Category: Crime

Force of Nature: The Dry 2

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★1/2

Rated: M

Directed by: Robert Connolly

Produced by: Eric Bana, Robert Connolly, Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea

Based on the novel by: Jane Harper

Screenplay by: Robert Connolly

Starring: Eric Bana, Anna Torv, Deborra-Lee Furness.

‘How one decision, one small mistake, can change everything.’

Robert Connolly returns as director with another adaptation of a Jane Harper novel, Force of Nature.

Instead of the backdrop of The Dry, of drought and fire, Force of Nature is set in a forest with rain and the green of ferns and towering mountain ash, missing persons.  And serial killers.

Alice (Anna Torv) is a missing person under suspicious circumstances.

Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) is called from Alice’s phone but the line is bad.  Amongst the static and dropping signal all he can hear is, ‘they know.’

Called to the Giralang mountain ranges, a search has begun for Alice after she goes missing from an executive work retreat.

Also on the retreat are four other women including the CEO’s wife (Deborra-Lee Furness), all suspects, the story shown in flashbacks as each character is revealed as the mystery pieces Alice’s last moments so different threads slowly tie together as Aaron races to find Alice – missing 30 hours, exposed in the forest with a storm looming.

As Aaron searches for Alice, he’s forced to face his past as he searches for the missing woman, a person he feels responsible for, an informant he’s pushed too far.

His partner, Agent Cooper (Jacqueline McKenzie) feels no guilt, following the appropriate protocols and procedures.  But Aaron knows if you push too hard, that’s when mistakes are made.  He also knows what happens when people go missing in the forest.

Filmed in the Dandenong Ranges, the mystery is deepened using the vast forest as a place where people get lost, where serial killers are known to lurk – the forest is a place where you feel like you’re being watched.  That you’re not alone.

It doesn’t take much for the paranoia to set in.

Force of Nature is a slow burn mystery with weight; the immersion into the puzzle gripping with the plot turning around blind corners so the audience doesn’t know what will happen next.

But for all the film’s promise, the suspense gets lost with each thread that becomes a dead end so that grip in the first half of the film begins to let go.

Force of Nature is well captured, the quiet, the rain, the mood set with some good reveals but the mystery gets lost in the forest of too many red herrings.

So although there’re good performances here, the story gets spread thin so instead of a big reveal there’s many little revelations that lacked punch.

Overall, a well captured, quality crime mystery that’s worth a watch.

 

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

Rated: MA15+The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

Directed by: Michael Chaves

Story by: James Wan, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Sterling Jerins, Julian Hilliard, Ruairi O’Connor, Bonnie Aarons, John Noble, Eugenie Bondurant, Sarah Catherine Hook.

“If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” -Friedrich Nietzsche.

Based on a true story.

July 18, 1981.  Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson), priest and the Glatzel family keep vigil over eight-year-old, David (Julian Hilliard): a young kid.  Possessed.

‘I just can’t remember one quite like this,’ says Ed, as the film opens with all the drama of an exorcist.

Set in Brookfield, The Devil Made Me Do It follows the possessed rather than the origin of a demon, giving this third instalment of, The Conjuring series, a different tone.

Here, there’s a hint of the courtroom, with Arne (Ruairi O’Connor), the boyfriend of David’s sister, charged with First Degree Murder and facing the death penalty; Arne’s defence, ‘Not guilty by reason of demonic possession.’

Enter Ed and Lorraine with the interesting premise of swearing to God before giving evidence an argument of: if there’s acknowledgement of God, why not the Devil?

The film is built around a real case, with recordings of the exorcism played-out with the rolling credits.  Creepy.  Probably the creepiest part of the film.

Not to say there weren’t scary bits – there’s still moments of Lorraine traveling through to an other world as she follows her visions making contact with the source of evil.  Made even scarier when she realises the contact goes both ways.

‘Being brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared,’ a comment made by Arne to young David before possession turns him into a killer.

