Just a quick introduction from us- every now and then in 2014, we'll round-up a few reviews of new motion pictures which are still out in cinemas across our fine nation. If and when a non-blockbuster flick warrants your attention, these feature articles will be the first domain through which to discover it.
Without further ado, then, it's time to pass judgement on The Invisible Woman, Inside Llewyn Davis and The Railway Man...
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN
If it's Oscar-baiting motion pictures that take your fancy these days, then look no further than The Invisible Woman. This Ralph Fiennes-directed production from BBC Films and Lionsgate makes clear its implicit intent to scoop up nominations in this year's awards season from the outset, and boy, does it strive to ensure that we don't forget it, thrusting a semi-pretentious classical soundtrack into our eardrums that rivals Steven Spielberg for its blatancy in signifying the narrative's central moments of emotional drama.
Naturally, though, a period-romance piece of this ilk lives and dies on its performances. For all their efforts to prove otherwise, Fiennes and his co-star Felicity Jones (newcomers to whom's work should check out Cemetery Junction if they hope to see her done justice as an actress) have little-to-no palpable on-screen chemistry, a crucially detrimental factor which all but brings the action (a term which this reviewer must employ lightly, since Invisible Woman frequently comes up lacking in structural momentum) to a grinding halt whenever Abi Morgan's screenplay calls upon the pair to temporarily carry a scene by themselves. Cameos from Rev's Tom Hollander and Game of Thrones' Michelle Fairley should really have served as mere icing on the cake of the lead performances, but instead the acclaimed cult thespians act as much-needed diversions from the crushingly foregrounded relationship which fails to captivate in any great capacity.
The Invisible Woman's greatest irony, of course, is that barring a few costume design and production design nominations at the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards, the film as a whole has scarcely acquired any notable recognition in the 2013/2014 awards season, meaning that all of Fiennes' work appears to have been for nought. Perhaps it's the narrative's uncanny conspiracy-led resemblance to the similarly divisive Shakespeare In Love (1999), perhaps it's Fiennes' understated and frequently uninspired direction or perhaps it's Ilan Eshkeri's near-deafening array of intrusive, all-too-familiar orchestral melodies, but whatever the main causal factor of its downfall happens to be, we're at least able to save you a few bucks, dear reader, by assuring you that there's no need whatsoever to seek out a nearby auditorium for this one.
2/5
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
On the other hand, the Coen Brothers' latest production has simultaneously fared more successfully with the BAFTA and Oscar judging panels and done more than enough to warrant a ticket purchase. Inside Llewyn Davis is a provocative homage to the folk genre and its origins, pure and simple, and it's truly refreshing to bear witness to such an unashamed tribute to one of the music industry's defining sectors in such a manner as this. Critics are already engaging in fierce debates over the thematic implications of Inside's visual motifs such as its infamously persistent cat, but to a large extent, much of its appeal lies in the inert simplicity of its storytelling approach and its suitably eclectic soundtrack.
The latter element of the pair presents itself instantly, and suffice to say that although there's evidently been an effort made to avoid the alienation of mainstream viewers in the tone and structure of the film's setlist, equally fans of the folk genre are just as likely to engage with the soundtrack, if not moreso than their less seasoned peers. As was the case with Frozen last December, every viewer will take away different memories from their aurally-exhilarating first watch, although this reviewer can't help but speculate that it'll be the superb Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song) which endures most prominently given its seamless integration into the narrative's circular structure.
Any follower of the blog who's stuck around for the last year or so will attest that our criticisms of motion picture running times usually involve their over-elongation rather than the alternative, yet the only subversive element of Inside is in fact the latter scenario: despite the overall structure of the piece working its fine magic so far as lending a wholly reshaped perspective on those events which both open and close the narrative, the climax itself seems rushed on a first viewing, as if the Coens were working to a limited running time laid down by Studiocanal, an eventuality which hardly seems likely given the directorial prestige they've accumulated in their careers. Though it may be testament to the talents of stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Justin Timberlake and their diverse ensemble cast that our desire to spend more time in their characters' company was immense, Inside's storyline is lacking a final punch to send it off with its bang.
Even so, this is the Coens at their spellbinding best, and with a lighthearted yet critically rich narrative, accomplished direction and cinematography as ever and a soundtrack that begs to be played for weeks after you depart the cinema, Inside Llewyn Davis can at least hold a stake in the upper half of 2014's film roster- we'll therefore live in hope that when the film industry's most dangerous directorial duo return to the limelight, we'll have an undisputed Film of the Year contender on our hands...
4/5
THE RAILWAY MAN
Bless Colin Firth, he isn't half categorised into an archetypal range of character performances these days. Between Love, Actually, Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones' Diary, this acclaimed British thespian has seemingly cemented his capability as a charming, oft-hapless rogue who viewers can't help but align with from the instant they set eyes upon his latest fictitious incarnation. With The Railway Man, however, Firth has found his first opportunity since 2011's The King's Speech to break the mould, and we'll be damned if he doesn't seize the chance with both hands this time around. Our past image of Firth and the breadth of his talents has faded, and if his latest performance is any indication, then believe it or not, the man's career may only be beginning.
Based on the harrowing true account of World War Two soldier Eric Lomax, Frank Cottrell Boyce's screenplay wastes no time in hinting at the extent to which the British officer suffered during his imprisonment at a Singapore POW camp, nor the devastating effects those experiences have had on the courageous veteran since the war's conclusion. Our historical conduit is Jeremy Irvine (best known for his lead role in War Horse), who offers up a solid and relatively faithful portrayal of Firth in a younger guise, even if the essence of the latter's portrayal can never truly be captured by anyone other than Firth himself. Nicole Kidman and Stellan Skarsgard are also on board in the modern-day segments to guide Firth's Lomax towards his ultimately moving destiny, yet as one might expect from a text which is so intrinsically structured around a singular survivor's life and times, Firth is the star of the show and, thankfully, there wasn't a moment when we possibly could have lamented helm Jonathan Teplitzky's central casting selection.
The only aspect of this justifiably unrelenting biopic which disappoints is, tragically, the one aspect which Railway Man needed to master in order to achieve unrestricted greatness. Even with a 15 rating from the BBFC, there's a disconcerting sense that Teplitzky is holding back for stylistic purposes, a decision that must and does inevitably result in the restraining of the film's historical fidelity. Firth, Kidman and Skarsgard's brilliant collaboration in its present-day sequences may guarantee that its narrative reaches a satisfying denouement, yet had its flashbacks been honed to fully convey the horror of the situation which presented itself to Lomax, then its overall dramatic impact would have been that much more fulfilling. All the same, The Railway Man is most certainly a powerful drama that, if nothing else, clears the decks so as to create a blank slate for Colin Firth to build upon in unprecedented ways.
4/5
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