Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette is a 2006 historical drama, written and directed by Sofia Coppola, starring Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman and Rose Byrne. The film is a highly loose adaptation of the life of the French queen, and represents the life of the queen, from the age of 14 when she was promised to the dauphin, the future king of France, up until the French revolution, when she and her husband were forced to leave Versailles.

The film is a highly loose adaptation, and style clearly takes place over substance in this adaptation. Kirsten Dunst shines as the young and troubled young queen. The film is a highly humanizing portrait of the young queen’s life, and elements of the film are intentionally modernized in order to humanize the characters involved, rather than portraying Marie Antoinette as a selfish and spoilt girl, Coppola presents her as a deeply flawed young woman, entirely cut off from reality, and trapped within a world she had no control over. Jason Schwartzman also stars as Louis XVI. The film also has the distinction of introducing the world to Rose Byrne, who plays Yolande de Polastron, a beautiful and extravagant duchess, a favorite of Marie-Antoinette.

The film is a visually stunning and lavish representation of pre-revolutionary France, and of the court of Versailles, the production had unprecedented access to the court of Versailles and its grounds, and it is of huge advantage to the film. The film is infused with the essence of Versailles, something which could not be achieved if the sets had been constructed for the film. The film is also lavishly costumed, and won an Oscar in 2007 for Best Costume Design. The film often sacrifices historical realism for character development, and the clothes are used intelligently to give us an idea of who these characters really are as people, rather than simply putting them on a pedestal. Marie-Antoinette’s character is developed largely through costume, at the beginning of the film, her costumes are used to show her naiveté and innocence, she wears dresses in blue and pink, with little hats and necklaces, her make-up is also highly subdued at this point, showing that she has not yet reached an age of sexual maturity, and that she is essentially a little girl. Towards the end of the film, as Marie-Antoinette becomes more rebellious and free, her style changes as well. Her make-up becomes darker, more flirtatious, with redder lipstick and more blush, showing her blossoming into a freer and emancipated woman. Towards the end of the film her wardrobe changes also, and she begins wearing darker colors, more daring silhouettes. She also begins to dress in a far freer way; she begins to wear simple, shepherdess dresses, showing her desire for a more liberated, less conservative existence.

Supporting characters are also introduced largely by their wardrobe, Madame Du Barry, a prostitute and favorite of the king is shown with dark defined make-up, and modern avant-garde clothing, looking highly unlike the rest of the nobility, ensuring that she is seen by the audience as an outsider, given that she is not a true member of the nobility. Costume is also used to show the sheer extravagance of the royal family, Manolo Blahnik created hundreds of pairs of shoes for the production, and at one point in the film, we see a pair of modern Chuck Taylor’s, in pale blue under a table, showing that Marie Antoinette is essentially still a young teenager, even if she is the Dauphine of France. Also important in the film are wigs, Marie-Antoinette brought in a fashion for wigs in France, and in the film Marie-Antoinette beginning to wear wigs is a turning point in the film, as her extravagance begins to become inappropriate. Her wigs also show her innocence, that even though she was a grown woman by this point, even though she was queen of France with responsibilities and children, she was still immature and childlike, willing to try odd and even downright ridiculous things.

The film is a highly humanizing portrait of the doomed queen; Marie-Antoinette is portrayed as being entirely cut off from reality, Versailles is depicted as an entirely cut off world, a world in which she was endlessly trailed by courtiers and servants. Marie-Antoinette is portrayed as a woman who couldn’t possibly know about the troubles of the working people of France, because she was entirely cutoff from reality, and as a woman who desperately longed for a simpler life. She is described as essentially a woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and who cannot be blamed for the financial woes of France. Marie-Antoinette is shown to be a woman who cares deeply for her country, despite not having been born in France, and as a woman who accepts the position she has been put in despite it not being her fault.

