Movie Review – The Promise

A powerful and tragic part of history is undercut by syrupy melodrama in The Promise.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Rhys Graeme-Drury

Set during the opening months of the First World War, The Promise sees young apothecary, Mikael (Oscar Isaac) from rural Armenia, journey to Constantinople to study medicine at the Imperial Medical Academy. It’s here he meets and falls in love with Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), a dance tutor, even though she is already in a relationship with an American journalist, Chris (Christian Bale), and Mikael is already promised to the daughter of an affluent man back in Armenia. As tensions begin to rise, Mikael and Ana’s Armenian background means the duo are threatened by discrimination, detention or worse, death.

The Armenian genocide, which stretched from 1915 to 1922, is a dark era of history not oft examined in cinema, in part because the present day Turkish government continues to deny the event ever took place. The systematic massacre of over 1.5 million Armenians under the pretence of ‘relocation’ during wartime forms the backdrop of The Promise; a sprawling saga that proves good intentions can only carry a film so far.

By shining a light on the plight of the Armenian people, The Promise certainly provokes conversation and emotion. It’s an eye-opening history lesson that succeeds in getting you choked up at times; the film works best when it isn’t afraid to steer into suffocatingly dark territory, like when Mikael stumbles across a train transporting hundreds of Armenians to a remote labour camp.

When The Promise tackles its subject matter in the bluntest of terms, it hits you the hardest – a lot of which comes down to Isaac’s commendable lead performance and director Terry George’s staging of the aforementioned scenes. It succeeds in covering the shocking events with respect and grace without sacrificing their impact.

For every moment that tugs at your heartstrings, however, there are two others that cause you to grind your teeth. It tries to cover so much ground in its near two-and-a-half hour runtime that it feels like someone accidentally sat on the fast-forward button. Important character moments glide by too hastily, dulling the resonance of the central conflict. Too often George pulls away from the important narrative beats to focus once again on the melodramatic love triangle. It feels like he was aiming to replicate the sweeping historical epics. Nowadays, we can usually find that kind of stuff on TV – if the BBC or HBO adapted The Promise, it would be a six-part miniseries and infinitely better as a result.

With more room to gestate, The Promise could have been something special. Instead, it’s a fairly generic period piece that spends too much time on the saccharine romance and not enough time playing to its strengths. Granted, everyone is giving it their best and their hearts are in the right place – but that goodwill only stretches so far.

The Promise is available in Australian cinemas from June 15

Image courtesy of EntertainmentOne Films

Movie Review – The Walk

The original tagline for Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman film was, “you’ll believe a man can fly”, but even that doesn’t compare to the sense of awe you’ll feel while witnessing Robert Zemeckis’ The Walk.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½
Rhys Graeme-Drury

Whether it’s scaling Everest or visiting Mars, the spirit of human endeavour makes for rich cinematic viewing, and nowhere is that more evident than in Robert Zemeckis’ visually-stunning balancing act, The Walk. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Philippe Petit, a peculiar Frenchman who astounded the world by attempting a daring high-wire stunt between the two towers of the World Trade Centre in 1974, this is one biopic that doesn’t get bogged down in melodrama, and instead revolves around a single exceptional act that’ll leave your jaw agape in wonderment.

As Petit, Gordon-Levitt gives a whimsical performance that isn’t overshadowed by the technical wizardry swirling around him. His wig, contact lenses and accent might be a little disconcerting at first, but JGL overcomes the eccentricities of his character to woo the audience through a combination of wry humour and wide-eyed fascination.

We’re presented with an opening act that charts Petit’s rural upbringing, followed by his Parisian street performance phase where he meets his future girlfriend and partner-in-crime, Annie (Charlotte Le Bon). Thankfully, this sequence doesn’t drag, and we’re soon whisked across to America where the tone shifts from meandering biopic to high-stakes heist film. Once Zemeckis roots the film firmly on the beautifully recreated streets of 70’s New York, the film jumps up several notches; new accomplices for Philippe’s coup are introduced (James Badge Dale, Clement Sibony, Ben Schwartz), a plan begins to take shape, and the whole thing begins to feel decidedly Ocean’s Eleven.

