Film Review: Colette

"My Name Is Gabrielle Colette And The Hand That Holds The Pen Writes History..."

Touted as a rousing return to form for Keira Knightley after the critical massacre of Collateral Beauty, Colette, directed by British filmmaker, Wash Westmoreland, a Leeds-born artist most famous for the Academy Award winning drama, Still Alice, back in 2014, brings to the big screen the life of French writer and actress, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, who at the beginning of the twentieth century and under the guise of her husband's pen name, seemingly changed the face of French literature forever, bringing into the public eye a world of fascination and intrigue which even in the twenty first century still feels undoubtedly relevant and contemporary. For a movie which in one of its' very opening scenes feels brave enough to contain a particularly scabrous monologue regarding the inability to leave the theatre even when what is occurring on stage is of a particularly awful pedigree, such a bookmark would be the easy fallback if Colette itself fell into the same category of mediocrity, yet with equally superb performances from central the pairing of Knightley and Dominic West (The Wire), beautiful set designs and a refreshing indifferent and laid back approach to the varying underlying themes within the narrative, Westmoreland's latest is a fulfilling and gorgeously fascinating depiction of an historical icon and a movie which feels almost too timely considering the current societal climate. 

Featuring a screenplay from the combined writing talents of Westmoreland himself, Rebecca Lenkiewicz (Ida) and Richard Glatzer, the previous spouse and collaborator of Westmoreland who tragically passed away back in 2015, Colette both embraces the traditions of a period drama piece with the expected levels of authenticity and attention to detail whilst also attempting to cripple the cliches attached to the genre with as much empowering and radical ideas as its' leading heroine's effect on the world of literature. With the humble beginnings of Knightley's titular youthful country girl portraying her as a doe-eyed, slightly innocent dreamer, her character immediately becomes hooked under the spell of Dominic West's growling, moustache bearing, Henry, a well regarded author and critic who utilises the pen name "Willy" in his Parisian homeland and who slowly begins to publish his wife's tales of "Claudine" under his own name, resulting in sudden fame, fortune and rapturous acclaim. Whilst it could have been easy for Colette to jump on the #MeToo bandwagon in regards to film's underlying theme regarding the exploitation of power in regards to gender, Westmoreland's film refreshingly approaches such notions with expert delicacy, and whilst there are definite moments of dramatic female empowerment, the movie never felt preachy or sanctimonious, instead treating wandering sexual orientations and gender fluidity with a degree of nonchalance which really impressed. Whilst the film as a whole could have done with at least twenty minutes knocked off the final runtime, Colette is a movie which held a point, presented it magnificently and left you wondering where on earth the real Keira Knightley has been for the past however many years. 

Overall Score: 7/10

Film Review: Tomb Raider

"You Messed With The Wrong Family..."

With Angelina Jolie and co. all the way back in 2001 showing how not to make a half decent video game adaptation with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, a movie perhaps best remembered for featuring a pre-martini'd Daniel Craig in his youthful glory and the most annoying supporting character ever in the form of Noah Taylor's I.T addicted Brit, here we are seventeen years later bearing witness to yet another cinematic franchise reboot with Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) taking over the reigns as the titular wall climbing heroine. Based upon the similarly titled 2013 video game from developers Square Enix, a game of which I can confess to playing from beginning to end and thoroughly enjoying, Tomb Raider, directed by Roar Uthaug (The Wave) follows the more robust and hunter-gatherer motif of the rebooted game series, utilising a much younger and innocent Croft as she develops her skills and understanding of the mystical forces of nature in a Casino Royale styled coming-of-age fashion, and whilst the movie does remain loyal to its' foundations with some interesting ideas and a dedicated leading lady, Uthaug's movie is still slightly under par of something which should have been much more entertaining. 

With Vikander adding a staggering amount of muscle in preparation for the role, her physical demeanour and willingness to at least look the part lands kudos points on her as an individual, and whilst the Swede is an undeniably likeable leading star, her approach to the role of Lara Croft is somewhat undermined by a screenplay which tends to verge on the edge of slumbering dullness, particularly in its' first half when we move from the urban wasteland of contemporary London through to the mysterious island of Yamatai via a stop-off in a thieve-ridden Hong Kong. Where the movie does eventually pick up the pace is in Croft's discovery of the island she so dearly seeks in order to answer questions regarding her father's disappearance, an area which formed the basis of the 2013 video game, and a location which introduces both Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight) as the underwritten primary antagonist and Dominic West's (The Wire) hermit-esque and poorly wigged father figure whose narrative arc does seem relatively cliched. Concluding with a poorly managed "twist" which comes across as the definition of shark jumping, Tomb Raider is a somewhat mediocre blockbuster adventure and one which suffers primarily from a tendency for action over substance, but with Vikander an enjoyable leading presence with a kick-ass sensibility, the latest video game adaptation just about crosses the line. 

Overall Score: 5/10

Film Review: Money Monster

"GET SOME BALLS"

Wall Street. Money. If films like The Wolf of Wall Street and most recently, Adam McKay's The Big Short, one of my most recent additions to the ever-growing collection of brilliant movies I now own, are indicators of how disgustingly green and shallow such a location in the world is then Jodie Foster's, yes, that Jodie Foster, Money Monster is somewhat a kettle of similar fish, albeit a much lesser pedigree when placed against its' predecessors. If The Big Short is a fresh caught grilled salmon, then Money Monster is a week old cod, one left in the freezer for a good week and then battered and covered with seasoning and sauces in order to pass it up as something of quality. Okay, a bit harsh, but there is no denying that Money Monster is a slump of a let-down, a film which attempts to drift between high-tension drama and elements of comedy whilst being tent-poled by a supposed smart plot yet comes off as something of a wimp, with the clichéd and borderline generic story playing its' hand way too early in order to establish the thrills it attempts to create. 

Amidst another day in the high-profile life of financial guru and host of hot TV show "Money Monster", Lee Gates, played in a somewhat laughable high-key manner by everyone's favourite Batman (NOT) George Clooney, swiftly gets taken hostage on air by Jack O'Connell's Kyle Budwell, a young working man left in arrears due to the collapse of IBIS Clear Capital's stock, owned by the ridiculously and rather too obvious sneaky CEO Walt Camby (The Wire's Dominic West). Add into the mix Julia Roberts' director-come-leaver Patty, and Money Monster is the formulaic, on-the-nose snooze-fest the trailers unfortunately stated that it possibly would become. Thrills? Not one, with any chance of a build-up of tension being undercut by silly moments of comedy, some of which may have generated one or two laughs, but ultimately felt completely wrong and almost alien in a film of this kind. Although Jodie Foster gives it a good stab at her own variation of the much superior Inside Man, a film in which she starred in and seems to admire, Money Monster is suitably lacklustre and rather quite disappointing. On the subject of money, Clooney and Roberts must be laughing at their cheque with that being the only reason why they decided to star in such a film. Hollywood nepotism? Perhaps. But hey, Jack O'Connell is great. 

Overall Score: 4/10