November 2018 film review

HACKSAW RIDGE (2016) D- Mel Gibson
Being the (more or less) true account of one Private Desmond Doss, an American soldier in WW2 who refuses to take up arms against the enemy, but does agree to put himself in harm’s way by acting as a paramedic.
           The principle action of this extremely violent film (think of the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan: this is even more horrific) takes place during the Battle of Okinawa, a battle which for some reason is given less attention than other less terrible conflicts, but was in fact the biggest air/sea/land battle in history.
           American troops must ascend a steep escarpment to get at the enemy, who have plenty of opportunity to prepare for them. The result is a protracted carnage of almost unprecedented magnitude, shown in loving detail by director Gibson. I have a pretty strong stomach, but some of this was hard to watch, even for me. But the story still shines through, with PFC Doss showing the most incredible bravery in his attempts to rescue his comrades, bravery that won him the Congressional Medal of Honour despite his non-combatant status.

DARKEST HOUR (2017) D- Joe Wright
Summer 1940. France has fallen, the British Expeditionary Force has been forced onto the beaches at Dunkirk, awaiting its fate, while at home, Neville Chamberlain has been forced from office and replaced by the wild card that is Winston Churchill. Decisions made now will affect Britain, and perhaps the whole world, for hundreds of years to come. Better get them right then...
          Gary Oldman’s performance as Churchill has become the stuff of legend, and rightly so, but is this film really any good? I fear not. It doesn’t really add much to the wealth of material we already have on the subject, and some of it is palpably untrue. The writers simply made stuff up to make it look good on screen, and that is a dangerous policy, I suggest...

GAME PLAN (2017) D- John Francis Daly and Jonathan Goldstein
In suburban Atlanta, a couple attempt to spice up their lives by playing a realistic “murder weekend” game. Turns out it’s a bit more realistic than they anticipated, as real bad guys become mixed up with the fake ones, causing confusion and terror to all involved, with often hilarious results for us, the viewers. People keep getting blown away by high-calibre weapons - or do they? Nothing is as it seems in this crazy caper, which is very well directed (though it took 2 guys to do it, apparently) and acted with great style by all the players, particularly the leads Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman.
            The best line, among many top class zingers, comes from Rachel when she is being threatened by gunmen:
“Please don’t kill me. I have children at home.”
Gunman: “Not with that ass you don’t.”

PETERLOO (2018) D- Mike Leigh
In 1819, disquiet grows throughout the land as the price of staples (bread especially) goes through the roof and the government, the one for whom the term laissez faire might have been invented, doesn’t appear to give a damn. And when the authorities learn that certain parties are agitating for reform, fearing some sort of revolution akin to the one across the Channel only a few years before, they begin to work out how to nip it in the bud. But the people don’t want revolution, they just want a bit of food on their table and a wage that will enable them to secure it.
             Mike Leigh’s film dissects out the events of one of the most notorious events in British history with his characteristic skill and subtlety. It has been criticised for being a bit heavy on rhetoric and short on narrative pace, but rhetoric was what it was all about - winning the hearts and minds of ordinary people in their struggle to win a few basic human rights. Highly watchable, for me at any rate.