Cormac McCarthy is flavour of the month at the moment. After the Coen Brothers' lauded adaptation of his novel No Country For Old Men you can't swing a cat at the moment without hitting another fan coming out of the woodwork. In fact this week, it was announced that James Franco will be behind the camera for an imagining of Blood Meridian. Among all of this hoopla John Hillcoat quietly went about his business bringing McCarthy's bleak tale The Road to the big screen.
Viggo Mortensen plays a nameless father trying to protect his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) in an apocalyptic world after an unexplained disaster has left the planet barren and desolate while a select few survivors scavenge, kill and do whatever it takes to stay out of harms way. A real bundle of laughs then.
I read the book recently for the first time on holiday (interesting choice for beach-reading) and if you ever want an example of a director being completely faithful to the source material, then this is it. McCarthy leaves the origins of the disaster unsaid, and it takes a brave man to take the same tack with the film in today's age of the idiot viewer (in this case John Hillcoat, a music video director known for working with a Nick Cave). The plot then progresses in exactly the same way as the book as the father and son encounter a host of characters and situations that put them into perilous situations, but without much really actually happening. For a film about the end of the world, there is no big action set pieces, no race against time, no damsel in distress to save. This isn't popcorn fodder, 2012 fans should look elsewhere.
The story is essentially just about the father and son, as they journey towards in the coast, with the slim, vague hope that something will be different there. Stripped down, it is fundamentally a character piece exploring the paternal relationship, but also, more importantly what it means to be human. The boy constantly needing reassurances that he and his father are 'the good guys' and struggling to understand why the people they encounter won't help them and vice versa. As things become more desperate for the pair, the child's idealism comes into conflict with the father's willingness to do anything to keep them both alive. The film poses the question 'what lengths would you go to to survive, and at what cost?'. It's an interesting theme for the film to be based around and is very affecting.
At the centre of it are excellent performances from Mortensen (as you would expect) and Smit-McPhee even more so. He will be better known for the recent Let Me In but this was his real breakthrough and is far more impressive in this turn. Both are utterly believable in their roles, Mortensen unrelenting in his desperation to protect his son, while Smit-McPhee's trust in his father never wavers. There are nice moments where they find small joy in tins of food or a cuddly toy where there are flickers of what normal life once was, but these quickly evaporate as we have to endure a scene where the father teaches his son how to kill himself if the need arises. Charlize Theron also features as the mother/wife in various flashbacks that offer some background to the family and how it came to just be the two of them. These scenes are a nice contrast to the bulk of the film, with splashes of colour and touching moments that really offer depth to the central relationship but also yank at the heart strings. The legend that is Robert Duvall also turns up which is a nice treat.
If there is a criticism to be had, it's that it is a very tough watch. It's very bleak and dark throughout with very little hope, and culminates in a heart breaking ending that offers very little relief and resolution, to both the story and humanity - both McCarthy and the film clearly don't have a lot of faith if the end of the world were to occur.
However, just because it isn't full of optimism and light, it should not mean that you should not see it. Beautifully acted, excellently made, thought provoking and arresting. Perseverance will bring you massive rewards.
About Me
- Ollie Miney
- Lover of all things film, ready to tell you what to avoid, and more importantly, what to seek out.
Showing posts with label Kodi Smith-McPhee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kodi Smith-McPhee. Show all posts
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
LET ME IN (2010)
Let's get it out of the way, I loved Let The Right One In. I saw it for the first time at Somerset House, in a double bill with The Lost Boys, and I remember being blown away by it. It was so simple yet so complicated, it was visually striking and beautiful, delicate in tone but with a ruthless violence as well. I loved it. But I'm not reviewing that film here, I'm referring to the English Language remake, directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and starring Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road).
I'm determined here to look at Let Me In, it's merits and it's downfalls as a stand alone film. What I want to try to avoid is comparing it with the original in a box ticking exercise (Scene with the alley, yep. Scene at the gym, hang on, they changed that). So as I popped myself into the obscenely comfortable seat at the Electric Cinema with my bottle of beer, I tried to empty my mind of any thoughts and memories of Let The Right One In, and enjoy the film as just that, a film.
Set in New Mexico, it's tells the story of loner Owen, troubled my his lack of friends and his parents' messy divorce. Then he finds himself a friend, the girl next door and as the friendship blossoms it becomes clear that she is not as she seems and hides a nasty secret. It really is a simple tale of friendship made all the more interesting and heartbreaking because of the complications and obstacles that the relationship must overcome. After all, what is Romeo and Juliet if not a love story with obstacles. In fact, Let Me In refers to Shakespeare's story, in a clumsy attempt to subtly invoke the similarities.
The two leads are very good here. Moretz in particular - Kick Ass was no fluke or one off and here she again revels in the violence, though this time not tongue-in-cheek. It wasn't just her ability to swear and dismember limbs that got her plaudits in that film though, she played Hit Girl with a youthful innocence and vulnerability that really stood out and was largely responsible for Kick Ass' heart. Her role here is much more serious and she excels. Wanting to hold back, knowing she can't let herself be free but also being unable to stop herself from diving straight into the friendship, her performance is full of internal conflict.
Kodi Smit-McPhee turns in an equally good performance, though much more understated and therefore slightly less noticeable than Moretz. He plays Owen, bullied, downtrodden and with no self-esteem, with a tremendous innocence that reminded me of Nicholas Holt in About A Boy. Seemingly with no hope, but with a resolve that refuses to die. Once again, a young actor seemingly with a future.
