Review: Testament of Youth (2014)

It's taken me a really long time to write this post, it turns out I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this movie on my own on a Sunday night.  I had no idea this was a true story until is started watching it and it really struck a cord with me, so I've had to wait a while to write the review so i didn't sob all over my computer!!

Based on the book of the same name by Vera Brittain, Alicia Vikander plays a young Vera during some of the brightest and darkest parts of her life through World War 1.  Vera a strong willed woman determined to do everything people tell her she can't from going to Oxford, to becoming a Nurse and a writer.

This film was truly heartbreaking and the thought that its a true story just chokes me up even more.  Vera was an unbelievably strong woman for what she went through at such a young and just continues to push forward.  It almost made me feel ashamed for worrying over petty issues and not trying to do more than what people expect of you.

I loved Vikander in Ex-Machina and she didn't disappoint, she was amazing at Brittain and made every emotion so raw I was a sobbing snotty mess in the first half an hour.  Another star in the making is Taron Egerton playing Vera's much loved brother Edward, who for me steals every scene he was in (we all knew it was possible after still standing out next to Colin Firth in Kingsman).  I was a little disappointed with Kit Harrington as love interest Roland but I haven't seen him shine in anything outside of Game of Thrones so its not a surprise.

I am fully aware that I haven't really reviewed the film but if I think too much about the plot I'm going to be a blubbering wreck again!

Jenna I want you to know that I really, really tried to watch and enjoy this for you. There are only 2 types of movies I struggle with, War and Period Dramas, and this was just too much for me! I appreciated the performances by the cast, but I just couldn't deal with the story...I think I started to tidy and clean the living room for something more interesting to do...

Review: Experimenter (2015)

When I was in college, I studied Psychology for a year. I’d have gone on to do a second, but I failed quite spectacularly in the exams. My written work in class was excellent, but for some reason I just blew it in exams. Regardless, I loved my psychology class. I’m fascinated by how the mind works, and I still remember a lot about all the studies I learnt about, although names and dates have been discarded to my memory dump.

That said, when I stumbled across a movie called Experimenter, a Biography about social psychologist Stanley Milgram and his obedience studies, I knew I had to watch it!

In 1961, Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard) designs a psychology experiment to see how people react when acting as a teacher, giving electric shocks to a learner to teach them memory techniques. Each time the learner got a word pair wrong, the teacher would give them an electric shock, with the voltage going up each time. The voltage of the shocks went up to deadly levels. The twist on the experiment was that the learner was a part of Milgram’s team, and wasn’t actually receiving shocks.

Milgram was shocked to find that 65% of his subjects went all the way with the experiment, and despite showing their discomfort with the situation, when told by an authoritative figure to continue, they did. 

Let me get back to the movie, as I’ve already learnt I have no talent in psychology essay writing. The format of the movie is a documentary, but a little different. Stanley Milgram himself tells us his story, and the movie itself is shot to look like it was filmed in the 60s or 70s too, with terrible green screens. I’m not sure I enjoyed that element, I’d have prefered some sort of narrator, but it was something different, at least.

One element I really enjoyed was the story of how Stanley Milgram met his wife, Sasha (Winona Ryder), and how she became fascinated with his work. Having only learnt about his work, it was interesting to hear more about the man himself.

If you have an interest in the subject anyway, Experimenter will be a fascinating watch for you. I wouldn’t describe it as entertaining per se, but it was a compelling watch for me, and reignited that interest I had years ago. 

Review: Spotlight (2015)

This is the one I’ve been waiting for! I haven’t been enjoying the Oscar movies as much as I hoped I would this year, but every time I’ve gone to the cinema I’ve gotten a little more excited for Spotlight. We’ve had to wait for it for so long in the UK! I wasn't even remotely looking forward to this for two reasons, I had a feeling the story was going to stay with me for a while (I wasn't wrong!) and it seemed very talky, I wasn't convinced it was going to hold my attention.

Spotlight is the retelling of the true story of how the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team uncovered the horrendous scandal of child molestation within the Catholic churches, and the cover ups that came with it. It’s one of those movies, just like The Big Short, that covers a real life story that I’m aware of, yet know very little about, which is what made both so appealing to me.

I’m writing this the day after watching Spotlight, and I honestly don’t know where to start. I didn’t sleep well, it played on my mind that much. I’m growing a bit of a fascination with journalistic movies, having watched Zodiac and Nightcrawler most recently, so this was right up my street. I was enthralled within the first 10 minutes, the big offices of the Boston Globe reminded me of somewhere I used to work, and the leaving speech just brought back happy, but cringey memories.

