Sydney Film Festival: Stoker (2013)

Director: Park Chan-wook
Year: 2013
Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Jacki Weaver
Stoker will be screening at the Sydney Film Festival on the 7th and 9th of June. Please see official website for details on times, venues and tickets.
Released nationally in Australia on 29th August 2013
Available on DVD from Amazon

Stoker has had no lack of Alfred Hitchcock comparisons since it's release, but the complete truth is that this is a film that Hitchcock himself would have been proud of.

Empire Online described  Stoker as "a very grown-up horror movie", and that is exactly what it is. Although unsettling and quite disturbing, this film is absolutely beautiful. Park Chan-wook's first English language film is so intriguing both in narrative and visuals. It reminds us that the art of film need not be lost according to the film's genre.

On India Stoker's (Mia Wasikowska) 18th birthday, her father, Richard (Dermot Mulroney) passes away in a car accident leaving behind her and her fragile mother, Evelyn (Nicole Kidman). At the funeral, his brother who India and Evelyn had never met, Charlie (Matthew Goode) reappears after being abroad for many years. India senses that Charlie is there for other reasons rather than just to attend his brother's funeral and starts to become intrigued by him and his intentions.

Stoker has received so many Hitchcock comparisons for the fact that the story, written by Wentworth Miller and Erin Cressida Wilson (contributing), shares several likenesses with 1943's Shadow Of A Doubt. The most obvious being that both share a character who is a little known uncle by the name of Charlie who have the same tendencies as each other.

Apart from the story, it is also the method of horror/thriller employed which is Hitchcock-esque. Although there are some startling images, it is the idea of the story being scarier than anything you see that is carried through the film. There is plenty of tension and no real predictability. You know that something will go wrong, but you don't know how, why or when. It is the combination of a suspenseful and frightening story and the beautiful cinematography that makes this film completely different to other films out there of the same genre.

It is the amazing cinematography of this film that leaves the biggest impact. There are some truly spectacular shots throughout the film. You feel like you are watching something very special as you go through the film seeing some of the most interesting and awe inspiring images shot in ways you feel you have never before. This begins in the very first shot and at no time throughout Stoker do you feel as if Chan-wook has just  decided to take the cinematography and editing lightly and just focus on the dialogue and not what is going on around them.

Mia Wasikowska does wonderfully as protagonist, India. Her performance is very subtle, but you know exactly how she is feeling just by watching her. Stoker is a coming of age story for India, and there is definite character development throughout the film and India is a completely different person at the end than she was at the beginning and this is believable thanks to Wasikowska's beautiful but unsettling performance.

This is Nicole Kidman's best acting performance in years. She is so natural in this role. It is an emotional role, but there is no exaggeration in her performance at all. Matthew Goode is terrifying from his very first scene. At no time do you feel safe with him in a scene. He is wonderful in his only emotional scene with Dermot Mulroney. Again, he is a villain that Hitchcock would have been capable of creating.

Chan-wook Park has done a wonderful job with Stoker. It is a piece of beauty to be marvelled at as well as intimidated by.

8/10



Stoker had it's Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival last night at the State Theatre. Both Park Chan-Wook and Mia Wasikowska were on hand to celebrate and also stayed for a Q & A session at the end of the film.


The 60th Sydney Film Festival will be running from 5th-16th June 2013. For more information please see the official website.

You may have also see Mia Wasikowska in.....
Alice In Wonderland as Alice
Jane Eyre as Jane Eyre

You may have also seen Nicole Kidman in....
Nine as Claudia

Sydney Film Festival: The Way, Way Back (2013)

Year: 2013
Director: Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Cast: Liam James, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Alison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb, Amanda Peet, Rob Corddry, Maya Randolph
Screening at the Sydney Film Festival on the 6th and 10th of June. Please see official website for more information on times, venues and tickets
Now showing at cinemas in the USA, opening in the UK on the 28th of August 2013
To be released in Australia on the 1st of August 2013

The Way, Way Back is the first comedy this year to really break the mould and produce something that is genuinely and effortlessly funny.

First time directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (who also star in the film) have written a wonderfully sweet and clever script that is truly hilarious.  The Way, Way Back is very entertaining and never dull with colourful performances and brilliant dialogue. It is intelligently funny, yet simplistic and uplifting in the way all feel good films should be.

We meet fourteen year old Duncan (Liam James) when he is on his way to the beach house which he will spend his summer at with his mother Pam (Toni Collette), Pam's boyfriend Trent (Steve Carrell) and his moody teenage daughter, Steph (Zoe Levin). Duncan struggles not to be awkward in the situation which he clearly feels uncomfortable in. He escapes his family by venturing to the town's water park and befriending owner, Owen (Sam Rockwell). In the water park, he finds a place where he can truly be happy and enjoy being himself.

This coming of age story is really one of a kind. It is not all smooth sailing and people get hurt and emotions shattered along the way. However, you still realise when leave the cinema that even though the world can bring you down, if you step outside your house there is a place out there where you can be yourself and find happiness with people who appreciate you for you. The Way, Way Back leaves you with a smile on your face and even though there are sad moments, you remember the film for the happy ones. It reminds you how there is still beauty in the world just outside your front door if you can't find it behind.

