RARE FILM: Tiny Furniture (2010) Dir. Lena Dunham

Director, Star & Writer, Lena Dunham, is simply a genius and modern day heroine

With big wins at SXSW in 2010, this coming of age, heavily frank, partly autobiographical, indie feature is a charming, hidden gem. Film4 acquired this film in 2012 and it was only released in a handful of cinemas last year. The film grabbed the attention of the key bosses at HBO soon after it's showcase at SXSW, soon after, Dunham was granted a TV deal for her highly acclaimed, award winning series, Girls.

The plot: Recently graduated from college, Aura, returns to her mothers swish apartment, attempts to find a job, runs into old friends and manages to find herself in awkward situations with men. Starring Lena Dunham's real life mother and sister, Tiny Furniture is brutally candid and feels more like a Woody Allen film if he was a girl in his twenties.

Not catering to everyone's taste, Tiny Furniture struts around comically, dancing around with the woes of the white middle class. Post-college yet not quite prepared for the real world, Aura is doing a lot of reflecting. Her actions throughout the film reflects the current generation of twenty, something year old's; The loss of direction in one's career, the overriding sense of entitlement, the intensity of female friendships and the numbness towards sex and relationships. 

Hipster friends, Aura & Charlotte - Gallery sequence

Tiny Furniture is an extremely funny film because it lacks pretense. Aura's melodramatic interactions with her sister and mother to her conversations with hipster, extrovert friend, Charlotte (played by Girls star, Jemima Kirke) is both sincere and very similar to real life interactions with loved ones. It's quite difficult not to warm to the characters with lines such as;

                                                                                                                           

                                    Aura's friend: "..Good to see you too, you look so pretty!"

Aura: "Oh are you serious? I feel like this outfit just screams: I've been living in Ohio for three years, take me back to your gross apartment and have sex with me"

Dunham's refusal to get all dolled up for the camera is one of the strongest aspects to the film, the audience is seeing a completely new representation of a woman on screen. Not only is Dunham curvaceous, she has no hesitation revealing her body throughout the film, standing in her childish pajamas with just her underwear on, it appears she is not only a modern day feminist, she's also highlighting the difficulty of being in your twenties; Not quite ready for adulthood yet desperately trying to understand and mold into it. 

More on Dunham:

Born and raised in New York City to two artists (Carroll Dunham and Laurie Simmons) Dunham attended  Oberlin Liberal Arts College where she graduated in Creative Writing in 2008.

Having always had a passion for making short films, Lena Dunham nabbed best narrative feature at SWSX festival in 2010, her career skyrocketed since then.

NB: If you've fallen in love with Lena Dunham as much as I have, check out  'British Biscuits' - The Delusional Downtown Diva's below: 

AND

Click HERE for a great interview with her in GQ magazine.

The Bling Ring (2013) Dir. Sofia Coppola

Based on real life events, specifically on the Vanity Fair article, The Suspects Wore Louboutins, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring follows a group of celebrity-obsessed teens that 'burglarized' (I was not aware this  was even a word before seeing the film) celebrity homes. Orlando Bloom, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan , Megan Fox and Audrina Patridge were some of the victims victims?! targets victims. 

Sofia Coppola has always been somewhat sympathetic towards the problems and plights of the privileged. It's certainly an odd and slightly irritating perspective to adopt but none the less an extremely fascinating one which most of us are alien to. We saw this theme boldly in her stunning feature; Somewhere, which follows the aimless life of well known actor, Johnny Marco,  (played by Stephen Dorff) and his young daughter Cleo (played by the immensely talented, Elle Fanning) the film mostly takes place in the iconic luxury hotel, Chateau Marmont and around Los Angeles. 

Coppola herself was born and raised to affluent parents. Her father, Francis Ford Coppola, the great director who created the classic Godfather films, it's no question as to why she takes such an interest into the lives of the privileged and  the issues surrounding them. 

