DVD review: American Pastoral
It’s not uncommon in cinema for actors to delve into directing, and the latest name to move behind the camera is Ewan McGregor. Adapting Philip Roth’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel of the same name, American Pastoral focuses on a political divide in late 1960s New Jersey that tears a family apart. McGregor also takes the film’s leading role, playing Seymour “Swede” Levov, a respected and successful glover that lives with his former beauty queen wife Dawn (Jennifer Connelly) and their troubled daughter Merry (Dakota Fanning). With the Vietnam War raging on, Merry’s radical views cause tensions to run high in their upper middle class household. A damaging explosion in their local town sends shockwaves through the community, and Merry mysteriously disappears.
Red Carpet interview: Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor’s movie career really kicked off in Edinburgh in the nineties, as it provided the setting for his work with director Danny Boyle on both Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. Since then, he has gone onto appear in Star Wars, Moulin Rouge!, Big Fish and many more, cementing his place as one of our finest exports. He returns to the capital to present family drama American Pastoral, adapted from Philip Roth’s award-winning novel of the same name. Directing for the first time as well as playing the leading role of Seymour ‘Swede’ Levov, he took to the red carpet at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse, and I was fortunate enough to attend.
Amidst the premiere buzz, he spoke passionately about the project to which he has been attached to for a number of years as an actor, but described directing as ‘a different ball game’ and an ‘incredible opportunity’. Because of the big budget and star-studded cast, he mentions that it feels like somebody’s second feature and excitedly states that he’d love to go back a step to make his ‘first’ film, possibly a small indie romance that would unfold in contemporary Scotland. As he gets moved along the packed media line by his entourage, I receive a signal that there is time for two questions only. I greet him and we shake hands, and I ask the following…
Being both director and leading actor in American Pastoral, how did your acting process change without having someone else there to offer direction and guidance?
“I think I really had to trust my instincts as I always do as an actor. In terms of doing takes on myself, I would just trust the feeling that I usually have when I’ve got it. You know, when you’re doing a series of takes I suppose you’re aiming for something or a certain feeling, and when I felt like I had that I would move on. When it starts to feel real, that is when its at its best.”
Which director that you’ve worked with has had the biggest influence on you as a filmmaker?
“It’s difficult to say! I think all of them do. There are lots of directors I’ve worked with that teach you what not to do, and then there’s those that teach you what to do! The truth is that I could mention three names of directors that I’ve loved working with, and they all work in entirely different ways. There’s no correct way to do it. It’s very much about who they are and their characters. I directed just the way I like to be directed, I suppose. I do believe that filmmaking is a collaboration, and I loved collaborating with the actors and the crew on American Pastoral.”
American Pastoral opens nationwide on Friday 11th November.
See the trailer:
Photograph by Filmhouse
DVD review: Hector
In the UK there are thousands sleeping rough every night, going about their day-to-day lives with nowhere to call home. Shedding filmic light on the homeless community is filmmaker Jake Gavin with his stunning directorial debut ‘Hector’, which stars Peter Mullan in the title role. After years of dossing down at motorway service stations up and down the country with friends Dougie (Laurie Ventry) and Hazel (Natalie Gavin), Hector wants to reconnect with the family, and tracks down his brother-in-law Derek in an attempt to reconcile with his siblings. Presenting the spectrum of human perception of the destitute, ranging from kindness to cruelty, the film not only focuses on the tender story of the protagonist but tackles the wider issues, raising important questions over the true necessities of life.
