One of my favourite films of the London Film Festival 2016 is released in UK cinemas this weekend. Here's a snippet of my review of Trespass Against Us which stars Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson.
With
its frequent references to Christianity, it's unsurprising to find a holy
trinity of perfect performances at the heart of Trespass Against Us. A towering
Brendan Gleeson plays domineering father to reluctant criminal Chad (Michael
Fassbender), who is hoping for a better life for his own son Tyson (Georgie
Smith). As three generations of the Cutler family, Gleeson, Fassbender and
Smith are a force to be reckoned with in this exceptional crime drama.
The caravan-dwelling Cutlers commit
robberies and clash with the police constantly, led by Rory Kinnear’s P.C.
Lovage. Chad and his wife Kelly (Lyndsey Marshal, also excellent) want out of
the criminal life, attempting to get a secure home and keep their two children
in school. But Gleeson’s ‘Pa’ Cole has other ideas, pushing Chad into a heist
that will bring down the full force of the law upon them all. Like the doomed
kids of American ghetto movies, Chad finds himself torn between the life he has
been born and raised into where criminality is an everyday occurrence, and
another life where he may only find disappointment and prejudice...
The director of 12 Years A Slave, Steve McQueen, is an artist. He paints the bleakest possible picture of slavery imaginable, capturing beautiful but haunting images that seemed to have been beamed directly from the past. In 12 Years A Slave he transports you to another time and place making you feel the heat and the pain and forcing you to become a witness to the horror of history. Where Django Unchained tempered its brutality with its Tarantino-ness, the only respite from the misery of 12 Years A Slave is the beauty of its compositions and the fact that for one man there may actually be a way out of this hellish misery.
The slave in question is Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free man who lived in New York with his family until one day in 1841 when he is abducted by 'entertainers' who chain him up and send him down south to live the next 12 years as a slave. Along the way, he is beaten, humiliated, forced to work, to punish other slaves and to keep his past and literacy a secret. Over the 12 years, Northup is passed through three slave owners from the seemingly gentle and (vaguely) caring Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) to the sadistic psycho Epps (Michael Fassbender).
After watching 12 Years A Slave, it is incredible to think how few films there have been about the subject of slavery in America. 200 years of this shocking practice and fewer than 30 films that really explore slavery exist. 12 Years A Slave, though it may only be one film, goes to serious lengths to show the horror, the humiliation and encapsulate the experience of those who were slaves in the South in the 1800's. It is a true story, based on only one man's memoirs but it says so much that audiences may not ever feel the need to see another film on slavery again.
By having Northup as it's protagonist, 12 Years A Slave may not focus on the ordinary slave's experience but instead it zeroes in on the promise, the pride and the painful humiliation of one early African-American to emphasise the wrongs done to all slaves during American slavery's awful 200 year existence. Northup is stifled in every way by his circumstances; he must not admit to even being able to read and write and he is treated worse than an animal. McQueen never shies away from showing the slaves as broken people. Shots of them staring blankly, running back to their masters and treating each other poorly show just how dehumanizing the impact of slavery is.
12 Years A Slave is a constantly tough watch, just as it should be. Every ray of hope is dashed. Every kindness is stamped on and every punishment and humiliation is dwelt on. Sean Bobbit's cinematography captures the sweaty south beautifully but though many of it's shots look like gorgeous paintings, many more are stark reminders of the brutality at the heart of slavery. When Northup is hung from a tree, it is an ugly moment framed with strangely beautiful long shots; a series of depressing snapshots of history. Add to this, Hans Zimmer's haunting, achingly sad score and the sound of slave voices singing Roll Jordan Roll and 12 Years A Slave becomes a mournful ode to 200 years of misery and shame.
12 Years A Slave brings a terrible historical truth to life. It may only be the story of one man but it feels definitive; every frame is a painting that transports you to another time. Through it's cinematography, production and costume design, but most of all the performances of a completely committed cast, 12 Years A Slave depicts the ugliness of slavery with unforgettable imagery.
Stick around!
Please enjoy some more reviews from I Love That Film:
Check out this gif. Watch how Fassbender delivers his take on human emotions. This is like acting school... for robots. I particularly like his take on JOY. This fills me with that emotion and my face goes all similar to David's. Could he be the new greatest cinematic robot? Only time will tell.
Over the next few weeks, I will be putting up case studies of Hollywood, Independent and British films to help my A level Film Studies students learn more about the finance, organisation, production, distribution and exhibition of different types of films. These case studies can be used in their exam when discussing the American and British film industries.