Throughout the film, as the sequences unfold, the robberies and car thefts do not appear to be shocking, the audience is effectively taken along this ride of madness and stealing begins to feel like the norm here. Emma Watson is particular exceptional in her role of Niki. Ice cold, deluded and generally jaded. Using Paris Hilton's actual house for the filming of the burglaries, the film puts the audience right in the heart of excessive celebrity worship. It's certainly a visual feast with the shots of ridiculous amount of shoes, bling and clothes. 

Teens gone wild - Paris Hilton's shoes

The most exquisite sequence is when Rebecca (played by Katie Chang) and Marc (played by Israel Broussard) rob Audrina Patridge's home. The Sofia Coppola stamp was most clearly marked with the stunning long shot of the mansion on the hills, each room lights up as the teens enter rummaging around for goods to steal . The audience adopts a completely detached angle whilst they witness the vulgar act unfold. This was one of the most exceptional sequences in the film.

Coppola approaches The Bling Ring with a rather numb, obsessive compulsive and repetitive angle. These teens are clearly misguided and represent a whole generation infatuated with fame, celebrities, money, Chanel hand bags and facebook profile pictures. Coppola refrains from glamourising this clique or series of circumstances which is one of the major strengths of the film.

The film is jam packed with LA norms and for anyone who has spent time in LA, you will understand these connections and the film will come across as a black comedy. The fact that many people use prescription drugs like Xanax is casually thrown into the film, Hollywood in particular has a reputation for the easy access of prescription drugs. Geographically speaking, celebrities roam around LA and are in close proximity to the average person, they are only a handful of 'cool' night clubs and bars, this appears to encourage the sense of celeb mania. Coppola reflects this ever so casually in the night club scene where the teens are at, both Paris Hilton and Kirsten Dunst both make a cameo. 

Niki (Emma Watson) in the club sequence

Another humorous aspect of the film is Niki's mother home-schooling her children based on the spiritual wisdom / religion, The Secret.  Most of the theory is based on positive thinking and blocking out negative thoughts in order invite good things (yes, actual things) into your life. 

The desire for money, the desire for the perfect body, the desire for status, the desire for designer clothes and even the greed for spiritual / religious enlightenment. At first glance, The Bling Ring may have worked better as a documentary of some sort however, on second glance, the repetitive and robotic nature of the screenplay and general unfolding of this feature is a unique triumph. Coppola has most eloquently summarised the problem with young teens in Hollywood and delivered a polished film with amazing performances and a kitsch soundtrack. 

The destinations of these characters are unknown, Coppola hints towards a metaphoric LA smog, coexisting and interrupting these youngsters, filling them with an quenching thirst for all things celebrity and material based. The audience does tend to sympathise with these teens, especially towards the lead up of their arrest. However, the eerie reality that Coppola has painted of La La Land, overrides this completely. 

FrightFest 2013 : The Line-Up

Our lovely friends at Film4 and founders, Paul McEvoy, Ian Rattray and Alan Jones return with FrightFest Horror Film Festival in August. Currently in it's fourteenth year, the festival takes place in the lavish and huge Empire Cinema in Leicester Square from 22nd August until 26th August. Showcasing 51 films over the course of a long weekend. 

The crowd at FrightFest feels more like an odd, huge family get together than a festival. Strangers enthusiastically speak to each other, it's a safe haven for genuine horror geeks to roam around expressing their passion for this fascinating, fiercely entertaining film genre. 

My top five pics for this year are as follows: 

1) Big Bad Wolves (Dir. Aharon Keshales & Navot Papushado) 2013

A fathers revenge after the  brutual murder on his daughter. 

Organisers of FrightFest have said to expect,

"...a teasingly twisting plot that’s part OLDBOY, part Hitchcock, part Coen Brothers..."







2) Curse of Chucky (Dir. Don Macini) 2013 

The European premiere of Macini's latest, highly popular feature, killer doll, Chucky!

