The BFG

Steven Spielberg has a solid filmography of family films, from E.T to Hook, Jurassic Park to Tintin, all of which found commercial success. But Spielberg’s latest release, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic The BFG, seems to be turning into the flop of the summer. But is it deserved?

Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is a young orphaned insomniac living in a London orphanage that she doesn’t particularly like. One early morning when all else is quiet, she sees a giant lurking about, who snatches her from her bed and takes her off to Giant Country. He introduces himself as the Big Friendly Giant or BFG (Mark Rylance), the runt of the litter and a lot smaller than the other giants. Sophie empathises with him and she helps the BFG devise a plan to get rid of the bullying bigger giants.

The BFG is one of the closer adaptations of Dahl’s work, although Spielberg does much to conceal darker themes in favour of a family friendly PG-release, surprisingly without much detriment to the end result. There’s almost never a dull moment, and whilst a lot of the humour may edge more on the childish side there’s certainly a lot for parents to like. The first two acts in particular carry the story through and explore mystery in such a uniquely Spielbergian way, and the dream catching sequence is probably the most well executed of these moments.

However after the first two acts comes a third chapter that’s more difficult to judge, on the one hand it’s totally true to the book and so should be there, but on the other it just seems so out of place that it takes away from the rest of the film. Perhaps this is an example of Dahl’s bizarre frivolities and Spielberg’s broad-audience mindset clashing. On its own it has merit but it just doesn’t sit well with the rest of the feature.

It’s difficult to fault the acting overall, Mark Rylance (who earned an Oscar for teaming up with Spielberg in last year’s Bridge of Spies) shows his breadth as the BFG and his unique take on language. Ruby Barnhill is enjoyably bossy as Sophie, and Penelope Wilton finds a comic way to play the Queen that doesn’t lean too heavily on caricature. The other giants are also very good and I was surprised to find out that the leader of the group Fleshlumpeater was played by Jemaine Clement. The motion-capture has been meticulously done, and whilst there’s still a noticeable gap between the CGI giants and the rest of the world, it’s never really distracting enough to take you out of the film.

It seems unlikely that The BFG will find the audience that most Spielberg summer blockbusters do, which is sad because whilst it’s far from his best work, it stands above most of the other films that are taking the share in this release period. The BFG is well-acted, often funny and always fun, and whilst it may not be as dark or complex as the novel, it stays true to the intentions and tone of Roald Dahl’s work.

Bridge of Spies

Despite the critique from many a historian, nobody does history as consistently well as Spielberg. Schindler’s List, Lincoln, and Munich were all fine retellings that balanced fact and emotion extremely well. Other of his films such as Empire of the Sun, War Horse and perhaps most-notably Saving Private Ryan inhabit a detailed, rich historical world, despite adapting the circumstances into their own story. His latest film, Bridge of Spies takes a look at the events surrounding the exchange of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel and American U-2 pilot Gary Powers. 

The year is 1957 and in Brooklyn, KGB spy and talented painter Rudolph Abel (Mark Rylance) goes about his business; retrieving secret messages and not getting caught in the process. However, this time the FBI are on his tail and he’s arrested whilst his hotel room is raided. Elsewhere in town, insurance lawyer James B, Donovan (Tom Hanks) is asked by his boss (Alan Alda) to take on Rudolf’s case. It’s imperative that the U.S justice system is seen to be fairly representing the spy, and the Bar association has unanimously voted that Donovan should draw the short straw. 

A guilty verdict is a forgone conclusion, however Donovan gives the case his all, and even after the verdict, talks with the judge to downplay the sentencing from death to incarceration. There may be a time when an American is captured by the Russians and a trade required. That’s exactly what happens when U-2 reconnaissance pilot Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) crashes over Russia and fails to kill himself. Donovan is chosen to negotiate the trade, however he must travel to the divided Berlin to do this. 

Bridge of Spies plays out like a classic espionage thriller, subtle and nuanced like the most recent notable example Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but with Spielberg’s personal touch thrown in for good measure. The period style is immediately evident through the set design, and the entrenched fear of the time palpable through minor details like everybody’s favourite civil defence film Duck and Cover. In the Berlin scenes, the fear and panic is noticeable as construction starts on the Berlin Wall; a snapshot of Europe’s instabilities at the time. Thomas Newman’s score stays largely unannounced, but when it does come out, there’s a distinct Road to Perdition feeling to it all. 

Much like his last film Lincoln, Spielberg accents the themes of this quite astounding story through what can be most closely described as ‘selective patriotism’ – drawing out the inherent humanism in liberal American values, whist rejecting the cold bureaucracy that seems to have taken their place. Donovan cites the constitution in his appeal for Abel, partly because he believes in its protective principles – even if Abel’s not an American – partly because he’s foresees the value in keeping him alive, but also because he empathises with Abel. It’s here that Spielberg reveals his true intentions, which are as usual to draw out compassion and build character. 

