Artistic Integrity is a study of one particular artist's contribution to the world of entertainment. Are they worthy of the accolades or should they be sent down...
Following on from our trial of The Huntsman: Winter's War I felt it only fitting that we put one of the witches on the stand after already looking at another of that films leading ladies in the form of Jessica Chastain.
Theron is quite possibly the most famous South African actor of all time. I also think she is one of the most beautiful actors on the planet, I am not ashamed to say! Beauty though can often work as a curse, especially for female actors, as it is easy to become typecast or only offered roles that accentuate a person's good looks.
This I feel is true of some of the roles that Theron has taken during her lengthy career. Thankfully her acting abilities have also seen her in a wide variety of other, more interesting and appealing roles. She is not an actress who has been happy to be pigeonholed simply because she looks stunning.
Her first big breakout would have to be as Mary Ann Lomax in The Devil's Advocate. In this role we get our first glimpse of her Chameleon like abilities to alter her appearance. She goes from this drop dead gorgeous trophy wife to a complete shambling wreck of a woman and the transformation is quite staggering. Her performance definitely stands out; which is no small feat starring alongside Al Pacino.
After achieving this early success; Theron was to then star in a string of box office bombs. There was the underwhelming remake of Mighty Joe Young where she plays the surrogate mother to the titular Joe. This was followed by the slow paced The Astronaut's Wife which failed on lift off with what was potentially a good premise. The shining light amongst this string of poor choices is The Cider House Rules which is an enjoyable watch and one that sees Theron given some good material to work with.
Things reverted to form in 2000 though with yet more average fare although there was one that I do enjoy. Like the rest of that year's output; The Legend of Bagger Vance was not a critical or commercial success. Theron plays southern belle Adele Invergordon and gives a pleasant performance in this feel-good movie with a decent cast.
The next couple of years would see more forgettable films with nothing that particularly stands out. The upturn in fortunes probably started with The Italian Job. Now this remake of the English classic which starred Michael Caine takes a different tone to the originals cheeky chappy Rule Britannia atmosphere.
This is a straight up heist with cool tech and iconic Mini Coopers involved in fast chases and suspenseful thrills. Surprisingly it still works and makes for a good Sunday afternoon movie. It is also Theron's first real foray into action territory. The Italian Job would be followed by Theron's most famous, highly praised and awarded role as Aileen Wuornos in Monster. Here again we see Theron completely transformed from her gorgeous model looks to a wild eyed unhinged serial killer. This is based on a true story and it is fair to say that Theron inhabits this role body and soul and certainly deserved all the accolades that were heaped on her for this portrayal.
It wasn't too long before another well received, acclaimed role was on the cards for her as Josey Aimes in North Country. Again Theron shines in a compelling story about fighting a case of sexual harassment in the work place and the obstacles she faces.
After these two hits we would next see her as Æon Flux in the terrible live action version of the cult animation series that appeared on the MTV channel. I was a huge fan of the animated show and was looking forward to this, especially with the casting of Theron in the title role. To say I was disappointed with the outcome would be an understatement!
She was quick to get back on form though with 2007's In the Valley of Elah which is a great crime drama dealing with some really tough subject matter. Theron easily adapts to what is another different genre for her. Around this time she had a smaller role as Britt Ekland in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. She is perfectly cast as the 60's & 70's bombshell.
Theron tried her hand in the superhero genre when she starred alongside Will Smith in Hancock. It might have made a fortune at the box office but I was not impressed. There were no surprises whatsoever throughout the plot. It is just a by the numbers outing that relies on its star power to bring in an audience which to its credit worked.
John Hillcoat's The Road is a very divisive film; there are those that hate it and those that love it; despite its dark, bleak subject matter. I fall somewhere in the middle, as it is a hard film to quantify on a simple love/hate scale. Theron plays the wife of the story who we only see in flashback scenes, but she gives a solid performance and her appearance isn't just a cameo. Young Adult is one of the highlights of her career. Her character Mavis Gary is one of the most complex people she has played. There is plenty to despise about her but she is also someone with serious problems that make you feel real pity too. Theron again is perfectly cast and is able to show off her comic ability as there are some really funny moments.
