Blood Father

While everyone is talking about Mel Gibson's upcoming Hacksaw Ridge, it seems like Blood Father has snuck under our radars. Blood Father, directed by Jean-François Richet, provides us with a solid action thriller with just enough emotion and comedy thrown in to make it interesting. Mel Gibson seems to finally be moving into the next logical character stage of his acting career: buff dad. Think Taken, if Liam Neeson found his daughter instantly, and was much, much angrier. 

Recovering alcoholic and ex-convict John Link (Mel Gibson) reconnects with his estranged daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty) after she gets caught up in the workings of a small Mexican cartel, led by her boyfriend Jonah (Diego Luna). Link, not wanting to lose his daughter again, relapses back into his old criminal ways to protect her.

In any action thriller film, you might expect character and dialogue depth to be lacking; that is not the case at all with Blood Father. Link's explosive actions and gruff speech make him believable as a struggling ex-con, while Lydia totally sells as a confused girl in way over her head. The acting of both Mel Gibson and Erin Moriarty are much to commend for this success, working off each other flawlessly in a messed up father-daughter dynamic, in roles that feel strangely comfortable for both actors. The dialogue between the two is especially well-measured, with just enough emotion and comedy thrown in without feeling over the top.

In this same manner, Blood Father deals with both gang and bikie culture in a way that does not feel forced or excessive, and it creates an interesting dynamic to the film's story. The action sequences and shootouts are believable and ultimately well-shot, utilising the film's use of a mostly mobile camera to create lively and fast-paced scenes. This highly mobile camera feel adds a layer of chaos to the design of the film, mimicking that of the story itself. This is paired with the overall aesthetics of the film being convincing, both in the costuming and makeup of the characters and the locations and designs of scenes. After all, it's difficult for a film set in the California desert to not be beautiful.

Despite some very slight pacing issues, Blood Father is a surprisingly enjoyable action flick and ultimately a  very fun movie. No doubt a role like this would've been hard for Gibson following his own drug and alcohol addictions, but both he and Moriarty are both wholesomely convincing as leads and drive the movie in the right direction. It might be rash to claim this movie as a comeback for Gibson, but it is definitely a start, and the film would not be the same with any other actor in his place.

Me and Earl and The Dying Girl

Recently movies that deal with the theme of characters dying from cancer have seemed extremely shallow and superfluous (I'm looking at you Fault in Our Stars). To me they never capture the raw emotions that people experience when someone close to them develops a terminal illness, instead just using superficial manipulation to elicit an emotional response from the audience. However, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's sophomore feature goes deeper than this whilst touching on a number of other issues.

Greg (Thomas Mann) tries extremely hard not to stick out in high school by becoming as invisible as he can to the other students. He and his friend Earl (RJ Cyler) both are passionate about classic cinema and since they were younger have made low-fi remakes of these films (A Sockwork Orange is a personal favourite of mine). One day Greg learns from his parents that a childhood friend of his has been diagnosed with leukaemia. His mother forces him to spend time with Rachel (Olivia Cooke), the titular dying girl, but as time progresses she eventually becomes Greg's, and by extension Earl's, friend.

It is an absolute joy to watch this film. It is raw and honest in its portrayal of people's reactions to knowing someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, which is a more important story to tell because unless you yourself have been dealt such a blow, you will never know what it is like. But chances are you know at least one person who has. And through this you are genuinely moved by how the characters deal with each revelation.

Whilst the film is about dealing with cancer, it also touches on a number of other issues. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl is also a movie about high school and the teen angst that is the undercurrent through those years. Greg makes a concerted effort to label each and every group he comes across, but the people he does this too eventually buck this trend (a big example of this is the character of Madison, who is typified as an attractive girl who stomps on the hearts of less popular guys).

The movie also touches very subtly on racial inequality. Earl is seen to live in a poorer part of Pittsburgh (where the film is set). The film has no qualms about showing that this is due to the fact that is a lower socio-economic area. Rejon also examines the idea of platonic love. It is obvious that Greg is in love with Rachel, but he never acts on it in a romantic way (except for maybe the ending).

Rejon also makes the film a love letter to classic cinema, as it's chock fill with references to Werner Herzog, Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa and other classic directors. The soundtrack is a perfect mix of the same old independent movie music and older classic movie soundtrack moments.

The cast of this film is perfect. Thomas Mann is fantastically dry but also a great physical comedian. RJ Cyler stands out as a phenomenal young actor who can play both serious and funny. Olivia Cooke's performance is just heart wrenching as Rachel and really shows her character's inner turmoil. Molly Shannon is macabrely funny as Rachel's mother who turns to alcohol in response to her child's bleak future. Both Connie Britton and Nick Offerman are fantastic as Greg's parents and Offerman's performance reminded me immensely of a friend of mine and thus I felt more comfortable with his character. Jon Bernthal rounds out the cast as the tattooed history teacher McCarthy.

Never before have I been on such an emotional roller coaster ride while watching a movie than with Me and Earl and The Dying Girl. It is a perfect movie for anyone of any age.