Tag: Drama
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Revolutionary Road.
Richard Yates’ Eleven Kinds of Loneliness is one of my favourite books. A collection of short stories that depict eleven different isolated individuals, the book captures the alienation of the late forties and fifties. From housewives trapped in their suburban prisons, to children separated in the playground by their differences, it deals with poisonous atmospheres and psychological…
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Captain Phillips.
Four month ago I posted an entry on this website called ‘The Magic of Tom Hanks‘. The article discussed the actor’s baffling screen diversity and applauded Hanks for his ability to remain a household name and yet never be typecast. Having played some of cinema’s most memorable characters, from Mr. Gump to Captain Miller, Hanks…
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Philomena.
I hadn’t read any reviews of Philomena before I went into the screening. I was looking forward to seeing the film but wasn’t particularly desperate to fit it into my week. Luckily, I made time to see it on Saturday evening. I say luckily because it’s turned out to be one of the greatest releases of this…
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A Woman Under The Influence.
When A Woman Under the Influence first came out in the mid seventies, many rejoiced in its honest and realistic depiction of marriage and family. Where Hollywood provided either ‘happy’ or ‘unhappy’ marriages, John Cassavetes’ masterpiece presented a much more truthful and complex image of love, madness and marriage. Mabel, first and foremost, loves her family. Mabel’s…
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Dogtooth.
Dogtooth depicts a family whose three children are completely unaware of the outside world. Told by their father that man-eating cats await them outside of the family walls, the three children remain childlike in mindset despite clearly physically venturing into adulthood. They have no understanding of sex, reality or the truth about their imprisonment. The father…
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Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.
When you do an internet image search for “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” the majority of photographs that appear are just like the one above. Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck interlocked as the two lead characters; their heads as close as possible to one another as the infatuated couple, Ruth and Bob. The montage of images…
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The Way Way Back.
We all remember the summer holidays that seemed to last forever; the uncertainty of what lies around the corner after months of freedom from school and normal childhood, or adolescent, routine. The Way Way Back captures the summer vacation in a more depressing way, demonstrating the strain placed upon family life when you are suddenly forced to…
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Vera Drake.
Mike Leigh is known for his individual and ambitious approach to character creation and film making. As one of his most stylised films, Vera Drake possibly demonstrates this the most clearly. Taking months at a time to develop character back story and personality, Leigh’s character are usually firmly in place before any kind of script or plot.…
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Sideways.
Now and again, you discover a comedy that balances hilarity and emotion perfectly. Sideways is a refreshing, intelligent and moving film that remains interesting, comical and complex from start to finish. Miles and Jack appear to have very little in common. Their morals, interests and ambitions are worlds apart and yet the two men, who…
Hannah McHaffie 