UNKNOWN- Review

It's been noted that our action stars today are largely Serious Actors. Although you do occasionally get a modern Schwarzenegger or a Van Damme, it's far more common to see a Matt Damon. Someone who nicely crosses between both now and, contrary to common misconceptions, ever since he started in this business, is Liam Neeson.

In Unknown, Neeson is Martin Harris, a professor of biotechnology. Or is he? While attending a summit in Berlin, he's involved in a painful car accident, which leaves him slightly less certain. His confusion is only exacerbated by the fact that his wife Liz doesn't recognise him, and there is another Martin Harris in his place. So it's off around Berlin for the absent-minded professor, with shootouts and fisticuffs aplenty through his quest to recover his identity.

As mentioned, Neeson hasn't just started doing this recently, though Taken was the surprise hit that made him a bankable action star. Although he is arguably most famous for Schindler's List, he's continued to pepper his CV with roles in films like Darkman and Rob Roy. If you do only know Neeson from Schindler's List, it would be wrong to expect anything as serious. However, the film does have a supporting turn from Bruno Ganz, better known for playing Hitler in YouTube rants than for playing Hitler in Downfall, by which logic, you get to see Oskar Schindler pal up with Adolf Hitler.

But the benefit of Neeson's experience is that he goes for roles in which he seems to genuinely find depth of character- he is an actor of great prestige, and his presence alone can really elevate genre films. I'd say that he's good as an action star because he's acquired his skills over a very long career, but I can't be that guy. Reading the interviews he's done to promote Unknown, his reasons for taking this role are related to inhabiting the psychological state of a character who has lost his identity in the most traumatic way imaginable. He's a reliable talent, so once you've pay up and sit down in your cinema seat, you could be forgiven for only then realising the emperor is not wearing any clothes.

Granted, some might say that it's actually over-dressed, but whichever extreme you lean towards, that's problematic for me. The cast are good, not least because it's refreshing to see European actors like Diane Kruger and Sebastian Koch being cast in films like these, rather than accented Americans. Neeson's own American accent isn't exactly the best in the business, but you can see his dedication to the role in his portrayal. Anyway, the competent cast all play characters, and I'm not sure an action film like this works as a character-driven piece- the film is based around Martin Harris and Martin Harris only, and you're not even allowed to forget that when they throw in an arbitrary nasty plan for the eventual baddies of the piece, right before the big climax.

I say all this not because it's a bad film, but because it wasn't engaging enough to distract me from all of the stuff that it had borrowed from other films. It's nothing like the woeful I Am Number Four, not by any stretch, but the film it sounds most like is The Bourne Identity, and it completely conforms to any expectations related to that. Although it has shootouts and fisticuffs and car chases and other interesting stuff, but they all come from Bourne too- the influence of that trilogy on modern action cinema cannot be overstated. Because the regular action sequences are just so regular, there are things I couldn't overlook, and the first was the likeness to Bourne.

The second was the way that this is another film where Liam Neeson has a bone to pick with Europe. In Taken, he tortured every other person he could find in Paris in search of his daughter. Here, he's behaving himself enough that the film gets a 12A rating, but the xenophobia is still there. I know the film's based on a book set in Germany, written by a German author, but I still found it amusing that someone thought of Neeson's name after Taken made a hit out of an (alleged) American going to Europe and causing mayhem.

Unknown would be kind of forgettable- and that pun cannot be avoided, intended or not- but it's bolstered by the presence of Liam Neeson, and some smart casting that doesn't favour whichever US TV actors are waiting around for their next season to start. It's a functional action drama, but the action's a little too derivative to be really exciting and the drama is just a bit predictable after enough time. If nothing else, it keeps Neeson in shape for the upcoming Taken 2, which promises more Euro-phobic hi-jinks, but in the meantime, this is a handy and enjoyable stop-gap.

Unknown is now showing in cinemas nationwide.
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If you've seen Unknown, why not share your comments below?

I'm Mark the mad prophet, and until next time, don't watch anything I wouldn't watch.

THE NEXT THREE DAYS- Review

Nestled in between a bit of true excellence in The King's Speech and Nicolas Cage doing his paycheck thing in Season of the Witch, let's not forget that there's room this weekend for a decent drama like The Next Three Days. Coming from writer-director Paul Haggis and starring Russell Crowe, it's got all of the high Oscar calibre of The King's Speech with none of the heavy-handed approach of 127 Hours (review coming on Monday).

