Kill The Messenger

 

http://www.focusfeatures.com/kill_the_messenger

In the UK we've had a bit of a waiting game for this acclaimed political drama. First it was scheduled for an October 2014 release but then only came out in selected cinema's in the U.S. Highly surprising when you consider the big names in the film, Jeremy Renner, Oliver Platt, Andy Garcia and Ray Liotta to name but a few, and a myriad of recognisable character actors too. Also surprising when you consider that on release in October, the movie was touted for being an award season contender, at the very least for Renner's star turn in the lead role. But this is a political film, and although one set almost 20 years ago (telling a story that's essentially even older than that), it seems it's pissed off the American government enough to get trampled on.

It has finally been released in the UK this weekend, again only in select cinemas so I had quite a trek on my hands in order to see it. But I was damned if I wasn't going to make that journey.

In the end it turned out to be a good thing that it wasn't showing locally, as I made a weekend of it and stayed with a friend in Nottingham. We saw the film twice with another fellow Renner fan and found it especially poignant the second time around. Of course, that could be because we saw it as part of a double bill with the emotionally wrenching Big Hero 6.

I should stop rambling and get back to the point... The film tells the story of San Jose Mercury News reporter Gary Webb, at a time when a story that was "too true to tell" landed in his lap. The story was how the CIA was bringing cocaine into the U.S. and selling it to American kids in order to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. Gary's decision to share that story would ultimately cost him more than he could ever have imagined.

I have to say that I love writing reviews for films that feature my favourite actors, as the presumption most people probably have is that I am biased. And whilst I am the first to admit that I would happily watch Renner act his way out of a paper bag, in this case, both the movie and the star were superb.

And if you think I'm biased, read any of my previous reviews for Renner films. I don't go overboard just because I enjoy watching him on screen. I appreciated Hansel and Gretel for it's cheesy popcorn quality but by no means did I think it was Oscar worthy. By that same standard I thought American Hustle was a much better movie, but that was largely due to the ensemble cast, not just down to Renner's performance. It was a film that was due the Oscar nominations it garnered.

Kill The Messenger on the other hand isn't really worthy of that accolade. That's not to say it's not a great film. It's just that non of the film making on show is particularly ground breaking to the point that you could say it was original. But it is a lovingly made true story, with great actors, and it leaves you with a genuine feeling of disappointment towards the U.S. Government and how they go about their business. Which is why I think Kill The Messenger has been given the sharp end of the stick when it came to having a wider release. I feel as though a large part of the reason for the film's lack of visibility in cinemas is down to it's distributor Focus Features, who I usually have a lot of respect for as they made Brokeback Mountain, a film which can't have been an easy to get backing for. They have largely abandoned the movie since it's October release and despite the film opening here this weekend, and Renner being in the UK to film the next instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise, he has not been scheduled to do any press for Kill The Messenger, and the Focus Features website has no information about the film's UK release this weekend. A shocking lack of support for a film telling an important story, one that Gary and his family have fought to be heard.

I saw in the Empire review for the film that they were disappointed that the big stars had such little screen time (Renner aside), but I think this is a silly quarrel to have with the movie as their roles only really warrant the screen time that they've been given. This is Gary's story, and the fact that Renner's own production company managed to get these guys to come in and do one scene speaks volumes of the respect they obviously have for him, that they would be so willing with their precious time for what is essentially a small movie.

If Kill The Messenger does happen to be on at a cinema near you, I urge you to see it. Not only to support the film, but also because you'd be hard pressed to find a better film that was released in the last month. 9 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 6th March 2015

UK Release Date - 6th March 2015

Cast Overview:

Jeremy Renner ~ Gary Webb

Rosemarie DeWitt ~ Sue Webb

Barry Pepper ~ Russell Dodson

Mary Elizabeth Winstead ~ Anna Simons

Oliver Platt ~ Jerry Ceppos

Tim Blake Nelson ~ Alan Fenster

Michael Sheen ~ Fred Weil

Andy Garcia ~ Norwin Meneses

Ray Liotta ~ John Cullen

Robert Patrick ~ Ronny Quail

Michael K Williams ~ Ricky Ross

Joshua Close ~ Rich Kline

Yul Vazquez ~ Danilo Blandon

Paz Vega ~ Coral Baca

Lucas Hedges ~ Ian Webb

Director ~ Michael Cuesta

Writer ~ Peter Landesman (Screenplay), Gary Webb (Book Dark Alliance), Nick Schou (Book Kill The Messenger)

Nightcrawler and Enemy - Jake Gyllenhaal Double Review Special

http://nightcrawlerfilm.com/

I started writing this double review a few weeks ago, but as has been the way with me recently, I have found my muse has wandered, and with it, my inclination to review has wavered.

But then I saw that both Total Film and Empire have stolen my idea of doing a double review of these two movies, and outraged by this I have found renewed passion for finishing my own double review. 

Since I started my review blog in 2011 I have reviewed every film of Mr Gyllenhaal's and I must admit, I felt a little like I had let myself down when I didn't write a review of Nightcrawler. And it wasn't for lack of liking the film either. It was simply a lack of time (and as mentioned above - inclination).

