27 October 2023.
By Neptune
Two completely opposite films this week – the first about basic decency and humanity, the other about the cold life of a contract killer. Take your pick – they are both from top directors.
THE OLD OAK ***
One always recognises a Ken Loach film. There are the ordinary people, salt-of-the-earth types, struggling for their livelihood, often standing up to social injustice, sometimes crumbling under the pain and stress of it all, as in the 2016 “I, Daniel Blake”, which won multiple awards, including Cannes’ Palme d’Or. There are always deep feelings and good, basic humanity to his tales. And at times gentle humour, plus strong accents that need subtitles to decipher, as in his amusing “The Angels’ Share”, about a Scottish whiskey heist. Each of his myriad films have unforgettable characters and reflect his left-wing sentiments concerning the unfair treatment of the working classes.
His latest, which opened in Cannes, as do most of his films, is about the effect the arrival of a refugee family has in a small town in England. They are there because of the war in Syria, and this previous mining town’s people react in different ways to these strangers in their midst. But the main story is the relationship between the kind owner of the pub, The Old Oak, and the young Syrian girl who speaks good English and is trying hard to fit in. In slow, loving ways, Loach shows how each of his characters have their problems, mostly arising either out of ignorance or poverty. It’s a touching, necessary message, but he could have cut the too-pat ending.
THE KILLER ***
Tight, tense and maybe too clever for its own good, this David Fincher thriller is tantalising because of its “killer”, Michael Fassbender. He’s in almost every shot – tight, tense and incredibly cool. As cool as Steve McQueen was so many decades ago – moving like a feline, figuring every step out in his head, like a chess game. And then there is Tilda Swinton, who is as always utterly imposing, even in her few short minutes on the screen.
It’s a cat and mouse game with various characters being hunted all over the world by the killer in his multiple identities, and with his on-going narration, which can become unnerving. It’s all in his control, without any car chases or bombastic blowups, just intense objectives spurred on by revenge for their having hurt his one love.
Quite a vicious ride this is, as many of Fincher’s works, like “Seven”, “The Fight Club” or “Panic Room”. But worth your while, especially because of Fassbender and Swinton.
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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