Feature - The FA Cup of Actors Grand Crowning

It's been a long competition (longer than I thought, anyway) but it's finally over. It was a tough final battle but a victor has emerged, (cue jaunty fanfare on a piccolo) - the winner of The FA Cup of Actors is... 

Ellen Page

You can tell she's won because she's wearing the Queen hat.

Despite winning the competition, I've actually gone off Ellen Page quite a bit. Her performances are generally the same, and when she does deviate she can become a tad irritating, like in Smart People. It will be interesting to see what she does as she gets older. 

If only I'd been able to review The Pack, Émilie Dequenne would have won easily. (It's ironic because Doccortex would have preferred it if Page had lost.) Dequenne's performances throughout have been pure quality. But it's all down to the films that the actors have chosen to work on that decides their fate. And Ellen Page has chosen well: Super, Juno, The East, Whip It, Peacock and Hard Candy are all solid films (and no, despite Page being the best thing about it Inception was useless). I haven't seen the more recent X-Men films yet although they may improve her ranking further.

Although I have my misgivings, she's still won, beating off a slew of quality actors. So well done Ellen Page, you are the Queen.

evlkeith

Review - The East (2013 - Dir. Zal Batmanglij)

And so we get to the final of the FA Cup of Actors. Ellen Pages pits her wily scissor kick skills against the solidity of Émilie Dequenne's back four. Ellen Page kicks off with her effort - which I'd fancied watching for a while - The East.

Sarah (Brit Marling, who also co-wrote this along with starring in obscurendure favourite Another Earth) works for an elite intelligence firm looking after the interests of their big business clients. She is tasked with infiltrating a group of anarchists, The East, who have been naughtily upsetting these big business types, for example, pouring a load of oil into the house of the CEO of a company that has allowed a huge oil spillage in the ocean; an eye for an eye, no more, no less. As often happens in these situations, Sarah becomes attached to the group and everything gets a bit morally grey.

This for me was the greatest aspect of this film; I was constantly thinking about whether what The East were doing was justified or not. There is no doubt about the companies being entirely dodgy - as they generally are - but do they deserve some of the group's punishments? And just as Sarah becomes emotionally involved with the members, so does the viewer. It's all rather cleverly done. 

Initially I was thinking that both Brit Marling and Ellen Page had been miscast. I just couldn't see them being part of this group. As the plot develops it turns out that the members all came from middle class families, but they were sick of the  consumer crazy madness we now live in and the companies that drive it. They go dumpster diving to get their food, and they don't do too bad. I'm not convinced I could do it though. Added to this the characters in the group all have a grudge to bear against one of the corporations they are up against, so by the end the casting was spot on.

But given that this is Ellen Page's entry she isn't actually in it that much, and it isn't one of her better performances. If she goes on to win the competition, she has done so on the back of far greater performances than her own: Brit Marling's here and Cillian Murphy's in Peacock. Even so, the FA Cup has been about how wisely the actors choose their projects so it's maybe fair enough.

But Brit Marling owns this film. She goes from company drone to portraying a full on anarchist in a very convincing manner. She flits between the different states as she goes back to her real life. Through her acting it is easy to see her attachments growing to the group, but is she able to keep enough of a distance to continue doing her job professionally?

Easily the worst thing about The East is the most useless, tame version of spin the bottle I've ever seen. It's rubbish. There's plenty of hugging and a bit of lady kissing lady action. But the kinkiest it gets is when one character kisses a lady's belly button. Once. Big deal. 

The East gives the viewer plenty to think about after the film has finished, which is pleasant. (It makes you wonder whether the actors involved lead a less consumer driven lifestyle now.) But this film is more likely to change someone's viewpoint (as Fight Club changed mine) than Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy. It's the moral quandaries that raise this above the average and give it a healthy rating of...
6.5/10
evlkeith

If you like this you could also try:
Dawn of the Dead, Fight Club.

Feature - The FA Cup of Actors - The Final

It's been a long year but here we are at the final of the FA Cup of Actors. Let's have a look at how our two finalists have arrived at this illustrious venue (for the respective reviews, just click on the titles):

Ellen Page

Round 1 - Natalie Portman  vs.  Ellen Page
                Hesher - 6/10           Whip It - 7/10 

Round 2 - Radha Mitchell         vs.           Ellen Page
                Melinda and Melinda - 3/10     Smart People - 6/10

Semi - Ellen Page   vs.   Jennifer Connelly 
           Peacock - 6/10     Dark Water - 5/10

Émilie Dequenne

Round 1 - Nathan Fillion  vs.  Émilie Dequenne
                Slither - 6/10         Our Children - 8/10

