The Lobster

The Lobster is the kind of film that starts with an unbelievable premise but is so well constructed you don’t even question it. In this case the premise is a future where if you aren’t married you are shipped to a resort where you must find a partner or be turned into an animal. The main character, David (played by Colin Farrell) is newly single and accompanied to the hotel by a dog who used to be his brother. He has 45 days to find a partner, this person must share a trait in common with him. The 45 day limit can be extended by hunting the “loners”, the single people who have escaped into the forest surrounding the hotel of which Rachel Weisz’s character is a member.

This film reminded me of the experience of online dating, trying to find someone who shares common interests but having no knowledge of their actual nature. This seems to me like a comment on how there is a cultural expectation that you and your partner be perfectly matched at least superficially. The actors deftly demonstrate their characters’ desperation and their attempts to mask it, after all this is not a quest for happiness but a struggle not to lose their identities.

The Loners do not represent freedom but another extreme with restrictions on their members’ behaviour. There is no middle ground, no room for expression and seemingly no possibility for happiness in either state.  The sets reflect this bleakness but also lend a beauty contrasting the ugliness of the situation. However this film is not all doom and gloom there are many moments of subtle comedy.

This film is worth a watch if you are in a thoughtful mood.

The team behind The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymius Filippou, new film The Killing of a Sacred Deer has just been released.

 

 

Tale of Tales

When you talk about films based on fairy tales the first thing people usually mention is Disney. And for good reason many of their feature films have been based on classic stories like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel. Tale of Tales is probably as far away from a Disney version of a fairy tale as you are likely to get. This one is definitely not for kids having more in common with Pan’s Labyrinth than Snow White.

The film takes the fairy tales of Giambattista Basile and presents them in a way that is grotesque yet fascinating while staying true to their origins. The director Matteo Garrone was a painter before he started making films and this comes across with the use of sumptuous colours. In fact many scenes look like they could be framed and displayed alongside Velasquez or Caravaggio. I found myself absorbed by the beautiful imagery whilst repelled by the cruelty and violence on display. It’s this contrast rather than the subject matter that makes this film so alluring.

The talents of Salma Hayek, Toby Jones, Vincent Cassel and John C. Reilly make this a compelling film and the set design and costumes add an air of the theatrical. If you enjoy the magical realism of Guillermo Del Toro’s work this is a film you should watch.

 

Housebound

In this film Kylie (Morgana O’Reilly) after a botched robbery is sentenced to house arrest under the care of her estranged mother, Miriam (Rima Te Wiata), and step-father, Graeme (Ross Harper).  With a start like this the film could turn into a drama, a thriller or even a life-affirming Hallmark affair however Housebound is none of the above. It deftly treads the line between horror and comedy delivering both scares and laughs.

Unlike films like Shaun of the Dead where the horror is a backdrop to the comedy, Housebound keeps up the tension while still managing to elicit laughter through snappy dialogue and subversion of expectations. I find all the characters endearing whether it’s Kylie struggling with her anger or Amos balancing his no-nonsense attitude with a sincere belief in the paranormal.

This is a great film for when you can’t decide between something serious or something a bit more light hearted. 

Stag

This is somewhat of a cheat as I actually watched this when it was on the BBC last year but I saw it was on Netflix and thought people might just scroll past it. This murder mystery is suffused with dark humour and gore as well as stand out performances from a really talented and recognisable cast.

Ian (played by Jim Howick) travels to the Scottish Highlands to take part in his sister’s fiance’s stag do. He doesn’t know any of the party very well and immediately becomes the butt of their jokes however he chooses to stay having promised his sister that he would make sure her fiance Johnners (Stephen Campbell Moore) comes back in one piece. So he journeys into the wilderness with a group of strangers and a surly Game-keeper (James Cosmo). This is definitely one of those shows where you will spend most of the first episode going “Oh it’s them” with actors such as Reece Shearsmith, JJ Feild, Sharon Rooney, Rufus Jones and Pilou Asbæk joining those already named.

It’s not just the cast that is recognisable, this show brings to the table the same alienating yet claustrophobic atmosphere and bleakness featured in more serious series like Y Gwyll. This atmospheric seriousness is brilliantly juxtaposed with the ridiculousness of the characters’ reactions which serve to alleviate the feelings of tension as well as highlight them. This show also gives very little away regarding the villain of the piece and shies away from the usual murder mystery tropes that give away the plot.

If you like films like Severance this is definitely worth a watch and with only three hour long episodes it won’t take up your whole week.

 

Norsemen

When I found Norsemen on Netflix I thought it was a show similar to Vikings which I’ve grown a little weary of since the third season so I didn’t feel inspired to watch it. However I was reading an article and it mentioned that Norsemen was a comedy so I thought I would give it a try as it appeared to be a different beast. Made in Norway but voiced in English this is an excellent dry comedy from Jon Iver Helgaker and Jonas Torgersen.

Centring on the lives of people in an 8th Century Norwegian village called Norheim, this show blends satirical comedy with the epic soundtracks and costumes of more serious TV. The characters are well presented with Orm’s unsuccessful attempts at being Chieftain material coming across as hilarious rather than cringe inducing. Arvid is somewhat lovable as the bloodthirsty warrior struggling to become accustomed to a life outside pillaging.

Of course this wouldn’t be a show about Vikings without violence but this is handled deftly, it doesn’t glorify the atrocities but treats them as part of life for our characters who still find humour despite them. There is plenty of blood and a fair amount of poop but then it wouldn’t be the Middle Ages without them.

This show is the perfect tonic for people like myself who have grown tired of the dour nature of period dramas like The Last Kingdom and Vikings. Watch this if you want the period without the drama.