Franklyn Review - Straight from the North American Premiere at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival!

The feature debut of Gerald McMorrow, Franklyn weaves a twisted tale full of ambition and imagination, but ultimately doesn’t live up to it’s potential.

Set in two parallel worlds (modern day London and the futuristic Meanwhile City), the film tells the story of three desperate characters: Emilia Bryant (Eva Green), Milo (Sam Riley) and Jonathan Preest (Ryan Phillipe). Each character has is troubled and has a story to tell, be it Emilia’s parental issues, Milo’s heartbreak after his fiance calls off their wedding, and Preest, who exists solely in Meanwhile City, tracking down a child murderer.

Initially, it is very easy to become confused during the film, as you’re constantly looking for some kind of connection between Preest’s cyber-punk alternate reality and the more subdued London-based threads of the story. It’s not until the film begins to run full-speed ahead into third act territory that the true nature of things is revealed in a clever and unexpected twist.

Franklyn is the type of film that is difficult to write about without giving too much away regarding the story, but suffice to say that fans of films such as The Matrix or V for Vendetta will feel right at home in the web McMorrow has weaved. That’s not, however, to say the film is without it’s issues.

While all the stories do finally collide by the films end, the thread featuring the Milo character is borderline uninteresting most of the time, and it’s involvement in the climax feels superficial at best. While Amelia’s story plays out as one of the films highlights, the strongest, most interesting story is that of Preest, and unfortunately, for as big a role he has in the film, one can’t help but wish there was a bit more of a focus on him.

Performances are all around top-notch, including a complex and haunting delivery by Eva Green, who plays a tortured art student who records her own suicide attempts for a class project. Phillipe, despite spending most of the film behind a mask, plays the role of Preest with a ferocity that is admirable, though many will accuse him of playing the role with too heavy a fusion of Batman and Watchmen’s Rorschach. Riley, too, manages to deliver a subtle, vulnerable performance as Milo, though one can’t help but feel he was under utilized.

Though, for all it’s storytelling flaws, one thing can certainly be said about Franklyn: it looks fantastic. Meanwhile City and it’s inhabitants are intriguing and unique, if not slightly over-the-top at times, so much so that I would have been perfectly happy to spend the entire movie there and forget about London altogether. However, London is here, and captured beautifully. The films oozes with style in nearly every frame, and McMorrow’s abilities truly shine in the films aesthetic. Had the story been delivered with such feverish attention to detail, Franklyn could have been a certified masterpiece.

It’s difficult to decide if I should recommend a film like Franklyn. For each flaw, there’s something else to love about it. For me, however, the good most certainly outweighs the bad, and perhaps it’s worth seeing if only to see the potential that was there. Love it or hate it, for whatever impact Franklyn does or does not have on the film scene, one thing has been made abundantly clear: Gerald McMorrow is a Director to keep an eye out for in coming years.

James Cooper | Development Manager

A Review of 50 Dead Men Walking

Canadian films rarely get long runs in the cinemas across this country because they don’t have the draw of big names to keep them in the theatres longer than a week.

That isn’t the only reason, but it can be one major contributing factor.  Yet we still don’t seem to hit the mark with many great Canadian films. The ongoing debate amongst me and my filmographic friends is that this is down to marketing and the budgets that acquisition and distribution firms allocate (or don’t) to promoting Canadian films.  I think this is a key contributor to a film’s success.

Why?

Because it is the buzz that is the real draw and if you can’t create buzz no one will even think about spending the time or money to go and see a film – Canadian or otherwise - even if it is the best film ever made.  With so many American films to compete with, the draw is the important selling feature for the general public as to what film to choose to spend time and money seeing.  Big budgets are not the main determinant in guaranteeing the financial success of a film.  The Blair Witch Project proved that in droves as it was the film’s controversy and genius marketing that got the filmgoers to flock to see it, not the big budget, excellent cinematography, storyline, acting or special effects!

I just hope this won’t be the case with 50 Dead Men Walking - a very noteworthy and successfully executed Canadian film that HAS big draw names … Ben Kingsley for one.  There is also a distinguished supporting cast including the international talents of Kevin Zegers (Transamerica), Natalie Press (My Summer of Love), Rose McGowan (Grindhouse: Death Proof) as well as Irish actors Michael McElhatton (Spin the Bottle), Tom Collins (Closing the Ring), Nick Dunning (My Boy Jack) and Anthony Brophy (The Tudors).  Jim Sturgess (21) plays the lead role of “Marty”, and is an up-and-comer on a lot of people’s radar and talked about as “one of the new faces to watch.”  After seeing his performance in 50 Dead Men Walking, I can see why, as he is absolutely brilliant and totally believable in this role.

Produced by HandMade, Future Films and Canada’s Brightlight Pictures with backing from Northern Ireland Screen and Telefilm Canada, the film was chosen to screen at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival in 2008, with great buzz, and received its UK and Irish premiere at the recent Jameson Belfast Film Festival.

But even the screenwriter/director, Canadian Kari Skogland (The Stone Angel) admits having a big name was essential to getting the film made in the first place:  “He (Ben Kingsley) was one of the first actors who came on board.  He read the role and again was very responsive. … For him to come on board it really meant we were able to commit to it and have the financiers come on board.”

Lots of films have been made about the Irish conflict.  Canadians can’t really understand the deeper psychological effects of living amidst such a vicious, subversive conflict as the Irish have endured.  The closest we even came to experiencing their terror was with the brief FLQ conflict in Quebec in the 1970s.  I am drawn to these movies and their stories due to my own ingrained Celtic heritage and identity, and some notables include Bloody Sunday, The Informant, The Crying Game, Some Mother’s Son, and last but not least, In the Name of the Father.  Each film visually portray a singular story within the context of what began as a religious conflict turned into a self-perpetuating war of terrible violence that has since morphed into sophisticated terrorism and a pervasive, abject disregard for human life.  Politically speaking, the ‘resistance fighters’ and ‘liberators’ need to snap out of their myopia in the humble opinion of this writer and say “Enough.”

