Movie Review: Made In Dagenham (2010)

A labour conflict drama, Made In Dagenham celebrates a small group of women who fought for gender pay equity. The film is well-intentioned but altogether too obvious.

It's 1968 in unfashionable Dagenham, England, where the Ford motor company employs tens of thousands of workers at a car manufacturing plant. Less than 200 of them are women, and they mostly operate sewing machines to stitch together seat fabrics. Encouraged by supervisor Albert (Bob Hoskins), the women organize labour action to demand better pay and recognition as skilled workers.

Feisty machinist Rita O'Grady (Sally Hawkins) supplants the more frazzled Connie (Geraldine James) as leader and spokesperson, and shocks Ford's management by demanding equal pay for equal work regardless of gender. The women go on a full strike, eventually shutting down the factory. As the community starts to struggle financially, Rita learns not everyone appreciates her hardline stance. Ford's Detroit leadership wades into the conflict, as does Britain's Employment Secretary Barbara Castle (Miranda Richardson).

Based on a true story but featuring mostly made-up characters, Made In Dagenham is as British as its title, drawing inspiration from suburban working class housing estates and the spirit of unlikely activists standing up for an idealistic principle against a profit-driven heartless corporation. The story carries inherent power, but writer William Ivory and director Nigel Cole cannot do much with it except mechanically tick the expected boxes.

As it goes through the motions, the film is comfortably and annoyingly familiar. Rita is the local hero emerging as an inspirational leader; her family life suffers as she is preoccupied with the cause; the community turns against her when the men are forced out of work; and she has to persist and fight for what is right, staring down not just the company but also the broader male-dominated union movement, unimpressed with women making their voices heard.

When it's not reverberating with strong echoes of Norma Rae, Made In Dagenham not infrequently threatens to descend to television movie-of-the-week fare, complete with a trite call to ignite the British spirit of World War Two. Other than the empathetic Albert, the men are uniformly portrayed as dolts, and all the Ford management types may as well be labeled "evil corporate type" on their foreheads.

Cole introduces the character of Lisa Hopkins (Rosamund Pike) as the wife of a Ford executive. She crosses paths with Rita at the school attended by both their kids, and what promises to be an interesting across-the-divide relationship between the women becomes a missed opportunity, settled in the most bland way possible.

Ivory's script leaves out notions of depth and background, most of the characters quick-fried into cliches. Sally Hawkins single-handedly drags the film towards respectability as she fights gamely against the material, but she barely bridges the credibility gap in Rita's evolution from sewing machinist to articulate, passionate and fearless leader.

Some highlight moments are provided by Miranda Richardson as a Labour Party cabinet minister caught between crass political realities, genuine economic imperatives and sympathy to the cause of her fellow women. Made In Dagenham starts on the shop floor but ends at the policy table, where a better story may have resided all along.

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Movie Review: A Prayer For The Dying (1987)

A character study set in the shadow of the Irish Troubles, A Prayer For The Dying offers a plethora of moral dilemmas but is hampered by choppy momentum. 

In Northern Ireland an Irish Republican Army unit including Martin Fallon (Mickey Rourke) and Liam Docherty (Liam Neeson) mistakenly blows up a bus full of school girls. Martin flees to London and attempts to put violence behind him, but mortician and mobster boss Jack Meehan (Alan Bates) and his psychotic brother Billy (Christopher Fulford) pressure Martin into one last murder to eliminate an underworld rival in exchange for a new passport and money.

Martin reluctantly commits the murder, but is witnessed in the act by Father Da Costa (Bob Hoskins). Martin spares the priest's life but follows him to his church and confesses to the murder in the confession booth, forcing the Father into silence. Meehan is unhappy about the loose end and sets about intimidating both Martin and Da Costa. Docherty embarks on his own search to bring Martin back into the revolutionary fold, while Martin starts to develop feelings for Da Costa's blind niece Anna (Sammi Davis).