And then, finally, the film reaches the dizzying climax atop the World Trade Centre. To call this sequence a master class of suspense building, and seamless special effects would be an understatement; it’s an eye-wateringly realistic piece of filmmaking that’ll make your knees wobble, skin shiver and palms sweat. As Philippe steps out onto the wire, you’re so engrossed in the moment that you can almost feel the wind on your face, and the gaping chasm stretching out beneath you.

Plus, the addition of 3D further heightens this sense of immersion; witnessed on a vast Cinemax screen, this is one nail-biting scene that needs to be seen to be believed – if you’ll pardon the cliché. The film isn’t just an astounding accomplishment in VFX though; it’s also a love letter to New York and the World Trade Centre in particular; the closing shot sees the two iconic towers gently glow gold in the warm Atlantic sun, and they’re very much a fully-fleshed character of their own throughout the entire movie.

That being said, there are one or two elements that felt out of place or undercooked; Ben Kingsley is really just there to collect a pay check as Papa Rudy, Philippe’s circus mentor, whilst Zemeckis employs this odd framing device that sees Gordon-Levitt stand atop the Statue of Liberty providing narration on the story as it unfolds.

Nit-picks aside, The Walk is an engrossing cinema experience that a DVD rental or download just wouldn’t do justice. It delicately sidesteps conventional biopic pitfalls, and instead delivers a jaw-dropping crescendo that will make your heart race. Do yourself a favour and seek this one out – if you’re not afraid of falling that is…

The Walk is available in Australian cinemas from October 15th

Images courtesy of Sony Pictures

Movie Review – The Hundred-Foot Journey – 4 Stars

For me, The Hundred-Foot Journey would have to be the most pleasantly surprising film of the year. I expected a predictable and superficial comedy, and instead I found a heartwarming film filled with wonderful performances, stunning cinematography and a beautiful score.

From Lassie Hallstrom the director who brought us Chocolat (2010) and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) comes an equally heartwarming film; The Hundred-Foot Journey. So named due to the distance between a fancy French restaurant with a Michelin star, and a family-owned Indian restaurant, the film follows talented young cook Hassan (Manish Dayal) in his growth as both a chef and a man. When Hassan and his large Indian family are travelling throughout the French countryside, and break down just outside an isolated village, his father (Om Puri) believes it to be a sign. After being rescued by a local young woman, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), Hassan’s father takes to exploring the village, and he discovers an abandoned restaurant for sale, which becomes the family business. The owner of the fine dining establishment across the road, Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), does not take well to the arrival of Hassan and his family, nor does she appreciate the competition, and she makes her feelings very well known. Tensions rise between the two restaurants, whilst simultaneously a friendship develops between Hassan and Marguerite, who turns out to work for Madame Mallory. Despite the differences between the two cultures, their mutual love of food eventually brings them together and puts an end to their war.

For me, The Hundred-Foot Journey would have to be the most pleasantly surprising film of the year. I took one look at its trailer and thought; here we go, yet another superficial and predictable comedy with all of its humorous one liners spoiled in the previews. I hope this doesn’t come across as racist, but I have never been particularly intrigued by Indian culture. A little like Madame Mallory, I’m not a fan of curry, or Bollywood music, or the way in which Indian families have always been portrayed in the media; as loud, overbearing and dysfunctional. Add to the fact that this film is jumping on the cooking fad bandwagon (which to me became tiresome 5 years ago after only one season of My Kitchen Rules) and I honestly thought that this was a recipe for disaster. How wrong I was.

