Nil by Mouth (Gary Oldman 1997), : Every marathon inevitably has a clunker: a movie that sounds good on paper, but on execution falls short. Nil by Mouth was the clunker of this marathon: a decent, if typical, portrait of lower class Londoners. The kind that drink too much, swear too much and live permanently on the dole. Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke impress as Ray and Val, a perfectly miserable couple whose relationship goes from bad to worse. Winstone is angry, violent, emotional and despicable as a man who doesn't know any other way to show love than by using his very strong fists. Burke shows incredible strength as Val, a woman finally deciding to take control of her own life and stand up for herself and her children against Ray's violent behavior. A portrait of contemporary London, Nil by Mouth portrays the world these characters live in and has an organic feel, showing the entire counsel estate, the laundromat that the men hang out at, to the old fashioned night club the whole family goes to on a special night. Gary Oldman directed the film and while he doesn't have the cinematic verve of a Terrence Davies, Shane Meadows or Lynne Ramsey, he had a gritty realism that didn't seem put on. I also liked the spheres of
men and women that Oldman portrays, the separate solace they give one another. We see the deep friendship between Winstone and Mark (Jamie Foreman), they can be at the pub together, telling big fish stories (or more accurately, "remember that time I got stabbed" stories), and know that your best mate would never contradict you. More importantly, when Ray has no where to go and has reached his lowest point, his mate is the only person who he can confide in without fear of being seen as weak (which for a man like Ray is the biggest fear he has). And as for Val, we see how she can only truly let her guard down and feel secure with the other women in her life, the generations of women who have endured the same life. Unfortunately, in the end, the film wallows too much in the doldrums of working class life and never illuminates the characters in any more than a trivial way.
My Name is Joe (Ken Loach, 1998): Full Disclosure, we needed subtitles for Ken Loach's portrait of an unemployed recovering alcoholic (Peter Mullan) trying to stay sober in Glasgow. Peter Mullan is subtle and powerful as Joe, in a role that could have been large and overpowering, he plays it quiet and as a fully realized character. For a film about alcoholism, Joe is much more than an alcoholic. Loach uses his typical realist style and the story is straightforward yet sensitively told. The relationship between Joe and Sarah is realistic and sweetly romantic. We know the inevitable moment of Joe's relapse is coming and Mullan and Loach play it without too much dramatic effect (well, in that moment. The moment that comes next is so over the top that it seems extremely out of place in this film). To be quite frank, all of us had a terrible time understanding the very thick Scottish accents so I can't say too much more, since a lot of our viewing was spent saying, "what did he say?". There was no subtitles on our version so we missed a lot unfortunately (especially K, who fell asleep). Joe begins a tentative relationship with a social worker, Sarah (Louise Goodall, also wonderful) and tries to help out his young friend (David McKay) who has gotten in trouble with some criminals.
Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999): Lynne Ramsay's debut film, Ratcatcher was the discovery of the marathon. Dreamlike, captivating and tragic, Ratcatcher follows James, a twelve year old boy, and his family in 1973 Glasgow. The garbage men are striking and they live in half deserted counsel houses without running water, waiting to be re-homed to new houses outside that city that James visits as a respite to his monotonous. The film opens with the death by drowning of one of James' friends, a death James witnesses (and perhaps contributes to in a small way). James father is typical of British film, a drunken, abusive boar and his mother is the strict, yet loving, hold it all together type. Ramsay does well to tell this story through a child's eyes because the world James lives in is so depressing and so grimy and disgusting that if we didn't see it through the relative joy of a child, the movie would be unbearably sad (and it nearly is anyway). The tone of the film is so remarkable, for an example, one of the children in the flats is a little boy named Kenny who is slightly developmentally disabled and loves animals. He has his own little menagerie in his flat.
James, is on the outskirts of a group of older bad boys and when Kenny comes out in the courtyard with his new mouse, we see the boys take it and start to throw it and tell Kenny that his mouse can fly. The tension is incredible as we watch this little mouse fly through the air and hope it doesn't land splat. Finally, he gets it back and under the impression that it can fly, ties a balloon to the poor mouses tail and sends it to the moon. What should be a sad moment turns to delight and whimsy as we follow this mouse all the way to the moon and see him there with all his mouse friends that have made this perilous journey. It is a moment of levity and wit that prevents this film from becoming misery porn like some of the other films we have seen in this marathon. Ramsay's use of the camera is assured and stylish without being over the top and her cinematography is dark and menacing, punctuated by moments of pure, unadulaterated beauty (for example, the stunning shots of James visiting the new homes that face open fields of golden wheat). Ratcatcher is emotionally draining yes, but cinematically life affirming.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this little slice of Britain that we discovered on this marathon. It very well may suck to be British, which all of these films showed, but there is something wonderful in the dignity, pride and humor of the lower middle class. Maybe its not so bad after all (not that I want to find out!).
Julie
Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999): Lynne Ramsay's debut film, Ratcatcher was the discovery of the marathon. Dreamlike, captivating and tragic, Ratcatcher follows James, a twelve year old boy, and his family in 1973 Glasgow. The garbage men are striking and they live in half deserted counsel houses without running water, waiting to be re-homed to new houses outside that city that James visits as a respite to his monotonous. The film opens with the death by drowning of one of James' friends, a death James witnesses (and perhaps contributes to in a small way). James father is typical of British film, a drunken, abusive boar and his mother is the strict, yet loving, hold it all together type. Ramsay does well to tell this story through a child's eyes because the world James lives in is so depressing and so grimy and disgusting that if we didn't see it through the relative joy of a child, the movie would be unbearably sad (and it nearly is anyway). The tone of the film is so remarkable, for an example, one of the children in the flats is a little boy named Kenny who is slightly developmentally disabled and loves animals. He has his own little menagerie in his flat.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this little slice of Britain that we discovered on this marathon. It very well may suck to be British, which all of these films showed, but there is something wonderful in the dignity, pride and humor of the lower middle class. Maybe its not so bad after all (not that I want to find out!).
Julie
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