The Darjeeling Limited (2009)

Director: Wes Anderson

Story: Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola

Cast: Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody

Time: 91 minutes

Bottom-line: Showcases Anderson’s style, but a disappointing film 

Made as a tribute to Indian director Satyajit Ray, Wes Anderson’s India-based drama is the tale of three brothers on a train journey in the subcontinent. The film stars Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody as the brothers, with Amara Khan and Anjelica Huston in the supporting roles, and several others like Bill Murray and Irrfan Khan chipping in with cameos. 

A man, Peter Whitman (Brody) barely boards the train The Darjeeling Limited, where he reunites with his brothers: Jack and Francis (Schwarzman and Wilson), who have not met since their father’s funeral one year earlier. Francis is still recovering from a suicide attempt, Jack is desperate to get back with his ex-girlfriend, and Peter’s wife is nearly eight months pregnant, and he wonders what sort of a father he will be. Francis plans a strict itinerary for the trip, but secretly wants the brothers to meet their estranged mother in the Himalayas. In a journey filled with petty fights, spiritual realisations, and flashes from the past, the three brothers experience an unforgettable trip.

The storyline and acting aspects of the film turned out to be below expectations. While the first half of the film had a proper flow of events and structure, the latter half seemed to fall apart; the writers just put in whatever idea came to their heads without any idea how to end the film. The flashback sequence is unnecessary, several cameos served no purpose, and the climax, was too sudden; there was nothing leading up to it. The basic theme of the film is to tell us the value of family – similar to The Royal Tenenbaums – but with an Indian backdrop. As the story progresses, the Indian elements become dominant, and the story gets distorted.

 

(From left) Schwartzman as Jack, Wilson as Francis
and Brody as Peter 

Anderson’s style of cinematography – he includes several long takes in this film – use of colour – even more vibrant in the subcontinental settings – and nature of characters are evident once again. For the first – and so far, only – time, he does not employ an original background score; the songs and score are adapted from several sources, including Satyajit Ray’s films. The absurdist sense of comedy is also well written into the script, mixing both slapstick and subtle humour, but in the first third of the film alone.

The acting showcases nothing special from any actor, which is sad, considering that every other film had at least one standout performance. Brody, Schwartzman and Wilson (whose face is covered throughout the film by bandages) all put on a sullen look throughout the film. I expected to see the charisma of Schwartzman that he displayed in Rushmore and Wilson’s comic nature, but neither of them brought out their best talents.

So, while the cinematography, colourful visual appeal and portrayal of the Indian subcontinent are the aspects I liked, the acting, storyline and the lack of humour made the film fall below the mark set by other Anderson films. As a Wes Anderson fan, you might still end up liking the film for his style, but overall, this is my least favourite of his directorial features.

My Rating: 2.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 69% 

The 39 Steps (1935)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay: Charles Bennett and Ian Hay (loosely based on the book by John Buchan)

Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll

Music: Jack Beaver and Louis Levy

Time: 86 minutes

Bottom-line: Filled with twists; short, but engaging  

One of Hitchcock’s early British films, The 39 Steps is a wrong-man thriller where an everyman is mistakenly accused of murdering a spy. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll in the lead roles, with Godfrey Tearle and Lucie Mannheim to support them. The British Film Institute ranks the film as the fourth best British film of all time (after The Third Man, A Brief Encounter and Lawrence of Arabia). 

At a London music hall, the entertainer is a man with extraordinary powers of recall: Mr. Memory. Suddenly, shots are fired from a gun, and in the ensuing panic, a common man, Richard Hannay (Donat), is approached by a frightened woman, Annabella Smith (Mannheim), who later tells him that she is a spy, being chased by assassins. She mentions a certain  “the 39 steps” but does not reveal what it is. Later that night, Annabella is fatally stabbed, and in her last moments, she hands Hannay a map of Scotland. Hannay travels to the indicated place on the map, but halfway through his train journey, a young woman, Pamela (Carroll), gives him up the police. Hannay escapes, but once in Scotland, he realises that the danger has only increased, and soon he finds himself in the company of killers, spies, and Pamela.

