Oppenheimer

 

Based on the book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, Oppenheimer is the story of Robert J. Oppenheimer and his role in creating the atomic bomb that would usher in the atomic age as it is told in different periods of time including two different hearings in the 1950s. Written for the screen and directed by Christopher Nolan, the film is an exploration into the life of a man who would help play a role in the destruction of the world as well as struggle with its aftermath that would play into his personal life as Oppenheimer is portrayed by Cillian Murphy. Also starring Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Olivia Thirlby, Benny Safdie, Dane DeHaan, Jason Clarke, Alex Wolff, Devon Bostick, Josh Peck, Michael Angarano, Gary Oldman, and Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss. Oppenheimer is a riveting and haunting film from Christopher Nolan.

July 16, 1945 is a day many physicists, scientists, and the world will remember in the project known as Trinity where a weapons test was held in the deserts of New Mexico 200 miles south from the Los Alamos area where many of these scientists would create the atomic bomb. A day that was overseen by J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team as they would create a weapon that had the ability to destroy cities and thus create a world of destruction as it would also set a chain of events leading to the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that went on for nearly 50 years but also terror that would engulf the world in how it can destroy itself. The film is about the man who would help create the atomic bomb as Oppenheimer is a man filled with complications as someone who had theories about quantum physics and what it could do while is also someone with political views that leaned towards communism as it would later get him in trouble in the 1950s as he would endure a hearing in the era of McCarthyism.

Christopher Nolan’s screenplay doesn’t follow a traditional narrative as it is largely non-linear as it focuses on Oppenheimer’s early life, working for the Manhattan Project in the 1940s, his chaotic personal life, post-war life, and two hearings in the 1950s that would also involve Lewis Strauss as the latter revolves around Strauss at a Senate confirmation hearing as it relates to the former who is questioned over being a communist. The script also showcases a world in which Oppenheimer would see things as it relates to quantum physics while also going into a world where he becomes part of a social circle in the late 1920s/1930s involving those with communist views including a young woman in Jean Tatlot (Florence Pugh) whom he would have an on-off affair with while later marrying Katherine Puening (Emily Blunt) who would stick by him despite his affair with Tatlot that would end in the early 1940s. Oppenheimer’s work through quantum physics and its theories that included collaborations with Ernest Lawrence (Josh Hartnett) and Edward Teller (Benny Safdie) as it gets the attention of the American military as they learn about stories of the Nazi Germany creating their own nuclear weapon program under the supervision of German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg (Matthias Schweighofer) whom Oppenheimer met in the 1930s in Switzerland.

Working with General Leslie Groves (Matt Damon) and his then subordinate in Lt. Kenneth Nichols (Dane DeHaan), Oppenheimer would work with the military as they chose a remote area in the New Mexico deserts that would become Los Alamos as they also recruited many scientists, theorists, and others to create the atomic bomb. Even as there would be other places around the country including a location in Chicago headed by Enrico Fermi (Danny Deferrari) and David L. Hill (Rami Malek) who would have their own ideas as they would meet with Oppenheimer outside of their respective bases. Nolan would also play into Oppenheimer’s own personal issues as it relates to the fallout of his affair with Tatlot and the chaos in his marriage to Katherine as well as the aftermath of World War II as he becomes the advisor for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission headed by Lewis Strauss only for Oppenheimer’s ideas to restrict nuclear weapon development has him at odds with Strauss who has a storyline about his 1959 Senate confirmation hearing.

Nolan’s direction is definitely stylish as it plays into recurring images of water, stars, and fire that play into the mind of Oppenheimer who thinks about the destruction that he’s created. Shot on various locations at New Mexico, California, New Jersey, and bits of Switzerland on 65mm large-format film and IMAX 65mm film in both color and black-and-white film stock. Nolan creates a film that plays into a world that is ever-changing while using its non-linear narrative to move back and forth into stories that relates to Oppenheimer’s life as well as the 1954 security hearing and Strauss’ 1959 Senate confirmation hearing. Notably as Nolan uses a lot of wide and medium shots to cover the vast look of the locations as well some of the hearings with the latter providing a sense of claustrophobia for Oppenheimer’s hearing as it also include these close-ups that add to the drama. There are also elements of surrealism for scenes at Oppenheimer’s hearing that includes him having to talk about his affair with Tatlot as they’re having sex at the hearing with Katherine watching in horror.

Nolan also maintains this sense of drama as it relates to Oppenheimer’s post-war life and the emergence of the Cold War such as a scene at a posh restaurant that is presented in both black-and-white and color as it relates to mood in how it would affect later events. Notably as Oppenheimer also deals with figures such as Boris Pash (Casey Affleck) and William L. Borden (David Dastmalchian) who would try and discredit Oppenheimer in different periods of time as Nolan’s direction would have his camera not show their faces at first or re-show a shot from a different perspective as it plays into the drama. The Trinity sequence of that famed bombing is among one of the key moments in the film as it is about where the camera is as well as those watching from afar where the bomb is about to drop. There is also this tense moment as the countdown occurs as there is a lot of tension but also moments such as Oppenheimer and General Groves having a moment despite their own differences. It all leads to the bomb exploding as it is a key moment in the film but it is followed in this aftermath including a surreal moment in what Oppenheimer realized what he had created.

Nolan’s approach to the hearings as it has all of this drama where Strauss’ aide (Alden Ehrenreich) pieces everything that Strauss had been talking about as it relates to Oppenheimer. Even as it plays into the drama over Oppenheimer’s past as well as Katherine’s past due to her own brief affiliation with communism where the hearing is this chilling moment where Katherine is being grilled by Roger Robb (Jason Clarke) only for things to backfire. Even as it would parallel with Strauss’ hearing where it would play into some surprising revelations into why he and Oppenheimer had a falling out. Its ending plays to a scene as it relates to Oppenheimer meeting Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) that is shown early in the film but its conversation isn’t revealed until the end. It all relates to a quote about Prometheus and what he brought to the world as it alludes to the troubled legacy that Oppenheimer would bring to the world. Overall, Nolan crafts a gripping yet intoxicating film about the man who would bring the world a weapon that would destroy it.

Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema does phenomenal work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on natural lighting for the scenes in Los Alamos and New Mexico including its usage of low-key lighting for the interior scenes at night while the black-and-white footage has a richness that play into the world that Strauss sees. Editor Jennifer Lame does incredible work with the film’s editing as its usage of montages, jump-cuts, and other stylish cut add to the drama as well as the usage of parallel moments in its non-linear narrative as it is a highlight of the film. Production designer Ruth de Jong, with supervising art director Samantha Englender plus set decorators Claire Kaufman, Olivia Peebles, and Adam Willis, does brilliant work with the look of the Los Alamos base including its houses, labs, and the tower where the bomb would drop for the Trinity project as well as the places that the characters lived in including the office where Oppenheimer has his hearing. Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick does excellent work with the costumes that play into the period of the time as well as the suit and Fedora hat that Oppenheimer wears as well as some of the dresses that Katherine and Tatlot would wear.

Prosthetic makeup designer Luisa Abel does terrific work with the makeup effects for a key scene in which Oppenheimer sees a young woman’s skin starting to peel away in a surreal moment as it relates to what Oppenheimer has done. The special effects work of Scott R. Fisher and Laurie Pellard, along with visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson, do amazing work with the visual effects with the usage of practical effects to create the sense of realism in what Oppenheimer sees as well as the explosions in the tests he and his team would create. Sound designer Richard King does remarkable work with the sound in the way certain gadgets would sound as well as the immense explosion of the Trinity bomb as it is a major highlight of the film. The film’s music by Ludwig Goransson is phenomenal for its mixture of eerie orchestral pieces as well as some electronic-based bits as it plays into the dramatic suspense and tension that looms into the film as well as the sense of dread as Goransson’s score is a major highlight of the film.

The casting by John Papsidera is marvelous as it features some notable small roles and appearances from Flora Nolan as the young woman Oppenheimer sees at an event following the Trinity project whose skin gets peeled by the bomb, Danny Deferrari as the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi who works in Chicago, James Remar as the then-Secretary of War in the 1940s in Henry Stimson, Emma Dumont as Oppenheimer’s sister-in-law Jackie, Macon Blair as Oppenheimer’s lawyer during the security hearings in Lloyd K. Garrison, Matthias Schweighofer as the German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg whom Oppenheimer meets in the 1930s, Jack Cutmore-Scott as Security Officer Lyall Johnson, James Urbaniak as the philosopher Kurt Godel whom Oppenheimer would meet in Switzerland, James D’Arcy as the experimental physicist Patrick Blackett whom Oppenheimer studied from at Cambridge back in 1926, Hap Lawrence as U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Louise Lombard as Teller’s lover Ruth Tolman, Josh Zuckerman as one of Oppenheimer’s first students in Giovanni Rossi Lomanitz, and Gary Oldman in a superb one-scene appearance as U.S. President Harry S. Truman.

