Phantom Thread

Allegedly based on the fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga, this is the story of a fashion designer in 1950s London (Daniel Day-Lewis, in what he says is his last film), his sister and business partner, the splendidly named Cyril (Lesley Manville) the woman who comes into his life and disrupts it (no spoilers here) (Vicky Krieps), and the ghost of his mother. Paul Thomas Anderson is a genius, There Will Be Blood is one of the greatest films ever made, and this is pretty damn brilliant too. London doesn't look like it did in the 1950s, I am very glad to say (I can just about remember what it did look like), so they are reduced to repeatedly showing a single Georgian terrace, probably empty now and probably owned by a Russian oligarch. There's a lot of rather annoying sub-West Wing walking in through doors. There's a lot of breakfast going on. I like films with breakfast in them. A lot of people walk up staircases a lot. There's a rather creepy soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood, who is apparently a former member of a popular beat combo called Radiohead. Oh and did I mention, all the characters are MONSTERS. With the probable exception of two of the seamstresses. Actually, I thought all those monstrous fashion designer chappies were gayers, but seemingly not. More than this I cannot say without spoilers. Go and see it immediately.

Patrick McGilligan, "Alfred Hitchcock, a LIfe in Darkness and Light"

Although I've read quite a lot about Hitchcock over the years I'd never read an actual biography of him until now. The Donald Spoto has been on my to-read list for some time, but I won't read it now. I know from this book what it says. I was inspired to get this book by seeing the recent film with Anthony Hopkins, about his relationship with his wife Alma and the making of Psycho. 

I'm really glad I did. It's long, but never boring for a moment despite the wealth of detail, down to describing exactly how certain shots were achieved in some films. Hitchcock is seen here as something of a romantic, and with a Victorian sexual upbringing which probably did him no good. I can see that. It is also emphasised that he started his working life as a designer. If you think of his films as designed they make sense in a way they perhaps did not before, and did not always to critics at the time, some of whom dismissed them as pulp horror. I hadn't realised how much of the writing Hitch did in his films - he didn't take writing credits. This book is really good, don't be put off by its length. The title "A Life In Darkness and Light", while absolutely right for what most of his films looked like, gave me earworm of the Bob Dylan song "Isis", you know, "I came to a high place of darkness and light, dividing line ran through the centre of town" and suddenly I saw the scene portrayed in that song (the two men frantically chopping through an ice-bound cavern until one of them dies), as pure Hitch. Hitchcock should have made a film of the song. Can anyone tell me about other films which were based on songs?

I love you, Richard Parker

Life of Pi. Quite wonderful. Counts as one of my films of 2012 because I saw it on New Year's Eve. That's all.

my films of 2012 (4)

Dans La Maison (In The House), with Fabrice Luchini, Kristin Scott Thomas, directed by Francois Ozon - a talented but dysfunctional 16-year-old boy forms an attachment to the inhabitants of a particular house. His teacher encourages him in his creative writing, and it all goes too far. Witty, and referencing Rear Window, and entertaining. Kristin Scott Thomas is especially good as a neurotic art dealer. In French.

Ruby Sparks, Zoe Kazan, who is excellent, writer and star, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Paris. But - writer who can't write, invent  your girlfriend and then she comes true? Do me a favour.

Quelques Heures de Printemps (A Few Hours of Spring), with Helene Vincent, directed by Stephane Brize. Lower middle class provincial French milieu. A man has been in prison and has therefore to go and live with his mother when he gets out. She has brain cancer and decides on assisted suicide in Switzerland before she goes gaga. Well, there is plenty else going on there. A warm and touching film which is hard and cold at the same time, if that makes sense. Highly recommended. In French.

Paperboy, Zac Efron, directed by Lee Daniels. Well, it's not very nice, what happens. I tried to work up enthusiasm, I really did.

Ides of March, with George Clooney, Ryan Gosling and Philip Seymour Hoffmann. Fab fab fab. Even though the plot line with the girl who is pregnant is not plausible. Excellent. And also totty heaven.

Three Days of the Condor, with Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, directed by Sydney Pollack, 1975, so blast from past. Stylish and cool, but so dated as to be meaningless.

Skyfall, Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, directed by Sam Mendes. Up there with the best Bonds ever. Would have been a fabulous action film even if it hadn't been a Bond, takes you everywhere. Love love love.

Argo, Ben Affleck, John Goodman, others, directed by Ben Affleck. 1979. An attempt is made to get six American hostages out of the embassy in Iran. This is a true story. Who knew? Apparently Bill Clinton made it public in 1997, which passed me by. Anyway, excellent. The Canadians are heroes. Sort of.