Carroll as Pamela, and Donat as Hannay

The 39 Steps cuts right to the chase, and the pace of the story is exhilarating. There is no major plot twist, like several of Hitchcock’s later films, but there is always a surprise around the corner, and it’s never predictable. This is also a rare Hitchcock films with a lot of humour, from sarcastic remarks to smartly hilarious actions. The climax is most certainly unexpected, and can be considered to a brilliant plot twist or a disappointing one; I, for one, choose the former. Another interesting thing to note here is the scene where Hannay escapes the cops by joining a parade crowd; this was the first film to use that idea, later paid homage to by The Fugitive (1993).

There is minimal background score, and in fact, the music composers are often uncredited for the film. Robert Donat’s acting is a major boost to the film, with his wit, charm and charisma, very similar to the traits of Roger Thornhill later in North by Northwest. Madeleine Carroll’s role is Hitchcock’s first “prototype” of his typical female lead: blonde, and usually with a cold demeanour. The transition of Pamela’s character is another thing to notice: from loathing Hannay, to assuming him to be the murderer, to being handcuffed to him, and finally realising the truth behind everything.

The chase sequences are a bit comical, when they’re not supposed to be, and the background in several places is clearly artificial. Yet, these minor flaws apart, the good acting, excellent plot twists, and hints of the Hitchcockian elements that would later become famous, make this a memorable film.

My Rating: 4/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%

The Abyss (1989)

Director: James Cameron

Story: James Cameron

Cast: Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Music: Alan Silvestri

Time: 145 minutes

Bottom-line: A spooky, visually breath-taking sci-fi drama

A mammoth cinematic effort by James Cameron – and of course, his crew – The Abyss might be one of his unrecognised and underrated movies, but it is a sci-fi marvel. The film stars Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn in the lead roles, with few others in minor supporting roles. Among all of Cameron’s major films, I think it’s certain that it is The Abyss that pushed every crew member to his/her limits.

Cayman Trough: The submarine USS Montana has an encounter with an unidentified object underwater, and sinks near the trough. The US government sends a SEAL team to Deep Core, a private rig, to use as a base for operations to recover the sunken submarine, which also carries a nuclear warhead. The foreman of the SEAL team is “Bud” Brigman (Harris), and his ex-wife, Lindsey (Mastrantonio) is the designer of the rig, who also goes with the team. While hurricane threats cause panic on the surface, the underwater exploration has its own surprises, when Lindsey spots an unknown colourful object, that she later claims to be non-terrestrial intelligence. Soon, danger mounts as the rig is rocked by the hurricane, knocking off their mini-sub deeper into the trench and cutting off contact. The SEAL leader, Lt. Coffey (Biehn) seems to have plans of his own, and his selfish motives could well lead to a terrible disaster.

 

Harris as Bud, and Mary as Lindsey 

Most of the film is actually shot underwater. Cameron’s crew built two gigantic artificial tanks in the studio, with capacities of 2.5 and 7.5 million US gallons of freshwater (at that time, the largest freshwater tank!), and the crew spent as much as 6 hours underwater every day. Special suits, cameras and settings were used to create the depth of the ocean, and to ensure clear visual and sound underwater. Shooting also took place in an actual underground lake, in Missouri. This rigorous process is what led to a lot of tension and physical and emotional breakdowns among the acting crew, as well as making the film go $4 million over budget.

 

Biehn as Coffey

With this much effort having been put, the final result is visually dazzling in every way. The lighting and hues used, the action, camerawork and the beauty of the underwater world has been captured superbly, with assistance from Silvestri’s score as well. It’s no surprise that the film won the Oscar for best Visual Effects. The tension is masterfully created in the spooky and unknown atmosphere, and there are few scenes that intensify it even more – the one where Lindsey suffers from hypothermia and Bud’s final plunge into the trench, and the part where the crew meets the alien species, to name a few.

The film has a slow start, but picks up pace after Lindsey’s encounter with the alien species. The thing about the storyline that I didn’t like is that Cameron introduces the NTI species just enough to tempt our imagination, but never actually explores the idea. The species are just shown for about 5 minutes in between and then only at the end, while he could have used more of them in the story (he does, to some extent, in the special edition, with 25 more minutes of screen time). The climax is a bit of a disappointment too.

