The flashback kicking off this episode is one of the darkest yet. 35 years ago, but 10 months after the dam burst, we see the Circle, that Milan has spoken off before. It is a religious sect led by Milan whose members include Simon's parents, a young Pierre and the mysterious man who has been helping Claire. For me it strongly reminded me of religious sects like The People's Temple. Milan takes on a Jim Jones-esque role and tells everyone they must die to be saved. Meanwhile, the police raid Milan's cabin and find a group of children including Serge, Toni and baby Simon ready to be poisoned. When return to the Circle, all but three of them are dead: Milan, the mysterious man who is the eponymous Etienne and Pierre. Milan kills Etienne, Pierre kills Milan but then decides not to kill himself. He runs away from the murder-site, to reveal that none other than Victor is watching.
I'm still trying to figure Victor out, as I think that he must have some religious symbolism. As one of The Returned's key themes is religion, maybe Victor is a prophet of sorts, like Jeremiah or Ezekiel. Let me know your thoughts on this. Gwilym Mumford of the Guardian also picked up on these metaphors by speculating, after a later encounter between Victor and Milan, that he is a god-like figure who gets to decides who lives and dies. Considering that Victor has been responsible for a few deaths already, I think Mumford's theory has some weight. What do you think?
But back to the Circle, it was really interesting to see a young Pierre fail in following through on his pledge. I think this goes a long way to showing his present-day motivations. In the modern-day, he has picked up where Milan has left off gathering his own group of followers and continuing to torture poor Audrey. Boy, she's really drawn the short straw, has she. Anyway, I think now Pierre is completely acting out of guilt. He failed to follow through earlier and is now trying to make up for it. He's certainly brainwashed the young Frederic into working for him.
The last time we saw Frederic was just after he and Lucho shot "dead" Mrs Costa, a price that Lucho paid for by jumping out a window. Something that Victor influenced him into doing. Mrs Costa is taken to the local hospital, but more on her later. Victor's story is the more interesting one. He's taken to the army base, where he is questioned, but gives nothing away. This is also the same base, where Milan is held. After Victor has another of his hallucinations where he sees two separate Julie-related visions. One where she is sitting happily on a beach with a strange boy and another where she is shot dead by Milan. Victor confronts Milan about his vision, but the deluded Milan insists that he only saves people, he doesn't hurt them. This is when the police captain and Milan face off. Off screen something, presumably, Victor, happens to cause the policeman have a psychotic break. He kills one soldier and prepares to kill more, when he hallucinates them as soldiers, before he is killed himself. The next thing we see is Victor leaving the army base, alone. What happened to Milan? Let me know your theories.
However, Victor, isn't the only returnee in the base. There is also Adele, whom everyone seems to have forgotten is one of the Returned. Still hallucinating Thomas, she is locked in the base for questioning. Meanwhile, Simon who is tired of waiting takes Chloe to rescue Adele. What happens to Simon? It's not shown, but Chloe finds her way back to her mother. And int he panic caused by the police captain's breakdown, the pair escape. Well, Chloe does, but Adele goes to retrieve Nathan who is gone, presumably taken by Lucy.
Chloe is taken in by the Segurret family. In the last episode, we saw Jerome and Berg making it to the dead side of town where they are reunited with Claire, Lena and Camille. The Horde are on the move and Chloe chooses her family over them and more importantly Virgil. However, Berg recognising Etienne in the Horde decides to follow them. Meanwhile, the Segurrets trying to escape from the town, but are picked up by the army who have infiltrated it. This is how they end up in the army base with Adele. Nothing else of consequence really happens, except at the end where the Segurrets escape with Chloe. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed, but when the Segurrets tumble across the dead soldier, it is Jerome who take shis torch, but Claire who takes his gun. Nice reversal of gender roles there.
Back in the forest, Lucy is leading the Horde to the sinkhole, but her grip over them is slipping. Virgil calls her out on how she is leading these people into ruin, but Lucy she insists that she has to lead them there to prevent the Horde from becoming like the creatures in the caves. For me this was a neat idea. It showcases a transformation of the dead. Take Esteban as a case in point, he was once a regular returnee like Camille, but upon learning about his parents' suicide, he becomes another silent member of the Horde. Is it possible that the less that The Returned have to live for, the more likely it is, they'll up as revenants endlessly wandering the earth in purgatory. Scary thought, right?
Earlier I had associated some religious symbolism to Victor and I'm starting to do the same with Lucy. Due to how she is always wearing a white dress, I think that she's an angel of death of sorts. She has certainly the dead for long enough. But as already discussed, she is losing her authority. Even her former lover Morganne is refusing to listen to her.
We finally find out about the relationship between Etienne and Berg. They are father and son. Berg has returned to town to find out what has happened to his father. In a flashback, it is revealed that Etienne was the architect who designed the dam that burst. Victor then arrives at Etienne's house out of the darkness and warns him not to build the dam as hundreds will die. As we know, Etienne refuses to listen. The dam is built. It bursts, floods the town killing hundreds. I also think that this was a good way of highlighting Etienne's motivations. He dies in the Circle to save serve penance for his sins. What do you guys think? Did Etienne deserve to die for what he did?