Director:Ridley Scott
Director of
many profitable Hollywood blockbusters including: Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of
Heaven, American Gangster, Robin Hood
Investors
trust Scott to make big budget films, often on an epic scale, with
international stars and make a profit.He has a fan base, as do the stars of the film.It is also in the science fiction genre which
also has a huge amount of dedicated fans and the idea that this film is a
prequel to Alien has attracted many
more people to it.That film, as well as
Blade Runner, are widely considered
to be science fiction classics and Ridley Scott’s return to the genre is a
really big deal for fans.The marketing
is therefore very likely to emphasise the director, the genre and the stars.
Some
discussion of the budget:
‘Ridley asked for $250 Million.
Fox said Make it PG rated and we may give you the money.
Scott said one word..."NO".
Fox said...O.K. think about it some more because we are not giving you $250
Mill for a movie with an R rating ...Lindelhof approached fox
and told them with his new re-writes they could do this thing for considerably
less and apparently the studio agreed with him and cut the budget down to
between 100 and 150 Million..except...there are now some serious reports...which indicates Scott finished this entire thing on a budget
compromise with FOX of $200 million even, and not the 100-150 million that was
being reported’ http://www.prometheus-movie.com/community/forums/topic/316
Scott Free Productions ‘Scott
Free works closely with RSA Films, the commercials company started by Ridley
Scott more than forty years ago. RSA Films represents many established
and up and coming filmmakers and one of Scott Free’s roles is to assist these
directors in their feature film and television projects’ Wikipedia
No
major studios listed as production companies on IMDb (rare for a Hollywood
blockbuster).However it is being
distributed by 20th Century Fox suggesting they have put money into
the production in order to get distribution rights.
Some
information on 20th Century Fox:
‘In October 1985, Fox Inc. was formed in a major restructuring of the
entertainment and broadcasting interests of News America and TCF Holdings. Fox
Inc. is a consolidation of those interests and consists of three principal
operating units:
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Fox Television Stations Inc. and Fox
Broadcasting Company...
William Mechanic was named Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Fox Filmed entertainment in December of 1996. His
remit included all operations of the studio including world-wide feature film
production, marketing and distribution activities, as well as all worldwide
operations for Fox Videos, Fox Interactive, Licensing and Merchandising and Fox
Music...
Along with the impressive performance of the 20th Century Fox production
division, the company has established Fox 2000, a mini-studio focusing on
general entertainment and Fox Searchlight Pictures, which produces specialized
films aimed at sophisticated adult audiences’ http://www.fox.co.uk/about
Production
‘Principal photography began in March 2011,
with filming taking place in Canada, England, Scotland,
Iceland, and Spain. Prometheus is scheduled for US release on June 8,
2012 through 20th Century Fox’ Wikipedia
‘Ridley Scott's sci-fi epic shot at Pinewood Studios using the world famous 007
Stage, the North
Lot and 7 other stages. This is the fifth time that Ridley Scott has shot
at the studios; previous films have included Alien, Legend, White Squall, and Robin Hood.
The Twentieth Century Fox, Scott Free Productions and Brandywine Productions
film, stars Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Michael
Fassbender (X-Men: First Class) and Academy Award®-winner Charlize
Theron (Monster).
Ridley Scott said of working at Pinewood and Shepperton: “It’s my
heritage, my personal heritage, I film everywhere in the world and I think all
things considered what we have to offer here are as good as anything you’re
going to get in Hollywood.”
Prometheus re-teams Scott with several of his long-time
collaborators, including production designer Arthur Max (Robin Hood,
American Gangster), Academy Award®-winning costume designer Janty Yates (Gladiator,
Robin Hood), and Academy Award®-winning editor Pietro Scalia (Black
Hawk Down, Gladiator), as well as set decorator Sonja Klaus (Robin
Hood, Kingdom of Heaven)’ http://www.pinewoodgroup.com/production/prometheus
Technology:
‘The entire movie has been shot in 3D and
the experience has been so compelling for Scott that he writes, “I will never
be the same again. Even with a dialogue scene, the arena in the room grows.
There is no question that you can be drawn in further by the feeling that you
are there.”’ http://good3dtv.com/3d-tv/prometheus-3d-in-the-making/
‘Ridley Scott hints that the violence
may have been toned-down enough to facilitate a PG-13 rating, but intriguingly
suggests that the impact will match the R-grade shocks of Alien and
Aliens. "The question is, do you go for the PG-13,
[which] financially makes quite a difference, or do you go for what it should
be, which is R? Essentially, it's kinda R."
