On The Airplane - Part 3: Hypnosis

The world loves films about the psychological nature of humans. Things like psychotic episodes, dreams, even psychopathic killers. Look at the popularity of Inception a few years ago. So let us explore the human mind all over again. This is Trance.

'Anyone can steal a piece of art,' we are told immediately. Simon (James McAvoy) works at an art auctioneers and the first rule, should a robbery take place, is do not try to be a hero. But when criminal Franck (Vincent Cassel) attempts to steal a £20 million piece of art, Simon breaks that rule. He rescues the painting and storing it somewhere but he is beaten into a state of amnesia directly afterwards. Simon finds himself in hot water when he can no longer remember the paintings location  but maybe with help from hypno-therapist, Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson), all the secrets will be revealed. Perhaps too many secrets. 

Question reality...

Trance's cast is one of the bravest, boldest, and most brilliant of recent years. Cassel, known mostly for his harsh ballet teaching in Black Swan, is a triumph here as Franck. His character portrayal is so shady that it impossible to tell when Franck is truthful and when he is not. A charming antagonist and a wonderfully wicked character to watch. Dawson portrays Elizabeth such unnerving calm, again, raising questions about how trustworthy she is. Why unnerving? When you cannot trust your therapist, who can you trust? And McAvoy. A truly fantastic actor putting forward a truly fantastic performance as the lost, dazed, and confused Simon. His slow descent into madness (or possibly ascent to sanity) as his mind is manipulated until breaking point. Fear, anger, aggression, confusion, love; McAvoy gets it all spot on. 

What is real?

Danny Boyle is no stranger to making great films. He is the rare breed of director that can seem to do no wrong. He even directed the Olympic Opening Ceremony! Where is this man's flaw? Trance is not it. Firstly, it is visually gorgeous. The colour palette is tremendous, bringing out the most vibrant aspects of the rainbow. It is also extremely bold and brave, like the cast. Lots of sex and violence. The latter will cause fearful, squeamish cringing, the former may cause drooling. Another hit for Boyle, though the film itself is not without its issues. The problem with the a film with a complex plot as daring and mind boggling as Trance is that it does not come without its fair share of confusion. The plot twists will excite all the audience, but on the way, they will find themselves questioning what is really happening. No one wants to be made to feel slow by a film. 

It is smart, sexy, and completely psychotic. Hold on to your hats and keep your attention up. It needs is, but by golly is it worth it. A fast paced trip through the human mind. 

Best Bit?  As the film twists more than a roller coaster, it is difficult to say too much without spoiling anything. Go see it and find your own best bit. 

 

Russians Like Their Tattoos.

There are a lot of Mafia and mob related movies out there in the world. Gangs films can become cult favourites, like The Warriors, and gangster movies can be regarded as the best films in creation, like The Godfather and The Departed. You would think there would be nothing more that can be done with gangs and the Mafia and you'd be wrong. Every year a couple are released and in 2007 the film we look at today was released. It's called Eastern Promises.

When an unidentified young women dies while giving birth to a baby girl in Anna's (Naomi Watts) ward, Anna takes it upon herself to translate the late mother’s Russian diary to find the correct home for the new born, Christine. After little help from her mother, Helen (Sinéad Cusack), and uncle, Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski), she stumbles upon a restaurant run by Russians, in which the owner, Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), offers to translate the diary faster than her uncle. What Anna doesn't realise is she’s just handed the diary over to a Russian mob known as Vory v Zakone. Semyon is the head but he has to keep looking out for his son Kirill (Vincent Cassel) and often sends his driver Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) to keep an eye on him. Desperate for answers, Anna tries to appeal to Nikolai’s good side and plead him for help. Unfortunately, due to Kirill rash decisions of revenge, the mob have plenty of issues on their hands, including staying alive.

The Mafia's rendition of Sweeney Todd was a huge hit.

There is fantastic acting throughout the movie. Viggo Mortensen is completely intimidating with his cold character that clearly has a caring and soft side. There is something utterly terrifying about the way he performs and then, as a nice juxtaposition, he suddenly shows he cares for his Russian brothers and even, to some extent, Anna and the baby. In contrast, Vincent Cassel, who is also fantastic, has a lack of care for anyone and everything as Kirill. There is something about Cassel's performance that shows deep hurt and repressed emotions – he is possibly/ quite probably a closeted homosexual – and it really shows throughout the film, peaking towards the end. However, his accent did slip from thick Russian – like the other mob members – to slightly French. Oops. Naomi Watts is also brilliant. Caring and compassionate, but strong willed and does not plan on giving up. A really interesting performance because her relationships with the mob members, particularly Nikolai, are completely engaging despite being completely different characters. The supporting cast are superb. A special mention to Jerzy Skolimowski  for his performance as Stepan; he’s a simple character that makes a big impact on the film.