DVD review: The Neon Demon
Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn came to the attention of most cinema-goers when he directed the ultraviolent getaway thriller Drive, which has since developed a huge cult following. This relatively mainstream effort provided the modern-day auteur the opportunity to delve into art-house territory and reach a wide audience simultaneously. His controversial, yet vibrant visions are taken to the extreme in latest work The Neon Demon, an entrancing horror film set around the LA fashion industry. The plot follows young and aspiring model Jesse (Elle Fanning) who, with no family to support her, moves to the big city to follow her dream. At an amateur photo shoot, she befriends make-up artist Ruby (Jenna Malone) who in turn introduces her to professional models Gigi (Bella Heathcote) and Sarah (Abbey Lee). The old-hands fear that they’ll soon be overlooked by Jesse’s natural beauty and vitality, but begrudgingly welcome her to their obsessive cut-throat world.
DVD review: I, Daniel Blake
Veteran filmmaker Ken Loach has provided a social commentary through his work in British cinema for decades, from his kitchen sink dramas to historical pieces. His latest feature unfolds very much in the present day as he returns from retirement to direct I, Daniel Blake, written by frequent collaborator Paul Laverty. Geordie comedian turned actor Dave Johns stars in the titular role, as a carpenter who has suffered a major heart attack. Following his doctor’s orders, he is deemed unfit to work but after a frustrating call-centre conversation with a so-called “healthcare professional”, he fails to meet the required specifications to receive sickness benefits. This leads him to the job centre where he meets single mother-of-two Katie (Hayley Squires) who is in an equally strenuous situation caused by the government’s flawed systems. The unlikely pairing unite in their time of hardship and together they attempt to overcome adversity.
DVD review: American Honey
British writer and director Andrea Arnold takes her social-realist style of filmmaking across to ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ for her latest feature, an unorthodox coming-of-age road movie entitled American Honey. Newcomer actress Sasha Lane takes the leading role as Star, a teenager who, when we meet her, is foraging through a dumpster with the help of two children that she looks after. Desperate to escape her squalid standard of living and the abuse she suffers at the hands of the man she shares a home with, she looks for a way out. At a supermarket car park, she meets charismatic salesman Jake (Shia LaBeouf), who is part of a travelling crew that sells magazine subscriptions door-to-door. He pitches the trip as a ‘business opportunity’ and Star agrees to join them, taking to the open road on a journey of self-discovery across the Midwestern landscape.
DVD review: Inferno
Following on from The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, which were released in 2006 and 2009 respectively, the third in the thriller series is Inferno, based on Dan Brown’s novel of the same name. Ron Howard returns to the director’s chair for the latest instalment with David Koepp resuming screenwriting duties. When Professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) wakes in a hospital bed in Florence, he is suffering from both amnesia and a head injury. Luckily for him, on hand to assist is Dr. Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) who helps him fill in the blanks while they figure out how and why he got there. They come under attack from a mysterious assassin and a wild-goose-chase ensues as they attempt to foil a plan to release a deadly plague, conceived by visionary scientist Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) who is desperate to solve the world’s overpopulation problem.
DVD review: Tiger Raid
Based on Mick Donnellan’s black comedy play Radio Luxembourg, writer and director Simon Dixon delivers Tiger Raid, an intense thriller that follows two Irish mercenaries through treacherous Middle-Eastern territory. Paddy (Damien Molony) and Joe (Brian Gleeson) are men on a covert mission, driving through the dusty night to kidnap Shadha (Sofia Boutella), the daughter of a local tycoon. In the beginning, they exchange lurid banter about their shady pasts but before long, their motives and loyalties become uncertain, leading to a multitude of twists, turns and revelations.
DVD review: Money Monster
With her fourth feature in the director’s chair, actress-turned-filmmaker Jodie Foster takes on the financial thriller genre in ‘Money Monster’, starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts. The action unfolds from within the confines of a TV studio where presenter Lee Gates (George Clooney) advises his viewers on the dos and don’ts of stock market trading with the help of his friend and the show’s director Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts). After a bad tip involving financial services company IBIS Clear Capital, their show is interrupted by disgruntled labourer Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell), who made a substantial loss on the investment. Desperate for answers, he holds Gates hostage with a gun and a bomb, demanding an explanation as to where his money has gone.
Cinema Perspective 