In roles as members of the team that helped Oppenheimer in creating the bomb include Michael Angarano as Robert Serber, Devon Bostick as Seth Neddemeyer, Olli Haaskivi as Edward Condon, Alex Wolff as a former student of Oppenheimer in Luis Walter Alvarez, Harrison Gilbertson as Philip Morrison, Jack Quaid as Richard Feynman, Josh Peck as Kenneth Bainbridge who would push the button for the Trinity bomb explosion, Gustaf Skarsgard as German-American physics theorist Hans Bethe, Christopher Denham as Klaus Fuchs who would later revealed to be a spy for the Soviet Union, and Olivia Thirlby as the lone woman in the team in Lilli Hornig who would play a key part in the development of the Trinity Project as they’re all fantastic in their roles with Angarano, Peck, Wolff, and Thirlby being the major standouts.

Other notable key small roles include Matthew Modine as Vannevar Bush who helps create the Manhattan Project, David Krumholtz as Oppenheimer’s friend Isidor Isaac Rabi who is also a physicist who is worried about the moral implications in creating the bomb, Dylan Arnold as Oppenheimer’s younger brother Frank who would help find the site for Los Alamos, Jefferson Hall as Haakon Chevalier as a friend of Oppenheimer with ties to communism, Tony Goldwyn as Gordon Gray as the head judge at Oppenheimer’s hearing, David Dastmalchian as William L. Borden as a government official who would write a letter to the FBI accusing Oppenheimer to be a spy for the Soviet Union, Dane DeHaan as General Groves’ subordinate Kenneth Nichols who would also try to discredit Oppenheimer in the 1950s, and Alden Ehrenreich as Strauss’ senate aide who accompanies Strauss during the hearing while trying to piece together Strauss’ relationship with Oppenheimer.

Tom Conti is excellent as Albert Einstein as the famed physicist/scientist whom Oppenheimer goes to advice over calculations as he would later meet Einstein years later in the 1950s as he laments over what Oppenheimer has created. Jason Clarke is superb as Roger Robb as a prosecutor at Oppenheimer’s hearing who is intent on bringing Oppenheimer and his associates down while Josh Hartnett is fantastic as Ernest Lawrence as a colleague at Berkeley who is aware of what Oppenheimer is creating though the two would later fall out for a time. Benny Safdie is brilliant as Edward Teller as the famed theoretical physicist who is a key figure that collaborates with Oppenheimer as well as coming up with the idea of the hydrogen bomb despite Oppenheimer’s views on nuclear weapons. Kenneth Branagh is amazing in his small role as Niels Bohr as the Danish physicist who is fascinated by Oppenheimer’s theories as he would be a mentor while also getting a look into Oppenheimer’s work.

Rami Malek and Casey Affleck are great in their performances in their respective small roles as physicist David L. Hill and Colonel Boris Pash with the former who worked in Chicago as he would later play a key role at Strauss’ hearing while the latter is a military official who tries to discredit Oppenheimer. Florence Pugh is incredible as Jean Tatlot as Oppenheimer’s lover in the 1930s who had communist views as they would have an unusual relationship only for things to disintegrate following his marriage to Katherine as their affair would later get troubling. Emily Blunt is marvelous as Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer as Oppenheimer’s wife who deals with her husband’s role and his affair as well as the things said about him where Blunt has a great moment upon being confronted by Robb at her husband’s security hearing as she destroyed him. Matt Damon is remarkable as General Leslie Groves as a military official who works with Oppenheimer despite their own differences as he sees the potential of what they’re creating as he also knows what is at stake during World War II.

Robert Downey Jr. is phenomenal as Lewis Strauss as the head at U.S. Atomic Energy Commission who would bring Oppenheimer as an advisor only to feel humiliated by Oppenheimer as he would have a falling out with Oppenheimer as he would later have a Senate confirmation hearing where he would talk about his issues with Oppenheimer as Downey shows restraint in his performance but also a lot of complexities into the character. Finally, there’s Cillian Murphy in a tremendous performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer as the famed theorist physicist who is called the Father of the Atomic Bomb as he is man that is filled with complications as he tries to figure out how to create something only to realize that he has created a chain of events that would trouble him. Murphy’s performance is filled with a lot of restraint but also anguish into a man who deals with a legacy that would haunt him as it is a career-defining performance from Murphy.

Oppenheimer is an outstanding film from Christopher Nolan that features a spectacular leading performance from Cillian Murphy. Along with its ensemble cast, immense technical work, a screenplay that explores a man’s troubled life and what he created, and Ludwig Goransson’s eerie music score. It is a film that is unlike many bio-pics as it focuses more on exploring the legacy of a man who would create a weapon for the world to destroy itself and the morality he would endure for his part in that creation. In the end, Oppenheimer is a magnificent film from Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan Films: Following (1998 film) - Memento - Insomnia (2002 film) - Batman Begins - The Prestige - The Dark Knight - Inception - The Dark Knight Rises - Interstellar - Dunkirk - Tenet - The Auteurs #13: Christopher Nolan

© thevoid99 2023

Dunkirk

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk is a dramatic re-telling of the evacuation of Dunkirk during World War II in which three different stories are happening during the course of the event. Told on land, sea, and the air, the film follows the lives of soldiers, pilots, and people from Britain who try to escape from the Germans in Northern France. Starring Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Mark Rylance. Dunkirk is a gripping and evocative film from Christopher Nolan.

In 1940 at the Northern-French coast of Dunkirk, thousands of British soldiers are trying to flee the country following France’s defeat to the Germans as naval ships are being sunk with many hoping for a miracle. The film is about this major event in World War II in which many British soldiers are stuck on the beaches of Dunkirk as they’re dealing with German warplanes and forces coming into the city as the French try to hold them off with three different things happening all in the span of a week on land, a day on the sea, and an hour on air. Christopher Nolan’s screenplay is presented in a somewhat non-linear narrative where time is distorted as it showcases what is happening as characters from the different storylines don’t interact in the course of the evacuation. These three different storylines are each given a different title based on its setting as they all would intertwine throughout the course of the film as some of these characters in the different stories would meet with one another to provide some multiple perspectives of what is happening.

The first story entitled The Mole refers to the stranded soldiers on land as they’re trying to evacuate as Commander Bolton (Kenneth Branagh) is watching over the evacuation as he converses Colonel Winnant (James D’Arcy) over what is happening as they believe many of the soldiers will be left behind. Three of these soldiers including Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), Gibson (Aneurin Barnard), and Alex (Harry Styles) struggle to survive as they try to evacuate and endure everything that has been thrown at them. The second story entitled The Sea revolves around what is happening where a mariner in Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance) and his son Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) decides to sail to Dunkirk to save the soldiers with the help of Peter’s friend George (Barry Keoghan) where they would pick-up a shell-shocked soldier (Cillian Murphy). In the third story called The Air, two British pilots in Farrier (Tom Hardy) and Collins (Jack Lowden) fight off against German planes and bombers as the former contends with a malfunction in his fuel gauge.

Nolan’s direction is definitely riveting from start to finish as he doesn’t go for anything that showcase who these characters are before what is happening as it’s more about what is happening in Dunkirk and these soldiers trying to survive. Shot on the actual location at Dunkirk beach in France with some of it shot in Great Britain and the Netherlands with the ship interiors shot in the U.S. Nolan decides to create this sense of immediacy and terror that looms throughout the film as it just keeps going where there is no idea what will happen next. Shot on 65mm film and 65mm IMAX film stocks, Nolan would use the wide shots to capture the vastness of the locations including the English Channel to see how big the evacuation was and how many small boats and ships were there to save these soldiers from imminent doom. There are some close-ups and medium shots to display that terror including some hand-held cameras that help create that suspense and terror in scenes where a German plane is flying and ready to attack the soldiers on the beach.

For a film where so much is happening all at the same time or what happened a few minutes before, Nolan doesn’t stray from the human story as he does showcase these small moments that play into characters dealing with what is happening and figuring out how to survive. Whether it’s on a small boat or inside a plane, Nolan always show what these characters are looking into as well as the fact that he never shows the face of the enemy throughout the entirety of the film. There are also these moments amidst this massive shroud of darkness that showcase not just a glimmer of hope but also the sense of good in humanity amidst the plague of fear looming. Especially as Nolan would put in that sense of historical context into how important the evacuation was as a touchstone moment for Britain. Overall, Nolan crafts a thrilling yet rapturous film about the real-life Dunkirk evacuation that was a pivotal moment for Britain’s role in World War II.

Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema does phenomenal work with the film’s cinematography from the sunny look in some scenes set in the sea to the greyer look of the scenes on land and in the air as well as some nighttime shots with the usage of fire for lighting specifics. Editor Lee Smith does incredible work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts and some stylish non-linear cutting that help provide different perspective of the events that happen in the film as it is a highlight of the film. Production designer Nathan Crowley, with set decorators Emmanuel Delis and Gary Fettis plus supervising art directors Kevin Ishioka and Eggert Ketilsson, does excellent work with the look of the interior of some of the naval ships as well as Mr. Dawson’s ship and the decayed pier at the Dunkirk beach. Costume designer Jeffrey Kurland does superb work with the costumes as it is mostly some army and naval uniforms which Commander Bolton wears in the latter.