Lastly, we come to Julie and Mrs Costa. By sheer coincidence, Mrs Costa is taken to the same hospital where Julie is hiding. And it is revealed that Julie is harbouring feels for Ofelie. Just as the two appear to be working thing out, a scream goes out and Ms Costa comes back to life on the autopsy table. In a private encounter, Mrs Costa informs Julie how she and Victor were for looking for her, when they were confronted by Lucho and Frederic who had been sent by Pierre at the Helping Hand. Mistakenly thinking that PIerre is holding Victor prisoner, Julie goes to rescue him, but instead walks straight into Pierre's clutches, and he confines her to the same dungeon where Audrey and Sandrine are being held.
I'm quite glad that Julie's left the hospital - I confessed last week that I had thought her storyline had stagnated so it was good to see her taking some action.
Next week is the finale of season 2 and the season finale overall, as because as far as I know, they are not making a third series. Last season ended with a confrontation between the dead and the living. This year could be something a bit more complicated.
Some questions which I would like your thoughts on.
1. What does Victor symbolise? Do you agree with my 'prophet' theory or Mumford's 'god' theory?
2. What about Lucy? Thoughts on my angel of death 'theory?'
3. Did Etienne deserve to die for the destruction of the dam?
4. Where was Serge and Toni in all this?
Sunday, 16 October 2016
Taxi Driver Review
You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me?
Number 88 on the top 1000 films of all time is the film that made Martin Scorsesee's and Robert De Niro's careers: the neo-noir, vigilante thriller Taxi Driver.
Robert De Niro plays Travis Bickle, a psychologically damaged Vietnam veteran living in the crime-ridden New York. To cope with his chronic insomnia, he takes a job as a taxi driver working night, where he bears witness to the petty crime and prostitution that controls the city. He then decides to moonlight as a vigilante so he can clean up the city. Part of this cleaning-up process involves rescuing the under-age prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) from the clutches of her pimp Sport (Harvey Keitel.)
This film works brilliantly as a piece of social commentary. It's no secret that veterans, not just of VIetnam, but of any war, didn't always receive the special treatment that they deserved upon returning home. A lot of them returned home with PTSD and some sadly killed themselves. Although Taxi Driver doesn't explicitly focus on the Vietnam War, its effects are felt throughout.
Travis is only 26, but he feels alone and isolated in his society. Unable to sleep, he spends a lot of his time in porn theatres and journalling. These were both great devices to portraying Travis' alienation and his narration added a great energy to the film.
Intersecting with Travis' storyline is Iris' narrative. I really lived this, as I felt that it was reflection of Travis' own storyarc. Both characters have been through traumatic events and are completely lost in who they are. To deal with their alienation, they both turn to external outlets: driving a taxi and prostitution. But more than that, Iris, is one of the major catalysing factors in Travis' transformation. Saving her allows him to be a hero again and break out of his alienation.
Although this film is rated as one of the greatest of all time, there were occasions where I felt a little disappointed. Other than the film's climax, which was so bloody that Scorsesee had to desaturate the reds to get the film an R-rating, there aren't too many pay offs. There is plenty of tension-building and allusions to violence, but not a lot of this materialised. Rather the tension was defused with banal talking scenes, which for me made this film lacklustre and anti-climactic.
Number 88 on the top 1000 films of all time is the film that made Martin Scorsesee's and Robert De Niro's careers: the neo-noir, vigilante thriller Taxi Driver.
Robert De Niro plays Travis Bickle, a psychologically damaged Vietnam veteran living in the crime-ridden New York. To cope with his chronic insomnia, he takes a job as a taxi driver working night, where he bears witness to the petty crime and prostitution that controls the city. He then decides to moonlight as a vigilante so he can clean up the city. Part of this cleaning-up process involves rescuing the under-age prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) from the clutches of her pimp Sport (Harvey Keitel.)
Wednesday, 12 October 2016
The Returned Episode 6 Esther Review
SPOILERS
That's it. I'm calling it now. Pierre is definitely the bad guy of the series. Although he barely features in this episode, his presence is felt throughout. We soon find out that he has been torturing Audrey whom he sees not as a returned human, but as some type of demon. He is torturing her to find out where the other Returnees are. Meanwhile Audrey's mother Sandrine who refuses to acknowledge her daughter's return, until she sees the pain that Pierre is putting her through and decides to help her. What happens next? We'll find out next week.
Pierre's reach extends even further when he sends Frederic and Lucho to track down Victor and Mrs Costa who are hiding in Julie's apartment. Although this episode is named after "Esther," whom we'll get to later, Victor took centre stage in this episode. Frederic and Lucho demands that Victor and Mrs Costa go with them back to the Helping Hand. Unsurprisingly they're ignored and Lucho in a fit of panic "kills" Mrs Costa. However, Lucho pays for his mistake when Victor "influences" him to jump out of a window thus killing himself. For me this was a scary moment in a quieter episode. It reminded us of how powerful Victor is and why everyone seemed scared of him. Although, I did have to question Pierre's judgement here. We've seen before that Frederic and Lucho aren't the brightest so why exactly did Pierre send THEM to track down Victor and Mrs Costa? Surely there must have been more suitable choices.
But anyway, Victor is also at the centre of some of the biggest revelations of this episode. Firstly, centring around Esther, one of Serge's victims. Starting the episode we get a flashback from ten years ago where we see Victor warning Esther not to go into the tunnel, but he is too late to stop her from being murdered by Serge. So if we think of the timeline hitherto, we know that Victor has been a "Returnee" for 4-5 years, we know that he caused the bus crash that killed Camille and Audrey, but now we find out that he has been "around" for at least ten years. Although, one does have to wonder, what has Victor been doing for ten years?