There’s certainly some dark themes here, but I have to say the horror in this instalment lacks the same impact as the previous Conjuring films.

And the darkness here is offset by the ever-resilient love story between Ed and Lorraine, ‘My home is here with him,’ says Lorraine about Ed.

There’s also the young love between the accused and girlfriend, Debbie (Sarah Catherine Hook).

So there’s more of a dramatic tone, somewhat humanising the horror.  Which for me took away some of the edge to those scares – rather than putting more weight behind the characters.

Not sure why.  Maybe I just didn’t believe the young love between Arne and Debbie and the whole standing by her man.

And somehow the foundation of this instalment, with the court case and recordings seemed less believable.  How’s that for irony.

But all I can do is review how the film hits me – and it hits OK with more emphasis on the relationship between Ed and Lorraine making the film a balance of love story and horror, for me, diluting the impact of the scares.

Deliver Us From Evil (Daman Ak-ehseo Guhasoseo)

Rated: MA15+Deliver Us From Evil

Written and Directed by: Won Chan Hong

Produced by: Chul Yong Kim

Starring: Jung Min Hwang, Jung Jae Lee, Jeong Min Park.

Korean with English subtitles.

‘You don’t need to go this far.’

Deliver Us From Evil is the sort of gritty crime-thriller I hope to come across and will be going on my, ‘Best Thriller Movies,’ recommendation list.

Starting in Tokyo, In-nam (Jung Min Hwang) is an assassin for hire.

He has one last job, then he’s done.

‘You got a job.  A big one.’

Then it’s time to dip his toes into the ocean.

In-nam doesn’t look like a knife-wielding assassin. But when there’re shots fired in the dark, we see his blood splattered face – shh… shh… he says, as the life drains from his target.

Cut to Bangkok and the kidnapping of a young nine-year-old girl.

His daughter.

Enter Ray-The-Butcher (Jung Jae Lee).  Blood brother to his last target.  A man In-nam should have killed a long time ago.  A man who won’t stop.

In-nam is an assassin with a history.  He doesn’t get to just leave.

The story has several threads chasing In-nam (it really does feel like he’s hunted by the narrative): he wants to retire, he’s running to escape his past and people with scores to settle; but more than anything, he wants to save his daughter.

He makes contact with people in Bangkok, leading to lady-boy Yui (Jeong Min Park), his guide.  So there’s all the action of the backstory of his daughter’s kidnapping while In-nam and now Yui are chased by this mad-dog gangsta, The Butcher.

It’s non-stop set on the streets of Bangkok all captured by cinematographer Kyeong Pyo Dp Hong (he was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on, Parasite) – non-stop action filmed using a stop motion technique so the hand-to-hand combat in hotel hallways or the confined space of a lift are all captured in detail for the audience to appreciate.

And then there’s the scenery from Japan to Korea to Thailand with the film captured in Bangkok immediately recognisable with the heat of burnt orange streets and a machine gun fight from the back of a took-took.

The film isn’t this superficial or flat feeling killing spree – there’s also these moments of humanity: the sweetness of a young girl and the assassin with dead eyes coming alive to save his daughter.

I couldn’t look away from the visceral carnage yet got teary because there’s a good story at the foundation of all the action.

And there’s care taken with the filming: a fleeting shadow, the slowing of a scene to the jolt of a car crash.  There’s nothing held back except holding off from a complete gore-fest so I was able to keep watching – a fine line between gross and gritty artfully kept so torture, stabbing and child organ farming are all part of the story but instead of sickening, the grit adds to the suspense.

Brutal, but if you’re a fan of a gritty crime-thriller, you’re in for a treat.

La Daronne (Mama Weed – The Godmother)

Rated: MLa Daronne (Mama Weed - The Godmother)

Directed by: Jean-Paul Salomé

Based on the Book by: Hannelore Cayre

Script Written by: Hannelore Cayre, Antoine Salomé

Produced by: Jean-Baptiste Dupont, Kristina Larsen

Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Iris Bry, Hippolyte Girardot, Kamel Guenfoud, Liliane Rovére, Rebecca Marder, Farida Ouchani, Yasin Houicha, Rachid Guellaz.

