FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
Blade Runner: The Director's Cut (15) ***~k* (Ridley Scott, US, 1982) Harrison Ford, Scan Young, Rutger Hauer. 116 mins. Out go the pseudo-noir narration and the tacked-on happy ending; in comes a more defined sense that Deckard himself may be a replicant. The look and feel remain as powerful, and the acting is superb. A flawed masterpiece is now a restored masterpiece. Edinburgh: Cameo. Bleeder (18) i*** (Nicolas Winding Refn, Denmark, 2000) Kim Bodnia, Mads Mikkelsen, Rikke Louise Anderson. 97 mins. Refn's newjourney to the heart of Shitsville, Copenhagen is every bit as sordid, crushing and mesmerising as his debut, Pusher. Bleeder shows the collapse of Louise and Leo‘s relationship in the face of unwanted pregnancy, suffocating sibling racism and Leo’s burgeoning Travis Bickle- style obsession with guns. The brilliant opening sequence here is a life-affirming mother of all cinema homages, and with superb naturalistic acting from Refn's regulars and a mean visceral script, this is the cinema of alienation par excellence. Glasgow: GET.
The Boy From Mercury (PG) innit (Martin Duffy, UK/France, 1996) James Hickey, Rita Tushingham, Tom Courtney. 87 mins. Eight—year-old Harry (Hickey) believes he has special powers granted him through his birthplace being Mercury rather than Dublin — a belief boosted by visits to the Saturday morning film club and his lack of a father figure. An irresistible tale of memory, loss and the search for a better future. if you manage to sit through this without wilting into jelly at Hickey’s painfully innocent performance, then you have the heart of a tyrant. Glasgow: GFI‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Boys Don't Cry (18) ***** (Kimberly Peirce, US, 2000) Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny. Peter Sarsgaard. 114 mins. Writer/ director Kimberly Pcirce’s first feature is based upon the life of Brandon Teena, the transgendered Nebraska girl who lived her life as a male, and whose love affair with a smalltown girl named Lana Tisdel met a bloody end in 1993. Swank is simply astonishing. The credibility of the film rests entirely upon her performance, but it's a burden she shoulders with consummate skill and grace. A humbling example of brave, beautiful, brutal filmmaking. Edinburgh: Cameo. Largs: Vikingar Cinema.
Burns On The Box (PG) (Various, UK, 1992—95) 120 mins approx. An afternoon of screenings and talks exploring Burns' work. Filmmakers Donny O'Rourke and Elly Taylor will be in conversation with Gerry Caruthers of Strathclyde University about their respective films, Burns ()1: The Box and Angelou ()n Burns, the latter of which charts writer Maya Angelou‘s life long appreciation of the Scottish writer. Glasgow: GFI‘.
Carrie (18) **** (Brian DePalma, US, 1976) Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta. 98 mins. DePalma's adaptation of Stephen King is still the high school angst movie to end ‘em all. Distressingly awkward teen Spacek's adolescent experience is so humiliating that she develops telekinetic powers, and the school bullies are to get their comeuppance when their prom night pranks fiy right back in their faces. There's enough disgust in here to more than endorse the accusations of misogyny frequently aimed at DePalma, but as a film-maker he does have an undeniable flair for the big moment like the elaborately staged final massacre. Edinburgh: Cameo. Christopher Columbus (U) *k* (David MacDonald, US, 1949) Frederic March. 104 mins. Glossy Hollywood account of the life of the famous mariner (March) and his efforts to raise the finance to set sail on his epic voyage into history. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
The Cider House Rules (12) tin: (Lasse llallstrom, US, 2000) Tobey Maguire, Michael Caine, Charlize Theron. 126 mins. Maguire takes the lead as Homer Wells, an orphan who grows up to continue the worthy work of his mentor and surrogate father, Dr Larch (Caine). On route to manhood, Homer undertakesa small-scale odyssey around 1940s New England, during
32 THE LIST 25 May—8 Jun 2000
Rob Schneider makes a break from best pal Adam Sander to write his own film and take the lead role as lady’s man Deuce
which time he works on an apple fartn and has an affair with farm owner Candy Kendall (Theron). Somewhere between Irving's screenplay and llallstom's direction there's an overabundance of sentimentality which undermines Irving's brand of tragi- comedy. Edinburgh: Dominion, Lumiere. Claire Dolan (18) ***~k (Lodge Kerrigan, US, 2000) Katrin Cartlidge, Colm Meaney, Vincent D’Onofrio. 105 mitts. Upmarket New York call girl Claire Dolan (Cartlidge) is indebted to pimp, Cain (Meaney). When her mother dies Claire fleas the big apple to suburban Newark where she finds love and redemption with taxi driver, Elton (D’Onofrio). Cain however is never far behind. Austere, pensive and highly stylised, this movie — like his 1993 debut, Clean Shave/t —- is an edgy, quiet study of urban alienation and mental illness. Edinburgh: Eilmhouse.
