Film - There will be Blood
Starring – Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Dillion Freasir
Paul Thomas Anderson’s two previous ‘long’ films - Boogie Nights and Magnolia - he portrayed the fates of large groups of interconnected characters seeking salvation in distinctive settings. Now, in his new epic (which runs at a meagre and captivating 159 minutes compared to the 188 minutes of Magnolia), he traces the life of just one extraordinary and singular character.
Much has been written about Daniel Day Lewis’ of Daniel Plainview, (pictured) a turn of the century Californian oil prospector and his performance certainly justifies the hype. It’s a million miles away from the garish clowning he produced in the disappointing Gangs of New York, but it does lend itself to immediate impression and linger in the mind. It’s at least equal to any of the performances we have seen from the Anglo-Irish actor before.
Plainview is simply fascinating: instead of seeking salvation he is simply seeking silver. The stunning opening sequence - shot in silence and depicting his early failures as a jewel prospector - contrast with a dramatic climax many years later as the tycoon Plainview settles what his now twisted logic believes is a final score. It’s an ending that will shock, possibly confuse, and one which is certainly worth closer examination.
Along the way we see how Plainview is prepared to sacrifice everything, even his family, in order to build his empire, and his greed is crystallised in his relationship with a young preacher (Paul Dano), who stands between him and a huge fortune. Plainview’s false conversion to religion in order to get his deal is one of the film’s many highlights.
Magnificent cinematography is accompanied by an iconic soundtrack composed by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. Based on the Upton Sinclair novel Oil! it’s also partly a history of how America came to be, and because it decides to portray the flaws in achieving success, it’s not always pretty. Plainview is a fictional 20th century legend, and Anderson has dedicated his film to Robert Altman, who would have undoubtedly approved.
Horton Hears A Who
Horton the elephant comes to the rescue again in this new and up-to-date version of the 70s classic. Horton, with his sensitive hearing, is the only person who can hear the pleas for help from the microscopic world of the Whos, a world so tiny that it fits on a speck of dust. Horton’s friends can’t comprehend that there are living beings that small, but the Whos manage to make their cries heard just in time. Another Dr. Seuss classic is successfully adapted for the small screen. Recommended for all ages (U)
DVD's - Family Guy Blue Harvest
What better way to launch Family Guy’s sixth season and commemorate Star Wars’ 30th anniversary than with this double-length very special episode, a full-scale, awesomely animated spoof that recasts George Lucas’ saga with Family Guy’s galaxy of characters: Chris (Seth Green) is Luke; Lois (Alex Borstein) is Princess Leia; Peter (Seth McFarlane) is Han Solo, but not, as expected, Jabba the Hut; Brian (Seth, again) is Chewbacca; Quagmire (and again, Seth) is C3PO; Cleveland is R2D2; Herbert, the creepy senior pedophile, is Obi-Wan (both voiced by Mike Henry); and, of course, Stewie (Seth, already) is Darth Vader (“My diapers have gone over to the dark side”). Poor Meg is reduced to a cameo as the hideous reptilian creature that haunts the garbage compactor. Blue Harvest is reverently faithful to A New Hope, while engaging in typical Family Guy popculture references (everything from those old Grey Poupon commercials to Doctor Who, Airplane, Dirty Dancing, and Deal or No Deal) and bizarre digressions (the iconic opening crawl detours into an appreciation of a “way naked” Angelina Jolie in Gia). As Chris Griffin notes in this episode’s final moments, Robot Chicken brilliantly did it months earlier (and let us not forget Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs from 1987; or, on second thought...). But the Force is strong with Family Guy, and who could resist the opportunity to hear the Muzak playing in a Death Star elevator.
Books - The Welsh Girl – Peter Ho Davies
This is a story about love, loyalties and displacement. The three main characters all so different and yet linked by the sense of dislocation. Esther yearns to leave her sleepy village for a life with more excitement, Rotherham, is a German Jewish refugee who no longer knows where in the world he fits in and Karston is struggling with his feelings of honour after surrendering himself and his men to the English. Ho Davies captures the helplessness of each character as the war wields its devastating effects on them but also shows strong characters who will not allow their circumstances to destroy them.
Books - Notes from an exhibition – Patrick Gale
A fascinating look at mental illness and the effects it has. Rachel Kelly’s bipolar is causing her to be charming and loveable as well as terrible to those around her. As an artist she finds some of her most creative moments are when she is not on her medication causing her to be inspired but emotionally erratic and we see the effects this has on the family who love her. This is an uplifting and inspired novel.
