The Heist Before Christmas (2023)

It's no big surprise to see that the director of The Heist Before Christmas has spent most of his career working on TV shows. That's not to denigrate the work of Edward Hall. It's just a generalisation that most Christmas movies, whether made for TV or not, feel more restricted than movies that aren't delivering the festive trimmings and a seasonal message. What is a bit more surprising is the fact that this is written by Ronan Blaney, who also did the superb A Good Woman Is Hard To Find. That does help to explain the grit and grime mixed in with the snow and Santa Claus outfits though.

Bamber Todd stars as young Mikey, a young lad who seems to have a chip on his shoulder. He spends his time trying to cause mischief and steal some odds and ends (spray snow, food, etc), which makes things even harder for his mother (Patricia, played by Laura Donnelly). Mikey also has a younger brother, Sean (Joshua McLees), and he is torn between being protective of him and wanting him to realise exactly how crappy their current situation is. Their mother is struggling to hold on to a job that doesn't pay her enough, but keeps her away from home for far too many hours, and Santa is unlikely to bring that bicycle that Sean has been wanting for so long. Or maybe he will, especially when someone dressed as Santa (James Nesbitt) robs a bank and then hides in some nearby woods with a bag stuffed full of cash. Mikey comes up with a plan, but things are complicated when he heads into those woods and finds another Santa (Timothy Spall). And that Santa believes that he is THE Santa.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone after something distracting and heartwarming for this time of year. In comparison to many other dramas set over Christmas, including the classic Dickens text reworked many times over the past decades, this is grim stuff. There are children in peril for almost the entirety of the runtime, albeit in different ways, neither of the two Santas feel safe, and there's a second main storyline regarding Patricia and her boss (played by Lloyd Hutchinson) that is as tense and downbeat as any Ken Loach movie. 

That dark tone is all done to Blaney's script, but Hall directs it in a way that refuses to allow too much light to be seen at the end of the long tunnel. I understand the idea of keeping everything harsh and dark on the way to an ending that most will hope is light and satisfying, which makes it all the more disappointing when the final scenes don't quite do enough to make up for everything that came beforehand.

Both Todd and McLees do good work in their roles, and I believe both are newcomers to acting, although Todd has much more work to do, considering how abrasive his character is throughout. Donnelly is excellent, and her scenes with Hutchinson allow both to dig into the best and worst of the nature of Christmas for those already struggling, and both Nesbitt and Spall are as good as you expect, even with the latter putting on a strange accent in line with what he considers a more authentic portrayal of Santa Claus. The other characters worth mentioning are the main police officers on the case, played by Bronagh Waugh and Peter Rethinasamy. 

It's not that this is a waste of your time, and it's not that this is a bad feature. It's just that everyone has forgotten to make the destination worth what is quite a cold and difficult journey.

5/10

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Outcast (2010)

Note: This review is here after being written originally for placement on Flickfeast.co.uk.

The perfect film to point people toward if they’re claiming that the 21st century horror movie has no originality any more. Yes, there are plenty of great influences and references here (from Night Of The Demon and The Devil Rides Out to An American Werewolf In London) but this UK horror blends them all together with a style and intelligence amidst some material not often utilised within the genre, at least in the movie world.

Fergal (Niall Bruton) and his mother (Kate Dickie) are being hunted (for reasons that we learn about as the movie unfolds) and so, when they have settled down in their latest residence in an Edinburgh housing estate, they begin to prepare for the final stand that is inevitably coming. Well, Fergal’s mother prepares while the lad himself struggles to cope with the normal social awkwardness of the late teens amplified by his travelling lifestyle. James Nesbitt (in a fantastic performance that makes me think he really should do more work showing off his darker side) is the one doing the hunting, accompanied by someone trying to keep him within the rules and limits ordained by the elder, wise ones. To complicate matters further, Fergal finds himself attracted to the girl next door, Petronella (a wonderful turn from Hannah Stanbridge), despite warnings from his mother hinting at a bad outcome for all involved. And did I mention the monster attacking people at night?