I have already said how I felt about her as Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsman in my previous post where I said she was good in the role. She is able to show her dark nature but also portray a woman scared of falling apart as age catches up to her. I won't repeat myself about Huntsman Winter's War and leave it to you to read my musings on that one below...
This brings us to Prometheus. The question still remains: is Meredith Vickers an android or a human? That isn't the only unanswered question though from this confusing mess of a film. It might look pretty but this is another one of her films that I just didn't connect with.
Moving on from a film that explored the beginning of life and God and many other deep topics; we come to one dealing with fart jokes and sexual innuendo with A Million Ways to Die in the West. You probably couldn't get two more different movies. Theron again shows that she can handle comedy; it is just a pity that the whole film isn't as funny to match the effort she puts in.
Finally we get to what will probably become her most iconic role as Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road. I don't want to go into too much detail here as I plan to cover this in a future article. Needless to say she is superb in this instalment of the Mad Max franchise.
There are some interesting projects on the horizon with Kubo and the Two Strings being the one that appeals the most. This will be her first foray as a voice actor; discounting the narrator role she had for Astro Boy. Brain on Fire also sounds promising which will be another biographical drama. She will also be joining the Fast & Furious franchise in Fast 8 but I won't be catching that one; it isn't something that appeals to me. Lastly is The Coldest City which is a graphic novel adaptation, I only hope it is better than Æon Flux.
Verdict: While she has starred in some good films; Charlize Theron has also had her fair share of duds. Despite playing a witch on more than one occasion though, her good output is enough to keep her from the gallows for now. Splitting a portion of this persons back catalogue into what I would "go to" and what I would choose to "avoid"; given the choices I would categorise this entertainers output as thus... The Scorcher's:
The Witch Trial:
Is this sequel to a rather average telling of the story of Snow White actually worth the bother? Who:
Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain What:
Fantasy Adventure Why:
Both a prequel and a sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman When:
Released 2016 Where:
Set in a mystical fairy tale world
The Case For:
When Snow White and the Huntsman made double its budget at the box office you could bet that the studio would consider turning this into a franchise and expanding on the mythology. Whilst I didn't particularly think this was a good film, I did find it passable for a bit of light entertainment. Kristen Stewart might have been as annoying as hell but both Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron were quite pleasant.
My main issue was that I felt it would have made for a better film overall if it wasn't weighed down with being a Snow White story. I thought with a bit of tweaking this could have been more of an original work while still taking some cues from the brothers Grimm Snow White fairy tale. After all the screenwriters didn't follow that tale to the letter anyway so why not go the whole hog and make this its own thing?
The answer to this question is quite simply that Snow White is an easily recognisable name and fantasy films do not normally perform well at the box office unless there is something already there that audiences are aware of. Without having Snow White I also doubt they would have ended up with the cast they did.
Regardless of all that, a Snow White tale is what we did end up with. The Huntsman also got top billing and after Hemsworth's swashbuckling efforts were reasonably well praised; it came as no surprise that the focus of the sequel would revolve around his character.
In the first movie there was mention that Hemsworth's character Eric had lost his wife but how that tragic event had occurred was not explained. Winter's War uses that premise for one of its storylines. We will find out how Eric and his bride Sara, played by Jessica Chastain, first meet and fall in love. Love will be the main theme of the film as it is the betrayal of love that causes the main antagonist Freya to turn into the evil Ice Queen.
Freya is played by Emily Blunt who first appears to be a young sweet girl who has fell for an already married man. After giving birth to an illegitimate daughter from this relationship, things take a turn for the worse as Freya unleashes her inner powers and kills her lover after he confesses to murdering their child. None of this is a spoiler as it all takes place in the first ten minutes of the film to set up what comes later.
Needless to say Ravenna encourages her sister to harness her powers so she can be a strong ally for her ever growing ambition. Freya as the Ice Queen moves north and proceeds to conquer this territory with her army. It is at this time that she takes in the orphaned children of the villages she conquers; with both Eric and Sara being amongst them. These children are then trained to become part of her expanding forces.
As our two heroes grow they naturally fall for one another; which is something that Freya won't allow and Eric is cast from her realm to become the drunkard we see in the Snow White and the Huntsman film. Events then fast forward to seven years after the events that were depicted in that movie.
