Comfort and Joy

(Bill Forsyth/1984/UK)

Trailing the romantic ups and downs of Allan Bird, a Glaswegian radio show DJ who inadvertently gets caught up in an Italian ice cream selling turf war, Comfort and Joy is resolutely off beat and quirky. Like all Forsyth’s films it has an innate charm and downbeat warmth towards the vagaries of life but it takes a massive misstep early on and struggles to right itself from then on. The character of Maddy, played by Eleanor David, is so engaging and vivid that she commands the screen in every scene she’s in. Once they, quite inexplicably, separate and she becomes secondary her absence onscreen is pronounced to the point of rendering Bird’s random narrative a bit pale. But if you’re willing to accept the best actor and character has gone from the story and watch on, the comedy of errors and coincidence that follows is ultimately heart warming. Set at Christmas time Forsyth has provided an alternative to the usual festive film fare with another of his eccentric and funny takes on the happenstance and kismet of life on earth.

(3/5)  

Stutterer

(Benjamin Cleary/2015/Ireland)

A clever short that deals with preconceptions we carry around about ourselves and others which can affect how we see the world and hold us back. It uses modern forms of communication, online and texting, to manipulate the story into a twist at the end. A heart warming, romantic and funny ten minutes or so that should leave you smiling.

(3.5/5)

Black Mountain Poets

(Jamie Adams/2015/UK)

A whimsical comedy caper about two con artist sisters duping a poetry group on retreat in the Welsh mountains and in the process finding romance and friendship, Black Mountain Poets never really gets into proper gear. There are lacklustre jibes at hipster poet types, romantic rivalries amongst the tents and an off kilter feel good factor ending. It’s all a bit too ironic or maybe it’s not ironic enough and finishes out trying to encapsulate a small bit of the spirituality it took the piss out of. This is not a terrible film but it has the feel of a project that people were cutting their teeth on and just falls short of hitting its mark.

(2/5)

Les Combattants

(Thomas Cailley/2014/France)

What starts as a fairly typical boy meets girl scenario gradually evolves into something a lot more interesting and downright quirky in this directorial debut from Thomas Cailley. Set against a summer heat wave in the countryside of Northern France Arnaud and Madeleine meet, antagonise each other and eventually recognise a mutual attraction before setting off on a shared adventure which solidifies their respect for each other. It’s great to see Adèle Haenel (Madeleine) again after her excellent performance in Céline Sciamma’s Water Lillies(2007) and Kévin Asaïs (Arnaud)acts as an equally intense foil for her here. It is a comedy of sorts as the pair don’t quite gel and find themselves slightly off key with each other which leads to humorous moments but what marks this out from other romantic narratives is exactly that “off keyness”. The story is allowed develop at a pace as languid as the heat of the summer it’s set in and the couple patiently map out each other’s quirks and foibles before allowing the obvious physical attraction to take over. The subtext of environmental disaster, apocalyptic fore warnings and survival training just add to the mix of this very accomplished and idiosyncratic love story.

(3.5/5)

I Hired a Contract Killer

(Aki Kaurismaki/1990/Finland, France, Germany Sweden & UK)

The Great Finn’s first foray into English speaking film deals with a man who wants to do away with himself but doesn’t have the courage to so he hires a hit man to take him out. Romantic rumblings change his mind but plans are in action and the killer is adamant on carrying out the job. Perversely black humour as ever from Kaurismaki, revelling in the absurdity of it all but I just couldn’t help feeling things were a little wooden. Some of the deliveries of lines and blocking of scenes seemed deliberately stuttered and to what end I couldn’t discern. The overall effect is a somewhat stilted affair or maybe I’m only noticing a Kaurismaki cinematic tic now due to not having to read subtitles? It’s an enjoyable film but certainly not the best outing from this incorrigibly, darkly funny director.

(2.5/5)

Submarine

(Richard Ayoade/2010/UK & USA)

Shamelessly mimicking 60’s Godard, right down to the blue and red inter scene titles but meshed with a quirky, Wes Anderson-esque aesthetic this coming of age story manages to transcend its reference points and carve out its own charming niche of adolescent cinema. It’s a story about a boy and a girl and their discovery of the realities of love and relationships. The trajectory is nothing new, a refusal to accept the inconsistencies of the world around them leading to shared rebellion before it all goes wrong and a new understanding and acceptance of life’s rough edges dawns. The characters are well drawn, eccentric and “hip” with superlative acting throughout. Submarine wears its pretensions on its sleeve and carries off an at times pointedly dry wit but is unafraid to go for straight forward gags too. Neither is it afraid to present the naked sentiment of two teenagers trying to make sense of their place in the world and some of the scenes around the run down industrial port are beautiful for this reason. You should, by the end, have warmed to Oliver and Jordana and enjoy the trip they take from naivety to slightly less naive.

(3/5)

The Shape of Water

(Guillermo del Toro/2017/USA)

A romantic fantasy wrapped up in cold war espionage and military secrets The Shape of Water left me a bit cold. Guillermo del Toro does his best to warm your heart but there’s not enough substance to it. Styled very much in the vein of Jeunet et Caro’s Delicatessen the mood and feel of the film leans to the quirky and surreal and sets you up for the weirdness to come. Sally Hawkins is excellent as Elisa, a master class in exuding emotion without uttering a word. Elisa is mute and we are brought into her world most wonderfully in the first ten to twenty minutes of the movie. However once the plot begins to turn around the mysterious “Asset” that arrives at the military base where Elisa works as a cleaner, things begin the get a bit flakey.

I have no problem with the fantastical, I can readily accept the introduction of a merman into a story and the aspect of non verbal communication, acceptance and love that flourishes between Elisa and Mr. Fish has wider connotations for today’s world but there are questions that kept popping into my head. What would The Shape of Water be like if the fish man character was, say, a Russian spy? Would there be as much fuss about it as a storyline? No, obviously, but this leads me to believe that the creation of the character as a fish is more about being weird for weird’s sake. Ok a merman more readily represents “the other” than a boring old Russian spy but there's a clumsiness to The Shape of Water too. I can’t believe a cleaning lady could manage to siphon the time and access required to develop the relationship we see on screen or the fact that one security camera being put out of action enables an escape route from a military facility. There’s too many drop outs in story logic and they held me back from running with the fantasy of everything else. Del Toro is an excellent film maker but this is a poor outing by his standards in my opinion. It's derivative in style and a bit hokey in execution but I'll give it this much, it's the best movie about falling in love with a fish I've seen in a long time.

(2/5)