 |
| The man can have one-man staring contests for hours... |
Back
in 2006 the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, otherwise
known as BAFTA, rightfully voted for a young Scottish actor to win
the Rising Star Award for his roles in films such as the
Oscar-winning The Last King Of Scotland and Atonement, not to mention
his vital and applauded role of Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. He beat several
impressive up-and-comers such as future Academy Award winner Michelle
Williams, as well as the incredibly talented, but often miscast, Gael
Garcia Bernal. That young Scot was one James McAvoy and he has just
gone from strength to strength after being awarded this fan-chosen
honour. Aside from various voice-acting, he has since starred
alongside Angelina Jolie in Wanted, portrayed a young Charles Xavier
in X-Men: First Class and given an impressive performance in a subpar
film, Welcome To The Punch. And now in the past few months, McAvoy
has been very busy indeed, starring in both head-scratching dramas
Trance and Filth.
Both
Trance and Filth have received wide critical acclaim upon release but
unfortunately they only featured in the heights of the UK box office
for more than a few weeks. Their short lifespan could come down to a
number of factors, but one reason for their critical acclaim surely
is the acting talents of that one risen star James McAvoy. His
natural charisma and charm simply ooze off the screen as he portrays
unreliable narrators in both films, as well as providing a steady
groundwork upon which both stories may build. Whilst you might not
trust his characters, you feel comfortable in his ability to
entertain, even when acting despicably or dishonestly and that is a
rare trait for an actor.
Released
back in March, Trance sees McAvoy play an auction house employee
caught up and implicated in the theft of a priceless piece of
artwork. His head is struck during the attempted heist and he cannot
recall where he hid the painting from the robbers. Obviously, this
irritates the robbery's mastermind (Vincent Cassell) and he contacts
a hypno-therapist (Rosario Dawson) in an attempt to retrieve the
memory from McAvoy's damaged mind. As they delve deeper into
McAvoy's mind, they discover that there is more hidden within than just the
painting's location.
On
overview, this could be the most intricate and confusing film I have
seen in the cinema since Christopher Nolan decided to generously
reward us with Inception back in 2010. There are a lot of comparisons to make to Inception; mainly being that I was left open-mouthed by many of
the film's twists and turns and it will definitely require a second
viewing. Danny Boyle hasn't been afraid of being bold in his
directorial career, made evident from his early films, such as Ewan
McGregor's incredibly disturbing cold-turkey ordeals in Trainspotting
(baby on ceilings, anyone?) all the way to those he has directed
recently, with James Franco's personal dismemberment in 127 Hours
certainly leaving a lasting impression. Just thinking of Franco
reaching his left arm's main nerve makes my skin crawl to this day. And in it's own way, Trance isn't afraid of taking bold steps in it's
narrative. Timelines are turned askew, allegiances are formed, then
broken and not everyone is who they seem.
I
honestly did not know what to expect going into Trance and can safely
say that I still have no idea what I truly watched. All I know is
that I was happily blown away; not only by the mind-bending
culmination but nearly every scene preceding it. A large part of
that reaction would be due to the varied performance of Mr McAvoy. He shows such a dramatic and impressive range of emotion in Trance,
he seems to embody approximately seven different characters and all
in the same person. Danny Boyle manages to treat us to a cavalcade
of red herrings, teasing foreshadowings and subtle hints to the
film's true meaning. Upon discovery, you will instantly want to
watch the film again to appreciate it in a whole new light.
Speaking
of a whole new light, not since Nicolas Cage's insane,
scenery-chewing performance in Bad Lieutenant have I seen a more
destitute, despicable and damaged character in film than Filth's
Bruce Robertson (McAvoy). He is a manipulating, molesting, bigoted,
homophobic, misogynistic horror of a man, but all McAvoy has to do is
flash his cheeky grin and you can't help but be reluctantly
mesmerised as he terrorises his way through the Edinburgh streets.
Filth
is adapted from the Irvine Welsh novel of the same name, and like
Welsh's previous work, Trainspotting, Filth focusses on the depravity
and turmoil of one particular Scottish man. Instead of McGregor's Renton, we are introduced to Bruce, a Detective Sergeant
in the Edinburgh police who is desperately vying for the coveted
Detective Inspector position that is up for grabs. In order to
achieve his goal, Bruce is willing to toy with the emotions and
dreams of his colleagues, plotting against them all whilst indulging
in drugs, alcohol and sexually-abusvie relationships. Described by
McAvoy as “Blackadder, but without Richard Curtis”, it really
isn't a first-date film but is still sincerely breathtaking in the
depths that it sinks.
 |
| The word 'overdose' comes to mind... |
Overall
I feel that these are films that are quite difficult to understand
and endure, but can be appreciated regardless throughout. Like
someone telling you a really complicated mathematical problem, showing you
how they solved it and then watching them smash a watermelon right in
front of your face; you don't quite know what you've seen or how much
you understood, but gosh, what an interesting experience!
That
analogy might not quite work, since it's nearing midnight and I'm
beginning to struggle, but the main linchpin of both films is that
man McAvoy. His charm and his talent transfix your eyes to the
screen throughout both films, despite the vulgar, confusing or
depraved actions taking place and that is a rare talent in actors
today. He will soon be seen in the upcoming X-Men film, Days of Future Past (which I
honestly cannot wait for) but I'm certain that an Academy Award will come soon for this wee lad from Port Glasgow.
Ratings:
Trance
– 9/10
Filth
– 8/10
Thank you for reading and I'll see you all soon! x
No comments:
Post a Comment