Crowe plays John Brennan, whose idyllic family life is torn asunder when his wife Lara is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in prison. John knows her well enough that he never stops believing in her innocence, but all of the evidence signifies that she's guilty. When her latest appeal is denied, Lara has already been behind bars for three years, and it's time to resort to desperate measures- John must break Lara out of prison and flee the country.

If you remember, I was looking forward to this one anyway. Since I made that initial post however, I have seen a lot of bad buzz around this film. It has a Fresh score of just 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, for starters. Then I found out it was an English language remake of Anything For Her, a French film released in the UK in 2009, which doesn't usually bode well, and I suspect that many critics will hold that against it as they did for Let Me In. That said, I haven't seen Anything For Her, and as it turned out, The Next Three Days was actually pretty good.

Not everyone's going to agree with me on this one, but I found it to be perfectly serviceable.Aside from his awards darling Crash, Paul Haggis is known for having made script revisions on the two Daniel Craig 007 outings, and he's using much more of that experience here than anything of his other work. As in Casino Royale, the action sequences are well-spaced out, and the screenplay has quite a pronounced classical three act structure, even with an unnecessary flash-forward to open the film. Where the lack of Crash's political resonance might push against it is in how some may think it's not really about anything.

For instance, the film could have been a critique of the justice sysem, but then Law Abiding Citizen was a critique of the justice system and that was shit. Then again, it never really shows any curiosity about the crime that puts Lara in jail either, or in who really did it if she's actually innocent. But for me, it was all about that character of John Brennan. The film's masterstroke is in casting Russell Crowe as the totally inexperienced John. And when I say totally inexperienced, I don't mean that he's never picked up a gun before now and then he's suddenly Jason Bourne when the situation arises. At one point, he actually utters the line "Show me where the bullets go" when purchasing a gun, and you can believe he doesn't know that even if you did see the same actor killing people left and centre on Sky Movies the other week. Somehow, Crowe completely sells it. There's an appreciable learning curve in his bold attempts to liberate Lara.

OK, so there are a few slightly convoluted scenes in which he goes to the library to loan out "Jail Breaking For Dummies" or titles to that effect, and from there he discovers an extended Liam Neeson cameo that really stretches credulity. But even after these scenes, however seamlessly or messily they are inserted into the screenplay, we can get behind him, and care about whether his latest attempt succeeds or fails. Haggis appreciates that there's no reason why the first 90 minutes shouldn't kick as much ass as the climactic 30 minute setpiece, which leaves John just the titular three days to save his wife.

From there, it becomes more of an action film, but laying the groundwork with the characters is what makes that so watchable. By the same token, you almost feel annoyed at the introduction of two hyper-clever FBI agents to up the ante- we haven't seen them before, so what are they doing here now? It all comes together in a scene that puts Crowe in a car with Elizabeth Banks, who does a great job distinguishing herself from her comedic work, and brings a previously hinted plot point to fruition. It's a great moment of drama that simultaneously pierces the relentless action as well as strengthening it. By this point, we know the stakes, we know the character, and it's all very intense.

The Next Three Days turns out to have one of Russell Crowe's best turns in a good while, supported by short but sweet appearances from Olivia Wilde and Brian Dennehy, a nice supporting turn by Elizabeth Banks and a solid action climax that you can actually emotionally invest in. From the standpoint of someone who hasn't seen the original, it never feels as clichéd as it actually is once you pick it away into its constituent parts. I really enjoyed it, and it proves diverting even in a week where it's likely to be outclassed by other dramas with higher profiles.

The Next Three Days is now showing in cinemas nationwide.
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If you've seen The Next Three Days, why not share your comments below? If you can figure out the accent on that one guy from the bar, send your answers on a postcard. I'm currently guessing it was the Swedish Chef with a sandwich stuck to the roof of his mouth...

I'm Mark the mad prophet, and until next time, don't watch anything I wouldn't watch.

(Meno)Pause for Thought

It's been a while since I've doubled up films like this in one post, but I've decided I'm going to go back to doing that on films about which I only have a certain amount to say. It helps that both Atom Egoyan's erotic pseudo-thriller Chloe and Catherine Corsini's arthouse drama Leaving deal with similar subject matter- married middle-age women and extra-marital affairs.

