Better Things

(Duane Hopkins/2008/UK) 

Better Things is an unremittingly stark drama about the lives of teenagers in a rural town in midlands England. Mingling realism with a cinematic lyricism that aspires to the poetic it succeeds in an affecting portrayal of young people with little prospect or hope of opportunity. But it is relentlessly bleak, no one smiles, there is no fun, anywhere, in anything. Everyone under thirty in the film is trapped within a suffocating, existential gloom and as result most have turned to heroin. 

This horrific portrait of a generation, rudderless and unattended to by the wider constructs of society is mirrored in the sub plot of an elderly couple who are also at a nadir. Suspecting his wife of infidelity at some point much earlier in their marriage the husband struggles to reconcile his feelings about it. This reflection between generations is the winning stroke of Better Things as it expands the context of the problem of addiction to the more general problem of human communication, resolution of emotions and coping with adversity in daily life. No matter what age you are hopelessness can set in and how then do we cope? Simply relinquish the effort of decade’s long marriage, turn to the solace of an opiate haze, escape somehow? A shot of an overdosed boy is a visual cue invoking Thomas Chatterton and a romantic, poetical notion of escape from the bleak reality around them.

But the environment within Better Things is also romantic; there are continual shots of the surrounding landscape that inspire awe in the viewer. But the beauty and effusive presence of nature does not illicit any refuge or spiritual salvation for the characters and only furthers the tragedy on show. It is at points a gloomily beautiful film but it is equally an endurance test for the heart.

(3/5)

Day of the Triffids

(Steve Sekeley/1962/UK)

A rather dated adaptation of John Wyndham’s excellent book, this film focuses too much on character relationships and not enough on the drama and tension of an oncoming, sentient plant induced apocalypse. The Triffids themselves are impressive but the plot is a bit plodding and strays too far from the original so we get less of the societal collapse portrayed in the book and more of a survivalist story. The scene with the convicts, which lamely mirrors the party for the new, armed and despotic leaders in the book, resembles a stereotyped beatnik debacle than evidence of the world falling apart. The very best adaptation of Day of the Triffids is the BBC’s 1981 three part TV series but I would say just read the book as it’s a classic.

(2/5)

A Private Function

(Malcolm Mowbray/1984/UK)

Set shortly after World War II when rations are still in effect and butchers are living in fear of food inspectors, A Private Function is a comedy about some small town snobs trying to illegally fatten a pig for a celebration of the oncoming Royal wedding. A newly arrived chiropodist and his social climbing wife and mother in law attempt to break into this circle of village elitism by involving themselves in the prohibited pig plans and the film goes on to play with British notions of class and getting ahead to great effect. Written by Alan Bennett it’s got an incredibly light but sharp humour. At times quips go by so effortlessly you almost miss them. With a powerhouse cast including Denholm Elliot, Maggie Smith, Michael Palin, Richard Griffith, Liz Smith, Pete Postlewaith and Alison Steadman it’s not short on great performances either. But for all that A Private Function never really hits a proper stride, there’s no absolutely laugh out loud moments I found, but it is funny. It is a gentler type of comedy and therein lays a lot of its charm. Watch out for an early incarnation of Liz Smith’s Nana from The Royle Family in the form of Joyce’s mother.

(3/5)