French / Arabic with English subtitles

Patience Portefeux (Isabelle Huppert) is having an existential crisis.

She’s working for the narc squad, translating Arabic to French, where she spends a lot of time listening to small-time dealers talk crap as they incriminate themselves and end up being put away for 3kg of hash.

But this one’s a big one: 1.5 ton.

So when the stash is lost, Patience sees an opportunity to finally make some money.  To look after her mother in care (Liliane Rovére) and her two daughters.

To live the good life.

It’s like watching Patience evolve backwards in time.  Back to the carefree girl in her father’s boat, fireworks patterning the sky ahead.

The film starts as a recording of voice like an electronic expression, Patience like those little green bars rising up and down as she turns one sound into another.

Her neighbour and building manager say the other tenants call her the ghost.  Or they used to.

As Patience seizes her opportunity, she lifts, her colour rising with her confidence.  She starts to wear red lipstick.  Philippe (Hippolyte Girardot) her boyfriend and now chief of the narc squad comments that she might look like a small fragile woman, but her new confidence and strength makes him see her like the dealers he puts away.  Little does he know.

La Daronne, AKA Mama Weed is a character study without getting too deep, more a message of, ‘I just like it when life finds its path.’

There’s a sweetness and I can relate to that disillusion when life suddenly reveals itself.

There’s some humour – Patience named because, as her mother says, she stayed in the womb for ten months.  That requires patience.  And there’re some thrills as, Mama Weed goes about trying to off-load 1.5 ton of hash.  But it’s light-hearted as she deals with guys nick-named Scotch and Cocopuff.

And that consistent light-heartedness gets trying with the, I’m-an-older-lady-with-a-sharp-tongue, so these small-time dealers do whatever she wants?

But more than anything, La Daronne is a movie about a hardworking lady with a past, doing what she can because in the end, you can’t escape who you are.  Or you can try.  Patience?  She turns around and embraces it.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Rated: R18+Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman

Written by: Josh Stolberg & Pete Goldfinger

Produced by: Mark Burg and Oren Koules (original SAW team)

Starring: Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols and Samuel L. Jackson.

“Am I getting under your skin, Detective Banks?”

Inspired by the Saw franchise (starting back in 2004 with Leigh Whannell & James Wan teaming up as writer and director), Spiral is the 10th so far in the series – but wow, it’s been a long time since I came anywhere near a Saw movie.  So I was bracing myself for the gore of, Spiral: the case over the face contraptions, ready to slice and dice.

And there’s plenty of that here: tongue, fingers, lots of missing appendages.

The film opens on a carnival and fireworks, then down into the underbelly of the city.

The underground is where we’re first introduced to the Pig Man: “I want to play a game.”

The phrase a familiar echo from the ghost of John Krammer.

Here, in, Spiral, we’re introduced to Detective Ezekiel Banks (Chris Rock), AKA Zeke.

The other cops in his precinct don’t like Banks.

He turned in his partner.  A dirty cop.

To them, he’s just a rat.

Saddled with a fresh rookie (Max Minghella), abrasive and lone wolf Zeke is now forced to play nice (ha, ha).

Sent to yet another dead ‘hobo’ murder scene, Zeke has to embrace working with a partner again because this is more than a suicide by train.  This has all the markings of a Jigsaw copy-cat.

But this copy-cat?  This one likes killing cops.

Zeke has a lot to stand up against: his rep as a snitch, living under the shadow of his highly regarded police veteran father (Samuel L. Jackson).  So there’s this detective with a past, a murder to be solved and some cringe-worthy gore.

