Prime Time: Crooked House (2008)

Originally shown on TV in three episodes over three subsequent evenings, before being packaged presented as one omnibus a few days later, Crooked House is a polished and handsome ode to the classic horror anthologies of yesteryear. It's a blend of Hammer and Amicus with a nice spoonful of the M. R. James classics also mixed in. It's only real problem is being a bit too precious about the material, erring on the side of the classy when it could have been fun to have some more ridiculousness and bloodshed on display (if you're going to do an ode to Amicus, in particular, then it feels like a missed opportunity to not involved a dismembered hand at some point).

The tale is simple. Ben Morris (Lee Ingleby) has found an antique door knocker. When he takes it to a local museum, the curator (Mark Gatiss) recognises it as having once been attached to a notorious, cursed house, the recently demolished Geap Manor. He tells Ben a couple of tales from the history of the door knocker, one involving some poorly-chosen wainscoting and the other involved a ghostly bride, but those end up being nothing more than light distractions once the third tale starts to unfold. The third tale isn't one that Ben is told. It is one that he is part of, and he soon realises that a horror may be trying to reach through the many years of the past to get to him in the present.

Also written and co-produced by Gatiss, which is obvious as soon as you start to hear some of the wonderful dialogue being delivered, this is an interesting film, one that feels as if it is overstretching slightly while trying to straddle the large gap between the past and the present day. It's either coincidence or clever meta writing that has the content reflected by the presentation (knowing Gatiss, I would lean towards the latter there), but the fact that the end result ends up being successful is just as much down to the cast as it is to the writing and direction (from Damon Thomas).

The first tale has the most treats. Philip Jackson is the man having his home renovated, after making a fortune in a deal that ruined others, and drove one to suicide. The wainscoting that will drive him to distraction is made all the more effective thanks to the great performance from Jackson, who is full of bluster and self-importance. He is joined in a number of scenes by Andy Nyman and Julian Rhind-Tutt, both a lot of fun in their roles, and Beth Goddard steals a couple of moments as a widow pointing a finger of accusation at Jackson's character. The second tale doesn't really have any standout performances, and is the least enjoyable of the three we get here, but it does well with the atmosphere and imagery. Thankfully, Ingleby and Gatiss do great work, and Daniela Denby-Ashe also helps things along with her pivotal supporting role.

Although I wish there was a bit more here, in terms of the scares and blood, I also recognise that this is being crafted in line with the more traditional, and restrained, ghost stories that form the bedrock of a wonderfully spooky tradition (the ghost story at Christmas, which is why this was first shown on TV at that time of year). It's just a shame when the film/episodes veer between feeling like a wonderful homage and feeling like an academic exercise, the balancing act proving to be occasionally too much for Gatiss.

ALSO, a minor note, it would have been nice to see one of the tales have more of a seasonal feel. Not essential, but an extra layer of autumnal chill would have been most welcome. Maybe that's just me though, and maybe not helped by me watching this in the midst of summer.

7/10

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I Want Candy (2007)

Well, here we are with a British sex comedy. Let's all take a moment to wipe our minds before we go on. There used to be the solid reputation, often viewed with rose-tinted glasses, of the Carry On films, of course. And things got naughtier with "Adventures Of..." and "Confessions Of..." movies. But, let's face it, British movies have done better over the past few decades when they focus on the romance over sex. On the one hand you have a number of films featuring Hugh Grant, and on the other hand you have, ummmm, films like Fat Slags and Sex Lives Of The Potato Men (neither of which I can envision appearing on blu-ray any time soon).

So where does I Want Candy fit in? It's the tale of two students who want to make their first film. Joe (Tom Riley) and John AKA Baggy (Tom Burke) have a vision, and they have a lot of faith in their own talent. What they don't have is anyone willing to back them. Until they make a deal with Doug Perry (Eddie Marsan). Unfortunately, Doug is in the porn business, and the deal is made on the understanding that Joe and John have the hottest adult entertainment star, Candy Fiveways (Carmen Electra), in their movie. It's then up to the young film-makers to come up with a plan that pleases everyone and allows them to get their film made.

Directed by Stephen Surjik (who has a hell of a lot of TV work in his filmography, with his biggest movie release being Wayne's World 2, back in 1993), I Want Candy isn't the kind of film that has any individual style stamped all over it. It's rude without being explicit, I may have already forgotten some details but I don't believe you ever see any actual nudity, the cast of main characters are ably supported by a decent enough ensemble, the soundtrack contains a cover version of the song with the same name as the movie, and the ending is completely unbelievable, but in line with the feelgood nature of the film.