The second revelation is perhaps the most telling. Julie, who is still hiding in the hospital, visits Victor's bedridden father, who reveals that Victor isn't actually his son. Victor was adopted; as we see in a flashback, he wanders in out of the night in the Lewanski's household, much like how he entered Julie's life. Just what is the deal with this kid? Where is he from? How did he die? Just how long has he been in his "undead state." It seems to be at least 35 years.
And as a last mystery, what is the meaning of Victor's hallucinations? Why is he seeing Julie jump into the sinkhole? Why does Lucy ask him to help "us?"
So now that we've finished on the "Victor" discussion, as I said he features heavily in this episode, but before we move onto something else, there was one problem I did have with this episode. Julie. Whilst it was interesting learning more about Victor's past, I'm sadly getting quite annoyed with her storyline. I wish she was doing something a bit more than just standing around in a hospital. For me the strongest parts of the show has been her relationship with Victor, and now that the two have been separated, I find Julie's sections very lacklustre.
Onto the eponymous character of this episode; Esther. As we've already discussed, she is one of Serge's previous victims who has returned to him. To make amends, Toni says that they must return her to her family, but she would rather go back to the tunnel where Serge killed her. Toni demands that Serge asks for forgiveness and once again we see Serge's remorseful side. I don't want to make it seem like I'm justifying Serge's actions, but he is definitely a pitiable character. I've always thought that a mental issue or his nasty father Milan has been the cause of his murderous tendencies, rather than any malevolent thoughts.
Meanwhile, Milan has been discovered and rescued from his watery grave where he "returns" once again. All he says is "I lost her. I love her. I never told her." Gwilym Mumford of the Guardian speculated that he was talking about Lucy, which I think makes sense. Maybe Milan made advances towards Lucy. She rejected him and instead went for a younger Morganne. Milan killed them both in revenge, under the pretence of "saving them."
Milan isn't the only character to return in this episode; there is also the former police captain and Adele's husband Thomas. The missing policeman's body is discovered and he appears to Adele in a ghostly apparition. She goes to see his body, but instead he warns her about Simon saying that he is the one who killed him. Again this makes sense considering Simon's jealousy before.
Mumford points out that Adele has good reason not to trust Simon, as he identifies Lucy's comment that "no one could hurt Adele like he did," during a confrontation between the two at the church. Simon is stopped short from choking Lucy by Morganne and another of her goons. Mumford also raises the good point that out of all of the returnees, Simon is the only one whose backstory hasn't been properly explored. Just why did he commit suicide? If he really did care about Adele, then why did he commit suicide?
Lastly, we go to Camille's narrative. Anyone else find it interesting despite how Camille, being the first character to be introduced in the show and supposedly the protagonist has been completely superseded by Victor. Judging from this episode, Victor is much more important to the grand scheme of things than Camille. Although what the grand scheme things actually is, I'm not quite sure. Anyway, Claire discovers Virgil and Camille together and demands that he leave threatening him with a knife. Next thing we know we see her attacking herself influenced by the undead Virgil. In a later moment, Camille reveals to Lena that this isn't the first time Claire has tried to hurt herself. It wasn't the Horde that beat her unconscious but herself. She instead hallucinated the Horde attacking her.
Meanwhile, we see Berg and Jerome trying to sneak into the town by going through the woods. On their way, they find another sinkhole like the one at the dam and also spy on Virgil helping another group of returnees. Why is he helping them? Let me know what you think. When Berg and Jerome eventually reach Camille and the others, they have a touching reunion, before mounting their escape. However, this is stopped cold by the Horde.
So another interesting episode with plenty of revelations especially about Victor who I think is the true protagonist of the show. I'm looking forward to see how it winds down and how everything ends.
In the meanwhile, let me know your thoughts to the questions below.
1. Why do you think Simon killed himself? Is it any way related to how his parents killed themselves?
2. What is the deal with Victor? Where did he come from? How long has he been a returnee?
3. Was Milan talking about Lucy?
4. Who were the people that Virgil was helping?
Sunday, 2 October 2016
The Returned Episode 5 Mrs Costa
The Returned Episode 1 L'enfant
The Returned Episode 2 Milan
The Returned Episode 3 Morganne
The Returned Episode 4 Virgil
So in this episode we find out the backstory of a secondary character who has never had her time in the limelight: Mrs Costa. As the other episodes have done, My Costa opens on a flashback to 35 years ago, but 5 months after the dam has burst. Mrs Costa is home with her husband who is talking to Victor's mother about problems he's been having in school. Meanwhile. Victor is drawing. And we know that Victor's drawings are nothing but innocent. Mrs Costa finds one of a woman in a lake with her dog standing by. Victor says that it is her and we soon learnt hat this is drawing is actually a premonition. After Victor and his mother leave, Mrs Costa takes her dog for a walk and drowns in the frozen lake.
In the present-day, Mrs Costa, who for whatever reason, is still living with Victor, comforts the young boy who has had a nightmare about Julie jumping from the dam. Except it isn't a nightmare, but a premonition, and Victor wants to warn Julie. This seemed a little odd to me, considering how coldly he rejected her last episode. But he elects to take Mrs Costa with him over his own mother, despite Mrs Costa's objections that the Horde won't let them leave the town. However, the Horde allow exactly that showing that Victor has some type of power over them. What is this power? Let me know what you think?
