BEATS: Those Raving Kids

It’s like a Scottish techno Footloose, but neither of these two losers will be dancing with a girl. Instead, they just want to enjoy a little techno and exert a tiny measure of control over their lives. The latter will definitely be the trickier part for luckless Johnno and Spanner in Brian Welsh’s BEATS, which opens virtually today.

Johnno is a passive little “wee man,” who would be relentlessly bullied at school, were it not for his lunkheaded best pal, Spanner. Unfortunately, Spanner lives on the even more wrong side of the tracks with his abusive drug-dealing older brother, Fido. Johnno’s mum Alison has always been against their friendship, so she is happy their upcoming move will break the lads up for good. They will be making a bid for polite respectability moving in Robert, her boyfriend, a buttoned-down copper.

Of course, Johnno has given into to inevitability of his fate, but he has resisted telling Spanner, because of his aversion to conflict. When Alison abruptly lets the cat out of the bag, Johnno reluctantly agrees to one last hurrah. Fittingly, Spanner has purchased tickets for a much-anticipated rave, where they can finally hear their beloved techno beats in the manner they were intended to be experienced. To cover the costs, he stole from the thuggish Fido, so yes, that could be an issue later.

However, this will not just be any rave. It is also a political statement, as pirate radio DJ “D-Man” constantly explains. The year is 1994, so raves like this are technically no longer legal. The recently passed Criminal Justice Public Order Act has provisions cracking down on such events. Most notoriously, it contains a provision prohibiting “gatherings of 20 or more people,” centered around music dominated by the “emission of a succession of beats.” Sure, that sounds absurdly schoolmarmish, but when you think about it, the Act was just 26 years ahead of its time. (Back then, ravers had a habit of descending uninvited on farmland just outside of towns and leaving it in ruins, much to the owners’ vexation, but we’re sure Spanner and D-Man cleaned up after themselves, right?)

In fact, the raving as activism motif is so relentlessly over-played, it starts to give the film a ridiculously self-important tone. The brave young demonstrators in Hong Kong protesting against the CCP’s National Security and Extradition bills are real activists, with admirable principles. Spanner and Johnno just want to drop acid and bob their heads.

Whiskey Galore!: Another Visit to Compton Mackenzie’s Tight Little Island

When the first adaptation of Compton Mackenzie’s novel was released in America, it was called Tight Little Island, because of the school marmy Hays Code, even though by 1949 it was well established a great many red-blooded Yanks enjoyed a good whiskey just as much as most Scots. However, nobody appreciated the amber libation like the salt-of-the-earth residents of fictional Todday island in the Outer Hebrides. When their wartime whiskey ration runs dry, a deep depression descends on the island. However, potential salvation sits a few feet from shore when a freighter carrying 50,000 cases of whiskey runs aground. It seems the Good Lord will provide to those who help themselves in Gilles MacKinnon high-spirited remake of Whiskey Galore! (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

When the whiskey runs dry, some of the older islanders literally give up the ghost, but for the most part, life still goes on. Booze or no booze, the daughters of crusty old postmaster Joseph Macroon both still have designs to marry. Peggy Macroon has fallen in love with Sergeant Odd, a well-liked veteran of the North Africa campaign assigned to bring some semblance of military order to the Todday Island Home Guard. More problematically, Catriona Macroon has eyes for George Campbell, the schoolmaster who has always loved under his domineering mother’s thumb.

When word of the SS Cabinet’s minister wreck reaches the good island folk, they are primed to launch their own salvage mission, but the minister insists they will have to wait until after the Sabbath. They will also have to out-maneuver the supercilious Home Guard commander, Captain Wagget. Fortunately, old Macroon will easily secure the sympathetic Sgt. Odd’s cooperation, especially when he reminds of the local engagement party custom, which obviously requires whiskey. A man just can’t get married on the island without one.

Galore! with its traditional exclamation point, is as genial as a boozy brunch at your favorite pub. They drink whiskey with their whiskey on Todday Island, but they also come together as community, defy pompous authority, respect genuine military valor, and Lord knows they keep the Sabbath. They are God’s people alright—and they still translate to the screen rather winningly.

In fact, Naomi Battrick and Sean Biggerstaff develop some altogether charming romantic chemistry as Peggy and Odd (although Ellie Kendrick and Kevin Guthrie are somewhat less engaging as the other prospective couple). Eddie Izzard definitely chews the scenery as the ramrod Capt. Wagget, but he never veers into over-the-top shtick. Frankly, he is constantly upstaged by Fenella Woolgar, who is delightfully acerbic, yet forgiving as Wagget’s wife, Dolly.

