After seeing this film twice now, I think my idea of the film has become clearer. I had never heard of Edith Piaf before seeing this film, and I am ashamed of that. After seeing the film the first time, I decided to read up about her, her life and her career. One thing became very clear to me, and that was that she lived a very hard and sad life, but she was able to build this incredibly confident persona and this huge career, which is soaring now, after her death, more than ever.Director Olivier Dahan had to go to great lengths to sift through the facts of Edith’s life from her exaggerated tales, which she loved to tell. Even without the dramatised fiction, the story is very much a tear-jerker.

Edith’s parents were street performers. Her mother was a singer and her father was a contortionist. She was born into a family where performing was a way of making a living. This was also an impossible lifestyle to raise a child in, so she was dropped off with her paternal grandmother, who just happened to run a brothel in Normandy.

One thing many people are criticizing the film over is its non-linear way of story telling. She didn’t live a normal life; it was full of emotional chaos and disorder. The film doesn’t try to make sense of a life but is structured to revolve around her music, her emotions and voice. It would go against Edith’s life to try and show clarity or order when it never existed.

This is not a conventional biography. It is an experience of the life of an artist and how this artist used music as a stable force in her life. Some say it is a biography of her talent.

Piaf’s magical voice could not be recreated by anyone, let alone Marion Cotillard, who manages to embody everything that was Edith Piaf, with the exception of her voice. They used original recordings and recreated them digitally, and the results were lip-synced in a way I have never heard. Marion Cotillard physically resembles Piaf in the film, but also gives a credible impersonation of her voice. Something within her as an actress just shines through, she is able to channel Piaf in every sense, and she gives one of the best screen performances of the year, in one of the best biographies in recent years.

Directed by Olivier Dahan, written by Olivier Dahan and Isabelle Sobelman, staring Marion Cotillard, Gérard Depardieu and Emmanuelle Seigner, featuring the music of Edith Piaf, running time: 140 min

Tagline: “The extraordinary life of Edith Piaf “

When a gem of a film like this one comes along, it is not easily forgotten. Julie Christie’s amazing performance as Alzheimer sufferer, Fiona is astonishing. Her performance overshadows that of Gordon Pinsent, and that’s the way it was supposed to be. The film itself is an intimate examination of a relationship that is coming to an end. Fiona is placed in a home after living with her husband, Grant (Pinsent), for 44 years. This is a big step for them both, but an inevitable one. Once she is in the home, Fiona forms an unusual bond with a fellow patient, one where she only feels completely safe around him; she even feels the need to care for him, as if no one else could.This is a sad reality for Grant, as Fiona slips out of reality into a world of an unknown future and no longer needs or remembers Grant. He is rejected by her for the majority of the film, only really realising that he is her loved one during brief moments of lucidity. He is the one whose life is torn apart by the Alzheimer’s, or at least, he is the one who realises it. The wife of Fiona’s male friend in the home, played by Olympia Dukakis and Grant also form a bond, where they are able to take comfort in shared pain, as hard as it is to let their loved one’s go, they are able to put aside their happiness for the sake of their loved one’s in the home.

It is a deeply emotional film that revolves around an everyday tragedy like we have never seen on screen before. Actress Sarah Polley does a magnificent job adapting Alice Munro’s book, and her subtle debut as screenwriter and director is amazing, albeit a little flawed, but that is expected from a debut.

The performances are key to the films pace and theme, and they are all understated, yet powerful. Julie Christie will get an Oscar nomination for this film, I can guarantee it.
The supporting players are just as good. This film is one that is created by three extraordinary women in cinema, and the outcome is something fascinating and heartbreaking. A milestone for women in film.

Directed by Sarah Polley, written by Sarah Polley based on the short story, The Bear Came Over the Mountain by Alice Munro, staring Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent and Olympia Dukakis, running time: 110 min.

Tagline: “It’s never too late to become what you might have been”

The latest film from director Andrew Dominik, starring Brad Pitt as Jesse James and Casey Affleck as Robert Ford is one of the year’s best films. Its title tells us of the climax, but the build up is amazing and for me at least, unknown.I let the film go by without a second thought, after hearing of all the editing problems etc earlier in the year and I must admit, I only saw the film because I was told by many web journos and bloggers that it was a masterpiece not to be missed. I think it was great, but not a masterpiece per say. My reason for that conclusion is that the film is stumbles in certain parts and lacks the momentum I expected, at least the kind of momentum a masterpiece is able to maintain. At some points it was riveting; at others it was almost boring. I honestly thought the credits would begin rolling once the climax had been reached, but then it went on for about thirty more minutes, and I knew then that that was its biggest fault.The characters are very well developed and portrayed even better. Some characters are over developed, and I didn’t care for them too much, but they were necessary components to understanding the essence of Jesse James and what made him tick. Some film-goers argued that they wanted to find out more about Jesse James and less about his gang members, but to be honest, I cared more for the development and drive of Robert Ford, no doubt because of Casey Affleck’s heartbreaking and striking turn.Ford’s pure admiration, which is an understatement, for James is awkward and pathetic, but at the same time we are able to both understand his plight and feel his fear as well. His acts were cowardly and selfish, but he doesn’t see them that way. When he is off the screen, it feels empty, proof of an exceptional supporting performance, deserving to be called a lead performance as he elevated the film far higher than what it would have been if he had not been cast or if more of his screen time had been given to Pitt’s portrayal, in my humble opinion. He always knew that by assassinating James that he would be acknowledged, but I don’t think he ever wanted to be thought of as a coward.