Sam Claflin's King William sends Eric on a mission from Queen Snow White to retrieve the stolen mirror and take it to Sanctuary; the idyllic place where the dwarves took both Eric and Snow White in the first film.
This then becomes the focus for the remainder of the film as we learn that Freya is also trying to get her hands on the mirror so she can harness its power for herself. Eric will reluctantly be helped in his quest by the returning Nick Frost as the dwarf Nion along with his half-brother Gryff who is portrayed by Rob Brydon.
Along the way this trio will be joined by two female dwarves in the form of Doreena and Bromwyn as played by Alexandra Roach and Sheridan Smith respectively. Both of these characters are welcome additions to the cast, particularly Bromwyn who has some of the best moments of the film with her interaction with Gryff. Smith and Brydon both look like they had fun playing off one another and I am sure there would be a decent gag reel out there from the scenes that these two share together.
Even though the budget for this sequel was only two thirds of the original they still manage to excel in the costuming department. The outfits and design are excellent particularly the design for Freya which had to be suitably different to that of her sister Ravenna. They both complement one another rather well despite the difference in look.
The special effects aren't up to the same standard as the original but are still visually appealing, especially in the icy landscape of Freya's kingdom and the spells and tricks she uses. Once again Sanctuary looks like something straight out of a fairy tale; suiting the subject matter to a tee.
Chris Hemsworth slides seamlessly back into the role of Eric which shouldn't be too hard a task for him considering the character isn't a million miles away from his portrayal of Thor; just a bit more crude and tipsy! He seems to breeze through these types of roles, but the material he is working with is not exactly Shakespeare. Still he does light up what is otherwise dire fare and has one of the best moments of the film when asking Sara if she was suitably impressed by the way he dispatches one particular foe.
The Case Against:
Where do I begin with what I found to be wrong with this particular tale? Let us start with the studio. Snow White and the Huntsman was not a huge success; a moderate one, but not so successful that it warranted a sequel. Obviously though, Universal felt differently and thought the cash it brought in was adequate enough to milk this cow for all it was worth.
So how does a studio go about maximising profits from an undeserved follow up? What generally happens with sequels is that they work on the law of diminishing returns; so understandably the budget for this follow up was cut dramatically to help maximise profits. The budget was still adequate enough that it didn't affect their ability to put together another top notch cast to draw the audience in.
Those cuts though definitely affected one area where the first film was particularly strong and that was in the effects department. While some of the effects as I have mentioned were fine, others certainly were not up to scratch. I found them to be really substandard when it came to Ravenna but more on that later. Not only was it apparent here but also with some of the creature creations too. It was definitely damaging to the overall enjoyment of an already weak story.
This brings us to the screenplay which I found to be a big issue. This is obviously another area where costs were saved. The original had Hossein Amini amongst its writers who has some respectable screenwriting credits; amongst them Nicolas Winding Refn's excellent Drive. John Lee Hancock who was the writer and director of The Blind Side; which was nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards, was also part of the writing team.
Now compare those credentials to that of the two men charged with writing The Huntsman Winters War: Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin. The former has at least half a dozen, direct to DVD, money grabbing sequels to his name and the only film of any note is Hercules starring Dwayne Johnson. Craig Mazin's credits are even more disheartening as he was involved in writing a bunch of spoof movies including some of the Scary Movie sequels. While I found the original The Hangover to be quite refreshing I felt that it was a one shot film that did not require any further additions; however the studio obviously saw the dollars coming in and thought differently. And Mr Mazin was one of the writers responsible for not one but both of the atrocious follow ups.
Is it any wonder then that the screenplay for this movie is plain and simply just terrible? Tonally it is all over the place with its character development. Freya at first appears to be a humble, innocent person who is caught up in a romantic liaison and then turns into a love hating tyrant. By the end I am not sure if she is supposed to redeem herself or not. I cannot fathom how the audience is supposed to feel any pity for her character when she is responsible for conquering the whole of the northern realms of this land by committing what is basically genocide?
Freya destroys the local towns and villages; slaughters any parents and kidnaps the children to then turn them into soldiers; or huntsmen as she terms them for her army. Those children then become responsible for the deaths of other villagers as the cycle continues. This only leads to one conclusion that the supposedly heroic Eric and his beau Sara are nothing short of war criminals when you analyse their actual roles in Freya's horde of huntsmen.