The least incognito thing about Nikolai's appearance was a simple fact...
Sunglasses in England? As if.

An excellently written script that has some of the most engaging dialogue of the modern film age. The seamless transition between speaking English and speaking Russian adds a layer of simple complexity* and brings a sense of diversity and realism to the film. A lot of films choose the easy option of using one fluent language, but David Cronenberg refused to take the lazy route. A very good choice. The technical elements of the film lacked somewhat. A film of this style and standard needed a little more in terms of score and cinematography. There was a brilliantly choreographed fight scene with a handful of complete male nudity but nothing of real decency was added in in the post-production room. It really needed, in particular, more experimentation in the camera work department. That is what would have made this film a masterpiece in modern gangster movies. 

Overall, a wonderful achievement in Mafia movies as well as British movies. Don't be afraid of the common use of subtitles, this movie is worth reading a little bit. It has something for everyone. After watching, you'll dream of being as cool as Mortensen as Nikolai. (It is heartbreaking when you realise you can't be.)

Best Bit? There's a fantastic scene with Kirill and Nikolai with several hookers and Kirill turns nasty. It shows the loyalty of Nikolai and the brutality of Kirill.

African-American Swan (We're Politically Correct Here) - Part Of Natalie Portman Week.

Well here we go. A film that fits in both of my current themes: The Oscars and Natalie Portman. Yes, today we discuss Black Swan. With five Oscar nominations under its belt, is it all it's hyped up to be? Lets have a look.

Nina (Portman) is a ballet dancer. And a dedicated one at that. She just wants to be perfect. However, this gets in the way when director Thomas, (Vincent Cassel) wants her to let go a bit and dance freely. When Nina's company decide to perform Swan Lake, she dreams of dancing as the main part, the Swan Queen. But the pressure of performing begins to get to Nina, especially when relationships with her friend Lily (Mila Kunis) and with her mother (Barbara Hershey) begin to get complicated, and we begin to see a whole new side of our protagonist.

You'd think professional cameras would have red eye reduction.

A chilling tale showing the darkest side of ballet brought to life by a stunning performance by Natalie Portman. She's both innocent and dark. A hybrid of naivety and danger. Her character contrasts with itself so effectively and is developed beautifully and subtly from start to finish. A shoo in for Oscar if you ask me. Her portrayal of Nina is so impressive, you'll forget that you're watching a movie and become connected to the character. Other performances from the likes of Kunis, Cassel and Hershey are excellent and incredibly strong. Without them, the film would fall flat on it's back. Kunis brings an incredible air of confidence and sexiness with her (especially in one scene) that enlightens the film. She's portrayed so that we, the viewer, are left unsure as to how we feel about her. An effective performance if I ever saw one. Along with Portman, she brings the whole movie up into a better class. An Oscar class.

Oh and the direction. Is brilliant. Somehow, Darren Aronofsky has taken ballet and turned it into a sexy, scary, cold and disturbing piece of work. Black Swan contains all of these attributes and more. What really makes them blend together so well is Aronofsky's use of subtle hints throughout the movie. Everything from funny looking rashes to Nina's mum's paintings are presented in such a simple way but are all part of a huge overarching development. The movie is just as terrifying as much as it is dramatic. I wouldn't class it as a horror, but it crosses over genre boundaries without any difficulty: thriller, horror, drama, you name it it.

Worst Mirror Ever.

With a wonderful score consisting of classical music used in ballet, Black Swan juxtaposes what should be something beautiful with something visually disturbing. And yes, disturbing is the right word. With some slight camera tricks, some special effects and some sneaky editing, Aronofsky takes us into Nina's confused and often twisted mind and leaves nothing out. Her fantasies, her jealousy, her lust... It's all there. Perhaps not in the clearest of ways but hey, Nina doesn't know what is going on, why should we?


Perhaps not for the faint hearted. As previously mentioned, it is mildly terrifying and disturbing but also very squeamish. I don't get squeamish often but this film managed to get me cringing every so often. Stay away if you don't like blood, broken bones or psychological horror. Probably not the best movie for you. Otherwise, go see it. It is stunning, brought down by it's drops in pace. It seems that the movies pace is inconsistent while it is developing which can get frustrating. But once the stress and pressure really hit Nina after a night out with Lily, things get good. I certainly think Natalie Portman has bagged herself an Oscar and perhaps Aronofsky as well.




Best bit? For some of you it may be the intimate scene between two female dancers but for me it has to be when all those subtle hints start coming together... Particularly the paintings.