In another part of dead-town, Virgil is playing double-agent, becoming closer to Camille, but also reporting to Lucy and Morganne who are determined to get baby Nathan back from Simon. Yet Camille has her own problems with Esteban who becomes completely catatonic before joining the Horde. Gwilym Mumford of the Guardian discusses in-depth about the horror and emotion in this scene and it was powerfully done. Camille and Virgil speculate that Esteban joined the Horde because his parents committed suicide and thus he no longer has anyone tethering him to this world. Whilst this is a logical theory, it does have one major hole: Mrs Costa. Other than Victor, whom she's not that close with, she has no connections with anyone alive or dead- her husband rejected her upon up return. As she is completely alone, what's stopping her from turning into one of the Horde.
Whilst Virgil is playing for both sides, it seems that Simon has chosen his family. Having been firmly replaced by Morganne, he returns home to Adele, Chloe and baby Nathan before hiding them in the local church. This doesn't seem the smartest considering the priest has already ratted him out once, but he claims to have changed. However, the police still come poking their noses in, yet through some Deux Ex Machina, doesn't find Simon etc, despite Nathan's crying. The priest is able to convince them to leave, which seems silly. The town is in trouble is the police are so incompetent that they can't hear a crying baby in the next room.
Speaking of police, we find out a bit more about those tied to the trees in the forest. Lucy reveals that it wasn't her or the Horde who killed and ate them, but others. Lucy etc tried to protect them by tying them to the trees. Who are the mysterious others who did kill the police offices? Let me know your thoughts.
One returnee who is more scared than evil is the terrified Audrey. After escaping from the dead side of town with Simon, she seeks help from Jerome and Berg, who are still working together to unravel the mystery. After she tells them where to find Lena and Camille, Jerome takes her to her mother. However, her mother betrays her to Pierre who promptly takes her away. Considering how he treated Toni, this isn't looking good for Audrey.
We pick up on Toni's narrative to find out that Serge, after rescuing from the Helping Hand, takes him back to his cabin. However, Toni isn't there alone, as he is soon joined by 7 or 8 young pretty girls who look similarly to Lucy. It's not long before Toni realises that these were the women who Serge murdered. This was an interesting development ad one I'm looking forward to seeing more off.
Julie has gone to the hospital to visit Victor's father who is in a coma. However, she also sees a wanted poster of her and so does a nurse Ophelie. For no apparent reason, Ophelie decides to hide Julie in an abandoned section of the hospital. I didn't like this and felt that Ophelie's motivations should have been clearer.
The episode opens on Mrs Costa and Victor and closed on them looking for Julie in her old apartment. Victor admits that he knew they'd be allowed to leave, as this is what happened in his night and his nightmares always come true. The final shot focuses on the submerged Milan waking up under the lake.
Some questions I would love to get your opinions on.
1. Who killed the police officers? Evil returnees? We know that there are some as they are the ones who beat Claire unconscious.
2. What's keeping Mrs Costa tethered to this world?
3. Why is Ophelie helping Julie?
4.Did anyone notice that Berg's father is the same man who rescued Claire from the Horde?
5. How did those police officers not hear Nathan's crying?
The Returned Episode 2 Milan
The Returned Episode 3 Morganne
The Returned Episode 4 Virgil
So in this episode we find out the backstory of a secondary character who has never had her time in the limelight: Mrs Costa. As the other episodes have done, My Costa opens on a flashback to 35 years ago, but 5 months after the dam has burst. Mrs Costa is home with her husband who is talking to Victor's mother about problems he's been having in school. Meanwhile. Victor is drawing. And we know that Victor's drawings are nothing but innocent. Mrs Costa finds one of a woman in a lake with her dog standing by. Victor says that it is her and we soon learnt hat this is drawing is actually a premonition. After Victor and his mother leave, Mrs Costa takes her dog for a walk and drowns in the frozen lake.
In the present-day, Mrs Costa, who for whatever reason, is still living with Victor, comforts the young boy who has had a nightmare about Julie jumping from the dam. Except it isn't a nightmare, but a premonition, and Victor wants to warn Julie. This seemed a little odd to me, considering how coldly he rejected her last episode. But he elects to take Mrs Costa with him over his own mother, despite Mrs Costa's objections that the Horde won't let them leave the town. However, the Horde allow exactly that showing that Victor has some type of power over them. What is this power? Let me know what you think?
In another part of dead-town, Virgil is playing double-agent, becoming closer to Camille, but also reporting to Lucy and Morganne who are determined to get baby Nathan back from Simon. Yet Camille has her own problems with Esteban who becomes completely catatonic before joining the Horde. Gwilym Mumford of the Guardian discusses in-depth about the horror and emotion in this scene and it was powerfully done. Camille and Virgil speculate that Esteban joined the Horde because his parents committed suicide and thus he no longer has anyone tethering him to this world. Whilst this is a logical theory, it does have one major hole: Mrs Costa. Other than Victor, whom she's not that close with, she has no connections with anyone alive or dead- her husband rejected her upon up return. As she is completely alone, what's stopping her from turning into one of the Horde.
Whilst Virgil is playing for both sides, it seems that Simon has chosen his family. Having been firmly replaced by Morganne, he returns home to Adele, Chloe and baby Nathan before hiding them in the local church. This doesn't seem the smartest considering the priest has already ratted him out once, but he claims to have changed. However, the police still come poking their noses in, yet through some Deux Ex Machina, doesn't find Simon etc, despite Nathan's crying. The priest is able to convince them to leave, which seems silly. The town is in trouble is the police are so incompetent that they can't hear a crying baby in the next room.