Usually, in Cameron’s films, there is one standout performance and the others just play along; here however, Biehn, Mary and Harris have all done their best (under enormous stress, given their working environment!). Biehn, after playing the good guy in The Terminator and Aliens, plays a cunning, psychotic, murderous villain with such panache (I also like his new look: with a moustache!) that it is jaw-dropping to watch! In short, watch The Abyss for its stunning visuals and grizzly atmosphere and superb acting; the storyline might put you off, but the film is a delight.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 89%

Vikram Vedha (2017)

Director: Pushkar and Gayatri

Story: Pushkar and Gayatri

Cast: R. Madhavan, Vijay Sethupathi, Shraddha Srinath

Music: Sam C. S

Time: 147 minutes

Bottom-line: Thoroughly entertaining; bonus points for the climax

The much anticipated film of the year, Vikram Vedha stars two highly popular actors: R. Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi, in the lead roles, with a lot of new faces: Kathir, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and Shraddha Srinath, in the supporting roles. The story takes its title from the classic tale of King Vikram and the ghost Betal; the king was given a task of capturing the ghost, who would narrate a story to the king on every attempt, and ask a riddle at the end, and would escape if the king answered right.

 

Madhavan as Vikram

Inspector Vikram (Madhavan) is brave, honest, and most importantly, clean as a whistle. Vikram and his partner, Simon, are part of an encounter operation to capture the dreaded criminal, Vedha (Sethupathi). Vedha is not present, but soon after the counter, Vedha himself surrenders himself to the police. When interrogated, he reveals nothing; when Vikram talks to him, Vedha offers to tell his life story, and asks Vikram a moral question at the end. Immediately after, Vedha is bailed out by his lawyer, Vikram’s wife, Priya (Srinath). This causes tension inside the household as well. As the story progresses, Vikram and Vedha play a game of wits against each other. As Vedha questions Vikram further, the latter realises that nothing is as plain as it seems, and no one is as clean as they seem; not even himself.

 

Sethupathi as Vedha

This is one of those films that is understood better in retrospect; it starts to make more sense when you discuss plot elements, and when you sit and think about the story. The structure of the story – and the tales within the tale – is really good. On hearing Vedha’s first story, Vikram understands that no one is born a criminal; by the second story, he finds himself saying that he killed an innocent victim, and by the end of the film, Vikram realises that everyone is a “grey” character; no one’s purely innocent, no one is purely guilty. The humour bits are well-written, and the romance doesn’t take up too much time. The film deserves brownie points for the climax: the cliff-hanger ending keeps tension at screaming point before cutting to black. This is similar to the last scene of Thegidi, but I hope neither film gets a sequel; that would really spoil it.

 

Madhavan, with Shraddha as Priya

The cinematography is good, and I like the way a lot of subtle hints are given – all of which are certainly noticeable and give way to the final plot twist. The few “insignificant” lines of dialogue, the camera shots that capture something off-focus matter too. The standard character intros are craftily created so that they receive maximum cheer from the audience. Sethupathi’s entry is essentially identical to John Doe’s intro in Se7en. Another interesting thing the camera captures is how in the first meeting between Vikram and Vedha, the former wears a white shirt, and in the second, he wears a grey one, and finally, black – corresponding to his change in perception too!

Madhavan has done a decent job playing the protagonist. It was good to see him play a non-chocolate-boy role (his other notable “grey” role being Inba in Ayutha Ezhuthu). Vijay Sethupathi is the star of the film: with his style, cunning, stories and punch lines, the way he toys around with Vikram is downright brilliant. One thing about the casting that I didn’t like is that there are too many characters with minor roles: it is difficult to follow who’s killing whom, who is chasing whom, as well as to keep track between Vedha’s story in the past and Vikram’s doings in the present.

The plot also gets a bit too complicated, but it is nicely patched up in the end. There are too many plot devices though – too many things happening in an illogical manner, just for the sake of the story to go the way it did. But, if you let them all go because they add to the drama, then the storyline is pretty solid. The killer background score, the action and excellent acting are the other things that you should look out for.

My Rating: 4/5

Aliens (1986)

Director: James Cameron
Story: James Cameron
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn
Music: James Horner
Time: 137 minutes
Bottom-line: Science, drama, horror... Aliens has it all! 

Following the success of The Terminator, Cameron returns to film-making two years later, with this blockbuster. Aliens is the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien, but this film comes with less gore, more action, more visual effects and the typical James Cameron melodrama
.
There are some places in the universe you don’t go alone...
After 57 years in statis, Ellen Ripley (Weaver) is discovered by the crew of Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and is debriefed about the destruction of her ship. They refuse to believe her when she says that an Alien killed her crew and destroyed her ship (plot of the 1979 film). The exomoon where Ripley’s ship encountered alien eggs is now occupied by 60-70 families – the terraforming colony. When contact with them is suddenly lost, Ripley is asked to be a guide as the marines investigate the matter. Though initially refraining to do so because of her traumatic experience, she reluctantly agrees. But soon the mission brings forth innumerable complications, and one idea becomes clear: this time, it’s war...

Weaver as Ripley (left) and
Henn as Newt

Aliens is one of those sequels that fare better than the prequels in film franchises (of course, the rest of the Alien films in the franchise were major failures!). The film emphasises more on human emotions and connections – portrayed through the relationship between Ripley and Newt, who is a traumatized young female survivor. In fact, this mother-daughter-like relationship is the basis for the dramatic climax, constructed in typical Cameron style. The film starts by introducing the crew members, then letting the audience get acquainted with the aliens before the actual “war”.

Paul Reiser as Burke (middle), Biehn as
Hicks (2nd from right), Paxton as
Hudson (rightmost) 

Throughout the story the special effects and the cinematography are terrific, and these of course became trademarks of Cameron films in the years to come (five of his seven major directorial films have won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects). The settings, including the gargantuan spaceships and the machinery were exciting to watch. Be prepared to deal with visuals of really heinous and grotesque creatures Cameron calls “aliens”, because so perfect is the CGI that these images will creep you out any day!

Sigourney Weaver’s role as Ellen Ripley is widely considered to be her magnum opus. The nomination for the Academy Award was a big event then because it was perhaps the first time a lead character in a science fiction movie was nominated. Displaying strong willpower to survive and to protect those around her, this female hero could well be one of the most powerful heroes in cinema history. The other actors shown predominantly on screen are Michael Biehn – who plays the supportive partner of Ripley – Bill Paxton – who plays the apprehensive and agitated marine – and Carrie Henn as Newt.

With a good mix of action, science and drama in its story, boosted by committed performances by Weaver and the supporting cast, Cameron’s Aliens may not be his most remembered film, and it may not have as strong an impact as Ridley Scott’s prequel, but it does have its own strengths, which make it a sci-fi thriller worth watching!

My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98% 

True Lies (1994)

Director: James Cameron

Screenplay: James Cameron (based on the film La Totale!)

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold

Music: Brad Fiedel

Time: 141 minutes

Bottom-line: Bit of humour, loads of action, and amazing stuff from Jamie Lee Curtis

James Cameron’s True Lies – along with Titanic – is, in several ways, different from his other films. Taking a break after directing four science fiction films, Cameron directs the story of a spy leading a double life. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Tom Arnold in the lead roles, with Art Malik, Bill Paxton and Tia Carrere in the supporting roles. 

Harry Tasker (Schwarzenegger) is a family man with a wife, Helen (Curtis) and daughter, Dana. They think he is an ordinary computer salesman, but he is actually a spy for a counter-terrorism organisation called Omega Sector. Harry and his partner, Albert (Arnold) discover the existence of a terrorist group called “Crimson Jihad”, led by Salim Aziz (Malik). As Harry trails the terrorists, he also ends up distancing himself from his family. Soon enough, he finds out that Helen is having an affair with Simon (Paxton), a car salesman pretending to be a spy. When Helen confesses that she needed to spice her life up a little bit, Harry decides to give her the experience of a lifetime. Unfortunately, Harry’s setup turns into an actual mission when Aziz and his men kidnap both Harry and Helen.

 

Schwarzenegger as Harry, and Curtis as Helen

While Schwarzenegger is far from being a good actor, he is one guy who has the perfect physique to play a terminator, or better, a secret agent. That is one thing that makes some of the action in the film, believable. Gunfights, a chase on horseback, killing terrorists from a fighter plane and using brute force to beat up bad guys, Harry Tasker can do it all. What Schwarzenegger cannot do, is to play a normal character – like the family man he is supposed to be. Jamie Lee Curtis, on the other hand, has outdone herself in acting. Playing a wife to her husband, posing as a wife for Simon, acting as a prostitute, being a woman of action when the situation demands it, she has done everything. Her performance was the best part of the film. Bill Paxton’s conic supporting role was quite effective.

