Film Review: TAKE SHELTER (2011)

Writer/Director: Jeff Nichols
Running time: 120 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/Thriller
UK Release date: 25^th November 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 16^th September 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is another of those films that has sat on the back burner for quite a while now. I remember it coming out and being very well received by the critics; it was duly put on ‘The List’. Of course it never played at the local cinema and so a TV viewing became the preferred option. I have to say, for the most part, I am in agreement with the critics on this one; it is very good, but in a very understated way. I will explain more after this very brief summary.

Curtis is being bothered by bad dreams; dreams in which a giant storm causes people to go mad and do harm to each other. He wants to protect his family; wife Samantha and daughter Hannah, who is deaf. Becoming quite obsessed, he takes out a loan and extends the storm shelter they have behind their house. He does all this without consulting Samantha and she begins to worry about him. Curtis is also worried because there is a history of schizophrenia in his family; his mother was diagnosed with it in her thirties. To this end he goes to the doctor and he recommends a psychiatrist but Curtis is worried about the money and ends up seeing a councillor instead. All this begins to affect his work and Curtis finds himself in trouble with his boss. They had just heard that Hannah can have surgery to help with her hearing, but it all hangs on Curtis’s medical insurance through work. Has he had a glimpse into an apocalyptic future, or is he going mad?... Well, I’ll wager you know I’m not going to tell you here.

First of all I’ll throw out a little praise for the guys that did the sound design. I only listened to it in stereo and it was nice to actually hear different sounds coming from the two main speakers. It’s usually so badly mixed that it just sounds mono, but this was actually thought about and mixed properly (for a change); well done! Now on to the performances, well both Michael Shannon as Curtis and Jessica Chastain as Samantha were truly excellent; I found I could easily connect with both of their characters. They were ably supported by Shea Whigham as Curtis’s workmate Dewart and Tova Stewart as their daughter Hannah.

The film has a very slow deliberate pace and time is taken to explore all of Curtis’s actions. At one point he even sits down with Samantha and fully explains just what has been going on; his fears and frustrations and what he thinks might happen. It’s a scene you would never usually get in a film of this type and I’m very glad to see it here. At first I found it quite hard to sympathise with Curtis, but as it went on and we knew more about his thoughts, I came around. It’s a film I would certainly like to see again at some point; I’m sure there is much I missed. I know it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but for those that like this kind of thing I urge you to give it a look; you won’t be disappointed.

SteelMonster’s verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My score: 8.3/10

IMDb Score: 7.5/10 (based on 27,305 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1675192/

MetaScore: 85/100: (Based on 33 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 92/100 (based on 146 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 80/100 ‘Liked it’ (based on 17,420 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/take_shelter/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Curtis: [talking about Hanna, their deaf daughter] I still take off my boots not to wake her.
Samantha: [whispering] I still whisper.

Curtis: Is anyone seeing this?

Curtis: [ranting angrily at a roomful of neighbours] Sleep well in your beds. 'Cause if this thing comes true, there ain't gonna be any more.

Curtis: You think I'm crazy? Well, listen up, there's a storm coming like nothing you've ever seen, and not a one of you is prepared for it.

[last lines]
Curtis: [urging] Sam.
Samantha: Okay.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/takeshelter/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/takeshelter
Trailer:

Film Review: THE DEBT (2011)

Director: John Madden
Writers: Matthew Vaughn (screenplay), Jane Goldman (screenplay), Peter Straughan (screenplay), Assaf Bernstein (film “Ha-Hov”), Ido Rosenblum (film “Ha-Hov”)
Running Time: 109 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/Thriller
UK Release Date: 30^th September 2011

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 4^th August 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember seeing a trailer for this at the cinema all the way back in 2010 but it never seemed to appear! It did, of course, finally get a release but was (as far as I know) not all that well received. The trailer had done its work on me though and I remembered it when I saw it land in the TV listings. It’s an interesting film that has both good and bad parts. I will tell you more after this very brief summary.

When a Mossad team is sent to East Berlin in 1965 to find and bring back a Nazi war criminal, they begin a train of events that will follow them for many years to come. The team consists of Rachel Singer, Stephan Gold and David Peretz. Their target is a man who calls himself Doktor Bernhardt, who is in reality Dieter Vogel; the notorious ‘Surgeon of Birkeanu’. The action switches between 1997 and 1965 as we are told of the events in Berlin in flashback. The results of these events have long-reaching and very different effects on the three members of the team. I really don’t want to say any more or I may give too much away (and the Spoiler Police wouldn’t like that!).

A very well made film which I found notable for the performances of those involved. With the action being split between two timelines there are two actors for each of the main parts; Helen Mirren was excellent as Rachel Singer (1997) and I thought Jessica Chastain was equally good in the same part circa 1965. Tom Wilkinson was great (as ever) as Stephan Gold (1997) with Marton Csokas doing a fine job in 1965. Finally there’s Ciarán Hinds who did a good job as David Peretz (1997) and Sam Worthington did an excellent job as the 1965 version. I should also give a mention to Jesper Christensen who did a great job as Doktor Bernhardt / Dieter Vogel.

Based on the Israeli film, “Ha-Hov” (which I haven’t seen), I could see parallels with the Steven Spielberg film “Munich”. Surprisingly, there is a long section of the film that concentrates on the events in Berlin which I thought was maybe a bit too long. There needed to be (IMO) a little more grounding in 1997 as that is where the film ends. Having said that, I did find this tale quite gripping with an unexpected outcome. I liked the way certain details were kept from the audience until the action switched to 1997. Over all, an interesting drama/thriller with some great performances; I just felt it needed a little more… Still, worth a look.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED.

