06 EVENT REVIEW BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL
Newbie HM journo Caroline got a HOT treat landing the BFI London Film Festival as her first assignment. Here’s her take on LFF screenings Hyde Park On Hudson, Compliance and The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Hyde Park
On Hudson -Dir. Roger Michell Stars: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Samuel West.
If you’ve ever wanted a glimpse into the daily lives of history’s world leaders rather than concentrating on the political impact of their decisions, then ‘Hyde Park On Hudson’ is the perfect opportunity. This delicately considered screenplay, directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill), is based on the love letters discovered from a love affair between Franklin D Roosevelt (Bill Murray) and his fifth cousin Margaret Stuckley (Laura Linney) in 1939. Mainly focusing on the pivotal weekend of decision-making where King George (Samuel West) and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) visit, aiming to secure US allegiance before WW2 began.
At times it feels like I’m having a love affair with the President feeling a flurry of emotions, tangled in confusion asking, ‘is he flawed or just in need of intimate relationships?’ At large the film manages to highlight a contrast in culture between the English and American ideal, yet depicts the aesthetic similarities with visually stunning,
impressionist like landscapes. Layer by layer, relationship by relationship, the notion of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ preservation unravels, with such careful sensitivity towards camera angles and focus.
I found it impossible to criticise any cast member. The film has the perfect balance of drama and comedy and the visual techniques throughout are stunning. The marriage of all these devices creates the intimacy needed for the audience to lose sight of the political stakes and focus in on the human perspective.
http://focusfeatures.com/hyde_park_on_ hudson
Compliance – Dir. Craig Zobel Stars: Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy
Compliance is guaranteed to jerk your emotions, be warned and be patient until the very end. A slow and uneasy reveal
stamps this movie as a tortuous thriller. Compliance inducts you as an impartial observer of a typical fast food restaurant; experiencing the humdrum everyday problems of the staff, their processes, demands and relationship nuances. All the while the suspense of high drama lingers. A telephone call from the police is received, requesting assistance from the manager Sandra (Ann Dowd) about an allegation concerning one of her complacent staff, Becky (Dreama Walker). And so the twist begins.
This shift interruption creates a sharp change in priorities and you now become immersed as the only powerless judge of their actions once police presence disappears. You’re left watching this establishment crumble under the pressure, slowly realising that humans are generally conditioned to rank their successes in a workplace upon how well they are able to deliver what is requested of them. Compliance is based
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