The blue eyed, ginger doll is causing more mayhem and havoc than ever. 














3) V/H/S 2 (Dir. Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Gregg Hale, Eduardo Sanchez, Timo Tjahjanto & Adam Wingard) 2013

After seeing V/H/S (the first one) at FrightFest last year, I am extremely excited about the follow up.

With a team of seven directors, these short films combined into one appear to be edgier and more slick than ever.








4) We Are What We Are (Dir. Jim Mickle) 2013

Two daughters are forced to deal with the loss of their mother. Instructed by their stern father to partake in an ancestral ritual, this promises to be art house in style and extremely gorey. 

Expect a lot of blood, a lot of cannibalism..



















5) Nosferatu (Dir. F.W. Murnau) 1922

One from the retro stems is Murnau's expressionistic vampire story.

A truly iconic film. A visual treat. 













Other great films include Odd Thomas, I Spit On Your Grave 2,Your Next, The Dead 2: India & Cheap Thrills.

For the complete line-up please click here. 

London East End Film Festival

This years East End Film Festival will be running from June 25th through till July 10th. Currently in its twelfth year, this year promises an eclectic mix of work. Having had a thorough look through the catalog here are my top 5 must see picks from the festival:

1) Love Lace (2013) Dir. Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman

Based on the life of the notorious, Linda Lovelace,  an American pornography actress who starred in the controversial, 1970's feminist porno, Deep Throat. Lovelace soon quit porn altogether and now is part of the anti-pornography movement. With an impressive cast (Sharon Stone, Peter Sarsgaard and Amanda Seyfried) and fascinating plot, I am particular looking forward to this film. Screening on the 10th July at Hackney Picturehouse. You can buy your tickets here. 

2) Shorts Programmes: Family Ties

EEFF has always been a huge supporter on showcasing brilliant shorts and Family Ties looks particularly intriguing due to the universal subject matter that audiences can relate to and also my current obsession, the immensely talented Neil Maskell starring in Driftwood (2012) 

For just £11.60 (adult price) you can see the all the following Family Ties shorts: 

Long Distance Information (2012) Dir. Douglas Hart 8 mins

From Dad to Son (2011) Dir. Nils Knoblich 5 mins

Laura (2013) Dir. Tim Knights 20 mins

Cowboys (2011) Dir.James Alexandrou  18mins

Kingdom of Doug (2013) Dir. Victoria Thaine 15mins

Driftwood (2012) Dir. James Webber 11mins

Mickey & Michaela Buy Their Dad (2013) Dir. Tom George 8 mins

Screening on Sunday 30th June at Hackney Picturehouse. You can buy your ticket here.

3) Satellite Boy (2012) Dir. Catriona McKenzie

Everything about the synopsis to this film excited me so I am going to quote directly from the EEFF website:

"A heartrending tale of family, tradition and survival, Catriona McKenzie’s remarkable debut film sees a young boy being raised in the shadow of an abandoned drive-in cinema in rural Western Australia. Pete (the startlingly promising newcomer Cameron Wallaby) decides to head to the city when the cinema is purchased by a mining company, a journey that ends as a fight for survival in which the skills taught to him by his grandfather (veteran actor David Gulpilil) prove invaluable. Satellite Boy is a film to warm the heart and soothe the soul."

 Screening at the Barbican you can buy your tickets here. 

4) Frances Ha (2012) Dir. Noah Baumbach 

Another indie coming of age tale set in New York based on the twenty something year old Frances, a conversational film which I suspect will not cater to everyone's taste. 

Having watched the trailer to Frances Ha this was going to be an obvious must see for me. It has a certain Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture vibe about it which excited me even more. Woody Allen fans would enjoy this feature. 

Screening on 6th July at Hackney Picturehouse you can buy tickets here. 