A drama with snippets of action and tension, A Prayer For The Dying works best as an examination of regret as the dark shadows of Martin Fallon's victims finally catch up with him. The film's focus is on the collision between his intentions to start anew and the reality of his reputation as an expert in killing. A hardened criminal cannot just walk away, and everyone from his former IRA colleagues to the gangsters of London and English enforcement authorities are interested in finding and pressuring him.

The film is based on a Jack Higgins novel, and he helped to co-write the script. Mike Hodges directs, and both are victimized by content spread too thin. By the time the characters are all introduced and the tense dynamic is established between Fallon, Da Costa and Meehan, the film stalls. Hodges has to find a rickety excuse to keep Fallon hanging around near the church, and chunks of screen time are consumed by uninteresting side quests including the unhinged Billy running loose, the clunky romance between Fallon and Anna, and Da Costa tangling with Meehan.

Mickey Rourke sports bright red hair as a neon sign to his Irishness, but does not bother to change it to any other colour once Fallon is designated Britain's most wanted fugitive. Rourke's performance walks a tightrope between cool and disinterested, and ultimately he does just enough to hold the film together. Bob Hoskins never quite convinces as an ex-military operative now playing at being a man of religion. Alan Bates bites into the role of Jack Meehan with an expensive overcoat, shiny teeth and a snarky smile, taking immense pride in preparing corpses for burials and ordering his goons to create more.

Fallon has to decide whether to kill or not, Da Costa whether to betray his vows and talk or not, and Meehan whether he can tolerate witnesses to his dirty work. A Prayer For The Dying asks the right questions, but is not as good at concentrating on the answers.

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Movie Review: Mona Lisa (1986)

A crime drama and romance, Mona Lisa offers a gritty London milieu, but the story of an unlikely business and personal relationship lacks some texture.

In London, low-level hoodlum George (Bob Hoskins) is released from prison after serving seven years. His former associates under the leadership of sex club owner and mobster boss Denny Mortwell (Michael Caine) give him a job as the chauffeur for expensive call girl Simone (Cathy Tyson). Initially the sophisticated Simone and the excitable George clash over everything, but gradually a friendship evolves.

She confides in him about her past as a street prostitute regularly abused by her pimp Anderson (Clarke Peters), and requests George's help in finding her close friend Cathy, a young prostitute also suffering Anderson's mistreatment. George tries to mend his relationship with his daughter Jeannie (Zoë Nathenson), but is drawn into a heap of trouble and violence as he wades deeper into Simone's world.

A grim descent into London's slimy underbelly, Mona Lisa is a rough English equivalent of Taxi Driver, at least in spirit and intent if not overall quality. The story of an irrelevant and coarse man enchanted by an unattainable woman carries possibilities, and director Neil Jordan (who also co-wrote the script) teases an evocative performance out of Bob Hoskins in the lead role.

But once George falls under Simone's spell and embarks on a quest to find her friend Cathy, the film stagnates. The antagonists of this world, as defined by Mortwell and Anderson, are exceptionally poorly defined. Michael Caine sleepwalks through his few scenes, while the supposedly menacing Anderson is reduced to a generic jack-in-the-box presence, popping up to randomly chase and threaten people at designated intervals.

Much better is the core bond between scrappy driver and sophisticated call girl, and Mona Lisa draws its warmth from the emerging dynamic between them. They navigate past the hostile stage and allow an asymmetrical friendship to develop as George starts to fall hard for Simone and extrapolates potential beyond reality. Again Jordan stumbles over the final few hurdles, and once George understands his emotional misplacement Mona Lisa limps over the finish line in more common thriller land.

Newcomer Cathy Tyson has an enigmatic screen presence and adds a layer of allure to Simone's secrets, metaphorically representing the mysterious smile of the title painting.

Stylish and carrying a strong sense of place, Mona Lisa ventures through a sordid version of London and finds a mix of organic and generic.

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Movie Review: The Long Good Friday (1980)

A crime drama, The Long Good Friday offers a deep and character-rich story set in London at the cusp of massive change. Doses of jarring violence add plenty of verve.