Louis XVI however is portrayed in a highly unsympathetic light; he is shown to be pompous, unfriendly and uncaring towards his wife. His inability to consummate the marriage is of considerable pain to his wife, and yet he makes no attempt to console her, the film also places the financial ruin of France solely in the hands of Louis XVI, given that it was him who sent troops to America to fight the British, a move inspired wholly by ego. The film’s use of music is also superb, as is traditional for Sofia Coppola films; the film uses a soundtrack of new age and post punk music, which although anachronistic, really allows us to empathize with the characters. The use of anachronistic music, which although being de rigueur today, was relatively unheard of in the early 2000’s, allows us to see Marie-Antoinette as a young teen, and gives us a way to relate to the film.

Although being lightweight and frivolous, Marie Antoinette is a well-produced, visually sumptuous and deftly acted drama; the film finds a way to allow us to empathize with these historical characters, by taking them off their pedestals and humanising them greatly. Marie Antoinette is a harrowing and personal view of the doomed queen, a woman who despite being spoilt and selfish, is not guilty of either the financial ruin of France or the downfall of the monarchy, and who has been made to pay for the faults and flaws of the monarchy as an institution. Sofia Coppola shows that she again is a highly capable director with a real voice and opinion, and is successfully able to translate this overly told story to the big screen, giving it a new perspective and enlightenment. Rating: A

Marie-Antoinette: Am I to be Austrian or the Dauphine of France?

Factory Girl

Factory Girl is a 2006 biopic of actress, model and muse Edie Sedgewick, and her relationship with Andy Warhol. Sedgewick first met Warhol whilst working as an art student in cambridge, she moves to New York City in order to pursue her career as an artist, she ended up appearing is a number of his films during the 1960's and became his muse for a while. Her relationship with Warhol led to her becoming a worldwide celebrity and icon, and she tragically passed away in 1971 at the age of 28.

The film is shot very much like a documentary, the camera, whilst always being in the right place at the right time, is never flashy, and never overbearing, this gives the whole film a cinema verité feel, where the camera is simply observing, and is never a feature of the film. The narrative of the film is also documentary like, as in Grey Gardens, the cameras simply roll and watch the drama play out, there is no attempt to streamline the film into a distinct and linear narrative, whilst the action is all chronological, there are huge jumps in time and narrative and the film takes place over an indeterminate period of time.

The film features undeniably fine performances, and Sienna Miller is surprisingly good in the leading role, i will admit to not having seen a lot of her work, and knowing of her largely from her relationship with Jude Law, her affair with Daniel Craig and her featuring in The September Issue, however she is oddly perfect in the role of Edie Sedgewick, a woman who is fragile, vapid and foolish, who places all her trust in Warhol at the begining of the film, and whose blind faith will ultimately lead to her being cast off and left for ruin. Despite the film being filmed and told in a cinema verité style, the film is nonetheless very much told from Edie's point of view, the audience is expected to understand and empathize with her despite the carelessness of her actions, and we are supposed to blame her entourage for her situation, and her subsequent decay.

However the real star of this picture is Guy Pearce, who plays Andy Warhol, few actors have the confidence to take on such a hugely iconic and challenging role, and yet Pearce pulls it off with style and panache. What is so impressive about his performance is that we really feel like we know him, despite the fact that he rarely, if ever takes off his sunglasses, Pearce's performance is so deft and powerful that he takes an icon down from his pedestal, and makes him human, he penetrates the sunglasses and the wigs, the blind stares and ironic glazed voice and makes a real character whilst remaining faithful to the status of such a powerful and influential artists.

Factory Girl is a film which succeeds on the strength of it's performances and its visual pastiche, whilst the story suffers, and is reduced to a mere series of vignettes, the lack of narrative is interesting to follow and gives the film an interesting flair, however the film is simply unable to craft a convincing or understandable story from it's wonky narrative. Rating: C+

Edie Sedgwick: To me, New York was Jackson Pollock sipping vodka and dripping paint onto a raw canvas.

