The Remains of the Day review

 Number 370 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1993 drama 'The Remains of the Day.'

Based on Kazuo Ishiguro's book of the same name and set in 1930's Britain, the Remains of the Day follows the life of the buttoned-up butler Mr James Stevens (Anthony Hopkins.) He serves the wealthy Lord Darlington (James Fox) an aristocrat with Nazi sympathies. However, Mr Stevens is determined to stay professional in all aspects of his life. This professionalism is gravely challenged with the appointment of the new housekeeper Miss Sally Kenton (Emma Thompson.) She is strong-willed and more than willing to challenge Mr Stevens on all aspects of his work.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I bloody hate period dramas. They're boring, tedious and focus on the problems of unrelatable characters. The Remains of the Day was no exception to this. And the unrelatability of the characters was its biggest weakness. Mr Stevens is a complete professional. He knows that his employer is a Nazi sympathiser, but he doesn't let that interfere with his work. He also develops feelings for Miss Kenton as does she for him. But again he refuses to let that interfere with his work. He is your archetypal British Keep Calm and Carry On character. And that's what made him very unrelatable and unlikeable.

By his very nature, he is a closed-off and unemotional character. Closed-off to his peers, his employer and to Miss Kenton, but also to the audience as well. How are we supposed to root for such an emotionally dead character? We were given so little to work with. Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton was far more engaging. Granted, she is supposed to be the polar opposite of Mr Stevens, but she was far more likeable. Mr Stevens was a cold fish and Miss Kenton was very warm.

Because I found it so difficult to sympathise with Mr Stevens, I found the main storyline very unengaging. I was far more interested in the film's setting: 1930's Britain in the run-up to World War Two. Lord Darlington is a diplomat with Nazi sympathies. He is hosting other German diplomats in the hopes of maintaining a peace at the chagrin of other guests such as the American Congressman Lewis (Christopher Reeve) who believes that Nazi Germany is a threat. This gave to a great dramatic tension that was far more interesting to watch.

Maybe if I didn't hate period dramas so much, I would have liked this film more, but I really did not enjoy it. 

Little Miss Sunshine review

 Number 414 on the top 1000 films of all time is the tragicomedy road film 'Little Miss Sunshine.'

Olive (Abigail Breslin) is the youngest of the Hoover family - possibly the most dysfunctional family in the US. Her father Richard (Greg Kinnear) is failing motivational speaker, her older brother Dwayne (Paul Dano) is an angsty teenager who has taken a vow of silence. Her uncle Dr Frank Ginsburg (Steve Carell) has recently been released from a mental hospital after trying to commit suicide and Olive's grandfather Edwin (Alan Arkin) snorts heroin and swears every other minute. Rounding them out is Olive's mother Sheryl (Toni Collette) who is on the verge of a breakdown trying to get her crazy family from New Mexico to California so Olive can participate in a child beauty pageant.

Little Miss Sunshine is a brilliant feel-good film. It is hilarious, but heart-breaking. Tragic and touching. It engages with many difficult themes in a sensitive way. Least of all is the idea of body image and self-confidence. Olive is not your typical child beauty queen if there is such a thing. She is worried that she isn't pretty or skinny enough, but her grandfather is the first person to convince her otherwise. Olive and Edwin's relationship is at the heart of the film. Breslin and Arkin had a great chemistry and played well off each other. Arkin won Best Supporting Actor and deservingly so. True, you could argue that he is your stereotypical, grumpy un-PC baby boomer grandpa, but he played the part damn well. And it is his grumpy un-PC ways that provide a lot of the film's humour.

The rest of the supporting cast is just as good. As a comedy actor, I sometimes find that Carell can be quite over-the-top, but he played the role with a lot of restraint, while still being funny. Paul Dano is often cast as a moody outsider sic Prisoners or There Will be Blood. But he gave Dwayne some vulnerability and stopped him from being just another stroppy teenager. Perhaps you could argue the script short-changed Toni Collette as her character doesn't have the same eccentricities as the others, but she still acted as the glue that held the family together.

And I loved how directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris lampooned the grossly exploitative nature of child beauty pageants. This was intentional as writer Michael Ardnt wanted to portray the horribly competitive nature of these contests. They divide little girls into winners and losers often shattering their self-esteem in the process. Except for Abigail Breslin, all of the other contestants were real-life child beauty pageant winners. Or should I say little girls being exploited so their power-hungry parents can gain status.  

But when Olive performs an intentionally risque dance she is almost shut down, but her whole family quickly joins in. The whole notion of beauty pageants boils down to sexualising and disempowering little girls, but when Olive reclaims her power, she is punished. I loved how this hypocrisy was tackled head-on.

I did enjoy this film. There were great gags, but it also had a lot of heart. And Breslin and Arkin were fantastic together.