The two lead characters are both a bundle of contradictions, which actually also applies when looking at the tone of the film. There are soft tender moments between them both, or small, barely noticeable looks from them individually, but then the next scene will feature bloody violence and jumpy scares which are handled well by Reeves as he gets back into the more familiar Cloverfield territory. The two contrasts make each opposite have all the more impact, as you're not sure which to expect, once they do hit home, they do so. With interest.
But, and there is a but. I could easily have been referring to Let The Right One In with the comments above. All of the positives are positives that are taken from the original. The Story, identical. The snowy atmospheric setting, identical. Tender moments and the violence, all present. Tragic central relationship, check, although in this case I was not nearly as involved and connected to the relationship, the Swedish original gripped me much more. It appears as though the makers of this film saw Let The Right One In, loved it and felt that the story needed to be seen by a bigger audience and an English language version was the way to do that. Except that all they did was copy it, almost scene for scene and add some special effects, which ultimately had a detrimental effect. The only time I was impressed with the added bells and whistles was a well executed car crash. However, the scene it mimicked and built upon was so much more heartfelt with greater desperation in the character involved. This lost a lot of what was great about that moment. My favourite scenes in the original, without giving too much away, were the swimming pool at the end and a vampire being exposed to daylight in a hospital ward. Both scenes were copied, almost shot for shot, but both felt much more hollow. Much like the rest of the film in fact. As thought it's missing something. Lost in translation perhaps.
Ultimately the reason for this goes back to my opening to above. I tried to empty my mind of Let The Right One In, but I couldn't. Because it has stuck with me and whatever Reeves and co tried to serve up, it just isn't as memorable and it's impossible not to compare the two. Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho was shot for shot identical, but did anyone watch it without thinking about Hitchcock's original? And did it have the same impact?
Is Let Me In good? Yes it is. Should you see it? Why not, it is well-made and considerably better than most horror out there. Should you see it if you haven't seen Let The Right One In? No. You must see the original because if you see this before it, you will not see a truly great film as it should be and will never enjoy it in the way it deserves to be.
I'm determined here to look at Let Me In, it's merits and it's downfalls as a stand alone film. What I want to try to avoid is comparing it with the original in a box ticking exercise (Scene with the alley, yep. Scene at the gym, hang on, they changed that). So as I popped myself into the obscenely comfortable seat at the Electric Cinema with my bottle of beer, I tried to empty my mind of any thoughts and memories of Let The Right One In, and enjoy the film as just that, a film.
Set in New Mexico, it's tells the story of loner Owen, troubled my his lack of friends and his parents' messy divorce. Then he finds himself a friend, the girl next door and as the friendship blossoms it becomes clear that she is not as she seems and hides a nasty secret. It really is a simple tale of friendship made all the more interesting and heartbreaking because of the complications and obstacles that the relationship must overcome. After all, what is Romeo and Juliet if not a love story with obstacles. In fact, Let Me In refers to Shakespeare's story, in a clumsy attempt to subtly invoke the similarities.
The two leads are very good here. Moretz in particular - Kick Ass was no fluke or one off and here she again revels in the violence, though this time not tongue-in-cheek. It wasn't just her ability to swear and dismember limbs that got her plaudits in that film though, she played Hit Girl with a youthful innocence and vulnerability that really stood out and was largely responsible for Kick Ass' heart. Her role here is much more serious and she excels. Wanting to hold back, knowing she can't let herself be free but also being unable to stop herself from diving straight into the friendship, her performance is full of internal conflict.
Kodi Smit-McPhee turns in an equally good performance, though much more understated and therefore slightly less noticeable than Moretz. He plays Owen, bullied, downtrodden and with no self-esteem, with a tremendous innocence that reminded me of Nicholas Holt in About A Boy. Seemingly with no hope, but with a resolve that refuses to die. Once again, a young actor seemingly with a future.
The two lead characters are both a bundle of contradictions, which actually also applies when looking at the tone of the film. There are soft tender moments between them both, or small, barely noticeable looks from them individually, but then the next scene will feature bloody violence and jumpy scares which are handled well by Reeves as he gets back into the more familiar Cloverfield territory. The two contrasts make each opposite have all the more impact, as you're not sure which to expect, once they do hit home, they do so. With interest.
But, and there is a but. I could easily have been referring to Let The Right One In with the comments above. All of the positives are positives that are taken from the original. The Story, identical. The snowy atmospheric setting, identical. Tender moments and the violence, all present. Tragic central relationship, check, although in this case I was not nearly as involved and connected to the relationship, the Swedish original gripped me much more. It appears as though the makers of this film saw Let The Right One In, loved it and felt that the story needed to be seen by a bigger audience and an English language version was the way to do that. Except that all they did was copy it, almost scene for scene and add some special effects, which ultimately had a detrimental effect. The only time I was impressed with the added bells and whistles was a well executed car crash. However, the scene it mimicked and built upon was so much more heartfelt with greater desperation in the character involved. This lost a lot of what was great about that moment. My favourite scenes in the original, without giving too much away, were the swimming pool at the end and a vampire being exposed to daylight in a hospital ward. Both scenes were copied, almost shot for shot, but both felt much more hollow. Much like the rest of the film in fact. As thought it's missing something. Lost in translation perhaps.
Ultimately the reason for this goes back to my opening to above. I tried to empty my mind of Let The Right One In, but I couldn't. Because it has stuck with me and whatever Reeves and co tried to serve up, it just isn't as memorable and it's impossible not to compare the two. Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho was shot for shot identical, but did anyone watch it without thinking about Hitchcock's original? And did it have the same impact?
Is Let Me In good? Yes it is. Should you see it? Why not, it is well-made and considerably better than most horror out there. Should you see it if you haven't seen Let The Right One In? No. You must see the original because if you see this before it, you will not see a truly great film as it should be and will never enjoy it in the way it deserves to be.
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