for fear of reprisals. A fear that was instantly recognisable in the whispered responses of the well and truly castigated DP in the above incident. Even in my limited experience, I've seen directors balling out their assisstants in front of everybody on set, actors refusing to speak or even look at any crew member lower in the hierachy than director, and people fired for the most inconsequential reasons imaginable. This kind of work culture takes its toll, and whilst no-one ever criticised or bullied me directly, witnessing such abuse to others left a distinctly nasty taste. One that Bale's vitriolic rant has brought right back to the surface.

I notice McG did little to calm the situation, which again rang true. That kind of peace-keeping is left to others much further down the payscale. One director I worked with went so far as to actually tell me my presence was always a welcome sight just because I liased so well between people who hated each other. You might think that was a compliment, and indeed I took it as one, but that was for a film on which I received nothing more than travel expenses - and although I looked calm, the ranting shattered my nerves!

It's no wonder certain actors, film-makers and crews stick together time and again. If the set is a happy one, it must be such a rare joy. I wonder if Terry Gilliam or Martin Scorsese ever ball out their DPs? Or if Johnny Depp refuses to eat with the crew? I do hope not, but as they always say - never get to close to your heroes.

Picture Source: Charlie, via Wikimedia Commons. First published on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/26828635@N08/2669288881/

For Sale: House from Withnail and I

Sleddale Hall, the derelict Cumbrian cottage where Marlow and Withnail went on holiday "by accident" has been put up for sale by current owners United Utilities. It's going under the hammer with Savills today.

The film is a cultish quirk of the British movie scene, circa late '80s. It's crammed with quotable lines and, for me at least, stands accountable for some extremely irresponsible drinking games fun.

On the very slim off chance that one of my mates is rich enough to buy Monty's den, and yet has concealed said monetary solvency from me thus far, I'd be forced to declare "that represents a level of hypocrisy in you that I'd previously suspected, but not noticed due to your highly evasive skills."

Bring back any memories? Reminisce some more by watching the Withnail trailer on You Tube here.

Review of a Classic British Film: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

Let's take a look back at the original kitchen sink drama, from the drab, grey, anything but swinging Britain of 1960.

Director Karel Reisz's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, the classic story of an angry young man, heralded a new kind of cinema for British audiences. A classic social realist drama from the British New Wave, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was groundbreaking in both its portrayal of the industrial nightmare of working class factory life, and its unrepentant, cocky anti-hero Arthur Seaton.

The 1960 film was Karel Reisz's first feature, made in the light of a number of outstanding documentaries from the Free Cinema movement. Interestingly, this film emerged at the same time as Jean-Luc Godard's debut feature A Bout De Souffle (Breathless). Reisz and Godard, the enfant terrible of the French New Wave, shared certain traits. Both were critics turned film-makers whose debut films were the first commercial hits of their respective new waves, and both films were anti-establishment pieces from directors with political agendas.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was a film to which many people could relate. Alan Sillitoe, who adapted his book for the screen, was the creator of one of the original angry young men of cinema history, Arthur Seaton. Arthur is a working class anti-hero whose boredom of factory life is assuaged only by his reckless attitude to life. Trapped in a dead end job, Arthur represents the individual against the system. He makes the most of his leisure time in an attempt to escape the mediocrity of his life. Arthur is blunt and cocky, out for a good time with women, booze and a well cut suit. But he is angry about the restrictions placed on him by his working class life. The cause of this aggression - factory life - united a public who recognized his anger. Cinema attendances reflected the fact that this was one of the first times audiences felt their own lives were represented on screen.

The character of Arthur is the epitome of the term fatally flawed. At the beginning of the film he is having an affair with Brenda, a married woman, who he gets pregnant. He tries to help her when she says she wants an abortion, although ultimately this is unsuccessful. It is a testament to the film-makers that this storyline does not alienate audiences. In fact, for all his gruff, rabble rousing, Arthur still remains a likable character. He is seen to get a sort of comeuppance when Brenda's brother in law beats him up at the Nottingham Goose Fair, but audience sympathy is still with Arthur. This is also due in no small part to Albert Finney's amazing portrayal of Arthur as a working class lad coming to bitter terms with the responsibilities of manhood.

