Stonehearst Asylum (4/10): A poor attempt at creating a suspenseful gothic film

“We're all mad Dr. Newgate. Some are simply not mad enough to admit it.”

Set in a mental institution during the end of the 19th century it’s hard not to compare this gothic thriller to Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island. Whereas Scorsese managed to create a film with an eerie atmosphere full of intrigues and thrills, Stonehearst Asylum fails to do so. It seems to have the perfect setting and cast to do so, but director Brad Anderson (known for The Machinist) isn’t able to come up with a compelling script. There is a scene during the opening of the film where a young doctor played by Jim Sturgess arrives at this gothic asylum and the atmosphere seems ideal for a great suspenseful thriller, but the story never seems to catch on with the visuals and the atmosphere is lost. It isn’t enough to make a film with a gothic look if the story isn’t engaging, and this movie is proof yet again that a talented cast doesn’t always make for a good film. Jim Sturgess, Kate Beckinsale, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Kingsley, and Michael Caine all star in this film which should automatically make it worth giving it a watch, but unfortunately the script doesn’t do anything to make their characters interesting. The film is based on Poe’s short story, The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, but the adaptation to the big screen doesn’t necessary make for a good watch.   

The plot revolves around Dr. Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess) who arrives at a remote mental institution to offer his assistant. Despite his young age, he is eager to help these mentally ill patients and Dr. Silas Lamb (Ben Kingsley) greets him with enthusiasm. Edward realizes that Lamb’s methods are a bit unorthodox as he allows his patients to run around freely in the institution helping around with the chores. Mickey Finn (David Thewlis) is Lamb’s right hand man, but he seems a bit unstable and many of the patients seem to fear him. When Edward meets Eliza Graves (Kate Beckinsale), a patient who seems very enlightened and educated, he immediately becomes infatuated with her. She seems to have issues with touch and intimacy, but at the same time she is also a very caring individual who looks after some of the patients in the ward. Early in the movie there is a twist that I won’t give away, but where Edward is introduced to some other characters among which is Benjamin Salt (Michael Caine) who makes a very interesting claim that could change everything he has come to believe about the asylum. 

I think the revelation in the film is made too early on and it takes away from some of the suspense it could’ve benefited from. Once the reveal is made the film seems to lose some of the tension and it becomes a bit predictable along the way. It is a shame because there was an interesting cast to work with here. As stunning as she is in this film, Beckinsale doesn’t get much to do other than simply captivate audiences with her looks. Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine are such wonderful actors that I could’ve used more face off between the two. The film continues to deliver some twists along the way, but they never do anything to build the suspense. It has the right look, but it simply doesn’t transmit the suspense and the gothic atmosphere it so desperately tries to establish.

My Review: The Best Offer (8/10)

"Emotions are like a work of art. They can be forged they seem just like the original but they are forgery."

The Best Offer is Giuseppe Tornatore's latest film which also happens to be his first one in English. The Italian director will forever be known for his love letter to cinema in 1988 when he directed Cinema Paradiso, a true homage to film. He is a talented filmmaker who seems to always be in control of his craft. The Best Offer may not be a masterpiece, and will probably be forgotten amongst his filmography, but it is a very good thriller with a strong performance from Geoffrey Rush in the lead role. Somehow despite knowing exactly where the film was heading halfway through the movie, it still kept me interested and the 131 minutes went by really fast thanks to great pacing. The story is rather predictable and the film is far from being groundbreaking, but the art direction is so beautiful that it is simply a film to admire. Just like the many art paintings we see in this movie, you don't get tired of watching the story unravel. It's an elegant film and the score by Ennio Morricone just make the experience a more pleasant one. Tornatore delivers a good thriller which thanks to his craft allows you to enjoy it despite all the flaws.

Virgil Oldman (Geoffrey Rush) is an art auctioneer who lives on his own and has gathered quite a large collection of portraits. He tries to stay away from human relationships and keeps to himself. He also happens to be an antiques expert so he knows the value these things have. One day he receives a phone call from a strange woman named Claire (Sylvia Hoeks) who wants him to oversee the valuation of her family's art collection. Hesitant at first due to the fact that Claire never shows up to the meetings, he decides to go along with it when he discovers some pieces from a valuable antique. He takes the pieces to a mechanic named Robert (Jim Sturgess) who tells him he can rebuild the robot  if he continues to bring him more pieces. Virgil becomes attached to Claire when he discovers she's even more emotionally damaged than he is. She doesn't allow anyone to see her and hasn't left her house for years. Virgil's life changes when he finally allows himself to become attached to Claire and help her overcome her fear.

