Films of the Month: November

Blue Lagoon was a controversial film, released in 1980, that starred a then 14 year old Brooke Shields as a shipwrecked castaway, who is forced to grow up and mature on a remote island with her cousin (Christopher Atkins). The film however wasn't as controversial as Shields' previous role as a child prostitute in 1978's Pretty Baby, made when she was just 11 years old.
 The film starts as the children are left on the island as pre-pubescent castaways, and follows them as they mature from the age of innocence, to an age of sexual awareness. They are initially guided to life on the island by fellow castaway Leo McKern, who soon after dies, after drowning whilst drunk. It is at this point that the children's loss of innocence begins, as they begin to deal with the darker side of life. Mirroring the children's evolution are images of natures on cycle of life, which they cohabit with on the island. However, these scenes come off as rather amateurish, simplistic and a bit too pretentious to really aid the film. The acting does manage to get away with any accusations of woodenness, due to the subject matter at hand, and both Atkins and Shields' manage to do an adequate job at portraying their naivety. McKern in fact manages to pull out a wonderful cameo at the start of the film, that matches his usual onscreen energy and persona.
 Apart from the occasional flashes of child nudity, there is nothing really explicit that suggests this film should have garnered the controversy it did. In fact it comes across as quite pure, but ultimately a bit too sweet for it to be considered an accomplished work. Unfortunately, it does struggle to compete with the similarly themed Death in Venice and Lolita, which are far superior in style and execution. It's biggest strength comes from the source material from which it is based: Henry De Vere Stacpoole's novel of the same name; which leads me to think that this is a film that may do better being remade.
                                                        

 No Way Out was an espionage thriller starring a youthful Kevin Costner, as a naval officer who gets involved with the defence secretary's (Gene Hackman) mistress (Sean Young). The defence secretary kills his mistress by accident, and Costner's character is the man brought in to divert suspicion away from the defence secretary.
 For such a convoluted plot, it is actually pulled off far more impressively than the synopsis suggests; although it may seem a little bit dated these days. There are moments of genuine tension and the film has one of the truly most bizarre endings in film history. The performances are also quite good, especially from Costner, who manages to carry the film well, though he is sometimes let down by Young's at times erratic demeanour.  His scenes opposite Hackman invoke some of Costner's best scenes, and Hackman manages his usual level of vigour. David Bowie's wife Iman and Will Patton also provide impressive support.
 For a film of it's ilk, that is probably quite forgotten in this day and age, it does actually have something about it that will probably still resonate with today's audience. Whilst not a great thriller, it is worth watching, if not for the already mentioned ending that will leave you dumbfounded.
                                             

 Silver Linings Playbook promised much, with many critics calling it one this year's best films. It told the story of a man (Bradley Cooper) recently released from a mental institution, who sets about trying to reconcile with his wife. Along the way though he meets a fellow troubled soul in the form of his friend's sister in law (Jennifer Lawrence), who promises to help him by being the go between with him and his wife. Along the way we encounter all the peripheral characters in this man's life, whose own idiosyncracies seem to point to Cooper's character not being the only one with mental health problems.
 The film is refreshingly original, and one can see why the critics have fallen for it. However it is a bit too gimmicky at times to really be counted as something genre defining. Whilst it is both amusing and fun, it does try to cater too much for it's target audience by reverting to cheap sentiment at times. In many ways it reminded me of last year's Crazy. Stupid. Love., but this was definitely a bit more grounded, although not as  enjoyable as the aforementioned. The acting was good in this too, with both Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence managing to provoke a lot of likeability in his complex character. It was the first film of Lawrence I had seen, and she gave a mature performance that it's surprising to learn she is only 22. The film also featured Robert De Niro as Cooper's father, whilst recently De Niro has paled in the performance that made him once a true great of cinema, here at least he gives a likeable turn, with traces of his past bravura. Chris Tucker also gave his first performance in 15 years that wasn't part of the money cow Rush Hour franchise. Tucker showed that he isn't just a one trick pony, and gave an endearing turn as Cooper's equally troubled ex-inmate.
 It's a film that will rise to the top of what has been a remarkably subdued year for films, especially from Hollywood. It is easy to see why it's garnering such praise, it's problem is though is that it is a little to unremarkable to be remembered beyond this year. Ultimately it's another film that leaves any film buff asking "Is this the best they can come up with?".