When I travelled to London recently to see Jake's new movie Enemy, I thought that might give me the excuse I was looking for to finally put my thoughts down on Nightcrawler too.

Nightcrawler opens on Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) stealing from a construction site, and then quickly shows him assaulting and then robbing a policeman sent to investigate the situation. He then tries to talk himself into a job with the man he sells his stolen wares to. Turns out the guy will happily buy stolen goods but he won't employ a thief. All Lou wants is a job. On his way home he sees a traffic accident, and the camera men who are immediately on the scene filming this for TV news corporations. News stations who are out to up their ratings through any means necessary. Lou gets himself a camera, a police scanner and an assistant and before he knows it, he's earning money for his daring and sometimes disturbing footage.

As a long time Gyllenhaalic (yes, that's our given name), I can certainly say that I have never seen Jake portray a character quite like this. Even in Donnie Darko, whilst the character had mental health issues that might have made his behaviour unfathomable, I don't think I would go so far as to class him as disturbing. But Lou Bloom is definitely that. He has no sense of boundaries, and makes no apologies for his reactions to the situations he finds himself in.

In many ways, the film also makes no apologies, which is refreshing, but also adds a darkness to the film. As such, some may find the film that was already dark - in both tone and setting - goes too far. Personally I found it an interesting character study and a great performance from Gyllenhaal that bounces perfectly between creepy and intriguing. This might be the first character he's portrayed that I didn't want to sleep with, or in fact meet in a darkened alley, and yet I'd love to pick his brain. 

It won't be one for everyone, so maybe only for the true Gyllenhaalic, or those who like their thrillers dark with a hint of pitch blackness. 7 out of 10. 

 

Viewing Date - 27th October 2014

UK Release Date - 31st October 2014

Cast Overview:

Jake Gyllenhaal ~ Louis Bloom

Bill Paxton ~ Joe Loader

Ann Cusack ~ Linda

Rene Russo ~ Nina Romina 

Written and Directed by Dan Gilroy

http://enemy-movie.com/

I believe Enemy actually came out in the US sometime in 2013, which is weird because until very recently I'd not heard of it at all. I heard it was showing at my favourite London cinema The PCC and decided that I could not call myself a true Gyllenhaalic if I didn't go to see it. A little over a month later I found the DVD for sale in Sainsbury's so now I'm really confused as to how it managed to get a DVD release so soon after the cinematic one, which according to IMDb was only January of this year in the UK.

Anyway, onto the film. Enemy sees Jake take on two different roles, one is Adam Bell - history professor, who discovers an actor named Anthony Claire (Jake's second role in the movie) after watching a movie a colleague recommends to him. Anthony is the spitting image of Adam and understandably, Adam has some questions relating to this mysterious doppelganger of his. Are they related, separated at birth perhaps? Adam's mother says not, but there is something unconvincing about the way she snubs his queries. Adam becomes fixed on finding answers, and eventually Anthony agrees to meet him, but will that solve anything, or just raise more questions?

Sadly that's all Enemy really does. Raise questions and provide no answers. At the end of the movie, immediately following a sequence involving a giant spider (Arachnophobes beware, Spiders of the tarantula and giant variety are featured in various ways throughout the movie), my friend and I just looked at each other and said "okaaaaaay". Now maybe we're just not intelligent to 'get' it. But I like to think of myself as reasonably intelligent, and she is of a far superior intellect to me, and a person with a knowledge of the hidden depths of the psyche. Her take on the spiders is that spiders often represent hidden traumas involving a person's mother. Wikipedia has this to say: There is a passage from Saramago's The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, in which he compares the fascist police and their allies to spiders: "There is no lack of spiders' webs in the world, from some you escape, in others you die. The fugitive will find shelter in a boardinghouse under an assumed name, thinking he is safe, he has no idea that his spider will be the daughter of the landlady … a dedicated nationalist who will regenerate his heart and mind." 

Feel free to make your own mind up, but I always feel that if someone walks away from a movie feeling like they didn't 'get' it, then that movie has alienated them. Which is not the point of movies. I don't like one-upmanship at the best of times, but if a film makes you feel like you're not intelligent enough to watch it, that's not good. You don't want to alienate the people who will potentially pay for what you've made. 

I can only assume this is why the movie has had such a limited UK release and why until recently, I wasn't even aware it existed. Jake plays wonderfully against himself, and creates two very different people on screen, with very contrasting identities, but the film as a whole just feels like a vehicle to show him off and doesn't really have any substance. If I'm honest, I don't really see what it was about this script that appealed to him, other than the challenge of acting opposite himself. I feel like a teacher writing his report card but Jake dear, you must do better next time! 5 out of 10 (and at least 1 of those points is for Jake's magnificent beard). 

 
Viewing Date - 10th January 2015

UK Release Date - 2nd January 2015

Cast Overview:

Jake Gyllenhaal ~ Adam / Anthony

Melanie Laurent ~ Mary

Sarah Gadon ~ Helen

Isabella Rossellini ~ Mother

Director ~ Denis Villeneuve

Writer ~ Jose Saramago (Novel) and Javier Gullon