The Oxford Journal at the movies...Day 3 of the London Film FestivalLONDON FILM FESTIVAL BLOG, DAY 3, 14/10/11: NUDITY AND NONSENSE!
As moving, shocking, or simply brilliant as a movie can be, if it contains nudity then such brilliance is usually overshadowed by embarrassed chuckling or wide-eyed amazement. Such was the case with Shame, British director Steve McQueen’s brilliant follow up to Hunger, about an emotionally damaged New Yorker (Michael Fassbender) whose carefully managed world of anonymous sexual encounters is thrown into chaos by the arrival of his sister (Carey Mulligan). The press screening featured many nervous gasps and giggles at the frequent full frontal shots of Fassbender, and subsequently the following press conference featured a lot of questions about the stars, ahem, features. This clearly irritated McQueen, a former Turner Prize winner no doubt more used to fielding deeper questions about his art, and the West Londoner eventually cracked, remarking: "I don’t understand all these questions about nudity. It’s nonsense”
“If it had been a woman, it wouldn’t be such a conversation to be had. I don’t want to get into this conversation. It doesn’t make sense and I don’t want to give too much of brain to it. Talking about nonsense doesn’t help me."
Well, that’s more interesting than 'no comment’, I suppose.
As for my own festival experience, I attended the second public screening of 50/50, one of yesterday’s premieres, as part of a sell-out crowd (a good sign for a midday movie that’s already had its gala screening). It’s hard to imagine anyone who hasn’t been affected by Cancer, through witnessing others battle the terrible illness or, in worst cases, fighting it themselves, so I had some trepidation about how it would be handled, and was very pleasantly surprised. The story of a young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) battling a rare form of Cancer, and the effects it has on his relationships, is both laugh out loud hilarious at, at times, devastatingly touching. Heading to cinemas in late November, I strongly recommend it.
It’s the third full day of the festival, and the hits keep on coming. Below are my picks of today’s premieres, plus some select movies making their debut over the weekend.
Shame
As mentioned above, Steve McQueen’s follow up to the critically idolised Hunger (a hit at the 2008 festival) is a drama concerning 30 something New Yorker Brandon (Michael Fassbender), a man whose sexual urges are spiralling out of control as he descends into a world of one night stands, call girls and various online activities. Feeling isolated from the world, his bizarre routine is thrown into chaos by the arrival of Sissy (Carey Mulligan), his outwardly chaotic sister. As the pair clash, a deep seated problem from their past threatens to surface, and Brandon must face up to his way of life once and for all. Forget the nutidy, McQueen’s film is much more- akin to Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, Fassbender is once again brilliant, and the film will no doubt grab audiences attention upon its cinema release next January.
Sarah Palin: You Betcha!
Documentarian Nick Broomfield, famous for his award-winning pieces covering everyone from Maggie Thatcher to Tupac and Biggie, co-directs with Joan Churchill as the veteran film-maker tries to track down Sarah Palin, the charismatic 'hockey mom’ who was on the losing ticket to Barack Obama in the 2008 election. Despite the loss, Broomfield is fascinated by just how close this figure, famous for her bizarre policies and even more bizarre quotes, got to the White House. As he chases an elusive interview, he also talks to her parents, and the people of her constituency in Alaska, to find out if this is the future president, or a deluded self-publicist.
Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
This fascinating documentary is one of those rare treats in the genre- most ‘lost footage’ documentaries stay lost for a reason, however this collection of news reports covering the progress of the civil rights movement in one of its most incendiary periods is, if you’ll forgive the cliché, history come to life. It charts groups such as the Black Panthers, the Nation of Islam and supporters of both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King as they seek to bring black Americans the basic living conditions and rights everyone takes for granted. Riveting and thought provoking, it is released in the UK next Friday.
The big movies from the weekend include Coriolanus, in which Ralph Fiennes directs himself as Shakespeare’s thwarted Roman general seeking revenge on the city that shunned him. Set in modern day and co-starring Gerard Butler, it is one of the highlights of the festival. Also scheduled is the Woody Harrelson-starring Rampart, about a dirty LA Cop (Harrelson) managing a looming disciplinary hearing with a bizarre homelife.
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