Match Point is a film from fifteen years ago, written and directed by Woody Allen. Apparently he originally intended to set the story in the US, but funding issues prompted him to come to Britain. The result is a film that seems to me to be rather untypical of his work, but not wholly unrecognisable. There are touches of Dostoevsky and Dreiser, yes, but also a hint of Ruth Rendell. For this film is a psychological thriller, although its true nature isn't apparent until the later stages of the story.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers is Chris Wilton, a charismatic former tennis player, who at the start of the film introduces us to the central theme of the film. It's about luck - does the tennis ball that touches the net drop on the right side or not? The script (which was nominated for an Oscar) plays with this notion rather cleverly. Chris becomes friendly with Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode, very smooth) and is introduced to his very wealthy family. Tom's Dad (Brian Cox in benevolent mood) is a rich tycoon, his mother (Penelope Wilton) is a charming meddler and his sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer) is instantly smitten with Chris.
The snag is that, once Chris meets Tom's fiancee, he is smitten with her. Scarlett Johansson plays Nola Rice, a glamorous American actress. She and Chris have a fling, but Chris marries Chloe and Tom splits up with Nola. Trouble is, Chris subsequently bumps into Nola and the affair resumes. You just know that it isn't going to end well. And for some of the characters, it doesn't.
The lead actors are terrific, and the impressive supporting cast includes Margaret Tyzack, James Nesbitt, Mark Gatiss, John Fortune, Steve Pemberton, and Alexander Armstrong. It's a long film, but it doesn't really sag prior to the dramatic events of the last twenty minutes. The characters may not be loveable, but they are interesting, and cleverly presented so that their unappealing attitudes aren't as much of a turn-off as perhaps they ought to be. Overall, a very enjoyable film.
Showing posts with label Matthew Goode. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew Goode. Show all posts
Monday, 17 August 2020
Wednesday, 7 March 2018
The Hatton Garden Job and Freehold (aka Two Pigeons) - movie reviews
Two short, recent films today. Both have their moments, but not enough to live up to the potential of their storylines. And despite short running times, they both felt a bit too long, which rather said it all. The Hatton Garden Job disappointed me more, because the true story on which it's based is so remarkable - an extraordinarily lucrative heist carried out by a small gang of veteran criminals. Despite the arrests and convictions that followed, questions about the crime remain.
This film makes up answers to some of those questions, inventing a character played by Matthew Goode who is hired to do job by a glamorous female Hungarian gangster, played rather improbably by Joely Richardson. We never really learn enough about either character to become fully engaged with them, and I was amused by one negative review which compared Richardson's performance to that of a frazzled magician's assistant. Well, it isn't her finest hour, but I remain a fan of hers.
The snag with a heist movie is that it is easy to fall into the trap of following a formula: the gang is assembled, the heist is carried out, and then things go wrong. This film doesn't do anything original with those elements, even though the gang members, including the excellent David Calder, are a likeable bunch - much more likeable than their real life counterparts, no doubt.
A couple of days after watching this, I came across Ambush in Leopard Street, a 1962 B-movie about a diamond heist in London. Apart from Bruce Seton (aka Fabian of the Yard) the cast was as forgettable as the script, but really there wasn't any less to it than there was to The Hatton Garden Job, even though the new film looks much flashier.
Freehold, also known as Two Pigeons (I wonder why they changed the title... or perhaps I don't!), is a revenge thriller, a black comedy, including scenes which will appeal to connoisseurs of the repellent. Having met a few young London estate agents some years back, the idea of one of their number getting an overdue come-uppance is, I'm sorry to say, rather appealing, but again I didn't think the script fulfilled its theoretical promise. I did, however, think that the ending was pretty good, and rather better than the lead-up to it.
This film makes up answers to some of those questions, inventing a character played by Matthew Goode who is hired to do job by a glamorous female Hungarian gangster, played rather improbably by Joely Richardson. We never really learn enough about either character to become fully engaged with them, and I was amused by one negative review which compared Richardson's performance to that of a frazzled magician's assistant. Well, it isn't her finest hour, but I remain a fan of hers.
The snag with a heist movie is that it is easy to fall into the trap of following a formula: the gang is assembled, the heist is carried out, and then things go wrong. This film doesn't do anything original with those elements, even though the gang members, including the excellent David Calder, are a likeable bunch - much more likeable than their real life counterparts, no doubt.
