Same chair, Same perfume, Same anklet

I first fell in love with Film Noir when studying the subject a few years back. I was immediately drawn to the dark corners, dark characters and dark plots. This is likely to be the first of many blogs on the subject as some of my favourite films fall within the genre.

The first Noir I was shown was Billy Wilder’s 1944 classic Double Indemnity; starring Fred McMurray as Walter Neff and Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson. Based on a James M. Cain novel of the same title, Double Indemnity sees naïve insurance salesman Neff captivated by the feminine charms of the archetypal femme fatale.

The films title refers to the insurance policy that this dastardly duo intend on cashing in the unfortunate, and avoidable, death of her husband. We are told the story through Neff’s narration, or confession if you prefer. Immediately we know that something is amiss, the tone of the film sets that right away. The initial shot of a man on crutches sums up what it precedes; except his injuries are as mental as they are physical. His approach towards the camera takes us directly into his heart and we stay there throughout. The film begins with Neff’s confession to murder.

How could I have known that murder can sometimes smell like honeysuckle?

Dietrichson is introduced to us in a state of undress, particularly for the time, but we are never led to assume that she is in any way vulnerable. Not intimidated by the presence of the male stranger in her living room. Flippant at first, Dietrichson’s attention is clearly drawn to the insurance policies available and far less by Neff’s attempts to charm the ‘dame’.

On Neff’s second visit to the Dietrichson residence he quickly understands Phyllis’ intention and makes the hastiest of exits. However it doesn’t take Neff long to realise that he has fallen into the hooks of the plot and declares his craziness for his baby; sucked in further by her hard luck story. How could we deny a beaten woman what is surely her due? Especially when she has awoken something inside Neff; a thought brewing for some time. Are the stakes worth the risk? In Film Noir… absolutely.

I couldn't hear my own footsteps. It was the walk of a dead man.

Edward G. Robinson’s turn as Barton Keyes is excellent as the claims manager rebuffing false insurance with his fast chat and direct action. Hard boiled personified. Keyes is the first to suspect all may not be as it seems with Dietrichson’s claim but fails to pin Neff to the case. Keyes and Neff have an almost father and son like relationship and you if Keyes knew all along, he didn’t want to believe. Keyes breaks down the events exactly prompted by a chronic case of indigestion but makes the mistake of going as far as to vouch for Neff and the character of his friend.

The look on Walter’s face when he is told that Phyllis was one of three people in the room when the her predecessor began her climb to heaven is one of pure desolation. The first time the clog of betrayal begins to turn. Within moments Neff is spending time with the step daughter Lola further confusing his intentions and feelings, before attempting to back out and convince Phyllis to withdraw the claim. Love quickly becomes loved.

The relationships brewing are more multifarious than we initially imagined with Neff and Mr. Dietrichson’s daughter; Phyllis and the daughters boyfriend. It all adds to the seedy tone of undertakings. There is no redemption for the souls of the Noir protagonist and Double Indemnity is no different. We knew Neff was doomed from the outset but everyone is doomed by the close. As much lurks in the shadows of the Noir as it does in the light. The German expressionist influence sometimes accidentally achieved by the low budget is the hallmark of the Noir landscape.

For me, Double Indemnity is the quintessential Film Noir and the starting point for anyone new to the genre. All the elements that would become recognised as the staples of the genre are apparent. Double Indemnity gained more Academy Award nominations than any other Noir… it didn’t win but the anti-hero rarely does. There little to be assumed in Double Indemnity, no mystery and no morals. 

I’m afraid of us… We’re not the same anymore

Your Eyes are Sparkling with Teenage Fire

Rock biopics translate well to the big screen, offering a clear story arc in most cases with the introduction of a young rocker with dreams of stardom and hopes of escaping the restraints of whatever small town they have so far been bound; before catching their big break, finding stardom and quickly beginning the downturn to whatever state of oblivion already dictated by reality. We also often see the redemption of the star, or are faced with the cautionary tale of fame not being all it seems.

