(film review) - 44 Inch Chest

To me, this wasn't a gangster film. I guess it had most of the elements of one, but fell short on, well, some real gangster stuff.
I'll explain, this film is like Reservoir Dogs. It is all based in one room like it however, this has more to do with the trials, tribulations and torment of a broken man.

Colin Diamond (Ray Winstone) is a gangster, but becomes jealous of the fact that his wife, Liz, has left him for a younger, leaner, more handsome, French guy. Struck in a fit of Rage, Colin is found distraught on the floor of his home where he is found laying there by pal, Archie (Tom Wilkinson), who then tells other pals, Old Man Peanut (John Hurt), Mal (Stephen Dillane) and Meredith (Ian McShane) to help put the puzzle together of their mate, Colin and help him get himself together and take revenge on Liz's Loverboy (Melvin Poupaud).

The film for me was different and excellent. There isn't one film I can think of that touches on the love a man has for his misses and what is going through his head at the time he finds out she's cheated on him, his initial reaction, after his reaction and the cause and affect of his reactions in so much detail. He goes barmy. Drinks alcohol as it is water and then starts hallucinating crazy things and starts to get paranoid and thinks that everyone (all his mates) have been sleeping with his wife too.

This film questions Love. What it is. What people would do for love. What people can do to destroy love. How people treat love and how love can destroy someone's very being. I felt that the film was too 'on point'. Sometimes you fall out of love, find someone new, but if someone is still in love with you, the affects it has is madness and even literally.

The film was very well written and acted out. Every character was wicked. My favourite was Old Man Peanut as I found him hilarious and as for Meredith, the dark and sinister poof, he was really good.
I don't want to spoil this film for anyone as I do feel you do have to watch it for yourself before you give judgement. I'd just like to say, it's an English film and a gangster film, but just without the gangster ish! It's different to Lock, Stock, Snatch and This Is England as this is in a different league. However, I do think it's a film more for the men.

If you want something English, something real in which you can possibly relate to and something that is well written and acted out, then this will definately be your film!
Go out and see it when it comes out!
Trailer:

(film review) - A Prophet(Un prophete)

First and foremost, I can't stand subtitled films. It highly irritates me that I have to read whilst I watch what is going on. I also feel that if I take my eyes off the centre of the screen to read the writing at the bottom of the screen, something will past through the center of the screen or anywhere else on the screen but the bottom of it where the writing is and I'd miss it. The only saving grace in subtitled films and the English language is, when foreign people are talking, it sounds like 1000 words being said when all they are saying is, "Hello", so for a slow reader like me who is reluctant to read in case he misses something, finds gratification, somehow. Anyway, please industry, no more subtitled films....or get decent voice overs damnit!

Anyway, now that I got that off my chest, this film is French and is my first review on a non-english film. And dispite the subtitles, I did manage to follow this ever so long film. Yes, it is bluddy long. I wasn't prepared for it at all. Over 2hrs I spent reading subtitles.
Hmmm, this film is about a young man who is half Arab and also unable to read or write who is sentenced to 6 years in prison. Although he tries to stand up for himself, his first day is no walk in the park as he gets approached, beaten up and mugged for his footwear. In the beginning he struggles to cope with prison life until he is taken under the wing of a group of Corsicans with leader Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup) who "run" the prison how they see fit and swear to protect him throughout his time inside. Whilst inside Malik El Djebena(Tahar Rahim) learns how to work, learn different languages, learn how to read and write, toughen up and start to build his own network of alies under the quiet and earn is own respect.

Being a subtitled film, there wasn't a GREAT deal to read I guess, so i was able to catch everything that was said. This helped me keep up with the visuals which lasted over 2 hrs of watching time in which I'm sure they could have cut down. The storyline was a little slow and it was a little confusing to follow why some things were how they were. An example would be, the guy kills another guy in the film to stop him from being a witness of some sort in court, however, after he is dead, he is seen as a ghost(in normal human/solid form) in which the guy speaks to from time to time. I didn't get it, what was his purpose. Another thing I didn't get was the types of characters in the film and what seemed to be the politics in the film as well. Was it based on society in France and how some cultures are viewed or what? Another confusing element was the fact that, your watching this man sleeping, it looks like he's dreaming and fighting in his sleep and all of a sudden, Deers are running. The fact that we saw deer's in the following scene didn't really seem to hold any bearing to the first time we saw them. The fact that Malik El Djebena is called a prophet due to this, didn't give the name much grounds as he hadn't foreseen anything else in the film before or even after. Crazy and a little weird.

This film was only just enjoyable due to the fact that I can't stand subtitle films and there was a lot of action in it. The prison he was in was in such a state, it made me wonder if some prisons were actually like this. TV's in your cell, sex on call and getting beaten up or shanked or giving blowjobs for payment on the selling of drugs within the walls of the prison. And what made it worse, Djebena had day releases from prison and he was on a whole different adventure all in 12 hrs from his release time and his due back time. It was very entertaining to watch but just a little difficult to follow.
Out Soon!
Trailer: