PERRIER'S BOUNTY (2009 - Cert 15)

Here is an example of a film that just shouldn't work. It should be rubbish.



We are in an age when Lock Stock is over a decade old, there have been many attempts to recapture the success of that film, not all based within the sound of Bow Bells - Smokin' Aces was a dire attempt by some Americans that seemed to be liked by quite a few people, although I'm not sure why because it lacked humour, story and any positive attributes whatsoever. Then ten years later came In Brugges. Not exactly the same sort of film, but it had the crime, violence, witty dialogue and black, yet juvenile humour that made Guy Ritchie's break out film so appealing. It got decent reviews, had a relatively good box office return, but once it hit the DVD shelves and word of mouth got underway, that was when it really took off. It was one of those that no matter where you are, pub, work, dinner parties, round the parents', someone talked about it and quoted lines from it. It came from nowhere. I suppose it was inevitable, much in the same way as Lock Stock, that people would try to copy all that they could to try and jump on the gravy train. However, I didn't expect something to see something so similar so soon, not quite a carbon copy, but perhaps something that a child might manage with a blunt pencil and some tracing paper - It's not identical but the correlations jump out at you immediately.

Perrier's Bounty's likeness to In Brugges isn't just down to Irish accents, violence and a good looking Irish lead (Colin Farrell is replaced here with Cillian Murphy). Tonally, if it were on TV, Perrier could almost be the second episode directly following on from In Brugges. It's got the same edgy, realistic feel, gritty tourist shots of a scenic city, but with playful banter and humour between the characters. It even has Brendan Gleeson in it as well. If you're making a film that does clearly have similarities to another, having the same actors as well is only going to exacerbate the problems.

The problem is, if we are going to continue with the TV series analogy, that Perrier's Bounty feels like a second episode where the joke has worn thin, the creative pool has run dry, something that should never have got past a pilot. Despite it having the same feel and as In Brugges, the attempts at wit more often than not disappoint. The best you get is a smile and an internal single chuckle, however that is the exception to the rule and more often than not the jokes fall flat on their faces. Scenes that strive for random oddball laughs only succeed in feeling out of place and contrived. Peculiar characters come and go, I was always unsure what purpose they served, whether it was vital to the progression of the plot or just there to amuse, the truth is they failed to do either. The edgier side of the film also misses the mark. The proper drama and gangland violence struggle for credibility alongside the attempted comedic touches, it all feels cartoony, a bit caricature.

So it a comedy drama that fails on both the comedy and the drama. It's a rip off of other films and only ends up as being a pale comparison when looked at alongside those films. It's plot goes one way, then the other feels, disjointed and doesn't really make sense or convince. It's a film that should be rubbish. But it isn't rubbish, it's mediocre, not more than that, but it certainly isn't the worst film I've ever seen (Couple's Retreat, Sucker Punch - I'm looking in your direction).

The only thing that does elevate it to the lofty heights of 'just about watchable' is the cast. It really is a stellar line up - Cillian Murphy as they hero of the piece Michael McCrea, Brendan Gleeson as Perrier, the villain, Jim Broadbent as McCrea's dad, Jodie Whittaker as the love interest. When you have four people on screen like that, the glass quickly becomes half full rather than half empty. Murphy is brilliant at whatever he does and anything that he appears is all the more interesting because of him. Gleeson is his effortless self, making acting look easy, Whittaker continues to climb the ladder and once again impresses (her forthcoming appearance in One Day should only make her even hotter property) and it is always a pleasure to see Jim Broadbent in action (how different would the world be if David Sullivan went with, Broadbent, his initial choice for Delboy). The very fact that these four are playing out proceedings on screen, no matter how nonsensical and pointless the proceedings are, gives the film a bit more gravitas. Of course, the base level of the move is so low to begin with, they can only lift it so far and it's a case of too little too late. Further evidence of this is a voice over/narrator from someone (or something) that is all warbling musing and philosophies on what life and death means. In terms of the content it's dull, dull, dull and quickly becomes irritating, but the voice itself, there's something about it that reels you in. Then when the credits roll you realise it's Gabriel Byrne and you then cotton on to why you found the voice so hypnotic. It just goes to show how important a good cast are to making a film work. When it's a success, it's easy to underestimate the role the actors play, but when you see those people polishing a turd you know how valuable an expert in the craft is.