The glamourisation of character failings and often the invention of circumstance have blighted many of the big budget depictions including Oliver Stone’s not entirely factual recounting of Jim Morrison and The Doors (1991). Directors and producers are faced with an unenviable task in attempting to please existing fans of the depicted artist(s) while also securing an audience for their output. This could be seen as the primary component in the replacement of realism with audience engaging antics.

The Runaways (2010) is no different. Having been a fan of The Runaways and Joan Jett in particular for some time I was apprehensive about a movie due to my belief that there might not have been enough of a story to tell. I also have to admit to being sceptical at the casting of Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie respectively. The UK release of this movie seems to have been delayed for an age (already released on DVD/Blu-Ray in America two months ago) but finally saw the dark of the theartre this week.

Focusing primarily, almost solely, on Jett and Currie the film offers little in the way of back story apart from the information that both characters have a strong urge to rock n’ roll. A few dirty looks and scornful glances later the band has been formed with the aid of infamous producer Kim Fowley (an over the top performance from Michael Shannon). Fowley prepares them for stardom from the squalor of a trash ridden trailer with endless rants about the male monopoly of the rock world and how this should be combated. With a slight over exaggeration of The Runaways potential to match the fame enjoyed by The Beatles they set off across the USA, from living room to arena, before finally imploding in a recording studio.

An’ I Don’t Give a Damn ’Bout My Bad Reputation

The Runaways focuses little on the joys of success and instead focusing on the hardships of the bands existence. The unfortunate focal point of the picture, as narrated by a youngster in the back row with the immortal refrain ‘oh... here we go’, was a brief locking of lips between the two main (female) characters.... teenage curiosity personified. I counted approximately eight people leave following this. The biggest reception during the screening I attended was afforded to the trailer for Twilight parody Vampires Suck (2010). This tells you what you need to know about the audience demographic for The Runaway’s; not a 50 year old rocker in sight… plenty of 16 year old fans of the aforementioned vampire trilogy.

Its not all doom and gloom; I enjoyed Kristen Stewart’s depiction of Jett (who co-produced the movie). A few cringe worthy lines aside, I thought she captured the look flawlessly. The soundtrack, including Iggy & The Stooges and of course The Runaways was also great and the era was captured well by first time director Floria Sigismondi.

The point of narrative invention over realism rears its head again in the removal of the rape of Cherie Currie by her sisters boyfriend from the story. Which, in my opinion, is essential to the understanding of the characters make-up. This kind of omission pushes the movie from Sid & Nancy (1986) style nihilism to Almost Famous (2000) like comfortable rock n’ roll viewing. Which, considering the target audience, may not be such a bad thing.

Official Site - http://www.runawaysmovie.com/ 

Smoking Crosses & 9v Batteries - The Last Exorcism

This may contain spoilers… if you have seen the movie then read on. If you haven’t seen the movie then read on.

The Last Exorcism falls within the ‘found-footage’ genre to which we are now well 

accustomed (see Blair Witch Project et al) and employed a similar ‘viral’ advertising campaign utilising Chat Roulette and the promise of a girl who looks to be unbuttoning her clothes before stopping and assuming an altogether more ghastly appearance. Not willing to expose myself (pardon the pun), or my webcam, to the unchartered members of lonely men trawling Chat Roulette, I have not been lucky enough to be witness to this ‘teaser‘.

To offer a brief synopsis, The Last Exorcism follows Reverend Cotton Marcus, played by Patrick Fabian, as he arranges for a film crew to document the farcical nature of the exorcisms he carries out. We see Marcus trivialise his congregation with tales of banana bread and expose his possession kit including a smoking cross and some 9v batteries. This brings some enjoyable, and humorous moments, which the audience clearly were not expecting. Looking around the screen I could see that Eli Roth, named on posters and trailers, had drawn a young audience looking for a gory Hostel style Exorcist update. Cotton answers the prayers of a New Orleans farmer to rid the devil from the body and soul of his daughter. Assuming that what he faces is another show as part illusionist, part psychologist Cotton sets off, sharing with us information on the different faiths followed in the region. From this point the film depicts Cotton’s meeting the family and his ‘attempt’ to redeem the child’s soul before becoming emotionally involved and uncovering an unsettling plot including a room decorated like the school bag of a young Marilyn Manson fan.

