Dune (Part One)

03 Dec 2021 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Movie Review, Writing Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dune (2021)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve. Screenplay by Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve (based on the novel by Frank Herbert).

Yesterday was my birthday, and I’m very pleased Warner Brothers got the memo and arranged to open Dune as part of my birthday shenanigans. It was almost as good as the year Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Jack Black (Tenacious D) decided to play a few tunes to celebrate my day.

I have to admit, I was quite trepidacious about this film. First published in 1965, Dune was one of my favourite sci-fi novels when I was young and I’ve been very disappointed by previous attempts to commit it to screen. The problem is Frank Herbert’s book is a personal story with lots of inner monologue and detail, but simultaneously, a sprawling political epic, requiring loads of exposition, alien (to us) technology and expansive exteriors. Hence, my concerns.

Fortunately, after the opening scenes and some slow-paced exposition, I felt myself start to relax a little. Looking to his previous work on Arrival (2016) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) Denis Villeneuve is the right director at the right time for this story, blending the enormity of the landscape, the political intrigues with the very personal journey of Paul Atreides. And Villeneuve is obviously prepared to take his time over the story, spreading it out over two films. Part Two is currently in pre-production and scheduled for release in 2023.

The cast are uniformly very good, there are too many supporting roles to mention but I did laugh at Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Harkonnen (if you’ve seen the film, you’ll know what I mean). Timothée Chalamet really shines as Paul and thanks to careful styling, lighting and makeup his scenes with Oscar Isaac (who is excellent as Leto Atreides) really are convincing as father and son. Rebecca Ferguson has the difficult role of Jessica, who only expresses her doubts in the book as interior monologue, and Ferguson does well to occasionally let her strong facade slip. I was concerned that Villeneuve was falling into the “absent love interest” pit (remember Liv Tyler in Ad Astra (2019)?) but I feel there was enough depth to carry Zendaya’s Chani through this installment.

Technology is beautifully realised throughout, and similar to Villeneuve’s other work, machinery and spaceships are realistically depicted, having weight and substance – they feel like they belong there. Special effects are very well done uniformly and the blending from dreams to the real world is artfully done. Hats off to the special effects team! Similarly, the costuming is by turns lavish, practical and at times austere, all beautifully designed by Robert Morgan and Jacqueline West.

The fabulous work of DoP Greig Fraser is aided by some excellent editing by Joe Walker, bringing a strong sense of reality to the action set pieces and a David Lean sensibility to the desert vistas. As always, the score by Hans Zimmer draws all the threads together quite wonderfully, enriching the overall experience without getting in the way.

Dune is not a short film (running time 2h 35m) and it is certainly a slow burn but this is not just another bloated action sci-fi. It isn’t cowboys in space or superheroes saving everything in sight, but a dense, wide-ranging story of epic proportions. It is undoubtedly one of my cinema highlights of 2021. Now showing in cinemas in Australia.

The King

19 Dec 2019 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Movie Review, Writing Tags: , , , ,

The King (2019)

Directed by David Michod, written by Joel Edgerton and David Michod

Currently doing the rounds on Netflix, this ambitious and quite long film was the brainchild of Australian creatives, David Michod and Joel Edgerton, part of the Blue-Tongue Films collective – which also includes Michod’s partner, Mirrah Foulkes, director of Judy & Punch (2019). 

I love a good historical drama and this was based partly on real life events and the Shakespearean Henriad. After seeing Timothee Chalamet, who was so perfect as Laurie in Little Women earlier this week, I thought this would be a good vehicle for him. Sadly, I found it largely a disappointment. 

While the production design by Fiona Crombie (The Favourite) is stunning, the score by Nicholas Britell and the cinematography by Adam Arkapaw excellent, I found the colour palette a little too sombre – like being hit over the head constantly about how drab life was in the 15th century. But it was the  dialogue and delivery that lacked most for me. 

