Elysium - Review

                                           
                                                                                                                           Rating: B-

I'm having a hard time rating this film. On one hand, it's a stupendous technological effort but on the other hand it's a hammy eye-twitching melodrama. Every line is paper thin, peppered with unnecessary exposition.

Premise:
It's a story set in the future, 2154 to be exact, where rich people have left the earth for the poverty ridden masses to live. On earth, there seems to be no proper governments or laws except the drones and robots sent from the sky(elysium) to control the masses. One guy, with a luck which can only be of a multi-million dollar film protagonist, has the key to lessen the class division and give the people on earth a proper health care and other basic facilities. Thus begins the journey of the hero to accomplish his goal as besides the moral duty of whole world, he also faces lethal radiation exposure which only Elysium can cure.
                               

Review:
Spoilers ahead, be warned!

Before I delve deeper into the review, I'd like to say that the degree to which you'd like the film depends on what you're looking for in the movie. If you are looking for big action extravaganza with some sci-fi sprinkled on top a la "Oblivion" and "Aliens" then this does the deed. If you're looking for thought-provoking sci-fi with action sprinkled on top a la District 9 then look away. Speaking of District 9, how amazingly Neill Blomkamp popped onto the mainstream feature foyer with D9, making everyone notice this immensely talented director. The CGI was mind-mindbogglingly terrific on a very modest budget compared to its peers in the same category including Elysium. What he accomplished in D9 was a spectacular sci-fi film with great engaging narrative, life-like CGI and some message to share, which was wrapped up nicely in a shiny bundle. With Elysium however, the engaging narrative was gone, the message was literally on the nose and sci-fi took a side step for the sake of guns and bullets. What was left was CGI and in that department he delivered in spades. The elysium ring which floats dreamily on top of the Earth is both massive and believable. It has spectacular level of detail and beauty. I got goosebumps when the supersonic jets flew vertically from the Earth and to the Elysium. It all looked so real and majestic. But more time was spent on Earth during the film which must have helped in keeping the budget in check as the main action was taking place in slum-like congested and poorly maintained streets. But the magic and spectacle of sci-fi was gone the more time we spent on Earth. As a result we were not in awe anymore and started noticing the story. That's where the main problem lied. It was cheese laden with too much exposition and too many convenient plot points, all happening in the lives of uni-dimensional characters.
Why do the characters have to say every single thing which comes to their mind, even when it's so obvious through their actions? Its story is incredibly lazy and over-the-top, with information not spoon fed but forced fed to us. You can argue that if it's meant to be an action blockbuster then I shouldn't over-emphasize the lackluster script, but it's from the creator of District 9 not Michael Bay. He proved that he can create dazzling action sequences, jaw-dropping VFX and engaging story at the same time as well.
A cold and calculated security official played by Jodie Foster, who calls all the shots behind the curtains. She basically runs Elysium and of course she's evil. She's planning coup with the help of a CEO also while trying to capture Max (Matt Demon) with the help of a rough and tough sleeper agent Kruger (Sharlto Copley). Fighting these forces is the hero, Matt Demon, who must do the impossible task of bringing equality to the people of the Earth.
                              

Mid way through the film, while Matt's character is planning to go to elyisum, it is conveniently stated that he has the brain which can hack the elysium system and reboot it with the chance to give equality to everyone. How did that even happen or is possible is left out of the picture. The control elysium has on Earth is immense yet no one has taken or plan to take action ever before the hero emerged? Are all the people living in elysium that cruel? If so, why? Are they just too filthy rich to care or just downright evil-plotting elites and hate the humanity in general? Why are all poor people depicted as good and rich as bad? The world created in elysium is too black and white and the characters are like cardboard caricatures. On top of that, the acting is bad! Sharlto was great in D9 but extremely annoying in this film. His lines were downright cringe-worthy on the paper and more so when spoken by him. At one particular scene, he was shouting to himself while chasing the protagonist and blurting out lines like " I'm gonna eviscerate the little one/boykie." Jodie is a great actress without a doubt and can handle a lead in a sci-fi as she showed in "Contact" but even she struggles with the goofy dialogues and confused expressions as the camera lingers on her face for the reactions after every dialogue the other character speaks. Many of her choreographed hand gestures were very contrived and unnecessary. Matt was good for what he was provided with and seemed to be having a lot of fun. I suppose that's so because much of the time he was playing the action hero where the focus is not on the character but the spectacle.

Conclusion:

I loved the fact the Neill had something to say in D9 and he did so while giving us a good narrative driven story of the protagonist on a personal level. Here Neill told the same message which he already did but without the personal engaging story of the main character to boost. I still think Neill is a great director but I also strongly believe that he isn't a good writer. At the end of the day, the film will not hold long if the story isn't good. All the classics which are still studied to this day are great examples of how a great script lives forever. The CGI and other visual effects look dated but their stories are fresh and powerful to this day and will continue to be for long. It feels like Neil came up with an idea and then spending much time in script, he spent the whole time creating amazing armour, robots and VFX. They were of course great but in all that, story got left behind a little. Elysium was a good spectacle but hollow underneath however despite saying that I'm really looking forward to "Chappie".