Cold Mountain Review

Well now we come to one of my least favorite films in recent memory, Cold Mountain is a 2003 American drama film directed by Anthony Mingella, adapted from the acclaimed novel of the same name by Charles Frazier. The film stars Nicole Kidman, Jude Law in leading roles, with Renée Zellwiger and Donald Sutherland in supporting roles. The film is about a love affair between the daughter of a pastor in North Carolina and a confederate soldier fighting in the civil war. Kidman plays Ada, afragile young woman struggling to adapt to life in a new environment, and Donald Sutherand plays her father, the reverend Monroe. Jude Law plays W P Inman, a deserter, and Renée Zellweger, a farmhand who comes to help Ada.

I will confess, i have read this book, well, i tried, in an adaptation of the original novel, the film succedes, it is trite, melodramatic and soppy, much like the book, however i found the whole thing to be very silly, and of little consequence. The film was directed by the late Anthony Minghella, who was perhaps one of the most erratic directors, it was he who directed the much reviled The English Patient, but who also directed The Talented Mr Ripley and Truly Madly Deeply, both fantastic movies.

Cold Mountain suffers from what i will refer to as vignette syndrome, a great number of films featuring long journeys and/or multiple storylines tend to be reduced to being simply a series of cartoonish episodes rather than a long story arc. It is important to note that Cold Mountain is a picture that features not only a long journey but also two storylines, and Minghella reduces the story to a series of cartoonish vignettes, and by the end of the movie, he goes too far trying to outdo himself to show us how horrible the war was.

The film also suffers from a lack of chemistry between it's leads, Nicole Kidman does an admirable job but there is a total lack of chemistry between her and Jude Law. The films only saving grace is Renée Zellweger, who gives a fully fleshed out performance as Ada's farmhand. The film overall just feels cold, lifeless and boring, much like the mountain itself. Rating: D-

 

Ada: What we have lost will never be returned to us. The land will not heal - too much blood. All we can do is learn from the past and make peace with it.

12 YEARS A SLAVE - Review by Philip Josse

12 Years a Slave is a 2013 film adapted by Steve McQueen from the memoir of the same name by Solomon Northup. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northup, with the supporting cast being filled out by Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson and Brad Pitt. The film is a fairly faithful adaptation of Northup's novel, and was largely filmed in Louisiana, the film was mainly produced independently, by Brad Pitt's production company Plan B Entertainment.

The film succeeds in large part due to it's performances, the main cast presents some pretty fantastic performances, and thus the film is heartfelt, powerful and strong. Ejiofor's performance as Solomon Northup is particularly strong, and he manages to successfully play a man who is strong, but beaten down, who has morals but who feels conflicted, and who is desperately mourning the loss of his children and wife, despite not being able to show it.

The other star of this film is Lupita Nyong'o, whoose performance as Patsey is particularly strong. Patsey is a woman who is very childlike in the way she behaves, yet in the hand of Nyong'o she becomes three dimensional and real, and becomes a character we truly care about. Also fantastic is Sarah Paulson, who is menacing and vicious as the plantation owners wife, and who brings a gravitas to the role.

The other main success of this film is that it provides characters who are complex and detailed, but who we really manage to care about, this provides an immense emotional weight to the piece, and allows us to attach to the piece emotionally, this provides a true gravitas to the film, the storytelling of the film is fantastic, and there is a refreshing lack of voice over, a sadly overused concept in most modern films. Despite all these positives, i felt a little underwhelmed by 12 Years A Slave, this film was so hyped and was apparently so good that i left feeling a bit off, and i couldn't help feeling that despite being technically strong, the film was never engrossing, and i didn't leave wondering anything more about the characters. The problem is that McQueen keeps us a little bit distant from the characters in the film, and despite being emotionally invested, our investment ends at the conclusion of the film.

