Thursday, June 11, 2009

SFF2009 - The Rude Ones

Well not really, but the two films here certainly shared a certain fruitiness of language - and Britishness - if not much else.

The synopsis for Bronson, which would be familiar to any Australian thanks to Chopper, was enough to convince my mum that it was not for her and so I gratefully accepted her ticket for the Sunday afternoon screening. Based on a true story, Bronson (SFF link) tells of 'psycho' prisoner Michael Peterson, in and out of (but mostly in) jail for 34 years from the age of 19, adopting Bronson (from Charles) as his alter-ego; and, like Mark 'Chopper' Read, becoming something of a media celebrity.

In reality the movie has more in common with A Clockwork Orange and One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest than Chopper; thematically exploring both violence and society's sometimes dehumanising reaction to what it can't control, as well as our bizarre celebrity obsession. Stylistically the film is stunning - the use of colour, light, sets and music place it in another league altogether to Chopper.  Simply a brilliant piece of cinema, and an acting tour de force (apologies for the cliché, but it's needed here) from Tom Hardy. And mum, the violence was more stylised than real; and although the language was pretty fish and chips, you would have coped !

In the Loop is simply a great British comedy / political satire - also not for those with sensitive ears. Drawing strongly from events around the time just before the second (US) Gulf War, the story follows a variety of bumbling politicians and advisors on both sides of the Atlantic, with not one but two foul-mouthed Scottish operatives scaring the bejesus out of all and sundry. This one will definitely get mainstream release and is well worth seeing - you won't learn much from the satire if you have even a vague interest in politics, but you'll sure get a good laugh.

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