FILM SPOT - Another Year & The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Both 2010)

I don't mean to seem lazy. Squeezing two reviews into one may seem a little sluggish to you, but I am well behind on reviews and I am seeing Monsters tomorrow, provided all goes well so I'm going to do two mini reviews in the same blog post. Two very different films, I am looking at Mike Leigh's Another Year and Daniel Alfredson's The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. If any of you are asking why I am not reviewing Harry Potter, let me be honest. I have no real aversion to Harry Potter, but I am working long days and I am not going to drag my bony arse to the cinema to watch a film series I'm not all that interested in, especially since thanks to a million slightly blabbermouthed people, I know what happens at the end. Just so you know, Harry ends up joining the circus and Hermione detonates in a ball of toxic flame. So I don't have much interest in seeing it. I respect the series however especially in lieu of the existence of the Twilight franchise which thankfully is actually ending at some point soon in the form of Breaking Dawn, but they're splitting that fucker into two films much like the old HP sauce finale, thus prolonging the agony. It will end at some point soon however, so hopefully we won't have to put up with the shrieking insane numbskulls that make up the majority of Twilight's fanbase (Note: Majority. For those friends of mine who do like it...it's okay, one day you'll get over it). I think if I had more time on my hands, I'd go and see more bad films or more major franchises, but alas, my time is limited. Right, well, the films I have seen recently.

Another Year (2010)

I have a huge aversion to kitchen sink dramas, and one of my concerns when going to see this film was that despite the glowing reviews it was receiving I would hate it. There's nothing worse than people pouring scorn on you for not liking a Mike Leigh film, and was worried my reputation as a cinema snob might actually suffer damage if I did not like it. As I sat down, I banished my fears, and just told myself to not try to like it, and let it wash over me. In the event, I did enjoy the film. It's a very good piece of film-making, with a huge amount of heart and contains wonderfully nuanced characters whose interplay is of course realistic and sometimes very funny. As with most Mike Leigh films, it's not really cinematic per se; the camera is mostly glued to the spot, and the most common shot is either a close up or a two-shot. It is very theatre, and to be fair to it doesn't pretend to be anything else. Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen play Tom and Gerri (yes, it is referenced in the film), a happily married couple for thirty years or so, live and work and the world moves around them. They are a pair of good Samaritans, and are good friends of Mary (Lesley Manville) who is a dotty, slightly slutty older woman who has clearly had some bad luck in relationships and more often than not, made bad decisions and did not learn from them. They have a son, Joe (Oliver Maltman) who is single and they are worried that he won't find a girlfriend. The film is essentially four segments, starting in the summer and finishing in the winter. The main dramatic point is Mary, who starts displaying an attraction to Joe, and ultimately humiliates herself by making a terrible faux-pas when Joe turns up with a new girlfriend in autumn time. Other dramatic strands include a friend of Tom from Hull, who talks about his frustrations with work and life, and makes a pass at Mary at a party and is spurned by her. There are other stories, but the main work of the film is connected to Mary. Mary is an excellent character, mainly because she is a very recognisable person. Everyone knows a Mary somewhere; middle-aged woman who drinks like a fish and makes a fool of herself more often than she herself realises. This is why the film works.

Ken and Mary - Not a couple.

The characters are believable and real. The story has astonishing depth considering, and makes for a great deal of drama despite the what you would think of as limited material. It is a slow film, but that's fine because the devil is in the details. I think the fact that instead of going for a 'and they all lived happily ever after' ending and going for a 'that's life' ending, it actually works. I'm not a fan of downer endings, but the film recognises that Mary should not be rewarded for her hideous foolishness. It was always going to end badly for her, who on earth was she kidding? There is redemption in there somewhere though, and at least they manage to make Mary likeable for the duration despite the fact you know it could not possibly work out between her and Joe and that, in a way, her big mistake was spurning Ken. The film is strong and loveable, and while I will admit that it isn't exactly the cheeriest thing you will see all year, the relationship of Tom and Gerri (and respectively the performances of Broadbent and Sheen) stops it from becoming dour and depressing.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)

The Girl Who Played with Fire was something of a disappointment. It was good, no doubt, but it suffered by being far, far too long. While we felt the net closing around her, it just wasn't as tense as it could have been. The final instalment however, is an excellent film that claws back the tension that the first film had and also retains some of its mystery. It is a little televisual, admittedly, mainly because it was actually filmed for TV in its native Sweden, but visually it didn't have to be a thumper to work. It has some pretty cracking editing too, the scene particularly involving Lisbeth going to the courtroom 'to war' is scintillating. All the film needed was an understanding of its characters and the story, something which not a lot of films actually have these days. The film has this in bucketloads, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is again the charismatic and appealing journalist who fights for Lisbeth's innocence in this film, and Noomi Rapace is just brilliant as Lisbeth, the girl with the dragon tattoo herself. The film starts with Lisbeth as we left her, suffering from an attack from her father in the previous film. Unexpectedly, the threat you think Lisbeth will be facing in the film becomes something else entirely, and the film unfolds a decades old conspiracy that essentially contrived to ruin Lisbeth's life from when she was a young girl. This abuse she suffered at the hands of her tormentors becomes the main thrust of the plot, and that evil, unrepentant lumps of nasty like Dr. Teleborian (Anders Ahlban) expect to and usually do get away with all kinds of horror.

You go girl!

It isn't as twisty-turny as the first film, but still creates a fairly labyrinthine plot where old men who thought they'd gotten away with their crimes cannot hide anymore. I think saying too much more might ruin it, but I have to say I have enjoyed the adventures of Lisbeth Salander, one of the best female characters in modern cinema. She is strong, independent and tough. However, she is also flawed, being unable to connect with people, is oddly vulnerable and recognises in Mikael a real friend who will stand by her. I also have to say, hell hath no fury like Lisbeth scorned; this girl gets some serious revenge going in the film. It does peter out a little, and while the reconciliation between Mikael and Lisbeth is quite touching, it's a shame they didn't expand on the knowledge that this was the final film and give it more closure. This was on account of the fact that the author of the books these were based on died unexpectedly, but still. I would definitely recommend seeing this, but you might be a bit clueless if you haven't seen either of the first two films (although the second film is directly connected to the third, so it makes more sense when seeing that one especially). The dragon tattoo's Swedish legacy has concluded, but of course we have David Fincher taking the reins on the remake with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. This could result in a more cinematic film, but it will suffer without its spectacularly good leads, especially Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth. Let's hope they don't make Lisbeth angry.