A couple of days after watching this, I came across Ambush in Leopard Street, a 1962 B-movie about a diamond heist in London. Apart from Bruce Seton (aka Fabian of the Yard) the cast was as forgettable as the script, but really there wasn't any less to it than there was to The Hatton Garden Job, even though the new film looks much flashier.
Freehold, also known as Two Pigeons (I wonder why they changed the title... or perhaps I don't!), is a revenge thriller, a black comedy, including scenes which will appeal to connoisseurs of the repellent. Having met a few young London estate agents some years back, the idea of one of their number getting an overdue come-uppance is, I'm sorry to say, rather appealing, but again I didn't think the script fulfilled its theoretical promise. I did, however, think that the ending was pretty good, and rather better than the lead-up to it.
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
The Lookout - film review
When I sat down to watch The Lookout, a 2007 movie written and directed by Scott Frank, but of which I knew little or nothing, my expectations weren't especially high. It turned out to be one of those very enjoyable experiences, when one stumbles upon something quite excellent, rather by chance. It's a good thriller,but it also makes some good points about the way the world treats people with disabilities.
Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is young, rich and high-achieving man driving a car with three friends one night when, while showing off, he is involved in a terrible accident. Two passengers die, his girlfirend loses her leg,and he suffers brain damage. Four years later, he is working as a janitor in a bank, trying to cope with severe memory problems. His family is kind, but struggles to deal with him on his own terms, and he lives with a blind man, Lew, played by the ever-dependable Jeff Bridges.
Another young man, Gary (the English actor Matthew Goode), befriends him, and introduces him to the affectionate ex-pole dancer Luvlee (Isla Fisher, an Austrlian - yes, it's a cosmopolitan cast for a film set in a small American town, though actually filmed in Canada). Unfortunately, Gary's motives are base - he and his chums are planning to rob Chris's bank, and they need his help. The film is very good indeed on the subtle ways in which able-bodied people can mistreat those with disabilities. This is a subject which has interested me for years, and I've never seen a crime film deal with it better than this one.
The Lookout is not a formulaic movie, and you never quite know what will happen next. Suffice to say that I found the story satisfying, and very well written. The acting is absolutely excellent, and I'm surprised this film isn't better known. I really can recommend it, and there are one or two scenes that will linger in my memory for a long time to come.
Finally, I'm about to set off on my travels again. The last six months have involved a lot of activity on The Golden Age of Murder, The Dungeon House, and anthologies and introductions for the British Library Crime Classics series, and now I'm going to get away for it all for a while and think out the storyline of my next novel. There will be regular scheduled blog posts on a variety of subjects as usual, but internet access will be patchy, so I may be slow at times in responding to comments. But please do keep them coming...And one thing I'll miss whilst I'm away is an episode of Mastermind in which the Harry Devlin novels are a special subject. Fame at last! It's nice to think that Harry may just gain a new lease of life, and some new readers, as a result. I'm fond of the old chap, and enjoy writing up his cases enormously.
Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is young, rich and high-achieving man driving a car with three friends one night when, while showing off, he is involved in a terrible accident. Two passengers die, his girlfirend loses her leg,and he suffers brain damage. Four years later, he is working as a janitor in a bank, trying to cope with severe memory problems. His family is kind, but struggles to deal with him on his own terms, and he lives with a blind man, Lew, played by the ever-dependable Jeff Bridges.
Another young man, Gary (the English actor Matthew Goode), befriends him, and introduces him to the affectionate ex-pole dancer Luvlee (Isla Fisher, an Austrlian - yes, it's a cosmopolitan cast for a film set in a small American town, though actually filmed in Canada). Unfortunately, Gary's motives are base - he and his chums are planning to rob Chris's bank, and they need his help. The film is very good indeed on the subtle ways in which able-bodied people can mistreat those with disabilities. This is a subject which has interested me for years, and I've never seen a crime film deal with it better than this one.
The Lookout is not a formulaic movie, and you never quite know what will happen next. Suffice to say that I found the story satisfying, and very well written. The acting is absolutely excellent, and I'm surprised this film isn't better known. I really can recommend it, and there are one or two scenes that will linger in my memory for a long time to come.