 

Malik as Aziz

Most of the action in the film is spectacular to see, thanks to the visual effects, which is mostly the reason people watch Cameron films. The explosions, the weaponry, the insane stunts are responsible for the action, while Tom Arnold’s and Bill Paxton’s characters, along with the dialogue, provide the humour content. The storyline of the movie, as such, is not that impressive – then again, none of Cameron’s stories are – but there are several scenes of interest: the one where Harry and Albert interrogate Helen, and later, Simon, the one where Helen acts like a hooker, and the action-packed climax (an inspiration to a certain shootout in Breaking Bad, perhaps?).

 

Paxton as Simon

Yes, the film stretches a lot, the acting – Curtis apart – is below average, but given that it is a Cameron film, it lives up to his reputation of skilled use of special effects, loads of action, and surprisingly, decent humour too. It’s not a great film, but it’s fun.

My Rating: 3/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 72%  

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Director: Sidney Lumet

Screenplay: Frank Pierson (based on the article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore)

Cast: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon

Time: 125 minutes

Bottom-line:  Edge-of-the-seat suspense, with riveting tension

The robbery should have taken ten minutes.

Based on the true bank robbery incident orchestrated by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturale in 1972, Dog Day Afternoon is a faithful two-hour recreation of the same incident. The film stars Al Pacino and John Cazale in the lead roles, with Chris Sarandon, Charles Durning and James Broderick in the supporting roles.

Four hours later, the bank was like a circus sideshow.

August 22, 1972: Sonny Wortzik (Pacino) and his partners Salvatore “Sal” Naturale (Cazale) and Stevie plan to rob the First Brooklyn Savings Bank. Almost immediately after they take out their guns, Stevie loses his nerve and flees. Sonny discovers that they have arrived after the daily cash pickup, and so, only $1100 is left in the bank. He then takes all the traveller’s cheques, and to prevent them from being traced, burns the bank register. The fire attracts the attention of the people across the street, and soon, a bunch of cops, led by Sergeant Moretti (Durning), surround the bank. Sonny and Sal hold the members of the bank hostage, while planning a getaway route. As minutes become hours, the tension rises among the robbers, hostages, cops and the public. What is the outcome of this foiled robbery?

Pacino as Sonny (right) and Cazale as Sal 

Eight hours later, it was the hottest thing on TV.

The two-hour duration of the film covers incidents that take place over half a day or so, and as far as viewing experience is concerned, it is effectively in real-time. Lumet – although taking the material from a real incident – gives great importance to the characters rather than the incidents, and that what makes Dog Day Afternoon different from other hostage films, like Die Hard or Speed. Sonny is constantly looking to “keep everyone happy”, by negotiating. His calmness wins the admiration of the public, and even the FBI agent who replaces Moretti later; and in fact, the hostages get along with the robbers – they even toy around with Sonny’s gun. Sal, on the other hand, means only business. All he wants is to get out of the situation at any cost.

Sarandon as Leon

Twelve hours later, it was history.

The psychological games played by Sonny and the cops keep you riveted in your seat. The tension atmosphere that exists within the bank room is superbly created. It is amazing, in retrospect, when you think of all the things that could have gone wrong had Sonny or the cops lost their patience; that level of control is what keeps the suspense at screaming point. Sonny’s psyche is also disturbed with the involvement of Leon (Sarandon), his transgender wife, and his mother, who attempt to dissuade him from the robbery. Al Pacino’s acting takes the film to a whole new level: his bargaining tactics, his cunning, the way he prepares for practically any operation the cops might pull off, and his panache and showmanship in front of his fans… this might not be his most famous roles, but certainly one of his best.

The hostages, along with Sonny

And it is all true.

With Lumet’s splendid direction – he seems to have a knack for directing real time films (12 Angry Men – what a masterpiece!) – and Pacino’s wonderful acting, Dog Day Afternoon is a film that is more than just a hostage situation; there is so much more depth to the characters and way the situations are portrayed… and that makes it considerably more effective.

My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 95%

Baby Driver (2017)

Director: Edgar Wright

Story: Edgar Wright

Cast: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James

Music: Steven Price

Time: 113 minutes

Bottom-line: Extremely loud and incredibly overrated

With a storyline that goes something like “when TheTown meets The Transporter”, Edgar Wright’s action film Baby Driver seems to be the most overrated film of the year. The film stars The Fault in our Stars heartthrob Ansel Elgort and Kevin Spacey in the lead roles, with Lily James, Jamie Foxx and John Hamm in the supporting roles.