Pitt’s performance is good enough, he is able to take a man easy to dislike and turn him into a man you feel compassion and even respect for. He was one of the first celebrities out there, and with that comes the love/hate relationships he experienced and the mixture of feelings he makes us feel. His Jesse James is tortured and frightening, making viewers almost feel uncomfortable or less important in his “presence”.

The story focuses on Jesse James who was very much an outlaw, thought to be a ‘Robin Hood’ like character by some and a down right criminal by others, as he plans a robbery with the help of his loyal gang, and is then pursued by his enemies in pursuit of the bounty on James’ head. In order to survive, he must realize that his troubles lie not some much with the outsiders on his trail, but the people close to him in his life, most importantly his most faithful and devious admirer, Robert Ford.

The supporting players all give some exceptional performances, especially Paul Schneider, Sam Shepard and Jeremy Renner. Mary-Louise Parker, who I love with a passion, was a waste in her role as James’ wife, with limited screen time and very little writing, I just expected more from her character, and then she could have lit up the screen. They were all very distinctive in respect to some of their limited screen time, and served as integral characters nothing short of brilliant.

For a film I didn’t expect much from, I got a lot in return. I fully expect an Academy Award nomination (possibly a win) for Casey Affleck and over-due cinematographer Roger Deakins (In the Valley of Elah and No Country for Old Men). A costume design (Patricia Norris) and art direction nomination (Janice Blackey-Goodine) are not out of the question either. The eerie score is a high point as well, by Warren Ellis and Nick Cave that fits just perfectly.

It is as much poetic and artistic as it is biographical, elevating a story well-known, and leaving us feeling spoilt, almost like we got more than we deserved, I think it is a remarkable film, one that will go down in the books, no matter how it fares during the awards season.

Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, staring Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Mary-Louise Parker, Sam Shepard, Paul Schneider, Jeremy Renner, Garret Dillahunt, Sam Rockwell and Zooey Deschanel, cinematography by Roger Deakins, editing by Dylan Tichenor and Michael Kahn, music by Warren Ellis and Nick Cave, running time: 160 mins.

Trivia: The role of Robert Ford was given to Casey Affleck after his only competition, Shia Labeouf, was deemed too young. As much as I love Shia, I couldn’t have expected him to play Ford anywhere near as brilliantly as Affleck did.

After being called the ‘Indie Darling’ of this years Oscar race early on in 2007. Maybe, until Juno came around and stole it’s thunder. It has plenty to spare. I saw this one at the same festival where I saw an early screening, and i mean early, of Juno, La Vie en Rose and Atonement. This is because films come out so late in South Africa, that following the Oscar race can be a problem, as most of the movies come out after the awards ceremony, unless you catch the early screenings, like me….Getting back to that mini-review now…..Jon and Wendy Savage (Hoffman and Linney) are estranged. In almost every sense of the word. From each other, their mother, their father, society…i could go on. After the death of Lenny’s (Phillip Bosco) girlfriend, the siblings fly to Sun City to see how things are going. They discover that their father signed a prenuptial type arrangement and is now homeless. It is from this point that Jon and Wendy begin their transition in to true maturity and end up in the unenviable position of having to care for the father who never cared for them.

The performances by the entire cast are spot on great, aided by the direction of Tamara Jenkins, one of the many female directors making their mark in film this year. It has been said by many that it seems to be the Noah Baumbach film he failed to make this year. There is nothing with this film that I can label as badly done, it’s almost perfect, more in touch with reality than even Little Miss Sunshine, an all time favourite of mine. And that is the closest thing to perfection out there.

Written and directed by Tamara Jenkins, staring Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Philip Bosco, running time: 113 min.

“I don’t really know what kind of girl I am” - Juno McGruff.

Saw this film a couple of weeks ago at a mini-festival, and had high expectations, after watching the trailer a million times. Well my expectations were surpassed, in a big way. Directed by Jason Reitman, he has been quoted as saying it was a film he “had to make”. And it was a film I HAD to see.

Basically the film is about Juno, played by future Oscar winner Ellen Page, who falls pregnant in unplanned way when she sealed the deal for the first time with Paulie Bleeker, played by Michael Cera. She confronts her father and step-mom (Allison Janney and J.K Simmons) who are unbelievably calm about the situation, with support of her best friend, the gorgeous and teacher crazy Leah (Olivia Thirlby). With the help of Leah, who gives Juno the idea of looking for “desperately seeking spawn” in the Penny-Saver, she finds a childless couple (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) who are more than willing to adopt.

The synopsis doesn’t even begin to explain how great this film truly is. Ellen Page is so brilliant, I would easily put her on the top of my Best Actress Contender list, ahead of all the more dramatic roles. This is one of the best female performances of 2007. She was brilliant in Hard Candy, a role which deserved way more attention than it got. Her convincing and humorous role in Juno cannot be ignored! The writing is quirky and unique (some say trying to hard and  in your face, whatever ) written by first-timer Diablo Cody, who used to a stripper/phone sex operator. This is the first screenplay she has written, and it is bound to get recognition from AMPAS.

Soundtrack wise, it is one of the best soundtracks in a long time, featuring indie-favourites ‘The Moldy Peaches’ and the bands lead singer ‘Kimya Dawson’s’ solo attempts, which all add to the freshness of the film, some say the songs are annoying, but I cannot get enough of them and Juno wouldn’t be Juno if different songs were used, after all Ellen Page chose most of them straight off her iPod, showing that her portrayl of the title character was an extension of herself. Will it get noticed for Best Picture? I hope so. The year’s best comedy, flat out brilliance in every way. Forget that, this year’s best film I have seen as of December 31 2007.

Directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody, starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, J.K Simmons, Allison Janney, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Olivia Thirlby and Rainn Wilson, running time: 92 minutes.

Tagline: “A comedy about growing up…and the bumps along the way”