Live by Night

Rated: MA15+Live by Night

Director / Screenwriter / Producer: Ben Affleck

Based on a novel written by: Dennis Lehane

Director of Photography: Robert Richardson

Starring: Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Messina, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Chris Cooper, Matthew Maher, Miguel J. Pimentel, Max Casella.

Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) is a man recently home from WWI.  After seeing so much wasted bloodshed, he refuses to believe in a system that applies no value to the people it governs.

The son of Boston’s Deputy Superintendent, Thomas Coughlin (Brendan Gleeson), a good cop and a cop who loves his son, Joe goes about life without regard for the law. He robs banks and falls in love with a gangster’s Molly, Emma Gould (Sienna Miller).

Joe wants to be free.And he is free, until the Italian Mafia decide they want the Irishman on their side.

Live by Night isn’t one of those gangster revenge films full of sociopaths and relentless shoot-outs. This is a film shown beautifully through the authentic setting of those 1920s streets of Boston and the vast skies reflected in the snake-like curving rivers of Miami.

It took a while but I was eventually absorbed by this story based on a novel written by Dennis Lehane (winner of the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Novel of the Year). The screenplay written by Ben Affleck has the benefit of well-thought characters and a ring of truth about the era: Prohibition and the underground rum trade in Tampa, racism, the fight for the American Dream. But what is The Dream? Girls, money, power, love?

Freedom?

There was a complexity here. This is a story about a man who wants to survive. But not at any price, not while there’s still a piece of heaven here on earth.< With an adaptation of a novel, it’s not easy to convey all without glossing over moments that would have been given more depth in the text. Although each character was portrayed so the fierceness, evil and beauty was shown in the dialogue, some extra seconds of those facial expressions would have conveyed more. Offsetting the lack of depth was the beautiful camera work by Robert Richardson, giving access to the film through the depiction of setting. I imagine it must have been difficult for Ben Affleck to act and direct in the same film. To be the one to portray what you have written, to show the vision of the story must be a hard task. And it shows. Ben being the least impressive actor in the film. I’m not saying his acting was bad, I’m just saying it wasn’t as believable as the performance of say, Sienna Miller or Matthew Maher (as RD Pruitt).  Thankfully, the rest of the cast are phenomenal, given direction by the screenwriter, Ben. A headful, I know. And a hint into the space that is Ben Affleck. What an achievement. Overall, Live by Night is one of those quiet movies that creeps up on you, a slow absorption into the point-of-view of Joe that doesn’t smack you in the face because that’s not in his psychological make-up: ‘I don’t want to be a gangster. I stopped kissing rings a long time ago.’

A sometimes bland film but a cracker of a story.

Moonlight

Rated: M

Directed by: Barry JenkinsMoonlight

Screenplay by: Barry Jenkins

Story by: Tarell Alvin McCraney

Produced by: Alede Romanski, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

Starring: Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes, Naomie Harris, Janelle Monáe, André Holland and Mahershala Ali.

An emotionally charged, poignant film brought close to the audience through beautiful camerawork and the direction of open and honest performances making the story all the more real.

Moonlight follows the life of Cheron as he grows up in the Projects of Miami.

The story follows as he grows from Little (Alex Hibbert), just a kid already running, to Cheron (Ashton Sanders) in the midst of adolescence, to MoonlightBlack (Trevante Rhodes), the man he is destined to become.  Each step of life is depicted by a different actor, yet the resemblance of the three is astounding.

Moonlight reveals the life of a boy as he struggles to grow through his mother’s drug addiction, loneliness, racism and his sexual identity.  But this isn’t an in-your-face film that confronts and rips your heart out, this is a story shown with genuine artistry through beautiful shots of people and light and an openness where you can see the character up close, like the whisper of a secret.

The soundtrack (composed by: Nicholas Britell) is quiet and used to turn the tide of tone, carefully.  The music making or breaking the mood of a film and the support of the soundtrack here essential as the story is shown through the subtle.

And that’s what makes the film resonate so loudly: the small movements, the way a head turns or the light as those eyes flick.  All those awkward movements felt and shown, known.

We’ve all been there at some point: the fool, the humiliated, the hated.  We’ve all felt the quiet.  Yet the film shows love too, like kids sprinting then laughing because they feel the joy of the blood pumping, like kids do.

Moonlight

The authenticity of the story comes from the script based on a project written by Tarell Alvin McCraney: A Forging of Cinematic Identity of Miami, with director Barry Jenkins (Medicine for Melancholy) broadening the script and adapting for screen.

