Review: A Cure for Wellness

Year: 2017
Director: Gore Verbinski
Screenplay: Justin Haythe
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth

Synopsis is here:

Subjected to understandably mixed reviews, as well as the relatively dubious release date of February, Gore Verbinski’s A Cure for Wellness may suffer from periods of stiffness, yet showcases its director as a peculiar and ambitious visual stylist who’s willingness and enjoyment in creating macabre moments often goes unpraised.

Since The Mexican (2001) Verbinski has happily suggested that his work is a little off the beaten track. A touch askew of the conventional direction. Especially in a visual sense. The prime example would be the third Pirates of the Caribbean entry, which merrily decides upon flirting with the surreal with Jack Sparrow trapped in the cheekily absurd Davey Jones Locker, after playing a losing hand with a Kraken. The strange, Burton-esque vibe pulled off by the sequence, almost feels as if someone laced parts of the fantasy swashbuckler with LSD for a laugh.

When not subverting typically standard fare like quirky rom-com The Mexican (2001), or children’s fantasies such as the Chinatown tinged Rango (2011), Verbinski clearly shows a love for all-round darkness. Mark Kermode is always quick to note the depressing tone set in Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End, where proceedings start with the hanging of an innocent child. However, in looking at most of the director’s work, it’s clear that this is a filmmaker who wishes to walk the dark path. Consider the serial killer bookend from the American remake of The Ring (2002), which was cut before theatrical release. Verbinski is nearly always looking to work a bit of edge into his features.

This brings us to A Cure for Wellness, which cheerfully smashes together elements of gothic melodrama, sci-fi and mystery and binds them with distinctly macabre visuals. It leans towards the likes of Shutter Island (2010) and Shock Corridor (1963) yet also seems to hint at the likes of The Ninth Configuration (1980). Verbinski brings out all his visual tricks here, delivering distorted horror film angles and wrapping them in in an absurd plot which plays notes on anti-capitalism, incest and new alternative medicine all the way to foreign mistrust and of course insanity. The film plays most of these parts fairly well, with many scenes giving off a disturbing sense of unease. This includes one particularly gruesome moment, in which those with a phobia of dentists should stay clear from.

Where A Cure for Wellness fails is the same thing that Verbinski often stumbles on: economics. With a hefty running time of two and a half hours, A Cure for Wellness fails where something like Crimson Peak (2016) succeeds; the usage of time. Verbinski’s storytelling always has a way of loading a running time in such a way, that could easily be an effectively lean chiller now becomes a beautiful, but ungainly distraction.  Once we get to the films slightly over-egged climax, we release that Dane DeHaan’s selfish trader protagonist was never really that compelling to really engage with. We should, however, give three cheers to Jason Issacs (Hello) however, as the film, much like Netflix’s frustratingly shallow The OA (2016), is a tremendous showcase for his continuous good work. Hoorah.

Review: Hugo

Year: 2011
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenplay: John Logan
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Mortez, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lee

Synopsis is here

To many people I know; Martin Scorsese is the "gangster guy". When the name comes up, most think Casino over The Age of innocence or Mean Streets over Kundun. So when Hugo was announced, the film was considered to some a major departure. It's not. In watching Hugo, I realise that this family film has Marty DNA richly ingrained. Those who know Marty from Goodfellas may feel a note get struck when The Great Train Robbery is referenced in the film. The sense of history and that roaming camera betrays the films position. Add to that the themes of film restoration and referencing and anyone whose read at least one interview of the man can see that this is Scorsese in personal mode. There's a lot in here that we've seen from the man before but under different guises. However this is not an ode to "trashy" genre like say Shutter Island, or a glitzy throwback to the golden age ( The Aviator) but a love letter to the very beginnings of cinema.

That Scorsese uses James Cameron's game changer (3D) to help construct this actually quite fascinating. The tool considered to some as the future of cinema (lets not bring up that 3D has been tried before in the past) is being utilised to help try and enrich the past. As a film viewer who doesn't have much time for 3D I will admit that the 3D is a vaguely interesting element of Hugo. Like so many (if not all) these 3D features I'm still not convinced of it's story telling aspects. I don't find putting on those ill fitting plastic glasses to watch a film helps make it a more immersed experience. However the 3D does enhance the Paris landscape somewhat. The thing is, I'd still be invested in the film's visuals, anyway as the film is gorgeous to look from the start. From the beautiful glass house "castle" of George Melies to the visual reference of Harold Lloyds Safety Last, to the set design of the station where most of the action is based. This a film that is beautiful to look at and very reminiscent of the jaunts of Jeunet

It is that beauty that kept me involved as the films first act is uncommonly unfocused and quite not very involving. From the opening prologue the film feels slightly disjointed and it's difficult to get a hold on the material. The film becomes much more comfortable in the second act when the film's plot and talk of silent cinema come into the foreground. This is great from a film student, cinephile, point of view. From a family film perspective however, the wish to combine the history of silent cinema into a film in which children are the main demographic places it in a similar place as fellow movie brat Spielberg with Tintin. We get a film which seems to be intended for children or family but seems to be more in touch with the geek crowd. Critics have given the film high praise and why wouldn't they, the history aspect caters to them. But the films awkward marketing and the U.S release of the film; placing it up against The Muppets when the week after had no wide releases, appears to betray a certain apprehension. In comparison to the opening act of Pixer's Wall-E which manages to combine aspects of early silent cinema, new age tech gimmicky and story and still keeps focus on the intended audience, I wouldn't be surprised if Hugo gets the same mixed response from kids that I saw from Rango this year.