"It's not just about the blood, it's about ideas that are very stressful.
I'm not an idiot, but I'll do everything I can to get the most aggressive film
I can."’ http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=33510
Stars:
‘Theron, Fassbender and Rapace are among Hollywood's most
intriguing actors. Theron is a resurgent force, with last year's comedy
"Young Adult" and this June's "Snow White and the Huntsman"
leading the way. Fassbender has recently become one of Hollywood's favorite actors
following his leading role in Steve McQueen's "Shame" and
scene-stealing turn as Magneto in "X-Men: First Class." And Rapace is
ready to take American audiences by storm with her first leading role in the
States following her "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" fame in
Sweden.’ http://www.nyunews.com/arts/2012/04/12/12prometheus1/
Distribution
‘It’s not enough that movie trailers entice you with what you’ll see in the
movie. From the marketing masterminds of ‘Prometheus’ here is a teaser for the
official movie trailer that is to come out on Thursday, December 22.
‘the marketing for Prometheus has really only hinted at its Alien
roots, and a sizable portion of the summer moviegoing audience they need to
show up will likely have never seen Scott's original sci-fi movie. So the
marketing has been even more creative and intriguing than usual, focusing
around the corporation Weyland Industries that sends the Nostromo ship into
space to begin with. There was the model
of the ship itself, the TED
Talk given by Peter Weyland himself (Guy Pearce), and now there's this
video to introduce us to David, the robot played by Michael Fassbender.’ http://www.cinemablend.com/new/prometheus-viral-celebrates-michael-fassbender-robot-david-30460.html
‘The marketing for Ridley Scott's upcoming "Prometheus" continues
to outshine that of recent releases (yes, even you, "Hunger Games").
20th Century Fox just released this video starring the dishy Michael
Fassbender, who plays the android David in the film.
This video is positioned as an ad for the fictitious Weyland Corp. and
introduces the creepy next-generation robot. It was previously teased in a "David
8" viral video.
‘In concert
with the movie's traditional marketing effort, which includes the trailer,
Scott and 20th Century Fox have pursued a second, more innovative path to
publicity. It began unexpectedly at this year's TED conference, with a
presentation by entrepreneur Peter Weyland, who powerfully articulated the
challenges facing a society beginning to question its own nature in the face of
rapidly advancing technology. Weyland's talk was one of the highlights of the
conference of presentations by thought leaders. The twist, of course, is that
Weyland isn't real. He's a character from "Prometheus," played by Guy
Pearce, and he was speaking from the year 2023!
The TED2023 promo video cooked up by Scott and writer Damon Lindelof
("Lost," "Star Trek") was released on the TED blog and
quickly became the subject of online articles and social-media discussions. It
is a great example of a technique sweeping the entertainment industry:
transmedia storytelling , in which a message or story is conveyed across
multiple platforms. Fans who received Weyland Industries
business cards at the Wondercon convention were led to another piece of
in-story content, titled "Big Things Have Small Beginnings," on
YouTube…
Unlike conventional trailers, which use rapidly cut, repurposed footage and
are widely available online along with straight clips, transmedia videos expand
the movie's narrative and encourage fans to immerse themselves more deeply into
the story. The advertising becomes part of the movie -- with the bonus that it
is tailored for mobile devices and sharing across social networks. Brands are
even beginning to leverage the power of HTML 5 technologies to create videos
with embedded interactive and social features’ http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/ridley-scott-s-prometheus-advertising-part-picture/233452/
The
film's opening 10 minutes screen in London, while Ridley Scott and Michael
Fassbender discuss the film's secrets http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/122/1222668p1.html Again, star and director used to promote the film.
Release
dates http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446714/releaseinfo
are staggered, probably to allow for
more promotion specific to each territory. Stars can attend more premieres, do more press interviews etc.
‘The
IMAX release of Prometheus will be digitally re-mastered into the image and
sound quality of The IMAX 3D Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital
Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's
customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique
environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie’ http://www.imax.com/movies/m/prometheus-an-imax-3d-experience/
There you have it: Prometheus in quite a large nut shell. Watch the full trailer below:
Fassbender the robot from Ridley Scott's Prometheus sells himself in this new viral video. Absolutely love it.
It seems Weyland Industries have really outdone themselves this time. This thing produces tears on cue and I just can't wait to see him tackle the tasks that humans may find 'distressing'.
