Chris At The Pictures

It should be noted that I’m not fond of the ‘indie’ scene. I have no time for slow, drab ukulele music and the sort of navel-gazing, self-deprecating attitude and ‘quirky’ moniker that hangs like a black cloud over most of what is considered ‘indie’, the Zooey Deschanel character in 500 Days of Summer just about pushing my limits. As far as Frank is concerned, I was utterly charmed by it. The songs are not only unique and inspired, but they also help to create and work in tandem with the comedy elements with each of the band members given their own traits that prevent them from becoming bland and uninvolving side characters. They’re not just a lot of dreary soliloquizing but are intriguingly eccentric and boasting such an extraordinary range of instruments that it’s almost impossible to pick up on all of them in one viewing.

The most important thing about the film is that it is very, very funny. Ranging from physical comedy to vocal gags and entire set-pieces devoted to one joke, there’s much to enjoy here. Without wishing to spoil the fun for those yet to see it, a certain scene involving a Jacuzzi is tear-inducingly funny and just the Frank head by itself is so weird and placid that it’s comedy gold all by itself, not to mention the songs created out of the smallest little things, a standout of which would have to be Frank’s ode to a singular tuft of carpet.

Where performances are concerned, it’s interesting (but not surprising) that the Frank character has taken centre stage in the advertising for the film when really the true star is Domhnall Gleeson, who provides possibly the sanest voice in a film populated by over-blown characters and seems to be echoing a young Hugh Grant in his dumbfounded and stuttering moments, minus the upper-class smarm. That being said, Michael Fassbender – despite being shrouded contanstly in the enormous head – still manages to deliver a memorable performance as a man who seems to revel in the oxymoron of being forever hidden yet ecstatic at the prospect of fame. Maggie Gyllenhaal lends an enjoyable degree of depravity as control-freak Clara and Scoot McNairy (who is certainly going up in the world) provides a lot of laughs as the bands manager.

Though you feel that towards the end, a little of the magic starts to fade and the film wavers uncertainly, it manages to pull everything back for a low-key yet charming finale. Frank is not your average laugh-out-loud comedy, and though some may be put off by its off-beat, quirky attitude, it’s saving grace lies in the characters, their music, and the unashamedly wonderful eccentricity with which it carries itself. 

4.5 Stars

The Double is the new film from Richard Ayoade – perhaps best known for his role in the TV series The I.T. Crowd – who showed great promise with his directorial debut Submarine in 2010, and focuses on office worker Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg), a loner who goes almost entirely un-noticed by everyone around him, including a co-worker he steals furtive glances at on a train (Mia Wasikowska). Suddenly, a complete doppelganger of him shows up at work, named James Simon, who seems to not only be noticed by everyone but appreciated and admired by all.

The film is – above the many things it has to offer – a great study in surrealism. Whereas Submarine was a very intimate, well-observed story of young romance, The Double is a dark, bizarre story that revels in the shadows. The production design feels like a 1950’s Englishman’s idea of the future: computers are huge and only process one function; the architecture is a melange of stark concrete and drab paint that is greatly accentuated by the strict cinematography that feels like a Wes Anderson film by way of Wally Pfister. 

The problem with any film including doppelgangers, clones and alternate personalities is that it has to stop itself turning into Fight Club before the end, and The Double manages to pull it off before the words ‘Tyler Durden’ can finish forming in your head. Eisenberg, whilst providing his usual mumble-core performance (which could seem repetitive but always seems fitting to the roles he chooses) manages to handle both sides of the coin appropriately, making each version of the character a contrast of the other whilst retaining a level of similarity that still keeps the ‘is he just imagining this?’ question fresh in the viewers’ mind.

The rather spontaneously energetic soundtrack is a lovely fit, providing a well-played offset to the darkness on screen and echoing the troubled and frantic thought process of Simon as the story progresses, and the cameos from Ayoades’ previous collaborations placed here and there throughout the film are well-played (including an all too brief appearance from Chris O’Dowd). The film is also very well-paced up until the final fifteen minutes or so, when the story seems to drop its noir-ish feel in favour of rushing towards its conclusion. 

That, along with Mia Wasikowska’s accent, which seems to traverse half the globe (I realise the film is set in a surreal world but come on, there’s a limit) and the slightly unresolved ending scene that is sprinted through far too quickly are the few flaws that pepper The Double, an otherwise intriguing and stylish noir comedy that shows once again that Ayoade is a growing force to be reckoned with within British film.

4 Stars

Under the Skin is the new film by Jonathan Glazer, a director perhaps best known for 2000’s Sexy Beast. It stars Scarlett Johansson as an extra-terrestrial who prowls the streets of Glasgow in an unassuming white van, seducing men and leading them to their deaths in a series of extraordinarily bizarre methods.

I don’t think I’ve left the cinema feeling so irritated in a very long time. This is not because the film is in any way terrible, as there are undoubtedly some great pieces in there, but I just found it impenetrable. I think a lot of this is to do with the cold, detached way in which the story is told. It’s not a film about getting invested or caring about anyone involved and in a way that’s the problem. There is something interesting and emotionally involving to be found in the story but the film chooses to act more as an observer than actually engaging with it.

On the plus side, there are a number of things to praise within the film. The central performance by Johansson is electrifying, perfectly capturing the strange, ethereal quality of an alien within a human body, understanding that humans have certain emotions but not understanding why (one might – and some have done so – draw a parallel with David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth. The cinematography is inventive and lends itself well to some of the more visually interesting set pieces, such as the sequences when the alien leads her victims to their deaths, and one death scene in particular has a moment of genuine terror that took me several minutes to recover from.

The scratchy, other-worldly musical score is interesting at first but quickly loses its charm after a few minutes and becomes, in the end, rather grating and annoying, throwing me out of several scenes and adding to the detached feeling that persisted until the end, though I still found the use of special effects throughout to be visually enhancing and an actual contribution to the story. There is also a seamless transition from the acting and the real-life encounters with passers-by on the streets, filmed with hidden cameras, although when the proper actors take over much later, they all act like they’re in an art-movie, further adding to the lack of engagement.

Under the Skin is a failure, but an admirable one, an example of a film-maker daring to try something different and inventive regardless of its success with the mainstream or not and does so with a certain level of visual intrigue. It sells itself as an erotic thriller, but at no point was I aroused or really thrilled…just rather frustrated.

2.5 Stars