London Film Fest: "360" and "Shame"
Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 2:15AM Dave here with my first report from the London Film Festival, which Craig introduced you to on Thursday. We'll start with the Opening Night Gala.
Jude Law and Rachel Weisz as unfaithful marrieds.
Fernando Meirelles' 360 seems a fitting selection to open a film festival, sold as a "dynamic and moving roundelay" that takes us across the spectrum of people on the globe. But this is globalization for the West; just forget, for two hours, that Asia and Africa and Australia exist and that people might have sex there too. Peter Morgan's script works like a daisy chain, flimsily linking together a collection of character shells who spread out across Europe and America, reverberating off one another. Mirka (Lucia Siposova) ventures into prostitution to the disapproval of her sister Anna (Gabriela Marcinkova); Michael (Jude Law) is her first client, whose wife Rose (Rachel Weisz) is having an affair with Rui (Juliano Cazarre), whose girlfriend Laura (Maria Flor) has uncovered his lies and sets off back to Brazil, meeting John (Anthony Hopkins) on the plane...You get the idea.
Evidently, this is a film about how globalization has connected people across the globe, a decision from one changing the life of another, six degrees of separation, etcetera etcetera. It takes a delicate hand to make a daisy chain, and Peter Morgan is entirely too thick fingered and clumsy, forcing coincidence and connection between characters he forgets to give any identity to. Oddly sprightly culturally specific music crudely emphasizes the differing nationalities. Occasional split screens hilariously exaggerate the narrative parallels. Crafty editing connections verge on the farcical. Rachel Weisz is given a bad wig, Anthony Hopkins a bad monologue, and Ben Foster a luridly filmed introduction thanks to his character's sex offender status.
more 360° and Steve McQueen's Shame after the jump
Morgan might be jamming square pegs into 360° holes, but director Meirelles doesn't seem to have shown up at all, leaving cinematographer Adriano Goldman to gloss the whole thing over so it's shiny enough to distract the producers. Unfortunately, that arrow in the logo has cracked the sheen. (D)
Muse & Director Fassy & McQueen at the London Film Festival. © Dave J Hogan for Getty
Michael Fassbender made his first proud appearance on the festival's red carpet for Shame, his second film with Hunger director Steve McQueen. McQueen's next film (which will also feature Fassy) has been announced as Twelve Years A Slave, which is a bit of a, well, shame, because I was hoping for a trilogy of one-worded film titles based on painful feelings.
Where Hunger was strained and drained, Shame is full of dark colour and operatic sound design. McQueen and screenwriting partner Abi Morgan cast Self-Hatred and Self-Destruction as morbid siblings Brandon (Michael Fassbender), a handsome sex addict, and Cissy (Carey Mulligan), a platinum blonde singer whose mood swings show on her forearms. Brandon's calendar of sexual indulgence is one where sex flows from every outlet: nightclubs, phone lines, computers, the daily commute - which makes his tale of sexual addiction more tragic than those that have gone before, because this is a world addicted to sex. Cissy's abundant personality filibusters his insular world. Her messiness spreads across his once pristine apartment. Her story is the more basic, but here's the film's trump card: Mulligan plays Cissy as a fizzing spectacle of a woman whose sweet highs necessitate shameful lows. The tune Mulligan strikes with Fassbender is that of a dark unspoken past. They create a sibling bond on a teetering peak, flipping from playful to vitriolic in miliseconds.
Scrutinise either of them individually, and their stories seem too crudely written, but McQueen purposefully overcompensates, dragging the film to vivid feeling emboldened by grand technique. From the piercing sound of the shutters which let daylight shame the bedsheets to the striking use of Chic's 'I Want Your Love' as a tensely repetitive soundtrack beat, McQueen shows no shame boldy overstating the titular themes. Fassbender's voice is hoarse with fatigue and anger, his innate magnetism a mournful cross to bear, his fiery self-loathing reflecting back from the dying embers of New York City. (B+)
Reader Comments (5)
This year is going to be a transformation for myself, professionally and personally. I have completly rethought what I am bringing to this business and I am starting new. Starting with a new website layout. I was sick of not having a dedicated blog on my website and having to use an outside source. So now I switched to Squarespace for all my hosting needs.
audemars piguet replica
I have imported all my past blog posts into the new website so that information will remain, although the upcoming stuff will be much more defined and helpful in my opinion.
Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile----------prada replica handbags
Wearing designer Mens Jeans is of high demand due to the quality and the durability they bring along. Jeans Mens While comfort is also a key here, designer Suits DVD specialize in bringing in more styles and fits to their line of clothing. replica louis vuitton speedy 30 A few of the popular names in for men are Dolce and Gabbana, Police, Levis, Calvin Klein, Mac, Mek, Lee, Wrangler, Jack Jones and Henleys. replica louis vuitton speedy 35 Though the list gives a mixture of expensive and not so expensive names, Footballers' Wives DVD these labels use denims of high quality to ensure comfort and style to their products.
idiotic spammer
Michael Fassbender's role as a sex addict is pretty challenging and it seems that he was able to do justice to the character so much so that he even won a best actor award at the 2011 Venice Film Festival.