| MORE THAN A WOMAN : Elizabeth - The Golden Age; Interview [for Tribune] |
|
|
| Tuesday, 30 October 2007 | |
 Elizabeth - The Golden Age [6/10] UK/Fr 2007 Starring : Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen Director : Shekhar Kapur ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Interview [6/10] USA 2007 Starring : Steve Buscemi, Sienna Miller Director : Steve Buscemi ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ the above films are released in the UK on Friday, 2nd November ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "WE'RE outgunned, Drake - decisively!" So barks a dashingly tempest-toss'd Sir Walter Raleigh (Owen) at a particularly fraught juncture in the sea-battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588. This flight of creative fancy (Raleigh was on dry land defending Devon and Cornwall throughout that particular skirmish) is typical of Elizabeth : The Golden Age's swashbucklingly carefree attitude toward historical accuracy. Then again, how much attention to detail can one expect from a film which opens with a caption identifying "Mary Queen of Scot's [sic] Castle"? Of course, The Golden Age - belated sequel to director Kapur's Elizabeth (1998), with star Blanchett returning to her big breakthrough role - isn't exactly aimed at denizens of Oxbridge Senior Common Rooms. Chronicling a torrid period early-ish in Elizabeth I's reign (even the title is a misnomer, any Elizabethan 'Golden Age' occurring after these events), William Nicholson and Michael Hirst's screenplay adopts a similar bodice-ripping, sensation-hungry tack as Hirst's current small-screen hit The Tudors. The ordinary British people are much-discussed but seldom-seen: the emphasis is instead on top-level courtly intrigue and passionate sexual desire, including a (wildly-speculative) hint of romance between Raleigh and HMQ. The latter has more pressing concerns in the form of her disgruntled ex-brother-in-law, Spain's King Philip II (Jordi Molla) - who, in addition to the Armada, has deployed a Catholic 'fifth column' to undermine the Protestant monarchy ahead of of the 'godless' regime's eventual overthrow. Philip and his cronies are, predictably, presented as moustache-twirling, cacklingly-villainous caricatures, The Golden Age being a prime example of history as written by the victors - conveniently overlooking the fact that Spain actually thrived for decades after the Armada debacle. For all its many flaws, however, "Elizabeth II" is, against the odds, never less than enjoyable nonsense to watch: handled in elaborately sumptuous-opulent style by Kapur and his crew, and given an eminently classy veneer by a top-drawer cast. First among equals, inevitably, is Blanchett: commandingly regal at times (including a rabble-rousing Henry V-style horseback oration) shimmeringly ethereal at others - but also capable of ribald earthiness and/or insecure vulnerability once palace-doors are safely closed. SIENNA Miller probably doesn't get compared to London buses very often, but fans of the celebrity/model/actress who've waited those seven long months since Factory Girl now find two of her movies arriving near-simultaneously. And while last week's chaotic fantasy ensemble-piece Stardust was hardly a showcase for Miller's talents, that certainly isn't the case with controversy-baiting chamber-piece Interview which is, for much of its 84-minute length, essentially a talkily-intense two-hander for Miller and her director/screenwriter/co-star Buscemi. She's Katya: paparazzi-magnet star of terrible - but wildly-popular - fare such as Killer Body 4. He's Pierre: a fortyish, malcontent, highbrow magazine-journalist specialising in hot-button political issues. Though he'd much rather be in DC (where "a shit-storm is brewing"), Pierre is assigned to interview Katya in a fancy Manhattan eaterie. A series of 'unfortunate' events sees the pair relocate to Katya's luxurious nearby loft-apartment - where free-flowing alcohol encourages both interviewer and interviewee into 'ask-all, tell-all' mode, with unexpected consequences... Based on a 2003 Dutch movie of the same - directed by Theo Van Gogh (the cultural provocateur assassinated the following year by an Islamic extremist) and written by Theodor Holman - Interview is the latest addition to what's become (in cinema and theatre alike) a familiar sub-genre of claustrophobic, smartly twisty, battle-of-the-sexes gab-fests. Closer to, say, James Toback's skittishly playful Two Girls and a Guy (1997) than to David Mamet's excoriating Oleanna, the topical, teasing, two-way torments of Interview are evidently intended to pique audience attention and then (hopefully) stimulate lively debate in the bar afterwards. Buscemi and Miller prove a nifty match for the material - each of them playing off their previously-established screen personae, and Miller more than holding her own against her much more experienced colleague. But it's a fundamentally contrived affair, both in terms of set-up and execution: in particular, Katya's "tiredness" repeatedly threatens to bring the interview to a halt, only for some unlikely spark to keep the conversation temporarily trundling along. And the big climactic 'reveal', while superficially satisfying, in retrospect only adds to the general "so-whattish" air which Buscemi never quite manages to dispel. Neil Young written for the next issue of Tribune magazine  ELIZABETH - THE GOLDEN AGE : [6/10] : UK (UK/Fr) 06 : Shekhar KAPUR : 115 mins (BBFC) seen at Vue cinema, Leicester : 6th Oct : press show (Cinemadays event) INTERVIEW : [6/10] : USA 07 : Steve BUSCEMI : 84 mins (BBFC) seen at Vue cinema, Leicester : 7th Oct : press show (Cinemadays event)
|
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