Although we don't actually see them committing these crimes, it is heavily insinuated but in a way that the younger viewer probably won't pick up on it. We then have a scene where Eric connects with another frightened child who has probably seen her parents butchered by if not Eric, then one of his cohorts, but we are supposed to see his soft side as he coaxes this child to join the rest of the slave children as they enter Freya's servitude.
This storyline takes away all the goodwill and swashbuckling heroism of Eric that had been built during the first instalment of the series. Instead when viewed correctly Eric is actually a brutal killer. Even though he was taken away as a child and raised to take part in mass murder it does not excuse his character at all and the same goes for Sara. To try and distract us from this depiction, we are fed the love story of Eric and Sara and their plans to run away from Freya's kingdom where love has been banned under her rule!
What's that I hear you say, Freya has banned anyone from falling in love? Yes, considering she was betrayed by love it means no one else is allowed to feel love in her realm. Apparently that is a good enough reason for her army to commit the atrocities they do and so ensure that love does not rear its ugly head as long as Freya reigns.
I have seen some pretty flimsy premises before in films but this one is right up near the top for sheer ridiculousness. I know this is supposed to be a fairy tale and that in the end love is supposed to conquer all; but come on how are you supposed to take such a ruling seriously? It is simply preposterous. How would her realm prosper and grow without population growth?
Well it seems that it doesn't matter because any hint of a family unit gets destroyed once her huntsmen roll into town. I cannot stress enough how much this storyline annoyed me and destroyed any chance I had of investing in these characters.
Now that I have vented about that particular gripe let us move onto the subject of Freya and Ravenna. In Snow White and the Huntsman we saw the uncomfortably close relationship that Ravenna and her brother Finn shared but at no time, even during the flashback scene to when they were young, did we have any mention of a younger sister.
However, here the writers had no problem conveniently doing a little retcon and adding in this sibling to service the plot they had come up with. They could hardly use Finn due to his death in the first film but it is interesting that he makes no appearance and nor does he get any mention in the prequel scenes establishing the story. Not a lot of people return for this sequel though so it is not surprising that Finn has disappeared from the story.
From the six dwarves we only have Nick Frost's Nion appear in Winter's War. I guess they couldn't afford six of them this time around and went for the cheapest one. They still introduce a new dwarf though, Nion's half-brother Gryff; played by the equally cost effective Rob Brydon. Now Gryff himself is okay but why would you cast Brydon with his distinct Welsh accent to play the half-brother to Nick Frost who has an obvious London accent?
Because they don't care is the only answer I can come up with. They don't care that his character is so different to all the other dwarves that have come before and they don't care that his characterisation is different to the two female dwarves who they meet on their exploration of the north. Their dialect is more in common with Nion and the other dwarves from the first film. Are we just supposed to go along with it and assume that the parent they both share had an affair whilst exploring a different region of the land where people sound like they are from Wales?
You would imagine that at some point Nion and Gryff had some shared living due to them being aware of the other existing. I would assume this close proximity would influence them starting to sound similar as they grow together. I am probably over analysing though but it was a distracting part of their characters. Again I can only come back to the casting director not caring about Brydon's accent because he thought he would be amusing in the role.
Getting back to the characters who didn't return for this outing and we have to discuss the most glaring omission: Snow White herself. Ignoring the controversy surrounding her affair with Rupert Sanders and the supposed impact that had on her appearing in any further instalments; not having her appear here seems like a massive misstep.
The story of Snow White has a large target audience of females of a younger age group. The tone of the original film already alienated children with its darker themes and I doubt many parents would have thought it was suitable for six to nine year olds familiar with Snow White. Therefore the filmmakers are aiming at an audience of both male and female from the age of ten upwards, with a strong focus on the teen market.
Of course having Chris Hemsworth's hulking masculinity on screen will still garner you many female viewers. Hemsworth alone though is not enough to bring the same audience back for a second screening when you take Snow White out of the narrative. Add to this the appeal of Kristen Stewart's fan base from her time playing the heroine in The Twilight Saga. A large portion of those fans would have come to the first film in this series hoping to see a similar fantasy romance featuring the actor.