My Score 7.1/10

IMDb Score: 6.9/10 (based on 28,779 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1226753/

MetaScore: 65/100: (Based on 37 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 76/100 (based on 165 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 67/100 ‘Liked It’ (based on 30,552 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1211195-debt/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Young Stephan: Breathe.

Young David: Here you are a Mossad agent, all those years of training, the highest levels of marksmanship and krav maga, and your first big mission is sewing.
Young Rachel: Black belt in dressmaking.
[brandishing a pin]
Young David: I never argue with an armed woman.
Young Rachel: [stabs him with the pin]

Doktor Bernhardt: Do it. You want to do it... Do it.
Young Rachel: [finishes shaving his neck]
Doktor Bernhardt: That's right. I'd forgotten. You Jews never knew how to kill. Only how to die.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://focusfeatures.com/the_debt
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seethedebt
Trailer:

Film Review: THE HELP (2011)

Director: Tate Taylor
Writers: Tate Taylor (screenplay), Kathryn Stockett (novel)
Running Time: 142 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Drama
UK Release Date: 26^th October 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 29^th July 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is one of those films that I wanted to see when it came out but somehow managed to miss. Fortunately it came up on TV this week and I had the opportunity to give it a viewing this morning. It had quite a lot of critical acclaim on release so I knew it would be good; the question was, how good? Well I’ll tell you about that after this very brief summary.

When Skeeter Phelan returns home to Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960’s she gets herself a job at the local paper. She is employed to write a weekly column on housekeeping although she has higher ambitions. She wants to write a book about life as a maid, but from the maid’s point of view, something that was highly illegal in Mississippi at the time. Of course she can’t let the maids employers, many of them her friends, know about the book so she does it in secret. Initially, her main source of material is Aibileen Clark who works for Elizabeth Leefolt bringing up her children, cooking and cleaning. As time passes, Minny Jackson also relates some of her stories after a major falling out with her employer, Hilly Holbrook. She finds another position with the young Celia Foote who is a bit of a social outcast. More and more people come to Skeeter with their stories as events unfold and eventually it is finished… Apart from one story; Skeeter’s own… But what repercussions will there be for those involved? I’ll leave it there or the Spoiler Police will not like what I gotta say.

Very well made with a nicely paced plot that always keeps the audience interested. Some great performances also add to the enjoyment; Emma Stone played the inquisitive graduate, Skeeter Phelan with great assurance. Viola Davis as the central character Aibileen Clark was really excellent, as was Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson. Bryce Dallas Howard was also first-rate as the main villain of the piece, Hilly Holbrook. I also thought that Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote did an excellent job. Also worthy of note were; Ahna O'Reilly as Elizabeth Leefolt, Allison Janney as Skeeter’s mother, Charlotte, Sissy Spacek as Missus Walters and Chris Lowell as the obligatory love-interest, Stuart Whitworth.

A film that has a real feel-good factor, it very much concentrates its focus on things from the perspective of the women, on both sides of the story, but in particular the maids. I found there were some very touching moments along with quite a lot of humour. It’s set at a time and place where a lot of things were changing very rapidly, particularly in the aspect of race relations and you can see a lot of ignorance and bigotry. I should point out that not all the employers are bad; there are one or two stories that relate how the maids were cared for very well. Over all, I found this film quite uplifting; one I’d happily watch again at some point.

SteelMonster’s verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My Score 8.7/10

IMDb Score: 8.1/10 (based on 98,862 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1454029/

MetaScore: 62/100: (Based on 41 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 76/100 (based on 197 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 90/100 ‘Liked It’ (based on 67,805 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_help/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Aibileen Clark: I was born 1911, Chicksaw County, Piedmont Plantation.
Woman: And did you know as a girl growing up that one day you'd be a maid?
Aibileen Clark: Yes ma'am, I did.
Woman: And you knew that because...
Aibileen Clark: My mama was a maid. My grandmama was a house slave.
Woman: [whispering as she writes down] "house slave..." Did you ever dream of being something else?
Aibileen Clark: [nods yes]
Woman: What does it feel like to raise a white child when your own child's at home being looked after by somebody else?

Aibileen Clark: You is kind. You is smart. You is important.

Stuart Whitworth: I've never met a woman that says exactly what she's thinking.
Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan: Well, I got plenty to say.

Hilly Holbrook: They carry different diseases than we do. That's why I've drafted the Home Health Sanitation Initiative.
Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan: The what?
Hilly Holbrook: A disease-preventative bill that requires every white home to have a separate bathroom for the coloured help. It's been endorsed by the White Citizen's Council.
Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan: Maybe we should just build you a bathroom outside, Hilly.

Charlotte Phelan: Love and hate are two horns on the same goat, Eugenia. And you need a goat.

[last lines]
Aibileen Clark: In just ten minutes, the only life I knew was done.
Mae Mobley: [calling after her through the window] A-a-a-aibee!
Aibileen Clark: God says we need to love our enemies. It hard to do. But it can start by telling the truth. No one had ever asked me what it feel like to be me. Once I told the truth about that, I felt free. And I got to thinking about all the people I know. And the things I seen and done. My boy Trelaw always said we gonna have a writer in the family one day. I guess it's gonna be me.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://thehelpmovie.com/us/
Trailer: