JEUNE ET JOLIE

Jeune et Jolie (18) tells the story of a 17-year-old French girl (Isabelle) who finds herself embroiled in the world of prostitution. Isabelle (Marine Vacht) is a seemingly normal teenager who, despite being from a loving and wealthy family, inexplicably begins working as a prostitute. 

Director François Ozon makes beautiful use of the passing seasons in the depiction of Isabelle’s sexual awakening as we track everything from her loss of virginity in the summer to her gritty, dirty encounters with various older clients throughout winter. Isabelle appears to be emotionally cut off, the only hint of tenderness coming from her relationship with her younger brother Victor (Fantin Ravat) and one of her clients Georges (Johan Leysen). However, when the unimaginable happens, Isabelle’s secret life won’t be kept secret for much longer.

Aesthetically, Jeune et Jolie is absolutely beautiful; Ozon’s use of the seasons delicately separates the film into bite-size sections, each providing the essential character and plot development needed to avoid the film stagnating. Marine Vacht gives a poignant performance as our troubled protagonist and although the entire cast is strong, it is Vacht who carries the film, an impressive feat considering this is the former model’s first lead role in a feature. The prostitution scenes are gritty. Although the money is high-end, Isabelle’s encounters leave nothing to be desired. While the Parisian aesthetics add some sparkle and beauty to her life, Isabelle herself seems tainted, a point reinforced by her obsession with showering. Although at times this can be uncomfortable to watch, it’s a refreshing change from the usual glamorisation of prostitution found in films such as Pretty Woman and popular TV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Unfortunately, what Jeune et Jolie achieves in beauty and performances, it lacks in substance – the audience never discovers why Isabelle chose to be a prostitute; the most we are given is that she was bored and wanted to try something new. This, alongside Isabelle’s emotionally-dead persona, is reminiscent of a spoilt, rich kid, which makes her a rather unsympathetic and even relatively unlikeable character. Although Isabelle starts off quite endearing, as time goes on she becomes more and more frustrating as she appears to wallow in self-pity for no reason. Whilst Vacht does a brilliant job as the vacuous, emotionless brat who’s ultimately beyond saving, she hardly speaks a word throughout the film, and over time a moody silence and steely glare becomes exhausting to watch with the final ‘season’ not coming fast enough. Towards the end, Jeune et Jolie is just a little drab – the scenes with Isabelle’s clients are the strongest part of the film, but sadly they are short-lived and noticeably absent once they’ve ended

To conclude, Jeune et Jolie is a visually beautiful film that begins with a lot of promise. The performances are strong and Isabelle is enigmatic, but the format gradually tires and once the drama of her prostitution ends, Jeune et Jolie is left in need of a certain je ne se quoi.

★★★☆☆

Jeune et Jolie is released nationwide on Friday 29th November!

Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,

DON JON

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of my all time favourite actors; I have been tracking his career since I was 8 years old and watched 10 Things I Hate About You for the first time. There is just something special about this guy and his acting talent and artistic integrity is second to none. From the gritty anti-hero of Neil McCormick in Mysterious Skin (2004) to the hapless romantic of Tom Hansen ((500) Days of Summer), Gordon-Levitt gives his all in every performance as he effortlessly encompasses each character that he plays with a talent that appears to have no limits.

Me with Joseph Gordon Levitt at the BFI 

Not only is he an incredible actor, he also runs his own production company and shines as an innovative artist and producer. So, with all things considered you can imagine my excitement at the announcement of Don Jon - a film that not only stars Gordon-Levitt, but was written and directed by him too.

Don Jon tells the story of Jon, a New Jersey guy who is so obsessed with pornography that he can't find happiness and satisfaction from a relationship with Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), who ironically holds similarly unrealistic expectations from her exposure to romantic movies.

First of all, Joseph Gordon Levitt's debut as a director is certainly nothing to be sniffed at. With just the right amount of comedic undertones the film has it's fair share of laugh out loud moments through subtle implications rather than a cheesy and in-your-face script. Most of the laughs come through satirical non-verbal moments in a way that doesn't patronize the audience in the same way that some of the bigger comedy movies do. It also has incredible structure; the combination of fast, snappy scenes and elements of repetition only add to the humour and quickly builds your connection to the story and character development. You get a real sense of Jon's routine and personality within the first ten minutes of the film's opening and it only grows as each scene transitions, with no scene lingering any longer than necessary.

Fit for Jersey Shore!

As expected the performances are strong and Gordon-Levitt is once again transformed into an entirely new character in the form of beefcake, church-loving, family-orientated stud. Likewise, Scarlett Johansson gives Barbara both the sass and sexiness required as both leads convincingly picked up the New Jersey accent and mannerisms that would have had them easily fit into the cast of Jersey Shore.

The concept of the film was both interesting and entertaining; a male's fascination with pornography isn't a topic that I have previously seen so honestly and casually discussed in a film before and juxtaposing it with the way romantic movies distort women's expectations of relationships was very cleverly done. Jon is a believable character that isn't tainted by Hollywood ideals and expectations, which I believe is a result of Joseph Gordon Levitt's refusal to succumb to the typical, unbelievable conventions.

The storyline wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be, especially for a relatively light-hearted comedy, and although I welcomed the direction that the film was going I couldn't help but feel like the final conclusion was a little rushed. Towards the last third of the movie I feel like the narrative began to suffer as there wasn't enough time devoted to the turn around in Jon's character. The credits started rolling almost out of nowhere and there was a lot more that we could have seen in terms of how the characters developed in order to reach the final scene. A character which had previously held a whole lot of realism suddenly seemed a little too quick to be 'cured' and this was something that Gordon-Levitt definitely could have dug a little deeper with.

In conclusion, this is a really enjoyable film. I had sky-high expectations which were probably impossible to have been met but all things considered, Joseph Gordon-Levitt came pretty close. Don Jon did slightly falter towards the end in terms of the script but it is a great comedy with brilliant performances all round; the film's greatest strength and the real comedic genius is ultimately a result of how well-directed it is, giving Joseph Gordon Levitt an incredibly strong directorial debut that proves he is just as talented and comfortable behind the camera as he is in front of it.

★★★★☆

Don Jon is out nationwide from this Friday, the 15th November!

Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,

PARKLAND

As the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination approaches we have been inundated with documentaries, news stories, films, books... Absolutely anything that you can think of that recounts the tragic day. Parkland is no different; based on the book of the same name it tells the story of the handful of ordinary individuals in Dallas, Texas on that fateful day who found themselves thrust into extraordinary circumstances. From the doctors and nurses who desperately tried to save JFK's life, to the alleged killer's brother, to the unwitting cameraman who unknowingly captured the most examined video in history - all of the previously unheard of contributors in perhaps one of the most significant days of recent history are considered for the first time and the result is interesting if slightly lacking.

I know very little about the JFK assassination and was eager to learn more through this film, although I do feel like I have been educated in a sense I still found the whole thing a little dull. The initial build up to the shooting was incredibly tense and the emotional scenes as the doctors desperately tried to save Kennedy's life as his heartbroken (but slightly vapid) wife looked on were heartbreaking. The sense of unity within America during that moment was poignant and made for heart-pounding viewing. However, once JFK was well and truly dead, once his widow had got back onto a plane to Washington, once the emotion started to run a little thin, the result was rather underwhelming.

I think the major downfall of the film is that there is no real story-arc. The fast-paced nature and flitting, incoherent camera shots are quite captivating to begin with as it places you right in the midst of the drama and panic and gives you a sense of the confusion and emotion of the day, but once the main drama subsides you are left with bland, underdeveloped characters and no real empathy or care for what happens next. The use of a handheld, shaky-lens camera also added to the film's detriment; it aided in creating feelings of panic and gave elements of realism but I feel that it should have been toned down as the story went on - 93 minutes of staring at a wobbly cinema screen is enough to make your head hurt and once you start feeling queasy you are too busy waiting for the film to end so that you can get out rather than focusing on the actual plot in the film.

Despite it's downfalls, Parkland is definitely one of the most creative examples of JFK media. Representing key figures who were previously overlooked is a unique and interesting touch - let's be honest, have you ever considered what it must have been like for Lee Oswald's brother? Whose life was turned upside down after he found out via the TV news at work that his brother had killed one of the most important people in the World? Or what about Abraham Zapruder (played by the wonderful Paul Giamatti)? Who had unwittingly recorded the assassination of the president? I certainly hadn't.

However, as fascinating as these insights were the lack of story arc did make it difficult for the characters to develop and I found my imagination providing me with the most detailed examples of how it must have been for them rather than the film itself. Parkland was saturated with minor characters which made things seem a bit confused and overcrowded; just as you were starting to connect with one of them the scene would cut to another so you didn't really get a chance to care, and aside from a short written summary at the end of the film you didn't really find out much about what happened to them after the day. So, although looking at these minor roles of the JFK assassination was a good idea in theory, it was poorly executed and it could have actually been so much better in practice.

Parkland was an interesting and creative insight into a day I previously didn't know too much about; it was a creative idea but the fast-paced nature of the film and the handheld camera-work was a little too much and distracted from the overall story.

★★✯☆☆

Parkland is in cinemas nationwide from the 22nd of November

Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,

SAVING MR. BANKS

Always a fan of a good 'real-life story', Saving Mr Banks was one of my most anticipated films of 2013; marketed as the true account of how Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) convinced the author of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson),  to let him adapt her beloved novel into a film for the big screen I was intrigued by the story and excited to learn more. Travers was notoriously against the idea of Mary Poppins becoming a Disney film and it took Walt Disney twenty years of asking before she even agreed to meet with him, and

Travers was adamant there would be no animation

once the film preparation was underway an epic battle ensued between Disney and Travers as she insisted on being involved with every aspect of the adaptation - she was adamant that the film would not include any songs, any animation or any made up words.

I think it is is clear to see who won that power battle.

As well as following Disney and Travers on their journey of creating the movie, the film is made up of many flashbacks of Travers' troubled childhood, particularly the turbulent relationship with her father (played by the brilliant Colin Farrell), thus providing a deep and somewhat emotional insight into why she was so protective of her book and it's characters. Although at times these flashbacks could be a bit emotionally exhausting they were incredibly valuable to the narrative and as her past visually unraveled the audience were able to connect with Travers in a way that would not have been as effective had it merely be mentioned verbally.

However, the main strength of Saving Mr. Banks was without a doubt the incredible cast. Emma Thompson is one of my favourite actresses and her portrayal of the stern, uppity P. L. Travers who is haunted by the memories of her childhood was extremely powerful. Likewise, Tom Hanks as the lovable 'buddy-buddy', all round 'good guy' Walt Disney was brilliantly played and although he didn't have an excessive amount of scenes, the film would have faltered without him as he stole every scene that he was in. The supporting cast can not be faulted in any way - from Ralph, Travers' driver, to the Sherman Brothers - every character had a role to play, nobody felt like an awkward spare part or was left behind and each actor gave a great, well-rounded and human performance.

Julie Andrews with the real Walt Disney & P.L. Travers 

Despite the strong performances and entertaining narrative there were aspects of the film that I found a little difficult to swallow. As this is a Disney film of course it was always going to be on Disney's side - the film concludes with Travers overcome with emotion and jubilation at the final Mary Poppins, when it is renowned that in reality she was outraged by her treatment and the loopholes that Disney had snuck into her contract that undermined the creative decisions they had previously agreed on. As a result Travers refused to let any of her future books be adapted. In fact, Travers was so offended by the way that Disney treated her book that when asked for the rights to make Mary Poppins a West End musical she agreed only on the condition that no Americans were to take part in the production of it.

The sugar-coated, 'happily-ever-after', 'Disney-is-such-a-great-guy' element was a little too sickly and forced when you are aware of  the reality behind the film, but as a work of fiction, and if you allow yourself to let go of the reality and maintain an element of ignorance, the ending was incredibly powerful and when I left the cinema I felt slightly dazed by the emotional roller-coaster that I had experienced as a result of the flashbacks and Travers' fictitious yet heart-breaking reaction to the final film.

All in all, Saving Mr. Banks is a charming and heart-warming film - powerful performances and an intriguing plot make it an interesting and captivating watch. I do recommend seeing it but be sure to take what you see with a pinch of salt instead of a spoonful of sugar and remember that although he is undeniable the incredibly creative man behind most of our childhoods, Walt Disney wasn't truly the 'all-round good guy' as so desperately put across in this film.

★★★★☆

Saving Mr. Banks is out nationwide from the 29th of November

Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,