Having a long love affair with Shakespeare’s plays, I found the script and acting not up to the lofty standards set by Branagh’s epic Henry V (1989) and more recently, The Hollow Crown (2014) and overall, it seemed that this generation’s ‘bright young things’ were having a stab at something deeper than a teen drama. 

Having said that, it does have some good moments. The Battle of Agincourt is very well done, delivering all the mud and blood in a style obviously borrowed from Game of Thrones’ season 6 ‘Battle of the Bastards’ – which was itself, inspired by Agincourt. Ben Mendelsohn (who seems to be in everything at the moment) was great as Henry IV but didn’t have a lot of screen time, as did Thomasin McKenzie as Hal’s sister, Phillipa. Sean Harris who I first saw in The Borgias was excellent as Henry V’s advisor, William and could convey more with a glance than many with a page of dialogue. Unfortunately, Robert Pattinson’s Louis was more comical than lethal and Joel Edgerton reminded me more of a young Russell Crowe than Falstaff. Lily-Rose Depp, looking gorgeous as ever is suitably decorative as Catherine but above all, I felt Chalamet was out of his depth with this role, never really conveying the inner conflict that Hal undergoes in becoming Henry. In fairness, I don’t think the script served him particularly well in that quarter.

In conclusion, it’s okay and I’m sure with the added push of Brad Pitt’s Plan B production company and Netflix, it will get a lot of coverage and hopefully, bring younger audiences to this classic story. But overall, at nearly two and a half hours, The King made me pine for Tom Hiddleston’s version of Hal and especially, Simon Russell Beale’s Falstaff.

Little Women

17 Dec 2019 2 Comments

by Debra Manskey in Movie Review, Writing Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Little Women (2019)

Written and directed by Greta Gerwig

I cannot overstate how much I love going to the movies. Even after six years of study and a double major in Creative Writing and Screen Studies, my fascination with visual storytelling and the moving image hasn’t waned. 

Narrative film still delights and moves me, and this adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic text is a great example of why. Last night I went with a girlfriend to a member’s pre-screening of Little Women at the State Cinema in North Hobart and we were thoroughly entertained. 

If anyone was in any doubt of Gerwig’s credentials as a director or screenwriter, this should put them to rest. Using multiple elements of fabulous casting, a great script, believable costuming, subtle lighting, excellent framing and editing, Gerwig offers a reimagined version of the March sisters that doesn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

From the outset, the most notable difference is that Gerwig skews time and tells the story in a series of flashbacks, usually triggered by something Jo has seen or heard. Once I got into the rhythm of this, it gave a far more satisfying experience than a standard linear narrative remake, and offered a lot more depth to the character’s development from adolescent girls to young women. This is particularly relevant to the often maligned Amy, the youngest sister, who Florence Pugh masterfully takes from a mischievous girl trying to keep up with her older sisters to an accomplished and determined young woman. 

The cast are uniformly excellent and the magic between Timothee Chalomet’s Laurie and Saoirse Ronan’s Jo is delightful as ever, but the scenes between Jo and her mother, played by Laura Dern are truly powerful. Emma Watson is delightful as good-natured Meg (though I felt she wasn’t as well served in the script as Jo, Beth and especially Amy), and Australian actor Eliza Scanlen takes the difficult role of Beth and makes it believable rather than melodramatic and maudlin. Throw in Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper and Bob Odenkirk and it’s a killer line up! My only real casting criticism is James Norton and Louis Garrel are too young and far too good looking for John Brooke and Friedrich Bhaer respectively – but it’s minor! 

Overlaid with a beautifully balanced score from Alexandre Desplat, and period-appropriate costumes from Jacqueline Durran I think Gerwig’s adaptation is a triumph. Overall, this is a fine reworking of a much loved classic that captures much of the free spiritedness of Alcott’s book, bringing the March family squarely into the 21st century. Although the ending isn’t strictly true to the original text, it fits well in Gerwig’s reimagined world, bringing new life and empowerment to the sisters. 

Little Women opens 1 January 2020 at the State Cinema and would make a perfect mother/daughter or sister’s date.