Search
Search results
Governor of Poker 2 HD - Texas Holdem Poker without internet
Games and Entertainment
App
PLAY POKER, FREE SINGLE PLAYER HOLDEM POKER OFFLINE on your iOS device and beat every cowboy in...
Sun And Moon Tracker 3D
Weather and Travel
App
With this app you will see where the sun is on the sky when the moon covers it. Check this out. It's...
Road to Hana Maui GyPSy Guide
Travel and Navigation
App
GyPSy Guide GPS driving tour of the Road to Hana is an excellent way to enjoy a sightseeing trip on...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated All That Jazz (1979) in Movies
Oct 1, 2020
Full Blown Fosse (and that's a good thing)
After THE FRENCH CONNECTION, JAWS, MARATHON MAN and SORCERER (and, if I'm honest, JAWS II), my brother and I thought Roy Scheider was just about the toughest son-of-a-gun on the planet, so when he asked if I wanted to check out the latest "Roy Scheider flick", I jumped at the chance.
Little did either of us know that it was the semi-autobiographical Bob Fosse gem ALL THAT JAZZ. Me, being a musical theater kid, was thrilled by this unexpected spectacle while my brother (who would rather sit through C-Span than watch a musical) calls it, to this day, his "favorite" musical (granted, not a long list).
I've rewatched this film various times over the years and still liked it, but I hadn't checked it out for over 20 years at this point, so it was with some trepidation that I popped my DVD in (yes, I own the DVD, not the Blu-Ray) and sat back to see how well it holds up.
And...I shouldn't have worried, for it holds up very, very well. Not only as a film, not only as a musical, not only as a look into the life and times (and style) of Bob Fosse, but also as a looking glass into the late 1970's.
Written and Directed by famed Director/Choreographer Bob Fosse (CABARET, CHICAGO), ALL THAT JAZZ tells the (much more than) semi-autobiographical story of famed Director/Choreographer Joe Gideon (Scheider) who is pushing himself hard to finish a film and mount a Broadway show relying on booze, drugs and philandering.
The performances are strong in this film with a bevy of "Fosse regulars" strutting their stuff. From Leland Palmer (in the obvious Gwen Verdon role) to Ann Reinking (in the Ann Reinking role) to Ben Vereen (as the variety show headliner from hell) they all bring strong Broadway credentials to the screen making the musical numbers a veritable showcase of Fosse movements.
A very young Jessica Lange (in an early role that would showcase her acting chops) is mesmerizing, haunting and very, very watchable as a mysterious women in Joe's life while a very young John Lithgow shows up (and chews the scenery very, very well) as a rival director.
The surprise to me, of course, was the strong performance of Scheider in the lead role. He was Oscar-nominated for his work (deservingly so) and when he finally steps into the big finale musical number, he shows that he can hold his own (surprisingly so). He is PERFECTLY cast as Joe Gideon and he never really approached this strong work again in his career.
But, make no mistake about it, this film showcases Bob Fosse's Directing and Choreography skills - and they are excellent. The style of the film - bouncing from real life to something more ethereal - is strong, and strongly Fosse, giving a clear idea of the life and time in which these events unfold. I stated earlier that this film is a "looking glass" into the late 1970's, and I meant it. It immediately brought me back to those times - both the good and bad of it.
The musical numbers are fascinating to watch with the dancing particularly stunning as the angles and forms that the dancers make with their bodies and arms and legs are a wonder to behold. There has never been anyone like Fosse (before or since) and it is GREAT to watch a showcase of his talents.
This film was nominated for 9 Oscars - winning 4 - but losing Picture, Director (Fosse) and Actor (Scheider) to KRAMER vs. KRAMER (Picture, Director - Robert Benton and Actor - Dustin Hoffman). Now, I haven't seen Kramer vs. Kramer in a long, long time (probably not since I saw it in the theaters in 1979), but I gotta think ALL THAT JAZZ is better in all those categories.
If you haven't seen this in awhile - or if you have NEVER seen it - check out ALL THAT JAZZ, you'll be glad you did.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Little did either of us know that it was the semi-autobiographical Bob Fosse gem ALL THAT JAZZ. Me, being a musical theater kid, was thrilled by this unexpected spectacle while my brother (who would rather sit through C-Span than watch a musical) calls it, to this day, his "favorite" musical (granted, not a long list).