Overall, 12 Years A Slave, despite not being a perfect film, is a strong piece of work and succeeds largely due to its highly talented cast, its great script and beautiful photography, it's only failures are in it's distant quality and the underwhelming nature of the film. I was impressed by the film on an isolated level, but it is unfortunate that it was so over-hyped, this is the film version of a Lady Gaga album. However 12 Years A Slave remains an important film highlighting the west's sickening history with slavery. Rating: A-

Solomon Northup: I will not fall into despair till freedom is opportune!

THE IMMIGRANT - A Review By Philip Josse

The immigrant is a 2013 film directed by James Gray and starring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner. The film tells of the hard life of a polish immigrant, arriving on Ellis Island in the 1920's with her sister. Upon arrival Ewa meets Bruno, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and is drawn into a web of lies, magic and prostitution.

The film features a talented and charismatic cast, Marion Cotillard is perfectly cast as the vulnerable and beautiful Ewa, who is caught up in world in which she is too young, and too innocent. Joaquin Phoenix plays Bruno, a troubled and damaged man who uses a combination of charm, money and lust to draw women in, and finally Jeremy Renner plays Orlando, a magician who offers Ewa an escape from her situation.

I wanted to like this film, i really tried, but The Immigrant has an uneven script and poor character development. The biggest problem with this film is that it is too damn attractive, the film wants to be gritty and real, and wants to present a realistic view of the hardships of being an immmigrant in 1920's New York, and Ewa towards the end of the film sees herself as a disgraced woman. The film never allows the audience to see Ewa in the way she sees herself, and thus we are confused by the image other characters have of her. Bruno is also a confused character, he is never as nasty as he really could be, and thus Ewa's fear of him appears irrational, the audience never really sees him as she does, and for me this is a big problem.

That said the film does look beautiful, Gray does a fantastic job of recreating 1920's New York, and the cinematography is lovely, the costumes are vibrant and tactile, and the characters feel real, however overall The Immigrant is too uneven, too long, and just too dower to bee a successful motion picture, however Marion Cotillard is effervescent as ever, and perfectly cast as the fragile Ewa. Rating: C

Ewa: I just want to be happy

Diana

The trailer is here for Diana, a film which stars Naomi Watts as the princess of whales, and which seems to cover the period up until her death, however this is not shown in the trailer. The trailer is just an early sneak peek, and thus contains no dialogue, and can only give us an idea of what the film will be like, however i must say that it looks really rather good!

The film attempts to show us behind the facade that was Princess Diana, and attempts to show us the woman who hid behind this facade. The film shows us the good with tha bad, and i like this, the film shows us not only all the good that Diana did, but the bad as well, we are shown the work that she did with land mines and for children with aids, and we are shown the affairs and her many run in's with the paparazzi. The film doesn't show the royal family at all, and seems to show the period after her divorce from Charles. The film stars Naomi Watts as the princess, and she looks to be fantastic in the title role, and her eyes show us the pain of the woman, and the life she led.Her performance seems so good that despite the lack of sound, we empathize with her hugely.

Overall this looks to be a hugely exciting film, and there is rightly already Oscar buzz for Watt's and rightly so, she looks to be fantastic and the film looks already to be hugely exciting, and looks as if it will not be a dry biopic such as some others i could mention! The film looks heartbreaking, and will surely be a must watch even for those not fans of the late princess. Trailer Rating: A

The Bling Ring - Review

We all have a fascination with celebrity (small exaggeration) however there a re those that take it to the next level. In 2008 a group of Calabasas teenagers started robbing celebrities homes, using Google Earth and twitter, in an attempt to live the glamorous celebrity lifestyle. The Suspects Wore Louboutins was a vanity fair article written by Nancy Jo Sales about the robberies, which was subsequently adapted into The Bling Ring, by acclaimed director Sophia Coppola.