Special effects supervisors Ian Corbould and Paul Corbould, along with visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson, does fantastic work with the usage of practical effects for some of the aerial scenes with a few bits of computer-based effects for set dressing and crowd scenes. Sound editor Richard King does brilliant work with the sound to create a sense of atmosphere from the sound of planes flying in the air to the sound of torpedoes and bomb as the sound is often filled with terror as it is another of the film’s highlights. The film’s music by Hans Zimmer is amazing for its orchestral-based score with its offbeat arrangements in the percussions and sound as it help play into the suspense with some more somber pieces in the drama as it is one of Zimmer’s finest scores of his career.

The casting by John Papsidera and Toby Whale is great as it does feature a couple of notable small roles from Jochum ten Haaf as a Dutch seaman and the voice of Michael Caine as a radio communications man talking to Farrier and Collins. Jack Lowden is superb as the air force pilot Collins as a man trying to do whatever he can to stop the Germans from sinking ships and kill soldiers as he would also have a moment of terror of his own. Tom Hardy is excellent as Farrier as an air force pilot who is dealing with the malfunction of his fuel gauge as he is aware of how low he is on fuel but knows what he has to do as he doesn’t show much of his face except his eyes to show what must be done. Fionn Whitehead is fantastic as the young soldier Tommy who is the first character shown in the film as someone dealing with trying to survive while Harry Styles is wonderful as Alex as another young soldier who is also trying to survive but also has suspicions toward something that he feels is off. Aneurin Barnard is terrific as Gibson as a young soldier who is also trying to survive as he spends much of the film not saying very much.

Barry Keoghan is amazing as a 15-year old boy in George who helps Mr. Dawson and his son in retrieving soldiers on the sea while Tom Glynn-Carney is brilliant as Mr. Dawson’s son Peter as a young man who is helping his father as well as converse with those he saves. Mark Rylance is marvelous as Mr. Dawson as a civilian who decides to go to Dunkirk with his son and George in an act to help soldiers without having the navy to take his boat as he is aware of what is at stake. Cillian Murphy is incredible as a shell-shocked soldier Mr. Dawson saves as he copes with what he’s experienced as he’s in a state of shock. James D’Arcy is remarkable as Colonel Winnant as an officer trying to make sense of what is going on as well as wondering what is next for Britain in World War II. Finally, there’s Kenneth Branagh in a phenomenal performance as Commander Bolton as a naval officer trying to manage the evacuation as well as pondering if there is some form of miracle as his performance is just the most touching in the way he reacts to that glimmer of hope.

Dunkirk is an outstanding film from Christopher Nolan. Featuring a great ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, top-notch technical work in the editing and sound, Hans Zimmer’s enthralling score, and an inventive script that creates a sense of terror and intrigue. It’s a war film that just goes head on into what is happening as it’s told in multiple perspective from the soldiers stuck at the beach, on sea, and air to the civilians who travel from their homeland to bring their boys back home. In the end, Dunkirk is a magnificent film from Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan Films: Following - Memento - Insomnia (2002 film) - Batman Begins - The Prestige - The Dark Knight - Inception - The Dark Knight Rises - Interstellar - Tenet - Oppenheimer - The Auteurs #13: Christopher Nolan

© thevoid99 2017

28 Days Later

Directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, 28 Days Later is the story of a young man waking from the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse as he and other survivors try to find a way to survive and evade other zombies. The film is a zombie movie that is set in Britain where survivors of an apocalypse try to comprehend what had just happened as they deal with a new yet unruly world. Starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, and Christopher Eccleston. 28 Days Later is a harrowing yet rapturous film from Danny Boyle.

A young man wakes up after being comatose for 28 days where he wakes up having missed a zombie apocalypse that has wreaked havoc all over Britain where he would meet a few survivors as they try to find civilization and evade the zombies. That is pretty much what the film is about as it revolves around those who survived an apocalypse caused by a bunch of idiotic animal activists who tried to release monkeys who were infected with rage as it leads to an outbreak that lasted nearly a month leaving Britain in a state of chaos with very little hope. Alex Garland’s screenplay begins with this incident caused by activists and then has the narrative shift to 28 days later where a young man wakes up in a hospital unaware of what had happened until he meets a few survivors. He would also get a glimpse of what is happening as there are some zombies still roaming around London as he and some survivors try to find a place where they can be protected. Yet, they would also have to deal with some dark aspects of humanity as well as revelations about the outbreak and what is going on outside of Britain.

It’s not just in the narrative and the severity of what is at stake that makes Garland’s script so interesting. It’s also in the characters as the protagonist Jim (Cillian Murphy) is someone that is taken aback by this new reality he’s encountered as well as what he has to do to survive. Upon meeting Selena (Naomie Harris) who saved him during an attack, he would be forced to accept this reality as Selena is someone who has been hardened by the zombie apocalypse. Yet, she isn’t sure if there is any kind of hope while isn’t eager to cling on to some kind of humanity until she and Jim meet Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and his teenage daughter Hannah (Megan Burns) where they’re both able to find a void that had been lost since the apocalypse. Once they find shelter in the form of a military blockade led by Major Henry West (Christopher Eccleston), the survivors would only see the dark aspects of humanity prompting Jim to do whatever to save himself and his new friends.

Danny Boyle’s direction is definitely stylish as it’s got a look that is very de-saturated in its digital-video photography as well as something that looks surreal. Shot on location in London as well as other parts of Britain as it play into a world that has collapsed where Britain is now abandoned with very little hope. The film’s opening sequence is quite chilling as it shows a chimpanzee watching images of violence and terror where a group of activists break in to try and free these chimps only for a scientist pleading for them to not as all hell breaks loose. Then the film goes into its main narrative following a montage over the zombie apocalypse as it play into Jim discovering this new world of abandonment and loss. Boyle’s usage of wide and medium shots play into the location as well as that sense of uncertainty where many of its locations are in ruins or abandoned while the rural settings seem more calm. Boyle’s usage of handheld cameras play into the close-ups as well as the immediacy of the action as the zombies are fast-moving and more vicious in their presentation.

While Boyle would put in some light-hearted moments as well as scenes that are funny such as a supermarket sequence where Jim, Selena, Hannah, and Frank go on a shopping spree inside an abandoned supermarket. It is still a suspense-horror film of sorts where the third act is very unsettling where the characters not only have to deal with Major West and his crew but what they want to do to ensure their future. It’s a part of humanity that Jim doesn’t like as well as some harsh truths about what has happened where it is clear that there are those who are trying to rebuild society on their own terms. For Jim, what he would do isn’t just providing some sense of hope but also do something about it in dealing with the fact that not all of humanity are just as bad as the zombies. Overall, Boyle creates a thrilling and evocative film about human survivors dealing with the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse.

Cinematographer Anthony Dodd Mantle does incredible work with the film‘s de-saturated digital video photography as it has this grimy look in the way many of the colors look and feel like as well as in the way some of the interiors and exteriors scenes at night look. Editor Chris Gill does brilliant work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts as well as some of the playful rhythms to play into light-hearted moments and the scenes of horror. Production designer Mark Tildesley, with set decorator Fanny Taylor and supervising art director Mark Digby, does excellent work with the look of London in its ruined state as well as the mansion that Major West and his men live in. Costume designer Rachel Fleming does nice work with the costumes as it is mostly casual with the exception of the uniforms the soldiers wear.

Makeup designer Sallie Jaye does amazing work with the makeup design in the way the zombies look in their decayed state as it captures every bit of detail into how deadly they look. Sound designer Glenn Freemantle does fantastic work with the sound editing/design in creating some unique sound effects as well as the layered sounds of chaos and terror that play into some of the frenetic moments of the film. The film’s music by John Murphy is superb for its electronic-based score that feature some beat-driven pieces as well as some ambient cuts while the soundtrack features music from Brian Eno, Grandaddy, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Blue States as it plays to the mixture of serenity and terror.

The casting by Gail Stevens is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from David Schneider as the scientist in the film’s opening sequence, Noah Huntley as a survivor named Mark that Jim meets early in the film, Stuart McQuarrie as the soldier Sgt. Farrell who is the most sensible soldier of the platoon, and Ricci Hartnett as Cpl. Mitchell who sees Hannah and Selena as objects he can impregnate for the future. Christopher Eccleston is superb as Major Henry West as a military leader who is trying to maintain some order for his troops and survivors while having his own ideas about what to do for the future. Brendan Gleeson is excellent as Frank as a cab driver who is kind of this fraternal figure of sorts as he has his own daughter to care for while being a source of comfort for both Jim and Selena who both lost their own families.