Halfway through the film there is a conversation between Rush and Donald Sutherland's characters that gives away the ending, but thanks to Rush's strong performance we are still drawn to the film. The rest of the cast isn't as strong as he is, but the movie works nonetheless. If the film had been made a few decades ago then I might have enjoyed the twist, but by now we have come to expect these sort of surprise endings. The Best Offer reminded me a lot of Matchstick Men, but perhaps nearly not as good. The film is still worth a watch thanks to Tornatore's elegant direction. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

My Review: Cloud Atlas (8/10)

¨I´m just trying to understand why we keep making the same mistakes over and over again.¨

Many critics have called Lana and Andy Wachowski´s new film, Cloud Atlas, ambitious and pretentious, but in my opinion it is a well made sci-fi film that is ahead of its time. Probably on a much lesser scale than 2001 or Blade Runner, but this film seems to have all the elements needed to become a cult film over time. Cloud Atlas is one of those movies you have to pay close attention to in order to understand where the plot is heading; it is definitely not for the casual viewer. It requires your time and patience, but if you stick with this film you will be rewarded by the end. This is by no means as good as Wachowski´s The Matrix (although it tries to remain philosophical), but it is much better than their recent work. Tom Tykwer (The Perfume) co-directed the film with the Wachowski siblings and it is without a doubt his best work yet. The film is unlike any other movie you´ve seen before as it connects six different stories over several centuries and connects them in some way or another. You could say it is kind of like Magnolia, but those stories take place during a similar time period, here the connections take place during the past, present, and future. Two parallel filming units were required for this monstrous production as the siblings directed three stories and Tykwer the other three. Cloud Atlas is based on David Mitchell´s award winning novel, and it was no easy task adapting it for the big screen. I think that their effort will be rewarded over time as it has the potential to become a sci-fi cult film.

The plot is a little difficult to explain as there are six separate stories happening over different time periods and in a way every story connects and overlaps with each other. The movie switches between one scene that can be taking place in 1849 to another in the post apocalyptic future. The first story takes place in the Pacific Ocean in 1849 as Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) is keeping a journal of his voyage while battling some sort of illness and being attended by Dr. Henry Goose (Tom Hanks), and at the same time helping a former slave, Autua (David Gyasi), escape from his oppressors. The next story takes place in 1936 as the composer Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) is corresponding with his former lover, Rufus Sixsmith (James D´Arcy) about his experience working for the world famous composer Vyvyan Ayrs (Jim Broadbent). In 1973 the story centers around a journalist named Luisa Rey (Halle Berry) who is investigating a murder that took place in a nuclear power plant. In 2012 a publisher named Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent) gets hoaxed by his brother and is forced to live in a nursing home while he makes plans to escape. In 2144 a clone known as Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae) participates in a revolutionary underground movement in New Seoul under the guidance of Hae-Joo Chang (Jim Sturgess). And finally in 2321 Zachry (Tom Hanks) is living somewhere in post apocalyptic Hawaii in a tribe that is being threatened by the blood thirsty Kona Chief (Hugh Grant). Every story is interconnected with each other as the actions of each individual impact one another in different time periods kind of like in a ripple effect.

The complexity of each story is the reason why the film is almost three hours long, but if you pay close attention and don’t get lost with all the flashbacks and flash forwards you might just enjoy this film. Cloud Atlas is pretentious for many because it is a little philosophical as it explains how we seem to cross our paths over and over again. Every actor in this film plays several different roles (as many as six) and we can see how each one shapes his or her future depending on the actions they take. The way the film was shot allows for the audience to experience a little sci-fi action (2144 segment), some comedy (2012 nursery home escape), some retro mystery (1973), and even romantic tragedy (1936). That is why this film is one of its kind. The sci-fi scenes were spectacular and the designs quite visionary in style. The film, although very exhausting, is exiting; and I had a great time. I understand why this is such a divisive film considering it is so complex and epic at the same time. The film does feel a bit disjointed and disconnected at times, but when it seemed to lose me it got right back in track again. I think this film was quite original and is worth your time if you are willing to put your mind to it. The performances weren’t as strong as I would have liked, but it is a difficult task to play six different characters at once. By all means check Cloud Atlas out; you will either love it or hate it.

    

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My Review: The Way Back (8/10)

¨Kindness. That will kill you here¨

 The Way Back is a fantastic movie directed by Peter Weir, who made one of my favorite films, The Dead Poets Society. I don’t think any of his movies will live up to that one, but The Way Back is still a great and inspiring movie. The film is based on the novel ¨The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom¨ written by Slavomir Rawicz who claims the book is autobiographical although many skeptics have found flaws in his claims. I don’t care if the events actually happened or not, I still think they made for a great and inspiring story. I`ve seen many films about survival and some are greatly exaggerated (The Grey for example), but this tale is as realistic as it gets. There are several long shots of beautiful scenery where nothing much happens other than long and exhausting walks. I guess that is what a survival film should have: endless walking. I even got tired of seeing these characters walk so much, but Peter Weir adapted the screenplay in such a way that he maintains us interested in the characters and their struggle for survival and their refusal to surrender under such harsh adversities. I also loved the performance from the cast, Jim Sturgess was strong as the lead role and he had a lot of help from the supporting cast including the always reliable Ed Harris (who gave one of the best performances of his career in another Peter Weir movie: The Truman Show), Colin Farrell who may have had a few misses but also has a lot of hits including this one thanks to his great Russian accent, and of course the young and talented Saoirse Ronan who we have seen in Atonement and Hannah. The Way Back is a solid movie with a lot of heart, beautiful scenery, and some strong performances.

