Set Fire To the Stars

Set Fire To The Stars

With the release of Set Fire The the Stars on a couple of days away, I thought I'd post my review of the biopic. I had the pleasure of seeing the film when it premiered at Edinburgh Film Festival in June. This also included a question and answer session with director and actor, Ceyln Jones and Elijah Wood.

This film is semi-biographical peice about Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas (played and co-wrote by Ceyln Jones). We follow the story of John Malcom Brinnin (Elijah Wood) as he attempts to get Thomas across America to give readings in universties. This turns out to be a lot more difficult than Brinnin gives it credit for, given Thomas' boisterious nature and his love of partying and drinking (far too much).

The beautiful high contrast monochrome, adds element of nostaligia and touch of artistic flare. Celyn Jones gives a excellent performance, a certain highlight of the film. Jones is a life long fan of the poet and it can truly be felt through the script and through his bolshy performance depicting the poet. It would have been only too easy for him to fall into playing the caricature. Instead he injects the film with much needed energy, without detracting from the more serious tones. This contrasts well with sutble performance given by Wood as Brinnin. The subtlty too Wood performance gives a good balance to the films narrative structure.

While this movie surrounds a small, destructive fragment of Thomas' life, I feel that actually its John M Brinnin that we discover in more depth. He is faced with the relisation that, perhaps, as the saying goes, you should never meet you idol. His charcater develops more during the screen time than Thomas' does. He begins by wanting to succeed on this venture, not only because he idolises Thomas but also because he wants to prove himself and further his career. But by the ends, it seems to me, that Brinnin forgtes about pretecting his career and moves to wanting to protect his friend.

So while the film develops enough to keep you from being bored and stylistically it is well made, it is the performances that really carry this movie. Narratively I feel something is missing, something got a little lost along the way. The unruly ways of Dylan Thomas are notable but somewhat neglected. Instead we noticably focus upon the frustration of Brenin, his disappointment in his idol and then his fight to succeed and save his friend. For me, the full force of Thomas' poetry is just not quite captured. We get elements of Dylan Thomas' persona, yet they do not seem to explored as deeply as I'd have expected.

Saint Saviour

Saint Saviour is this weeks musical discovery. Her voice is wonderful.

                                                                    

Hunger (2008)

In anticipation of Steve McQueen's, Shame being on channel four this week, I rented a copy of his first feature film, Hunger. Both starring the brilliant, Michael Fassbender.

I think it is fair to say I was in no way prepared for the brutal and unrelenting nature of this movie. Hunger (2008) depicts the last few months of radical protester, Bobby Sands life. McQueen doesnt hold back in showing the gritty, harsh reality that came from 'dirty protests' through to Sand's final days during a hunger strike. The film begins as it means to go on, unfolding slowly, very little movement with regard to camera work. This film is beautifully shot (expected given McQueens artist background), each image is meticulously considered. There is minimal dialogue throughout, with the exception of one scene - a 17 and half minute long take of Sands speaking to a priest. McQueen seems to throw typical film making convention out the window, especially with regard to shot type. When you'd usually expect a cut, McQueen lets the camera linger. This builds an air of tension, you're never quite sure where you might be and what might happen next. Right from the outset, this film is borderline unwatchable. We see men dehumanized and emaciated by the torturous conditions of the prison sentences. Brutally beaten by police, living in small cells with walls covered in their own faeces, rotten food and very little light.
Bobby Sands (Micheal Fassbender) appears almost half way through the film. We are given a little context with regard to his story and his reasoning behind the extreme protests during the conversation with the priest. It is from here that we being to view his decline in health as he stubbornly endures the starvation. We see his body wither and weaken. In one scene his doctor is applying cream to his broken, sore, malnourished skin and each shot is so carefully considered that as a viewer I found myself flinching from the pain along with the character.

This movie is a visceral experience, it plays with the senses and evokes emotion. It's finds a beauty in the horrific and challenges the viewer on every level. Fassbender is, of course, wonderful in his role. You can feel the determination of Bobby Sands right through to the end. The raw, brutal and gritty nature of material is almost perfctly presented in Steve McQueens film. The subject matter is difficult and McQueen does a fine job of making that point, even if it is occassionally too slow and narrowly avoids being boring. It is a film that will stay with me for the forseeable future. Yet, despite all of these things, I found the film too relentless and I don't think I will be able to watch it again any time soon.