Speaking of police, we find out a bit more about those tied to the trees in the forest. Lucy reveals that it wasn't her or the Horde who killed and ate them, but others. Lucy etc tried to protect them by tying them to the trees. Who are the mysterious others who did kill the police offices? Let me know your thoughts.
One returnee who is more scared than evil is the terrified Audrey. After escaping from the dead side of town with Simon, she seeks help from Jerome and Berg, who are still working together to unravel the mystery. After she tells them where to find Lena and Camille, Jerome takes her to her mother. However, her mother betrays her to Pierre who promptly takes her away. Considering how he treated Toni, this isn't looking good for Audrey.
We pick up on Toni's narrative to find out that Serge, after rescuing from the Helping Hand, takes him back to his cabin. However, Toni isn't there alone, as he is soon joined by 7 or 8 young pretty girls who look similarly to Lucy. It's not long before Toni realises that these were the women who Serge murdered. This was an interesting development ad one I'm looking forward to seeing more off.
Julie has gone to the hospital to visit Victor's father who is in a coma. However, she also sees a wanted poster of her and so does a nurse Ophelie. For no apparent reason, Ophelie decides to hide Julie in an abandoned section of the hospital. I didn't like this and felt that Ophelie's motivations should have been clearer.
The episode opens on Mrs Costa and Victor and closed on them looking for Julie in her old apartment. Victor admits that he knew they'd be allowed to leave, as this is what happened in his night and his nightmares always come true. The final shot focuses on the submerged Milan waking up under the lake.
Some questions I would love to get your opinions on.
1. Who killed the police officers? Evil returnees? We know that there are some as they are the ones who beat Claire unconscious.
2. What's keeping Mrs Costa tethered to this world?
3. Why is Ophelie helping Julie?
4.Did anyone notice that Berg's father is the same man who rescued Claire from the Horde?
5. How did those police officers not hear Nathan's crying?
Requiem for a Dream
Number 87 on the top 1000 films of all time is Darren Aronofsky brilliant Requiem for a Dream.
The film focuses on drug addicts and the extents that they'll to go feed their addictions. Firstly, there's the protagonist Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto), his girlfriend Marion, (Jennifer Connelly) and his best friend Tyrone (Marlon Waylans.) All three of them are heroin addicts. Lastly, there is Harry's mother, Sara (Ellen Burstyn) who becomes addicted to diet pills.
After watching this film about drug addicts, I felt like I was coming down from a drug high. It was intense, relentless and utterly engrossing. Darren Aronofsky's cinematic style excellently put the audience in the minds of drug addicts. Whenever the characters were getting high, the action would be shown in a montage of close-ups and jump-cuts, giving the film an erratic feel. On other occasions, a fish-eye lens was used to give the sense somebody was watching you, thus creating the paranoia that results from drugs. Aronofsky also makes use of time-lapse, slow-motion and split-screen to convey what being an addict is really like. Aronofsky's cinematography was one of this film's strongest points.
What's fascinating about this film is how engrossing it is, despite how it doesn't have a plot in the traditional sense. Whilst a conflict is introduced in the first act with the drug addicts, it isn't resolved by the film's conclusion. That is to say, this film doesn't have a fairy-tale ending. Things start badly and only get worse. Furthermore, the characters don't go through any major or story-arcs or transformations. They start the film as drug addicts and end it as drug addicts. Sure you could argue, that this lack of transformation makes them two-dimensional, but I wouldn't agree. For so many drug addicts, like Harry, Tyrone, Marion and Sara, they end up in a hospital, prison or having to prostitute themselves. To change this into some romanticised, fairy-tale ending would be an insult to real-life addicts and would seriously damage the film's gripping realism-another of the film's strengths.
I also really liked how Aronofsky portrayed the addicts for exactly what they were: addicts. There was no romanticising or demonising, but rather a straight portrayal. To do anything else would again be insulting to real-life addicts who have gone through the same journey. Aronofsky is unflinching in what he shows the audience and rightly so. For example, Harry's arm becomes so badly infected that it has to be amputated and Marion is forced to prostitute herself in a humiliating sex scene where she has to go "ass to ass" with another girl-all for the pleasure of her pimp who will trade her humiliation for heroin. Many addicts go through the same pain and I think it was great that Aronofsky portrays as many facets of addiction that he could.
Lastly, I loved Sara's storyline and how it paralleled with Harry's. Whilst her son and his friends are addicted to heroin, her drug is TV. Having nothing else to do, she spends all day watching the charismatic talk-show host Tappy Tippons. After receiving a phone-call telling her that she'll get to meet him on live TV, she becomes obsessed with losing weight through diet pills. Sara's narrative is the saddest, as she is the most innocent. Harry and his friends know what they are and don't pretend otherwise, but Sara wants nothing more than to be young again.
In a heart breaking scene between her and Harry, she explains that she has been feeling numb ever since her husband died and Harry moved away from home. This ambition to reach her target weight has given her a new lease on life. However, the diet pills are actually ecstasy, and as Sara becomes addicted and overdoses, she becomes increasingly delusional and psychotic. We see her transform from a sweet old mother who wants a successful, married son, to a raving lunatic who ends up being sectioned after she has an episode in a casting agency, where she goes to chase up when she would be on TV. To see this transformation was powerful, but horrifying to watch. It makes you think that could be me. Although I can't help but wonder whether the phone call in the first place was even real or all part of Sara's delusion.