The story is pretty simple, it takes place during the early 1940`s in communist URSS during the Second World War. Janusz (Jim Sturgess) is a Polish accused of being a spy by his own wife (after having tortured her) and therefore sent to a Siberian gulag where he meets other innocent and no so innocent prisoners. Some of these prisoners include the reserved American Mr. Smith (Ed Harris), a Russian criminal Valka (Colin Farrell), and Khabarov (Mark Strong) the man who introduces him to the place and befriends him. Janusz knows how to survive in the wild and begins to engineer a plan to escape and walk across Russia to Mongolia. Along with Mr. Smith, Valka, and a few more men they decide to escape in the middle of a snow storm and take their chances in the wild. With little food and fierce weather conditions they begin their struggle for survival in the open. During their journey to Mongolia they face several obstacles but continue to pursue south. On their way they meet a teenage girl who is also trying to flee the country. Irena (Saoirse Ronan) begs the men allow her to accompany them and although they refused at first they begin befriending her and enjoying her company. Together they continue their struggle for survival in search of freedom although many more obstacles are ahead of them.

I really enjoyed Colin Farrell`s performance in this movie. I think he brought the comic relief that was needed in this type of movie and was perfect. His scenes were probably the most interesting ones. Jim Sturgess has a great future ahead of him and he does give a strong performance in this difficult film. Ed Harris is one of the best actors so it was no surprise he was so good in this movie. Saoirse Ronan gives the movie the heart it lacked at the beginning. The movie has an excellent cast; they give great performances and make us care for their characters which are essential in a survival movie like this. Every time the movie seems to be slowing down something exciting or interesting happens that hooks us again. There is also a lot of different and beautiful scenery in the film and the cinematography is great. The film also reminds us of the oppressive regime that the soviets ran and the injustice many had to face. It makes a pretty harsh statement towards this political movement, but in the end it is actually a movie about survival and never giving up.

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My Review: One Day (5/10)

¨Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today.¨

One Day is Danish director, Lone Scherfig`s, follow up to 2009 film An Education; a movie I really liked, but unfortunately this film isn`t as interesting. One Day is a romantic film with two characters that I had a difficult time believing they were actually best friends or in love with each other. My major problem however was with Hathaway`s British accent. I have no idea why they didn’t just get a British actress to play the role considering there are som many great ones. Jim Sturgess is a decent actor, but I just didn’t feel the chemistry between him and Hathaway. The key in a romantic film lies in the chemistry between the two main actors and I just didn’t feel it. The story is interesting and the premise seemed original considering we only get to see a glimpse of what happens during one day (July 15^th) of every year. Due to these constraints we do have to fill in a lot of gaps of things that have happened during the time, but the film does a good job at telling the story. I actually enjoyed the second half of the film, but I felt that the first half was just too slow and boring. I am glad however that I decided to stick with the film because it does get a lot better in the second half, although I still wouldn’t recommend this film, unless you are a true fan of the genre.

The movie opens with a scene that takes place on July 15^th of 2006; Emma (Anne Hathaway) is riding a bicycle in a street in London when all of a sudden we move back about 20 years to the late 80`s on July 15<sup>th</sup> where we see how Emma and Dexter (Jim Sturgess) meet. They are celebrating their graduation and end up spending a night together although they never had talked much in school before. They become real good friends and we see how their lives develop as every day we jump forward in time one year on that exact date. Dexter becomes a late night television star, while Emma despite being intelligent struggles to make it through. Their friendship continues to grow and Dexter is always telling Emma how soon she will become a famous writer. As the movie progresses we are introduced to new cities and meet some secondary characters as Emma and Dexter don’t see each other every year on that day. We are introduced to Dexter`s parents, Alison (Patricia Clarkson) and Steven (Ken Stott) and to some of Dexter and Emma`s love interests. Despite being away from each other they continue to be in touch and at times even travel together. We experience how these friends grow, the challenges they face, and the goals they achieve.

One Day is actually based on the bestselling novel written by David Nicholls. The great thing about it is that Scherfig got him to adapt the screenplay for this movie as well. This is one of those stories that probably work best in a novel because several details have to be left out of the film due to time constraints. I really wished the movie would have had a more entertaining first half because it does pick up pretty well during the second half. I also enjoyed some of the secondary characters like Patricia Clarkson who is always a great addition to a movie. One Day is a decent romantic film, but I think Scherfig did a much better job in An Education. This is not a memorable movie, it lacks better pacing, but it does have some decent performances.

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