The Fall - Review

                                                                                                                  Rating: A-
The Fall. What to say about it. I absolutely loved it. It's a true cinematic experience which I sadly could only catch at home. It was a limited release and certainly not around the area I live. But nonetheless I own the copy now and come back to it from time to time to indulge myself in the fantastical world of The Fall. It's a good film by many accounts but the visuals alone deserve a viewing.

Premise:
It's a story, set in 1920s, about a child recovering from a broken arm in the Los Angeles hospital. There she befriends another patient who is a stunt man much older than her who tells her a mythical story, in parts, everyday. Thus begins the journey of us as the spectator and the girl as the listener into the surreal and magnificent world of a fairytale told by the stunt man. As the parallel narrative continues between the gritty hospital scene and the immaculate fairyland tale, the story intertwines and the two worlds merge together. The characters become more open and we soon realize that the stunt man might be using the girl as a pawn for his own agenda using that fabricated story as a tool.

Review:
The Fall is an exquisite film. "Exquisite" is the word which instantly popped into my mind while thinking about this film and the most appropriate one at that. This film has just the right amount of surrealism and artistry to it, making it a marvelous looking film without over-boarding into the abstract genre. The scenes and images make sense to me as an audience and work as an essential part of the story. What I'm trying to say is that it's no Tree Of Life, rather better(In my humble opinion). It achieved what it set out to, through the imagery it used. Tree Of Life left me dazzled me with the visuals but never quite took me to the philosophical elation it was trying for. It felt more like a statement of the director rather than the journey while The Fall is the opposite. Many people might wonder at the parallel between the two films but for me the connection was natural as both used visuals to extreme extent as the major component of storytelling. The Fall fulfills that job remarkably. Tarsem had stated clearly that there is no CGI used in the film which makes it all the more organic and close to reality. It's not just about the visuals anyways, the film has many other shining aspects. The performances from the lead girl Alexandria(Catinca Untaru) and the Stunt Man/Roy (Lee Pace) are captivating. These two characters essentially hold the film together and keep the viewer interested through their realistic portrayals of their respective characters. I particularly loved Catinca, she was truly the heart of the film. There were plenty of moments where her expressions and delivery was so natural it was superb. The look of awe on her face when she hears the story and the innocence in her eyes was very raw and real. In many ways we were the spectator and listener along with her. Roy was telling us the story and when he would suddenly stop at the most interesting part, Alexandria would rightfully show disappointment reflecting our thoughts perfectly. The story was very cohesively written and the pacing of the events made us engaged and interested throughout as it progressively gets more emotional and climatic. In a way I have already praised the story by liking the two main characters. A great story always has great memorable and interesting characters and when a story accomplishes that, most of the work is done. Once the audience relates and understands the characters, the writer can essentially take us anywhere through those characters and manipulate our emotions the way he wants. This is a great mastery and few screenplays has this. The art direction and the sound complement the story and elevate the overall experience by many degrees. Tarsem's skill is apparent in this. We can tell it's his passion project afterall he himself invested all his money instead of asking the mighty studios. By doing this, he maintained the artistic integrity and creative vision which would have otherwise been lost if financed by studio executives. It was a risk through and through and as a film lover and member of the audience I can proudly say it paid off with flying colors.

Was it perfect? No. Am I bothered? Not at all. I loved this film because it tried to achieve it and that itself is an accomplishment. It tried to do something risky and out of the box. It is a nightmare logistically and financially to pull something like this off on your own. I would commend a person daring enough to try it and more so if he achieves it. Tarsem finished the job and did it by giving it everything he had and it shows on the screen. The film was a broad canvas and he painted it with his imagination with no one to stop him. Sometimes such an exercise can be very self-indulgent for its own sake but The Fall isn't one. It's an experiment of a child running wild with imagination put on film and instead of feeling distant or left out, you go along with it embracing your own inner child and be mesmerized by the experience.

Conclusion:
Ultimately it comes down to how great of a time you have while you're watching a film. No matter how philosophically superior a film might be, but if it leaves you with a feeling of boredom then it's not doing it right. While being entertained can be very subjective but I can say this with confidently that The Fall won't bore you. Such films need to be made more and I only wish they get more audience because a film which breaks the narrative formula and succeeds, should be seen. More artists should take creative risks and experiment with the genre on a broader level and I really wish more studios invest in those artists. Because ultimately such endeavors will move the medium forward, not the recycled cliched-laden films which plays safe to make a profit. Hopefully you don't need any more persuasion to watch this film. The opening credits scene can be viewed as a beautiful short film on its own and I believe once you watch that opening you would be hooked to your seat till the very end.