Film Reviews INTERVIEW
CRIME/DRAMA CHANGELING (15) 141min ●●●●●
MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES Rob Carnevale gets Paul Bettany, the hardest working man in showbusiness on the dog and bone
Paul Bettany has rediscovered the joy of acting. Over the coming months, he’ll be seen playing a racist peach farmer in America’s Deep South for The Secret Life of Bees and then a royal adviser and future prime minister to Emily Blunt’s queen in The Young Victoria. Apocalyptic kung-fu movie Legion comes next and then it’s Charles Darwin in Creation for a role that required him to gain 20lbs. The man is nothing if not versatile. And yet not so long ago, the British-born star of past hits such as
Wimbledon and Master and Commander was struggling for motivation.
‘I discovered I was kind of getting bored for a while,’ he recalls over the phone following a long day’s shoot on Creation. ‘But then I suddenly realised that I wasn’t bored anymore. And I guess it was partly to do with making a few really small movies, and doing something that wasn’t just for financial remuneration!’
As violent father T Ray in The Secret Life of Bees he gets to remind us
of his range, complete with a convincing Deep South accent and a grimly authentic approach to fatherhood and business. ‘He didn’t seem to be a stereotypical racist and the film didn’t fall into the traps of forgiving him. His racism stems from his ignorance,’ he explains.
T Ray may only be a supporting character in the film but it appealed for many reasons, not least of which was playing dad to Dakota Fanning, a child actress Bettany has long admired. ‘She’s extraordinary and I put her alongside many of the other great actresses I’ve had the privilege to work with.’
Another of his favourites appears alongside him in Creation – namely
Jennifer Connelly, his wife of nearly six years. And while the film tackles a difficult period in Darwin’s life, following the death of his child and the creation of his masterwork The Origin of Species, the experience proved fun. ‘There was a moment where we wondered whether we’d giggle through the whole thing, but it went terribly well for us and it’s difficult to know if that was because of our relationship or because she’s just such a brilliant actress.’ He would say that, wouldn’t he? ■ The Secret Life of Bees is on general release from Fri 5 Dec. See Also Released, right.
Clint Eastwood’s feel for actors doesn’t desert him in this true story of 1920’s Los Angeles featuring Angelina Jolie in a similar Oscar-baiting vein to her role as Mariane Pearl in Michael Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart. Jolie drabs-down effectively to play Christine Collins, a single-mother who ekes out a living as a roller-skating telephone exchange manager. When her son Walter (Gatlin Griffith) goes missing, Collins is relieved when the LAPD return the boy to her, but she does not recognise the child. The LAPD put her maternal rejection down to shock and disorientation. Her subsequent accusations of conspiracy prompt the authorities to take shocking and radical action. J Michael Straczynski’s screenplay is a leisurely exploration of the well-worn theme of ‘gutsy individual battling against police corruption’, balanced by an equally emotive sub-plot dealing with sexual prejudice. Eastwood coaxes an understated, dignified and empathetic performance from Jolie, but also conjures up a string of authoritative supporting performances including Michael Kelly as a tireless detective, and Amy Ryan from Ben Affleck’s similarly themed Gone Baby Gone. There’s no happy ending here, but there’s satisfying resolution of the serious issues involved; the stolen child theme is may be a melodramatic staple, but Eastwood’s old-fashioned but deeply classy woman’s picture is a timeless affair. (Eddie Harrison) ■ General release from Fri 5 Dec. See feature, page 20.
HEIST/THRILLER FLAWLESS (12A) 108min ●●●●●
www.list.co.uk/film
ALSO RELEASED Four Christmases (12A) 88min ●●●●● Another year, another Christmas comedy starring Vince Vaughn. This time he’s teamed up with Reese Witherspoon for a likeably silly comedy about divorced parents and the pressure of yuletide family gatherings. It’s directed by feted documentary filmmaker Seth Gordon, the man behind the excellent The King of Kong which is showing as part of the Illuminations documentary festival this fortnight. See preview, page 43. General release from Wed 26 Nov. The Secret Life Of Bees (12A) 109min ●●●●● Based on Sue Monk Kidd’s best selling novel and set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning), a grief stricken 14 year-old girl who finds solace with the fiercely independent bee keeping Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo). Solid, well-acted if slightly saccharine tale of sisterly bonding. See Paul Bettany interview, left. General release from Fri 5 Dec. What Just Happened? (15) 102min ●●●●● Lame Hollywood insider about the travails of a Hollywood producer Robert De Niro. See full review here: http://tinyurl.com/6ou4sf General release from Fri 28 Nov. Transporter 3 (15) 103min ●●●●● Jason Stratham returns as the people carrying action hero Frank Martin. This time he’s delivering the kidnapped daughter of a Ukrainian government official. An unpretentious no-brainer. General release from Fri 5 Dec. The Express (PG) 129min ●●●●● Turgidly sentimental biopic of Ernie Davis, the first African- American to win the Heisman Trophy (a collegiate football trophy) that’s every bit as worthy and emotionally manipulative as you would expect. General release from Fri 5 Dec.
Sometimes diamonds are not a girl’s best friend. It’s London in 1960 and Laura Quinn (Demi Moore) is beginning to realise that her hard won managerial post for the South African owned London Diamond Company may not be as secure as she thought. When company cleaner Howard Hobbs (Michael Caine) approaches her with a get rich quick scheme her disbelief quickly turns to involvement. No one makes good solid entertainment like Michael Radford (White Mischief, Il
Postino, Another Time Another Place) and for the majority of its running time Flawless illustrates the fact that Radford may just be our most unfairly neglected mainstream filmmaker. Scripted by Edward Anderson, Flawless may borrow the ‘interview as flashback’ conceit from Titanic but its real heart lies in the more benign British heist films of the 1960s, the most noticeable of which – Basil Deardon’s The League of Gentlemen even gets a cameo in this film. Though incredibly contrived and unbelievable, Flawless does boast decent
performances from Moore and Caine and the cast of familiar British actors (Joss Ackland, Nathaniel Parker, Lambert Wilson) as well as great sets and fantastic period detail. It also makes the surprisingly prescient connection between blood diamonds and the suppression of rightful protest (in this case South Africa’s tragic Sharpville Massacre) Unfortunately the film does run out of steam and it’s pat conclusion is a tad silly. (Paul Dale) ■ Selected release from Fri 28 Nov.
46 THE LIST 27 Nov–11 Dec 2008