Leaving is another film I saw at the Tyneside Cinema a few weeks ago, and I've taken my time writing about it. But on the day this entry is posted, I'll be on my way there to see three more films with limited distribution, so I had to leave you something to read. The film finds one Suzanne Vidal in utter boredom with her upper class family life. Everything changes with the arrival of Ivan, a labourer who's fixing up her house- the two embark on an affair that leaves Mr. Vidal closing his wallet in a temper...

In most respects, I should probably like Leaving more than I actually did. To describe the plot in the barest terms makes it sound slightly like some Brazzers video involving a bored housewife, but it goes without saying that with Kristin Scott Thomas in the lead role, the film is considerably more thoughtful than it sounds. She gives a performance that is really, properly wonderful, and she's evenly matched by the versatile Sergi López, who most will remember as the sadistic officer from Pan's Labyrinth.

The romance between their characters is electric, but the fundamental flaw of the film, for me, was in how difficult it is to empathise with Suzanne. She's not unhappy in her marriage, nor is her husband neglectful- she's just bored. To a point, that's fine, but some of the stuff that happens as a result of her boredom is unforgivable. The last five minutes brings around a terrible twist that undermines any attachment you might have had to the opprobrious Suzanne.

Although Leaving is beautifully shot and very well acted, Catherine Corsini seems so intent on undermining the bourgeois class politics that Suzanne initially upholds that she also undermines everything human. Is it fair that Suzanne's cuckolded husband should cut her off financially just because she cheated on him? Well, yes! Yes, it is, no matter how many times she bemoans her circumstances. Despite some beautiful scenes scattered throughout, the film's ugly conscience ultimately left an unbearably sour taste in my mouth.

Leaving (Partir) is still playing in select cinemas in London, and will be released on DVD later in the year.

Elsewhere, Chloe is a prostitute hired by a genuinely unhappy wife and mother to honey-trap her husband. Catherine believes David is cheating on her after he repeatedly flirts with other women right in front of her, and crucially, deliberately misses his plane home when she's planned a birthday party for him. Chloe reports back as she dallies with David, but Catherine is ultimately drawn into something much deeper.

I'm not familiar with Atom Egoyan's work, but here he speaks softly and carries a big stick, to borrow a broad adage. The score is full of what the DVD subtitles call "soft" and "pensive" music, though this one's anything but soft. It's a psychodrama of an oddly seductive power. Not because its female stars bare all, but because of the palpable charge that the film accumulates throughout. The opening is fairly prosaic, but while it's never massively exciting, it's relentlessly interesting.

Amanda Seyfried is the closest thing to a weak link in the cast, but that's only because her co-stars are Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson. Seyfried is definitely watchable throughout, but every time those two shared the screen, it was fantastic. Their marriage, now deflated of romance, is utterly believable- Neeson's indignation is ambiguous enough that it actually feeds the uncertainty of the plot, and Moore beautifully portrays her character's frustration at how everyone loves a man as he reaches his autumn years while a woman is seen to be past her best.

Chloe makes for a sensual and beguiling drama, even if it goes just a little bit Fatal Attraction in the last act. That's a development I could have done without, but it has a lot to say about the gulf between genders in middle age and while many will appreciate Amanda Seyfried being naked, that's not there to titillate. It manages to be portentous without being pretentious- a mature and powerful film that leaves the viewer with a lot to muse upon afterwards.

Chloe is currently available on DVD and Blu-ray
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If you've seen Leaving or Chloe, why not leave a comment on the films and/or my review? Be sure to let me know if you're perturbed by how much I'm talking about gender lately- my current trip to the Tyneside involves Black Dynamite, so discussion may be lighter from here onwards.

I'm Mark the mad prophet, and until next time, don't watch anything I wouldn't watch.

The Next Three Days

I never do this, but this looks frigging awesome.

It's now officially one of the films I'm most anticipating in 2010. However, it's out in November in America, and with no UK release date set, I suspect it will arrive here next year. I hope not, because this looks like a rock-solid drama. Somehow it looks reminiscent of one of those 70s crime thrillers, looking at the calibre of actors like Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson.

Bring it on!