While the film doesn't have as much charm as I expected, there's a sincerity that flows through the film constantly. The film (read Scorsese) is clearly in love with cinema. For someone like me it's hard not feel a chill as Ben Kingsley's Melies explaining a film set as thus: "If you ever wonder where your dreams come from, look around: this is where they're made."  Hugo is a film that believes that cinema still has a certain power behind it. A highlight of this is a flashback situated in the middle of the film showing Melies creating one of his features and the ideals behind it. Similar scenes include the reacting of the first viewing of "Train arriving at a station" or when Chloe Mortez's character first witnesses a film for the first time. These moments seem lost and miles away when we now consider that we take the moving image for granted so easily nowadays. Hugo plays out like how those adverts which talk about "cinema only being worth seeing at the big screen" should play out. Scenes in which peoples love of cinema not only gets them to emote but come together are some of the films better moments.

This is fine for someone like me to go on about. Hugo tries to hack into that reason in why I love the cinema the way I do and to be honest I admire Scorsese's approach. The films lavish look, the nostalgic asides to story telling and dream making, the historical aspects that coincide with the story. It all falls into my romantic view of films and filmmaking; that it is more than just a happy go lucky diversion. That's fine for the 27 year old that I am now, but would the 8 year old approve? That I am not sure of.

Review: Shutter Island

Year: 2010
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenplay: Laeta Kalogridis
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Sir Ben Kingsley, Max Von Sydrow, Michelle Williams

Plot Synopsis is here

Note: This review has been written to try and avoid spoilers and it should give anything in the story away. However inquisitive readers may put what they've seen from the trailer, other sites and what I mention in the early paragraphs and put somethings together. You have been warned.

Shutter Island is a movie I will need to see again. One because I loved it, and two because I found the screenplay (Night Watch's Laeta Kalogridis), so neatly placed together, working so well with Scorsese graceful direction makes sure that at the end of the film, it has kept the same air of logical ambiguity that we entered.

We shouldn't look at this film for absolute reasoning. The films mood (Likened by Roger Ebert to a haunted house movie), atmosphere and themes forbid it. It's obvious from the violent rainstorm outside, the spiraling staircases and maze like quality of certain areas of the Shutter Island mental hospital, that the film takes place within the recesses of the mind. Of course we all know that when we think, normally the thoughts, flash backs and/or otherwise are always fractured, they never appear in true clarity.

With this knowledge in tow, I fully appreciated the films dream logic. Like A Nightmare on Elm street, Scorsese films the piece in such a way that you never truly know which scenes are real and which ones are not. It revels in surreality almost to the point where at the end, where what could easily have been a terrible plot hole in an inferior movie, could merely be askew judgment from a twisted perspective. Many have felt that the trailer, that has been played for so long due to the unfortunate delay of the movie may give away too much. But no, Shutter Island keeps it's cards close to it's chest and still manages to make a viewer second guess what they're seeing.

It's a fantastic turning of the screws from the film's screenplay that does it. Detectors have stated that the script is patchy. I disagree. It is purposely hazy and Scorsese masterful direction play on our need for reasoning constantly. We focus on certain things because he wants us to, questioning aspects to make us forget others. A second viewing of this film will reveal more to us because our prospective will have changed. We will look at characters again in a different light and respond and react differently...perhaps. What makes the film so devilishly enjoyable that the second viewing may leave you in the dark or shed more light on the conclusion, such is the delicate handling of the work.

Performance wise, DiCaprio puts in what I consider to be his finest work. The boyish image is gone and a harden look has taken it's place. It's interesting that the other 50's period piece that he was in; Revolutionary Road had him overacting the role with a shouty "look at me" display which did nothing but point out what could be is flaws. DiCaprio is better in films like this where he's allowed to be a but more introspective and restrained, with flashes of emotion. He slips into the hard boiled role with ease and by the film's climax I was truly won over.

He is also surrounded by great character acting talent. It might feel like a bit of a conveyor belt of talent, rolled out to do "their little bit" but it gels so well with the narrative, that nagging feeling can easily be ignored. I could be here forever talking about Jackie Earle Haley's intensity, the wonderful chemistry Mark Ruffalo shares with DiCaprio or the pivotal scenes which have excellent moments from Patricia Clarkson and Emily Mortimer or even the uneasy clam that Sir Ben Kingsley provides....oh and Ted Lavines sleazy.....see?

It's easy to mark on the films Scorsese has been influenced by and talk about them. A bit of shock corridor here, a touch of vertigo there, a sprinkling of film noir, however as a genre piece of it's own the film works fine. It's gorgeous cinematography may have film buffs hooting and hollering but those who haven't seen the aforementioned films can enjoy this as well. The references don't feel obvious and tacked on. They are constructed to help highlight the emotions and mindset of the film not just to show the filmmakers knowledge.

Dripping with a tension and dread I haven't felt since my first viewing of Ringu, Shutter Island is a film that really did a number on me. It's a film that I can't wait to obtain on DVD, and had me considering on watching it again as soon as I can. Some have bemoaned that it's not as good as Goodfellas, Raging Bull and the like but I don't mind. This is Marty in his comfort zone, creating a genre piece that still has so much to absorb and inspire. Gushing period is over. I think I've found a film that I'll be still talking about at the end of the year.