Megan Burns is fantastic as Hannah as Frank’s teenage daughter who is trying to cope with the situation as well as be someone that is able to get things done while becoming scared once she learns what the soldiers want from her. Naomie Harris is brilliant as Selena as a survivor who starts off as a cynical woman trying to survive for herself thinking there is no hope only to regain some compassion upon meeting Jim, Frank, and Hannah where she becomes a big sister of sorts for Hannah. Finally, there’s Cillian Murphy in a phenomenal performance as Jim as a bicycle courier who wakes up from a 28-day coma as he discovers what happened to the world where he copes with loss as well as try to hold on to some hope as it is a real breakthrough for Murphy.

28 Days Later is a spectacular film from Danny Boyle that features great performances from Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, and Brendan Gleeson. It’s a zombie film that isn’t just exhilarating and scary but also a film manages to showcase how humanity copes with the aftermath of an apocalypse and survive while trying to do some good. In the end, 28 Days Later is a tremendous film from Danny Boyle.

Danny Boyle Films: Shallow Grave - Trainspotting - A Life Less Ordinary - The Beach - Millions - Sunshine - Slumdog Millionare - 127 Hours - Trance - Steve Jobs - T2 Trainspotting - (Yesterday (2019 film))

© thevoid99 2016

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Based on Tracy Chevalier’s novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring is the fictional story of how Johannes Vermeer created his famous painting as a young maid works for his tumultuous household. Directed by Peter Webber and screenplay by Olivia Hetreed, the film explores the world of Vermeer’s art as he finds a muse in this young woman who would inspire him to make one of his great paintings. Starring Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Essie Davis, Cillian Murphy, Judy Parfitt, Alakina Mann, and Tom Wilkinson. Girl with a Pearl Earring is a ravishing drama from Peter Webber.

Following an accident that left her tile-painting father (Chris McHallem) blind, Griet (Scarlett Johansson) goes to work as a maid for the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). Arriving at his already tumultuous home where his wife Catharina (Essie Davis) is pregnant, Griet is assigned to help out around the house and clean Vermeer’s painting studio as he’s still working on a painting. Griet is also assigned to fetch meet for the family with their maid Tanneke (Joanna Scanlan) where Griet catches the eye of the butcher apprentice Pieter (Cillian Murphy). After Catharina gives birth to a new baby boy, Griet is asked by Catharina’s mother Maria Thins (Judy Parfitt) to send a message to Vermeer’s patron Pieter Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson) for a party to celebrate the baby’s birth and the completion of Vermeer’s new painting.

After taking notice of Griet cleaning the studio, Vermeer gets another idea for a new painting as she suddenly becomes his new assistant to help mix colors and such. Though Griet is having a wonderful relationship with Pieter, she is drawn to Vermeer’s world as she helps him fetch things while doing other duties around the house. After Vermeer completes a new painting and another child coming, Van Ruijven wants another painting as he wants Griet involved much to her discomfort. Vermeer makes a compromise to Van Ruijven to paint Griet alone as only Van Ruijven, Griet, Vermeer, and Maria Thins would know about this painting. With Catharina restless over Griet’s presence around Vermeer and Van Ruijven trying to go after her, Griet becomes uncomfortable with the role she’s playing. Even as it leads to a breakdown of what Vermeer is trying to make.

The film is a fictional idea of how Johannes Vermeer created one of the great paintings of the 17th Century told largely from the perspective of the girl in that painting. It’s a film that is about art and how this simple young, shy woman would inspire Vermeer to create some of these great paintings. Even as she is someone who understands what Vermeer is trying to make with these paintings where she would help him see things. Vermeer would let her be part of his world that only a few people can enter as she understands the idea of lighting and color that his wife couldn’t understand. Yet, there would people like Van Ruijven who wants Griet to be in his service as she hears stories about what Van Ruijven did to a maid some years earlier.

Olivia Hetreed’s screenplay does manage to create a story that is about these two people caught up in this world of paintings where Griet is this participant who reluctantly aids her master. Meanwhile, Vermeer is an artist who has a difficult time trying to create great paintings as he is also under pressure to deliver as his mother-in-law is trying to hide the family’s financial problems from her daughter. The reason they need a patron like Van Ruijven is so he can buy Vermeer’s paintings as he sets his sights on Griet. Yet, Griet is aware of Van Ruijven’s intentions while finding herself caught up in Vermeer’s world as there’s also an alternative in the form of Pieter who wants to give her a simpler life. For Griet, it adds to the sense of confusion as she would eventually be caught up in a world of trouble.

Peter Webber’s direction is intoxicating in the way he presents the film by re-creating 17th Century Delft as it represents a world where Griet is obviously an outsider. Many of Webber’s compositions has a truly astonishing look from the way he frames his actors in a scene as if he’s creating moving paintings. Even as he maintains a restraint in some of the drama with the exception of some emotionally-driven scenes that involves Catharina’s sense of resentment towards Griet. Webber also knows how to set up key moments of how Vermeer creates his paintings to establish this unique relationship between painter and this young maid. Overall, Webber creates a truly gorgeous yet engrossing drama about the world of art.

Cinematographer Eduardo Serra does magnificent work with the film‘s evocative photography from the blue-gray look of many of the wintertime exteriors to the lush array of lights for some of the film‘s nighttime interiors as if Serra is recreating the look of a Vermeer painting. Editor Kate Evans does nice work with the editing as a lot of the cutting is very straightforward while maintaining a leisured pace for the film. Production designer Ben van O, along with set decorator Cecile Heideman and art director Christina Schaffer, does fantastic work with the look of recreating 17th Century Delft with its bridges and homes along with the box that is the camera obscura.

Costume designer Dien van Straalen does superb work with the costumes from the lavish clothing of Van Ruijven as well as elegant dresses that Catharina and Maria Thins wear. Hair and makeup designer Jenny Shircore does terrific work with the look of Van Ruijven to display his grand personality. Sound editor Julian Slater does excellent work with the sound to capture the intimacy of Vermeer at work as well as some of the raucous sounds of the Vermeer household. The film’s score by Alexandre Desplat is a major highlight for the film for its evocative orchestral themes to play up the sense of drama and melancholia. Filled with lush string arrangements and tingling sounds of piano and other instruments, Desplat’s score is among one of his best as well as a key reason for the film’s success.

The casting by Leo Davis is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable small roles from Joanna Scanlan as the head maid Tanneke, Gabrielle Reidy and Chris McHallem as Griet’s parents, and Anna Popplewell as Vermeer’s eldest daughter Maertge. Alakina Mann is wonderful as Vermeer troublemaking daughter Cornelia who despises Griet and is willing to do anything to make her life terrible. Essie Davis is excellent as Vermeer’s wife Catharina who tries to deal with her husband’s work while being unaware of what is at stake. Judy Parfitt is brilliant as Vermeer’s mother-in-law Maria Thins who is aware of the role Griet plays in the paintings as she also tries to shield the family’s financial issues from her daughter.

Cillian Murphy is wonderful as the butcher apprentice Pieter who becomes the one person who cares for Griet as he offers her a different, simpler world as he also brings a low-key charm to the performance. Tom Wilkinson is great as patron Van Ruijven who brings a larger-than-life presence as a man who is filled with greed and wanting to control Vermeer as well as trying to go after Griet. Colin Firth is remarkable as the painter Johannes Vermeer as he brings a very restrained yet touching performance as an artist who finds inspiration in his young maid while taking her under his wing.

Finally, there’s Scarlett Johansson in what is definitely an outstanding performance in the role of Griet. While her role doesn’t require for her to say a lot, Johansson’s performance is truly engaging in the way she displays the fragility of a young shy girl dealing with the new world she’s in while being drawn to the world of Vermeer. The performance is also very minimalist in the way Johansson portrays this young girl where she’s allowed to observe her surroundings as well as not overplaying the part to express her emotions in some very intense scenes. It is really a career-defining performance for an actress who was only 18 when she played the part.

The 2004 Region 1 DVD from Lions Gate presents the film in its original 2:35:1 theatrical aspect ratio for the widescreen format. Along with 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound in English with English and Spanish subtitles, the DVD features a few special features such as the film’s trailer and a music video by Truman for the song Girl with a Pearl that features Scarlett Johansson. The big special feature on the DVD is a 30-minute Anatomy of a Scene special from the Sundance Channel. Featuring interviews with Johansson, director Peter Webber, novelist Tracy Chevalier, and members of the film’s crew, they discuss the making of the banquet scene to reveal how it was made and what was to establish as it’s a truly brilliant special feature.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a marvelous film from Peter Webber that features a phenomenal performance from Scarlett Johansson. Armed with a great ensemble cast that includes Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, and Cillian Murphy along with amazing technical work that includes Eduardo Serra’s cinematography and Alexandre Desplat’s score. It’s a film that explores the world of art as it presents the idea of how Vermeer made his famed painting. In the end, Girl with a Pearl Earring is a stunning yet mesmerizing film from Peter Webber.