5) Extraordinary Stories (2008) Dir. Mariano Llinas

I've saved the best till last. Argentinian Director, Mariano Llinas appears to take the audience on an experimental story telling journey. With three separate plot lines, intriguing characters and the most enticing and interesting voice over I've witnessed in a film trailer, this is truly the most exciting film of the festival.

Highly recommend you watch the trailer here.

Screening at RichMix Cinema, you can buy tickets here. 

A Nos Amours: 'Solaris' (1972) Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky

"I've been in love four or five times. Twice with a woman, once with a man, once with a dog and once with this film" - Will Self introducing screening of 'Solaris' at Curzon Renoir on 13th June 2013

Having already attended two fantastically scrumptious screenings held by A Nos Amours film collective, I was feeling  particularly curious about this one. Being a Tarkovsky virgin and not an avid sci-fi fan (although I adore Brazil), I was unsure whether I'd enjoy Solaris.

 Will Self gave us an enthusiastic, fiercely candid, passionate and highly comical introduction before the screening. He encouraged the audience to have an open mind when viewing the film and leave all our expectation of the usual 'Hollywood' run of the mill cinema at the door.

Solaris is a deeply mystical film at best with not much of a solid plot. Tarkovsky uses the idea of a star solar system being a metaphor of some kind of moral God encouraging the characters to re-consider their beliefs, confront the past, explore the human condition and ideas about love and loss.

The opening of Solaris is absolutely hypnotising in every sense; The audience is introduced to the main protagonist, Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) appearing to be a rather pensive character standing in his garden. There are some stunning shots of his garden, flowing water and lots of greenery while the pace of this opening sets the overall tone of the film.

We learn that Kelvin will be leaving Earth to take a voyage to planet Solaris - Once he arrives on the space ship, Solaris appears to be sending vibrations that trigger up aspects of his sub conscience. His deceased wife, Haris (Natalya Bondarchuk) returns to haunt him, this encourages him to also explore conceptual ideas about existence with two scientists; Snaut and Sartorius.

Just like David Lynch, Tarkovsky succeeds in transporting the audience to a dream like frequency where we can almost touch the walls of his own inner sub conscience. The random images of dogs on the space ship (perhaps not so random..?) to the sequences from Kelvin's past which includes a stunning Russian film score which succeeds in creating a sense of familiarity. We understand, we feel, Kelvin's journey.

The cutaway shots of the moving ocean are truly magnificent. These shots appear to be reflecting human memory, what it lacks in detail, it makes up with the intensity of genuine bold feelings.

Solaris is a perplexing, visual study of the human subconscious, a love story on one hand and a moving film that must be watched with patience and most definitely over and over again to truly understand and relish everything it has to offer.

Hats off to Adam Roberts and Joanna Hogg for forming this wonderful and truly unique film collective which is devoid of pretension and instead, is dedicated to screening rare and often overlooked films in their original print.

A fantastic, mixed crowd of cinephiles, artistic types, industry professionals and lovers of slow cinema, I highly recommend you catch the next screening. Past screenings have included; Frost (Tarkovsky), A Moment of Innocence (Mohsen Makhmalbaf) & La Belle et la Bete (Jean Cocteau).

You can find them on twitter and on facebook.

http://www.anosamours.co.uk/

The Iceman (2012) Dir. Ariel Vromen

Michael Shannon plays Richard Kuklinski in The Iceman, a film heavily based on true events tells the story of  Kuklinski, a part time devoted family man and part time notorious contract killer. 

With an impressive line up of cast (just to name a few; James Franco, Ray Liotta, Stephen Dorff) and an interesting plot, it was hard not to miss The Iceman.  It certainly does deliver a gripping mob/thriller genre driven film. Michael Shannon absolutely leads the way with his blank expressions and deadpan reactions.  

Winona Ryder graces us with her presence and gives a fantastic ( and rather eerie at moments too) performance as Kuklinkski's wife, Deborah. 