It's Easter in London. Mobster boss Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) has kept the peace in gangland for the past 10 years and is eager to venture into respectable investments. With his partner Victoria (Helen Mirren) and chief fixer Jeff (Derek Thompson), they invite New Jersey Mafia financier Charlie (Eddie Constantine) to discuss a massive docklands redevelopment project, which also involves corrupt and frequently drunk city councillor Harris (Bryan Marshall).

But on the same day of the meeting with Charlie, Harold's people and businesses are targeted in coordinated attacks. His trusted lieutenant and closest friend Colin (Paul Freeman) is killed at a swimming pool, his Rolls Royce bombed in front of a church, and two other businesses attacked. Police detective Parky (Dave King), who is on Harold's payroll, is of little help. With Charlie's commitment wavering, Harold and Victoria have to quickly uncover who is behind the attacks and stop the carnage.

A gritty exploration of the overlap between crime, business and politics, The Long Good Friday mixes ambition with startling violence. Written by Barrie Keeffe and directed by John Mackenzie, this is an uncompromising dive into a sordid world: gangsters in suits, police officers on the take, and vendettas on London's streets. And when the time comes to reveal the brutality of men like Harold Shand, The Long Good Friday is unblinking. Rivals are strung-up upside down next to sides of beef, and the gaping wounds of traitors splurt blood.

At the heart of the story, the pugnacious Harold Shand is a remarkable character. Scrappy and visionary in equal measures, he carries echoes of his country and city at the cusp of colossal change. Just as Shand is looking to capitalize on his achievements by forging a more reputable legacy,  England is growing into a union with Europe and London offers swaths of opportunity in the form of waterfront redevelopment. The audacious projects Harold describes in the film came true in the 30 years following the film's release.

Emphasizing the deep desire for transition into respectable capitalism, here the Mafia is a potential investment partner. When explosions start rocking Harold's world, the New Jersey representatives are repelled: they are seeking a future of wealth through business, not bombs.

Bob Hoskins found his breakout role as Shand, and Mackenzie uses the actor to great effect. The cameras frequently linger on Hoskins' face, combustibility and intelligence vying for space as Shand assesses the latest setback and plans his next counterpunch. Helen Mirren is marginally underutilized, and the rest of the cast consists of robust character actors bringing London's underworld to life.

Despite the strength of Harold's conviction and dreams of a different future for man and country, political realities are a force to be reckoned with. This is still England of 1980, where Northern Ireland Troubles cast a long shadow over the nation. In an impressive display of breadth, The Long Good Friday seamlessly encompasses that conflict, Harold confronted with a final, mammoth and unexpected challenge on his difficult journey from the business of crime to the business of business.

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The Movies Of Bob Hoskins

All movies starring Bob Hoskins and reviewed on the Ace Black Blog are linked below:

Zulu Dawn (1979)

The Long Good Friday (1980)

Brazil (1985)

Mona Lisa (1986)

A Prayer For The Dying (1987)

Nixon (1995)

Enemy At The Gates (2001)

Maid In Manhattan (2002)

Hollywoodland (2006)

Made In Dagenham (2010)

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.
The Index of Movie Stars is here.

Movie Review: Brazil (1985)

A dystopian satire, Brazil is an imaginative fantasy both mocking the growing incompetence of out-of-control government and chillingly predicting a miserable future.

In a dystopian alternative reality resembling the totalitarian regime of 1984 gone sideways, Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) is a government bureaucrat working in the mammoth Ministry of Information. With the regime under threat from frequent terrorist bombings, Sam experiences weird dreams featuring themes of flying, escaping from reality, and the love of a beautiful woman.

While investigating a government paperwork mix-up between the names Buttle and Tuttle that resulted in the wrong man being seized, tortured and killed, Sam spots the charismatic but elusive Jill Layton (Kim Greist) and realizes that she is the woman from his dreams. Breaking every possible rule, Sam uses the influence of his mother Ida (Katherine Helmond) to track down Jill, earning the wrath of the regime.