INCEPTION (2010)

I must admit, I've stopped buying myself DVD's to add to the collection, especially Blu-Rays. With Lovefilm, the PS3, Sky film channels, a mum that doesn't seem to know that you can actually rent DVD's these days, there's little point in me filling up my small one-bed flat with rows and rows of DVD's. Having said that, Inception was an exception to the rule. I was always going to get this one, and Blu-Ray was a must. So, on New Years Day, Spag bol made, I plonked myself down on the sofa to revisit Christopher Nolan's summer blockbuster, and as I did so, I wanted to try and explain why I was so desperate to get my hands on this on it's release and why UK cinema-goers loved it so much, pushing it into number 4 in the UK box office in 2010.



Leo DiCaprio plays Tom Cobb, who heads up a team of thieves. But they are no ordinary thieves, they steal thoughts and information which means the vaults they are cracking are people's minds, and the best way to do this is through the dreams of the 'subjects'. Cobb is offered one final job (it's always the final jobs that are the hardest aren't they?) but instead of theft, he must plant an idea - Inception. An apparent impossibility. Nolan, who wrote and directed, has really come up with a genius idea here for an action film. It means that he can do whatever he wants, wherever he wants - no location is beyond the realms of possibility. Irritating things such as gravity and common sense are eradicated immediately. However, if anyone knows Nolan, it's not going to be that straightforward and he isn't going to pin a whole film on one good idea. He adds depth and complex themes by using sub-plots involving corporate espionage and a complicated father/son relationship as well as a back story for Cobb that puts the whole operation in jeopardy.

Cobb has a team in place to help him with this job, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe and Dileep Rao, each having a specific job, just like an orthodox bank job. Ellen Page plays the architect, it's her job to create the dream world and this premise gives some tremendous scenes where Nolan toys with our perceptions of what is possible. Tom Hardy, pretty much stealing the show here, plays a fraudster, he impersonates other people in the dream world, again an idea that gives Nolan's imagination the opportunity to run riot. And what a riot it is. The action set pieces are a wonder to behold. Fights in corridors that roll, defying gravity, a massive shoot out in an arctic base (very Bond), a kidnap scene in torrential rain as a freight train batters city streets in to submission. Nolan's execution of action is expertly done, every stunt and special effect feels physical, it feels real. Even where CGI is used, it feels weighty, none of the light, bouncy Spiderman effects here. 

As I mentioned previously though, it isn't just this aspect that makes the film so appealing. Nolan wouldn't let one of his films be so superficial and shallow. Cobb's back story about his wife has a darkness and an edge to it, and as it slowly creeps into his sub-conscious you really feel that he is out of control and that he is on the brink of madness. Another fine performance from Leo, really becoming a fine actor and choosing films that are challenging and roles that have a depth, something for him to really get his teeth into. Tom Hardy is all machismo and is great to watch, Page and Gordon-Levitt feel under-used and as though they are going through the motions, Cillian Murphy is always a pleasure to watch (I just wish he was in more), Tom Berenger pops up with a nice cameo, bit of Michael Caine, and the late, great Pete Postlethwaite is dependable as always with the little screen time he is given.

The second viewing of this film did chuck up a negative I'm afraid though. Some of the dialogue at times felt laden with exposition, which I suppose is inevitable when you are dealing with a plot as complex as this - dreams within a dream, within a dream, all coming together at the end - but when you have actors as fine as this on show, it's a shame that some of the dialogue is limited to pointing us in the right direction. Having said that, it's never spelt out to us, we are given freedom to come to conclusions ourselves - Nolan clearly respects his audience.

This negative though is a minor blip on an otherwise faultless film and it is a measure of Nolan's stock in Hollywood at the moment - off the back of the Batman films, a studio has given him a substantial wedge of money, left him to his own devices and this is what he has come up with. An imaginative, expertly crafted, action thriller, set inside the minds of it's protagonists with an ending that exhilarates and moves you in equal measure with the final frame continuing to rattle around in your brain long after the closing credits.

This film's success, and that of Nolan's Batman reboot, is proof that we want films with substance and you can create an action film that can stimulate the grey matter and still rake it in at the box office. Michael Bay take note.