Director Xavier Dolan's latest film It's Only the End of the World is currently in cinemas and despite a very mixed reaction from critics, I was very impressed with it. But then, to be fair, I'll watch anything with Vincent Cassell in it! Here's a snippet of my review from the London Film Festival:
Xavier
Dolan becomes the Roland Emmerich of melodrama with his apocalyptic family
reunion in It’s Only the End of the World. Not even a single plate gets smashed
as a French family collide over a single day, but the emotional devastation is
worth more than a thousand alien spaceships smashing their way into the planet.
It might not really be the end of the world, but for these characters, there
may never be another chance for them to express their heightened emotions.
For writer Louis (Gaspard Ulliel) however,
time is most definitely running out. With his terminal illness weighing heavily
on his mind, Louis returns to his family home after a twelve year absence to
tell his mother, brother and sister that he is dying. His older brother Antoine
(Vincent Cassel) is filled with resentment for everyone around him, younger
sister Suzanne (Lea Seydoux) barely knows the brother who left when she was
only a child and Antoine’s wife Catherine (Marion Cotillard) is meeting Louis
for the first time. As tensions boil between the siblings, Louis must find the
right time to deliver his devastating news.
Do you really need three stories for the price of one? Tale of Tales thinks so. I wouldn't mind, but apart from being set in the same world, these three have nothing to do with each other. Pulp Fiction this ain't. This film is completely mad, but not in the most satisfying of ways. Here's the synopsis bit of my review:
Based on a 17th century collection of tales by Italian author
Giambattista Basile, the film features three different storylines, not
all as engaging as each other and never tied together in any
satisfactory way. First up, Salma Hayek and John C. Reilly take centre
stage as the king and queen of a dusty kingdom where all the
entertainers in the land can’t keep the queen from desiring a baby.
After a visit from a mysterious hooded figure who offers them the chance
of creating offspring, Reilly’s devoted king steps up to the plate and
boldly goes to kill off a sea monster in order for his wife to be able
to eat the heart and thus, magically conceive. Needless to say, things
are never this simple and things soon turn awry.
Meanwhile,
Vincent Cassel is a lecherous king who has seemingly used up all the
women in his nearby kingdom and is looking for more playmates to be
debauched with. After hearing a lone beauty singing beneath his castle
walls, he ventures out to find the owner of such a sweet voice. Little
does he know, the voice belongs to one of a pair of ugly old crone
sisters who may or may not have found their way here after auditioning
for Cinderella. Not wanting the king to see them in their decrepit
state, they hide behind the door of their home but the king is nothing
if not persistent. Then things get really weird.
Finally, Toby
Jones is yet another king, whose only daughter he dotes on until the day
he discovers he has a talented flea who has taken a shine to him. While
the flea grows into his beloved pet, his teen daughter wants to find a
prince, but gets more than she bargained for when her father makes a
dubious choice by giving her to an ogre.
There is a creeping
sense of familiarity when watching Mon Roi, a drama that examines the complexity
of the relationship between a husband and wife over ten years. Luckily though, Mon Roi
never feels like ten years to watch, and in detailing the ups and downs
of a modern marriage, it demands attention throughout. You can always depend on
Vincent Cassel for a terrific performance and Mon Roi may just be one of his
best yet, even to those with extraordinarily high expectations of the actor.
Mon Roi
tells the story of the turbulent relationship of Tony (Emmanuelle Bercot) and
Georgio (Vincent Cassel), as Tony reminisces on the high and lows of her
marriage while recuperating at a physiotherapy facility with a broken leg. The pair
meet (in flashbacks) after Tony has already freed herself from one previous marriage, and
Georgio’s charm and charisma win her over easily. Much to her brother’s vocal
disapproval, Tony and Georgio fall madly in love, marry and have a child
together. While in the present, Tony makes slow progress in getting her leg
working again, she looks back at what went wrong in her marriage and reflects
on the love she may still feel for Georgio.
