Stoker

Stoker

Director: Park Chan-Wook

Written by: Wentworth Miller

Photography: Chung-hoon Chung

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Nicole Kidman

Country: USA, UK. 

Year: 2013

Emotions rest in the balance for fans of new wave Korean cinema this year, first we have Park Chan-Wook's debut into English language film with Stoker and then later in the year director Spike Lee's remake of Park Chan Wook's cult masterpiece, Oldboy.  

When I first saw the trailer for Stoker I was initially disappointed that it didn't appear to be a biopic of Draclua author, Bram Stoker. But with multiple re-watches I became more and more intrigued by what appeared to be a dark, twisted psychological thriller combined with stunning visuals.  And that's what I got. 

After India Stoker's father dies in a car crash on her birthday, she learns how disconnected she is from everybody else around her including her mother. She soon has to learn to live with a new person in her life as her father's brother, an Uncle she never knew she had, comes to live with her and her mother. 

The plot is hugely inspired by the classic Hitchcock thriller, Shadow of a Doubt.  In fact the mysterious Uncle in both films are called Charlie. There's also continuous references to various Hitchcock films throughout especially to Psycho. 

Stoker is set in the present day yet the art direction suggests something set in the '40s or '50s, again I think this is drawn from the Hitchcock influence but it gives the film a timeless look. 

There are three fantastic central performances from Goode, Kidman and Wasikowska. And as all too often in film, Jacki Weaver is given far too little screen time, but everything she does in that short time is sublime. 

Stoker isn't so much driven by it's narrative, heavy in symbolism it's more a study of the innocence lost in the transition into adulthood.

I was kind of grateful for it at the time because I had an engagement directly after, but Stoker after being slow and atmospheric throughout suddenly nosedives into an ending and it leaves you feeling a little cheated. 

Stoker is thought provoking, beautifully shot and lingers in the mind long after viewing.Highly recommended.  

Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook

Director: David O'Russel
Written By: David O'Russel 
Photography: Masanobu Takayanagi 
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro.
Year: 2012
Country: USA 


    
 Picture the scene: I've just half heartedly purchased a ticket for Silver Linings Playbook, I've being forced to listen to the Aladdin OST while the screen fills up, I'm getting funny looks and laughs of people for being on my own and I know already that for two hours I'm going to have to sit through the most cynical piece of Oscar bait since Extremely Load and Incredibly Close.

 But something happened to me during Silver Linings Playbook where my reservations were overturned and I was completely won over by the film.

 Pat, played by Bradley Cooper, is diagnosed a with bipolar disorder and has spent time in a mental facility. Upon release he delusionally believes that is ex-lover is waiting for him to get better before they'll restart their relationship, despite a restraining order. Partly in an attempt to gain a link with his Ex-Wife, Pat strikes a friendship with an old acquaintance, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), now suffering from depression after the death of her husband.

 On paper the film seems very 'Hey let me tug at your heart strings.' And if it was directed by say... Cameron Crowe, it probably would be. But David O'Russel tones the film in an honest and sincere way that when you are effected by it's charm (and you will be) it's all natural.

 I personally see it as wrong to call Silver Linings Playbook a comedy about mental illness. What it is is a human drama, with comic moments where several of the characters are affected by mental illness. One of my concerns while sitting listing to A Whole New World was that the film wouldn't differentiate between being ill and just being quirky, but it was quite the contrary . What I really appreciate is that mental illness isn't the catalyst or the but of any joke. Take any of the jokes delivered by Bradley Cooper and give them to one of the many characters in the film not affected by illness and it would remain just as funny.

 The film is propelled by two central powerhouse performances from Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence plus two brilliant mediating roles from Jacki Weaver and  Robert De Niro. Even Chris Tucker manages to be oddly engaging.    

  This good hearted winter-warmer makes the perfect film for a Christmas trip to the cinema. And make sure to see it now, because it will be the film everybody's talking about come February.