Directed by Danny Boyle and written by John Hodge, A Life Less Ordinary is the story about a disgruntled Scottish janitor who kidnaps his boss’ daughter as they conspire to get a ransom unaware that angels are trying to get them to fall in love. The film is a romantic-comedy of sorts with a bit of an edge that revels in a bit of violence but also fantasy. Starring Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Delroy Lindo, Holly Hunter, Dan Hedaya, Tony Shalhoub, Maury Chaykin, Stanley Tucci, and Ian Holm. A Life Less Ordinary is a witty yet off-the-wall film from Danny Boyle.
When true love is involved, fate comes into play to ensure that true love does happen while anything else that prevents that from happening have to be pushed aside. The film is about a couple of angels who arrive to Earth to make sure that an enraged Scottish janitor named Robert (Ewan McGregor) and a spoiled rich girl named Celine (Cameron Diaz) get together where if they don’t succeed, the angels will be forced to stay on Earth forever. Yet, the angels in O’Reilly (Holly Hunter) and Jackson (Delroy Lindo) do whatever it takes to make sure Robert and Celine together as the former decides to kidnap Celine for a ransom after he was fired by her father (Ian Holm) who replaced him for a robot. Though Robert is inexperienced in the idea of kidnapping, Celine helps him so she can collect some of the ransom money after realizing that her father decides to cut her off.
John Hodge’s screenplay definitely plays to the schematics of love where Robert and Celine are two people with very different views as the former is a dreamer who wants to write a novel as he’s going through a string of bad luck. The latter is a rich young woman who likes to do dangerous things and live a certain lifestyle as she had been through too many bad relationships to even consider the idea that there’s such a thing as true love. Because of the idea that true love is hokey, it causes problems up in Heaven where Gabriel (Dan Hedaya) is overwhelmed as God told him that he’s making new rules about to deal with the failure of love not happening. Hodge’s script isn’t just filled with some elements of black comedy as well as a bit of satire into the idea of the rom-com. He also allows the script to have some funny dialogue that plays into the idea of love while giving Robert and Celine reasons into why they should be with each other.
Danny Boyle’s direction is definitely engaging as well as stylized in some of the framing he creates as well as just letting things be much looser. Notably as Boyle incorporates a bit of the musical in the form of a duet between Robert and Celine to Bobby Darin’s Beyond the Sea. While it is a romantic comedy, Boyle is also aware that he wants to infuse the film with other genres such as crime and black comedy. Though the results can be a bit of a mess, Boyle does enough to make sure that the story is still there where he adds some suspense and moments to keep things light-hearted and fun. Overall, Boyle creates a very exciting and heartfelt film about love and fate.
Cinematographer Brian Tufano does excellent work with the film‘s photography where a lot of it is straightforward for the exteriors set in Los Angeles and parts of Utah while using some more stylish lights in some of the film‘s interior scenes. Editor Masahiro Hirakubo does nice work with the editing as it‘s very stylized to play up some of the humor and action as well as some dazzling moments in Robert‘s fantasy scenes. Production designer Kave Quinn, with set decorator Marcia Calosio and art director Tracey Gallacher, do great work with the look of Heaven where it’s all white and looks like a police station while keeping things more simpler for the scenes set on Earth. Costume designer Rachael Fleming does terrific work with the costumes from the more casual clothing of Robert to the more stylish clothes of Celine to display their personalities as well as bringing some styles to the clothes of O‘Reilly and Jackson.
Animation director Michael Mort does fantastic work with a claymation epilogue that reveals more into the fate of the film‘s characters. Sound editor Andy Kennedy does terrific work with the sound to capture some of the funnier moments of the film as well as some of its action scenes. The film’s music by David Arnold is superb for its playful use of electronic music to capture some of its humor and romantic elements. Music supervisor Randall Poster creates a very fun soundtrack that features music from Diana Ross & the Supremes, R.E.M., Ash, Elastica, Underworld, Oasis, Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Sneaker Pimps, the Prodigy, Beck, Orbital, the Shirelles, Gladys Knight, Luscious Jackson, Faithless, the Folk Implosion, and the Cardigans.
The casting by Donna Isaacson is brilliant as it features some notable small roles from K.K. Dobbs as Robert’s former girlfriend, Timothy Olyphant as a hitchhiker, Ian McNiece as Celine’s father’s bodyguard, Tony Shalhoub as a bar owner Robert later works for, Maury Chaykin as a cabin neighbor Robert and Celine befriends, and Stanley Tucci as a former prospect of Celine who would briefly help them out only to try to flirt with Celine. Dan Hedaya is excellent as the archangel Gabriel who gives O’Reilly and Jackson the mission while realizing that he might have the power to play into the fates of Robert and Celine. Ian Holm is superb as Celine’s very greedy and smarmy father who would rather keep the money than pay Robert’s ransom causing more dissent from his daughter.
Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo are great in their respective roles as O’Reilly and Jackson as two angels who pose as bounty hunters who are doing whatever it takes to get Robert and Celine together even if it hurts or kills them. Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz are remarkable in their roles as Robert and Celine as two people brought together by circumstances as they deal with their differences. Notably as McGregor brings a comical approach to his character who is sort of a dimwitted dreamer while Diaz is more cool as a jaded spoiled rich girl who doesn’t believe in love where the two are also very fun to watch.
A Life Less Ordinary is a stellar yet enjoyable film from Danny Boyle that features top-notch performances from Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz. Armed with a wonderful supporting cast and a kick-ass soundtrack, it’s a film that doesn’t take itself seriously while wanting to give the audience something that is something different and fun in comparison to some of the more darker and intense films of Boyle’s other work. In the end, A Life Less Ordinary is a fantastic film from Danny Boyle.
Danny Boyle Films: Shallow Grave - Trainspotting - The Beach - 28 Days Later - Millions - Sunshine - Slumdog Millionaire - 127 Hours - Trance - Steve Jobs (2015 film) - T2 Trainspotting - (Yesterday (2019 film))
© thevoid99 2013
Based on the novel by Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist is the story of an orphaned boy who escapes his miserable upbringing where he joins a group of pickpockets and later meets a veteran criminal who takes him under his wing. Directed by Roman Polanski and screenplay by Ronald Harwood, the film is another film adaptation of Dickens’ novel where Polanski explores the life of a young boy in his search to find a good family. Starring Ben Kingsley, Jamie Foreman, Barney Clark, Harry Eden, Leanne Rowe, Edward Hardwicke, and Mark Strong. Oliver Twist is an extraordinary film from Roman Polanski.
An orphan named Oliver Twist (Barney Clark) is sent to a workhouse for his ninth birthday where he works with many other children where they’re treated poorly and under-fed. When Oliver asks for more food, trouble brews as he’s nearly sold to a chimney-sweeper who craves an apprentice only to be taken to the coffin maker Mr. Sowerberry (Michael Heath) where Oliver is treated cruelly by Mrs. Sowerberry (Gillian Hanna) and an older apprentice named Noah (Chris Overton). After enduring all sorts of punishment, Oliver runs away and walks 70 miles towards London to find a new life. Despite exhaustion and a stop at the home of an old woman (Liz Smith), Oliver finally makes it to London where he meets a young pickpocket known as the Artful Dodger (Harry Eden). The Artful Dodger introduces Oliver to other pickpockets and their elderly leader in Fagin (Ben Kingsley).
After learning how to be a pickpocket, Oliver joins the Artful Dodger and another pickpocket to steal where they steal the handkerchief of a man named Mr. Brownlow (Edward Hardwicke) where Oliver was caught as is taken to trial where he collapses due to a high fever. Mr. Brownlow takes pity on Oliver and brings him home where Oliver finds a life that is full of comfort and love yet the young prostitute Nancy (Leanne Rowe) and Fagin’s associate Bill Sikes (Jamie Foreman) finds where Oliver lives as they kidnap him and bring him back to Fagin. Sikes decides to take Oliver back to Brownlow with his friend Toby Crackit (Mark Strong) to steal from Brownlow but the heist backfires where Sikes nearly drowns in a river and Oliver is wounded by a bullet.
With Sikes conspiring with Fagin to kill Oliver, Nancy overhears the plan as she arranges a secret meeting with Mr. Brownlow about Oliver’s whereabouts. Trouble brews forcing Sikes to take care of things while Fagin and his young gang of pickpockets hide out as Crackit’s home as a manhunt for Sikes starts to happen. When Sikes returns to London to kill Oliver, the pickpockets confront Sikes over what he did as it leads to a chase between Oliver and Sikes as the young boy comes to term with everything he had been through.
The film is essentially the story of a young boy who has endured cruelty in his young life as he searches for a place that he can call home where he eventually meets a group of young pickpockets and an elderly eccentric who take him and later find more comfort and love in a rich man as is suddenly caught between two different worlds. One of which features a world that includes a man who is truly cruel and is willing to do anything to get what he wants even if he has to kill. For the young Oliver Twist, it’s just about trying to live a good life where he can not worry about starving or endure anything. He would eventually gain two very different father figures in the process. The more kind and generous Mr. Brownlow who offers him a life that is safe and filled with knowledge. The other is the more ambiguous Fagin who teaches him how to survive yet is someone who is more interested in his own pursuits where he eventually starts to care for the boy.
Ronald Harwood’s screenplay is wonderful for the way he tells Charles Dickens’ story though it is obvious that there are things that do get leave out from the adaptation. Still, it is quite faithful as Harwood manages to do enough to establish the characters and develop them while making sure that the film is still about this young boy who endures a lot of harsh environments in his journey where he eventually finds something that can give him comfort. Even through all of the trial and tribulations he went through, he still feels grateful for what he has learned such as a climatic meeting between himself and Fagan. It’s a moment where despite what Fagin has been trying to do, Oliver still feels like Fagan at least provided something that would allow him to come of age as a boy.