50 Dead Men Walking begins by revealing 22 year old, cocky, Marty McGartland, as an ignorant, immature pacifist - uninvolved and with equal contempt for either ‘side’ at the height of the Irish conflict in the 1980s.  For me, as a writer, it’s the words (dialogue) that move the story forward and resonate for me the most, and trust me there are some great lines in this flick – and one of the best used to passive aggressively bring Marty into the spy game fold is “You aren’t a man until you have a cause.”  Kudos to Kari Skogland for writing such a terrifically expressive screenplay!

Story-wise, with the base lure of personal financial benefit, Marty becomes an infiltrator for the British Intelligence on the premise that his ‘work’ will save lives - the meaning of the movie’s title.  As time goes on, he moves from his self-indulgent want of money and a car, to commit for bigger reasons to his undercover role.  Ultimately he pledges his loyalty and officially joins the IRA to move deeper into the information highway, which also parallels his move up within the organization in increasingly heinous ‘responsibility’.  Of course, one can only play both sides of such a dangerous coin for so long before it drops and one must choose either heads or tails, or die.

Marty’s British contact, albeit with an all too often used Irish code name of “Fergus”, displaying the Brit’s ignorant attitudes towards the Irish, is brilliantly portrayed with depth, mastery of nuance, and convincing resonance by Sir Ben Kingsley.  “Marty” is adeptly played with a believable progression of character by Jim Sturgess, and his girlfriend/wife is stereotypically (written not acted) but effectively portrayed by Natalie Press.  Unfortunately, the female roles were trite and disappointing, and their place in the film only to peripherally move the story forward with a bit of eye candy.  But then, what is the inclusion of a character in any story if not to accomplish that end?  Yet, I would have hoped that Ms. Skogland could have flushed out more depth and purpose to the female roles in affecting Marty’s choices, than just secondary characters that become his obligations.  Of course there is also a high level female IRA operative love interest played by Rose McGowan, who looks like a 1980’s version of Gilda (black leather and all) with long flowing auburn hair and a sexual appetite to match Mata Hari’s all used, of course, to seal her place and influence in an all male run IRA.  Ironically, and far too conspicuously, she is even likened in the film to Mata Hari!

Nonetheless, even with those mild shortcomings, Ms. Skogland was very successful in bringing to life on the screen some phenomenal acting performances from her cast leads and supporting actors, which serve to effectively portray the narrative of Marty’s progression from an uninvolved self-concerned youth, to a committed selfless man, with interest, innovation and intrigue.

I also found it curious that the flick, based on the book by Martin McGartland and Nicholas Davies, has a proviso at the end of the film that states that the movie was made without the participation of the writers.  I would surmise this is because to this day, Martin is still on the run from the IRA for choosing to be an infiltrator in the first place.  Personally, if I were promoting the film, it would be THAT on which I would focus to create buzz and gain notoriety towards financial success which is, after all, also part and parcel of successful filmmaking.  It is an industry after all.

In short, the unfaltering action of this story is ferociously delivered with visual acuity, the story told in an interesting, incremental reveal with some interesting twists, the (male) characters were compelling on all fronts, the cinematography flawless and unfailingly visually stimulating, with the editing cohesive and inventive.  Overall, it’s a most excellent film that any film lover will definitely enjoy and remember long after leaving the cinema.

If you haven’t seen this flick, the bottom line it is a must see. It’s not a masterpiece, but it is a damned fine piece of Canadian cinematic storytelling, and well worth the view and expense, most especially on the big screen and even more importantly, in Canadian theatres.

50 Dead Men Walking opened in select theatres across Canada on Saturday, August 1^st.

Lynn Willis

RAINDANCE CANADA

July 29, 2009

Public Enemies Review

For all the top-tier talent involved in this Summer’s latest cops and robbers flick, the overall result is surprisingly flat. Michael Mann returns to the genre that made him a superstar with Heat, but unlike his crime drama masterpiece from 1995, Public Enemies is lacking in tension as well as chemistry between the films leads.

Johnny Depp headlines the film as the iconic John Dillinger, during his final string of bank robberies in Depression-era Chicago. Christian Bale stars opposite Depp as Melvin Purvis, assigned to the task of taking Dillinger down once and for all. The film is exceptionally well cast all around, with Mann having a keen eye for talent as always. Unfortunately, for the very little screen time Bale and Depp share together, the time they spend together isn’t very memorable. Safe to say, there’s no DeNiro/Pacino coffee shop scenes in Public Enemies. It’s a shame that two such electric personalities are given so little to do on-screen together, and it harms the films impact.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with the film, per say, but considering the vast amount of talent on-screen (and behind it), I, for one, expected something more from the film than was delivered. The trailers have a very high-energy, rock and roll vibe to them, but the film itself is far more deliberately paced, and Christian Bale is severely under utilized, given little more to do throughout the film than take orders or give them. Depp, however, who carries the entire film on his back, delivers a memorable and charismatic performance as the prolific Dillinger.

Dante Spinotti takes the reins of the film as the films Cinematographer and does a fantastic job of capturing 1930s America. Mann has a strong cinematic eye, as always, and delivers a visually stimulating picture from beginning to end.

Perhaps it’s my own high expectations that lead me to expect the film to be something it wasn’t, but unfortunately, Public Enemies doesn’t deliver on the promise that the talent involved, and subject matter, could have delivered.