Film Review: Official Secrets

"Someone In This Building Has Betrayed Their Government And Their Country..."

Released during a particular time in the political stratosphere when whistleblowers are more over the news than your daily page three girl, Official Secrets is the latest from South African filmmaker, Gavin Hood, whose journey into the realm of mainstream blockbusters in the ilk of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Enders Game ended a couple of years back with the impressively taut and overwhelmingly relevant independent drama, Eye in the Sky, featuring a career best performance from Helen Mirren. Following on from the discussion-heavy notions at the heart of his previous film, Hood's latest in the form of Official Secrets is equally politically centered, an engaging, if somewhat televisual big screen re-telling of actual events set into motion by Katharine Gun, a former British intelligence agent who during her time working for GCHQ within the era of the Bush/Blair administration at the turn of the twenty first century, leaked a top secret memo detailing America's attempts to eavesdrop on United Nations diplomats in order to blackmail them into agreeing a resolution into the much discussed invasion of Iraq. 

With Adam McKay already touching familiar political territory at the start of the year in the form of the thoroughly entertaining and cinematically manic, Vice, Hood's movie is essentially Britain's answer to the controversies which were happening on the other side of the pond at exactly the same time, with particular oodles of television based exposition directly mirroring similar set pieces seen in McKay's movie. Where Official Secrets differs however is in its' fundamentally frank storytelling, a cold-war esque spy thriller which takes more from the writings of John le Carré than say Oliver Stone, director of Snowden, as we follow Keira Knightley's (Collette) portrayal of Gun from quiet desk merchant to hotly publicised traitor after her leak is published by Matt Smith's (Doctor Who) wavy haired journalist and the stress of an official inquest forces her to admit to being the one responsible for such a breach of law. With the narrative engaging, the acting predominantly successful, aside from Rhys Ifans' incredibly shouty mouthpiece of justice, and the topic more than relevant, Official Secrets is a confidently executed piece of drama which suffers massively from one major downside; it shouldn't really be in cinemas, and with that in mind, expect Hood's movie to be on BBC Two in the eight thirty evening slot as soon as possible.  

Overall Score: 6/10 

Film Review: Hampstead

"Everyone Wants Me To Change And Now You Too..."

Aided by a successful long-term collaboration with Woody Allen and a recurring starring role within Coppola's Godfather trilogy, Diane Keaton remains one of the most iconic actresses to cross the barrier between the 20th and 21st century, and whilst the spotlight hasn't entirely shone on the Californian star within recent years, Hampstead offers the opportunity for Keaton to show whether or not she still has the acting pedigree she once had when working back in the day alongside a rafter of incredibly talented and inspirational filmmakers. In the opposite chair, the contemporary icon of Ireland which is Brendan Gleeson graces the big screen once again with perhaps the most impressive beard he has grown to date, portraying a character within a narrative which bases itself upon the life of Harry Hallowes, a rough sleeping Londoner who after a rafter of legal battles managed to become the owner of land worth a breezy couple of million. Directed by Joel Hopkins, Hampstead is a remarkably safe, nuts and bolts romantic drama, one which although brought me within an inch of falling into a sleep induced coma, when up against the likes of Transformers this week, is really quite harmless. 

Whilst Keaton is a shadow of her former acting self, taking a plain sailing approach to a character who chops and changes her decision making whenever the narrative direction tells her to do so, Gleeson is as charming and watchable as ever, using his gruff, edgy demeanour to some form of effect, even if the character development doesn't really offer him or the audience up much more than an on-the-face-of-it kind of approach. Aside from the film's two leading stars, Hampstead suffers rather woefully from an excruciating array of secondary characters, with Jason Watkins and Lesley Manville being the leading lights of utter tedium, with the former's eerie, pestering nature being a complete hindrance on any sort of likeability whilst the latter suffering from what can only be regarded as being the type of toffee-nosed, greenhouse loving, cat hating, right-wing bastard which I tend to completely disagree with from the outset. Aside from such matters, Hampstead is similar to the likes of the Moody Blues or say the last remaining rich tea in the biscuit tin, with it not really causing much damage at all but not likely to spring to the forefront of many people's minds at any time soon. 

Overall Score: 4/10

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

Film Review: Eye In The Sky

"Never Tell A Soldier That He Does Not Know The Cost Of War..."

Having just arrived back from the drone-filled mayhem of Muse's tenure at the O2 Arena, a gig in which the infamous remote-controlled weapons of destruction wowed me and my fellow rockers by flying around our heads in proper mind-boggling fashion, something of which a band like Muse could only get away with, the chance to witness Eye in the Sky was a chance to embrace the deadly nature of the world's newest and deadliest form of killing machines, where although drone-filled media scares fill the news almost 24/7, a chance to display their true ambiguity was something I was inherently interested in, particularly after last years' somewhat disappointing Good Kill, the Ethan Hawke thriller which attempted to cover similar territory. With a solid cast featuring the likes of Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and Alan Rickman in one of his last performances before his untimely death this year, Eye in the Sky definitely had the chance to be the first mainstream movie to highlight the power of drone warfare and the polarised views upon it across the world. Did it succeed? Absolutely, with Eye in the Sky being a powerful, if sometimes ludicrous and slightly silly, war drama focusing on the morally complex issue of 21st century warfare.

Although following a plot-line remarkably similar to that of Good Kill, with the scenes in Nevada bearing an almost uncanny resemblance between the two, Eye in the Sky attempts to highlight the ambiguity and indecisive nature of the armchair warfare which engulfs the modern-day war on terror by handing us a situation in which the death of one may indeed help stop the deaths of many more in the future. Helming the responsibility of such is Helen Mirren's Colonel Powell, a military intelligence officer hell bent on capturing or killing top ranking Al-Shabaab extremists of which they have located in Nairobi, Kenya whilst being surrounded by Alan Rickman's General Benson in London and Aaron Paul's drone pilot Steve Watts, situated in the heart of the Nevada desert. Although Mirren shines in the lead role, it is Rickman and Paul who deserve the most critical attention with the hardened veteran being offset by the relative newcomer, broken by the power of his actions and the consequences it ultimately leads to. Some shoddy dialogue aside, with an abundance of cringe-worthy exposition, and rather silly CGI-created on-screen drones, Eye in the Sky is an of-the-moment war drama, one that has the strength of its' conviction to end the correct way and one that will no doubt heighten the awareness of drone warfare and the problems it fundamentally brings with it. 

Overall Score: 7/10