Summer 2012 at the Cinema

An article I wrote for the student newspaper...

A time for the big blockbusters, summer at the cinema often brings many highs and lows.  From many highly anticipated comic book films to some slated Hollywood re-makes, we take a look back at what summer 2012 had to offer at the movies.

As Selina Kyle warned, a storm did come over us this summer as The Dark Knight Rises thundered through the box office and blew other films aside, including Marvel’s Avengers Assemble, but also left devastation in the wake of a savage act. The power of Christopher Nolan’s beloved Dark Knight trilogy, now hailed as this generation’s Godfather, however, kept cinema goers faith in cinema as he delivered an epic conclusion to the iconic franchise. With an electrifying cast including new additions Tom Hardy as the villainous mastermind Bane, and Anne Hathaway as the sultry Selina Kyle along with Bale’s best performance yet, The Dark Knight Rises was the film event of the season.

Not only was it the summer of the superhero, it was also the time for reboots and ticking both boxes was The Amazing Spider-Man. With the idea of making a fourth film in the Sam Raimi franchise scrapped by Marvel, Marc Webb took up the challenge and successfully put a new spin on the classic comic with Brit Andrew Garfield (who have both recently confirmed a sequel) being the perfect casting for a cooler, more confident Peter Parker. Sci-fi flick, Dredd, also opened to positive reviews and was particularly praised for its masterful visuals and gritty nature compared to Stallone’s 80s adaptation of the comic strip. The Bourne Legacy divided audiences as Jeremy Renner’s portrayal of a new assassin failed to reach the impact of the beloved Damon/Greengrass trilogy but it was the Total Recall re-make that acted as the summer’s loser, disappointing both the public and critics alike.

Ted was the comedy of the season as Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane brought his first feature film to the big screen, overshadowing The Watch, rom-com The Five Year Engagement and American Pie: Reunion, though the latter was still a popular choice. Pixar’s new animation, Brave, may have not have thrilled audiences as much as its previous ventures but still made a position in the summer’s top 10 along with family favourite, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift.

Though the summer of cinema may be over, autumn has even more to bring with the likes of Looper, On The Road and Great Expectations.

Holy Motors

"...for the beauty of the act" 

2012
Director/Writer: Leos Carax 
Cast: Denis Lavant, Edith Scobb, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue  

The first film from the French director in over 13 years, Holy Motors is innovative, original and all-out bonkers.  

We follow a day in the life of the mysterious Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant) as he travels around Paris in a white limousine for a series of appointments, each requiring a different character transformation. Whether it be a begging old woman, an over-protective father or a dying man, Carax offers no explanations. 

From the beginning clips of the birth of cinema and 

shots of the director himself wondering into a movie theatre, with a boarhound I might add (you get used to unexplained occurrences...), Holy Motors is filled with abundant film references, particularly to French cinema. Kylie Minogue is a tribute to Jean Seberg, Godard’s heroine in the classic New Wave film Breathless and Edith Scobb as Oscar’s chauffer Céline embodies her own character in Eyes Without A Face (keep getting reminded of that film...) when she puts on the very mask from the 1960 horror. Don’t worry, though, Carax slips in a possible reference to the Pixar hit Cars to appeal to the wider audience. 

The style of this film is its best feature as the cinematography are effects often spellbinding: a motion capture suit leaping around a room, the camera swiftly panning around a graveyard, the streets of Paris slowly acquiring a green glow. The music is perfectly paired with scenes and the lyrics of  Minogue’s song (“Who were we? Who were we? When we were who we were back then?”) add to the intrigue and enigma of her character and relationship with one of Oscar’s many identities. 

Many scenes are void of much dialogue but it is the thought-provoking discourses between an alarmingly stern father and his daughter, Oscar and his supposed employer and a dying man and his niece that the film has its most poignant moments. The curiosity that comes with the film’s first half is partly lost during later scenes but Lavant’s brilliant performance of each and every character is so compelling that you cannot switch off. 

It cannot be denied, though, Holy Motors is one strange film. It is perhaps too strange for the average cinema-goer who may not understand the numerous cinematic references and is used to a traditional film structure with explanations of a mysterious plot. Many scenes are shocking, the flower/hair eating fiend that is Monsieur Merde’s (revived from Tokyo) segment is particularly so as he takes the supermodel Kay M (Mendes) into his lair; its peculiarity and lengthy nature easily alienating some viewers. 

Make what you wish of Oscar’s transformations but it is evident that Carax does not want you to over-think this film. You need to forget the conventions of realist dramas and just be transported on this bizarre journey, realising that your questions may never be answered. There is one thing for certain, though: you won’t see another film like it this year.

Eyes Wide Shut

"No dream is ever just a dream."

1999
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack

As part of my ongoing mission to watch all of Kubrick's films, number six on the list was the legendary director's final work, Eyes Wide Shut. After the former five had been northing short of superb (A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, The Shining, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey), my hopes were reasonably high despite the mixed critical response.