Mon Roi
means My King and it is an apt title for this story of one woman’s inability to
move on from the problematic love of her life. Tony can be a frustrating character for not
being able to see Georgio for what he truly is, and for constantly ending up
back in his bed, even after it is clear he is an arch manipulator. The strength
of Mon Roi lies in making Tony sympathetic throughout, even if she does make
some poor decisions. Her love for Georgio is unquestionable and to writer and
director Maiwenn’s credit, it is almost completely convincing that Tony would
keep coming back for more from Georgio.
Vincent
Cassel’s perfect performance is fearless in its deconstruction of this character.
Cassel excels at the beginning of the film, showing exactly why Tony would
fall in love with Georgio. He is funny, successful and devoted to Tony; that is
until one of his exes slits her wrists and cracks start to develop in their
relationship. Cracks become fissures and soon, with a baby on the way, the
compatibility of these once joyful lovers is called seriously into question.
Cutting
back and forth between the past and present makes Mon Roi a well-paced and
involving drama at just over two hours in length. The scenes of Tony having physical
therapy are quick and concise, until later in the film when she develops some
friendships with the other patients with leg injuries. Director Maiwenn flits
through the relationship; it’s like having a peek inside Tony’s memories as
she attempts to heal her leg and her heart. Watching these characters grow, and
more worryingly, repeat their same previous mistakes again and again is never a
chore. The concern for the child growing up between them is felt more keenly as
the film progresses, especially as it becomes clearer just how calculating and
cold Georgio can be. It’s impressive that Cassel manages to keep his character
from being utterly and irreparably infuriating.
The flawed
characters make Mon Roi very convincing. This is a relationship plucked
straight from the real world and by the conclusion, Maiwenn's story has a brief but
potent tug at the heart strings. In a final scene of the film, her direction,
the cinematography and Emmanuelle Bercot’s terrific performance culminate in a
heart wrenching moment of clarity. The message is clear; you cannot choose who
you fall in love with, though life could be so much simpler if only there was an
off-switch for these feelings. It’s not an outstanding film but it packs an
emotional punch without resorting to tragedy.
Partisan stars the legendary icon of La Haine, Vincent Cassel, and was screened at the London Film Festival in 2015. It will be in UK cinemas on Friday 8th January.
In
an ambiguous post-apocalyptic future (or alternative present), one man
is surrounded only by women and children, with the little boys around
him being trained to commit assassinations. This cult-leader-like figure
is a million miles from Mad Max's Immortan Joe, his wives and
War Boys and herds of souped-up vehicles hurtling across the Namibian
desert. It may seem a strange comparison but there is something familiar
between the Immortan cult of Fury Road and the Vincent Cassel-led cult in Partisan.
I've got three wonderful screenings lined up this weekend; two for Filmoria and one just for me (though I may end up reviewing it for Filmoria too). Rob Zombie's new horror The Lords of Salem stars his good old wife Sheri Moon Zombie again and looks far more interesting than his other films so far, particularly those last two Halloween remakes. From the trailer below, it looks very atmospheric and almost like it is going for a slightly more mature style than his earlier films. Less all out gore and brutality and more of a focus on a single female character who may or may not be going crazy perhaps? Perhaps it's even fair to say The Lords of Salem looks like Rob Zombie has been studying the likes of Dario Argento and Roman Polanski. Perhaps.
Trance is Danny Boyle's first film since 127 Hours. Danny Boyle is one of my favourite directors for three reasons: Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and 127 Hours. He may have been busy with a theatre version of Frankenstein and the small matter of the London Olympics Opening Ceremony (which I have still yet to see as I was on honeymoon in Costa Rica), but he is back with a great cast, a very interesting and trippy, twisty sounding premise and one of my favourite actors Vincent Cassell. I literally cannot wait to see this film. Though Boyle has had the odd misfire, I think this looks like a good one. My Danny Boyle Retrospective is going up on Filmoria tomorrow so please check it out. I've been going through his entire back catalogue which has mostly been a pleasure.
I'm not sure what to think about this next one. The Liability is a British hit man thriller. It's got a great cast with Tim Roth, Peter Mullan and Jack O'Connell and despite the silly macho voice over in this trailer, looks like quite a bit of fun potentially. I'll watch Tim Roth in anything and Jack O'Connell is bound to be a very big star eventually. He was great in Tower Block and is already set for bigger things with the upcoming 300 prequel.