The film shows the totality of the robberies from the moment when our two protagonists meet to the moment they are prosecuted for their crimes. The film is a fictionalization of events, and the characters have different names. The film attempts to show us the motives of these people, and the film is semi-narrated by the main character giving an article to vanity fair. The film describes how these teens were obsessed with reality TV, and this is echoed in the cinematography of the film. The film uses a large number of establishing shots of the main characters houses, which is similar in style to shots used on reality shows, in particular Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

The film is notable for its effective use of handheld cameras, a technique which is often misused and which can often feel forced or pretentious. Here the film is used only to capture the first robbery, and gives it a slightly voyeur feel, and allows the audience to believe that we are watching a real event. The film is cinematographically distinct, and Coppola uses a different style for each robbery. The film is a series of robberies, which could soon get boring and samey however in using a distinct style for each robbery, Coppola keeps the film fresh, and many of the styles are hugely interesting. One of the robberies uses a green tint, which makes gives the film the impression of security footage. The robbery of Audrina Patridge's house takes place entirely from a vantage point above the house, looking through the windows, with no sound, again giving the film a voyeuristic point of view.

We simply must talk about Emma Watson, she is simply fantastic in the role of Nicki, her Kardashian accent is totally down-pat, and she manages to show us a girl who is obsessed by fame, and who steals to satisfy her need, and who gets a kick out of being a small part of these celebrities lives, and who manages to accurately portray a girl who is so superficial, that she hides something darker. The ending of this film seems overlong, and the final sequence seems to me like it should have been an after credits sequence, and that the scene with our protagonist reflecting on what he did from the prison bus is so much more Sofia Coppola than the final ending of the movie, as this end sequence feels too much like a spoof, and is inappropriate after what we have just witnessed.

Overall this film has the hallmarks of a Sofia Coppola movie, with little music and stark bar imagery, yet it successfully manages to provide its audience with a small insight into the motivations and lives of its characters, even if it ultimately provides more questions than answers, and offers frustratingly few conclusions, yet it is buoyed by a strong supporting performance from Emma Watson. Rating: B+

Nikki: I wanna rob!

Lincoln - What a waste

It is now time to talk about a much acclaimed film that in my opinion has a lot of problems, Lincoln, Spielberg’s apparently amazing film that had many viewers failing to see through the hype. The film’s plot is a little self-explanatory given the film’s title; it is a biopic which is about the time period towards the end of the civil war in which Lincoln attempted to pass the thirteenth amendment which would ban slavery from the United States forever. This alleged masterpiece stars Daniel Day Lewis and Sally Field as Mr and Mrs Lincoln, as well as a whole host of acclaimed supporting actors which are a testament to Spielberg as an iconic director.

I cannot talk about this film without discussing Daniel Day Lewis' inspired performance as Lincoln himself, his performance is truly sublime, and he infuses Lincoln with a likeness that is uncanny, intensely realistic, to a point that we fail to even see the actor through the performance, and seem to almost be watching a documentary. Sally Field portrays Lincoln's wife, she is actually to old for the role, as Lincoln's wife was much younger than the man himself, yet field is 16 years older than Day Lewis, yet this goes unnoticed due to Field portraying Mary Todd with a grace and an elegance, and infuses her with a humanity that almost steals the show.

Now we come to the rather bad parts, although I credit this film for the fact that it focused on a specific moment in Lincoln's life, the main problem with this film is that it doesn't really allow us to empathize with Lincoln as a character, and the film tends to place Lincoln on a pedestal in such a way that we are never allowed to get to know Lincoln, and that even though he is humanized to an extent, mainly due to Daniel Day Lewis' performance and not to the script, we never feel like we truly know him. That's not to say that the film doesn't show Lincoln's flaws, we are shown his failings as a father and as a husband. 

Yet our failings to relate to him are due to the fact that throughout the film all the takes place in typical biopic style 'Gettysburg address' speech, in which each statement sounds like a proclamation, and this makes the whole film seem almost like a theater presentation, and not in a good way. These proclamations make tha character of Lincoln seem like a historical figure and not a character, and means that we are unable to connect with Lincoln as a character, and means that overall this film fails in providing us with an insight into Lincoln's character. In rating this film i feel that i must give two ratings, the film is a poor insight into Lincoln as a person, yet features stunning performances from its large ensemble cast, in particular that of Daniel Day Lewis and Sally Field, so overall Rating: B (lead performances Rating: A+)

Abraham Lincoln: [giving a speech at a dedication raising the flag] The part assigned to me is to raise the flag which, if there be no fault in the machinery, I will do. And, when up, it shall be for the people to keep it up. That's my speech. 