Why don’t the victims just let themselves be killed rather than torturing themselves only to be killed anyway? I wonder…  Then think, must be that survival instinct.  But Spiral doesn’t really tap into that tension like the original.  The, how far would you go to survive.  This is more about the character, detective Banks, solving a crime.Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Another difference is this abrasive detective is actually really funny.

Some of the dialogue delivered by Chris Rock is gold: ‘I just found out Pilates doesn’t exist,’ Banks tells the rookie because he’s going through a divorce and his ex cheated on him (no doubt while she was supposed to be going to Pilates).

I can be on the fence with a gory horror.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s just gross.

But throw in a bit of humour in the breaks and the story suddenly gets more entertaining, gets, another layer; to be able to absorb that next visceral serving of well, bloody meat.

I’m not saying this next instalment is brilliant (I’m getting sensitive to overacting), but without expectation, I got into the storyline and thought to myself mid-way, if it ties-off OK, this will be a decent film.

Make me laugh in between the bloody stuff and splice in a decent detective story and I say, worth a watch.

The Little Things

Rated: MThe Little Things

Directed / Written and Produced by: John Lee Hancock

Produced by: Mark Johnson

Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto, Natalie Morales.

“It’s the little things that get you caught.”

I know there’s some heavy hitters here – director John Lee Hancock (“The Founder,” “Saving Mr. Banks,” “The Blind Side”); and three Academy Award winning actors, but, The Little Things felt like a film that didn’t know if it wanted to be a drama or a crime thriller.

Deke (Denzel Washington) is a man recovering.  He’s been suspended, divorced and has had a triple bypass – all in six months.  He’s not a detective that let’s go of a case.

Fast forward five years and Deke is in uniform, called back to LA on an errand.  Back to his old precinct where the chief is not happy about his return.

But some of his old buddies are happy to see him, remembering the old him.  The one who got the job done.

His replacement, Jim Baxter (Rami Malek), a god-fearing golden child, knows there’s rumours about him.

“You’re a popular guy,” he jokes.

But Baxter will take any help he can get, the pressure on with a current case of four dead.  And no suspects.

The foundation of the story is the two cops getting to know each other as they chase leads while unraveling the mystery of Deke’s past.

The film becomes more crime drama than crime thriller.  The violence watered down.  For me, taking away any suspense.

The murders they’re investigating are never seen, the terror of the crimes never a focus, just a car following behind, the splatter of blood across a crime scene or the ghosts of the dead still haunting.

The characters are the story so the mystery of the crime takes a back seat.

I admit, I prefer crime movies with more grit.

The soundtrack didn’t help.  There’s no build, just a background giving that feeling of thinking while the cops try to figure out the crime, and each other.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a strong performance here from Denzel, the chemistry between Deke and Baxter a good hook with some further interest thrown in with Jared Leto as the bad guy, his slow reptilian stare unsettling.

But the lack of any visceral violence or any real suspense left his bad character more comical (on purpose) at times, than scary.  He’s right on that edge and with more grit he would have been outright terrifying.  But again, it felt like the film was filtered.  Making this a more cerebral viewing.  And yes there are some clever moments.

But the pacing didn’t build those aha moments so although there’s some satisfaction, the story gets lost leaving the feeling of a missed opportunity.

High Ground

Rated: MA15+High Ground

Directed by: Stephen Maxwell Johnson

Written by: Chris Anastassiades

Produced by: David Jowsey, Maggie Miles, Witiyana Marika, Greer Simpkin, Stephen Maxwell Johnson

Starring: Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Simon Baker, Callan Mulvey, Jack Thompson, Witiyana Marika, Aaron Pedersen, Caren Pistorious, Esmerelda Marimowa, Ryan Corr, Sean Mununggurr.

When you’ve got the high ground, you control everything

“Be quiet!” someone cussed at the other critics, chatting in the audience.

And then the film began, in complete silence.

Only the sound of birds twittering.  And screeching.

High Ground is a revenge film set in the early 1900s.  The days of the early settlers in Australia, when the indigenous population killing a cow could lead to massacre in retribution.