It is fantastic to finally see a comedy that relies so much on the dialogue. There are so funny antics, but the majority of the laughs come from what the characters say. Unlike many other comedies in this day and age, this film does not feel the need to use filth or sexual jokes as the basis for it's comedy. It is just good, clean comedy that is very witty and entertaining.

The majority of the laughs come from Sam Rockwell's Owen and Alison Janney who plays next door neighbour, Betty. As soon as Janney appears on the screen she starts prompting fits of laughter and Rockwell's comedic timing is amazing. These two are the two runaway stars of The Way, Way Back.

Liam James does well. He is so painfully awkward that you want to shake it out of him as his awkwardness gets to be a little too frustrating at times. Toni Collette is so very sweet and completely likable. You instantly start feeling sorry for her when things start to go haywire. It is very interesting seeing Steve Carell as the bad guy. No one would expect him to be the one in the film who has supplies next to no laughs. Yet, he still pulls it off well and is provokes dislike from the viewer, which is what he is expected to do.

AnnaSophia Robb is also right on the mark as Betty's daughter and Duncan's new found friend. She is also a very interesting character to watch. May Randolph plays water park employee, Caitlyn and has her fun moments too. Directors Faxon and Nash are also great in their roles, particularly Nash who is dryly hilarious.

The Way, Way Back's water park provides the perfect backdrop for this fun and entertaining film.  Like a waterslide, you come away smiling and thinking about how much fun you have just had.

8.5/10



On a side note.....
Movie Critical were able to attend the Australian premiere at the State Theatre for The Way, Way Back at the Sydney Film Festival last night. We were present on the red carpet to witness the beautiful Toni Collette arriving in style.


There was also a very special guest who surprised Collette on stage while she and festival director, Nashen Moodley were introducing the movie. Steve Carell, who was in Sydney for the premiere of Despicable Me 2 arrived just in time to introduce the film. It was an amazing start to the film, with the audience buzzing from seeing these two Hollywood superstars on stage.


You may have also seen Steve Carell in.....
Date Night as Phil Foster
Despicable Me as Gru 

You may have also seen Toni Collette in.....
Hitchcock as Peggy Robertson

You may have also seen Sam Rockwell in....
Iron Man 2 as Justin Hammer
Cowboys & Aliens as Doc
 
The 60th Sydney Film Festival runs from 5th-16th June 2013. Please see the official website for more information.

Sydney Film Festival: Soldate Jeannette (2013)

Year: 2013
Country: Austria
Director: Daniel Hoesl
Cast: Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Christina Reichsthaler, Josef Kleindienst
Screening at the Sydney Film Festival on the 6th and 8th of June 2013. Please see here for details on times, venues and tickets.

Soldate Jeannette is set to become one of the most interesting films of this year's Sydney Film Festival, reminding us all that film is first and foremost an art form.

The entertainment value and suspense of the film may not be quite as high as some others, but it certainly is a very interesting film in every way. It's way of production is fascinating and the message inspiring. What Soldate Jeannette proves is that in order to create a beautiful piece of art, it is not large amounts of money that will achieve this, but a whole lot of heart.

Fanni (Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg) has been living a life of extravagance, but has come to dislike money intensely. When some of her secrets start to unravel, she leaves her life of luxury and travels to the country to live on a farm. There she meets and befriends Anna (Christina Reichsthaler) who is unhappy with her life. Together, these two break free of their confines and find a life of freedom where they no longer feel they have to do what they don't want to do.

The most intriguing thing about Soldate Jeannette is that it is completely unscripted. It is completely improvised by the actors. What is more interesting is that the two main character's experiences are based on the experiences of their actors. These stories were found out by director, Daniel Hoesl during casting and the film was moulded around these life stories. Also, this film was made with a budget of almost nothing.

If you just walked into a cinema and knew nothing about the film to begin with, you may say that the film is slow and boring and takes too long to get to the point. However, if you go into Soldate Jeannette with the background knowledge of how it was made and these interesting facts of production, you are willing to look over these downfalls. Any film with a production such as this deserves to be praised. It is not the film you want to see if you want to be thoroughly entertained and be kept guessing, but the one to see if you want to see art in action.

The cinematography in this film is really amazing. There are some absolutely incredible shots throughout the film, many of which are of things which normally wouldn't be considered anything special. For example, the night shots of a road where you can only see the car's headlights driving up and down the laneways is so interesting to watch when it really isn't all that in real life. Some of the location shots are also quite intriguing, especially those of the farm exteriors. There is also great use of symbolism, such as the necklace symbolising the world of luxury and wealth.

The acting in this film is extremely subtle. There isn't a great deal of emotion shown from any of the characters, only very slightly. There isn't a great deal of character development either, although there is growth. Both lead actresses do well and it is obvious they have both drawn from experience because they improvise so convincingly.

Soldate Jeannette is a wonderful piece of artwork for those who love to marvel at the beauty of film. It is an achievement which Hoesl should be extremely proud of.

7/10


The Sydney Film Festival will run from the 5th-16th of June. Please see the official website for details.