Setting the film in Nottingham adds a further dimension of imprisonment, through iconography which has since been integrated into British cinema. The imposing chimney stacks and factories serve to increase the feelings of claustrophobia and provincial entrapment. Karel Reisz had already shown in his documentaries Everyday Except Christmas and We Are The Lambeth Boys that ordinary people could provide stories and entertainment, but his directors vision also demonstrates a poeticism of social problems. The views Reisz portrays through his lens have become embedded in British films, and typify a landscape still seen today in any British film within the social realist cannon.

The Best Valentine Films (that aren't too slushy)

Oh the horror! It's that awful time of year again. But romantic movies don't have to be slushy heaps of cack. My top films for celebrating the sort of never-ending, undying love that transcends all barriers (how's that for a bit of romance, eh?) are:

• 12 Monkeys - Because how much do you want Madeleine Stowe and Bruce Willis to get it together? Very much indeed! And yet 12 Monkeys is so definitely not slush. Plus it's got Brad Pitt's best performance ever in it. Either this or The Fisher King would keep me happy on Valentine's day. You can't go wrong with a bit of Gilliam.
• Chocolat - Okay, this one might be a tiny weeny bit girly, what with Johnny Depp looking his absolute sexiest as a dishevelled, bohemian, guitar man. But the boys have got Juliet Binoche to keep them happy, and of course there's the eminently watchable Dame Judi of Dench in the mix too, so everyone can still pretend they're watching a proper grown up film.
• Amelie - For being such a wonderful story, for being so much fun, for being full of gorgeous colours and scenes, and for having the object of Amelie's affections work on the ghost train, thus providing the most strange but romantic interlude ever when she rides the train for a glimpse of him.
• The Princess Bride - Because it's guaranteed that anyone unfamiliar with this film will be initially put off by the super-girly title, but will be totally and utterly won over by the brilliantly funny story as soon as they sit down to watch it.
• Il Postino - Yes it's got poetry and love letters and enforced exile, but it's all in Italian and Spanish which somehow makes it much more upmarket and acceptable.
• Out of Sight - Because never mind about Valentine's day, this film would make my top 10 any day of the year. It sneaks in here by virtue of being so damn sexy it hurts, but rest assured Out of Sight is no slush-fest. It's just as enjoyable for the less loved up as it is for the romantically entwined. Always a winner in my book.

Well, there's a few just off the top of my head. I could go on, but I'm sure you've probably got your own ideas too, so I'm gonna throw this over and ask for your own fave romantic films that aren't too slushy. What movie will you be settling down to on Saturday?

Image: Jennifer Lopez from Out of Sight, courtesy of MCA/Universal pictures.

Noel Clarke and the 2009 BAFTAs

This must be the first time in a decade at least that I actually backed a winner. Noel Clarke has won the Rising Star award at the Baftas and I voted for him. Last time I even came close to winning was on an accumulator at Chepstow, and that doesn't really count because my final horse didn't place.
Anyway, although I thought Michael Fassbender would win, I still voted for Noel. The more I think about it now, the more I think the choice was actually a foregone conclusion. I guess Noel is the most recognisable face in the category, thanks to his Doctor Who stint. Maybe I should have shown my support to Fassbender after all? Maybe he needed it more? Still, I'm so pleased Noel won. The Kidulthood and Adulthood films show there's much more to Noel than just fighting cybermen and losing his girlfriend to a timelord. Perhaps this will be his year.

The 2009 Baftas was, I have to say, far more exciting than usual. I didn't fall asleep on the settee, as I thought I would, I was glued to the box. Mickey Rourke was hugely entertaining, and apart from the shambolic montage that introduced him, it was brilliant to see Terry Gilliam get the fellowship. Of course, Slumdog Millionaire with 7 Baftas is now the film to beat at the Oscars, but it was nice to see a spread of awards going to other deserving recipients; Heath Ledger, Man on Wire, I've Loved You So Long, Steve McQueen. I'm only sad they didn't create some kind of special award, just for being totally brilliant, and give it to Michael Sheen. Next year Michael. Best Actor - The Damned United. It's coming to you!

Everybody seemed super excited to see Brad and Angelina at the awards too - the cameras could hardly bare to be pulled away from them - but I bet I'm not alone in being a teensy bit pleased they didn't win. It's not like they need any more publicity, is it? And doesn't Brad look like a cock with that awful 'tache. Sort it out man.

Image Sourced from: Wikimedia Commons, first published by dalekhelen on Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/14344650@N03/2257630740.