I had a strange memory of this film. Unsettling. Frightening. Every so often I meet someone who's a devotee of Apartment Zero and I kept meaning to see it again. Well, last night, it happened. It took me completely by surprise. Clearly the first time I saw it I hadn't venture "into" the apartment. This time I did. Colin Firth is, is, I can't find the words. He creates a character I've never seen before in a movie. The sort of character you keep at arms length. Too creepy and gloomy but before you know it, you're with him, you feel for him, you start to recognize him until you say, wow, that's me. Hart Bochner is pure perfection as the catalyst with the mask. The characters in the building, the Greek chorus, are a xenophobe's nightmare. Elegant, brittle, hilarious and yes, terrifying at times but look at it. Where is the terror coming from? It points in one direction but you go there on your own. Oh yes. This Zero is a Ten.
Reviews
4 Reviews
The Proposal
(I) (2009)
Ryan Reynolds saves the day, almost
21 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Such a tired formula. Has anybody remember Preston Sturgess, Billy Wilder or even the Doris Day comedies? This is a predictable annoying little trifle and Sandra Bullock is getting to be really annoying. At one point I said to myself "If she clears her throat once more I leave the theater" and within 4 seconds, I swear, she cleared her throat again. I didn't leave however. I wasn't alone and my two nieces (10 and 11) where laughing so I didn't want to spoil their afternoon. Ryan Reynolds, I have to admit, is really charming and has the comedy chops for a far better comedy. Where are the writers? Please! Bullock trying her hand as a sort of Miranda Pristley from Devil wears Prada, is totally unconvincing. Mary Steenburgen wasted in a non part and Betty White's age is exploited for some very low comedy. Her Indian ritual is unforgivably bad writing. I'm rating it with a 5 and not a 2 as a tribute to Ryan Reynolds because I would love to see more of him, hopefully in a script written by the writers of "Tootsie", "Death Becomes Her", "Barbershop" or someone channeling Preston Sturgess.
In Bruges
(2008)
Horribly Enchanting
4 March 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Martin McDonagh is a new name for me but it reeks of sounds and smells I recognize and love. Joe Ortonish if you know what I mean. A mishmash of blame and redemption in Bruges of all places. Colin Farrell is superb as the child killer devoured by his own conscience. His dialogue is brutally funny but if we follow his eyes he's stuck on the same place. The child, his death....Brendan Gleeson's interest in Bruges and what Bruges has to offer is hysterically funny and deeply moving. A monumental performance. Ralph Finnes in a totally new vest (if you forget Schindler's) comes to revolutionize the third act with a few aces up his sleeve. He is as much fun to watch as he is frightening. An unexpected treat. I highly recommend it.
Sunshine
(2007)
Danny Boils
29 July 2007
I loved Danny Boyle's "Shallow Grave" I thought there was a Polanskian, Hitchcockian, Chabrolian creature trying to come out. I was wrong - it happens more often than not - but Danny is moving away from me or I from him, in any case we're like strangers now. What made me love "Shallow Grave" were the characters and the way he introduced them to us. I felt involved, totally involved. In "Sunshine" the detachment was such that I couldn't even follow. Impressive, virtuoso film-making to be sure but cold an impersonal. I could watch Cillian Murphy's face for hours without getting bored but I got bored looking at his face because I didn't have a clue who he was and after a while, I didn't care. Mr Boyle, go back to graves, human graves, earth graves, please, do it for me.
Tell Your Friends