A large portion still want the romance of the Snow White story in Winter's War but are robbed of seeing what happened between Snow White and Sam Claflin's William as the focus switches solely to the Huntsman's tale. Speaking of Claflin, we get a very brief cameo from him which is so small he might as well have not bothered.
In place of the Snow White/William story we get Eric and Sara's journey of love which is dealt with in such a heavy handed manner. One minute they can't keep their eyes off one another before being kept apart by Freya's machinations. Upon their reunion a few years later they do not reconcile straight away because Eric always promised to be there for Sara; but couldn't keep that promise through no fault of his own. It's another stupid plot point designed so that once they do eventually end up as a couple we are supposed to get all warm and fuzzy inside because they are actually still in love; but it fails miserably.
Jessica Chastain looks like she would rather be elsewhere. Doing a bit of research I found an article about her being contractually obliged to do this role as part of the agreement in place for her getting the role in Crimson Peak. So it is little wonder that she appears to just be going through the motions throughout this film.
There is a distinct passage of time from the prequel section to the films conclusion. Well I don't know what is in the water in the land of Tabor or what their diet consists of but whatever it is, please give me some. No one ages at all. Ravenna and Freya look the same during the flashbacks as to what they look like at the end of the movie. Don't forget that in between all this Freya has kidnapped Eric and Sara as children who have grown into adulthood amongst her troops. Freya has not changed during this whole period. Eric and Sara are separated for at least seven years but in that time don't look like they age a day.
Ravenna has also conquered King Magnus' kingdom while Snow White was a child; who in turn reconquers Tabor when she grows up. Now we know how Ravenna kept her youthful looks but we also know that upon her defeat she ages as she perishes in the first film. However it seems that once you are resurrected you get to come back at your most beautiful best as that is exactly what happens when Ravenna returns.
Charlize Theron's appearance might as well be listed as a cameo for the amount of time she spends on screen. She only agreed to appear again if she was paid the same amount of money as Hemsworth. I don't have anything against equal pay for female actors but when you consider how small her role is, it seems ludicrous her pay was on par with Hemsworth. This is another example of where money could have been better spent on creating a more appealing film.
I said earlier how much I disliked the effects of Ravenna when she regains her strength and power. I have no idea what the black tentacle goop was supposed to be during the climactic battle. I can only surmise that it is supposed to be some sort of throwback to her raven shape shifting ability from the original. If they were meant to be feathers then they failed miserably.
My final issue is with Freya's Ice Queen. Now Elsa from Frozen was originally supposed to turn into an evil snow queen but the writers decided, after a lot of consultation, to change the story to one focussed on true love. It seems that Mazin and Spiliotopoulos took the original concept from Frozen and used it for Winter's War. They made Freya a sibling to the existing Ravenna resulting in two evil sisters; as opposed to the caring relationship depicted in Frozen. They then twist the true love theme to one of love's betrayal and voila had the basis for their screenplay.
I can only imagine that people at Disney have seen the similarity in Winter's War to their first ideas on how to depict Elsa and realise they dodged a bullet by making the changes they did. Shudder at the thought that Frozen might have ended up like this mess!
Verdict:
Grab your pitchforks and torches. Let the cry commence "Burn the Witch!"
Artistic Integrity is a study of one particular artist's contribution to the world of entertainment. Are they worthy of the accolades or should they be sent down...
Much like our last Artist in the Dock Oscar Isaac; Jessica Chastain has really come into her own over the last half a dozen years or so. Similar to Isaac, she has started to become a headliner after hitting her thirties. It is slightly against the grain for a female actor to gain more notice after this age as the focus for studio's these days tends towards a younger generation of actors.
Chastain got into the business through a few television roles before getting her first break starring alongside the great Helen Mirren in The Debt. Of course they never shared any screen time together as Chastain was playing the younger version of Mirren's character Rachel Singer in this film. It is fair to say that this is when people started to take notice.
Her next outing was in the underrated gem Take Shelter where she plays the wife of Michael Shannon. The movie garnered a number of nominations in the Saturn Awards, including one for Chastain. Incidentally the director Jeff Nichols is certainly one to watch, having made the equally enjoyable: Mud.
It would be fair to say that 2011 was a big year as Chastain appeared in no less than five big screen releases. The Help would have to be classed as the biggest out of these movies; although fans of The Tree of Life from Terrence Malick might disagree. I am not a fan of Mr Malick so I will nominate The Help instead.