However, if the film fell down anywhere, I'd say it was in the scenes with Sara in the hospital. They just didn't feel as realistic as the rest of the film. Sara is subjected to a range of brutal tortures/treatments from force-feeding to electric-shock therapy, of which she is too doped up to give informed consent for. Is this realistic? Can/would doctors really administer shock therapy to a patient who obviously isn't in her right mind?
But to end positively, Sara's addiction highlighted something that is regularly glossed over in favour of heroin and ecstasy: prescription pills addiction. Whilst it isn't on the same scale as illegal drugs, prescription pills can be just as dangerous and can ruin just as many lives. Hell, you're always hearing stories of people killing themselves by overdosing on pills and drinking alcohol.
This film was a tour-de-force. It was challenging and asks a lot of the viewer. Whilst it wasn't always the easiest to follow, it was a raw and revealing look into the dark twisted world of drug addicts. Watch it and you'll be coming down from the high for days. Hell, I know I will.
The film focuses on drug addicts and the extents that they'll to go feed their addictions. Firstly, there's the protagonist Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto), his girlfriend Marion, (Jennifer Connelly) and his best friend Tyrone (Marlon Waylans.) All three of them are heroin addicts. Lastly, there is Harry's mother, Sara (Ellen Burstyn) who becomes addicted to diet pills.
In a heart breaking scene between her and Harry, she explains that she has been feeling numb ever since her husband died and Harry moved away from home. This ambition to reach her target weight has given her a new lease on life. However, the diet pills are actually ecstasy, and as Sara becomes addicted and overdoses, she becomes increasingly delusional and psychotic. We see her transform from a sweet old mother who wants a successful, married son, to a raving lunatic who ends up being sectioned after she has an episode in a casting agency, where she goes to chase up when she would be on TV. To see this transformation was powerful, but horrifying to watch. It makes you think that could be me. Although I can't help but wonder whether the phone call in the first place was even real or all part of Sara's delusion.
This film was a tour-de-force. It was challenging and asks a lot of the viewer. Whilst it wasn't always the easiest to follow, it was a raw and revealing look into the dark twisted world of drug addicts. Watch it and you'll be coming down from the high for days. Hell, I know I will.
All about Eve Review
Number 86 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1950 All About Eve.
Margot Channing (Bette Davies) is a fading Broadway star who is about to turn 40 thus marking the end of her career. After a performance one night, Channing meets Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) a superfan who inserts herself into Channing's life threatening her career and personal relationships, especially with boyfriend Bill Sampson (Gary Merill) and maid Birdie (Thelma Ritter.)
In light of today's celebrity culture, this was a great film to watch. Celebrities have absolutely no privacy nowadays. Case in point Brangelina's divorce hitting newspapers across the world. However, it's not just the papers that celebrities have to worry about, but also fans. You also hear stories about fans tracking down their favourite celebrities for autographs and photos, but sometimes for more sinister purposes. For example, Britney Spears was bombarded with lover letters, David Letterman had a fan who thought they were together and Selena Gomez received death threats when she started dating Justin Bieber. Especially with the advent of the internet, celebrities are never out of the limelight and this is a film which perfectly captures on this point.
Although it seems that Eve Harrington is just a slightly overzealous fan, she soon turns into something far darker. She tells a questionable sob story about why she loves Margot Channing so much before progressively taking over her life. First of all she replaces Margot's dedicated maid Birdie, before slowly breaking up Margot's relationships and scheming to supplant her by training as her understudy and making her miss performances. As such this made the film a great commentary on the idolatry of celebrities today and also the superficiality of fame. Margot knows that her youthful looks are fading and thus she fears that she will be replaced by a younger, prettier actress and this is exactly what happens. Margot becomes continually unhinged, as Eve starts to supercede her.
This also makes the film a great portrayal of the pressure of living in the public eye and staying relevant. As I was saying relevant, Margot fears getting older as she knows that everyone could soon forget about her. In a sense, this film is a little like Sunset Boulevard. Obviously, I'm no expert, but considering that this film was released in the Golden Age of Hollywood, where studios were all rushing to make as many films as possible, it wouldn't surprise me if this was what life was like for some Hollywood starlets. I watched this with my Dad who told me about how Alfred Hitchcock described actors as cattle who just recite lines. Judging from this film, I think this is right.
At the film's conclusion, Eve, who is starting to become the next big thing, encounters her own superfan in her dressing room. This was a great way to end the film, as it once again accentuates the superficiality of fame. There's every chance that this superfan could do to Eve what she did to Margot.
My dad told me that Bette Midler was always type-cast as cynical, battle-weary characters like Margot Channing and such played this role well. Whilst this film wasn't always the most engaging or easy to follow, there were times that I did drop off and miss a few bits, I did really like the messages behind it. This is especially because they're so pertinent with how celebrities are idolised today.
"In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes." Andy Warhol
Margot Channing (Bette Davies) is a fading Broadway star who is about to turn 40 thus marking the end of her career. After a performance one night, Channing meets Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) a superfan who inserts herself into Channing's life threatening her career and personal relationships, especially with boyfriend Bill Sampson (Gary Merill) and maid Birdie (Thelma Ritter.)