A lot of people worked on the script, far too many than you would expect for something this lightweight. There was an "original idea" by Piers Thompson and Olivia Glazebrook, that was fleshed out into a script by Peter Hewitt, Phil Hughes, Jamie Minoprio, and Jonathan M. Stern, and then some further dialogue was added by Fred Wolf and Jimmy Carr, apparently (the latter has a fun cameo role that may have allowed him to improv some of his dialogue, or maybe he also helped with some other parts of the movie). And despite all of those people involved, it's never as funny as it could be. I suspect this is partly to do with keeping it a bit too tame, and also partly to do with not having the perfect cast in place.

Riley and Burke are good in their lead roles, they're just not great. Riley just doesn't have the charisma to sell his character as well as someone else might have done, and Burke is hampered by the script wanting to keep him very much in the "sensitive young artist" box. Marsan is a lot of fun in his role, the potential villain of the piece, and Electra just has to turn up and look incredibly desirable, which she does. Easily. Felicity Montagu and Philip Jackson are good value as Joe's mum and dad, Mackenzie Crook has fun in his role as a teacher trying to stay cool with the kids, and Michelle Ryan is the female friend who keeps being very helpful and loyal to a main character who cannot recognise something with the potential to blossom right under his nose (I am on about romance, that is NOT a porn term . . . I hope).

This isn't a terrible film. It's certainly not half as bad as those awful examples I mentioned in the opening paragraph. It's just not any great shakes. Relatively amusing enough while it's on, very easy to forget as soon as it's finished, and bottom of the pile when compared to other films in the same vein (the Risky Business type of film, arguably most successfully reworked as The Girl Next Door).

5/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Mubi Monday: Peterloo (2018)

Yes, I got to enjoy another movie at the cinema thanks to Mubi Go, and here is the review of it.

Peterloo starts in a battlefield, pretty much ends in a battlefield, and never really leaves a battlefield for most of the runtime. It's just often a battlefield that people walked through every day, throughout a war that continues right now. A class war, a war that endeavours to make the poor even poorer while the rich get richer, and to keep the working masses in their place.

Based on the true story of a peaceful rally in 1819 Manchester  that became the scene of a massacre, writer-director Mike Leigh uses that horrific event to show the clashing mindsets of those involved, emphasising the chasm between the viewpoints. Those who work hard and can barely make enough to live wanting something to change in the system that gives them no voice and those who look down from above and view any such intentions as ingratitude and insurrection.

Although there are some key figures here (speaker Henry Hunt, played by Rory Kinnear, being the powerful orator who charges up every crowd he speaks to), Leigh takes his time to show how various individuals are motivated and drawn further to the extremes of their respective causes. This care, and the many telling character moments, add to the lengthy runtime, just over two and a half hours, but I doubt many viewers would begrudge the runtime devoted to such a dark chapter in British history.

Kinnear does an amazing job, in what is arguably the best role of his career so far, Maxine Peake is typically great as a concerned family matriarch, and there are too many great moments for the assorted players to highlight here, but I will namecheck Karl Johnson (a close second to Kinnear with the greatness of his performance), Philip Jackson, Tom Gill, Neil Bell, Ian Mercer, and Victor McGuire, not to mention the many actors being loathsome and downright Dickensian for all of their time onscreen.

There are small flaws. Some characters come and go too abruptly, some scenes feel a little bit clunky in the way they are shoehorned in between more extended sequences, and (the smallest niggle) the passage of time isn't always as clearly signified as it could be in the lead up to the dreadful day.

If you saw the documentary The 13th and were appalled while being reminded that the abolishment of the slavery of African Americans in the USA led to many more ways in which society decided to punish and enslave those it viewed as lower-case citizens, within a new selection of rules and regulations, then Peterloo will leave you with similar feelings. Because, no doubt about it, there may not have been another massacre like this in modern British history but the working class and the poor are still being killed off whole the rich get richer. The pen is mightier than the sword, which is why the weaponry used nowadays tends to take the shape of paperwork and legislation, such as zero hour employment contracts and Universal Credit.

8/10

There's a book all about the horrific incident available here.