A few local (relatively) low budget films here which I've lumped in together as they're all noble efforts, enjoyable in parts, but unlikely to lead to you shelling out for the Blu-ray. At first glance you might hesitate at using your hard earned free time to watch Matthew Warchus’ Pride – I mean, do we really need yet another British production (regardless of the decent quality of previous efforts) concerning lefties and the miners? Warchus’ film has a USP though, as its based on the true story of a group of lesbian and gay activists who, back in 1984, raised money for miner’s families affected by their battles with the man (well, wo-man in this case – you know who). The crux of the film concerns the local community coming to terms with differing sexualities and accepting financial and moral help from the activists. Warchus hasn’t directed a film since 1999’s Simpatico (though since then he’s become a fairly large cheese in theatre land) and his direction is one-note all the way through. However, the film is elevated by some great performances (an understated Bill Nighy gives one of his best performances ever as he doesn’t play Bill Nighy for once) and Stephen Beresford’s sharp script provides many a laugh. This is an old fashioned crowd pleaser which, despite it’s flaws (it doesn’t have a tough edge to it like Billy Elliot, Brassed Off et al.) we should still be rejoicing in its appearance – I mean, could you see such a film ever being green lit in the States? You’ll be unsurprised to hear that a musical adaptation for the stage is being planned. Lets move on to Mr Turner - an effort that is as British as a Mike Leigh film starring Timothy Spall. Which this is. The film charts the last quarter of the life of celebrated artist JMW Turner (Spall), but its probably best you come prepared for this with a bit of background knowledge as Leigh does little to help out the average viewer. The film itself is hit and miss. Though Spall gives his usual solid performance, do we really know that Turner spent his whole time mumbling or grunting? On that front, Leigh doesn’t really get under the skin of Turner, though as all we have is written accounts of the man that’s hardly surprising. Spall’s Turner is basically a curmudgeon and at times its hard to really care what he gets up to. The film is actually stolen by the actresses who play two of the main women in the latter stages of Turner’s life. Marion Bailey brings quiet dignity to the role of Sophia Booth (Turner’s landlady and lover), but it’s Dorothy Atkinson as Hannah Danby (Turner’s housekeeper) who really tugs at the heartstrings with her lifelong unrequited love for Turner only being acknowledge by him via sexual exploitation. Though why Leigh continues to cast the dull as ditch water Ruth Sheen (a lacklustre cameo here) remains a mystery. The film has some great moments (look for the scene at the Royal Academy of Arts where Spall smugly improves one of his paintings) and Dick Pope’s cinematography is beautiful. Overall though it’s not as entertaining or informative as you’d hope and its way too long. Finally, lets finish off with some silly goings on in Kevin Macdonald’s submarine based thriller Black Sea. Jude Law puts on a (hit and miss) Scottish accent as Robinson, a recently laid off captain of under-sea salvages who, backed by a mandatory shadowy figure in the background, rounds up a crew of men in order to help locate a sunken German U-boat that is allegedly laden with gold. Each man will get a cut of anything they find, but it doesn’t take them long to realise that the less crew there is, the more there is to go round. Dennis Kelly’s script is no great shakes (amongst the crew we have people playing to type - Scott McNairy as a snivelling suit; Ben Mendelsohn, wait for it, twitchy and unhinged), but instead of making it the standard free for all, Kelly nicely pitches the men at loggerheads via cultural divides (Brits v Russians). This is mainly Friday night dumb fun (there’s a ludicrous bit on the submarine involving a lottery ticket), but there’s a frustrating hint that this could have been a lot more in a stupendous scene where the men attempt to transfer the gold from the U-boat. It’s unbelievably tense and a masterpiece in direction by Macdonald. It’s a shame the rest of the film doesn’t hit similar heights, though Black Sea will go down in history for having one of the greatest ever entries on the films Trivia page on IMDB – “Jude Law is not actually Scottish”. In summation re all three films, they’re all enjoyable in their own different ways, but unlikely to elicit further viewings. Rating (all three films): 7/10.
