FILM LIST
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_ Green with anger
Bruce is intypicallyfineform today. ‘They can cook the books,‘ he asserts. ‘They can call massive inflation. massive trade deficits and massive interest rates an economic miracle. But when you see lurds and dead fish floating downthe river. they can‘lsay we‘re winning on the environment.‘ Like everything else of late. writer/director Bruce Robinson has gone green.
In fact, it‘s almost a neurosis affecting Dennis Bagley. the central characterin Robinson‘s newfilm ‘How To GetAhead in Advertising‘. Played by Richard E. Grant (thus reuniting the teamthatbroughtyouthe anarchic late Sixtiesthespy laff—fest ‘Withnail and l‘), Bagley is atop ad exec suddenly numbed with anxiety over a new spot cream campaign, struck by the realisationthatthe chemical cosmetics he‘s been plugging for years are doing Mother Earth no good at all. Admen though. needn‘t be bothered with the pathetic hand-wringing routine. so (shazam!) the boil on his neck turns
into an extra Thatcherite head and takes overhis life. As evenashort synopsis suggests, thisis satire ofthe utmostsavagery.
and often brutally funny with it, but even Robinson himself will admitthat the film is notwithout it‘s flaws. ‘Fuck it.‘ he says, lighting up another cigarette, ‘I made a majorstructural
get people laughing and then just hit
them with it.WalloplThelasthalf-hour ;
l faultwiththefilmbecauselwantedto ; l
ofthefilm isn‘tfunny because it‘s not designedthatway. Then ofcourse we couldn‘tafford the ending I wanted. where those little animated bluebirds would lacetheirway in andthere would be Bagley turning into an atomic bomb. You know, those bluebirds ended up costing a thousand pounds a second. I couldfuckingthrottlethem everytimel seethem.‘
London audiences, however. have takento the film‘sfreewheeling splenetic verve and turned it into something of a box office sleeper. ‘Maybe sometimes itstrays intothe realms of hectoring.‘ reflects Robinson, whose nextproject is an adaptation ofJ.G. Ballard's “High Rise‘, ‘butlthinkthe angerofthefilm is a very positive thing. It powers the narrative along. poking the audience in the ribs. getting them to look atthe whole scenario in a different way. Of course. some people are gonna hate it, butthere‘ll bethose whothink ‘Fucking good on yer Bruce that you‘re speaking out!‘. (TrevorJohnston)
How To GetAhead In Advertising (15) From Fri 20 Oct Glasgow Odeon; Edinburgh Filmhouse 21—28 Oct.
_ Italian Job
One look at ‘Oueen of Hearts“ affectionate. exuberant portrait of life in London‘s Italian community and it‘s
not surprising that it's a background the
screenwriterTony Grisoni shares himself. 'lt‘s a bit like improvising on reality. I suppose,‘ says the man with the splendid moustache. ‘I wrote the film for my father, and there's obviously a lot of my own history in
there. lfyou're lucky when you‘re small
yourdad looksquite heroic. lfhe'sa waiterhe puts onthis magic armour, a white shirt and bowtie. thengoes off intothis mysterious world. When he comes backhe hasatwistofnapkin with a petit four in it. and maybe half a bottle ofgood wine.‘
Grisoni has a mazy. engaging way of talkingthatsomehowmirrorsthetone ofthefilm. With itsdeadly card games. romantic revenge plot. boyish pranks and impressivetalking pig'shead. there are a lot of entertaining elements along the way. butyou‘re not so sure how faryou've reallytravelled. Grisoni however. is quite at home with the film'srelaxedapproach: ‘ldidn‘t bothermakingthedistinction between whatlrememberasakidand what happensto ten year-olds now. We
actually kicked out the idea that it was
you‘ve made a period piece. and we wanted something a bit more interesting. So now the Lucky Cafe that's the centre of the film has this kind oftimeless postwar feel.‘ Grisoni. who took the traditional
all set in the Fifties because then route of starting as a runner and working his way up. is here making his feature writing debut. and he seems most chuffed whenever I mention that my Edinburgher-ltalian flatmate had enjoyed the film immensely. ‘Yeah. there are loads of Scots-Italians because they all settled there after the war. I really love those strong accents. they really mix it up a bit. There should be more of that in British films. stop pretending that we're all this one great nation.‘ (TrevorJohnston)
Queen of Hearts (PG) From Fri Oct 20:
Glasgow Odeon and Edinburgh Cameo. l
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ISCOTTISH FESTIVAL OF LESBIAN FILMS Two-day event forwomen onlylhat intelligently compilesa historical survey of lesbianism on screen. Plus discussions etc. See feature. Edinburgh Filmhouse 21 and 22 Oct.
I PLAY ME SOMETHING
(15) Scots film-maker TimothyNeatand critic John Bergercombineto produce a homegrown an movie about the art of storytellinglhatalso examinesthe place of Gaelic culture within the Europeandimension. Glasgow Film Theatre 16—21 Oct.
l QUEEN OF HEARTS (PG) Endearing mosiac of life in London‘sltalianimmigrant communityseenthrough the eyes of a child marks the leature debut of ‘Singing Detective'directorJon Amiel. Seefeature and review. Glasgow Odeon
FRONTIERlPG) lslhata promise7The Enterprise crewlace upthe corsets and gluedowntheloupeesfor anotheradventurelhat bringsbacklhe splendid Klingons. Directed by William ‘The Rug' Shatner. See review. Cannons and Ulerom ZOOct. lYOUNG EINSTElNlPGth thatEinsteinl The onelrom Down Underwhoinvented relativity and had aseminal influence inthe developmenlofrock'n'roll as an arllorm. Director star one man publicity machine Yahoo Seriousrewrileshistoryto make itfunnier. Seefealure andreview. Cannons and Ulerom 13 Oct. J -Trittciolm l‘lW13