The Overdue Django Review

Well, when i first started this blog i did a short form post on the controversy surrounding Quentin Tarantino's western, and looking at the Django Unchained poster reflected in my computer screen it occurred to me that i had untill now failed to give this film a full blown review, so here goes. Django is an epic homage to spaghetti westerns of the 1940's, hence the title. The film comes after Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, and is the second of what he refers to as his rewritten history trilogy, to be completed.

The film is about the antebellum south during the 1880's, and is a story of slavery, freedom, racism and a quest for justice. The film won 2 academy awards and was nominated for a further three nominations including best picture. I have also on this blog commented on the proverbial screwup of the best director category at this years Oscars, Tarantino like all other worthy directors this year (namely Bigelow and Affleck) failed to be nominated for an Oscar for directing, and Ang Lee won, enough said!

The film is a stylized visual treat, with a great soundtrack that combines modern hip hop music with old TV western style score, that manages to be nostalgic yet for some reason modern. The films visual identity comes in part due tho the fact that it is filmed on traditional film, of which Tarantino is a huge proponent, giving the film a sharp yet somewhat hazy quality, and a nostalgic look, which harks back to period westerns such as 'The Dollars Trilogy' and 'The Good The Bad and The Ugly'. Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio have true star turns on the film as the quick talking Dr Schultz (Waltz won an Oscar for his role as the doctor) and as the cruel slave owner and sadistic ruler of Candieland, Calvin Candie (despite deserving it, Dicaprio failed to garner an Oscar nomination, admittedly this was a tough year, given a large number of good performances, however given DiCaprio having also failed in previous years to garner nominations for worthy performances, I can't say that this oversee was anything of a surprise).

I spoke rather recently about my loathing of aggressive films that attempt clout you round the face with their do good messages, its a little like being slapped in the face with a fish. The great thing about Unchained is that even though the messages of slavery and racism are there, in the subtexts and subplots of the film, and in the imagery of the film, memorable images include blood spattering on white cotton bolls evoking the slavery and blood behind the cotton industry in the American south, and the startling imagery of scarlet blood on crisp white snow.

Overall this film truly is great and most importantly of all devilishly entertaining, and is in many senses better than other Oscar nominees (Lincoln I'm talking to you!) in that it manages to sustain its audience  throughout the length of it's trajectory, and leaves the audience wanting more, yet feeling that all the ends have been tied up, it has a great message, without being overbearing, and features great art direction and a fantastic visual style, and leaves the viewer a little anxious for whatever opus Tarantino will give birth to next. Rating: A+

Django: Django. The D is silent. 

A comparison of a Genre

Today i will do something a little different, i recently attempted to compare two cult classics, an attempt that failed with the knowledge that the only cult films i knew were camp classics, and wholly unsuitable for comparison with dark masterpiece fight club, so i will take up the sword once more, this time a comparison of two great tv movies, and not of the lifetime kind, and both are adaptations of the life stories of famous writers, the first is The Naked Civil Servant, a film which was shown to me by my wife, and which recounts the early years of Quentin Crisp, played by William Hurt, the film recounts his years in London before his move to New York, and his many jobs, including being a prostitute and a nude model, hence the title, Quentin works for the government as a model for art schools, so Quentin concludes that he is simply, a naked civil servant.

The other film to which I will compare this opus is Christopher and His Kind, an adaptation of the memoir by Christopher Isherwood, the film tells of Isherwood himself, and his embroils in Berlin during the 1930's, in the period during which he went on to write what would become to be known as Cabaret, and stars Matt Smith (Aka Dr Who) as Isherwood himself. Both films are set around the same time, and both portray characters who are fiercely proud of who they are, and are unafraid to be despite the times or places they live in being unforgiving to people of their ilk. The Naked Civil Servant is unusual in it being presented in a series of vignettes, each as a different lesson, this narrative voice is important in the way that it translates the spirit of the novel without it feeling forced.

