Film Review: Stan & Ollie

"You're Not Leaving, Are You, Stan? The Show Must Go On..."

Directed by Scottish filmmaker, Jon S. Baird, perhaps most famous for bringing Irvine Welsh's scorchingly jet black comedy, Filth, to the big screen back in 2013, Stan and Ollie very much steps in the complete opposite direction, with Baird's latest a surprisingly low key and slightly muted biographical drama focusing on the later lives of both Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy as played by Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge) and John C. Reilly (We Need To Talk About Kevin) respectively. Based on a screenplay from Jeff Pope who reunites with Coogan after their work together on the Bafta winning, Philomena, Baird's latest primarily drops the audience into the tail end of the legendary comedy duos' career, one previously stuffed with fame, fortune and rapturous critical plaudits but which has now seemingly fizzled out, resulting in the middle aged stars returning to the shores of the UK in order to secure the finances for a potential big screen project. With a central screenplay which chooses to rely primarily on the central relationship between the two stars, Stan and Ollie is a charming yet frustrating movie, one which works on the strength of its' leading performers but ultimately feels significantly flat in its' storytelling approach, resulting in a movie which fails to ever feel cinematic and would probably be better served on the small screen rather than in a multiplex where it may fail to garner significant audience interest. 

With Pope's screenplay relatively straightforward and simple, to the extent that the movie almost felt as if it could have been made in the era of its' leading characters, the neutral sensibility of the movie does ultimately lack any real push, flash or energy to propel the movie into another gear, and in comparison to the likes of other biographical dramas which focus on central historical figures much less charismatic and well known than the likes of Laurel and Hardy, Baird's movie does ultimately feel somewhat of a missed opportunity when examining the piece as a whole. Where the film does ultimately work however is in the strengths of particular building blocks which make up the final piece, with none more so than the central superbly cast pairing of Coogan and Reilly who embrace the sweaty, exhausting lifestyles of men attempting to revamp their careers after decades of excessive levels of fame. With Coogan slightly more reserved in his comedic output in comparison to his previous on-screen roles, the tender balance between himself and the prosthetics heavy Reilly relies on a level of substance and depth which is completely absent from any other character relationships within the movie, particularly that of the criminally wasted female characters including the wonderful Shirley Henderson. With the best parts of the movie undoubtedly the pair's reenactment of particular famous Laurel and Hardy sketches, it goes without saying that when a film seems stretched even with a ninety minute runtime, something seems to have been lost in translation, but with the beaming smiles of Coogan and Reilly to help you through to the end, Stan and Ollie is good enough, just not as spectacular and memorable as its' central iconic subjects.  

Overall Score: 6/10

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: A United Kingdom

"No Man Is Free Who Is Not Master of Themselves..."

Carrying on in the footsteps of Allied, A United Kingdom, the third feature film from Amma Asante after A Way of Life and the heavily costumed drama, Belle, is another example of a film endangered by the severity of its' plot leakage within its' trailer, a trailer which not only has circulated the cinematic spectrum for months now, but is indeed another case study in how revealing too much just isn't worthwhile to the overall enjoyment of the film as a whole. Within the two-plus minutes of the trailer for A United Kingdom, the film's narrative is not only explained two-fold, albeit a formality of any teaser for an upcoming movie nowadays, but shows all of the film's highlights, highlights which when seen in the extended and fulsome picture just begs the question whether it was worth extending that 120 seconds into just under 120 minutes. Thankfully for A United Kingdom, the film ultimately does manage to pull through this fundamental issue and becomes a sweetly smart romantic drama, led primarily by the enormous acting talent of David Oyelowo who attempts to swerve the film away from near over-sentimentality and sort of succeeds amongst a string of two-dimensional portraits of characters that surround him.

Amongst the positives within Assante's latest, Oyelowo is undoubtedly the stand out performer, taking one tear-inducing scene in particular in his stride and giving the sort of performance similar to the much lauded and critically praised one in Selma. With Oyelowo in the driving seat, Pike is strangely underused in some way, resorting to the archetypal stranded mother character without having much chance to stand up and take control aside from a short scene in which we are meant to believe a quick detour to help out the locals completely wins over the puzzled masses. Although the film does begin in a rather hokey fashion, as soon as it departs into Botswana, the narrative does pick up and takes a satisfying dramatic turn, mixing in social issues, politics and romance, accumulating in a film which is strongest when it explores the overarching issues rather than the romance entwined within it, resulting in a somewhat messy outcome, but one which was enjoyable for the most part with Oyelowo's performance one of the main reasons to seek it out. 

Overall Score: 7/10

Film Review: David Brent: Life on the Road

"On The Road Is Where I Really Come Alive..."

Hands up who has seen The Office? No, me neither, and although the critically acclaimed BBC comedy drama has been on the mental watch-list for some time now, it just happens to be one of those programmes that I have never got around to watching along with countless others that I'll probably get around to when I'm retired or out of work for any prolonged period of time within the near future. Not watching The Office however hasn't swayed anticipation for David Brent: Life On The Road, mainly due to the reputation of Gervais as a comedian but also down to the succession of trailers over the past few months, of which have been smirk-inducingly cringey, in a good way, to say the least. Whilst the finished article isn't exactly in the same league as classic mockumentaries such as This Is Spinal Tap and Borat, Life On The Road is a solid and somewhat heartwarming comedy that although may not be for everyone, hits the right notes for at least two thirds of the films' run-time yet struggles for the one third in which it begins to lose its' comedic appeal. 

How would you categorise the comedic appeal of David Brent's character? Cringe-inducing? Most definitely. Awkward. Definitely. Hysterically disengaged from social interaction almost altogether? Even more so, and it is these traits that Gervais plays upon throughout the film's modest 90 minute run-time, a run-time which for the most part allows Brent's character to grow and make its' mark upon the new arrivals to the character's behaviour even if sometimes the film seems to seep into a rather repetitive nature, particularly when we are taken from one musical venue to the next only to be treated to a repeat of almost the same gags. Although this particular weakness suggests a gag running out of steam half way through the movie, being in the company of Brent is welcoming enough to battle through and save the movie from perhaps being a slight drag. Amidst a few jokes that come and go with a sense of being completely unresponsive, Life On The Road is a solid cinematic debut for the character of David Brent, and although it may not find a wide enough audience to become the huge success the character of Brent wants to become within the film, it may indeed push new recruits to seek out Gervais' earlier incarnations of the same character. If I get time that is. 

Overall Score: 6/10