© thevoid99 2012

The Dark Knight Rises

Based on the DC Comics, The Dark Knight Rises is the story of a battered Bruce Wayne who dons his role as Batman after an eight-year hiatus to battle a cat burglar and a large man who has taken over the League of Shadows who hopes to wreak havoc on Gotham. Directed by Christopher Nolan and screenplay by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan with story by Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is the third and final part of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy as it follows Bruce Wayne in his quest to bring peace for Gotham as Christian Bale reprises the role. Also starring Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Ben Mendelsohn, Matthew Modine, and Tom Hardy as Bane. The Dark Knight Rises is a magnificent end to the Dark Knight trilogy from Christopher Nolan.

Eight years after the events that involved Harvey Dent’s death, Gotham lives in a world of peace but based on a lie as Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman) starts to feel uneasy about the lie. Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne is living a life as a recluse still lost over his grief and having Batman hide out. Yet, he learns that a cat burglar named Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) has broken into his safe as she had been trying to retrieve his fingerprints for a business rival in John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn). Yet, Wayne learns about a far more sinister figure in a mercenary named Bane who plans to wreak havoc on Gotham. Realizing he needs to be Batman again, he has his left leg repaired while getting ready to face whoever as Bane has officially arrived at Gotham. Still, Wayne has to deal with his losses as he asks Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) to take over Wayne Enterprises with Lucius Fox’s help.

With Gordon recovering from a gunshot after discovering Bane’s hideout, he asks a young police officer in John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to watch over things as Peter Foley (Matthew Modine) takes when Bane finally storms Gotham’s financial stock market to wreak havoc. Yet, it would mark the first of his many confrontations with Batman who makes his return as Batman also confronts Kyle over her theft as she reveals what she’s been doing. She would eventually lead Batman to confront Bane where the confrontation proves to be disastrous for Wayne as he’s sent to a mysterious land that he cannot escape leaving Bane to destroy Gotham all by himself.

After learning some stories about the League of Shadows and having to see Gotham be on its own under Bane’s terror with help from a fusion device Wayne had hoped to use for clean energy. The fusion device becomes a bomb that will detonate leaving the people of Gotham in fear as its criminals are free leaving to do whatever they want. Having to see Bane’s destruction, Wayne realizes what he must do to destroy Bane and the League of Shadows from destroying Gotham as he’ll need the help of some people.

The film is about Bruce Wayne/Batman getting back in the swing of things when Gotham is being threatened by a terrorist who hopes to finish the job that Ra’s Al Ghul (Liam Neeson and Josh Pence as the younger Ra’s Al Ghul) was able to finish in Batman Begins. Yet, Batman also has to deal with a cat burglar who has been trying to steal things from him in order for a businessman to bankrupt Bruce Wayne as she eventually realizes that she is getting little in return as she eventually teams up with Wayne. It’s all about Bane’s plan to fulfill Ra’s Al Ghul’s desire to destroy Gotham at the pinnacle of its chaos and then rebuild it as a new society. Still, he has to face Batman and a few others who actually believe in good triumphing over evil.

While the screenplay does have trouble following along with what Bane is planning along with subplots revolving around John Daggett’s plans to bankrupt Bruce Wayne for the League of Shadows. It does succeed in fleshing out the characters and motivation as it centers around Wayne’s desire to finally return as Batman following an eight-year hiatus but finds himself facing foes that are more powerful than him. Particularly as his motivations get him into conflict with his longtime butler Alfred (Michael Caine) who believes that Wayne is headed for death where he eventually reveals a secret that he kept for eight years.

Then there’s Bane who is this villain that represents a physical force where literally in his confrontations with Batman but also conceptually in how he terrorizes Gotham. Yet, he’s also a very intelligent man who wants to punish Wayne for the lies he created eight years before and for wounding the League of Shadows several years before that. He may not be the anarchist of the Joker nor the more organized planning of Ra’s Al Ghul but Bane is still an interesting villain. While other new character like John Blake and Miranda Tate are also interesting with some back story about them. Another character who simply steals the show from everyone is Selina Kyle. Though she isn’t called Catwoman throughout the film, she is a character that is quite complex as she’s just a thief who likes to steal for herself while aiding others in hopes to clear her name. Yet, she has to deal with all sorts of things as she eventually becomes conflicted about stealing from Wayne once Bane starts to wreak havoc.

Christopher Nolan’s direction is definitely vast in the way he presents the film in its opening scene with this elaborate scene of a plane being captured by a bigger plane that is inter-cut with a scene of Bruce Wayne watching above Wayne Manor to see Commissioner Gordon praise Harvey Dent. It’s a big way to open a film that is ambitious but also intimate in the way Nolan creates small scenes involving Wayne’s own turmoil with his loss that includes a heartbreaking moment where Alfred makes a confession that becomes an emotional turning point for Wayne in his upcoming confrontation with Bane. Yet, there are few scenes where Batman appears as it’s mostly to do with Wayne’s struggle to find reasons to be Batman again while dealing with all of these new dark forces.

Through the vast compositions and big action scenes, Nolan’s direction is truly ambitious as it includes the climatic battle between Batman and Bane where there are revelations into how Batman must save Gotham from nuclear Armageddon. It’s all about creating suspense and moments where Nolan is waiting for the payoff as well as things where Wayne has to face some realities. While there’s a few things in the film that don’t work such as a fantasy sequence where Wayne sees Ra’s Al Ghul in a dream. Still, Nolan does enough for what is expected in a blockbuster superhero film genre with his rapturous shots and thrilling action sequences that does more than entertain. Overall, Nolan creates a truly solid film that ends his Dark Knight trilogy on a high note.

Cinematographer Wally Pfister does amazing work with the photography such as the vast opening sequence and other action sequence that carries a wide depth of field while creating amazing lighting schemes for some of the film‘s interior scenes. Editor Lee Smith does excellent work with the editing to play up the intensity of the action films as well as slowing things down to build up the suspense. Production designers Nathan Crowley and Kevin Kavanaugh, with set decorator Paki Smith and art directors James Hambridge and Naaman Marshall, do spectacular work with the set pieces such as the new Batcave as well as Wayne Manor and the prison that Wayne is put in during the film‘s second half.

Costume designer Lindy Hemming does superb work with the costumes from the look of the Batsuit and Bane‘s costume to the gorgeous leather look of Selina Kyle‘s cat-suit. Visual effects supervisor Paul J. Franklin does terrific work with the minimal visual effects created such as the wide shots of the bridges blowing up as well as other shots involving the Batwing. Sound designer Richard King does brilliant work with the sound from the way the chants sound at the prison scene to the layering of sounds to exemplify the chaos that occurs in the film‘s second half. The film’s score by Hans Zimmer is wonderful for its percussive-driven score to play out the intensity of the action along with more low-key yet heavy orchestral themes to play up the drama.

The casting by John Papsidera and Toby Whale is incredible for the ensemble that is created for the film. With notable appearances from Liam Neeson and Josh Pence as Ra’s Ah Ghul with the latter in flashback scenes, other standouts include Juno Temple as Selina’s assistant Holly Robinson, Brett Cullen as a Congressman Selina woos, Thomas Lennon as a doctor, John Nolan as a Wayne Enterprises board member, Nestor Carbonell as Mayor Garcia, Alon Abutbul as the scientist Dr. Pavel that Bane kidnaps early in the film, Matthew Modine as deputy commissioner Foley, Chris Ellis as a priest John Blake confides in, Ben Mendelsohn as the slimy John Daggett, Burn Gorman’s as Daggett’s assistant Stryver, and Cillian Murphy reprising his role as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in a mock trial scene.

Morgan Freeman is excellent as the always resourceful Lucius Fox while Michael Caine is brilliant as the very witty but concerned Alfred where the latter definitely pulls a lot of the emotional weight involving his relationship with Bruce Wayne. Marion Cotillard is excellent as philanthropist Miranda Tate who tries to get Bruce back in the world and be involved with a clean-energy machine that ends up being trouble. Gary Oldman is great as Commissioner Gordon who deals with the guilt he created from a lie as he becomes overwhelmed with facing Bane by himself only to find a new ally in John Blake. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is superb as John Blake, a hot-headed young cop turned detective who confronts Wayne about what really happened to Harvey Dent as well as try to figure out what Bane is doing. Tom Hardy is marvelous as Bane by exemplifying his physique as a huge force while proving to be a man of great intelligence and power as it’s definitely Hardy at his best.

Anne Hathaway is phenomenal as Selina Kyle where she definitely steals the show from everyone from the one-liners she gives to the way she is able to outwit Wayne in every way and form. It’s Hathaway bringing a lot of humor and physicality to a woman who can’t be trifled with as she gives out one of her greatest performances of her career. Finally there’s Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman where Bale gives another great performance by displaying the anguish and confusion of a man unsure if he’s willing to be Batman again while having to deal with all of these forces. It’s Bale creating a lot of realism to the character of Wayne while being more cunning as Batman where he is more unafraid to do whatever he needs to do to save Gotham.

