Untouchable – Monday 6th May 7:45pm

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ImageIf you are sceptical about French films, don’t be for this one … it is a must see film, my personal favourite of 2012. 

I know that I am a little bit late to the party celebrating the film “Intouchable*” but better late than never.. It has heart, humour, hope and in the end happiness. The fact it is based on a true story, is just the icing on the cake.

The film tells the story of Philippe (Francois Cluzet), a rich man living in Parris who is a tetraplegic as a result of a paragliding accident. His condition requires 24 hour care and when he advertises for a carer, he gets Driss (Omar Sy) as an applicant. Driss doesn’t really want the job; he just needs to get his paperwork signed showing he applied for the job. That way he can get his unemployment benefit.

Philippe however sees something in Driss that he thinks will work and he offers him the job. Driss takes it on a trial basis but the luxurious life it offers him is hard to refuse. Driss edges his way into being Philippe’s carer and almost involuntarily makes Philippe’s life better. From the time Driss walks in the door, Philippe is either laughing or has a smile on his face.

The charisma and rapport between these two actors is amazing. Their warmth spills off the screen and into the audience’s hearts. Driss is a charmer, that’s for sure, but so is Philippe. He has an infectious smile and a radiant essence for life, He has been handed a tough deal with the accident and other tragedies in his life, but he is still pursuing happiness. Cluzet perfectly captures each longing and each triumph.

Sy gives the character Driss his spirit and gives him his heart. If Sidney Poitier was a younger man this is a role he could embrace… Sy also throws in some smooth dance moves that show his roots.

Some people may choose not to watch this film because it is French with subtitles. That is a shame because hearing the French language enhances the film…

* Intouchable is the U.S published title

Silver Linings Playbook – Monday 8th April 7:45pm

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Silver Linings Playbook - Nantwich Civic Hall - Monday 8th AprilThere are few films that hit home to the degree Silver Linings Playbook does. The filmmakers and cast seem to have an excellent working knowledge of mental health, specifically Bipolar Disorder (which in itself is a complex task). But never once is the illness put before the person and that is what makes Silver Linings quite a remarkable film. The story is about two characters with Bipolar Disorder searching for stability from their illness. Subtly, it plays on the fact that we all have issues in our lives by giving us quirky seemingly normal characters peppered throughout the film. Both Cooper and Lawrence hit it out of the park (and if Daniel Day Lewis wasn’t such an amazing actor, the Oscar would surely have gone to Bradley Cooper). De Niro and Weaver playing Cooper’s father and mother in the film complete amazing roles. However it is through the mother’s eyes, we view the pain and concern for her family as a result of her son’s illness plus her husband’s compulsive habits.

Talking to people who have seen this film – some find it funny whilst others see the broader picture, people may laugh along and alone, but the film carries a more serious message regarding the capacity to cope with mental health. Silver Linings Playbook whilst entertaining, attempts to reduce the stigma, however It is clear we have a long way to go………

The Angel’s Share – Monday 11th March 7.45pm

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Ken Loach’s bitter-sweet ScImageottish comedy is the story of four friends who meet on a Community Payback programme and, after being inspired by a visit to a Whisky distillery, plan an audacious crime to finance a better future. The film won the Jury Prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival

The Angels ‘Share starts off with a bit of exposition via court room scene, introducing us to our main characters as they are sentenced to community service. The scene is laughing out loud funny one moment, soberingly sad the next, which sets up the tonal shifts that occur throughout the movie. It starts off as a working class tragedy-in-the-making, only to take a pleasantly unexpected turn into something altogether breezier, a lightly comic story about whiskey tasting and redemption.

Paul Brannigan makes his screen debut as Robbie, a man waging a seemingly hopeless struggle to escape his past and make a life for himself. His downhill slide begins to level out during a visit to his parole officer’s house and a glass of whiskey, which leads to a newfound interest in tasting, and a bit of mischief in the 3rd act that I won’t spoil here.

The highlight of the film is Charles MacLean, a real life whiskey taster playing himself and essentially just doing his job on camera. It’s a job he’s obviously very good at, because onscreen he has charisma and upper-class eccentricity in spades, and an obvious, infectious passion for whiskey.

The working-class milieu of Glasgow creeps around the edges of the film, including a truly disgusting scene involving Robbie’s alcoholic flat mate, and a volume of profanity that would be bracing if it weren’t so amiable in that Scottish kind of way. The Angels Share circumvents a lot of redemption-story clichés, delivering something that’s grounded in reality but finds room for some well-earned warm fuzzies.

A Big Cheese film fan