Imogen Poots as Jean Ross in Christopher and His Kind

Christopher and his Kind is presented in a less radical way, yet is impressive nonetheless, the film is juxtaposed with a series of cabaret performances, by Imogen Poots, playing Jean Ross, herself the inspiration for Sally Bowles. This interspersing of song is appropriate, as the majority of the songs used have a certain relevance, which gives the whole picture a musical theater like quality, and  lends comparison to Cabaret the film himself, in which the songs used are used in performance, yet have a significance in the storytelling.

William Hurt in The Naked Civil Servant

Performances in both films are strong, and William Hurt is particularly impressive in his entertaining yet grounded portrayal of Quentin Crisp, and is every bit as quirky as the man himself. Despite Matt Smith's portrayal being a little less memorable, the film makes up for it by being visually stunning, and with very strong performances by the supporting cast, an particular Toby Jones and Douglas Booth. The film also succedes in that it's source material is much stronger, however being a huge fan of Christopher Isherwood's work, perhaps I'm simply biased, the film also manages to provide more of a sense of the time in which it was set, and of the impending political revolution.

Matt Smith in Christopher and His Kind

All i can say to conclude is that these films are both equally excellent, they are simply different, The Naked Civil Servant is more of a cautionary tale, and is about a fairly long period of time, and revolves around one single memorable performance, which holds up the film. Christopher and his Kind spreads the weight over a number of performances, and indeed a number of years, and like many Isherwood novels, makes one nostalgic for the time in which it is set, and has some great musical moments. There is no simple way to distinguish the ratings for these two films, and i feel i simply must rate them equally, as they are equally as delightful as the other, and are a tribute to the lives of the great men that they portray. Rating: A-/A-

An Australian Gone With The Wind

I recently reviewed the trailer of Baz Luhrmann's epic new trailer for his upcoming adaptation of the Great Gatsby. Now i will analyze his latest theatrical release; 2008's Australia, an epic starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

The film is, of course, set in Australia, in the 1940's, before the imminent start of the second world war. It tells of an English lady who travels to Australia to retrieve her husband who has settled there, who finds him dead and is then left with the decision of what to do with his withering cattle ranch in the Australian outback. There she meets The Drover, and becomes embroiled in a world of racism, cattle droving, attempted murder and a dizzying romance.

The film firstly has a fantastic visual identity, like all Baz Luhrmann pictures, and the sets and vistas are simply incredible. The costumes are simply amazing, with Kidman's red kimono dress a standout. The other costumes are all also wonderful, with costume designer; long time Luhrmann collaborator Catherine Martin, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her work on this film, manages to add a realism to the costumes, yet also makes the costumes imaginative and visually delightful.

The performances in the film are also great, with Kidman, Jackman and Brandon Walters performances as standouts. Brandon Walters performance is particularly stunning, with him managing to add a great depth to the character, with the child being cute and carefree, yet also having a sense of the great power that this child holds, and with the weight of the world seeming to sit on this young boys shoulders, given the intense struggle that he has been through.

The Red Kimono Dress

The pairing of Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman is simply genius, with the audience being able to always sense the intense sexual chemistry between them throughout the movie, and with the glamour and intense of fourties film icons. The films pacing is pretty good, however at 2 hours and 45 minutes, this film is more than a little long, however the film doesn't seem to drag, and i was generally entertained throughout.

Overall Australia is a good film, yet not a great film. It succeeds greatly thanks to strong performances from its lead actors, and has great visuals and stunning vistas. The film however is long, and rather fails in its attempts at an aborigine racial subplot, yet remains an entertaining romp. Rating: A-

Drover: Welcome to Australia...