Portraying Celia Rae Foote gives Chastain the first opportunity to really show her acting chops. At first I didn't even recognise that it was her playing this person. She is so good at embodying this introverted lady who befriends her maid. This would also lead to her first Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Roles would start to flow for her now and not just from one genre. I think that her portrayal in The Help really showed people what she was capable of as an actor. She definitely hasn't been typecast; which is the bane of many good actors who have a breakout role that starts to get them recognition.
In Lawless she plays Maggie Beauford, a waitress for the bootlegger Bondurant brothers. Whilst I don't consider it a great movie, it is entertaining and Chastain is still eye catching in it. Tackling a new genre altogether; Chastain played the surrogate mother to the two feral children in the horror/thriller: Mama. She brings a lot of heart and soul to this successful film, which helps elevate it from your average run of the mill thriller.
The real life events taking place while Zero Dark Thirty was in production meant a few rewrites to the ending, allowing for what happened with the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden. This in turn contributed to the success of the movie upon release. Probably more than any of her other films, this one relies totally upon her powerhouse performance as Maya; the CIA analyst who's driving desire is to see Bin Laden pay for his crimes.
She was again nominated for an Academy Award and won the Golden Globe for playing this character. Needless to say she is excellent here; standing out in what could easily have become a boy's movie considering that she is one of only a few female cast members. Hers is the central character and she handles it with much aplomb.
I have already covered Crimson Peak in detail; saying how much I enjoyed her scene chewing evil matriarch. I also mentioned my thoughts about Chastain in A Most Violent Year when Isaac was in the Dock. She has starred in two huge science fiction movies: Interstellar and The Martian. Hands down The Martian is the better of the two films.
In Interstellar Chastain plays Murph, the daughter of Matthew McConaughey's Joseph Cooper. She is very good as the abandoned daughter looking for answers. It is just a pity that the film overall was a bit of a disappointment. I love the visuals but the script has so many flaws, I just felt let down by it all.
On the other hand The Martian is a great adaptation and Chastain again proves worthwhile as mission commander Lewis. You get a true sense of the turmoil her character is feeling at leaving a crew member behind. She is able to do a lot with the limited screen time she gets, considering much of the films focus is on Matt Damon's Mark Watney.
Jessica Chastain is probably one of the most versatile female actors around. Reading up on the depth of research she does in preparing for each role it does not surprise me. She wants to inhabit each character and I think it comes across well on the screen.
At the moment you can see her in The Huntsman: Winter's War. This is a film that was on a hiding to nothing as it really is an unwanted sequel by everyone except for the studio. They are thinking of the dollars they can make from it. She isn't the only A-List actor appearing so hopefully the cast make it entertaining enough so it doesn't end up on trial! I haven't seen it as of yet, though I probably will so let's wait and see how it fares...
On the horizon she has Molly's Game with Aaron Sorkin directing and Idris Elba co-starring. That pairing intrigues me. There are also a few biographic films on her upcoming slate; along with a couple of drama's dealing with some heavy themes and topics. She is definitely an actor in high demand.
Verdict:
Jessica Chastain should be allowed to continue to produce the stellar work she has so far, there is no need to abandon this lady on some lonely planet.
Splitting a portion of this persons back catalogue into what I would "go to" and what I would choose to "avoid"; given the choices I would categorise this entertainers output as thus... The Scorcher's:
Artistic Integrity is a study of one particular artist's contribution to the world of entertainment. Are they worthy of the accolades or should they be sent down...
Isaac is an actor whose 'star is on the rise' to use a Hollywood term. He is what you would call a late bloomer considering he has only really started to hit the headlines in the last three or four years and is now into his late 30's.
I think it's pretty safe to say that it was his performance in Inside Llewyn Davis that thrust him into the mainstream. This role saw him nominated for a Golden Globe. Personally I blow hot and cold when it comes to the Coen brothers and this is one of the films that I consider a bit chilly. In saying that I do think that Isaac's performance is near perfect for the role.
The first time I really started to take notice of him was after seeing him in Inside Llewyn Davis. All of a sudden I would see a preview or watch a film and stop and think "That's the guy with the cat in that Coen movie!"
