Film Reviews
DRAMA/ROMANCE REMEMBER ME (12A) 112min ●●●●● COMEDY/DRAMA THE INFIDEL (15) 104min ●●●●●
The Infidel is a concept movie about a cockney, Spurs-supporting Muslim who discovers that he was adopted at birth and that his father is actually a Jew. The pretty funny idea at the heart of this comedy, written by David Baddiel, is in fact not very original. It has been done before in 1992’s Leon the Pig Farmer in which a Jewish boy discovers that his sperm donor dad rears pigs. In Iranian comedy actor Omid Djalili
(who is neither Muslim or Jewish) director Josh Appignanesi has found an actor who plays the role of Mahmud for laughs but, more importantly, can elicit sympathy from the audience as he tries to find out more about his own heritage. It’s just such a crying shame that after a promising initial burst of energy, The Infidel runs out of steam as it heads mind numbingly into we-are-all-the- same-underneath territory. As Mahmud tries to hide the truth from his friends and family, he finds solace in Lenny (Richard Schiff) the Jewish neighbour he has always hated, who revels in the fact that his sworn enemy is faced with this religious conundrum. But the conceit by which Lenny has to teach Mahmud about Judaism so that a rabbi (Matt Lucas) will let Mahmud see his dying father feels like it was conceived in a restaurant after one mango lassi too many. (Kaleem Aftab) ■ Selected release from Fri 9 Apr. See preview, page 44.
DRAMA I AM LOVE (LO SONO L’AMORE) (15) 120min ●●●●●
Like Italian filmmaking maestro Luchino Visconti’s 1969 wartime epic The Damned, I Am Love begins with the birthday celebration of an ageing Italian industrialist. As the family and guests gather for dinner, they await the announcement of who will be the successor to the business, unaware that it will trigger a series of events that will impact their lives forever. It is here that Russian immigrant Emma (Tilda Swinton) first meets her son’s friend Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), a gifted chef, with whom she begins an illicit love affair which gives rise to new passions, emotions and a desire for liberation.
I am Love is a film of rare formal grace. Similarities to Visconti can be seen not just in the subject matter but also in writer/director Luca Guadagnino’s visual style, defined through fluid camera movements like the elegant rise and descent down a stairwell in pursuit of one of the film’s protagonists. Closer in terms of atmospherics to the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini (most noticeably Theorem), I am Love is filled with intrigue, unsaid thoughts and latent emotions. Other scenes too stand out for their conscious evocation of the senses – the lovemaking scene in the meadow realised through a series of close-ups of body parts and nature. And the film’s ending, accompanied by a dramatic score by Pulitzer-winning composer John Adams, shows an inclination towards American melodrama.
This is inspired and accomplished filmmaking and with its confident
aesthetic and awareness of cinematic tradition marks Guadagnino as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Italian cinema. (Carrie Tucker) ■ GFT, Glasgow and selected release from Fri 9 Apr. Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 30 Apr.
His role as the sulky Edward in the Twilight films helped make the vampire franchise a hit, but can a de-fanged Robert Pattinson make it as a star? The box-office belly flop suffered by Allen Coulter’s clunky, overwrought drama in America suggests otherwise, and as executive producer Pattinson must shoulder some of the blame.
‘RPatz’ as the tabloids have dubbed him, plays Tyler Hawkins, a misfit New Yorker who unwisely gets into a punch-up with police sergeant Neil Craig (Chris Cooper). Rebelling against the plans of his rich father (Pierce Brosnan), Tyler revenges himself by dating the cop’s daughter Ally (Emilie de Ravin) on a bet. The couple quickly bond over separate family tragedies, unaware that a further catastrophe looms ahead. Screenwriter Will Fetters’ use of real-
life events from the 9/11 attacks as plot points, to add weight to a fairly soap opera-ish story, feels opportunistic rather than apposite. Pitching for unearned gravitas, Remember Me is memorable only for its crass attempt to exploit genuine tragedy for entertainment purposes. (Eddie Harrison) ■ General release from Fri 2 Apr.
DRAMA SAMSON & DELILAH (15) 100min ●●●●●
Samson & Delilah brings the all too rare perspective of the Australian Aboriginal community to the big screen. Writer/director Warwick Thornton draws on his experience growing up in central Australia for his directorial debut about two teenagers who form an unlikely relationship. Samson is woken each day by the sound of his brother’s bad reggae band
and responds to the boredom of village life by inhaling petrol fumes. Delilah spends her time looking after her elderly grandmother and helps create detailed paintings, which provide a meagre income for the two to live off. For much of the film there is almost no dialogue, instead Thornton focuses on the body language of his two protagonists as they go through an awkward teenage courtship. The community is captured without judgement, including the violence, drug abuse and the antagonistic relationship with their white neighbours.
This impartial documentation makes Samson & Delilah an intelligent and unsentimental work which at times is deeply painful to watch. And while the film’s pace seems to falter towards the end this is without doubt a very worthy and moving cinematic experience. (Carrie Tucker) ■ GFT, Glasgow & Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 2 Apr. See profile in listings.
46 THE LIST 1–15 Apr 2010