Them's me films for 2012 - I do think I saw others, but did not make notes on them, and in particular Holy Motors deserves a post all to itself. Which it will get.

my films of 2012 (3)

To Rome With Love, Woody Allen, Penelope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, directed by Woody Allen. Does what it says on the tin. He loves Rome. Enjoyable, especially if you love Rome. Penelope Cruz is completely fab as a comedy hooker. Fun but forgettable, for me.

The Angels' Share, with various young Scottish people, directed by Ken Loach. Our Kenny loves humanity, even the Glasgow criminal underclass. Well, it was quite amusing and not uninteresting. Some of it is in Glaswegian: the French subtitles were very helpful.

The Deep Blue Sea, from the play by Terence Rattigan, with Rachel Weisz, whom I love, directed by Terence Davies. A doomed love affair. Ho hum.

Un Bonheur N'Arrive Jamais Seul - can't translate this title without help: "happy things never turn up on their own" - meh. Sophie Marceau and Gad Elmaleh, both of whom I like, directed by James Huth. A fun romantic comedy. In French.

Les Enfants de Belle Ville, directed by Asghar Farhadi. This film dates from 2004, and was re-released following the success of A Separation, see earlier post. It may have an English title, but I couldn't find one. The "Belle Ville" of the French title is a rendering of the name of a young offenders' institution in Tehran. This film may well be a masterpiece. It is about love and separation and death and reparation. In Farsi with French subtitles.

Laurence Anyways, French-Canadian, directed by Xavier Dolan. The 10-year relationship of a male-to-female transgender person with her (female) lover. Interesting. Made me think. Set in Quebec. In Quebecois French, some of which was subtitled for a European francophone audience (those bits however were easier for anglophone me to understand).

my films of 2012 (2)

38 Temoins (38 Witnesses), Nicole Garcia,, Yvan Attal, directed by Lucas Belveaux. Great stuff. Set in an atmospheric Le Havre. A woman is murdered outside an apartment block. Thirty-eight people could have witnessed the killing. Which of them did? Why are they so silent? In French.

Margin Call, Kevin Spacey and others, directed by J.C. Chandor. Twenty-four hours in the life of an investment bank at the start of the financial crisis. Gripping stuff, stylishly done. This film seems to have been forgotten, unjustly so.

W.E. Andrea Riseborough, directed by Madonna.  The critics hated this, but I enjoyed it. Edward and Mrs Simpson, we know the story - but told from HER point of view, which I do not think has been done in film.

Moonrise Kingdom, directed by Wes Anderson, with Bruce Willis as you may never have seen him before. Two very young lovers and a hurricane in New England. A strange and charming vision, and very funny in places. Something completely different.

De Rouille et D'Os (Rust and Bone), the lovely and wonderful Marion Cotillard, and the hot Belgian Matthias Schoenaerts, directed by Jacques Audiard. In French, but there is an English version now I believe. The underclass, kind of. Killer whales at a water park, bare-knuckle fighters, passion and pain. This one will stay with you, if only for the special effects when Marion Cotillard loses her legs (not a spoiler).

On The Road, the lovely Kristen Stewart, directed by Walter Salles. Every bit as dull and misogynist as the book.

my films of 2012

These are the films I saw in 2012 (at the cinema) in chronological order. With links. Language indicated if not English. First tranche:

The Iron Lady = Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, directed by Phyllida Lloyd  Terrific. And affecting. Meryl Streep's usual staggering performance. Wildly inaccurate re Parliament and some of the political events of the 1980s though. I saw it twice.

J. Edgar - Leonardo di Caprio as J.Edgar Hoover, directed by Clint Eastwood
 Clint has never made a boring film. Here the makeup was probably the star.

Une Separation - Leila Hatami as a wife with a serious dilemma in modern Iran, directed by Asghar Farhadi. Magnificent stuff. A couple at war, a parent with Alzheimer's, class and conflict in the Tehran of today. In Farsi with French subtitles. I saw it twice.

The Descendants - George Clooney as a Hawaii lawyer with an inheritance who is trying to restore his lost connection with his family, directed by Alexander Payne. Families are complicated,and this film is complex. Wonderful performances, real, and no easy solutions. I subsequently read the book, by Hawaiian writer Kaui Hart Hemmings, new to me, which is recommended.

Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows - Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, directed by Guy Ritchie. Load of terrible old tosh. I only went to see it because it was partly filmed in Strasbourg.

Millennium - Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, directed by David Fincher. Pretty good, but once you have seen the Swedish films and the TV series - this film is exactly the same. They tried so hard not to Hollywoodise this totally European story that they made the European film again, which made it forgettable.

More to come. I'll try and post these daily to limit the suspense. I know you can't wait.