When a young boy, Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul) witnesses his family killed by white settlers, Travis (Simon Baker), the army officer leading the team, takes Gutjuk in his arms, disowning the behaviour of his countrymen.

He leaves his army days behind.

Fast forward twelve years and we see the Wild Mob burning up settlements and causing mayhem.

Mayhem led by Baywara.

Gutjuk’s uncle taking revenge.

There’s more here than a little boy seeing his family killed.

There’s the complicated nature of finding the balance between the people already living on the land and those wanting to own the land; those who take and those who want to listen.

The complex nature of settlement is embodied in the character Travis.  A white man scarred by the slaughter of innocents by his countrymen.  He disowns the status quo but is unable to get away from his past.

There’s taking revenge to be someone, where standing in anger is better than feeling the pain of being treated like nothing.

Then there’s Gutjuk, re-named Tommy.  The little boy taken to live in a white settlement.  Loved.  But never forgetting his roots.

The conflict is intense but the film is quiet, inviting the audience to listen.  Really listen.  Making High Ground a tense film built on the sound of the land.

I can’t recall a soundtrack at all.  Just the sound of birds and language, the somehow warm slither of a snake across rock like fingertips over velvet.  Like the animals provided another voice all set in the vast landscape of the Northern Territory: Arnhem Land.

The dialogue is simple.  Sparse.  Too sparse.  But that’s what allows the sound of the birds to speak.  So there’s an immersive brilliance to the film broken by confronting moments of violence.

I kept jumping.

But because of this quiet focus, some of the story felt glossed over.  So I was in this magical moment, then frowning when the narrative didn’t add to the relationships of the characters, the storyline somehow underdone.

What absolutely hit the mark was the performance from Jacob Junior Nayinggul – I believed every single word, his character Gutjuk, a highlight.

But more than anything it’s bringing the land into the story that makes this film unique.

I am Gutjuk, meaning hawk.

The totem of the hawk a constant presence, a forever watchful eye.  High above, everything.

Recommend watching this one on the big screen.

All Traditional Owners of the land on which HIGH GROUND was filmed gave their blessing for the film and provided unprecedented access to country. On request of the Jawoyn the Kakadu National Park management closed tourist access to one if its key attractions the stunning Gunlom Falls for the filming of key scenes. Many local Aboriginal people worked on the film in front of and behind the camera.

Full Statement by Galarrwuy Yunupingu ” HIGH GROUND is a both-ways film, First Nations and Balanda. It depicts a time of trouble in Australia; it honours our old heroes, reminds us of the past and the truth of our joint history in the country. I hope that this film can play an important role in Australia’s national conversation towards a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution so that all our children will walk in both-worlds, never forgetting the past.” Galarrwuy Yunupingu AM Gumatj Leader

The Dry

Rated: MA15+The Dry

Directed by: Robert Connolly

Produced by: Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky, Robert Connolly, Eric Bana

Screenplay Written by: Harry Cripps and Robert Connolly

Based on the Book Written by: Jane Harper

Starring: Eric Bana, Genevieve O’Reilly, Keir O’Donnell, John Polson, Julia Blake, Bruce Spence, Matt Nable, William Zappa, James Frecheville, Joe Klocek, Claude Scott-Mitchell, Sam Corlett, BeBe Bettencourt, Miranda Tapsell.

The tone of, The Dry is set in the opening moments: from above, the landscape looks barren, drawing the eye like water into drought-stricken dirt.

A baby cries.

The floorboards of a farmhouse are soaked in blood.

On the back of a note to attend the funeral of a childhood friend, Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) reads, You lied.

The Dry is a mystery of two crimes separated by twenty years that slowly unfolds in the town of Kiewarra.  A town where a spark could start a blaze, a town suffering 324 days without rain.

It’s a country town that holds secrets revealed in the subtleties as Aaron gets caught up investigating a suicide murder case while his own past catches up, locals banging on his door in the middle of the night.