By coincidence both McCraney and Jenkins grew up in the Liberty City housing projects where most of the film is set.  And the experience shows in how and where the film was shot.

This isn’t the Miami you see on TV.  Yet the feeling of Miami is still there in the palm trees, the beach and the sea breeze.

The soundtrack, the setting, the camera work is all used to support the amazing performances of the cast.  As Cheron grows into a man the performances are so open and honest I felt I could see into the soul of the man he becomes.

Moonlight is unique in that it’s both raw and subtle, creating something else, a feeling that stays with you that’s beautiful because it’s laid bare.  What a rarity and an experience you won’t soon forget.

 

Passengers

Rated: MPassengers

Directed by: Morten Tyldum

Written by: Jon Spaihts

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen; Laurence Fishburne.

A love story set in space.

I saw the spaceship and the fantastic attention to detail (by award winning Guy Hendrix (Inception)) where each part of the ship is designed to take the audience into a place where androids like Arthur (Michael Sheen) tend bar and people are put to sleep for 120 years so they can migrate to a distant planet.

But more than anything, Passengers is a story about journalist Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence) and mechanic Jim (Chris Pratt), falling in love.

I’m thankful the two lead characters were well-cast and well-beautiful because Passengers is a cheese-fest.

Sci-fi fans will be disappointed with the focus on a love story and I was disappointed because the story was a simple one.

 

On his way from immigrating from Earth to Homeland II, Jim is woken up from his hibernation 90 years too early.

The film asks the question, What would you do if you were alone in space for the rest of your life?

When Jim meets Aurora, they fall in love (of course).  Two people stranded together isn’t so bad when they have each other.  Until they realise there’s something critically wrong with the ship.

If bodacious bodies are your thing, Jen and Chris give you an eyeful.  And I
really have to find out who the clothing designer is because the outfits and shoes are to die for.  See here for interview with designer Jamy Temime. Not that the character, Aurora is happy about being on a floating prison where the destination will never be reached because she’ll be dead by then.

But you can see where I’m going with the description: it’s all about the visual aspect.  And the love story.  I kept on thinking, what if she gets pregnant?

Although a visually stunning film, Passengers fell flat when the storyline became a run-of-the-mill romance.

Collateral Beauty

Rated: MCollateral Beauty

Director: David Franel

Writer: Alan Loeb

Starring: Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Michael Peña, Helen Mirren, Naomie Harris, Keira Knightley; Jacob Latimore.

Who doesn’t love watching an intricate set of dominoes fall?  But when I realised this was the disintegration of Howard’s (Will Smith) heart, the final crash of those dominoes took on a new meaning.

After the death of his daughter, Howard is falling apart.  He does nothing but set up those dominoes only to watch them fall.

Once a successful advertising guru, the company is starting to fail because advertising is built on relationships so when the guru falls, so does the company.

Howard exclaims in a speech at the beginning of the film, the 3 truths of life: Death, Love and Time.

So when his daughter dies, it’s the 3 truths he writes to – posting a letter to each, expressing grief and anger that his daughter has been taken from him.

I don’t know why I always go into a Will Smith film with a cringe.  I know he has that frank, openess that has a way to pull the heart strings, and the cast had to be amazing to pull this script into a realm of belief.  And you just know you’re going in for a tear-jerker which I’m not a fan of.  But at this time of year when maybe you’ve had a health scare, or the family’s not quite right, it’s nice to go into that suspension of reality.

I haven’t seen Edward Norten in a film for a while and have to say I was worried when he showed up in khaki pants.  However, I bite my tongue because it got to me, this film about death and fear and love and loss and the great equaliser, time.

The soundtrack had something to do with this.  And the all-star cast.  Who else could pull off Death but Helen Mirren?

And notice I’m not going on about the directing, cinematography, costuming (although I had a few issue here with those fake blue contacts and khaki pants!) – it’s just not noticeable.

I was absorbed at the beginning with the fall of those dominoes and then held watching well-known actors dealing with stuff we all have to tackle, at some stage.

This isn’t my favourite type of film, but if you’re in the mood, Collateral Beauty is a wonderful escape.

 

Top 10 Films for 2016

It’s a mixed bag of top 10 films this year, with a top-heavy favourtism for the thriller!  From the funny-sweet, Hunt for the Wilderpeople to the ultimate crime thriller, Sicario *

I have to say the biggest stand-out for 2016: Director Denis Villeneuve.  More Denis, we want more!

10. Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Coming in at number 10 is the New Zealander Comedy / Drama that stole the world’s heart: tongue-in-cheek and heartfelt where the characters are able to take a laugh at themselves ‘cause it’s all heart bro.

9. Pawno

At number 9 is a local Drama based on a day-in-a-life in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray.

It would have been easy to get bogged down in the melancholy, but there’s humour here, the focus on the good: a poem written to a beautiful girl in a bookshop, drummers tapping out a heartbeat with the dance of a local in appreciation, the expression of graffiti and the love of a dog.

Pawno shows life in all its complications with the simplicity of a leaky kettle or a favourite mug.

8. The Revenant

Where Leonardo Di Caprio finally won his first Oscar, and for good reason.

There is a real authenticity here, thanks to Di Caprio, but director, Alejandro has given the film something almost mystical. Nature untouched, is a bit like magic. The Native Americans believed in the will of the trees and the wind, and I think Alejandro managed to capture some of this magic. Not an easy feat and worth watching.

7. Arrival

My favourite director of this year Denis Villeneuve has given his Midas touch to a film that really could have fallen flat.  The insight Villeneuve has managed to show of Dr. Bank’s character is astounding.  If only for this aspect, I enjoyed the film.  Then combine the incredible story, soundtrack and pace with that extra flavour that makes the characters so believable, you’ve got a winning film.

6. Life, Animated

I can understand how this documentary, directed and produced by Roger Ross Williams, has won so many audience awards: Telluride Mountainfilm Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, Full Frame Film Festival and the list goes on…

I laughed, I cried, I smiled and I learnt something not only about Owen and his battle with autism, I also found an opportunity to reflect on my own life journey.

5. Mustang

Set in Inebolu, a Black Sea village 600 kilometres from Istanbul, Mustang is about the freedom of five young sisters with wild hair trailing down their backs, with a glance and an innocent smile that can lead to so much trouble.

As her first feature film, Deniz Gamze Erguven has given us a story that feels like it should already have been told, and I congratulate this fresh view of life that is usually hidden behind closed doors.

4. The Conjuring 2

Director James Wan is genius in his use of not only the soundtrack, but also the trickery of shadows, slips in time, old toys; a focus on the eyes or a terrifying portrait brought to life.  Seemingly simple devises, but used so well.

There’s a journey here.  An invitation to take hold of a hand  – a, Gotcha, then I’ll let you go a bit… then, I gotcha again: This time, I gotcha good.

3. Triple 9

I liked this film because it went beyond all expectations. The story just kept unfolding to its bloody conclusion. I couldn’t look away: cringing, gasping, hoping and ultimately smiling contently at a well thought-out conclusion.  Love a good crime thriller!

 

2. The Hateful Eight

There’s not a lot of action here. But the dialogue between the characters is hugely entertaining. The depth of thought put into the characters: Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren, Walton Goggins as Sheriff Chris Mannix and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue was particularly impressive.  And the not so subtle gallows humour and O. B’s bad luck is gloriously funny.  I had a ball watching this film – good fun!

https://youtu.be/6_UI1GzaWv0

  1. Sicario

I couldn’t fault this film.  The story, characters, soundtrack, cinematography and editing all combined to create tension and to keep the audience guessing.

If the violence didn’t add to the story, then it wasn’t included. Clever devises used by director Denis Villeneuve used the imagination of the audience to piece the action together giving this film it’s true brilliance.  If you haven’t already, watch this film!  You’re in for a real treat.

* I know, I know, Sicario was released end of 2015, and I do ask for poetic license being my first ‘best of the year’ list for the website.  Being my first reviewed film to earn 5 stars, I couldn’t resist Sicario, at the top, in all its crowning crime-thriller glory.

Red Dog: True Blue

 

Director: Kriv Stenders

Producer: Nelson Woss

Starring: Levi Miller, Bryan Brown, Jason Isaacs, Hanna Manga Lawrence, Calen Tassone, Thomas Cocquerel, Kelton Pell and John Jarratt.

Sweet and funny, set on the backdrop of red desert, burnt skies and a story about a red dog named Blue.

Red Dog: True Blue is the prequel to the well-know Red Dog, that received world wide acclaim back in 2011.  A neat compliment that made me want to watch the original again.

Shown as a flash-back to the 1960s, True Blue is about young Mick (Levi Miller) who finds himself at a cattle station out in the middle of no where living with his grandpa (Bryan Brown).

