Film Review: Breathe

"No One's Ever Believed It's Possible To Live As You Do..."

Whilst Andy Serkis is the type of Hollywood star who can rarely do wrong in my own humble and completely correct opinion, his directorial debut in the form of Breathe puts aside the man we have come to know and love as Gollum, Caesar and that one armed chap from the MCU with a movie which is as far away from mystical beings and superhuman heroes as one could possibly get, with Serkis' debut focusing on the true story of Robin and Diana Cavendish and their lifelong battle with the former's fight with permanent paralysis after being stricken with polio. Whilst the film features a likeable leading duo in the form of Andrew Garfield and The Crown star, Claire Foy, Breathe is unfortunately a hard task of a movie, one which takes both too long to begin and an eternity to end in the space of a two hour runtime which utilises a narrative which really doesn't have enough to say at all in order to keep its' audience entertained throughout, and whilst there is real heart at the centre of the film's production, Serkis's movie is the type of movie which more often begins to grind the mind rather than warming the heart.

With an opening title which not only sets the pacing for the movie but evoked the workings of classic movies in a similar ilk to Sofia Coppola's beautifully crafted title card in The Beguiled earlier this year, Breathe begins by handing the audience the movie's leading relationship pretty quickly but without any real meaningful sense of substance, a decision which becomes much stranger as the film heads into a final act which easily could have been condensed into losing at least twenty minutes, twenty minutes which instead could have been spent on an opening act which focused more on the development of the meeting between Robin and Diana rather than just passing it off and expecting the audience to generate empathy from out of completely nowhere. Because of this decision, the opening act ultimately feels rushed whilst the concluding act features more endings than The Return of the King, and whilst I can enjoy saccharin sweetness when done effectively, Breathe is the type of movie which feels it necessary to flog the sympathy doll as much as possible without any of it really working. Sorry Mr. Serkis, we're off to a rocky start. 

Overall Score: 4/10

Film Review: Hacksaw Ridge

"Most Of These Men Don't Believe The Same Way You Do, But They Believe So Much In How Much You Believe..."

Eleven years after the non-stop intensity of Apocalypto, everyone's favourite crazy American Aussie returns to directorial duty with Hacksaw Ridge, a similarly profound and incredibly violent tale focusing on the true events of The Battle of Okinawa in the early months of 1945 and specifically upon the actions of Desmond Doss, the only conscientious objector to ever receive the Medal of Honour for his services during the taking of the titular Hacksaw Ridge, a cliff face of the Maeda Escarpment surrounded by Japanese forces. Taking on the challenge of a non-fiction wartime miracle, Mel Gibson's latest suffers from a fundamental flaw of being a movie of two halves, with the first half being primarily a cheesy, eye-gouging hour of character development which evokes everything from Forest Gump to Full Metal Jacket and a second half which can only be regarded as a simply stunning visualisation of the madness of war and one which ranks up there with the best there is to offer in regards to on-screen depictions of the Second World War. 

In the lead role as Desmond Doss, Andrew Garfield attempts to shows off his best Virginian accent amidst a performance which reeks of similarity to his character in Martin Scorsese's Silence in terms of his seemingly unbreakable penchant for sticking to his faith, whilst the rather formulaic and obvious narrative twists doesn't exactly give much meat to any other character throughout the course of the movie, particularly Teresa Palmer who is wasted as Doss' wife, Dorothy, who seems to be key in the first half of the movie but then disappears into the abyss of two-dimensional nothingness come the second act. Star of the show however is a joint title for both Hugo Weaving and Vince Vaughn, with the latter channelling his meanest R. Lee Ermey and provoking a rafter of laughs from the audience during a superb Drill Sergeant scene which of course harks back to Full Metal Jacket, a film which similarly suffers from a superb first act but then loses steam after the half way mark. After the brilliance of Apocalypto, Hacksaw Ridge does seem like a fall back into second gear, with Gibson's latest more of a crowd-pleasing romp in contrast to his other work yet for the time it was on screen, it was a solid and overly violent roller-coaster. Well, just in its' second act. 

Overall Score: 7/10

Film Review: Silence

"The Moment You Set Foot In That Country, You Step Into High Danger..."

Is there really a better way to start off the year than in the presence of the master of cinema himself, Martin Scorsese? Well, it does depend on what mood he is in I suppose. Whilst I can enjoy the silliness of films such as Cape Fear and Shutter Island, particularly the latter with its' brilliantly honky soundtrack, every true cinephile wishes for the chance to witness for the first time the next Taxi Driver or Goodfellas, particularly when those respective films are the ones which will go down as the true classics of the Scorsese back catalogue. What we have with the latest Scorsese flick therefore is a highly publicised pet project of the legendary director, one which has been squirming within development hell since the 1990's, and one which acts as the end point for the unofficial trilogy of religion-based dramas which began with The Last Temptation of Christ, succeeded with Kundun and now concludes with Silence, based upon the 1966 novel of the same name by Japanese author Shūsaku Endō and featuring a screenplay by Gangs of New York writer Jay Cocks as well as Scorsese himself, adding writing credits to a film for the first time since Casino. Whilst Silence is undoubtedly an impressive piece of cinema, boasting some fine performances and stunning cinematography, Silence is a Scorsese movie which can only be described as an incredibly laboured experience, one which falters in its' rather plodded screenplay and a runtime which sits on the edge of utter misjudgement. 

With a eye-boggling length of 160 minutes, 15 minutes longer than Goodfellas and pretty much nearly an hour over Taxi Driver, Silence is not only a movie which portrays the element of faith being tested on-screen, it is also a movie which tests its' audience's patience, relying on the overkill of numerous torture scenes to get its' point across, acting as the cornerstone of each chapter, amongst endless acts of faith-ridden sacrifices and the questioning of a faith which has completely been lost in the "swamp" of 17th Century Japan. Whilst the movie plods along in a sub-par Apocalypse Now-esque fashion, Silence is saved by some top-end performances throughout, particularly from the leading trio of Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Liam Neeson, whilst Issey Ogata's eerie portrayal of High Inquisitor Inoue Masashige adds the villainous element to alarming effect. Whilst the release of a Scorsese movie is undoubtedly a cause for celebration, Silence feels like exactly what it is; a glorified pet project for a man whose best seems to be behind him. Whilst Silence is no means a terrible film, it is one of those rare cases of a movie which is undoubtedly an impressive example of film-making, but instead of blessing us with a masterclass, only succeeds in testing our patience. Lose a good forty minutes, use fewer examples of torture and we might have had a real winner to start the year. Sorry Martin, A Monster Calls is a better film.

Overall Score: 6/10