Round 2 - Émilie Dequenne      vs.      Barbara Crampton
                The Girl on the Train - 6/10    Robot Wars - 2/10

Semi - Émilie Dequenne   vs.   James Stewart
      Écoute le Temps - 6/10  Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation
                                                     - 5/10

Here are some lovely statistics:

Ellen Page
Average rating = 6.3
Highest rated film = Whip It - 7/10
Goal difference = 5

Émilie Dequenne

Average rating = 6.7

Highest rated film = Our Children - 8/10

Goal difference = 7

Dequenne is still the favourite, although it could be closer than once expected. Ellen Page didn't actually contribute that much to the quality of Smart People or Peacock and a case could be put forward that she shouldn't even be in the final. But she is in Hard Candy, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Juno and Super, so she's got some half decent films still in her arsenal. Dequenne meanwhile has been solid in each of her films, although the rarity (and cost - one is over a hundred quid on Amazon) of some of her films may limit her final selection. Only time will tell as we enter the final stage of the competition.

evlkeith

Review - Peacock (2010 - Dir. Michael Lander)

Here we are at the semi-finals of the FA Cup of Actors then and our first match is between Ellen Page and Jennifer Connelly. Now, when Peacock came up for Ellen Page I thought that she'd blown it. I didn't fancy this in the slightest. I'm not that keen on Susan Sarandon and I haven't liked anything that Cillian Murphy has done, (either of the first two Batman films or "it's not a zombie film" 28 Days Later) he's way too slinky for my liking. Things aren't looking good for Pagey (a bit like when half of your players have the flu and the opposition forces you to change ends after the toss).

But crikey, (and maybe even blimy) it's actually not too bad. In fact, it's pretty good. And shock of shocks, Cillian Murphy's performance is great. Let's find out more...

For once I'm going to quote directly from IMDb to give you a little portion of background info: "A train accident in rural Nebraska gradually unveils a mystery involving the town's bank clerk." The reason why I've thieved this is because it gives away nothing, which is dandy. It's good to see that the person writing this knew that to say any more would be to spoil everything about the film.

The director describes this as psychological horror, which I would agree with. It's part drama, part mystery, part thriller and part horror. Fitting it into an existing genre is very difficult, which is generally a good thing; it shows the film-makers have tried something different. Another positive is that the ending is ambiguous leading to plenty of post-film chat.

Cillian Murphy is the major revelation of Peacock. This is a mightily impressive performance, without which the film wouldn't work, and at worst would become laughable. One scene in particular, where there is a certain amount of deception going on, borders on stunning. Changing my mind about someone is pretty hard going so well done Mr Murphy.

Ellen Page, meanwhile, is badly miscast. Her acting is up to her usual standard but I just can't see her as living in a trailer park, and selling her body for cans of Special Brew. Added to that, she doesn't look like a natural born smoker. I can see why they jumped at the chance of having Pagey in their film but for me it was a mistake. If she gets through this semi-final, she's pulled it off by bringing in the ringer Cillian Murphy who should have been in the running for an Oscar.

I've found it really hard to give this a rating. It's worth seeing for Murphy's performance alone (which I would give a 9/10). Overall though, I'm glad that I've seen Peacock but it's not a film that I would watch again, basically down to personal taste. If you like Psycho and Lars and the Real Girl then you will probably enjoy this. 
6/10
evlkeith

If you like this you could also try:
Psycho, Lars and the Real Girl.

Review - Smart People (2008 - Dir. Noam Murro)

Probably not one of Ellen Page's most well known films - in fact, I'd never heard of it - and despite the fact that I was hoping Super was going to be randomly selected, this is the film I've got to watch and review for her second round match against Radha Mitchell whose entry only received a not very good 3/10 (Melinda and Melinda). 

So here we go. Wait a minute, it's got Sarah Jessica Parker in it. I have a not completely irrational dislike of Parker. I saw one episode of Sex and the City and despised it. Nevertheless, I will enter this review with an open mind. An open mind ready to slate Parker.

Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid - shame it wasn't Randy Quaid, purely to give me an excuse to type the word 'Randy' and if Randy Wayne (Hold Your Breath) had been in it too, I probably would have died from a nasty bout of giddiness) erm, where was I? That last brackety bit was way too long. Ah yes, Lawrence Wetherhold is a professor who witters on and on about literature (but not the name Randy) and gets a bit too academic. His wife has died relatively recently and he lives with his daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page) and his unwelcome adopted brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church). Due to an unfortunate accident he meets one of his ex-students (Parker) who just so happened to have had a crush on him back in the day. Romantic happenings happen.