What happens in the last ten minutes of The Last Exorcism hugely altered my perspective of the rest of the film as an ending invariably has the power to do. Not a huge fan of the movies of Eli Roth the ending of The Last Exorcism feels like, with the perceived need to include a Blair Witch style ending to satisfy the ‘found-footage‘ genre traits, his talents have been called upon to provide a conclusion that stands out like a clown in church. This is merely my assumption and, although with no factual base, is the only logical conclusion I can reach.

I was content for the film to end with the resolve of the child’s situation and our protagonist heading home safe in the knowledge that he had helped a family and achieved what he set out to; exposing the shyster-esque nature of the exorcists and exorcisms carried out by the church. I am not usually one to call for a happy ending but in this instance I felt that this would have added to the expose nature of the movie. Often I leave the cinema with the thought of how much a film could have been improved with an ending in which all is not resolved but, due to the almost anti-horror majority of The Last Exorcism, this would have satisfied.

I don’t want to put anyone off going to see this movie as only the finale is perplexing with the feeling that it belongs to a different film. Made for $1.8 million The Last Exorcism has performed well at the box office in both the UK and USA. My advice is that when the crew leaves the home after the girls ‘admission’, take that as your cue to leave the screening. Trust me.

Official Site - www.thelastexorcism.com

Zé do Caixão - Coffin Joe & The Strange

I stumbled accross the films of Jose Mojica Marins by accident when shopping one afternoon. My attention was grabbed by the Coffin Joe Collection boxset...

On further inspection i found that the titles included At Midnight Ill Take Your Soul (1964), Hellish Flesh (1977)& Hallucinations of a Deranged Mind (1978) amongst others (8 movies and a documentary totalling 750 minutes). I was intrigued enough to buy this with only the synopsis and visuals required for convincing...

Unholy undertaker, sinful savant, denizen of dreams and hallucinations... Marin's has an unrelentingly original and outlandishly personal filmmaking style that can only be compared to a depraved blend of Mario Bava, Luis Brunel and Russ Meyer.

I must admit to not being well versed in Brazilian cinema but the image of Coffin Joe, top hat and fingernails, was universal enough in its horrific appeal to subvert any hinderance posed by budget, age or context.

Marin's was extremely prolific as a director for over 10 years beginning in 1970; producing up to 3 films per year. Most were in the horror genre however Marin's also dabbled in sexploitation and surrealism. I intend to focus on the horror films, featuring the character of Coffin Joe specifically, however it is important to note the extensivity of related output.

Jose decided to play the character of Zé himself only because he could not find another actor willing to take the risk required to assume the role. Marin explains the characters creation as follows:

In the studios, there was a janitor who was quite involved in voodoo. He had used the space to do some voodoo ceremony and a black cape was left behind. I also saw an empty package of cigarettes called “Classico” whose character’s picture shows him using a top hat and a cape. I rented a top hat. I got my old black suit and bought a new black shirt, plus the cape, and as a result, I played Coffin Joe by myself.

(Off Screen Volume 9, Issue 6; 2005)

The primary narrative thread throughout the Coffin Joe (the English translation of Zé do Caixão) trilogy centres on Joe's search for a bride who will give birth to his child. Joe's selection process is more stringent than any series of the Bachelor and the punishment for those who do not meet the criteria althogether more deadly. The Coffin Joe character did appear in many of Marin's later films, however At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (1964), This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse (1967) and Embodiment of Evil (2008)  make up the actual Zé do Caixão trilogy.

