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Film REVIEWS
ACTION/ADVENTURE/WAR 13 ASSASSINS (JUSAN-NIN NO SHIKAKU) (15) 126min ●●●●●
Prolific, to the point of insanity, unpredictable and blatantly controversial, Takeshi Miike is not your average Japanese filmmaker. His notorious body of work, which includes the Dead or Alive trilogy, Ichi the Killer and his commercial breakthrough film Audition, has had a profound influence on, among others, Quentin Tarantino. With 13 Assassins, the second of two films Takeshi completed
in one year, the former enfant terrible manages to surprise us again. The film is essentially a remake of Eichi Kudo’s classic 1963 samurai period action-drama and comes from the same mythology that informed Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven and The Dirty Dozen. Set in mid-19th century Japan 13 Assassins follows noble samurai Shinzaemon Shimada (Kôji Yakusho) and his band of hand-picked warriors on a suicide mission to kill evil Lord Naritsugu (Gorô Inagaki).
Reversing his usual trend of visually pummeling the viewer from the off, and gradually losing focus towards the end, Takeshi builds this familiar tale up with the caution and skill of a pro. He takes time to establish the characters, so we care if they live or die, he allows the conspiracy to take hold in whispered meetings in shuttered rooms while Naritsugu’s horrendous domestic cruelties are depicted in queasy detail. And then our heroes are on the road, Takeshi even allows a little woodland fairytale to creep in, in the shape of a lovestruck boar hunter who joins on their quest.
And then the film goes mental. Taking up the final third of
the film (about 50 minutes) the showdown between Naritsugu’s large army and Shinzaemon’s small but inventive one is as a giddy and gratuitous a ride into swordplay abandon as you will see this or any year. There can be no doubt that Takeshi is one of the great film choreographer stylists working today. (Paul Dale) ■ Cameo, Edinburgh from Fri 6 May; GFT, Glasgow, Fri 13–Sun 22 May; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 20–Thu 26 May.
SCI-FI/ACTION ATTACK THE BLOCK (15) 87min ●●●●●
Coming from the same production team as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs the World, this confident debut from Joe Cornish (one half of duo Adam and Joe) is much less a comedy than might have been expected. Rather it’s a very accomplished sci-fi horror, one evidencing Cornish’s clear love of the genre classics from its atmospheric synth soundtrack to its flourishes of gory splatter. The story straddles reality and fantasy as a gang of
errant teenagers attempt to defend their inner-city tower block against an army of bloodthirsty alien monsters. Cornish’s breathlessly-paced script entwines thrilling action set-pieces with a gently provocative portrayal of urban youth, effectively challenging audience preconceptions while never letting up on the entertainment. It’s sporadically funny (most often when accurately skewering the attitudes of modern teenagers) but the science-fiction scenario is played straight rather than as parody, and as the body count rises Cornish generates palpable tension and scares. Leads Jodie Whitaker and newcomer John Boyega are excellent, providing strong characters amidst the action. (Paul Gallagher) ■ General release from Fri 13 May. See feature, page 16.
DRAMA ANGELS OF EVIL (GLI ANGELI DEL MAL) (15) 128min ●●●●● DRAMA/ROMANCE HEARTBEATS (LES AMOURS IMAGINAIRES) (15) 100min ●●●●●
The story of real-life Milan mobster Renato Vallanzasca, Angels of Evil has all the ingredients for a bloody gangster classic. For starters, there’s actor- director Michele Placido (who made the 2005 crime saga Romanzo Criminale) at the helm, and the magnetic Kim Rossi Stuart in the lead.
With an international support cast including Paz Vega and Moritz Bleibtreu, an electric score and lashings of violence, it should be a winner. But this is a messy film at best, lurching from bank robbery to prison stint to street-side murder with a chaos that echoes its hero’s own lifestyle on the lam.
Xavier Dolan caused a stir two years ago when his assured debut feature, I Killed My Mother, won a string of awards at Cannes. The young director from Montreal was only 20 years old. His second film Heartbeats is the story of best
friends Marie and Francis who both fall in love with beautiful newcomer Nicolas. As the two vie for his affections, emotions intensify with results that are funny, cringe-worthy and all too identifiable. Whereas I Killed My Mother veered at times towards angst- ridden self-indulgence, Heartbeats introduces a welcome dose of humour.
What does linger long in the memory is the What stands out most though is Dolan’s enticingly
performance of Stuart, who perfectly essays the cocksure swagger of a man currently serving four consecutive life sentences. Set initially in the 1970s, the best scenes come early. But as turf wars with rival gangster Turatello (Francesco Scianna) escalate, it becomes increasingly hard to care about Vallanzasca or his cronies. Angels of Evil lacks emotional depth. (James Mottram) ■ GFT, Glasgow; Cameo, Edinburgh and selected release from Fri 27 May. cool aesthetic – his fondness for the French New Wave is more than evident while his beautiful protagonists are decked out in vintage attire and rarely seen without a cigarette in their hands. Yet this isn’t style without substance as Heartbeats successfully taps into the universal experiences of obsession, rejection and heartache. (Gail Tolley) ■ GFT, Glasgow and Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 27 May. Preview screening and Q&A at Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Tue 24 May.
28 Apr–26 May 2011 THE LIST 55