REVIEWS


Great Expectations Reviewed by Mark Adams


With 2012 the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens, it seems appropriate that in among a plethora of talks, exhibitions and retrospectives, this classy, evocative and impressively performed adaptation of one of the writer’s greatest books makes its way in statesmanlike fashion to the cin- ema screens. And with experienced director Mike Newell (Four Weddings And A Funeral) behind the camera, this version hits all the marks for classic period film drama. The well-loved book has been much filmed —


from David Lean’s classic 1946 version through to the BBC’s recent two-part TV adaptation, starring Ray Winstone, David Suchet and Gillian Anderson — but it is so packed with memorable characters and moments that it is easy to see why. Great Expectations remains a classic and reassuringly familiar story that is easy to watch time and again. This big-budget adaptation, part-produced by


the BBC, makes great use of the big-screen format to present remarkable vistas of the marshlands of the Thames, and comes into its own when special- effects technology helps create a grim, dirty and striking image of London of the 19th century, with its filthy streets, high society and teeming masses. The film opens — in typically striking fashion —


with the image of a young Pip (Irvine) encounter- ing desperate convict Magwitch (Fiennes), who will have such an impact on his life in years to come. From his first meeting with the mysterious and


GALA


UK. 2012. 128mins Director Mike Newell Production companies Hart/Lunsford Pictures, Unison Films, Lipsync Productions, BBC Films, BFI Film Fund International sales HanWay Films, www. hanwayfilms.com Producers Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Emanuel Michael,David Faigenblum ScreenplayDavid Nicholls, based on the novel by CharlesDickens Cinematography John Mathieson Editor Tariq Anwar Production designer Jim Clay Music Richard Hartley Main cast JeremyIrvine, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Holliday Grainger, Jason Flemyng, Sally Hawkins,David Walliams, Olly Alexander


deeply strange Miss Havisham (Bonham Carter, excellent) and her ward Estella (the luminous Hol- liday Grainger in a star-making performance) through to his introduction to London society, the film follows a traditional costume drama path as Pip embraces his new-found circumstances. While many of the early scenes — especially the


ones featuring Mrs Joe (Hawkins) and Uncle Pum- blechook (a badly overacting David Walliams) — are played for rather clumsy humour, the film comes into its own when the story arrives in Lon- don, where Pip is looked after by lawyer Mr Jaggers (a great performance by Robbie Coltrane) and is befriended by Herbert Pocket (Alexander).


The story ticks the usual dramatic boxes, though


the arrival of a longhaired Magwitch back in the life of Pip gives it a badly needed edgier quality, with the scenes of Pip, Herbert andMagwitch row- ing through the misty Thames to help Magwitch escape especially tense and atmospheric. While this version of Great Expectations is intel-


ligently directed, beautifully shot and admirably performed, it lacks a real edge and sense of origi- nality to help it break through at the box office. There is no denying the likes of Ralph Fiennes,


Helena Bonham Carter and Robbie Coltrane offer up memorable performances, but at times the film feels rather too safe.


The Act Of Killing Reviewed by Anthony Kaufman


A surreal, chilling and unprecedented examination of atrocity and accountability, it is difficult to think of another documentary or piece of media that so thoroughly captures a mass murderer’s conscience, as well as charting its evolution. And while it takes some time for The Act Of Killing to get to its revela- tory conclusion, the final pay-off is a stunner. With strong critical support a certainty, the film


should have a healthy life in ancillary markets as a powerful piece of documentary film-making. The Act Of Killing focuses on the perpetrators of


violence from Indonesia’s history 47 years ago when the president, General Suharto, sanctioned the mas- sacre of more than a million alleged Communists. After US-born director Joshua Oppenheimer spent three years filming survivors of the 1965-66 mas- sacres, he eventually met the men who had commit- ted the attacks, and asked them to restage their crimes. In a country where such murders remain valorised and its executioners have been hailed as heroes, the killers were happy to oblige. While it might sound similar to Cambodian


director Rithy Panh’s S-21: The Khmer Rouge Kill- ing Machine, in which guards and interrogators re- enact their treatment of prisoners, The Act Of Killing strives for Hollywood-like production val- ues with some kitschy Indonesian additions thrown in such as dancing girls amid waterfalls. It helps that the film’s central figure, feared death


CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA


Den-Nor-UK. 2012. 116mins Directors Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, Anonymous Production companies Final Cut for Real, Torstein Grude, Piraya Film, Novaya Zemlya, Spring Films International sales Cinephil, www.cinephil.co.il Producers Signe Byrge Sorensen, Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, Joram ten Brink, Michael Uwemedimo, Anne Köhncke, Torstein Grude Executive producers Werner Herzog, Errol Morris, André Singer, Joram ten Brink Screenplay Joshua Oppenheimer Cinematography Lars Skree, Carlos Arango de Montis, Anonymous Music Elin Oyen Vister


squad leader Anwar Congo, began his career as a “movie theatre gangster”, scalping tickets and shaking down customers, and remains inspired by the likes of “Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Wayne”. Interrogation scenes involve noir-ish sets, outfits of suits and fedoras, and plenty of make-up. The elderly Congo even dyes his white hair black. Between the staged scenes, Oppenheimer and


his collaborators observe the men’s motivations for making the film, and their justifications for mur- der. “All this stuff about human rights pisses me off,” says Congo at one point. But a strange thing happens on the way to their final edit. Surprisingly,


Congo admits he has nightmares, whose gory scenes of decapitation and demons begin to be part of the shoot. Other restaged scenes of atrocity appear to take a toll on some of the participants. It should come as little surprise that non-fiction


mavens Errol Morris and Werner Herzog, having seen an early cut of the documentary, signed on as executive producers. Like their best work, Oppen- heimer allows his subjects to talk freely, until they slowly begin to reveal the darkest corners of them- selves. If Congo begins to show some sense of remorse, others do not, expressing a sick love for child rape and other guiltless cruelties.


September 11, 2012 Screen International at Toronto 9 n


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