Directed and co-written by Terry Gilliam, Brazil is a quirky and unique masterpiece. The film creates a stunning world far detached from reality and yet starkly familiar in capturing the twin threats of all private information in government hands and an all-powerful yet totally inept ruling structure maintaining control through secret repression and public platitudes. And a culture of official forms run amok. By adding a layer of insidious gallows humour, Gilliam perfects a dark surrender to the inevitable.

Brazil's initial US release was famously botched by Universal Studios. The ending was changed, the running length was shortened, and the film fell flat. International audiences saw Gilliam's original 142 minute cut, and that version now endures as a classic.

Brazil thrives on its fantastical weirdness. Around the story of Sam' search for an escape through his idealistic pursuit of an unattainable Jill, Gilliam creates a world sinking into outlandish creepiness and dominated by...ducts. Bombs go off and are ignored. Sam's friend Jack (Michael Palin) has moved up in the bureaucracy and achieved the exalted level of torturer. Archibald "Harry" Tuttle (Robert De Niro) is a renegade mechanic who epitomizes subversive resistance against the regime by actually fixing things. His opposite character is Spoor (Bob Hoskins), a gleeful employee of Central Services.

There's more. Sam's mother Ida and her friends are obsessed with - and victimized by - the latest face lift surgery techniques. Sam's manager Mr. Kurtzmann (Ian Holm) can get nothing done without Sam, and therefore spends his days worrying about Sam getting promoted. Deputy Minister Mr. Helpmann (Peter Vaughan) is confined to a wheelchair and is the face of government, the closest thing to Big Brother but more real, less effective and possibly orchestrating the 13-year bombing campaign.

The film's set designs and aesthetics are legendary. Gilliam creates a grim world where everything has progressed in the wrong direction under government micro management. Surveillance is everywhere. Uncoordinated ducts dominate every interior space. Cars represent hideous design by committee. Government buildings are imposing spaces from the outside but inside, bureaucrats in tiny offices fight over desks and cabinets literally divided by walls. Rich women's latest fashions include outlandish hats with upside heel designs. Security men are oversized and overweight. Computers are flat screens bolted on to 1940s-era typewriters. Pro-state fascist-style posters dominate every wall space. Few movies have ventured this far into creating a viable, pathetic vision of a society in a march towards irrelevance.

Amidst the madness, Jonathan Pryce holds the film together with a performance combining subdued resignation with an itch to break free. His Sam Lowry is a dedicated government man, but unable to resist the temptation of freedom once his dreams to escape the inescapable take hold. Brazil is the title of the airy 1939 Ary Barroso song playing almost endlessly in Sam's head, representing the promise of somewhere else, anywhere away from here.

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Movie Review: Hollywoodland (2006)

A muddled attempt to create a story where there may be none, Hollywoodland stumbles around looking for a cool gumshoe vibe but emerges with a dull mess.

The real death of actor George Reeves at age 45 in 1959 of a gunshot wound to the head was ruled a suicide, but suspicions remain that maybe he was killed. Reeves was television's Superman, but at the time of his death was comprehensively underemployed and likely depressed. It is understandable that Superman committing suicide is a hard story to swallow, but Hollywoodland does the conspiracy theories no favours.

The film centres around low-level private detective Louis Simo (Adrien Brody), desperate for any client, pursuing the rumour that there was more to the death of Reeves (Ben Affleck) than the official story. Simo's ineffective bumbling around the events of Reeves' death are mixed with flashbacks of the actor's career.

The script by Paul Bernbaum works hard to create a villain out of MGM executive Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins), whose wife Toni (Diane Lane) carried on an open affair with Reeves for many years. Rumours and legends have long swirled around Mannix, for his alleged gangland connections and unofficial role as one of MGM's "fixers", arranging cover-up stories for the studio stars when their behaviour landed them in more trouble than was helpful for their careers. Hollywoodland labours to float theories that either Mannix or his wife may have purposefully or accidentally caused Reeves death. But director Allen Coulter back pedals meekly, conjecturing a full circle and tepidly parking the film where it started.

