Archive for the ‘John Crowley’ Category

We Live in Time

Director: John Crawley

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, Adam James, Douglas Hodge

Running Time: 1 hour 48 minutes

Film Rating: 6 out of 10

There was hardly any pre-publicity for this film and I can see why.

Brooklyn and The Goldfinch director John Crawley’s non-linear romantic drama We Live In Time featuring Oscar nominees Florence Pugh (Little Women) and Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge, Tick Tick Boom) star as a young couple Tobias, an ad executive for Weetbix and Almut, head chef for a Anglo-Bavarian restaurant in a film which doesn’t elevate into a truly memorable drama.

Unfortunately screenwriter Nick Payne decided for some bizarre reason to mix up the chronological order of this couple’s timeline of romance from the initial meeting literally by accident to their eventual coupling and then pregnancy and the dramatic birth of their first child, a daughter. So the storyline comes across as confusing and uninteresting made worse by the fact that Andrew Garfield’s character Tobias had no character defects or recognizable foibles.

There was nothing eccentric or vaguely sexy about Tobias. The whole film basically centred on Almut’s character well played to a degree by Florence Pugh but one got the feeling that this character also needed more depth.

Almut is an ambitious chef that wants to enter an international cuisine competition but battles between raising a daughter and dealing with a devastating ovarian cancer diagnosis. Pugh does her best in an essentially very mediocre film in which her male lead brings nothing of value to a film about two quirky ordinary people whose lives are not even that fascinating. These characters are not eccentric or rich or even evil. They are just boring.

At least in Babygirl both Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson’s characters were both so utterly compelling and kinky.

Adam James from the Belgravia TV series appears briefly as Almut’s mentor Simon Maxson and Douglas Hodge (Joker, Gemini Man) stars as Tobias’s dad Reginald. Both actors unfortunately don’t add any real value to the narrative.

We Live in Time is utterly underwhelming as a film and you cannot make the main backdrop of a romantic film the dreary Herne Hill in London. Set the film in Tuscany or Provence.

Romance needs to be alluring and beautiful, not dull and depressing, which is what this film is.

Despite Florence Pugh’s best efforts, We Live In Time is a depressing, confusing and extremely dull British romantic drama which is best avoided.  

We Live In Time gets a film rating of 6 out of 10 and lacks any character depth and genuine conflict beyond the tragic subject of cancer and chemotherapy. Even in this romantic drama, there are very few fleeting moments to cherish. Not recommended viewing.

The Goldfinch

Director: John Crowley

Cast: Oakes Fegley, Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Wright, Luke Wilson, Sarah Paulson, Willa Fitzgerald, Anuerin Barnard, Finn Wolfhard, Luke Kleintank, Denis O’Hare

Irish director John Crowley (Brooklyn) brings to cinematic life Donna Tart’s immersive and poignant Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Goldfinch in a sprawling and beautifully acted film version featuring an international cast including Oscar winner Nicole Kidman (The Hours) as Mrs Barbour, a wealthy Park Avenue woman who graciously takes in the young Theo Decker brilliantly played by Oakes Fegley, after his mother is killed in a terrorist attack at New York’s famous Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Theo having survived a thoroughly traumatic event, is introduced to the extremely wealthy Barbour family who he stays with while he awaits to hear from his wayward con-artist father Larry played by Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Concussion, 3:10 to Yuma). Larry eventually swoops in with his hard as nails girlfriend Xandra expertly played by Golden Globe winner Sarah Paulson (American Crime Story) to whisk Theo off to the brilliant shiny desert of Nevada away from the old world charm of New York City.

As The Goldfinch expertly weaves multiple story lines into a dazzling picaresque tale, it is more essentially about Theo’s friendship with the mysterious antique dealer Hobie beautifully played by Jeffrey Wright (Skyfall).

The Goldfinch is gorgeously photographed in all its blinding contrasts by Oscar winning cinematographer Roger Deakins (Blade Runner: 2049) who adds lustre to a fascinating tale of a boy who inadvertently steals a priceless Dutch painting by 17^th century portrait painter Carel Fabritius a budding young student of Rembrandt.

As the actions flits between, New York, Las Vegas and Amsterdam, The Goldfinch is a gripping, fascinating tale of art theft, addiction and loss as the film examines the effects of parental loss on a young boy. Utterly superb viewing. Audiences should watch out for a rather energetic performance by Dunkirk star Anuerin Barnard as the older version of Ukrainian Gothic friend Boris who plays an integral part in achieving his destiny which is inevitably entwined with a rare painting by an early Dutch master. The older version of Theo Decker is adequately played by rising star Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver, Billionaire Boys Club).

Elegant and absorbing, with stunning performances, The Goldfinch is a sophisticated drama about the conflicts between the old and new world and the shadows that lie in between. Those that have read Donna Tartt’s brilliant novel will appreciate this gorgeous film adaptation.

Highly recommended viewing, The Goldfinch gets a film rating of 8.5 out of 10.

Brooklyn

Director: John Crawley

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Domhnall Gleeson, Emily Bett Rickards, Jessica Pare, Maeve McGrath, Eileen O’Higgins

After her sparkling debut as the precocious and misguided Briony Tallis in director Joe Wright’s handsome film Atonement, Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan has made a string of less memorable films including Hanna and The Host until appearing as the radiant lead in this 1950’s love story Brooklyn, where she dazzles as the Irish immigrant Eilis fresh on arrival in New York City.

Director John Crawley’s adaptation of the novel by Irish author Colm Toibin Brooklyn is a soft-focused, brilliantly acting and utterly charming love story. Ronan is superb as Eilis who arrives in the Big Apple and stays at a ladies boarding house run by the ever glamourous Mrs Kehoe wonderfully played by Julie Walters (Billy Elliott).

Soon the sensible Eilis befriends the other guests and while working at an American department store is guided by the fashionable manageress Miss Fortini played by French Canadian actress Jessica Pare who brought added style to the final two seasons of Mad Men.

At an Irish club Friday night social, Eilis meets the charming and dimple-faced Tony, an Italian immigrant, played by Emory Cohen (The Place beyond the Pines). Their initial courtship is cut short when Eilis has to unexpectedly return to Ireland for a family emergency. Back in the Green Isle, she is wooed by the handsome and eligible bachelor Jim Farrell played by Domhnall Gleeson (Anna Karenina, About Time, and Shadow Dancer) in the weeks leading up to her school friend Nancy’s wedding.

Director John Crawley and acclaimed screenwriter Nick Hornby (About a Boy, An Education) do an excellent rendition of making a good old fashioned love story in the manner of Mona Lisa Smile, Circle of Friends and is ably assisted by Saoirse Ronan superbly acting in the lead role, as her character Eilis navigates all the nuances and difficulties of life in the New World.

Audiences should look out for Oscar winner Jim Broadbent (Iris) as the benevolent father Flood as well as Emily Bett Rickards as the cheeky companion Patty last seen on the hit TV show Arrow.

Brooklyn with its gorgeous production design, immaculate 1950’s costumes is reminiscent of a less complicated old fashioned love stories and will definitely find an appreciative audience, judging by how packed the cinema was on a Sunday afternoon. Recommended viewing for those that cherished films such as Circle of Friends, Mona Lisa Smile and more recently The Immigrant starring Marion Cotillard.