There appeared to be one major casting error;  David Schwimmer  from Friends as part of the mob...  I couldn't help laughing hysterically every time he managed to get some airtime. He had retained the same 'puppy dog - lost, bizarre' expression from his character Ross from friends. This expression teamed up with a mustache, long ponytail in a sophisticated gangster film setting didn't help control my laughter. The below screen shot is merely a glimpse and does not do my comments justice.

On a more serious note: The Iceman is nothing spectacular, having said that it does manage to stand on it's own; The violence is believable and well executed (pun intended), Shannon is outstanding in portraying an extremely monstrous character devoid of any gangster glamour that we see in films such as Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction and The Godfather. 

This lack of glamour is what makes The Iceman interesting.

Winona Forever - Top 6 Roles

For any cinephile born in the 70s or 80s, you can guarantee they will all have an unusual kind of love for Winona Ryder. Not a fan of Hollywood and rarely partaking in interviews other than to promote her films, Ryder is the somewhat elusive actress that we adore to adore.

Her emotive eyes on screen are reminiscent to the actresses from the silent movie era and she has a genuine indie charm that always manages to shine through all of her roles. With the release of The Iceman, I thought it was only appropriate to look back at some of her roles:

1) The highly comical, nun obsessed teen, Charlotte Flax in Mermaids (1990) 

2) The fight for the good, Veronica in the edgy high school cult classic (and one of my favourite films of all time) , Heathers (1988)

3)The self obsessed heart-breaker, Nola, in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998)

                                            

4) The highly intuitive, Susanna Kaysen, in Girl, Interrupted (1999) 

5) The ambitious and brave, Jo March in Little Women (1994)

6) Weird and wonderful teen, Lydia Deetz in Tim Burton's, Beetlejuice (1988)

The Iceman is out in cinema's now and follows the story (inspired heavily by true events) of notorious contract killer, Richard Kulkinski (Michael Shannon) from his early days in the mob until his arrest for killing over one hundred people. Appearing to be a slave to the American Dream, a father and husband, in reality Kulkinski was a ruthless killer whose wife and children had no idea.

Ryder will play Kulkinski's wife.

LFF : Amour (2012) Dir. Michael Haneke

Michael Haneke's new film, Amour is a immensely intelligent, shocking, devastating, moving and offers a raw account of ageing.

 Retired music teachers, Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) and Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) are in their eighties and still very much in love. They live in their Paris appartment; share conversation, jokes and listen to music. One day Anne suffers from a stroke, the first of a few that later unfold. We begin to notice that Anne is developing dementia and parts of her identity begin to fall apart.

Promising Anne that he will never put her in a home, Georges begins to act as her carer. He washes her, changes her... Amour is extremely tough to endure at times, packed with plenty of long sequences with minimal editing adds to the realism. The most moving aspects of all is Georges love for Anne and how it is still very present right until the end of the film.

The haunting reality that life is not forever is very prominent  throughout the film. Amour also tackles complex issues such as; what is the right way to deal with death? Is it all really worth it in the end? What's the right way to behave?

Fans of Haneke will notice traces of his earlier work in Amour, he tackles the issue of space extremely intelligently, it's only by the end of the film when the audience is made aware of the actual structure of the elderly couple's flat. There is also an underlying hint that something dark and menacing has entered the home which is sucking the life and energy out of the couple.

There is no score at the end of the film, as the credits rolled set against a black screen, the lights came on in the cinema and there was a very uncomfortable silence. Everyone left the cinema as you would a funeral.

A true masterpiece and one of my personal favorites from LFF despite being exceptionally grim.

Blue Valentine (2010)

The tag line for Blue Valentine; ‘A love story for anyone who has ever been in love’. This pretty much sums up the film in one line.

The most candid and touching film about the marriage of Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams). This duo works very well – This is certainly the saddest feel good film I have seen this year because it’s so realistic. The film is a personal story of a young contemporary married couple charting their evolution over years and cutting between various time periods of their lives. The whirlwind start of falling in love and then the realization that these two people are not good for each other anymore works very well because the majority of us can relate.