In light of today's celebrity culture, this was a great film to watch. Celebrities have absolutely no privacy nowadays. Case in point Brangelina's divorce hitting newspapers across the world. However, it's not just the papers that celebrities have to worry about, but also fans. You also hear stories about fans tracking down their favourite celebrities for autographs and photos, but sometimes for more sinister purposes. For example, Britney Spears was bombarded with lover letters, David Letterman had a fan who thought they were together and Selena Gomez received death threats when she started dating Justin Bieber. Especially with the advent of the internet, celebrities are never out of the limelight and this is a film which perfectly captures on this point.
"In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes." Andy Warhol
Wednesday, 28 September 2016
The Returned Episode Four Virgil
Just like the last couple of episodes, Virgil opened on a flashback to 35 years ago where we found found out that bomber-jacket boy aka Virgil was a bit of a teenage misfit. So much so that Milan decided that he should be killed to free him of his sins. Along with Victor and Lucy, Milan is now responsible for the deaths of three important characters, so I don't know about you, but I definitely have Milan pegged as the villain of this season.
Also is anyone else wondering why all of the flashbacks are from 35 years ago? These flashbacks are all from before the original flood too. Most of the first and second wave of returnees e.g Victor, Virgil and Morganne all died around the time of the dam bursting as well. What is the connection between the returnees and the flooding of the original town? What's the significance of them all dying at similar times? Let me know your theories below.
In the present-day, Virgil continues to become closer with Camille. He offers to take Claire and the recovering Lena back to where the living are but tells Camille that she can't go with them. According to him, they have rejected her. She only belongs with her own kind. We find out that Virgil has the ability to sense people's secrets. We already know that the dead have special powers, such as how Lucy can sense Milan's return. Virgil and Camille kiss before Virgil leaves to wherever he keeps running off to.
Meanwhile, whilst Claire is searching nearby houses for medicine, she runs into this old man who, in the last episode saved her from the Horde. However, he also seems quite threatening, not least because of the Returnees he has hidden away in his house. At the moment, we don't know much or anything about him, but I'd be interested in any thoughts you guys have.
Last week, I said that sides are beginning to be chosen and Simon is struggling to stay neutral. In this episode, I think he has finally chosen to side with Adele and Chloe. In Virgil, we initially see him choosing Lucy and the Horde by taking baby Nathan and giving them to a pair of Returnee parents-later revealed to be Simon's parents. Lucy explains that Simon's parents think that baby Nathan is baby Simon. As a brief aside, what's the deal with Lucy? We see that she's become the unofficial leader of the Horde, but we don't know why. What hold does she have over them? She's definitely the one calling the shots though. We also find out that Simon's parents committed suicide, as did Simon. As Gwilym Mumford of the Guardian points out, Simon's backstory and particularly his death has never been something that's properly explored.
But what we do find out is that Simon's parents killed themselves as part of a suicide pact called the Circle. He then takes Nathan (and a scared Audrey who wants to return to her parents) back to the alive side of town. He takes Nathan to Adele and Chloe and tells them to leave town. However, will they be able to leave town? Last season saw Laure, Julie and Victor, as well as Serge and Toni attempting to escape their town, which didn't end particularly well for either group.
Speaking of Julie, she didn't actually drown herself, as I initially thought, but instead swam back to the original town. Having been rejected by Victor, she goes to his old house to find out more about him. Instead, from a strange old woman, she learns all about Milan's backstory. After the flood, he became a vigilante of sorts, taking the law very much into his own hands. He ordered for Victor's death as he blamed him for the dam bursting. He killed Lucy and Virgil to save them from their sins. Although something's still bugging me about Victor's death. If like I said, Milan ordered specifically for Victor's death, then why was it staged as a burglary? If we go back to Victor, we see that Victor's death was more of an after-thought, rather than anything pre-meditative. He was killed so that he wouldn't say anything not as a punishment for making the dam burst. Pierre tries to vouch for him before his partner impulsively shoots him.
Although Victor doesn't feature as heavily in this episode, his presence is still felt. Berg and Jerome team up to explore Victor's old house, where they find a whole wall of his drawings behind a wardrobe. As we've seen before, Victor's drawings have often acted like premonitions, and there were many of these types of drawings here. There were references to Lucy's and Camille's death, as well as the dam bursting. What's the significance of the drawings? Let me know what you think.
Another character who doesn't feature too heavily is Milan. After Serge "killed" him last episode, he locks him up and then repeatedly kills him. In one of the flashbacks, we find out that Serge is locking Milan up in the same place where he imprisoned Virgil. Serge finds Virgil and frees him, before Milan tracks him down and kills him. To punish Serge, Milan then shows him Virgil's dead body. Anyone else thinking this is what partly contributed to his later murderous tendencies?
Anyway, whilst Serge is busy rescuing Toni from Pierre's dungeon in the Helping Hand, Lucy, who has sensed where Milan is being kept, takes him out to the middle of the lake and pushes him in tied to a heavy anchor. It should also be noted that it's not Lucy who does this, but Morganne, who looks to be quickly replacing Simon as her right-hand man. This was gratifying to watch considering Milan's brutality, but I certainly don't think this is the last we'll see of him. I would also like to take a brief moment to commend the gorgeous lighting and cinematography of this sequence.