What happened all those years ago?  Why do the locals hate Aaron returning to his childhood home?

What happened to Ellie Deacon (BeBe Bettencourt)?

It’s a slow and quiet mystery that was gripping because of the many moments that ground the story, the local school principle planting a tree in memory of the dead, a kind gesture but bitter sweet: ‘God knows what I’m supposed to tell the kids when it dies,’ he says, knowing the tree will die like so many others in the never ending drought.

And there are so many layers to this story, handled with care by director Robert Connolly – all those subtle moments hinting at character, questioning the action of something as simple as closing a glass sliding door.

There’s some light moments to offset the foreboding drive of drama, from classic characters like the memorable publican, McMurdo (Eddie Baroo) – the pub overrun with customers (said with tongue-in-cheek) or the order of the sea food basket a risky choice being oh so far from the ocean.

Alongside a solid storyline, it’s those moments that nod to the Australian countryside that ground the film in the authentic and is such a pleasure to watch on the big screen.

The landscape reminded me of childhood growing up in country Victoria, those century old gum trees, finding that special spot, that magic tree while watching the dust form whirlwinds across the paddock.

The backbone of the film is Aaron returning home, the flashbacks to those days of growing up and swimming in the river with friends.  Director Robert Connolly explains, “If I was […] to go right to the crux of THE DRY, it’s about the emotional impact of returning to the place you grew up.”

The landscape is captured beautifully here (filmed in the Wimmera Region), the past when the river was flowing.  The tragedy of a young death.  The return to childhood memories to now see the town dry, the once flowing river empty.

What sums up the film for me is the use of the soundtrack – there to amplify those dramatic moments, but noticed even more when absent, with only the sound of the wind.

Overall, I found, The Dry to be a quiet film, mysterious with a subtle slow burn, that’s gripping in the telling.

Honest Thief

Rated: MHonest Thief

Written and Directed by: Mark Williams

Produced by: Mark Williams, Myles Nestel, Tai Duncan, Craig Chapman and Jonah Loop

Production Designer: Tom Lisowski

Editor: Michael P Shawver

Music by: Mark Isham

Starring: Liam Neeson, Kate Walsh, Jeffrey Donovan, Jai Courtney, Anthony Ramos, Robert Patrick and Jasmine Cephas Jones.

‘I met a woman.’

Honest Thief is a classic formula that plays-out like a movie I felt like I’d seen before.

Set in Boston (including that Boston accent and typical dirty cops), the In-And-Out Bandit, AKA Tom Carter (Liam Neeson) has been robbing banks without leaving a trace (hence the nickname and yes, he doesn’t like it either) for eight years.

Until he meets Annie (Kate Walsh – the actress from Grey’s Anatomy.  She looks nothing like Dr. Addison Montgomery here as Annie and that’s OK.  She’s well-cast).

It’s a real meet-cute, setting the tone of the film – a romantic crime drama set to the gravitas of Liam Neeson’s deep-bass voice.

Tom wants to the do the right thing.  To build his relationship with Annie on an honest foundation (see the title), and be an, ‘Honest Thief’.

After twelve bank robberies over seven states and nine million in cash, Tom wants to turn himself in.

‘He met a woman,’ Agent Meyers (Jeffrey Donovan) explains.

‘Poor guy,’ replies Agent Baker (Robert Patrick).

The robber-turned-soft romantic overtones of this film are somewhat offset by the humour of this Agent Baker, desperately trying not to be bitter after being left with a dog (instead of a house) after his divorce.

And we get some dirty cop crime thrown in with some explosive action.

Writer and director Mark Williams (A Family Man (2016)) states, “It has the action, the thrills, car chases, guns going off, things exploding. But at the heart of it, it’s a love story, and to me that’s the most important thing.”

So, Honest Thief isn’t one of those shoot-em-up action flicks, or crime thriller.