John Sessions and James Cosmo add further color and attitude as the island’s doctor and priest, neither of whom takes issue with a few dozen whiskeys to take the chill off. All the collected eccentricity is perfectly anchored by Gregor Fisher, who plays old man Macroon like a gruff but endearing curmudgeon, in an old school, Monty Woolley kind of way.

It is all quite pleasantly old fashioned, but MacKinnon helms it with sufficiently contemporary sensibilities, thereby sparing us any moments of cringiness or cheesiness that might sour our nostalgia for Ealing’s glory years. It is just a case-load of low-stress fun. Highly recommended, Whiskey Galore! opens this Friday (5/12) in New York, at the Cinema Village.

For Those in Peril: On the Scottish Sea

Whenever the sea is personified, it is always in a malevolent way. For many seafaring Scottish villagers, there is a devil in the ocean. They are mostly speaking figuratively, but the suggestion takes root in the grieving teenage protagonist of Paul Wright’s For Those in Peril (trailer here), which opens tomorrow in Los Angeles.

Aaron’s older brother Michael was always popular with their peers, while he was the awkward one. Yet, somehow when their fishing boat encountered some sort of mishap at sea, only Aaron returned. With no memory of what happened to the others, he faces the village’s superstitious doubt and scorn as best he can, but his own survivor’s guilt is even harder to bear. As time passes with little social or emotional relief for young man, he becomes convinced his brother is still out there, waiting for Aaron to rescue him from the sea.

Aside from his wrung-out mother, only Michael’s almost-fiancée Jane offers Aaron any support. However, that sort of compassion does not sit well with her loutish father. Increasingly isolated and alienated, Aaron starts planning some desperate and probably hopeless measures.

Even though Peril always stays safely north of the Mendoza line separating proper cinema from genre film, a profound sense of spiritual uneasiness permeates the film. It is an earthly tragedy, yet like Aaron, we keep holding out hope for some sort of magical realism deliverance. Wright compellingly evokes the feeling you can almost step outside of time to correct some cosmic mistake if you only try hard enough, which those who have experienced deep remorse will recognize only too well.

Of course, we cannot undo what is done, which makes it so painful to watch George MacKay’s powerfully brittle lead performance. It is a quiet turn, but so intense you can practically see the gaping wound in his psyche. Likewise, Kate Dickie is nearly as devastating as the mother mourning her first son while trying to save the second, However, one of the greatest surprises is the soul and depth of Nichola Burley’s work as Jane, representing a quantum step up from her party girl roles in movies like Donkey Punch.

If ever there was a film that could be described as “moody,” it would be Peril, with considerable credit due to the sad beauty of cinematography Benjamin Kracun’s forlorn seascapes and penetrating close-ups. Wright masterfully controls the vibe, but he might overdo the perceptual stylization a tad, here and there. Regardless, it thunderously announces the arrival of its youngish talent, including Wright behind the camera and MacKay and Burley in front of it. Recommended for discerning audiences, For Those in Peril opens this Friday (10/3) in Los Angeles at the Arena Cinema.

Electric Man: the Comic Book Dreams Are Made of

Nobody opens a comic shop to make their fortune or impress women.  The co-owner of Deadhead Comics in Edinburgh is doing particularly poorly on both scores, but his knowledge of early superheroes will help him navigate a caper involving an ultra-rare comic in David Barras’s Electric Man (trailer here), which releases today on DVD, with a VOD launch to follow this Friday.

Jason “Jazz” Archer is the responsible one.  His partner Wolf is the unlikely goofball ladies man.  They were kind of sort of making a go of it with their comic shop, but now find themselves on the hook for 5,000 pounds worth of repairs.  That sum is simply beyond their means, but they carry on hoping will lightning strike out of the blue, which it does.

Electric Man (a.k.a. Edison Bolt) predated the Man of Steel by one year.  A gritty depression era hero (whose origin story is related in the cool motion comic opening credit sequence), his premiere issue regularly fetches 100,000 pounds at auctions.  At their latest comic show, someone stashed a stolen copy of Electric Man #1 in their boxes.  Hoping for a business-saving finder’s fee, Archer attempts to track down the rightful owner.  The trail leads him to Lauren McCall, the mysterious daughter of a wealthy collector, her thuggish uncle, and a slightly cracked American Electric Man fanatic.

