December 2015 book and film review

BOOKS

COUSIN BETTE, by Honore de Balzac.
In the Paris of the 1840s, rich men are prepared to disgrace themselves and lose every centime they own to win the favours of France's most beautiful strumpets. And these all-knowing tarts are perfectly happy to let them do it, if they can secure a sable coat or a prettily furnished apartment out of it. Meanwhile, the less attractive, spurned females plot terrible revenge on the men who have ditched them for more glamorous models.
Balzac, along with such geniuses as Emil Zola, Charles Dickens and George Eliot may be considered one of the great masters of the novel, painting characters with the vividness of a Van Gogh combined with the psychological insight of a Freud or Jung. I have been asked why I neglect modern writers for these long dead fictioners of a bygone age: my answer? They're better, that's why.

THE KILLING DOLL and LIVE FLESH, by Ruth Rendell.
In the first of this "double bill" of Rendell novels placed together in a single edition, a young man sells his soul to the devil, mainly in order to be tall. He learns the black arts, and the white ones, and things seem to be working out wonderfully for him. He does indeed start growing, and from being a Billy-no-mates he becomes popular, especially with the ladies, while his sister too becomes entranced by the strong, self confident man her brother has become. So much so in fact, that she asks him to use his art to kill an enemy. And when that person dies, she realizes his powers have no limit...
In Live Flesh, we find a psychopathic rapist just out of a ten year stretch in prison for paralysing a policeman by shooting him in the spine. He doesn't really feel guilty about what he has done; it was all a matter of unfortunate circumstances in his mind, though others might disagree. Then by chance he discovers where his victim lives and decides to track him down and explain his actions. Surprisingly he is not rejected by the man; indeed an unlikely friendship blossoms. But once a psychopath...
These two book were written in the 1980s, so quite late by my standards (see above) but nonetheless I found them to be excellent examples of the "crime thriller" genre, well written and skillfully plotted. This is my first time with Ruth: it may not be my last.

FILMS

ZERO HOUR! (1958) D- Hall Bartlett. An airliner takes off and meals are served. However, everyone who chooses the fish course goes down with food poisoning, including both pilots. It is left to a former airforce pilot to bring the crate in safely. Only problem there; during the Korean war a mistake costs the life of his best friend and he has been unable to fly since, afflicted with PTSD. In his case this translates to him intermittently turning the engines off or pointing the plane straight at the ground as he is taken by recurrent flashbacks. Sound familiar at all?

It should do. The 1980 film Airplane is basically a shot-for-shot remake of this effort, plus jokes. Airplane  represented the high point of post Python, Saturday Night Live-type American comedies and is generally considered to be a hoot, even today. The original, however, (also owned by Paramount) though scripted by Arthur Hailey from his book (he went on to write the best seller Airport, also filmed) is a bit of a dirge. Dana Andrews plays it straight down the line as the pilot who is more of a liability than anything- frankly a six year-old could have done a better job. Linda Darnell plays his ex, a little plump by now but still gorgeous. I mean, it's worth getting the plane down in one piece just to preserve her, right?
Truly awful.

CAROL (2015) D- Todd Haynes. An upper-crust New York family are splitting up, and as the relationship moves into its death throes, the woman (Cate Blanchett) finds herself becoming fascinated by a young female photographer (Rooney Mara). They decide to go on a road trip together, but the husband, suspecting his wife is a lezzer and knowing this is regarded as "immoral" by the courts of the day (it is set in the early 50s) sets out to gather some damning evidence against her...

This low key story, beautifully acted and directed, is based on the short story "The Price of Salt" by Patricia Highsmith, hence the atmosphere of threat that seems to pervade every frame. It has gone down a storm, especially in Europe where it won an award in Cannes and was hailed in the US as one of the 10 best films of the year. So far it has only received limited theatrical release here, but trust me, it is definitely worth seeking out.
Excellent.

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015) D- Joss Whedon. The Marvel comics superheroes get together again to fight implacable foes, this time capable of affecting their minds and turning good guys into bad. How can they defeat their enemies? And do we give a toss?
Yes we do, apparently. Although costing a cool quarter of a billion dollars to make, it has already grossed $1.4 billion, thereby confirming the producers' faith in the project, which was brought out in several formats: 2D, 3D, IMAX and probably feelies too.

I won't lie to you. I got annoyed at around 20 minutes in and, tired and angry, stopped watching altogether after about 45 minutes. Wiki says there are no less than 3000 separate special effects scenes in it, enough to provide sensory overload for all but the most dedicated teenage gamers, for whom I presume the whole film was designed. Compare this with the budget for Carol, which came in at under $12 million and has yet to break even. Perhaps it's me. Avengers scored 74% with Rotten Tomatoes, and as it was made in Britain and provided work for a great many Brits, I should be more charitable. Screw that.
Migraine inducing.

SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS: SPONGE OUT OF WATER (2015) D- Paul Tibbitt and Mike Mitchell. Oh no! Someone has stolen the secret formula for Krabby Patties and it's down to Spongebob, ably (sort of) assisted by his mate Patrick the starfish to get it back. All your old friends are here: Squidward, Mr Krabs, Sandy the squirrel (she's the one who has to wear breathing apparatus, cause she's a land animal, right?) and, of course, the dreaded plankton.

Beginning with a story by Stephen Hillenburg, Spongebob's creator, this movie is a lot of fun, with snappy dialogue and pleasing animation. It is something of a rare breed, being a cartoon film not made under the auspices of the all-powerful Disney corporation, who, now they own not only the franchise for all the Marvel comic movies (see above) but also Lucasfilms, is now only slightly less omnipotent than God.

BEFORE MIGNIGHT (2013) W/D- Richard Linklater. A good-looking couple enjoy a brief idyll in a beautiful beach resort in the Peloponnese before returning their jobs, he a successful novelist, she considering a job with the French government. Over the course of one evening they discuss what I call "the 4 Ls"- Life, Love, Liberty and Loss, without coming to any specific conclusions about any of them.

The film's action takes place nine years on from that depicted in the film Before Sunset and eighteen years on from the first film in the trilogy, Before Sunrise. All three films depend on the strength of the writing and of the two main players: Ethan Hawke (Jesse) and Julie Delpy (Celine). Both actors are credited on the screenplay list along with Linklater himself, so one wonders if he works Mike Leigh-style, "devising" scenes rather than giving the actors specific lines to read. Whatever, the result is highly successful and provides an effective antidote to the super- budget, super-hero movies which are so much in vogue right now. The film reminds me to some extent of the films of Eric Rohmer, who made his name in the 60s producing films consisting of highly attractive people discussing the eternal verities long into the night (My Night with Maud, Claire's Knee, Love in the Afternoon). And one thing you have to say about Linklater: he certainly likes a long term project. These films were filmed over an 18 year period, while his film Boyhood was made over the course of no less than 12 years. I have to say I admire that sort of sustained commitment.

8 MILE (2002) D- Curtis Hanson. A white rapper on the mean streets of Detroit is an endangered species, literally, but "B Rabbit" (Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers) is determined to win through the rounds of a rap beat-down to become the premier rapper of the Streets. One problem: he's almost paralysed by stagefright and to begin with can't even get the first word out. But this guy ain't no quitter...

With more than an element of semi-autobiography about it, and a strong central performance from Eminem, this film is highly satisfying, especially the rap component itself, which shows just what a demanding discipline rap is, when contestants must be original, insightful, stay on the beat and above all make it rhyme. Audiences agreed. The film made money, and even won an Oscar for best song of 2002.
Worthwhile.

ANGEL FACE (1952) D- Otto Preminger. An ambulance paramedic (Robert Mitchum) is called to a Beverley Hills mansion where an elderly woman is nearly dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Despite the circumstances, he strikes up a friendship, which turns to a kind of obsessive love, with the daughter (Jean Simmons). Understandably, this doesn't go down too well with Robert Mitchum's current girlfriend, and a complex triangle begins to develop out of the Sunset Boulevard darkness. This can't end well...

Preminger's film has achieved almost iconic status since its release in 1952. Jean-Luc Goddard regarded as one of the ten best talkies ever to come out of Hollywood, and there is a consensus that it marks one of the peaks of the film noir genre. Its Freudian themes and claustrophobic, surreal atmosphere make it for me one of the finest movies I have seen this year.
Highest recommendation.

NANOOK OF THE NORTH (1922) D- Robert J Flaherty (documentary) Being a day in the life of an Inuk family as they eke out their lives in north-eastern Canada, high above the Arctic Circle. Nanook must catch a seal to feed his family, but they are intelligent, slippery creatures who are as keen to hang onto life as Nanook and his family are. With no tools beyond a harpoon and a length of twine affixed to a lure, the hunt becomes an epic encounter of man against beast, with the highest stakes possible: The Inuk live close to starvation, and if Nanook doesn't take a seal today it will be even harder tomorrow...
Midway through the hunt the weather changes and the family must make an igloo. This is achieved in under an hour using "breezeblocks" of compacted snow, but the interior would be completely dark, so a "skylight" is made in the roof using a block of clear ice taken from a nearby frozen lake. Once completed, the whole family concentrates on the hunt once more.

In a completely unaffected and unsentimental way, director Flaherty creates an incredibly moving film which had me close to tears at several moments,especially when a six month-old baby snuggles into a husky puppy- I'm leaking just recounting it!
After the film came out Flaherty was accused of staging certain sequences, but as documentary film makers have been guilty of doing this ever since, even the great David Attenborough not excepted, I think we can afford to be generous on this occasion. For the result is one of the greatest documentaries ever made: brutally realistic and supremely skilled in its production, and offering a unique insight into a world that has now vanished forever.
Magnificent.

Happy Nooo Year everyone!