Atlanta, Georgia: Baby (Elgort) is a young getaway driver, suffering from tinnitus since a childhood accident. He constantly listens to music to kill this effect. He also records everyday conversations to make mix tapes out of them. He once robbed a kingpin, Doc (Spacey), and now works for him to settle the debt. Baby has to help Doc in one more getaway and his payment is done. Meanwhile, Baby also falls in love with a waitress, Deborah (James). However, things in his last job get awry, and despite the deal with Doc, Baby is threatened to work for him or else Deborah would be in danger. Will the next job be successful? When will Baby become free of his burden?

 

Elgort as Baby

Depending on your taste, the movie can be a non-stop adrenaline rush, or a non-stop jarring noise in your ears, and for me, it was the latter. The highlight of the film is the catchy soundtrack, from rap to mix tapes to Queen, and for some reason, always played in full volume. The cinematography had its notable moments, with my favourites being the single long take opening sequence, the aerial shots, and of course, the car chases. However, I was and never am a fan of extended – and exaggerated – car chases, no matter how action-packed the sequence may be. I was hoping the film wouldn’t fall for stereotypes, and yet, I found nothing in these action sequences that 007 or Ethan Hunt hasn’t shown us already.

Lily James as Deborah

As for the acting, Wright certainly chose the crowd-pullers: young and charming Ansel Elgort plays the stylish, hyperactive and cheeky driver, while on the other hand, veteran actor Spacey plays the calm and dangerous criminal mastermind, whom I wish had more screen time. Jamie Foxx does well in a supporting role, playing a robber similar to Tommy DeVito in GoodFellas: very short-tempered and talking only with his gun. I liked the bits of humour that Wright wrote into the screenplay, revolving mainly Baby’s name, love for music and his cheekiness – like his first encounter with Bats (Foxx).

 

Spacey as Doc

The way Wright and Price find a corresponding song/track for each scenario in the film is an interesting aspect of the film. However, other than this and a few bright moments with Spacey’s acting and the cinematography, the rest of the film wasn’t going anywhere. This is one of those “pure fun” films, but, well, not my type of fun. This is a film for all those car action lovers, but if you expect anything out of the ordinary – like I said – then the film is best left unwatched.

My Rating: 2/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%

Dunkirk (2017)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Story: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy

Music: Hans Zimmer

Time: 106 minutes

Bottom-line: A gruelling war-documentary; another great Nolan experience

One of the most anticipated films of 2017, Christopher Nolan’s WWII war film is based on the true incidents of the Dunkirk evacuation. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Fionn Whitehead, Harry Styles (yes, from One Direction), Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh and Tom Hardy. Nolan uses a hyperlink narrative structure to construct the story from three viewpoints: the land, the sea and the air.

 

Styles (left), and Fionn (rightmost)

“All we did was survive.”

“That’s enough.”

 The Mole: Tommy (Whitehead), a young British soldier, escapes German gunfire to make his way to the Dunkirk beach, where 4,00,000 other soldiers await their fate. There is a huge shortage of ships and ration, and the British perimeter is reducing by the minute. The audience get to know that the Prime Minister has requested smaller civilian boats to bring back soldiers from Dunkirk, by sailing directly up to the beach.

The Sea: Mr. Dawson (Rylance) and his son, Peter (Tom-Glynn Carney) along with George (Barry Keoghan), sail towards Dunkirk in their private sailing boat, hoping to rescue as many soldiers as they can. On the way, they meet a shell-shocked soldier (Murphy), whom they haul aboard. When he realises they are going to Dunkirk, where he has just come from, he panics.

The Air: Three Spitfire pilots are on their way to provide air support the to the troops at Dunkirk. As the story progresses, their leader is shot down, one of them is badly hit, and the last one (Hardy) is extremely low on fuel.

Rylance as Mr. Dawson

Just like the way I consider Gravity to be a space documentary rather than a feature film, Dunkirk is also more along the lines of a documentary. It is like Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, or Alistair Maclean’s HMS Ulysses: having just the outline of a story, but filmed with an eye for detail. The experience of watching it in the theatre enhances it so much more: the sound of each bullet echoes in your ear, the close-ups and PoV shots make you feel part of the action… in fact, Nolan went the extra mile (or several miles, rather) to make everything seem more real, with his use of practical special effects.