I bet even now you know the whole plot. And you've probably got it bang on. But, in a similar fashion to horror films, it's how you get there that matters, and the characters are all important in this film.

I like Dennis Quaid. He's a bit of an unsung hero of films. Recently I've seen him in Flight of the Phoenix, Horsemen and this. And he's been pretty solid in all of them. He's spot on here with his pompous behaviour and total lack of any lady wooing skills (he doesn't even wink and click). His character does undergo a change, as you'd expect, but it's a lot more subtle than in most films of this ilk.

Ellen Page, for once, plays a different character from her usual quirky teenager type. So different in fact that she takes her dead mum's clothes to a charity shop just so that she can get a tax break. Plus she's got a picture of Ronald Reagan in her bedroom. As a consequence, she's not as likeable as she usually is. But it makes a change from her normal performances. It will be interesting to see the roles she gets in later life and watch how her acting talents develop.

The front cover of the DVD makes Thomas Haden Church's character look like a comedy uncle who is incredible fun and really wacky and zany (a bit like Russ Abbot), the sort of comedy character that makes you want to peel your eyeballs with an angle grinder (again, a bit like Russ Abbot). Mais non! He's actually funny, but again in a subtle, dry way. His humour is very dry and he doesn't have to resort to gurning to get a laugh. A way better performance than the cover would suggest.

Parker. Here she comes. Dragging the proceedings down as usual. And she does. But it's not her fault. All of the other characters fit together well: Quaid and Church look like they could be brothers and Page does a grand job being the daughter (her brother crops up too, but not very often). Although Parker's performance is a little dull and she seems severely uninterested at times, she's not actually too bad. I didn't hate her completely after seeing this. The real problem here is that there is zero chemistry between her and Quaid. Due to this lack of chemistry it seems completely preposterous that they would ever get together, especially after his behaviour at the start of the film. Something went badly wrong at the casting stage.

Luckily it doesn't completely break the film. There's enough going on to keep the interest for the entire running time. I've actually watched it twice recently and I wasn't that keen initially but it's definitely grown on me. Easily enough for Ellen Page to cruise through into the semi-finals of the FA Cup of Actors.
6/10
evlkeith

If you like this you could also try:
Juno, The East, Super.

Review - Whip It (2009 - Dir. Drew Barrymore)

After Natalie Portman's just above average performance in Hesher, let's see how she fares against the strike power of Ellen Page in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It.

Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is a girl living in Bodeen, Texas (not too far from Austin, Texas which in turn is not a million miles away from Denton, Texas). Her mum (the legendary Mrs Carmody from The Mist, Marcia Gay Harden) takes her to beauty pageants in the style of Little Miss Sunshine. Obviously, Bliss isn't too happy with this arrangement and when the opportunity comes along to try out for a roller derby team with some tattooed fishnet wearing ladies, she decides she'll have a go. 

This is an infuriating film, because it is so nearly great. Sadly, it falls at two hurdles and one of them is a pretty major fall. Let's get the one out of the way that could be excusable first: the slinky little turd. Bliss meets up with a bloke out of a band in Austin, Texas and quickly falls for him due to his slinky little turd nature. The problem is that I hated him from the instant I set eyes on him and knew that he was very probably going to be a wrong un. He's just so slimy. The scenes with him and Bliss are the equivalent of the 'plot' scenes in specialist films: flick them and get straight on to the meat of the film.

And the meat in this case is the roller derby action. This is where things come good. It's standard issue in terms of sports films but that's exactly what I want from this sort of film. Do what's expected, maybe in a way that's unexpected, but do it well. For the most part that's what Whip It does. It starts off with a completely useless team that never wins and builds them up to have a crack at the championship. This sort of film needs a villain though, someone for our plucky heroine to triumph over (and no, slinky little turd doesn't count). Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) is that villain.

It helps no end that Juliette Lewis looks completely evil. But her performance is equally nasty too. She is pretty abrasive towards Bliss on numerous occasions. She never passes up on an opportunity to have a dig at her. She becomes such a splendid villain that hands are rubbed in glee at the prospect of seeing Bliss nutmeg her (or whatever the roller derby equivalent is).

This is where we get to huge problem two that is very nearly a film-breaker. Film genres have different conventions that you've pretty much got to stick to. You can mess around with them to a certain extent but if you shoot a romantic comedy where the female lead dies in the final seconds leaving the male lead alone with some razorblades and aspirins, it's going to have very limited appeal. I'm all for taking risks but if you've set something up in a film you've got to deliver. If not, you'll end up with many disappointed people. That's exactly what happens in Whip It; it spends a lot of time setting up something great and then it all falls a bit flat. If I'd reviewed it after the first time I watched it, it would have got a lot lower rating. But after watching it again, in a state of preparedness, I can just about cope with it and the final scenes almost manage to pull it around. 

