Cyrus

Starring: John C Reily, Jonah Hill and Marisa Tomei
Director: Jay and Mark DuPlass
Distribution and Production Studio: Fox Searchlight

I'll start this with a confession. The only place I can start with this review is at the very beginning. Not because it's a good place for ANY review to start, but because I'm unable to provide any review/opinion for the latter part of this god-awful movie.

Sitting through Cyrus was one of the most painful cinema visits I've endured. So much so, that for the first time ever, I walked out after 45 minutes. I've sat through some utter dross before, but this was perhaps the worst one yet.

The story centres around John (John C. Reily) who is a divorcee with no direction. The narrative starts by John recieving a kick to the stomach, when his ex-wife tells him she's remarrying. Aware of the flattening impact this visibly has on her ex-husband, she decides to drag him along to a party, which she and her new fiance are attending, to try and introduce John to other women, and get him out of his rut.

Whilst at the party being miserable and lonely, John gets drunk and eventually meets Molly (Tomei), with whom he immediately strikes a connection. As they begin a very loose relationship, it immediately becomes clear that they are seeking very different things, with John obviously interested in something a lot more serious than his new love-interest.

As Molly sneaks out of his house after an evening together, he follows her to where she lives, before falling asleep in the car. As he wakes up, he approaches the house and snoops around outside, before meeting Molly's son, Cyrus (Hill). As they talk and become aquianted, it becomes apparent that there exists a very strange dynamics between Cyrus and Molly. Despite being mother and son, they portray a relationship of close friends, with a sinister degree of closeness at points.

The story eventually goes on to follow Cyrus' attempts to keep his mother from being with John, as his unwillingness to watch his mother get hurt, and an all out battle ensues for her affections. I'll be honest though, this happens in the last 40 odd minutes, and I didn't stick around to see it.

Why?

Firstly, I'm not a huge fan of Fox Searchlight. They've yet to produce/write or distribute a film which has genuinely impressed me. Granted, that's perhaps nothing more than personal tastes, but each of their "highly acclaimed" releases have done nothing for me.

Slumdog Millionaire, Juno, Napoleon Dynamite, The Last King of Scotland, Garden State and The Secret Life of Bees being just a few examples.

The directors are the second problem for me - the DuPlass brothers are widely acclaimed for being able to produce films with zero-low budgets. They use specific techniques to maintain low costs and have achieved some success in the Indie scene, with films such as Baghead and This Is John. This time, they actually had a moderate budget, evident in the fact of the cast alone.

They stick to a "realist" type shooting of this film, encouraging long takes, which require a lot of improvisation from the actors. I've read many reviews which describe this as "quirky" and "beguiling", utilising dry humour and wit to tease out some very dark subject matter, which has a perverse aspect of humour.

The plot is slow paced, uneventful, poorly shot and very difficult to engage with. I can't criticise the actors, as I can't decide if they executed a poorly written story, or if they collectively butchered a decent story, but either way, it was not an enjoyable experience.

I was absolutely shocked to read some of the reviews of this film on the infamous Rotten Tomatoes website, which seem to hail this some form of artistic success, due to the fascinating storyline portrayal of "very real issues, dealt with in a quirky manner". This one particularly made me laugh:

"It all adds to the growing suspicion that Mark and Jay are two of the most exciting filmmakers working today." - David Edwards, Daily Mirror (UK)

If this is indeed the "creme de la creme" of movie-making just now, we had better get used to sitting through cinematic experiences which will bring a new definition to "tedious".

Rating: I dare not...

We Are Marshall (2006) - DVD

Director: McG
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Anthony Mackie, David Staithairn
Studio: Legendary
Distrubtion Studio: Warner Brothers

With the start of the NCAA College Football season tomorrow, I decided to watch We Are Marshall this afternoon.

The story is a very moving retelling of how a football programme, University and community rebuild, following the devastating plane crash which killed all of the Marshall University Football team and coaches, as they returned from a game in East Carolina.

The melodramatic sport genre is a little similar to the concept of Marmite - you either love it, or hate it. What seperates We Are Marshall from the other films which are relative to this genre is the genuinely moving stories which are contained within.

The genre breeds very predictable storylines, yet somehow, the continued success of films is there for all to see, highlighted by the recent success of The Blind Side. We Are Marshall rises above many films within this style as it combines sporting success with the rebuilding of a surrounding community who lost sons, husbands, brothers and fathers in that fateful crash.

McConaughey plays the newly recruited coach, Jack Lengyel. Renowned for his starring roles in romantic comedies, McConaughey almost relishes this role as an opportunity to step outwith his pigeon-hole and play sn insightful and thoughtful role, guiding the redevelopment of the new Marshall Football programme. Starring alongside McConaughey is Matthew Fox, who plays assistant coach "Red" Dawson. Fox steps out of his familiar role as Jack Shepherd (Lost) and delivers a very subtle performance which would have been very difficult for lesser actors to play with an overabundance of melodrama considering the true nature of Dawsons' story, who was supposed to have travelled alongside those who perished on that tragic return flight from a season defeat in East Virginia. The lead cast is completed by Anthony Mackie (Nate Ruffin), David Strathairn (President Dedmon) and Ian McShane (Paul Griffen).

Perhaps the biggest criticism is the sincere difficulty the cast appear to have in portraying the story of this rebuild without resorting to over-emotional portrayals, save for Fox and McConaughey alone. The dramatisation isn't assisted by a typically sombre soundtrack, which adds an air of cliche to the entire storyline. Considering the highly emotional nature of the story, perhaps it's nigh impossible to avoid in this film, as the alternative approach would perhaps have been deemed disrespectful and insensitive to a degree.

The story itself is well balanced, maintaining a degree of personal story and sport action, which ensures a good pace of film and turns a very dark and sad story into an enjoyable, "feel-good" affair, which is a lasting tribute to the Marshall Football team.

College Football has continued to feature as a a fruitful resource for Hollywood over the years, with The Express, Remember the Titans, The Waterboy, The Junction Boys to name a few) but We Are Marshall is deserving of its place alongside these films, as it carries an additional dimension to balance the story of the football.

Regardless of what this NCAA season is going to bring, I'm going to enjoy watching my team running out on opening game-day, realising how lucky they are to have the opportunity.

"One day, not today, not tomorrow, not this season, probably not next season either but one day, you and I are gonna wake up and suddenly we're gonna be like every other team in every other sport where winning is everything and nothing else matters. And when that day comes, well thats, thats when we'll honor them." - Jack Lengyl