Pioneer (2014)

Written for RAF News April 2014

Based on the events that took place in the early 80s, when huge oil deposits were discovered in the North Sea, we follow the team comprised of competing Norwegian and American divers who must build a pipeline at never-before reached depths. pioneer Determined Norwegian diver Petter (Aksel Hennie) and his machismo brother must work with a team of Americans who are in on the deal. Joined by a competitive American diver (Wes Bentley) they undertake a series of tests and trial dives. The initial test involves undergoing pressure changes whilst under an anaesthetic gas – soon revealed to cause hallucinations. So when his brother is involved in a fatal accident during the first test dive, Petter is plagued by uncertainty as he aims to find the cause of his death and the truth behind the gas formula concocted by the powers above.

Pioneer takes on the style of a 70s American political thriller with slowly unfolding conspiracy dragging Petter into the depths of paranoia. Director Erik Skjoldbjærg’s debut film Insomnia (remade by Britain’s own Christopher Nolan) built tension through paranoid hallucinations – but clearly favouring the style of the political thriller these delusions are disappointingly reduced to a few subtle tweaks in Pioneer.

It is the subtlety and slow pacing that seem to unite the Scandinavian style of cinema with classic American thrillers such as The Conversation – which Skjoldbjærg states among others as a major influence. The underwater scenes serve perfectly as an extension of the slow tension building pace. With beautiful use of scale and light Petter clings to his ‘umbilical cord’ that keeps him from being engulfed by the black abyss of the North Sea.

Despite the aesthetic accomplishment of these scenes, and the masterfully crafted score which communicates the claustrophobia and pressure of the environment, the understated drama plays out for the most part above water. As a result the film lulls between dives – ultimately detracting from the drama at the heart of the story.

April 15, 2014 0

Stalingrad (2013)

Written for RAF News Feb 2014

Russia’s first Imax film explores one of the bloodiest battles in history that marked a major turning point in World War II against Nazi Germany. We follow a band of Soviet soldiers as they attempt to defend a devastated building from attack along with it’s last inhabitant: a young Russian woman who refuses to leave – this is her home.

The 3D technology and CGI is at its best when revealing the scale of chaos that engulfs Stalingrad, but it is soon honed in to focus on this group of soldiers and their relationship with Katya (Maria Smolnikova). This frail woman and the building she lives in will become a symbol of what the Russian forces are fighting for.

Most of the film is spent in anticipation of battle with the soldiers looking out through the sights of their rifles from this new command post, and yet there is little strategy devised by the group – at one point even coming down to the flip of a coin. The battle sequences are surprisingly scarce and over-the-top; depicting the close combat fighting that is characteristic of Stalingrad through stylised slow motion that draws inspiration from Zack Snyder’s 300.

Confined mostly to this building the 3D element of the film quickly becomes redundant despite the stated intention to involve the viewer in the emotional drama. The most interesting thread in Stalingrad is the humanised depiction of Captain Kahn (Thomas Kretschman), the Nazi officer who leads the attacks on the building. But where this one cliché is averted others are simply reinstated. Women and children become bargaining chips to be traded for emotional investment.

The jump from stylised violence to drama seems to detract from both styles as one is left wondering how serious to take the film. Stalingrad is a film that features impressive use of 3D and CGI during battle sequences, but the drama that takes focus for the majority of the film is slow and unmoving and not improved by 3D.

February 21, 2014 0

The Armstrong Lie (2014)

Initially following Lance Armstong’s return to compete in the 2009 Tour de France, The Armstrong Lie redresses the man at the heart of the scandal following his eventual confession to blood-doping.

Armstrong became a symbol of Americana: winning the Tour De France a record 7 times after being diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his abdomen and lungs. Through chemotherapy and brain surgery he was a true underdog turned champion. A mythic character.

It’s hard to lose sight of the accomplishments of Armstrong, as an athlete and also as founder of the Livestrong Foundation, which has raised over $300 million toward cancer research and supporting cancer survivors. However, opening with his confession in an interview with Oprah Winfrey early last year, the film is careful to not to be sympathetic as it revisits his history of competitive cycling alongside his extensive involvement with performance enhancing drugs.

Interestingly the film seems to ground Armstrong’s actions as understandable – viewed within the context of drug use in the sport – focussing instead on his ability to lie and the sheer audacity with which he does it. This audacity, that dovetails with Armstrong’s characteristic arrogance, shines out from archived footage and interviews that take a very different tone with the knowledge of what was happening behind closed doors. At one point we see Armstrong and the team as they board their bus to receive blood transfusions that would aid their recovery – surrounded by fans and press.

The Armstrong Lie is a fascinating reexamination of a man – looking at the capabilities endowed by ego. Shown adamantly denying accusations, so convincingly in fact that all sense of sincerity is lost. His unbelievable competitiveness and uncompromising nature blend into a fabric of deception and mistrust.

Perhaps he was lying for so long that he began to believe it, or as with cycling – he just got good at it.

January 30, 2014 0

Under the Skin (2013)

Written for RAF News Jan 2013

Scarlett Johansson assumes the role of an alien in human form that observes the surrounding life in Glasgow; stalking and seducing understandably eager young lads and trying to understand what it is to be human. Director Jonathan Glazer, who debuted with Sexy Beast, returns to cinema with his first film since 2004: a conceptual science fiction that can at times become hard to watch.

Under the Skin is shot primarily through a series of hidden cameras that capture Johansson observing and interacting with the real townsfolk of Glasgow. We are thrown deep into the overwhelming sensory experience of shopping centres and crowds leaving a football stadium. Having adopted the voyeuristic alien’s perspective, these familiar experiences, accompanied by amplified sound, can be just as unsettling as the more experimental style that will endow the more sinister elements of the film. Implementing a style that intends to immerse and unsettle, Glazer effectively blurs the line between film and reality.

This siren like alien drives around in her van, a score of screeching drones foreboding the fate of the horny Glaswegians who enter. Forward and alluring, paired with the fact that she looks just like Scarlett Johansson, this succubus gives the young men very little chance to escape: seductively undressing and coaxing them to a rather surreal demise.

The jumps from documentary style footage to the constructed scenes that feature more abstract visual effects, align you with Johansson as you become alienated and long for something to hold onto. There is not much dialogue and, with a central performance that is intentionally rigid and non-responsive, the film can drag along at times, particularly in the second half.

Under the Skin is a little more experimental in style, but it is truly an original film with moments of utter brilliance.

January 10, 2013 0