The Dark Knight Rises is an exhilarating and thrilling film from Christopher Nolan. Thanks to a large ensemble cast that features top-of-the-line performances from Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman. It’s a film that definitely lives up to the hype though it doesn’t top its predecessors in terms of excitement and storytelling. It’s also a blockbuster that manages to excite but also engage for the way it reveals on what Batman must do to save the world. In the end, The Dark Knight Rises is an incredible film from Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan Films: Following - Memento - Insomnia (2002 film) - Batman Begins - Prestige - The Dark Knight - Inception - Interstellar - Dunkirk - Tenet - Oppenheimer - The Auteurs #13: Christopher Nolan

Batman Films: (Batman (1966 film)) - Batman (1989 film) - Batman Returns - Batman Forever - Batman & Robin - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - The Lego Batman Movie - The Batman (2022 film)

© thevoid99 2012

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 5/22/09.

One of Britain's most revered and controversial directors. Ken Loach has made films often dealing with social struggles and political issues. Loach's affiliation with socialist idealism has often put him at odds with people in the film industry despite being a prominent figure in the late 60s and 1970s through TV and film. By the 1980s, he became independent as his films were no longer commercially viable though a revival came in the 1990s. Even as he was considered to be influential by many directors including Steven Soderbergh who put footage of Loach's first film Poor Cow in his 1999 film The Limey. Then in 2006, Loach was in the spotlight again for his most profiled film yet about the Irish conflict with the British with the film The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

Directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty, The Wind That Shakes the Barley tells the story of two brothers fighting in the Irish War of Independence against the British and later, the Irish Civil War. A film that reveals in the Irish conflict against the British as well as its own conflict within the country, the film also upholds Loach's social idealism as well in this haunting yet realistic tale of conflict. Starring Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Liam Cunningham, Orla Fitzgerald, and Roger Allam. The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a haunting yet mesmerizing masterpiece from Ken Loach.

It's 1920 Ireland as a group of men playing hurling come home only to be visited by angry members of the British Army known as Blacks & Tans. A young man named Micheal O'Suillebhean (Laurence Barry) is tortured and killed for not saying his name. For a young man named Damian O'Donovan (Cillian Murphy), who was about to leave to become a doctor in London. This incident along with another incident involving a railway guard and a train driver (Liam Cunningham) being beaten has forced Damien to join the Irish Republic Army. Leading the local column of the army is Damien's brother Teddy (Padraic Delaney) as they all prepare to fight a war with the British. After some small victories in attack barracks for supplies and killing four officers at a pub, the little victories seem to go well. Unfortunately, a young named Chris Reilly (John Crean) was forced by a landowner in Sir John Hamilton (Roger Allam) to give out information.

The O'Donovan brothers plus several members of the IRA including the train driver named Dan were captured. Teddy was tortured for information which he refused to give while Damien befriends Dan as they share socialist views. After trying to play mental games with an officer, Damien is beaten as a young soldier named Johnny Gogan (William Ruane) was unable to kill Damien. Later on, Johnny helps free several members as three were forced to be left behind. After capturing Sir Hamilton and Chris Reilly, the news about the three left behind forced Damien to make decisions under the orders of the IRA. Months later with the British having trouble defeating the Irish, an Irish government was made but problems still happened over how to get funding for guns and such with Dan stating claims about what to do.

The battle rages on despite some losses and attacks at the home of Damien's girlfriend Sinead (Orla Fitzgerald) in which she was tortured. The Irish won the war as for a while, it seemed like absolute victory but it didn't grant complete independence from the British. Teddy is convinced that the treaty will avoid further wars against the British but Damien disagrees as he and Dan demand total independence from Britain. Thus starting the Irish Civil War with Teddy on the Free State side and Damien, Dan, and several of the old gang at the Anti-Treaty side. What would happen would tear apart a family as well as Ireland itself for many years.

The film is about conflict that relates to Ireland's struggle for independence that would later lead to civil war until 1949 when it broke completely from England. While screenwriter Paul Laverty creates a film that is part history-lesson but also part drama, it does reveal the Irish struggle against the British and why the treaty divided Ireland. Particularly with its views on socialism that was prominent for those who were against the treaty. While Laverty shows into why those who went for the treaty just so they could avoid war with Britain. Still, it's more of a socialist film with a socialist point of view spurned by its director Ken Loach. It doesn't mean he is trying to force his ideals to the audience but does make his point about what the Irish had to go through.

The screenplay is well structured with the first act about the Irish conflict with the British and Damien's decision to join the IRA and what he had to do. The second act being about the victory against the British and the hopes for an independent Ireland. The third act is about the Irish Civil War and the conflict between the brothers Damien and Teddy. All of that is well-told from the eye-wielding, engaging direction of Ken Loach. Loach's direction is filled with great long shots of the Irish countryside that has a wide depth of field. He also goes for close-ups to be part of the battle scenes while done with great style and almost documentary-like. Though there's no shaky hand-held work as it's mostly shot on steadicams and some still, tripod shots. Loach's direction is indeed phenomenal in playing up to the drama as well as being true to the history of Ireland as he creates a film that is engaging and powerful.

Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd does fantastic work with the film's greenish, colorful look of Ireland with its rough yet haunting shots of the film's exteriors on the countryside. While there's not a lot of bright colors in the film, the dark colors of both exterior and interior settings to play up to the grim tone of the film. Editor Jonathan Morris does some excellent work with the editing in the use of smooth transitions, rhythmic jump-cuts, and fade outs to help structure the story as well as it give it a leisurely pace for its 127-minute running time where it isn't too slow but not too fast either.

Production designer Fergus Clegg along with art directors Michael Higgins and Mark Lowry do spectacular look with the look of 1920s Ireland from the pubs, homes, and places that are filled with dark colors and old cars that is shown throughout the film. Costume designer Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh does stellar work with the costume that plays up to the 1920s look in terms of dresses, hats, suits, and such along with its dirty look of the IRA militia group. The sound work by Ray Beckett and Kevin Brazier do great work in the location sound work that is captured from the battle scenes to the raucous fight and pub scenes that goes on. The music of George Fenton is wonderfully plaintive with broad arrangements and melodies relating to Irish folk music along with the use of traditional ballads in Gaelic and English to play up to the film's historical tone.

The casting by Oonagh Kearney is phenomenal with some notable small roles from Diarmuid Ni Mheachair as a sick boy Damien treats, Nora Lynch as the sick boy's mother, Fiona Lawton as an Irish government official, Mary Murphy as Sinead's sister Bernadette, Mary O'Riordan as Sinead's grandmother Peggy, Damien Kearney as IRA member Finbar, Martin Lucey as IRA official Congo, and Myles Horgan as the crazed IRA soldier Rory. Other memorable small roles from Aiden O'Hare as IRA soldier Steady Boy, Laurence Barry as Micheal O'Suillebhean, John Crean as Chris Reilly, and William Ruane as British soldier turned IRA soldier Johnny Gogan. Noted character actor Roger Allam has a very memorable role as Sir John Hamilton, a British official who captures members of the IRA only to be captured later on.

Orla Fitzgerald is excellent as Sinead, a fellow Irish messenger to the IRA who is also Damien's longtime love as she helps fight the British and side with Damien over the treaty. Liam Cunningham is superb as Dan, a Socialist who fights for the IRA in his hopes for a free Ireland as he reveals why there should be a free Ireland. Cunningham's performance is truly the film's best supporting performance as he delivers such passion and angst into his role. Padraic Delaney is great as Teddy O'Donovan, the older brother who runs a local section of the IRA in his hopes for Irish independence from the British. Yet, when he becomes part of the pro-treaty side, he is conflicted though his intentions are to hope for a peaceful Ireland unaware of his brother's passion for a free Ireland.

Finally, there's Cillian Murphy in what is truly a tour-de-force performance as Damien O'Donovan. Murphy's performance is filled with lots of development as he starts out as an innocent man with dreams to be a doctor. Then after facing the harsh realities of what is going on to his people, he becomes a passionate, angry young man. Murphy's energetic, passionate, and broad performance as it's really the best film role of his career. Even as he goes into fights while leading the IRA during the Civil War as he stands by in his views in his belief for what is right for his country.

The film premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival where it played in competition and became the surprise hit of the festival. The acclaim and surprising reaction helped the film win the Palme D'or beating several contenders vying for the prize. A month later, the film was released in Britain and Ireland to some controversy but did gain rave reviews through a year later when it came out in the U.S. For Ken Loach, the film raised his profile as he began to make more films frequently once again.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a harrowing yet powerful film from Ken Loach helmed by Cillian Murphy's superb performances. Fans of Ken Loach films will definitely enjoy the engaging approach and devotion to history over the Irish conflict with British and the Irish Civil War. It's a film that is both a great historical drama while also being a wonderful history lesson about Ireland. While some might not agree with Loach's Socialist views, the film does reveal the issues raised from the Irish over their conflict with Britain. In the end, it's a superbly crafted and mesmerizing film from Ken Loach.