Almost entirely avoiding CGI, Nolan employed thousands of extras to play the soldiers at the beach, he used actual models of ships and planes and even shot at the actual locations of the evacuation. This precision, combined with van Hoytema’s spectacular cinematography and Zimmer’s masterful background score, gives us a gut-wrenching look at the war. The hyperlink narrative is so that we can keep track of the parallel events of collaboration between land, sea and air, and the huge contrast between the calm sea around Dawson’s boat, and the utter chaos in the torpedoed ship certainly send chills down one’s back.

 

Hardy as Farrier, a fighter-pilot

Fionn Whitehead and Mark Rylance excel in acting: the former playing a young soldier looking for a quick way out of a mess, and the latter, experienced and dedicated, deliberately going towards the danger zone. Tom Hardy’s role is similar to how he played Bane: his face fully covered almost throughout the film, and seated inside his cockpit from start to finish. It was surprising not to see Michael Caine in a Nolan film, but he does have a voice role as a radio communicator to the RAF. 

Dunkirk is certainly worth the three-year wait (Nolan’s last film was in 2014), and this war film promises to entertain without any bloodshed or shootout sequence. With immaculate technical detail, minimal dialogues and backstory, good acting and Nolan’s directorial touch, a theatre experience of this film is highly recommended!

My Rating: 4/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%

Donnie Darko (2001)

Director: Richard Kelly

Story: Richard Kelly

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone

Music: Michael Andrews

Time: 128 minutes

Bottom-line: Intriguing premise, but doesn’t get something right in the execution

Richard Kelly’s debut feature is one of those films that ended up a box office bomb, but received strong critical acclaim. The cast consists of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Katharine Ross, Beth Grant and a lot of others in supporting roles. The film seems to come onto the viewer quite strongly, but somehow never gets there; something holds it back.

 

Gyllenhaal as Donnie, and Malone as Gretchen

Every living creature on this Earth dies alone.

October 2, 1988; Middlesex, Virginia: Donnie Darko (J. Gyllenhaal) is a troubled teenager. That night, he is lured outside his house by a six-foot-tall, horribly-disguised, bunny rabbit named Frank, who tells him that the world will end in exactly 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 28 seconds. At dawn, Donnie returns home and sees that a jet engine has crashed into his room. His family: father, mother and two sisters, have no idea about it. Donnie tells his therapist, Doctor Thurman (Ross) about Frank. He also dating a girl called Gretchen (Malone). Another mysterious character Donnie bumps into (often!) is “Grandma Death” (Patience Cleveland), an old lady in the neighbourhood. Later, Frank makes Donnie turn violent, damage the school and insulting others. As Doomsday closes in, Donnie finds himself in a mess involving time-travel, hallucinations, and fantasies.

 

Frank: the six-foot-tall bunny rabbit

I don’t remember ever being so uncomfortable sitting through a two-hour film, and certainly not when it’s a science fiction film. Yet, Donnie Darko was one such experience. There was hardly any suspense felt, even though the story demands it: there’s a countdown to the end of the world, a number of weird characters and hallucinations, Donnie’s actions getting more intimidating by the day… and yet, I never felt a chill, or intrigue, but certainly did feel boredom. The ending certainly calls for a second watching, but I think I’m going to pass, for now.

 

Donnie, with Grandma Death (Cleveland)

The science fiction part of the film may or may not (the latter, in my case) be an area of interest to you. The story puts together various religious references, sci-fi concepts, horror elements and high school drama. There are subtle hints – pay attention to the pages of the book that show up in the background – to hint what would happen (or rather, what has happened so far) when the deadline is reached. I admit, despite the scientific inaccuracies that crop up in these films, the story seemed quite clean. The narration could have greatly improved.

 

Donnie's family

The film introduces too many characters, especially amongst the members of the school; most of them have small, yet catalytic, roles to play. Jake Gyllenhaal’s portrayal of the teenager is brilliant; though it is not his most mature performance, this is highly commendable. The only other highlight from the cast is Beth Grant, playing the strict, rule-adhering gym teacher of Donnie’s school. The visual effects and editing are quite good. I still can’t believe they made a bunny rabbit into such a horrifying figure!

The last few minutes of the film have a story of their own; how much you can make out of those scenes is an indicator of how much of the film you have understood. Reading a couple of explanations of the plot helped me get a grip (had to, to avoid a second watch!), and will make you watch the film again to spot the clues. That reason apart, I wouldn’t recommend this film as one to revisit from time to time.  

My Rating: 3/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 86%