The first film to feature Zé, At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, is widely acknowledged as Brazil's first horror film. This, in iteslf is hugely important; giving the film historical context. A deeply religous country, the introductions and continued voice-over throughout the movies of Jose Marin were atheist at best and pseudo-satanic at worst. Anti-God, anti-establishment, anti-everything; this would hinder Marin throughout his 'career' as he struggled to find funding and backers for his films which were so opposed to his Brazilian heritage.

Joe continues his search for a superior female to take his hand in marriage in the sequal entitled This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse; released three years after the original before bringing the series to an end over 40 years later with Embodiment of Evil. Having served 40 years in prison for his crimes Zé is released and wastes little time in resuming his previous deviances. The most accomplished of the trilogy, Embodiment is higher in budget, prodcution values and clearly Marin's film making experience has developed over his thirty-plus directorial features.

My opinion is that, although Emodiment of Evil is most likely to be appreciated by a wider audience, the first film of the trilogy is the stand out in Marin's back catalogue. Striking visuals and contextualised originality set this film apart from the horror films we have grown to love in more recent times. Coffin Joe brought evil intentions to a national cinema that had seen nothing of the like previously. Unfortunately having to resort to an altogether seedier art form in later years, Jose Mojica Marin's deserves a seat at the round table of horrors greatest characters. Having fought censorship and the inherent diffiiculties of being an original when his creation was not invited by the general public, Marin has fought diversity throughout his life as a film-maker.

Currently hosting a monthly Brazilian television show we cannot assume we have seen the end of Coffin Joe. The character came to Jose during a nightmare... he may appear in yours.

Official Site - http://www2.uol.com.br/zedocaixao/

Cinemaphonic Quadrovision

I was going to start with my top five films of the year so far. I spent some time trying to put together a list and although there have been contenders (The Expendables, The A-Team, Iron Man 2, Youth in Revolt) I was struggling to compile a top five. I trawled lists of the years releases only to find that the problem is not with my memory; the problem lies with the year in film.

So in place of my top five I will begin with my top one; a top one which actually done the rounds at festivals during early 2009 but was given a (very) limited release last month.

BLACK DYNAMITE

I stumbled upon Black Dynamite when checking the film times at the local cinema for the coming week. This was the first time I heard the name and saw the tag-line:

He's super bad. He's outta sight. He's Black Dynamite!

Already a fan of 70s Blaxploitation cinema I was immediately looking forward to this. That was until I watched the trailer. Then I was sure this could be the best movie I would see this year.

I wasn't disappointed. 

Black Dynamite tells the tale of a 70s action hero cleaning up the streets following the killing of his brother. Our protagonist wages war against the city's drug dealing crime lords, impressively finding the time to pleasure countless women and all without breaking a sweat. Without giving away too much of the plot Black Dynamite uncovers a dastardly plan hatched by the Fiendish Dr. Wu from Kung-Fu island before ending up in White House fisticuffs. If you haven't already seen it then this paragraph alone should have been enough to convince you.

Who the hell’s interrupting my Kung Fu?!

Shot in just 20 days the look of the film is authentic to the point that you wouldn't disagree if someone told you it was original to the 70s blaxploitation genre. The fight scenes are excellent and dialogue perfect throughout. There is enough humour and nudity to keep the attention of casual film-goers and enough self-righteous post-modernism to enthrall cinema buffs alike. There is barely a shot, never mind a scene, in this movie that did not invoke hilarity during the screening. This film is sure to be a cult classic in years to come and hopefully leads people to revisit the original blaxploitation films such as Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) and Super Fly (1972). Although derivative to the core, Black Dynamite appears wholly original when viewed against anything else receiving cinematic release in the last few years.

With an animated series currently in the works, Black Dynamite is already available on DVD/Blu-Ray in the USA/Europe, a UK release should be on it's way. Until then:

It may be bigger than you and it may be bigger than me but it’s not bigger than you and me! 
Can you dig it?

http://www.blackdynamitemovie.com/