Birdy is such a vibrant, headstrong character, and Bella Ramsey nails it. Her circumstances are quite grim, and they are dealt with head on, with poignancy and wit. Lena Dunham really is a great writer. The 13th-century was an awful time for women, and that’s not at all sugarcoated here, despite it being based on what is essentially a children’s novel. The ending was the only part of the film where I was reminded of that, the sudden triumphant tone was a bit jarring and not germane to Birdy’s circumstances.
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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1974
A lot of horror films from this era don’t hold up nearly as well as this one does. It gets straight to the point, and the matter-of-fact presentation serves to make it even more disturbing than it otherwise would be. Such an incredibly effective ending too, how survival and escape manages to feel somehow horrifying- those raw guttural screams, soaked in blood, palpable mixture of relief and distress. Iconic imagery.
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Capturing the Friedmans 2003
In the 1980’s, father and son Arnold and Jessie Friedman are convicted of child abuse. In 2003, this documentary is released, attempting to cast doubt on their conviction. Problem is that this story isn’t ‘Paradise Lost’, and there very much is weight to the accusations against the Friedmans. The position this documentary takes, however, is that ultimately this is just a nice family, and that, sure, they stored child pornography in the house, but possibly didn’t actually commit every heinous…
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The Sweet Hereafter 1997
Oh boy, this is a toughie. ‘The Sweet Hereafter’ attempts to capture the aftermath of a tragic accident that killed over a dozen school children, and its subsequent effect on the small town they belonged to. Obviously, this is very delicate subject matter, but I was hoping it would result in something quite poignant. Clearly, I was disappointed, and ‘The Sweet Hereafter’ is largely tripe. Egoyan seems to think that opening with that plot point is substance enough, because no…
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