Mick is surrounded by all sorts of characters from Jimmy Umbrella (Kee Chan), the Chinese-Australian cook who hates the sun, Bill (Thomas Cocquerel) the larrikin helicopter pilot, Big John and Little John (Syd Brisdane and Steve Le Marquand) who are always fighting, Taylor Pete (Calen Tassone) the budding activist and Durack (Kelton Pell) the Aboriginal stockman who just knows Blue (Phoenix, the dog) is a tricksta spirit.

Blue wasn’t the feature in this film, but he was certainly the main source of humour.  Very clever of director Kriv Stenders (also director of the original Red Dog), as Blue always remained blameless.  And the addition of Willy, the crazy, blind-in-one-eye horse who thinks he’s a bull, made the film even funnier.

Aside from the humour, there are themes here to give the story more depth, such as the politics of equal pay for Aboriginal workers, of free love, landrights, punishment of boys who’ve been bad…  But what really stood out was the beauty of the landscape and those never ending skies.

Geoffrey Hall has returned as Director of Photography, this time making a conscious effort to keep the colour palette of the landscape authentic.  And an anamorphic approach was used for filming giving a narrow depth of field.  The result being beautiful, picture card moments with the weather and landscape becoming another character of the story.

At the end of the year when you drag your feet and wonder when summer is actually ever going to begin, it’s great to see a film that has it’s own brand of humour; that evokes laughter bubbling up from the belly; where the story is sweet (without being too sweet) and uplifting.

Yeah, the kid Mick, annoyed me a bit at the start – all private school and precious.  But I think that was the point.  And the character grew on me through-out the film which may have something to do with the mateship that develops between a lost kid and a cheeky dog named Blue (AKA Marlunghu the tricksta spirit).

And I’m thankful the film didn’t tear my heart out as some of these animal films tend to do.  I was left smiling about a story that relates to life while also giving a positive twist making me really, really want to get a pet dog!

The Edge of Seventeen

Rated: MThe Edge of Seventeen

Written and Directed by: Kelly Fremon Craig

Produced by: James L. Brooks, Richard Sakai, Julie Ansell

Executive Producer: Donald Tang

Music by: Atli Örvarsson

Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner and Hayden Szeto.

The Edge of Seventeen is a coming-of-age drama with a few laughs thrown in, because teenage angst is funny when looking back.  Not at the time of course.  Being 17 is all about wanting to die at the embarrassment of it all: pimples, older siblings who seem to have it so together and bestie-best friends who are supposed to be there forever (but never are because they’re human too).

Even though it feels like you’re the only one who feels anything at 17, you (hopefully) come to realise that others feel too.

Nadine (new comer, Hailee Stinfeld) is a girl who’s always felt different.  A loner, living in the shadow of her perfect brother, Darian (Blake Jenner, think, Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)).  Until she meets Krista (Haley Lu Richardson), who becomes her bestest buddy.

Life is good.  She has her mate and her Dad, the only two people in the whole world who understand her.  But when Krista hooks up with her brother, Nadine’s bubble bursts.  And she’s left in a world where people are fake and nice and she’s the only one who knows it.

It’s teenage angst baby, where you just love that guy and he doesn’t know you exist and you just know that mum’s mad and favours your brother more than you and you just, want, to, DIE.

And just like that self-obsession, the film revolves around Nadine. Thankfully the film was well cast and that annoying whine didn’t grate too much.

Woody Harrelson cast as Mr. Bruner, the ever-tolerant teacher, diluted the hormone fuelled rants of Nadine.

And there were some laugh-out-loud moments.

In retaliation to Nadine’s mum (Kyra Sedgwick) Nadine yells – ‘I’ll do something just as bad!  I’ll post on Facebook that you pluck the hairs around your nipples!’

There’s a raw honesty in the script (written by Kelly Fremon Craig; the second draft 4 years in the making) that is genuinely funny and at other times gives a jolt as the secrets of girl-teenhood are revealed.

First time director, Fremon Craig, has given free rein to the protagonist here which cuts both ways.

The audience is given insight and authenticity that only freedom can give.  And I praise this honesty.  On the other hand, there’s a little too much girl craziness – a fine line between funny insight and the urge to reach for the mute button.

The soundtrack helped to smooth over the emotion.  And the deadpan humour of Woody as the history teacher not only balanced the character of Nadine but was a release of pressure for the audience.