Looking at his back catalogue I then realised that he also appeared in both Sucker Punch and Drive as well. He plays it rather menacing in Sucker Punch as Blue Jones the sadistic orderly. I will admit that this is one of my guilty pleasures. Having re-watched Sucker Punch just recently I can admire how Isaac plays this character after becoming more aware of whom he is now.
His role in Drive is not a huge one but he does grab your attention when on screen and the testosterone flows when he and Ryan Gosling share the screen. He gives his character just enough depth for you to feel sorry for the position he has gotten into; but also enough for you to not fully trust his motives.
One of his most recent movies which proved to be a bit of a fizzer at the box office (although admittedly with only a small release) was The Two Faces of January alongside Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst. This is one that deserves more attention as it is a solid crime thriller with a few twists and turns and again Isaac gives a very enjoyable performance.
Now we come to a bit of a controversial one next. A Most Violent Year got rave reviews but I found it so slow and boring. The film title comes from the fact that 1981 (the year the movie is set in) was the most violent on record in New York City. This is another film loved by critics but ignored by the cinema goers. I don't find it much of a surprise though because of two reasons: the film is not violent for one and secondly it does not take place over a twelve month period. It might have a clever title that makes it sound hard core but it is too misleading.
Regardless of that Isaac is terrific as Abel Morales a struggling businessman who is trying his hardest to do the right thing and stay on the straight and narrow despite his wife trying to convince him otherwise. She is played by the always excellent Jessica Chastain. It doesn't help Morales' situation that she is a mob boss's daughter so committing violent acts to get what you want comes naturally to her.
My personal favourite performance of Isaac's has to be his appearance in Ex Machina; one of the best movies to come out in 2015. He plays what is basically a mad scientist opposite Domhnall Gleeson's sceptical programmer who is there to judge if Isaac's robotic creation can pass the Turing test. That robot is played by Alicia Vikander with some extremely impressive CGI. All three actors are on form in this one. Isaac has one of the best on screen dance scenes since John Travolta hit the floor with Uma Thurman.
The latest screen appearance was in a little film called The Force Awakens as star pilot Poe Dameron. Isaac gives Poe a sense of swagger but I will cover this movie in more depth in my next article.
It might have taken Isaac a bit of time to start getting some seriously meaty roles but he is certainly making the most of each one. The wonderful thing about him is that he seems equally comfortable in the big budget films as well as the smaller more independent roles.
He is able to adapt his appearance enough to suit each character too. Not to Christian Bale lengths but enough to feel that it isn't just another person being played by Oscar Isaac. There are a few actors that if I hear they are in a film then I will generally try and catch it. Isaac has become one of those actors. I might not always think that the movie he appears in is the next best thing; but I will generally agree that Isaac's performance is often one of the highlights. Up to now I haven't hated anything he has appeared in which is a rare feat indeed.
Moving forward we have the next instalment of Star Wars to look forward to seeing him in; but the one that grabs my attention more will be Isaac's next collaboration with Alex Garland, who directed him in Ex Machina. He will also appear later this year as Apocalypse in the latest X-Men entry which is one I feel could go either way.
Verdict:
Oscar Isaac is definitely an actor on the straight and narrow. We will keep a close eye on this rising star to see if he begins to stray.
Splitting a portion of this persons back catalogue into what I would "go to" and what I would choose to "avoid"; given the choices I would categorise this entertainers output as thus... The Scorcher's:
The Witch Trial:
Guillermo Del Toro returns to the sort of dark story which he originally made his name with. But did it live up to expectations or not? Who:
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam What:
Horror/Suspense Why:
Its an original standalone story When:
Released 2015 Where:
Set in the early 1900's in America before moving to the dilapidated Allerdale Hall in gold old Gothic England
The Case For:
So this is Del Toro returning to his horror roots and for the most part he does a fine job of it.
We have a good old fashioned spooky manor that seems to be falling down around its inhabitants, as well as ghosts haunting our female lead and mysterious strangers who seem to have secrets to hide.
There are more than a few homages to the golden age of Hammer & Amicus films with even Mia Wasikowska's character being called Edith Cushing in a tribute to the late, great Peter Cushing the star of many films from those two venerable studio's.
Wasikowska is quite good in her role as the damsel who falls for a man who may or may not be the bad guy. She has the right mixture of innocence about her, but also enough tenacity to put her foot down when needed.
