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Film
Lynda
Del Sasso previews this month's new films
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Road
to Perdition
US 2002, Cert. 15
Director: Sam Mendes
Star Rating * * * 1/2
It's
1931, the height of the US gangster-era, and 12-year-old
Michael Sullivan Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) worships his
father. One evening he secretly follows his father
and is horrified to witness a mobster killing.
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Sam
Mendes' follow-up to American Beauty has been eagerly
awaited, but the director has made a strange choice in
this adaptation of a graphic gangster novel written by
Max Allan Collins and illustrated by Richard Piers Rayner.
It would be hard to find as great a gathering of tired
mobster clichés or a more predictable storyline
in modern cinema. The pace too is woefully pedestrian.
Of all the projects that Mendes must have been offered
since his brilliant debut, it's a mystery why he would
choose such a hackneyed third-rate tale.
This
is all the more tragic because, script aside, the other
elements of Road to Perdition are first rate. Not American
Beauty standard, but that was always an impossible dream.
Hanks, Law and the 77-year-old Paul Newman put in strong
performances, the cinematography shines, the editing is
crisp... while the soundtrack broods. Therefore, even
with its threadbare plot, well worth seeing.
Now
on release at Odeon and UGC.
Sweet
Sixteen
UK 2002, Cert. 18
Director: Ken Loach
Star Rating * * * 1/2
On
a tough Glasgow housing estate, 15-year-old Liam (Martin
Compston) looks forward to his mother's release from prison
in time for his sixteenth birthday. He dreams of a family
life he's never had and resolves to make a fresh start
for himself and his mother. Liam's cash-raising schemes
soon land him in trouble.
Compston's
acting aside, the rest of this piece consists of the same
old Ken Loach shove-it-down-your-throat political agitprop.
Yet another gritty but poignant tale of the underprivileged
in Britain today. We've seen it all before. As for the
language, an 'f-word' count might be an amusing way to
pass the time during this overlong film. 1000 or more?
Subtitles might be a good idea too, as the heavy Scots
dialect is nigh on impossible tae folla, if y'onnerstaun
whit ah mean.
Duke
of York's from October 4.
Donnie
Darko
US 2001, Cert. 15
Director: Richard Kelly
Star Rating * * * * *
In
1988 midtown America, disturbed teenager Donnie Darko
(Jake Gyllenhaal) sleepwalks and dreams of giant rabbit
aliens. He experiences hallucinations and believes that
the world is going to end. At school he meets a girl (Jena
Malone), who is new to the area, and they grow close.
Nearby, an ancient, ghost-like woman wanders in the road,
constantly checking her mailbox.
To
review this film in detail would be to spoil the immense
pleasure of its plot unfolding on screen. Suffice to say
that it's intense, dark and multi-faceted. The script
takes delicious risks while the lead actor mesmerises.
Other stars include Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katherine
Ross, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wylie. Donnie Darko is one
of those rare films that truly deserves multiple viewings.
All hail first-time writer-director Richard Kelly. Originality
pays dividends.
Duke
of York's from October 25.
Odeon
Competition
The Brighton Odeon is offering three prizes of a pair
of cinema tickets each to the first correct solutions
to this question: Sam Mendes, director of Road to Perdition,
won an Oscar for his previous film. What was it called?
Answers on a postcard please to Odeon Competition at The
Insight office (see elsewhere for address details), by
October 18.
copyright The Insight 2002
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