The film strengths lie in the filming and the stunning screenplay; shaky close up’s of the two main characters compliments the perceptive story line. In the first half of the film, the audience tends to sympathise Ryan Goslings character as the easy-going, loving & hedonistic Dean. We only begin to empathise with the somewhat elusive boarding on unappreciative Cindy, when the film relates back to when she fell pregnant. Neither of these characters are in the wrong – Blue Valentine merely offers audience's an intimate peep hole into their relationship; the spiritually awakening good times and heart shattering, difficult times.

The lack of judgment and stereotype upon these characters makes the film even more endearing. Blue Valentine isn’t claustrophobic in the slightest nor does it portray a negative view on relationships as Closer and Revolutionary Road gave us.

This is Derek Cianfrance’s first attempt at a feature film and hats off to him for the sheer amount of attention and thoughtful details that was put into production. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams prove here to be immensely talented actors. The last sequence in particular is remarkably shot – As they argue, the film skips back to the fire worked drowned sequence of their wedding day.

The film ended as suspected, ambiguously – The audience is left wondering whether these two people will manage to mend their relationship, there is certainly a glimmer of hope. Gosling clearly stole the show in Blue Valentine but that’s not saying Williams wasn't incredible, she was.

Overall; A unique, deeply touching, humorous and well-crafted film.

Director: Derek Cianfrance
Cast: Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling
Runtime: 112 min
Country: USA

Peeping Tom (1960) Dir. Michael Powell

Upon its release in 1960, Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom was greeted with absolute disgust – Audience’s were repulsed. A couple of decades later and it is one of the most influential films of our time. One of the first films to focus on the issue of voyeurism, Hitchcock touched on this topic in Rear Window but Peeping Tom magnified the issue.

Mark Lewis is a focus puller in the studio; he also has a part time job taking unorthodox photographs of women above a newsagent shop. The movie opens with us, the audience, watching a prostitute through a camera lens. We follow her up to her room where she undresses and then the unexpected occurs. She starts shouting and looks horrified as we approach her, then she dies.

The opening sequence is a terrifying suggestion that the audience are voluntarily appearing as a ‘peeping tom’ by enduring the movie. Are film goers all merely repressed voyeurs?

The next sequence is of Mark Lewis watching the film of the call girl, we instantly know he is the killer. We see him at work and how he is pretty much in the background in life, lurking in the corner-observing people, unnoticed.

It’s his encounter with Helen, his neighbor that is far more perverse. They strike up a relationship and she is intrigued by him, he is honored someone has taken a direct interest to him and decides to leave his beloved camera at home when they go out.

Their interactions with each other is bizarre – Helen is stereotypically British in every way, her strong aristocratic accent and mature manner is unsettling, the film seems to hint rather heavily that British culture is extremely problematic. The repressed nature of it breeds individual’s like Mark. Helen’s mother is an interesting character, she is blind yet seems to be extremely perspective and understands that Mark is a troubled man.

We learn about Mark’s father and how he performed psychological / neurological experiments on him – Inflicting fear on young Mark in order to write his book. The film introduces the idea that with a difficult upbringing and a repressed culture breeds voyeurs.

Even if some of its plot devices and symbolism will seem obvious to today’s savvy audiences, Peeping Tom is still one of the most influential films ever made. 

It’s a stylish movie and explores many issues such as cultural repression in Britain, psychoanalysis, sexuality and voyeurism. It’s a daring, unconventional horror film that gets us close to the killer’s mind, we are part of the film, without the audience there is no Peeping Tom, this makes it even more petrifying.

Peeping Tom is re-released in selected cinemas in the UK 19th November and out on Blu-ray 22nd.

Director: Michael Powell
Cast: Karlheinz Böhm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley
Runtime: 101 min
Country: UK
Year: 1960