The Loved Ones (Australia; Sean Byrne, 2009)

     Some people just can't take rejection. Brent (Xavier Samuel) learns this the hard way when he turns down Lola Stone's (Robin McLeavy) request to accompany her to the school dance. The fact that he has a girlfriend matters little to Lola, who ultimately gets her date with Brent whether he likes or not. In the vein of Hard Candy (David Slade, 2005) and Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999), Loved Ones examines the gender power shifts involved when a woman/girl is in control of a man/boy. However, unlike the other mentioned titles, the male victim in Loved Ones isn't presented in  a way that makes us feel he deserves it, which in turn removes any sympathy we could have possibly felt for the sadistic female perpetrator. While the film somehow attempts to explain Lola's behavior as a consequence of the pressures imposed by our increasingly media-centered society on today's youth, the idea is too-quickly passed over and weakly presented in the first place. Which leaves us with just a crazy, psychotic teenage serial kidnapper/murderer who can't take no for an answer. Far from being detrimental to the picture's enjoyment, the lack of conclusive explanation for Lola's erratic behavior makes the film that more enjoyable as it increases the viewer's discomfort and intensifies our reaction to the sadism portrayed on screen. It also accentuates our satisfaction when Brent finally fights back.

Lawless (USA; John Hillcoat, 2012)

  

     Being a big fan of the 2005 western The Proposition,  I was looking forward to this new collaborative effort from writer Nick Cave and director John Hillcoat detailing the prohibition-era tribulations between the bootlegging Bondurant brothers (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke) and Virginia Commonwealth appointed Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce), the latter demanding paybacks in exchange for letting them operate their business in peace. Their refusal to oblige puts them at odds with Rakes and jumpstarts a small war in the Virginian mountains where "stills" (distilleries) are shut down one after the other. Similar to The Proposition, the law is shown here to be lacking the moral fabric that it claims to instill, a fabric that is incidentally embodied by those deemed criminals. However, unlike the former picture, Lawless suffers from an uneven script that has a hard time figuring what exactly it is trying to say. As the characters' exploration is for the most part limited to the surface, the chronology is vague and the pace perhaps too inconsistent. Hillcoat's directing, on the other hand, goes a long way in redeeming whatever shortcoming Cave's screenplay may have. The same goes for the acting. While LaBeouf's character makes incredibly stupid choices, making it hard to sympathize with him even when a mouthful of blood and teeth reduces his speech to mumbles (courtesy of a shotgun barrel to the face), the performances are for the most part very strong and  engaging. Tom Hardy is especially surprising as Forrest Bondurant, the oldest and baddest sibling of the Bondurant clan who is starting to believe the legends told about his purported immortality. Guy Pearce (who was the troubled lead in The Proposition) is also chillingly disturbing in his portrayal of the sadistic dandy Rakes. Perhaps the biggest disappointment acting-wise, however, was the underused talents of Gary Oldman as gangster Floyd Banner. Not only was his screen time too small but Banner's role in the Bondurants' affairs is barely explored as his involvement feels arbitrary and unclear. Finally, the film is worth watching if only for the impressive soundtrack that includes a few tracks by Cave himself (of course) and other fittingly gripping pieces. 

Skyfall (UK/USA; Sam Mendes, 2012)

     Numerous times during the picture, M (Judi Dench) describes the world in which James Bond operates as existing in "the shadows" of the one perceived by the general population. Fittingly enough, this hidden world of top secret operations is brilliantly evoked by often having the actors stand in front of an excessively bright background and therefore transforming them into mere silhouettes, literally pitting shadow vs. shadow when done during fighting sequences. Additionally, seeing as the use of silhouettes is prominent in many of the series' opening credits sequences, the shadow motif extends the artistic nature of the credits to the film itself. This stylistic interpretation is only one of many elements of sophistication the photographic team of Sam Mendes and Roger Deakins brings to the Bond table. While I find the debate over whether or not this is the 'best Bond film ever' irrelevant, I can say with confidence that, form-wise, this was the most satisfying experience I personally had watching a Bond film. I must admit, however, that I'm far from being the biggest Bond fan out there. On the other hand, I have been a long-time fan of both Mendes and Deakins (especially his extensive work with the Coen brothers), their new collaboration being what initially triggered my interest for the picture and the reason why the result is one of the most memorable installments featuring Ian Fleming's troubled spy.