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The last of the Torchwood radio plays leading up to the tv miniseries first. Written by Phil Ford, this was one to make the shippers of two different relationships happy.
( Torchwood: The Dead Line )
Now, on to more films I've watched at the festival:
Chéri is Stephen Frears' newest movie. Given that this one has a script by Christopher Hampton and also stars Michelle Pfeiffer, the location is France and it's based on a famous French novel, the comparison to their earlier team-up, Dangerous Liasons is inevitable. Though not very illuminating, given that the types of stories the films tell are so very different, as are the sources they're based on. I will say that Michelle Pfeiffer is one of these enviable people who do not only age beautifully but do so in a fashion that makes them look more interesting than they did in their youth. Back in her very young Scarface days, I found her bland. In Dangerous Liasons, as the virtuous Madame Tourvel, she's good but inevitably overshadowed by Glenn Close's magnificent turn as the Marquise de Meurteil, both for acting and role reasons (besieged innocence just isn't as compelling as smart villainy in most cases). Now, though, as Léa, middle-aged courtesan, with the film making a point of exploring those inevitable marks of time in great detail? She's drop-dead gorgeous, immensely compelling, and as the script also gives her wit and versatility, with Michelle Pfeiffer delivering Hampton's one liners in a a thoaty, lazily amused voice, one absolutely believes that this is the most irresistable woman of France in her day. She gets to spar with another former courtesan, Madame Poulecet, played by Kathy Bates, quite a lot, and they make great foils for each other.
The problem of the film, in as much as it has one, is that the title character (Bates' son and Pfeiffer's boytoy, whom she developes genuine feelings for) is the type of self-indulgent sulking adolescent who really needs a trauma to justify the attitude; in lack of same, one feels like yelling "get a job, young man!" quite a lot. Mind you, the film never pretends that he's anything he's not, because the irony of genuine emotion developing between a professional and a thoroughly shallow young man is crucial to the story, but I still couldn't help thinking that most of everyone's problems would be solved immediately if he were forced to actually work for a living instead of sponging of his mother and Léa. (Not that anyone in Dangerous Liasons is working for a living, either, but there is the historical awareness the guillotine is waiting for the lot of them...)
La Nana, directed by Sebastián Silva, is a fabulous Chilean movie somewhere between character study and comedy. The maid of the title is Raquel, who has lived with and worked for the family Valdes for 23 years, and is not keen on them hiring another maid at all, frightening them all of until she meets her match with Lucy who is just too sunny-natured to be intimidated and is the first to see Raquel as her own person. Catalina Saavedra in the title role is terrific; when Raquel's usuall sullen and suspicious expression gives way to a smile, this is a revelation each time. The script also conveys a lot of social background without being sledgehammery about it; Raquel basically has no life beyond the family she works for, and this is partly due to the demanding nature of her job and partly due to her own choices. The Valdes' aren't cruel capitalist exploiters and are clearly fond of her, but it's also undeniable that the "almost one of the family" description will always include the "almost", and that they never question why Raquel does the things she does because they never think of her in a context outside her role in their household. It needs Lucy as an agent of change. A very enjoyable film which makes you curious to see more of everyone involved in its production.
( Torchwood: The Dead Line )
Now, on to more films I've watched at the festival:
Chéri is Stephen Frears' newest movie. Given that this one has a script by Christopher Hampton and also stars Michelle Pfeiffer, the location is France and it's based on a famous French novel, the comparison to their earlier team-up, Dangerous Liasons is inevitable. Though not very illuminating, given that the types of stories the films tell are so very different, as are the sources they're based on. I will say that Michelle Pfeiffer is one of these enviable people who do not only age beautifully but do so in a fashion that makes them look more interesting than they did in their youth. Back in her very young Scarface days, I found her bland. In Dangerous Liasons, as the virtuous Madame Tourvel, she's good but inevitably overshadowed by Glenn Close's magnificent turn as the Marquise de Meurteil, both for acting and role reasons (besieged innocence just isn't as compelling as smart villainy in most cases). Now, though, as Léa, middle-aged courtesan, with the film making a point of exploring those inevitable marks of time in great detail? She's drop-dead gorgeous, immensely compelling, and as the script also gives her wit and versatility, with Michelle Pfeiffer delivering Hampton's one liners in a a thoaty, lazily amused voice, one absolutely believes that this is the most irresistable woman of France in her day. She gets to spar with another former courtesan, Madame Poulecet, played by Kathy Bates, quite a lot, and they make great foils for each other.
The problem of the film, in as much as it has one, is that the title character (Bates' son and Pfeiffer's boytoy, whom she developes genuine feelings for) is the type of self-indulgent sulking adolescent who really needs a trauma to justify the attitude; in lack of same, one feels like yelling "get a job, young man!" quite a lot. Mind you, the film never pretends that he's anything he's not, because the irony of genuine emotion developing between a professional and a thoroughly shallow young man is crucial to the story, but I still couldn't help thinking that most of everyone's problems would be solved immediately if he were forced to actually work for a living instead of sponging of his mother and Léa. (Not that anyone in Dangerous Liasons is working for a living, either, but there is the historical awareness the guillotine is waiting for the lot of them...)
La Nana, directed by Sebastián Silva, is a fabulous Chilean movie somewhere between character study and comedy. The maid of the title is Raquel, who has lived with and worked for the family Valdes for 23 years, and is not keen on them hiring another maid at all, frightening them all of until she meets her match with Lucy who is just too sunny-natured to be intimidated and is the first to see Raquel as her own person. Catalina Saavedra in the title role is terrific; when Raquel's usuall sullen and suspicious expression gives way to a smile, this is a revelation each time. The script also conveys a lot of social background without being sledgehammery about it; Raquel basically has no life beyond the family she works for, and this is partly due to the demanding nature of her job and partly due to her own choices. The Valdes' aren't cruel capitalist exploiters and are clearly fond of her, but it's also undeniable that the "almost one of the family" description will always include the "almost", and that they never question why Raquel does the things she does because they never think of her in a context outside her role in their household. It needs Lucy as an agent of change. A very enjoyable film which makes you curious to see more of everyone involved in its production.