Overall the film was entertaining with a great script giving a different feel to a storyline that’s been done many times before.  I kept thinking back to Ghost World (2001) but The Edge of Seventeen is more drama/comedy than art house.

So, relatable and honest, but also a film about teen angst, which I’m happy to admit is time past.

The Founder

Rated: MThe Founder

Directed by: John Lee Hancock

Based on the original screenplay by: Robert Siegel

Produced by: Aaron Ryder and Don Handfield

Starring: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Laura Dern, Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson, B. J. Novak.

Business is war.  It’s not even dog eat dog, it’s rat eat rat.

A true story based on the uprising of McDonald’s, The Founder is a remarkable story of Corporate America.  Of how persistence and will power can create an empire for a man with a mouth and a keen eye for a successful business.

The film begins in 1954, showing Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) on the road trying to sell five-spindle Multimixers used to make milkshakes to the owners of Drive-In Diners.

After sitting in his car waiting for over 30 minutes for his meal, Ray checks in with the office to get an order for six Multimixes.  He decides to drive out west to San Bernardino, California, to see what sort of restaurant would require so many milkshakes.  And that’s when the real story begins, when Ray pulls up to the original McDonald’s, to see the lines of people waiting for their meal served not in 30 minutes, but in 30 seconds.

McDonald’s was a vision set in motion by the two McDonald brothers, Mac (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick (Nick Offerman).  It was the McDonald brothers creation of the Speedee System, an assembly-line style of food preparation, that made the delivery of food to customers, fast.

The golden arches, the iconic symbol of fast food that’s now dotted across the globe in 35,000 locations was created by Dick McDonald.

The brothers are the true Founders.  But without the business acumen of Ray Kroc, McDonald’s would have remained just one restaurant.

The Founder is a character driven story with the crazed look of Keaton matching the perverse determination of Ray Kroc perfectly.

And the story is certainly an interesting one.

What fascinated me was Ray’s fortunate meeting of Harry Sonneborn (B. J. Novak), the financial whiz who came up with the idea to buy the land and then lease to the McDonald’s franchisee.

The idea that McDonald’s is one of the biggest realestate company’s in the world is mind boggling.

But that’s where the fascination ended.

Even with the gumption of Ray, a character to admire from afar as any closer you’d wonder if you’d be left with your wallet, the story just followed from one event to the other.

The monologue of Ray speaking to the camera at the beginning (and the end) added a bit of spice, but I was left wanting more.

The film evoked memories of childhood, of those gherkins flying through the air because no one liked the gherkin.  Seeing the 1950s version of the meat patties made me wish McD’s hadn’t changed from the original – thanks Ray!

But isn’t it interesting that McD’s is providing more quality burgers these days, at more expense to the diner?  The post-war 1950s pushed for more and faster, and the Speedee System was born.  Is it a reflection of today’s society?  Quality even if it costs more?

The Founder is thought-provoking but a greater insight into how Ray’s mind worked, like seeing the Speedee System work, would have given the story more flavour.

And I question the calm camera work here, as there’s a vibrant chaos to the McDonald’s restaurants, that brings out the fun of childhood – just think of those clowns! Showing a bit of craziness would have heightened the movie experience.

Nocturnal Animals

Rated: MA15+Nocturnal Animals

Director: Tom Ford

Screenplay: Tom Ford

Based on: Tony and Susan, written by Austin Wright (first published in 1993).

Starring: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough; Michael Sheen.

A dark emotive story within a story that’s sometimes confronting and always thought-provoking.

Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) is living the life she thought she always wanted: a successful gallery owner married to a handsome husband.  But as her marriage begins to disintegrate she begins to think of her first husband, Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal), often.  When she receives a manuscript from Edward, dedicating the novel to her, the film shifts from the life of Susan Morrow to the story written in the novel.

There’s a stark simplicity in both tales here, yet together they create a delicate knot of tragedy.

The garish setting and understated elegance of costume and character is how director and screenwriter, Tom Ford, shows the reality of Susan Morrow.  Art can be trash – ‘It’s trash’ states Susan.  A statement of regret and a hint of her feeling of loss.  Yet the second story, the novel, is a stark crime novel, set in the desert of Texas.  A tale of family, murder, revenge; of the simplistic reality of life. A gut wrenching story compared to her quiet grief and disbelief of the life she’s currently living.