Roman Polanski’s direction is very engaging for the way he presents the film as it’s shot largely in the Czech Republic. Largely as Polanski allows the film to have this sense of visual splendor in its locations as well as the chase scenes where he presents it with a degree of style. While the filmmaking is more restrained and polished than everything Polanski had done, there is still something in the way Polanski has his actors put into a frame. Even where he will find something that can be funny and light-hearted. Notably the scenes involving the art of pick pocketing where it is very elaborate in its choreography though the presentation is more intimate. Polanski also creates some very intense moments in the suspense such as the key scene where Sikes tries to go after Oliver that is filled with amazing set pieces and action. Overall, Polanski creates a very solid and well-crafted film that pays true to Charles Dickens’ novel.
Cinematographer Pawel Edelman does excellent work with the film‘s colorful cinematography from the sunny look of some of the farmland scenes to the more grayish look for some of the scenes in old London including moments in the rain. Editor Herve de Luze does some amazing work with the editing from the rhythmic cuts in the suspenseful moments and chase scenes to more leisured cuts in the dramatic moments. Production designer Allan Starski, along with art directors Jindrich Koci and Jiri Matolin and set decorator Jille Azis, does spectacular work with the sets from the look of old London and the buildings of the 19th Century to the look of the taverns and places the characters encounter.
Costume designer Anna B. Sheppard does terrific work with the costumes to create the differing looks of the more refined look of the rich to the more ragged clothes of the poor. Makeup designer Didier Lavergne does wonderful work with the look of Fagin with his hair and beard. The visual effects work of Sascha Alexander Haber and Daniel Lo Iacono is very good for the backdrops that is created for some of the film‘s exterior setting in the city. Sound editor Jean Goudier does superb work with the sound to capture the atmosphere of the locations including the tense moment at the kitchen when Oliver asks for more food. The film’s music by Rachel Portman is a delight due to its soaring orchestral flourishes that is playful at times but also dramatic with its heavier arrangements as it’s one of Portman’s best scores.
The casting by Celestia Fox is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features some noteworthy small roles from Ian McNiece as the workshop owner Mr. Limbkins, Jeremy Swift as the man brings Oliver to the workshop, Andy Linden as the chimney sweeper, Michael Heath and Gillian Hanna as Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry, Chris Overton as the cruel Noah Claypole, Liz Smith as the old woman Oliver meets on his way to London, Alun Armstrong as Magistrate Fang, Patrick Godfrey as the bookseller, and Frances Cuka as Mr. Brownlow’s maid Mrs. Bedwin. Other notable roles include Ophelia Lovibond as the young prostitute Bet, Lewis Chase as the young pickpocket Charley Bates, and Mark Strong as the stylish criminal Toby Crackit. Leanne Rowe is wonderful as the young prostitute Nancy who starts to care for Oliver over the way he treats her as she tries to help him return to Mr. Brownlow.
Edward Hardwicke is terrific as the very kind Mr. Brownlow who takes Oliver in and shows him a world full of comfort and security as he becomes aware of the troubles Oliver has been through. Harry Eden is superb as the Artful Dodger who shows Oliver the ropes into how to pickpocket while realizing the danger that Sikes is getting everyone into. Jamie Foreman is excellent as the very conniving Bill Sikes who tries to do things that puts Oliver into a lot of trouble to the point that he would kill to get what he wants. Ben Kingsley is great as the very ambiguous Fagin who treats Oliver like a son though goes into conflict when his feeling interferes with his criminal pursuits only to realize the kind of trouble Sikes puts him through. Finally, there’s Barney Clark in a remarkable performance in the title role as he displays a melancholia to the character as well as someone who knows what he has to do to be good as it’s a very memorable performance for the young actor.
While it may not be one of Roman Polanski’s great films, Oliver Twist is still a very stellar and engaging film from the revered filmmaker. Thanks to a wonderful ensemble cast that includes Ben Kingsley, Barney Clark, Harry Eden, Jamie Foreman, and Mark Strong. It’s a film that provides a lot of attributes to what makes Charles Dickens’ story so beloved while Polanski puts his own unique take that is accessible to adults and children. In the end, Oliver Twist is a marvelous film from Roman Polanski.
Related: Oliver Twist (1948 film)
Roman Polanski Films: Knife in the Water - Repulsion - Cul-de-Sac - The Fearless Vampire Killers - Rosemary's Baby - Macbeth (1971 film) - (What?) - Chinatown - The Tenant - Tess - (Pirates (1986 film)) - Frantic - Bitter Moon - Death and the Maiden - The Ninth Gate - The Pianist - The Ghost Writer - Carnage - (Venus in Fur) - (Based on a True Story) - (An Officer and a Spy) - (The Palace)
© thevoid99 2012