Electric is an affectionately knowing valentine to geeky cult culture, choked full of clever references and a generous helping of local Edinburgh color.  Shot for pocket change, its cast is a bit of a mixed bag, but Toby Manley is engagingly earnest as Archer.  Likewise, Jennifer Ewing (online host of Crazy Sexy Geeks) has the right look and presence of a comic convention femme fatale.  As the scheming Uncle Jimmy, Derek Dick (a.k.a. Fish) looks and sounds like he could have stepped out of a Ken Loach movie, which is a good thing in this context.  Unfortunately, Mark McKirdy is rather annoyingly shticky as Wolf, never convincingly realizing his supposed scruffy charms on-screen.

Despite the occasional limitations of cast and resources, Electric is a light hearted romp that consistently inspires gentle chuckles rather than gut-busting laughs.  A refreshing respite from special effects, gross out humor, and grimy social realism, Electric Man should amply please its target ComicCon demographic.  Recommended for comic readers and fans of understated indie comedies, Electric Man is now available on DVD and hits VOD this Friday (9/13), via FilmBuff’s platforms.

Perfect Sense: Love in the Time of the Apocalypse

So this is how the world ends—with a collective whimper, which turns out to be nearly as good as a bang. A global epidemic slowly strips everyone of their sensory abilities. This development is rather bad for the restaurant business, but on the upside, a self-involved chef may have finally found the love of his life in David Mackenzie’s Perfect Sense (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York at the IFC Center.

As is always the case with pandemics, it starts with only a handful of people who have lost their sense of smell. It is not contagious in any discernable way, but cases spread like wild fire nonetheless. There is no reason to panic though. When smelling is gone, Michael and his colleagues simply crank up the spices. Meanwhile, he and Susan, the epidemiologist living across from his Glasgow restaurant, just might be bantering their way into each other’s hearts. Even when the sense of taste mysteriously vanishes, people still eat out to enjoy the sight and textures of a good meal. Eventually though, the time will come to panic.

Michael and Susan are rather unappealing characters, yet somehow Ewan McGregor and Eva Green still develop some effective romantic chemistry together. Perhaps the idea they are mutually taking themselves off the market is reassuring in some way. Green in particular hits some oddly brusque notes, often sounding like she is trying to channel Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not, calling everyone “sailor” for reasons she duly explains at length.

However, Sense has some wonderful supporting turns from seasoned vets, including McGregor’s uncle Denis Lawson (who played Wedge in the real Star Wars movies, so show some respect), as Michael’s restaurant owner-mentor. Stephane Dillane’s always intriguing screen presence also brings out unexpected nuance in Susan’s cerebral boss, Samuel.

Throughout Sense, Mackenzie walks a tightrope, but mostly keeps his balance. While the story might seem to roughly parallel recent epidemic movies, the tone is more fable like, with a fairly steamy romance layered on top. Despite the apocalypse it appears to be hurtling towards, Kim Fupz Aakeson’s screenplay constantly depicts humanity’s persistent adaptability, emphasizing the best of our nature rather than our worst.

Indeed, Sense is pretty good social science fiction, but it is clearly spooked by the metaphysical implications of its premise (especially since each stage is preceded by a burst of profoundly felt emotion—not exactly the typical handiwork of bacteria). Yet, the only references to a higher power come from religious fanatics seen on news broadcasts claiming the outbreak is a manifestation of God’s wrath (a contention the film frankly provides nothing to dispute).

To his immense credit, Mackenzie never tries to tack on an unconvincing environmental message, avoiding didacticism and maintaining a palpable air of mystery. That Sense is not really a downer at all is somewhat remarkable, all things considered. Recommended for viewers who like their genre elements on the softer, lighter side, Sense opens this Friday (2/3) in New York at the IFC Center.

Burke & Hare: the Return of John Landis

William Burke and William Hare would definitely be considered working class, but they probably never put in an honest day’s labor in their lives. They do grasp some basic economics though. Edinburgh’s celebrated anatomy colleges have a large unmet demand for fresh cadavers. Even these two idiots understand how to increase the supply in John Landis’s Burke & Hare (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York at the IFC Center.

For those who have been wondering where Landis (the director of such iconic comedies as Animal House, The Blues Brothers, and An American Werewolf in London) has been for the last decade or so, he was back in the UK (amongst other places, presumably), where B&H was shot on location in Edinburgh and at the storied Ealing Studios. Indeed, B&H has a charming period look, evoking the spirit of early Hammer horror films and Roger Corman Poe adaptations (which Landis can probably quote chapter-and-verse).