What does shine through though are the performances of all of the actors (apart from slinky little turd, although he does act the part of a slinky little turd perfectly well). Ellen Page is a bit like Cary Grant in the way that Cary Grant generally played the Cary Grant persona. Ellen Page always seems to play the Ellen Page persona. Whether that's who she actually is or not, it's a part she plays very well and is always a pleasure to watch. Marcia Gay Harden is fantastic as her mum, never getting overly sentimental, but her dad (Daniel Stern - C.H.U.D.) is a complete crowd pleaser, (he even gets to wear a cowboy hat at one point). Every scene he is in is a winner (in stark contrast to the slinky little turd). It doesn't end there. All of the minor roles are also extremely well done too, with not a duff note in sight. It's this and the lack of sugary Disney sick flavoured sweetness that bring it back into likeable territory.

I always knew that I was going to lose one cracking actress from the FA Cup of Actors in this match and it made rating this film particularly hard. As I finished watching it, I was going to give it a 6/10, exactly the same as Hesher, forcing yet another replay in the FA Cup of Actors. But as I thought about it, I knew that I preferred this film to Hesher and it seemed harsh that they should both get a 6. Plus I knew that I would watch this again, but I'm not so sure about Portman's effort. So I've given Whip It the benefit of the doubt, we'll call it 6.517 out of 10 and round it up to a respectable:
7/10
evlkeith

So that means that Ellen Page is through to the next round and will play either David Warbeck or Radha Mitchell. Doccortex will be so happy that Portman is out. Meanwhile, I will shed a little tear. Sorry, Natalie...

If you like this you could also try:
Juno, The Tracey Fragments, Rollerball.

Review - Hard Candy (2005 - Dir. David Slade)

I watched this due to it making an appearance on a list of the ten most gruelling films (sorry, I can't remember the exact page to link to it) and despite not being particularly gruelling, it's a good film.

Hayley Stark (a pre-Juno Ellen Page who interestingly enough was born in Halifax) is a fourteen year old girl who meets a trustworthy fellow in a chat room. She agrees to meet him. And meet him she does. He turns out to be the thirty-two year old Jeff Kohlver (Patrick Wilson). At this point alarm bells should be ringing at a rather loud volume. Ah, no, it's alright. He's clean shaven, well dressed, handsome and doesn't smell of rancid lard. Phew. Not a paedo, then. She agrees to go back to his house...

The film pretty much revolves around just these two characters - with a smattering of bit parts as variety - so they had better be good actors. No worries. It's Ellen Page. She's great. She's in the same category as Natalie Portman and Émilie Dequenne. She can make any film watchable and entertaining. Except maybe Inception. But in that, her powers were negated by a general level of boredom. And okay, maybe she didn't swing it for X-Men: The Last Stand, where she was cancelled out by Vinnie Jones. But even if a film was crammed with the aforementioned actresses plus Nathan Fillion, Jackie Chan and Mark Dacascos, Vinnie Jones would still bring the film down to the direst of levels. Suffice to say, Ellen Page is brilliant in this. And Patrick Wilson is not too shabby either. 

Acting: tick. Directing: tick. Ish. Most of the film is thoroughly engrossing. By the end of it, I had two major needs: a cup of tea - I like a nice cup of tea - and also, I was desperate for a Peters and Lee. This is just one of those films that demands being watched in one sitting. My only problem with the direction were a couple of action shots where the irritating style brought me crashing out of the experience. They jarred badly with the rest of the film.

The writing definitely gets a tick. Brian Nelson has done a cracking job of not telling us what to think (helped by the general absence of music). For the majority of the time, it's unclear who you're supposed to be rooting for. There are quite a few line from early scenes that resonate later. Some are remarked upon and just push against that border of insulting intelligence but others are left well alone, allowing the viewer to have that moment of realisation without it being pointed out. Good ending, too.

So, why is it supposedly so gruelling? It's virtually gore free. But it does become really tense at times and veers into extreme squirmy territory. Gentlemen: prepare to cross those legs. After watching Martyrs and Antichrist this feels like gruel-lite with 50% less gruel. I wasn't expecting much from Hard Candy but I was pleasantly surprised. This gains my Seal of Approval. Tick.
7/10
evlkeith



If you like this you could also try:
Juno, The Tracey Fragments, Antichrist.