This is more Tom proving he’s the In-And-Out bandit – an excuse to show some strategy in the film – then after being double-crossed by dirty cops, proving he might be a robber, but he’s no killer.

At one point Tom’s asked, ‘What do you want?’

‘To prove my innocence.’

Because as stated above, he’s met a woman.

It’s just not that exciting.

But the addition of Robert Patrick as Agent Baker (Robert Patrick) and his increasing affection for his fluffy companion, Tassy lifted the tone and added that extra bit of humour.

‘Poor guy.’

Hilarious.

Deerskin

Rated: MA15+Deerskin

Directed and Written by: Quentin Dupieux

Photography, Editing: Quentin Dupieux

Art and Set Direction: Joan Le Boru

Sound: Guillaume Le Braz, Alexis Place, Gadou Naudin, Cyril Holtz

Starring: Jean Dujardin, Adele Haenel

French with English subtitles

‘I swear never to wear a jacket as long as I live.’

Deerskin first introduces Georges (Jean Dujardin) wearing a green jacket with three plastic buttons.  He parks on the wrong side of the petrol bowser.  And looking at his reflection in the car window he frowns at what he sees.  Then he flushes the jacket in the public toilet.

Yep, Georges is losing it.

The music flares.

And I think to myself, I already like this movie.

The film is character driven and continues to follow Georges.  But there’s another character in this movie.  A jacket.  We meet the beast.  The new jacket: 100% Deerskin.

The way the film flashes to a live deer in the wilderness seals it somehow.  Just how cool the jacket is.  But It’s not. It’s made from the skin of this beautiful innocent animal (see previous flash to said deer in the wilderness).  And, it’s got… fringes.  But Georges LOVES it: ‘Style de tueur (Killer style),’ he says, looking in the mirror.

It just makes me grin.

After that Georges keeps driving.

‘You’re no-where Georges.  You no longer exist.’  That’s what his ex-wife tells him, over the phone.

Georges ends up in the bar of a small village, where he meets the barmaid, Denise (Adele Haenel).  She’s been burnt by love too.  But Georges is a brand-new man in his deerskin jacket.  He tells Denise he’s a film maker.

It makes sense to say he’s a film maker.  He’s been recording film all day, so it’s kinda the same.  ‘No it’s not,’ says the jacket.

Instead of getting to know an available woman, Georges gets to know the jacket as his relationship with this 100% deerskin jacket becomes the subject of Georges’ movie to be.

Killer style indeed.

Director and writer Quentin Dupieux says, ‘I wanted to film insanity.’

And Georges has lost it.  But wow, he’s really enthusiastic about it.

The way Georges insanity is shown is somehow shocking and hilarious.

It’s the same dark humour used in, The Lobster, but less confronting even though there’s more killing…  And this whole jacket business is just so ticklish.

Jean Dujardin (who plays Georges in the film) explains it’s Quentin’s use of space that creates the comedy, ‘It’s in those moments of hesitation that the comedy and drama blend. You’re right on the borderline. All those scenes, for example, in which Georges demands money, or can’t pay. Quentin takes the time to stretch out the sense of malaise, to allow for some lingering doubt. Is Georges going to turn violent? Weep? Laugh? You never know what will happen. Time stands still for a moment, and those little agonies make me want to die laughing.’

Then there’s Georges dream in life – for him, it’s all about wearing this deerskin jacket.  To be the only person wearing… a jacket.  It doesn’t make sense.  But from the perspective of Georges, as he makes a film about his dream, it kinda does.

The character Denise gets it.  She reckons the jacket is like a shell to protect the wearer from the outside world.

I think it’s because Georges hates who he used to be, wearing that green blazer with the three plastic buttons.

Or perhaps Deerskin is just a weirdo movie that’s put together in a way that somehow makes sense.

Whether you analyse the layers or not, I was thoroughly absorbed and entertained from start to finish.

Like Denise says, ‘I’m into it.’

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