Lastly, the exploration of the sinkhole continues slowly and without much consequence. The army deliberate over what the mysterious creature that they saw on the cameras was. Whilst a team is exploring the sinkhole, they find skeletons of many animals. I have to say that this isn't a storyline I'm liking as much, as it's straying a bit too close to supernatural or zombie horror. What makes the Returned so refreshing is that it isn't your typical zombie or malevolent ghost/demon story. The Returned are ordinary people who want nothing more than to return to their old lives. The fact that this mysterious creature which is being treated with hostility and suspicion serves to undermine this.
Theory time:
1. What's the significance of Victor's drawings?
2. Why do most of the Returnees seem to be from the period of when the original dam burst?
3. What is that mysterious creature?
4. What is the Circle?
Also is anyone else wondering why all of the flashbacks are from 35 years ago? These flashbacks are all from before the original flood too. Most of the first and second wave of returnees e.g Victor, Virgil and Morganne all died around the time of the dam bursting as well. What is the connection between the returnees and the flooding of the original town? What's the significance of them all dying at similar times? Let me know your theories below.
In the present-day, Virgil continues to become closer with Camille. He offers to take Claire and the recovering Lena back to where the living are but tells Camille that she can't go with them. According to him, they have rejected her. She only belongs with her own kind. We find out that Virgil has the ability to sense people's secrets. We already know that the dead have special powers, such as how Lucy can sense Milan's return. Virgil and Camille kiss before Virgil leaves to wherever he keeps running off to.
Meanwhile, whilst Claire is searching nearby houses for medicine, she runs into this old man who, in the last episode saved her from the Horde. However, he also seems quite threatening, not least because of the Returnees he has hidden away in his house. At the moment, we don't know much or anything about him, but I'd be interested in any thoughts you guys have.
Last week, I said that sides are beginning to be chosen and Simon is struggling to stay neutral. In this episode, I think he has finally chosen to side with Adele and Chloe. In Virgil, we initially see him choosing Lucy and the Horde by taking baby Nathan and giving them to a pair of Returnee parents-later revealed to be Simon's parents. Lucy explains that Simon's parents think that baby Nathan is baby Simon. As a brief aside, what's the deal with Lucy? We see that she's become the unofficial leader of the Horde, but we don't know why. What hold does she have over them? She's definitely the one calling the shots though. We also find out that Simon's parents committed suicide, as did Simon. As Gwilym Mumford of the Guardian points out, Simon's backstory and particularly his death has never been something that's properly explored.
But what we do find out is that Simon's parents killed themselves as part of a suicide pact called the Circle. He then takes Nathan (and a scared Audrey who wants to return to her parents) back to the alive side of town. He takes Nathan to Adele and Chloe and tells them to leave town. However, will they be able to leave town? Last season saw Laure, Julie and Victor, as well as Serge and Toni attempting to escape their town, which didn't end particularly well for either group.
Speaking of Julie, she didn't actually drown herself, as I initially thought, but instead swam back to the original town. Having been rejected by Victor, she goes to his old house to find out more about him. Instead, from a strange old woman, she learns all about Milan's backstory. After the flood, he became a vigilante of sorts, taking the law very much into his own hands. He ordered for Victor's death as he blamed him for the dam bursting. He killed Lucy and Virgil to save them from their sins. Although something's still bugging me about Victor's death. If like I said, Milan ordered specifically for Victor's death, then why was it staged as a burglary? If we go back to Victor, we see that Victor's death was more of an after-thought, rather than anything pre-meditative. He was killed so that he wouldn't say anything not as a punishment for making the dam burst. Pierre tries to vouch for him before his partner impulsively shoots him.
Although Victor doesn't feature as heavily in this episode, his presence is still felt. Berg and Jerome team up to explore Victor's old house, where they find a whole wall of his drawings behind a wardrobe. As we've seen before, Victor's drawings have often acted like premonitions, and there were many of these types of drawings here. There were references to Lucy's and Camille's death, as well as the dam bursting. What's the significance of the drawings? Let me know what you think.
Another character who doesn't feature too heavily is Milan. After Serge "killed" him last episode, he locks him up and then repeatedly kills him. In one of the flashbacks, we find out that Serge is locking Milan up in the same place where he imprisoned Virgil. Serge finds Virgil and frees him, before Milan tracks him down and kills him. To punish Serge, Milan then shows him Virgil's dead body. Anyone else thinking this is what partly contributed to his later murderous tendencies?
Anyway, whilst Serge is busy rescuing Toni from Pierre's dungeon in the Helping Hand, Lucy, who has sensed where Milan is being kept, takes him out to the middle of the lake and pushes him in tied to a heavy anchor. It should also be noted that it's not Lucy who does this, but Morganne, who looks to be quickly replacing Simon as her right-hand man. This was gratifying to watch considering Milan's brutality, but I certainly don't think this is the last we'll see of him. I would also like to take a brief moment to commend the gorgeous lighting and cinematography of this sequence.
Lastly, the exploration of the sinkhole continues slowly and without much consequence. The army deliberate over what the mysterious creature that they saw on the cameras was. Whilst a team is exploring the sinkhole, they find skeletons of many animals. I have to say that this isn't a storyline I'm liking as much, as it's straying a bit too close to supernatural or zombie horror. What makes the Returned so refreshing is that it isn't your typical zombie or malevolent ghost/demon story. The Returned are ordinary people who want nothing more than to return to their old lives. The fact that this mysterious creature which is being treated with hostility and suspicion serves to undermine this.
Theory time:
1. What's the significance of Victor's drawings?
2. Why do most of the Returnees seem to be from the period of when the original dam burst?
3. What is that mysterious creature?
4. What is the Circle?
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