Ken Loach Films:  (Cathy Come Home) - (Poor Cow) - Kes - (The Save the Children Fund Film) - (Family Life) - (The Price of Coal) - (Black Jack) - (The Gamekeeper) - (Looks and Smiles) - (Which Side Are You On?) - (Fatherland) - (Hidden Agenda) - (Riff-Raff) - (Raining Stones) - (Ladybird Ladybird) - (Land and Freedom) - (A Contemporary Case of Common Ownership) - (Carla’s Song) - (The Flickering Flame) - (McLibel (1)) - (My Name is Joe) - (Bread & Roses) - (The Navigator) - Sweet Sixteen - (Ae Fond Kiss…) - (Tickets) - (McLibel (2)) - It’s a Free World... - Looking for Eric - (Route Irish) - (The Angel's Snare) - (The Spirit of '45) - Jimmy's Hall - I, Daniel Blake

© thevoid99 2011

The Dark Knight

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 7/20/08 w/ Additional Edits.

***In Memory of Heath Ledger (1979-2008)***

When Batman reemerged to the cinema in 2005, Christopher Nolan's new approach to the Caped Crusader returned Batman to his dark roots. With Christian Bale in the role of Bruce Wayne and Batman, 2005's Batman Begins was a huge hit as it resurrected the comic book hero after being lambasted with ridiculous storylines, bad puns, and such from 1997's Batman & Robin by Joel Schumacher. The return of Batman was greeted with rave reviews and huge box office as everyone is happy. With a new franchise emerging with Nolan and Bale leading the way. It was time for the franchise itself to step up to its epic vision as Nolan along with his brother Jonathan and Batman Begins co-writer David S. Goyer to make a new Batman movie that is even grander and more darker.

For the sequel entitled The Dark Knight, the film essentially picks up where Batman Begins left off. In that film's ending, the just-promoted Lieutenant James Gordon shows Batman a Joker's card. The card would signify the new foe Batman would face in The Dark Knight as he would also face a series of obstacles ranging from the physical to the emotional and mental. Directed by Christopher Nolan with a script he co-wrote with brother Jonathan based on the screen story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. The Dark Knight tells the story of Bruce Wayne playing Batman as he deals with overwhelming escalation among the mob and other criminals while wanting a normal life. With the arrival of new district attorney Harvey Dent, Wayne hopes for the new D.A. to succeed despite the fact that he's dating Wayne's former flame Rachel Dawes. Meanwhile, a new criminal has arrived to wreak havoc on Gotham itself as he's called the Joker.

Based on the comic book by Bob Kane along with characters created by Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, the story is inspired by the comic story Batman: The Long Halloween as well as The Killing Joke story written by Alan Moore. The film takes Batman to newer, darker levels as he faces the Joker whose sense of chaos and lack of remorse makes him the ultimate villain that Batman has to face. Along the way, Batman would face more villains aside from the mob and the Scarecrow when Dent would eventually become another main villain named Two-Face.

With Bale returning for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne along with previous Batman Begins cast members Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, and Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow. The film also stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Eric Roberts, Michael Jai White, Anthony Michael Hall, Nestor Carbonell, William Fichter, Melinda McGraw, Nathan Gamble, and in one of his final performances, Heath Ledger as the Joker. The Dark Knight is an eerie, epic, and haunting masterpiece from Christopher Nolan and company.

More than a year after his arrival into Gotham City, Batman has managed to make Gotham a bit safer. The bad news is that copycat vigilantes has tried to do what Batman has done but often causing trouble. Especially as the Caped Crusader manages to capture former foe Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) who is trying to make deals with the mob. Yet, Batman has also received a lot of heat from the police and press. Then hope arrives in the form of new district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) who decides to help rid Gotham of crime. Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Batman hopes that Dent will do the job after an attempt in putting Sal Maroni (Eric Roberts) on trial. Maroni and another mob boss in Gambol (Michael Jai White) turn to a Chinese business accountant named Lau (Chin Han) to help in saving their money. Maroni also turns to a psychotic criminal named the Joker for help as he decides that the only option to help themselves is to kill Batman.

With Dent now becoming a rising public figure, he is also dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the assistant DA as Bruce Wayne realizes that his hopes to win Rachel's heart are not going to be easy. Even as he tries to deal with his role as Batman as he lives in a penthouse with faithful butler Alfred (Michael Caine) while running his enterprise with CEO Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). Fox and Wayne tried to make a deal with Lau where in truth, Wayne suspects Lau of taking money from the mob for their protection as he, Fox, and Alfred go to Hong Kong to capture Lau so he can testify against Maroni. With Dent managing to gather evidence against Maroni, things seem to go well until the Joker creates assassinations and such as he also targets Dent. Yet, the Joker comes face-to-face with Batman.

With another assassination attempt on the mayor (Nestor Carbonell) thwarted, Dent and Batman make a plan to capture the Joker with Gordon's help as Rachel stays at Bruce's for protection after she learned she's being targeted. Dent, Batman, and Gordon's plan to capture the Joker succeeds only to somehow, backfire because of the Joker's plan. The plan would involve the scarring of Harvey Dent as Bruce Wayne is forced to deal with the weight of being Batman. The Joker frees himself from jail as he decides to wreak more havoc into Gotham as he corrupts Harvey into becoming Two-Face as Batman realizes what limits he must take to save Gotham from the maniacal mind of the Joker.

In Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan tells the story of Batman's origins as he shows audiences how Bruce Wayne became the Caped Crusader as he understands what he must do and what he cannot do. In The Dark Knight, Wayne is forced to see how far he can be pushed and if he can restrain himself. What the film is about is Wayne trying to return to normal life in some ways as he lays all of his hopes on Harvey Dent. Then when the Joker arrives, everything completely goes to hell as he wreaks havoc on Gotham as he tries to prove a point of how even the most pure person can be corrupted through unspeakable means.

Yet, the core story of the film is Batman and Jim Gordon trying to battle the Joker as they realize that the Joker's intentions is to prove that there's no such thing as purity, honor, and justice. Batman and Dent tries to prove otherwise but once Dent is scarred on all levels, he becomes corrupted to the point that everything he is supposed to stand for is out of the window. Yet, this leaves the Joker the opportunity to create anarchy in Gotham as his true colors is the fact that he's a man who works for himself and only himself. The mob and gangs are nothing to him as simply pawns of his game. He also plays a different game with Batman as he tries to get him to reveal himself while hoping to have him destroyed. Yet, he's the man that likes to push Batman's buttons into doing things to try and make Batman break his one rule, to not kill.

Christopher Nolan along brother Jonathan and co-story writer David S. Goyer create a very complex, epic story that is a comic book film but with something more. The film in some ways is a character study on Batman/Bruce Wayne, Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and the Joker. While it's clear that Wayne's motivations is simply to protect Gotham from harm, the Joker doesn't have motivation other than the fact that he just likes to create chaos in a world that he feels is impure. Then there's Harvey Dent, a man who is clearly on the world of good as he wants to clean up the streets and be the White Knight to protect Gotham. Though as Dent, there's shades of his dark side as he's even pushed to the limits. When he becomes Two-Face, the coin that he carries becomes his decider as he ends up being a character with very little remorse and hopes to prove that the Joker's argument for disorder is right.

The script by the Nolan brothers is more straightforward than their previous films as it doesn't rely on flashbacks and such. Instead, Christopher Nolan sets up scenes and things that would create a sense of momentum with the script's structure. The opening scene begins with a bank robbery that involved the Joker and fellow thieves to give the idea of what kind of man the Joker is. The first act is about Batman/Bruce Wayne's hope for Harvey Dent to take over while dealing with Rachel falling for Harvey. The second act involves the capture of the Joker and the beginning of Dent's corruption. The third is Batman dealing with the chaos the Joker has created and the outcome of what Dent has become. The film's ending is complex in not just on what was lost but how to cope with the outcome for both Batman and Jim Gordon.

Nolan's direction is truly astonishing as he creates a look and atmosphere that is purely epic and grand in its vision. With locations shot largely in Chicago and parts of Hong Kong, the film has a look that remains true to the grittiness of Batman Begins but on a far more grander scale. Especially in a few sequences that were shot with IMAX-made cameras like the opening bank scene, the nighttime Hong Kong scene, and other big action scenes. What Nolan also does is rely less on CGI-computer created images and have more realistic look whether its stunts or make-up in the case of Two-Face. Nolan creates a sense of momentum for some of the film's action sequences that also gear towards drama. The film also has some light humor that is also matched by the maniacal yet dark humor of the Joker.