These areas are what really sets Bridge of Spies apart from what the film could have been in lesser hands. The well-rounded, often witty Matt Charman/Coen Brothers script covers the historical ground exceptionally well, and the gritty cold-war environment is brought to life through Janusz Kamiński’s reserved cinematography. However the good-natured James B. Donovan is the root of this film and carried through by the always-exceptional Tom Hanks. Hanks gives this film everything, both to his role and to others. He’s well known for his generosity as a co-star, and it really shows. Everybody that shares the screen with him is at their very best. Mark Rylance brings a composed genteelness to Abel that makes him immediately likable, and other standout roles include Stowell as Powers, Jesse ‘Lydia O Lydia’ Plemons and all-round acting legend Alan Alda (despite only making a brief few appearances). 

Not only does Bridge of Spies continue to prove that any Spielberg/Hanks collaboration turns to gold, but it marks a strong return to the classic espionage sub-genre, evident even through the notably “old-school” editing. This film is unashamedly Spielbergian in all its glory – from the human interest core to the final moment of minor sentimental overreach. Many criticise Spielberg for his neat and tidy endings but as a piece of historical storytelling, you don’t need anything more. This is a film that brings out the humanity behind the events and is also the first film I’ve seen in ages that got a healthy round of applause at the end, which certainly says something.

The Gunman

Pierre Morel is the man the brought Taken to the world, so I already knew what to expect when I walked into his latest feature The Gunman. With Sean Penn, Javier Bardem and Idris Elba headlining the film, it can't be that bad right?.....right?

Jim Terrier (Sean Penn) is an ex-soldier working under contract in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His girlfriend, Annie (Jasmine Trinca) works for the same NGO as he does, in a medical position. Felix (Javier Bardem) works as a contact for Jim and is interested in Annie. As part of his contract, Jim assassinates the mining minister and has to flee the continent. When he returns eight years later, digging wells, he uses some bad-ass moves to foil an attempted assassination on himself and when he begins to investigate, finds his past catching up with him.

The Gunman's plot is in a league of it's own, somehow managing to be endlessly clichéd and at the same time, frustratingly convoluted. It often feels like they're specifically adding unnecessary detail and opening up new story arcs to mask the plot holes. Just for example, early on, there's an attempted assassination on Jim, where the gunmen have vials of some 'no-frills' poison. Jim takes the vials, then somehow gets them past customs to show to his mates in London; that might seem nit-picky but it's just the tip of the iceberg. The characters seem to just spew endless jargon, followed by a "we need to go to (insert exotic location)" which seems like a good excuse to consume more of the $40 million budget, an enormous amount of money for an action thriller that really only has a couple of action sequences.

The denouement significantly improves on the hum-drum storyline, but it covers way too much ground, revealing erroneous details and trying to tie up loose-ends with about as much success as a Llama with a ball of string. The Gunman ultimately takes the path most followed, with a story that's both dull and unoriginal. The opening act set in the Congo only serves as a brief, unnecessary establishing point, and to me, using another nation's crisis as a central story arc, then abandoning it in favour of  the regular girl/villain/revenge story is not just a cop-out, it's an insult to those that are actually suffering.

The characters are no better. Javier Bardem is completely underused and has a very insignificant role, especially given his prominence on the poster. Bardem is a very talent actor, but here he's just playing an under-developed douchebag, and there's no acting around that. Idris Elba is only in the film for about the last twenty minutes, and Sean Penn joins the ranks of middle-aged stars playing bland characters who somehow punch louder than a clap of thunder but deliver lines with the dramatic force of a gerbil. Ray Winstone brings some much needed cockney relief but is unfortunately very-much a secondary character. The two strongest performances come Trinca and Mark Rylance, who I haven't actually seen in anything til now.

Given that Morel is also a cinematographer, it should come as no surprise that the visuals are really this film's only saving grace (though the actual DP on The Gunman was Flavio Martinez Labiano). The gritty look is in no way innovative, especially for the action/thriller genre, but along with some decent sound design, it does manage to build the tension. The fight scenes also seem to be extremely well choreographed, though they cut away so much that it's difficult to actually enjoy them. The most enjoyable element of The Gunman was listening to the elderly couple behind me discussing how ripped Sean Penn is.

If you're the sort of person that cherishes the Taken franchise, then you'll probably enjoy this, though then again there's not that much mindless action here either. Not even the strong cast could save this from being a terrible movie.