With these works firmly in my mind, I liked Eyes Wide Shut more than expected as I am aware and highly favourable of Kubrick's style. Though the infamous party scene was extremely, well, weird, it wasn't shocking for a Stanley Kubrick fan. A newcomer to the director's style, though, could easily be a little put off by the film's daring premise. The stunning visuals and ingenious use of music were telling of the director and thanks to the eery single piano notes, I found some scenes, such as when Bill is being followed, to be very tense.

The film's pacing was perhaps a little off and I was surprised that Nicole Kidman did not have more screen time. It was the scenes between her and Bill that I found to be the most interesting and created the backbone of the story, so should have taken up more of the film's plot. That said, Tom Cruise, an actor of whom I am not usually particularly fond, was much more intriguing in the role that I had imagined.

It was indeed my least favourite Kubrick film that I'd seen so far and it was a shame that Kubrick did not finish his career with a masterpiece, but it is still an engrossing and daring picture.

7/10

Rust and Bone

De Rouille et D’os

2012

Director: Jacques Audiard

Writer: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, 

Cast: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts

Nominated for the prestigious Palme D’or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Jacques Audiard, director of 2009’s tour de force, A Prophet, returns to the international stage with a simply told yet powerful love story. 

A brief meeting in a night club transforms itself into a strong yet turbulent relationship as killer whale trainer Stéphanie (Cotillard) calls upon the help of struggling single father and aspirational fighter Alain after she loses her legs in a tragic accident.

Free from Hollywood’s constraints and its often sentimental love stories, Rust and Bone is intelligent and fresh as stunning cinematography accompanies the film’s thought-provoking plot and emotional sequences. Cotillard’s terrific performance, particularly compelling when Stéphanie learns of her fate, will most likely garner her a number of nominations this award season but Schoenaerts’ portrayal is equally as honest and moving. 

8/10

Pulp Fiction

1994

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Writer: Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary

Cast: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis 

Jules: Hamburgers. The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast.

...

Jules: Well, if you like burgers give 'em a try sometime. I can't usually get 'em myself because my girlfriend's a vegetarian which pretty much makes me a vegetarian. But I do love the taste of a good burger. Mm-mm-mm. You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with cheese in France? 

Brett: No. 

Jules: Tell 'em, Vincent. 

Vincent: A Royale with cheese. 

Jules: A Royale with cheese! You know why they call it that? 

Brett: Because of the metric system? 

Jules: Check out the big brain on Brett! You're a smart motherfucker. That's right. The metric system. What's in this?

Vincent: Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal?

Jules: I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.

Vincent: Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?

Jules: Well we’d have to be talkin’ about one charming motherfuckin’ pig. I mean he’d have to be ten times more charmin’ than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I’m sayin’?

Mia: Don’t you hate that?

Vincent: What?

Mia: Uncomfortable silences. Why do we feel it’s necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable? 

Vincent: I don’t know. That’s a good question.

Mia: That’s when you know you’ve found somebody special. When you can just shut the fuck up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence. 

Butch:[driving back to his apartment after Fabienne forgot to get his watch] 

[shouts] 

Shit! Of all the fucking things she could forget, she forgets my father's watch! 

[normal voice] 

I specifically reminded her - bedside table! On the Kangaroo! I said the words, "Don't forget my father's watch."

10/10

Les Yeux Sans Visage

Les Yeux Sans Visage (Eyes Without a Face) 

1960
Director: Georges Franju

As part of my French film module this year, we are required to study a range of French cinema, including Georges Franju's "Les Yeux Sans Visage". As we studied Les Diaboliques et Godard's new wave masterpiece Breathless last year, I was expecting to discover another classic French gem. In short, I did not.

Acclaimed plastic surgeon, Docteur Génessier, aims to revive the beauty of his disfigured daughter's face by performing radical surgery on a number of young women, kidnapped by his wife. They are brought to a desolate grand building where ominous lighting creates an atmosphere of imprisonment and mistrust as you are initially unsure whether to pity or despise the Génessier family. This eeriness and sense of entrapment, initially created with a proficient right dolly in the opening sequence, are perhaps the only parts of the film I found impressive.

The film is often praised for its tense and haunting nature and though its subject matter is admittedly shocking, the dénouement lacked true progression and the film felt overworked and predictable of the genre. Its old-fashioned air could simply be justified with the fact it was made over 50 years ago, but so was Hitchcock's Psycho, a work that still remains a masterful example of the horror genre that fails to age. Here, we are overloaded with genre conventions; a close-up of a ringing phone, voiceovers as we are introduced to a line-up at a funeral, intensified sounds and melodramatic music. Also, it seems that Franju thought dissolves were the only ways to change scenes.

Many critics have also praised this piece for its visual poetry. You may call the masked Christianne prancing out of the prison that is her home, releasing doves into the air as her father's face also becomes disfigured poetic, I found it tiresome.