Now some audiences might complain that the film is too dark and too long. It's dark because Batman is meant to be dark. Bruce Wayne has a sense of humor but Batman doesn't. Nolan understands this because, since he's a comic book fan. He knows that Batman has always intended to be this dark, adult figure who isn't really a hero. He's an anti-hero in some respects. The reason it's long is because given that Nolan wants an epic story that lives up to the larger-than-life figures that is Batman and the Joker. These are two men who are in some ways, equals as they give into adult themes that might be too heavy to understand if the audience are kids. What they know is that Batman is a good guy and the Joker is a bad guy. Nolan understands this but he knows that children have an idea of who Batman is and what he represents. His point of view more has to do with the original comics which aren't exactly kid-friendly. That's why kids might have more fun watching something like Spider-Man, who's a more accessible, friendlier super-hero.

Nolan obviously draws some of his cinematic inspirations from Michael Mann's Heat for some of the film's sequences while also taking notes from classic crime dramas which the film in some ways, is. It's a simple crime drama about a man wearing cape who teams up with a new district attorney, and a top police official to fight the mob unaware that they're going up against a figure of terror named the Joker. Nolan has to create a film within those simple plot lines but add dark touches that aren't easy to divulge as it's a film that also has a sense of tragedy. The tragedy more involves in what Batman has to play and what he must sacrifice in order to save Gotham. What Christopher Nolan creates overall is a huge film with a large canvas and a grand story as it's a film that is not just superior than the previous Batman films but raises the bar for all super-hero films based on comic books.

Cinematographer Wally Pfister creates a sharp, gritty look to the film with wonderful shading and colors to fit the mood of the film. From the daytime exteriors that rarely has moments of sunny, bright colors to the eerie nighttime exteriors for some of the scenes shot in Chicago with sepia-drenched colors for the city lights and highways and at times, very little color. In the Hong Kong scene, Pfister's use of blue colors and bright lights are truly brilliant with jaw-dropping presentation as it stays true to its grand look. Pfister's use of colors for the interior also pays true to the look of the Gotham exteriors in its nighttime scenes for its eerie tone as Pfister's photography is a highlight of the film.

Editor Lee Smith does a great job in maintaining the film's leisurely yet stylish pacing approach while creating scenes of tense drama to cut from segment and then to another, and another to create momentum. Smith also does superb work in creating a rhythm for the film's action scenes to create a sense of tension and build-up that is magnificent. Production designer Nathan Crowley along with art director Simon Lamont and set decorator Peter Lando do an amazing job in creating the new secret place where Bruce Wayne and Alfred work at along with the gadgets workshop that Fox has made. Even the gadgets that were created by special effects Chris Corbuld for the action scenes including the Batpod are truly brilliant.

Costume designer Lindy Hemming does an amazing job with the look of the Joker's costumes are truly demonic yet stylish while the Batsuit is given a grittier look that is true to the tone of the film. And no, there are no nipples in the Batsuit! Makeup designers John Caglione Jr., Linda Rizzuto, and Vicki Vacca are great to create the grungy makeup look of the Joker while the look of Two-Face with help from visual effects supervisor Nick Davis is also demonic to unveil the corruption of Harvey Dent. Sound designer Richard King does a fantastic job in the layering of sounds for some of the film's high-octane action sequences as well as sound of the Joker's sinister laughter that is chilling to hear.

The music score of composers James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer is brilliant as it lives up to its grand scale. Howard and Zimmer create fast-building, momentum-driven pieces to convey the sense of action and drama while having moments of screeching violins to play up to the film's sense of horror that accompanies the Joker. The score overall is truly brilliant as it's one of the year's best score work that is filled with huge arrangements, bass-heavy sounds, and layers of synthesizers to create a dark mood.

The casting by John Papsidera is phenomenal for its collection of actors with several appearances being very memorable. Small performances from Melinda McGraw as Jim Gordon's wife, Nathan Gamble as Gordon's son, Beatrice Rosen as Wayne's date Natascha, Nydia Rodriguez Terracina as a judge, Ritchie Coster as a Chechen accomplice of Maroni, and Tommy "Tiny" Lister as a prisoner in a ferry scene who makes a decision relating to the Joker's reign of terror. Other notable small appearances include Joshua Harto as a suspicious employee of Wayne Enterprises who tries to expose who Batman is while Anthony Michael Hall plays newscaster Mike Engel who also tries to expose Batman's identity. Nestor Carbonell is good as the town's mayor while Monique Curnen is also good as Gordon's fellow detective Ramirez.

Michael Jai White has an excellent yet small memorable role as gang leader Gambol who doesn't trust the Joker while returning from Batman Begins, Colin MacFarlane as Commissioner Loeb and Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow where the latter gives a great cameo appearance. Eric Roberts is in fine, slimy form as Sal Maroni, a mob boss who tries to do his business as he ends up having a scary confrontation with Batman. Chin Han is good as the charming yet conniving Lau, an accountant who ends up getting into trouble with Batman. In the film's opening bank robbery scene, William Fichter gives a great performance as a heroic bank manager who tries to battle the Joker only to realize what kind of power the man has.

Taking over for Katie Holmes in the role of Rachel Dawes, Maggie Gyllenhaal is excellent as Bruce Wayne's love interest as she plays a woman conflicted in her feelings for Bruce and Harvey. Gyllenhaal's performance truly surpasses what Holmes brought in the previous film as Gyllenhaal is more engaging, more subtle, and sassier as she has great chemistry with both Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart while having a great scene with Michael Caine. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine both do superb work in their respective roles as Lucius Fox and Alfred. Freeman adds a lot of subtle humor and charm to the character of Fox while Caine plays the moral conscience of the film as he has some funny one-liners while being the lone father figure that Bruce needed. Gary Oldman is brilliant in his role as Lieutenant James Gordon, a good-hearted cop who is trying to capture the Joker and bring peace to Gotham as he had to take risks that involves his family while being the moral center for both Batman and Harvey Dent.

Aaron Eckhart is phenomenal in the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face, a man who brings hope to Gotham City as he carries a coin that he's convinced gives him good luck. Eckhart displays a lot of charm and wit to Dent yet as he turns into Two-Face. Eckhart displays the sense of madness and terror as he becomes someone corrupted as he is tormented in what he lost as he becomes the very thing he is trying to fight against. Christian Bale is great as the character of Bruce Wayne and Batman as Bale brings a complexity to a man pondering about the role of the Caped Crusader. Bale's sense of torment and confusion adds a new layer to Bruce Wayne and Batman as he's wondering if he should do things he shouldn’t do while trying to be the hero that can save Gotham. It's a great performance from Bale as he adds new dimensions to the Dark Knight.

Finally, in his penultimate performance, Heath Ledger gives a rousing, maniacal, humorous, and certainly anarchic performance that is truly unforgettable as the Joker. Had he not died this past January, this performance surely would've made him into one of this generation’s great actors. What Ledger brings is a twisted, eerie, and psychotic performance that is more definitive and a lot closer to what the Joker is in the comics. Less comical than Cesar Romero in the original TV series and far less chew-scenery than Jack Nicholson in the 1989 film version by Tim Burton. Ledger's performance as the Joker is miles away from what those two actors have brought to the character. He has a great sense of humor that is very dark. He likes to create a lot of chaos, he can do lots of lip-smack that is creepy. There's layers to what Ledger brings to the character.

The portrayal of the Joker isn't some caricature or a one-dimensional villain. Ledger sees him as a man who is all about chaos, who doesn't think of good in the world. Ledger creates a villain that is just full of terror as even the men he's hired by are intimidated by him once they see on what he can do. He's someone that's not motivated by money, by revenge, or anything. Ledger makes sure the Joker is a man who likes chaos as Ledger makes the character of the Joker simply larger than life. For the late, 28-year old Australian actor who has brought such memorable performances as a young knight, a poetic junkie, a conflicted gay cowboy, and a troubled version of Bob Dylan. The role as the Joker is a definitive, mesmerizing, and certainly iconic performance from the late, great Heath Ledger.

The Dark Knight is a thrilling, superb, and supremely epic blockbuster film from Christopher Nolan and company featuring great performances from Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, and most of all, Heath Ledger. Fans of the Batman film series will no doubt be amazed at what Nolan does as he exceeds all the expectations that's raised for the film. Though young audiences, particularly kids might feel overwhelmed by its length and dark tone, audiences who love comic book and heavy crime drama will truly enjoy this film for its epic scale and eerie atmosphere. Though its unclear how Nolan and his team will try and top the third installment of the Batman series. It's clear about one thing, The Dark Knight is truly the most definitive and certainly the best of all super-hero films that's ever made.

Christopher Nolan Films: Following - Memento - Insomnia (2002 film) - Batman Begins - The Prestige - Inception - The Dark Knight Rises - Interstellar - Dunkirk - Tenet - Oppenheimer - The Auteurs #13: Christopher Nolan

Batman Films: (Batman (1966 film)) - Batman (1989 film) - Batman Returns - Batman Forever - Batman & Robin - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - The Lego Batman Movie - The Batman (2022 film)

© thevoid99 2011