I think what helped was the casting choices for the main Spotlight team. They’re all such likeable characters, with genuine chemistry, and it honestly felt like I was watching a documentary about a team that had been working with each other for years, rather than a movie. Each of the characters begins their year-long investigation with professional courtesy, but as the story unfolds and the scandal grows, you can see it affect each of them on a personal level, and it’s in the second half when the tensions are running higher that you see just how well they can all act.

I really loved the fact that you bought in to every single character without having to spend ages delving into their personal lives, there was the odd passing comment about their lives here and there, Mikes marriage problems for example.  The film was completely focused on the investigation and the victims, this made it all the more difficult to watch for me, normally when a film is unsettling, I will focus on the other mini stories that are running through it.  This didn't have that option so you had no choice but to concentrate on the traumatic experiences of these victims.

Behind my awe however, lay an unsettling feeling of sorts. It’s so uncomfortable to listen to the stories of the survivors and victims of abuse. It’s one thing to read about it, but to hear someone say it out loud, it made me feel nauseous. There’s one scene in particular where Sacha (Rachel McAdams) is talking with a survivor as they walk through the town, straight past a huge church, with a children’s playground right in front of it. That’s an image I won’t be forgetting for a while.

Although it was already in the trailer, so I'd heard it before, there was a line of Michael Keaton’s that just stood out for me from everything else. “We got two stories here: a story about degenerate clergy, and a story about a bunch of lawyers turning child abuse into a cottage industry. Which story do you want us to write? Because we're writing one of them.” That was such a turning point!  There were some great lines in this film that really drew an impact but for me it was all about Mark Ruffalo, I can see why he is up for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.  The way he delivered each and every line showed every inch of emotion that the real Mike Rezendes must have felt.  This one stood out for me "It's time! They knew and they let it happen! To KIDS! Okay? It could have been you, it could have been me, it could have been any of us. We gotta nail these scumbags! We gotta show people that nobody can get away with this; Not a priest, or a cardinal or a freaking pope!"

Just over 2 hours passed, and as the final words came onto the screen, I felt a rush of different emotions. Disappointment, firstly, that this movie was over already. I didn’t know where the time had gone. Then came anger and disgust at the reality of the story, that lingered with me as I went to bed. Then, the morning after, or now, as I type this, amazement at just how brilliant this movie is.  Those final words on the screen literally broke my heart, it was horrifying to think of how many people were effected by the church and the subsequent cover ups.

Blind Spot: Schindler's List (1993)

Just in the nick of time, again, is our Blind Spot post for February. I really need to not make a habit out of this, but Oscars season has just messed up my entire blogging schedule as well as film-viewing schedule! This month I watched Schindler’s List, over two viewings thanks to it’s eye watering 195 min runtime.

Schindler’s List is the kind of film I shy away from instantly, which is the main reason I made sure it was on the Blind Spot list. The second reason is that people keep telling me Liam Neeson never used to just play Liam Neeson! So anyway, the film itself largely focuses on Oskar Schindler (Neeson), who sets up a factory in Poland during World War II, creating hundreds of jobs and hope for the Jews that are seeking refuge there.

This is only the second black and white film I’ve ever seen, and just like before, it seemed odd at first but once the story kicked in I completely forgot about the lack of colour. Until a scene involving a huge table full of food - I couldn’t work out what was there and that felt a little weird*. Oh, and the little girl in the red coat of course, how can I forget her? Okay, so maybe this is my first black, white and red film.

Schindler's List was a real rollercoaster of emotions for me. I won't try and pretend that I understood everything that was going on, because similar to my last Blind Spot, there was just so much going on. I also know very little about World War II thanks to my absolute ignorance to History class back in school. Thankfully though I watched this with my fiance who let me pause every now and again so I could double check what was happening/

The ending was ruined a little for me by everyone telling me to be ready with a box of tissues. My mind had already geared myself up for the worst and as heartbreaking as the end was, I think it would have affected me more if I was clueless.

It was also really interesting to see a very young Ralph Fiennes, having recently seen him in the Oscar-winning Grand Budapest Hotel. He was chilling, and I look forward to seeing more of him.

All in all, despite it's length, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Several scenes were extremely uncomfortable to watch, but they added to the story perfectly. It's one of those films I will never forget, but will probably never watch again either, if that makes any sense.

* I’m writing this whole post after two and a half hours sleep thanks to the Oscars, so you’ll have to forgive me for going completely off track.