The two Williams are not evil per se, but they are definitely low lives. Largely they sponge off Hare’s wife Lucky, who rents rooms to elderly pensioners. When one tenant passes away before settling for the month, she makes the lads dispose of the body. However, when they discover the ambitious Dr. Robert Knox will be five pounds a pop for fresh bodies, it opens up a whole new business venture for them. Of course, it also attracts some unwelcome attention.

Though there is plenty of gross-out humor and a not inconsiderable body count, B&H might be too gentle for many midnight screening patrons. Rather, the film has a nostalgic feel, nicely established with Angus the Hangman’s introductory tour of the city. The Hammer vibe is further reinforced by an appearance from the great Sir Christopher Lee as Old Joseph, one of the gruesome twosome’s early victims.

Andy Serkis obviously gets it, reveling in Hare’s roguish degeneracy. However, Simon Pegg’s put-upon shtick as Burke gets a little tiresome, particularly with the subplot involving the manipulations of a gold-digging actress he is smitten with. After all, according to the old nursery rhyme: “Burke’s the butcher, Hare’s the thief,” not the knebbish soft touch.

However, as Knox, “the boy who buys the beef,” Tom Wilkinson chews the scenery with relish, channeling Peter Cushing and Vincent Price as a sophisticated man of science led astray by his enthusiasm and arrogance. He even gets off a mother joke at his rival’s expense worthy of Tracy Morgan. Indeed, B&H has a great supporting cast, including Tim Curry as the clammy Dr. Alexander Monro and Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville, as Lord Harrington, the Solicitor General.

With an epilogue that could almost, but not quite, be considered educational, B&H is strangely endearing for a film about grave-robbing cutthroats. Yet, Landis manages to keep the tone light and breezy, while paying homage to the more innocent costumed horror films of old. It is entertaining enough to lead movie lovers to hope it is the beginning a full-fledged return to narrative features for Landis (who has been a talking head in scores of recent documentaries, including American Grindhouse and Machete Maidens Unleashed). Amusing and atmospheric, B&H is definitely recommended for genre fans when it opens this Friday (9/9) at the IFC Center in New York.

From Britain with Love: NEDS

The 1970’s were a decade of malaise and recession for the United Kingdom. Economic conditions were particularly bad in Scotland. For the uneducated and unskilled youth, the outlook was downright bleak. Young John McGill joins their delinquent ranks in Peter Mullan’s NEDS, which screens today as part of the From Britain with Love touring showcase at the IFC Center.

McGill was studious lad with aspirations of a journalism career in America. Perversely, his own teachers do their concerted best to stifle his ambition and self-esteem. Though he plugs away for a while, peer pressure finishes the job started by the leveling educational system. Eventually acquiescing to social realities, McGill seeks acceptance amongst the semi-organized gangs of NEDs, Non-Educated Delinquents. Of course, he hardly gets any positive reinforcement at home, but at least his absent elder brother Benny’s street cred greases his entrée into the hooligan life.

NEDS is a tragic film about the sheer waste of not just McGill’s potential but that of his contemporaries. It is a story very much of it time and place, where social mobility was discouraged from below just as much as from above (if not more so). Still, its inclusion in a showcase of British cinema (featuring the Union Jack in its logo) might be a tad controversial for many Scots, including the majority Scottish National Party.

Be that as it may, NEDS creates a strong sense of depressed 1970’s Glasgow with seamless period detail. While the “husky” Conor McCarron must be dashed big for fourteen, he is convincingly sullen and resentful. However, Mullan himself leaves the film’s most indelible impression as McGill alcoholic father. An abusive and broken man, his turn as the senior McGill is not a pretty picture, but it is a very human one.

Despite the fine performances (as characters who often seem as if they would be at home in Frederick Wiseman social welfare documentary), NEDS largely covers familiar ground. Mullan (currently best known for directing The Magdalene Sisters and his lead performance in Ken Loach’s My Name is Joe, but soon to be seen in Deathly Hollows part two) can definitely stage a rumble, but there are no surprises to be found in his naturalistic amorality tale.

Essentially, viewers will probably take away from NEDS just how badly the UK needed a middle class green grocer’s daughter to take the reins of government in 1979 (though one supposes this was hardly the intention). Respectable but never extraordinary, NEDS screens tonight (6/23) at the IFC Center and next Saturday (7/2) at the Howard Gilman Theater in the brand new and shiny Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.