The best thing about Outcast, for me, is how it takes things that really could have been mishandled and made into something laughable and depicts them as powerful, traditional methods used by people who believe in what they’re doing absolutely. I don’t know how much shown onscreen is based in fact and researched lore but it certainly feels authentic and while you’re watching people use magic here (e.g. at one point the hunter tries to locate his prey by calling a bird and slicing it open with a knife to read the entrails) you never start thinking that everyone should just bugger off to Hogwarts and leave the screen free to be full of standard, knife-wielding “muggles”.

The cast is a good mix of the youthful and the elderly and experienced (basically mirroring their characters) and this is another bonus for the film: solid acting from people portraying characters you invest in. Kate Dickie (who I recognise most from her being brilliant in Red Road, see it if you can) may not have your sympathies at the beginning of the movie, and doesn’t always keep you onside throughout, but her character reveals details that explain her actions and gain your support, to a degree. Alongside those mentioned we also get small turns from the great James Cosmo and even a small amount of screentime for Karen Gillan (best known to fans of Dr. Who as one of his many assistants).

Effects throughout, achieved through both practical make up and some decent camera trickery, are of a very high standard and the design of the creature I mentioned is excellent, especially considering the relatively low budget.

Speaking of money, does it all seem a bit cheap? Not at all. Yes, there are moments set in the city centre that are a little hastily cut and closely cropped but the majority of the movie manages to excel despite its limitations. Director Colm McCarthy and his brother Tom, who helped craft the screenplay, deserve some high praise indeed because putting aside some minor editing and synching awkwardness, this is an object lesson in how a smart, cool, intelligent indie horror should be made.

6/10

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Coriolanus (2011)

Ralph Fiennes makes his directorial debut with this challenging film, an adaptation of one of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays (certainly lesser-known to those of us who only know the Bard's greatest hits, anyway). The fact that he has made such a fantastic end product just shows that he really needs to kick himself up the backside and get some more directorial credits under his belt.

Fiennes also takes on the central role of Caius Martius Coriolanus, a great soldier who doesn't care for the love or respect of the common people. He's a proud man, an honest man and someone not interested in the political game. This all becomes a bit of a problem when others try to get him to run for consul. Mainly to please his mother (Vanessa Redgrave), Caius tries to do his best, but when his disdain for the role becomes abundantly clear he becomes a hated figure, so hated, in fact, that he is banished from Rome. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend and so Caius ends up befriending Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), his old enemy, and joining with him to march upon Rome.

There is a lot more to the story than what I've briefly outlined. The central trio may be Caius, his mother and his enemy, but there's also some meddling from Menenius (Brian Cox), serious scheming from Tribune Brutus (Paul Jesson) and Tribune Sicinius (James Nesbitt), some loving concern from the wife of Caius (Virgilia, played by Jessica Chastain) and protests from common folk such as those played by Lubna Azabal and Ashraf Barhom. John Kani plays General Cominius, yet another character more swayed by the political machine and opinion of the people than any direct action, and Jon Snow (yes, THAT Jon Snow) pops up as a TV anchorman to discuss the situation with other commentators.

Taking Shakespearean source material and giving it a bit of a modern update is nothing new, of course, but Fiennes decides here to aim for a nice middle ground that suits the text. There are guns, cars, TVs and much more signifying that this is a tale set in the modern age, but that all falls by the wayside when the camera focuses on the characters and what they have to say.

The cast are all very good, and an interesting mix. It's unsurprising to see what gravitas is brought to the table by Fiennes, Butler, Redgrave and Cox, for example, but Chastain holds her own very well indeed and Jesson and Nesbitt have fun with their roles. The dialogue that you expect to hear, adapted into screenplay form by John Logan, is a treat for the ears and the whole presentation tries to keep things fresh and dynamic, an aim in which it largely succeeds.

Sadly, I am not familiar with the source material so cannot comment on how faithful it all is to the original text, but I do think that this is a very worthy drama to be enjoyed by fans of the Bard and fans of quality acting displays. Give it a try to see how you react to it.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coriolanus-Blu-ray-Ralph-Fiennes/dp/B006H10H2W/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1359127784&sr=1-2