A Clockwork Orange (18) *Hrt (Stanley Kubrick, UK, 1971) Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magec, Warren Clarke. 137 mins. The night of ‘ultra-violence' committed by Alex (McDowell) and his gang of ‘droogs‘ gives it its notoriety. But subsequent victimisation by the State still provides much food for thought. This fable of law and disorder, crime and punishment might easily be recast in 21st century Britain. So, it's about time the British public got to see the late master's most infamous film. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Complicity (l8) *** (Gavin Millar, UK, 1999) Jonny Lee Miller, Keeley llawes, Brian Cox. 100 mins. Journalist Cameron (Jonny Lee Miller) is, at first glance, a regular young Edinburgh-based professional. The police, however, have fingered him as a serial killer, guilty of some of the most gruesome murders Scotland has ever witnessed. Those familiar with lain Banks's novels will recognise the trademark darkness. Millar, who is directed The Crow Road, has turned the book into an ambitious movie, and an adult one. Edinburgh: Eilmhouse.
The Creature From The Black Lagoon (18) *‘k‘k‘k (Jack Arnold, US, 1954) Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Ricou Browning. 7‘) mins. l-‘ifties' monster movie classic has a party of scientists on an Amazon expedition discovering a strange amphibious creature, the gill man, who proceeds to threaten the safety of the entire
group. Impressive underwater camerawork and some sympathy for the big green fella mark this out as far superior to most of the genre. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Crisp Rarities (no cert) **** (Various, UK, 1967-99) 90 mins. Collection of rare film and TV appearances including one of Crisp's final interviews. Compilation includes: Meeting With Mr Crisp, Captain Busby, Hamlet, An Englishman In New York and The Alternative Queen '5 Message. Glasgow: GFI‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Cup (PG) *tti (Khyentse Norbu, Australia, 1999) Orgycn Tobgyal, Neten Chokling, Jamyang [.odro. 93 mins. The Cup scores a hat trick of firsts: first film directed by a lama, in the Tibetan language with a cast solely comprised of monks. And it's about football, specifically the footy fever that grips the monks of Chokling Monastery during the 1998 World Cup. Eliciting spirited performances from his cast, Norbu achieves his goal in creating a simple, humorous, humane film. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (15) *** (Mike Mitchell, US, 2000) Rob Schneider, William Forsythe, Oded Fehr. 88 mins. When cleaner Deuce breaks gigolo Antointe’s prized fish tank he attempts to pay for it by becoming a gigolo himself. But visions of the high life are shattered when his dates turn out to be a 500 pound woman, an eight foot giant and a girl with Tourettes syndrome. Side—splitting moments make no concession to political correctness, but the film fails to sustain these highs. General release.
Down To You (12) *** (Kris lsacsson, US, 2000) Freddie Prinze Jr, Julia Styles , Henry Winkler. 96 mins. This summer rom- com partners pretty young things Prinze Jr and Styles as New York college students, A1 (a trainee chef) and lmogen (an artist). Love begins to take priority over their career plans, but various obstacles threaten their flowering relationship: a seductive vixen, an anxiety-ridden friend, a crazy roommate, and a guy who thinks he's Jim Morrison. General release.
Earth (15) *iink (Deepa Mehta, Canada, 1998) Aadmir Khan, Nandita Das, Rahul Khanna. 105 mins. It's taken a long time for the second part of lndo-Canadian Mehta’s trilogy about lndia to reach our screens. The previous film Fire, which deals with a
Bigalow, Male Gigolo
lesbian relationship, isjust out on video, while Water is causing an uproar in India where it’s currently filming. Dealing with just as volatile subjects as the other films, Earth looks at the cataclysmic Partitioning of India in 1947. Powerful material which engages with its story of childhood friendships destroyed by national events. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The End Of The Affair (18) **** (Neil Jordan, UK/US, 2000) Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea. 101 mins. This is a diary of hate,’ explains narrator Bendrix (Fienncs), as he attempts to piece together the memories of his war-time affair with Sarah (Moore), the wife of high- ranking civil servant Henry (Rea). Jordan captures the rancorous tone and bitter intensity of Graham Grahame Greene's source novel in this potent adaptation, the impact of which is compounded by a trio of commanding performances. Edinburgh: Odcon.
Epic 0f Everest Event (PG) (B.L. Noel, UK, 1924) 90 mins approx. Two Sherpa guides, who have been up Everest twice, will give an talk about their culture following a screening of Noel's silent film which charts the third attempt on Everest by Mallory and lrvine. Glasgow: Gf’l‘.
Erin Brockovich (15) **** (Steven Soderbergh, US, 2000) Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart. 133 mins. Unemployed single mother Erin (Roberts) shoehorns her way into a filing clerk position with Finney’s California law firm. There she accidentally uncovers a conspiracy to conceal the poisoning of the local community, which leads to the largest direct action lawsuit in American history. This might sound like a cliched John Grisham thriller, but it's based on a true story and Soderbergh‘s direction and Roberts’ performance are faultless — together they prove that mainstream American cinema can be something truly great. General release.
Extreme Screen (U) ink 40 mins. Although the lwerks experience impresses on a technical level, neither of these films transcend entertainment as lumbering fairground attraction. Everest is a dry-as- sand account of a recent expedition up the big yin. Filmed in the style of a Sunday afternoon docudrama, it also has the dubious honour of rendering a remarkable