The trailer certainly did contain quite a few of the comical moments, but there were plenty of additional, unexpected ones throughout the film, and the script, which is based on the book of the same name by Richard C Morais, was anything but contrived. Of course, the film does not contain a surprise thriller ending given its genre, but this is offset by the many beautiful and believable scenes in which the relationships between the characters develop. My only criticism would be the length of the film; it did start to feel a bit laboured towards the end, however, I can understand why. As the narrative is so reliant on the interactions between the characters, the film requires time for these relationships to grow and change.

What I found to be the most surprising was the way in which Hassan and his family were depicted. Whilst they were a large family with clashing personalities, their dysfunctional behaviour was more along the lines of the characters in Little Miss Sunshine, rather than Everybody Loves Raymond. They were endearing and likeable in spite of their flaws, rather than obnoxious and irritating as I was expecting. Everything about the Indian culture that has previously been presented in a tacky and gaudy manner was softened down, from the colours of the traditional dress, to the tones in the music.

I am a HUGE fan of the score by A.R. Rahman, an Indian composer who has previously worked on multiple Bollywood films, and a few Hollywood productions including 127 Hours and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. He has also won two Academy Awards for his work on 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. As the film expresses at first the clashing, and later the melding of these two cultures, Rahman has represented this in the music. There are pure Indian tracks that are used in diegesis; for example, when Hassan and his family are renovating the restaurant, his father loudly plays Bollywood music on the stereo, but in terms of the actual score, Rahman takes hints of traditional Indian music and fuses them with more classical European music, which works perfectly. I absolutely loved the theme he created for the scene where Hassan is experimenting with various, Indian spices that used to belong to his mother, who is now deceased. This theme is often repeated during other magical moments throughout the film, and it’s mystical, haunting quality really brings the cinematography to life.

Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren demonstrates that he is a true artist from the very opening scene in The Hundred-Foot Journey. His major credits are American Hustle (2013) and Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land (2012), but other than that he has only worked here and there on a few projects in his home land, which I found to be genuinely surprising. The first scene of the film is set in an Indian market, and the tight, fast-moving shots created by Sandgren and Hallstrom are excellent for creating the atmosphere of the location, and making you feel as though you are standing right there in the middle of all of the commotion. The use of colour is also outstanding; everything looks vibrant and luscious. One image that has stuck with me is a shot of these barrels containing capsicums and other vegetables. The red, green and yellow colours of the vegetables are so deep and strong, you will find yourself salivating before anyone has even started cooking anything. The soft, golden light used in the scene where Hassan uses his mother’s spices is gorgeous. It is only used sparingly; it filters through the windows, and other cracks in the building, but the rest of the frame is in shadow, and this works perfectly with the music in creating the magical vibe in relation to cooking.

The close ups and slow motion shots of food, whilst obvious in their inclusion, were spectacularly done. These are the sort of shots that I was expecting in Jon Favreau’s Chef, and other recent films about cooking, but this is the first film I have seen in a very long time that has really exploited the beauty of food.

Not only is the food well shot, but also the location; the French village, Saint Antonin. Everything from the lush green hills, to the aged and textured exteriors of the buildings has this fairytale quality, and Lasse Hallstrom certainly goes to town when showing the beauty of this location on screen, which I do not disparage one bit.

Helen Mirren is the only well-known name in the film, but every single performer brings something to the table. Om Puri is outstanding as the typical Indian father. I honestly could not imagine anyone else in the role, and he and Mirren are also excellent together. I was also very impressed by Mirren’s French accent. Manish Dayal is  a wonderful choice for Hassan; his warm and angelic eyes suit the innocence of the character perfectly, and he has a subtlety to his performance that is really effective.

The film as a whole is really easy to watch, even though it is 2 hours long, and it is the sort of film that anyone could enjoy. Every week I see around two films at the cinema, and countless more on DVD, and whenever I find that a film is not adequately capturing my attention, I end up calculating how much time is remaining according to when the film started, and the progress of the narrative in terms of the story arc. This is one of few films in recent times where I have not been conscious of time as I have been fully engaged by the characters and the plot, consequently I am giving The Hundred-Foot Journey 4 stars.