Nocturnal Animals shows the emptiness found in life where priorities made outside ourselves lead to choices that are later realised as mistakes.  And living with those  mistakes creates an emptiness.  What was so important is no longer what life is.  Sometimes, it leads to so much trash.

There’s an influence of the superficial world of fashion here, stemming from Tom Ford’s past life as a fashion designer.  But he uses the contrast the two stories (the life of Susan Morrow against the story written by her ex-husband), of the beautiful house and extravagance of the successful against the dust and murder in the novel, together, to combine both stories into the complex emotion of loss.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays the ex-husband and character in the novel as a sensitive, complicated yet good man, well.  There’s just the right touch here, a subtle and realistic tone.

I remember first seeing Amy Adams in the film Junebug (2005) – those soulful eyes used by director Tom Ford so well here.  It’s remarkable how well she plays tragic torn sadness.

And the highlight, Michael Shannon as the down-at-heal Detective Bobby Andes.  A likable character.  The only truly likable character which makes the story all the more real because the characters are complicated.

The film is based on the novel, Tony and Susan, written by Austin Wright.  The novel unsuccessful at first because thought to be too literary, but then enjoying critical acclaim when released in the UK.  Then taken up and written for the screen by Ford.  An ambitious project.  Yet the cast, pacing, orchestral soundtrack (Abel Korzeniowski) and setting frame the story beautifully.  But this isn’t a beautiful story, this is a thought-provoking tale, shown to confront the audience because the truth is fragile and delicate.

It’s difficult to rate this film as I didn’t particularly enjoy watching.  Yet, the film resonates. It’s not about the enjoyment, but capturing the emotion of regret.

‘I have no right to be unhappy because I have everything’, says Susan Morrow (Amy Adams).  ‘Happiness is relative,’ replies her friend at a dinner party.  A bourgeois luxury.  Yet grief and loss equalises all.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Rated: MFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Director: David Yates

Script Written By: J. K. Rowling

Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan, Fogler, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller, Jenn Murray, Faith Wood-Blagrove, Jon Voight, Ronan Raftery; Josh Cowdery.

‘Worrying means you suffer twice,’ says Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne).  Which is another way of saying, Why worry, when there’s no point.  If something bad is going to happen, suffer through it once, not twice!  What a gorgeous way of treating life, the sentiment setting the tone of the film.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is J. K. Rowling’s debut as a screenwriter.  The inspiration from the Hogwarts textbook of the same name, written by her character, Newt Scamander.

It’s difficult not to compare Fantastic Beasts and the previous Harry Potter films as there’s a similarity in vision; not only writer, Rowling, being the creator of both worlds but David Yates returning after directing the previous 4 ‘Harry Potter’ films.

But this is America, not England.  There’s a new language where Muggles are now called No-Maj (humans without magic).   Where the American’s have the Second Salemers – fanatical No-Maj’s who want to get rid of wizardry for good.

Terrified of exposure, Director of Magical Security at MACUSA (Magical Congress of the USA), Percival Graves (Colin Farrell) makes short work of anyone who threatens the fragile hidden world of magic.  Until Newt arrives with his suitcase full of fantastic beasts.

Instead of Harry Potter and his young friends battling their way into adulthood, with an exploration into all the dark corners of life in magic and life as neglected children, we have adults running through 1920s New York trying to re-capture cute magical creatures.  Instead of a darker adult outlook, I found Fantastic Beasts to be more childish in its tone.

There was a lack of depth, the feeling of a beginning, a building of a story rather than a whole which was disappointing after the Harry Potter introduction of J. K. Rowling’s magical world.

But what lacked in story was somewhat off-set by the magical creatures, the Niffler, reminding me of a platypus with a keen eye for all that glitters and all that’s gold.

I couldn’t help but grin and giggle at the behaviour of these creatures, and that brings me back to the childish tone of the film.

Eddie Redmayne as the protagonist, Newt, was likeable and I could relate to his awkwardness, which was essential as I felt if you liked Newt, you liked the film.

But I admit I wanted more from this film, from this story.

The characters were likeable, the creatures adorable, but the story didn’t have that darkness that make the Harry Potter films such a surprise.

Fantastic Beasts is a M-rated film that I’d take my nephews to watch for some fun entertainment.  Which doesn’t make it a bad film just not thought-provoking.  The Harry Potter films were an adaptation with more thought to the themes like good versus evil and all the inbetween.  Whereas Fantastic Beasts felt more like a glossing over of the story.

I’m expecting a series here.  A series that will get deeper and darker as the story progresses.

 

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