The Pressure Drop Got the Best of You

[dotinthesky]

Beautiful Thing, dir. Hettie Macdonald, 1996
This film is so adorable I dare anyone to dislike it. Filmed like a made-for-TV film, it retains much of the stageyness inherited from the play it is based on, but this doesn't matter because of the great job done by all involved. The chemistry between the two teenage boys who fall in love is palpable and may, erm, even make one watch the thing on repeat and wipe away a few stray tears! It also has tons of Mama Cass songs and some good laughs along the way. Life should always be this romantic and uncomplicated.

Imaginary Heroes, dir. Dan Harris, 2004
There's a good movie struggling to burst out of this American Beauty/The Ice Storm rip off. A typical American middle-class family is torn apart when the middle son - a popular swimmer primed for the big time - kills himself. The youngest boy, used to being ignored and treated like nothing, suddenly becomes the focus of the father's anger and the mother's grief. As he falls in with the next door neighbour's junkie son, secrets unravel and a lot of emotional scenes take place accompanied by sentimental piano pieces. There are gaping plot holes and character inconsistencies, and the darker (and more interesting) plot turns don't get explored. The end is a colossal cheese fest.

Franklyn, dir. Gerald McMorrow, 2008
This movie could have been this year's Pan's Labyrinth. Could have been. The story is set in two parallel worlds: a fantastical megalopolis called Meanwhile City, where religious multiplicity is the law and atheism is outlawed; and modern day London. Eva Green (from Casino Royale), Sam Riley (from Control), Ryan Phillippe and Bernard Hill are the four lost souls that navigate these two worlds, their paths destined to collide. The scenes in Meanwhile City are gorgeous and reminiscent of China Miéville's sci-fi novels. Sadly, not enough time is spent there or on the fleshing out of the characters. Some cliches get dished out, some plot twists are too obvious, and the predictable (and sentimental) ending is a let down.

The Anniversary Party, dir. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming, 2001
A group of 30-somethings get together for a party and soon they are taking drugs, sharing intimate secrets and having existential crises. No, this is not a re-cap of my last weekend but a film written and directed by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming. The plot parallels their own careers in some ways, with actors who are friends of the couple in real life playing similar parts in the film, Alan's published novel Tommy's Tale making an appearance, and even Jason Leigh's celebrated role in Last Exit to Brooklyn getting a mention. But this bunch of wannabe Hollywood types are boring, shallow and uninteresting, despite the many ups & downs they go through in one night of relationship committal celebration. The film was released just before 9/11 and it does a good job - in a historic kinda way - of showing the final days of a naive time in Hollywood.


[Poll #1282756]