Affleck surprisingly emerges as the best thing in the movie, thanks to his human portrayal of Reeves as a gentleman, a modest acting talent seeking a better opportunity in the glamorous movie business, but pigeonholed as a kids' superhero on a cheesy TV show. The lovingly recreated scenes of Reeves portraying Superman and his interaction with the young fans of the show suggest that there was an intention of a whole other type of movie somewhere along the line: the detective Simo angle emits the foul odour of a hastily slapped together narrative to convert a lightweight homage into a failed mystery.

There are plenty of sordid tales to tell from the history of Hollywood. Hollywoodland targets the wrong legend and fumbles it.

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Movie Review: Enemy At The Gates (2001)

Major Wold War Two films that focus on the Eastern Front are few and far between. Enemy At The Gates is a powerful and captivating look into the hell that was the battle of Stalingrad, as told through the story of real-life Soviet hero Vassili Zaitsev.

It's late in 1942, and the all-conquering German invaders have arrived at the gate of Stalingrad.  The under-powered Soviet army makes a stand to hold the city at all costs, resulting in a meat-grinder of a pitched battle that would last for months. Thrown into the battle on the Soviet side is green recruit Zaitsev (Jude Law), an uneducated shepherd from the Ural mountains. Although he barely survives his first chaotic battle, Zaitsev soon proves himself an ace sniper. With the Soviets desperate for heroes to inspire their troops, propaganda officer Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) convinces the army commander Khrushchev (Bob Hoskins) to build Zaitsev up as a heroic figure and an inspiration for the defenders of the City.

Danilov befriends Zaitsev and sets the propaganda machine in motion. With Zaitsev's reputation spreading, and the number of his German victims growing, the Germans bring in an ace sniper of their own, Erwin Konig (Ed Harris), to eliminate Zaitsev. Meanwhile, both Danilov and Zaitsev are falling in love with Tania (Rachel Weisz), a citizen-turned soldier, while Sacha, a young Soviet boy, begins to fulfill a dangerous double-agent role, apparently helping Konig to find Zaitsev while really feeding intelligence to Danilov.

With the battle of Stalingrad at a bloody stalemate, Tania creates tension between Danilov and Zaitsev, who is also playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with Konig in the ruins of a destroyed city.

Enemy At The Gates is a grand, satisfying, and unflinching war film.  An American / European co-production, it's the story of one of the most pivotal battles of the war, as the German machine was finally brought to its knees, its eastern expansion halted once and for all. After Stalingrad, the German retreat would begin, ending with the Soviet army in Berlin.  The script, by director Jean-Jacques Annaud and Alain Godard, based on the William Craig book, does distill the battle to the struggle between individuals, an effective technique but perhaps in this case resulting in a focus that is too narrow.

The second half of the film does get obsessed with personal conflicts at the expense of the overall battle. The love triangle becomes a relatively unwelcome diversion, and the duel between the two snipers takes over as an overwhelming metaphor for the larger war. The strength of the cast allows the film to survive despite the human drama taking centre stage, but a bit more context and bit less tiresome self-centred soul-searching would have helped.

Enemy At The Gates looks spectacular, capturing the utter agony of war. The recreation of a city reduced to rubble but still being contested by two massive armies is breathtaking. Cinematographer Robert Fraisse lyrically films a dead city reduced to its most elemental structures of crushed concrete, twisted steel, destroyed buildings, and dust, and fills it with the gruesome sight of equally crushed, twisted, and destroyed bodies turning to dust -- everywhere. It is one of the most clear-eyed views of gory warfare put on the screen, and Annaud ensures that the cameras continue to stare as bullets hit humans and open wounds belch out still-pumping blood.  The human enemy may be at the gates, but the real enemy of humanity is war itself.

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