Reviews
DRAMA FANTASY STRANGER THAN FICTION (12A) 113min 0000
We’re so used to Will Ferrell playing the crazed maniac that it’s a pleasant surprise to see that he can play the straight guy equally well. He’s Howard Crick, a taxman with an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder whose life is turned upside down when he hears a voice in his head. The voice narrates all aspects of his hitherto humdrum and boring existence. It’s the type of story that one expects to be penned by Charlie Kaufman or David 0 Russell. Indeed, as the plot develops and we discover that the voice in his head is an author (Emma Thompson) with writer’s block, the similarities to Adaptation, Being John Malkovich and l O Huckabees become clear. Yet Stranger Than Fiction has something that separates it from these films - it is defused with a more classic Hollywood morality.
Through his misfortune, Harold starts to become a three-dimensional character and when sent to audit a baker (Maggie Gyllenhaal) he falls in love with her. It’s a Capra-esque romance, not believable in the slightest, but perfectly in tune with the sentimental journey Crick undertakes towards the one man who may be able to save him - literary Professor Jules Hilbert
(Dustin Hoffman).
The literary allusion and post-modern plot are given further credence by virtue of Marc Forster sitting in the director’s chair. If Thompson’s novelist is famous for her books revolving around death, the same is true of the German born director. From his feature debut Everything Put Together, about infant mortality, through to the Oscar winning Monster’s Ball; his biopic of JM Barrie, Finding Neverland, and the thriller Stay, his films have all focused on death. The director lost a brother when he was a child and it seems he’s continually recapturing that emotional pull on screen. Yet Forster is cleverer than to use cinema as therapy and he ensures that this film is more than a film with a single gimmick; the manic spirit of Preston Sturges has a hold of this voyage of self-discovery (if you need proof seek out his 1947 film The Sin of Harold Diddlebock) that’s packed with laughs and brilliant performances. Thompson in particular hasn’t been this inspired
for a long time. (Kaleem Aftab) I General release from Fri f Dec.
DRUG DRAMA CANDY (15) 108min 0..
Split into three parts. entitled 'Heaven'. ‘Earth' and ‘Hell'. (a nod to Dante's Inferno). Candy details the episodic descent of wannabe poet and intravenous herOin user Dan (Heath Ledger) after he falls in love with aspiring artist Candy (Abbie Cornish). Soon she is smoking his drug of choice
and their downward spiral commences with occasional Visits to see Svengali figure Casper (Geoffrey Rush), an eccentric gay chemistry professor. There is nothing harder to do well on screen than a picaresgue drama about drug addiction. The main problem is being able to convey the sense of addiction without falling into cliche. Only a handful of films. noticeably Trainspotting and Requiem for a
Dream. have done this successfully since the adventures of motorcycling hippies Fonda and Hooper in Easy Rider. Neil Armfield's (Twe/th Night. The Castanet Club) first film in 15 years struggles with this dilemma and despite good performances and excellent cinematography. this is a struggle which he loses.
(Kaleem Aftab)
I Film/rouse. Edinburgh from Fri
8— Thu 74 Dec only. GF T. Glasgow from Tue 79— Thu 27 Dec.
DOCUMENTARY THE US VS JOHN LENNON (12A) 89min O...
This inCIsive and engrossing documentary is both a portrait of the former Beatle as political activist and a slice of secret history from America‘s recent past. It follows its subject from 1966-76. the heady years during which Lennon left The Beatles. moved to America with Yoko Ono. and became the world's most popular musician and an activist advocating global peace. The Nixon administration didn't take kindly to the latter. and in the early 1970s repeatedly attempted to deny the mouthy scouser a green card and throw him out of the country.
Using extensive archive footage of Lennon (including the famous Bed Peace interviews) as well as around 40 of his songs. co-directors David Leaf and John Scheinfeld eschew narration and instead let the man himself tell his own story. That material. made available by Yoko Ono. is supplemented with a series of interviews covering the whole spectrum of opinion from political left to right and includes Ono herself. Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic. Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale. Nixon administrator G Gordon Liddy. FBI agent John Ryan and commentators such as Walter Kronkite. Carl Bernstein and Gore Vidal.
Comparisons between the Nixon administration's attempts to silence Lennon and the Bush junta doing likewise with critics of the Iraq war such as The Dixie Chicks are entirely intentional. Which makes this film very timely indeed. (Miles Fielder)
I Selected release from Fri 8 Dec. See Profile in Index.
Film news to keep you amused
I The Zero Tolerance Charitable Trust are calling on young people across Scotland to raise awareness of the hidden problem of dating abuse by making short films that explore the issue. The winning films will be shown at Filmhouse, Edinburgh on Mon 5 Mar to mark the start of International Women’s Week. Anyone under the age of 26 is eligible to enter. For details about entering the Short Film Competition please contact Libi on 0131 221 9505 or zerotolerance@btconnect.com or visit Zero Tolerance website www.2erotolerance.org.uk.
I Glasgow‘s The Magic Lantern returns by popular demand with a selection of animated shOrt films from Scotland and beyond. This month's programme explores a diverse range of innovative animation. from children’s tales to subversive experimental film. The screening starts at 7.30pm on Wed 6 Dec. featuring films by animators and artists Mandy McIntosh, Chris Shepherd and David Shrigley. Tickets cost 523 (£1.50) from the CCA box office. wwwthemagiclanternorg
WIN EARlV HANEKE "MS! 9\
a H “CHAR If 5
From Mon 4 Dec. for the first time. three early
_ A EKE films by the now great Austrian a filmmaker “we: ” Michael Haneke My”
(Funny Games. Hidden) Will be available on DVD courtesy of Tartan Video. This trilogy box set contains the rarely seen films The 7th Continent. Benny's Video and 7 l Fragments of a Chronology of Chance by this modern master auteur. Rough Cuts has three copies to give away to lucky (:lneastes. lo be in with a chance of winning one. simply send an email marked l Alil Y HANLKl with your name. address and daytime telephone number to promotions<a>list.co.uk by no later than Wed 13 Dec. Usual l ist rules
apply.
:30 NOV H [)(x: 9000 THE LIST 43