Finally, I'm about to set off on my travels again. The last six months have involved a lot of activity on The Golden Age of Murder, The Dungeon House, and anthologies and introductions for the British Library Crime Classics series, and now I'm going to get away for it all for a while and think out the storyline of my next novel. There will be regular scheduled blog posts on a variety of subjects as usual, but internet access will be patchy, so I may be slow at times in responding to comments. But please do keep them coming...And one thing I'll miss whilst I'm away is an episode of Mastermind in which the Harry Devlin novels are a special subject. Fame at last! It's nice to think that Harry may just gain a new lease of life, and some new readers, as a result. I'm fond of the old chap, and enjoy writing up his cases enormously.
Monday, 10 December 2012
The Poison Tree - tv review
The Poison Tree, a two-part ITV psychological suspense story, began this evening and certainly proved watchable. I haven't read the book by Erin Kelly on which Emilia di Girolamo's adaptation is based (though I recall enjoying a book with the same title by Tony Strong a few years back - whatever happened to Tony Strong,by the way?) The cast is led by the memorably named (and very good-looking) trio of MyAnna Buring, Matthew Goode and Ophelia Lovibond.
The story begins in the present with Kate Clarke (Buring) greeting her husband Rex (Goode) as he leaves prison after serving a 12 year sentence. We don't know anything about what he has done, but in a series of flashbacks we see the couple being introduced by Rex's wacky sister Biba (Lovibond). Rather like a pair of Ruth Rendell characters, the siblings live in a posh house, but don't work, and clearly have "issues".
At first Biba, Kate and Rex get on swimmingly, but things start to go wrong when Kate finds out about her friends' father, a rich man who has given up on them and wants to evict them from the house. In the present day story, Rex struggles to adjust to life outside, and someone is watching him, Kate and their daughter. Rex is keeping his identity secret, but this seemed wildly optimistic from the start, and it soon becomes clear that the neighbours are suspicious Meanwhile, in the past, events move to a homicidal climax.
The story is intriguing, and this is another of those thrillers that gains added suspense from a spooky Fenland setting. So it will be worth staying with it to find out what's going on (and what went on, years ago.) However, I did have reservations. First, I found it difficult to warm to any of the main characters, and consequently I wasn't as sympathetic to Kate and Rex as I felt I should have been (nor, for that matter, was I convinced by Kate's supposed Warrington accent).. Second, there were one or two aspects of the plot that seemed unlikely, even by the standards of this type of story - where, I think, one has to accept that suspension of disbelief is necessary. For instance, why on earth hadn't Kate and Rex planned more carefully how they would lead their new lives after such a long time apart, if they were so desperate to conceal his identity and what had happened in the past? Perhaps the novel covers these issues more plausibly. Or perhaps satisfactory explanations will be forthcoming in episode two. We'll see.
The story begins in the present with Kate Clarke (Buring) greeting her husband Rex (Goode) as he leaves prison after serving a 12 year sentence. We don't know anything about what he has done, but in a series of flashbacks we see the couple being introduced by Rex's wacky sister Biba (Lovibond). Rather like a pair of Ruth Rendell characters, the siblings live in a posh house, but don't work, and clearly have "issues".
At first Biba, Kate and Rex get on swimmingly, but things start to go wrong when Kate finds out about her friends' father, a rich man who has given up on them and wants to evict them from the house. In the present day story, Rex struggles to adjust to life outside, and someone is watching him, Kate and their daughter. Rex is keeping his identity secret, but this seemed wildly optimistic from the start, and it soon becomes clear that the neighbours are suspicious Meanwhile, in the past, events move to a homicidal climax.
The story is intriguing, and this is another of those thrillers that gains added suspense from a spooky Fenland setting. So it will be worth staying with it to find out what's going on (and what went on, years ago.) However, I did have reservations. First, I found it difficult to warm to any of the main characters, and consequently I wasn't as sympathetic to Kate and Rex as I felt I should have been (nor, for that matter, was I convinced by Kate's supposed Warrington accent).. Second, there were one or two aspects of the plot that seemed unlikely, even by the standards of this type of story - where, I think, one has to accept that suspension of disbelief is necessary. For instance, why on earth hadn't Kate and Rex planned more carefully how they would lead their new lives after such a long time apart, if they were so desperate to conceal his identity and what had happened in the past? Perhaps the novel covers these issues more plausibly. Or perhaps satisfactory explanations will be forthcoming in episode two. We'll see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)