Jessica Chastain is also in top form as Lady Lucille Sharpe, the sister of Tom Hiddleston's Sir Thomas. She revels in playing the slightly unhinged sibling who has a somewhat controlling influence and totally comes across as the person in charge.
As the film progresses you see more and more of her sanity unraveling, building to the climactic finish which is done very well.
My favorite actor in this piece though was Tom Hiddleston. He has the charisma about him to be equal parts charming, whilst also being able to cast a certain amount of doubt about his character as well. You are not sure if he is being completely honest about his true nature, even after a couple of conspiratorial conversations we view him having with his sister. You retain a level of doubt as to what his motives and feelings truly are.
I get the impression that he would not be out of place among one of Hammer's own Gothic entries himself. He certainly has that same sort of menace that Peter Cushing was so adept at portraying.
It made me think that Hiddleston would make an excellent Baron Frankenstein given the right script. But seeing as how Hollywood loves to keep messing up that story I doubt we will see that happening in the foreseeable future.
I don't think I have seen him give a bad performance yet in any of the films I have viewed him in. If Hiddleston is part of a cast then I find he is generally one of the highlights of the film.
There is one more character to discuss and that is Allerdale Hall itself, for it is truly an integral character to this story. The building is a lovingly constructed set with all the Gothic tropes that you would expect from a haunted mansion.
The house was built from scratch and completely furnished with items specifically for this set, nothing had been recycled from other productions. Its quite an achievement and such a shame that the house was demolished soon after production finished. I would have loved to have been able to walk through this wonderful building. The level of detail that has gone into bringing it to life is quite remarkable.
When the ghosts do arrive throughout the dwelling you instantly have that feeling that they fully belong here and have been stalking the halls of the manor for some time. Whilst the ghosts are all magnificently created they are certainly secondary to the dread that the house itself emits for the audience.
You can clearly see the influences at work here from "The Haunting" to "The Shining" but with Del Toro's own stamp equally displayed throughout the whole film.
This movie does want to take its time and is a slow burn, but the pay off in the end and the reveals that go with it are worth waiting for. You definitely end up rooting for the heroine of the story during the final scenes and that is exactly how you should feel when watching something in this genre.
The Case Against:
So while this film does take its time to tell its story I did feel that it was a little bit too long. Now this could just be a sign of the times for today's audience. It certainly does adhere to what you would expect from something harking back to an older era haunted house film.
The movie is also a romance and certainly has that Jane Austen feel about it. Therefore some of the pacing does have a hint of "Sense and Sensibility" in taking its time to unfold.
I think one of the reasons that Crimson Peak failed to find a wider audience is that people expect different things from Horror films these days. Throw in the romance side of things too and it isn't a combination that we see on our screens too often.
Its a shame that something that has been so lovingly crafted, with so many nods taking place to horror, Gothic and romantic films of the past, just did not hit the right chords with the general public.
Some might find Jessica Chastain's acting a little bit too much of a predictable psycho sister act, I didn't particularly feel this way but could certainly see how some would.
There are certainly aspects of her performance which does spell out that her character is a villain but you would be hard pressed to find a film of this nature which doesn't do that with their evil protagonist.
The love triangle of Wasikowska, Hiddleston and childhood friend Alan McMichael, played by Charlie Hunnam, is probably just a little too predictable and does follow all the regular conventions for this particular type of story line.
It was Charlie Hunnam that was the weakest performance out of the whole cast. I felt he was not the right person for the part he was playing. He was a little too stiff and even though its a period setting where you expect stiffness and propriety, he just didn't seem to get the tone right at all.
It was definitely an under written role and just seemed to be in there to have someone else to vie for Edith Cushing's affections. The dashing charmer that the viewer is hoping will come in towards the end to rescue our heroine and whisk her away to safety.
As a ghost story there is actually very little of the ghosts on screen. If you go in expecting it to be big on the haunting I could see you coming away disappointed. It wasnt a deal breaker for me as Allerdale Hall itself more than made up for the lack of spiritual bodies floating about.
Verdict:
Whilst it doesn't set the world on fire, it is definitely a cozy watch by the fireplace on a dark night if you want something just a little old school spookiness for your evenings viewing pleasure.