I've rewatched this film various times over the years and still liked it, but I hadn't checked it out for over 20 years at this point, so it was with some trepidation that I popped my DVD in (yes, I own the DVD, not the Blu-Ray) and sat back to see how well it holds up.
And...I shouldn't have worried, for it holds up very, very well. Not only as a film, not only as a musical, not only as a look into the life and times (and style) of Bob Fosse, but also as a looking glass into the late 1970's.
Written and Directed by famed Director/Choreographer Bob Fosse (CABARET, CHICAGO), ALL THAT JAZZ tells the (much more than) semi-autobiographical story of famed Director/Choreographer Joe Gideon (Scheider) who is pushing himself hard to finish a film and mount a Broadway show relying on booze, drugs and philandering.
The performances are strong in this film with a bevy of "Fosse regulars" strutting their stuff. From Leland Palmer (in the obvious Gwen Verdon role) to Ann Reinking (in the Ann Reinking role) to Ben Vereen (as the variety show headliner from hell) they all bring strong Broadway credentials to the screen making the musical numbers a veritable showcase of Fosse movements.
A very young Jessica Lange (in an early role that would showcase her acting chops) is mesmerizing, haunting and very, very watchable as a mysterious women in Joe's life while a very young John Lithgow shows up (and chews the scenery very, very well) as a rival director.
The surprise to me, of course, was the strong performance of Scheider in the lead role. He was Oscar-nominated for his work (deservingly so) and when he finally steps into the big finale musical number, he shows that he can hold his own (surprisingly so). He is PERFECTLY cast as Joe Gideon and he never really approached this strong work again in his career.
But, make no mistake about it, this film showcases Bob Fosse's Directing and Choreography skills - and they are excellent. The style of the film - bouncing from real life to something more ethereal - is strong, and strongly Fosse, giving a clear idea of the life and time in which these events unfold. I stated earlier that this film is a "looking glass" into the late 1970's, and I meant it. It immediately brought me back to those times - both the good and bad of it.
The musical numbers are fascinating to watch with the dancing particularly stunning as the angles and forms that the dancers make with their bodies and arms and legs are a wonder to behold. There has never been anyone like Fosse (before or since) and it is GREAT to watch a showcase of his talents.
This film was nominated for 9 Oscars - winning 4 - but losing Picture, Director (Fosse) and Actor (Scheider) to KRAMER vs. KRAMER (Picture, Director - Robert Benton and Actor - Dustin Hoffman). Now, I haven't seen Kramer vs. Kramer in a long, long time (probably not since I saw it in the theaters in 1979), but I gotta think ALL THAT JAZZ is better in all those categories.
If you haven't seen this in awhile - or if you have NEVER seen it - check out ALL THAT JAZZ, you'll be glad you did.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Kauai GyPSy Guide Driving Tour
Travel and Navigation
App
GyPSy Guide GPS driving tour of Kauai is an excellent way to enjoy a sightseeing trip to explore the...
i Sail GPS : USA NOAA Marine Chart Plotter
Navigation and Travel
App
Your iPhone or WiFi+Cellular iPad can be a high-performance GPS receiver with USA NOAA Raster...
Erika (17789 KP) rated The Green Knight (2020) in Movies
Aug 2, 2021
Green Knight, based upon the poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, does the poem justice. We join our relatively pure-hearted Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) on Christmas morning, as he wakes up in what appears to be a brothel. He rushes home to his Mother (Sarita Choudhury), to change for the Christmas Day feast with the aged King (Sean Harris). Mother is left behind as Gawain goes to the feast, and conjures the appearance of the Green Knight.
Gawain agrees to the Christmas game proposed by the Green Knight, so he can be knighted himself. The game is the same as the poem, a knight gives a blow to the Green Knight, and a year from that date, the knight will visit the Green Chapel so he can return the favor.
The year passes, and Gawain sets out on his quest. Mother gives him the gift of a green sash, that will protect him as he faces the journey and the Green Knight. He sets off on his trippy journey, encountering a scavenger (Barry Keoghan) along the way and is quickly delayed in his quest and left for dead, losing his green sash. After freeing himself, he sets out on his allegory-filled quest again, encountering St. Winifred (Erin Kellyman), giants, and is led by a fox to a castle near the Green Chapel.
The castle is where the film gets back on track with the poem. The Lord (Joel Egerton) shows kindness and hospitality, while his wife (Alicia Vikander), takes the role as temptress. Alicia Vikander plays both the Lady, and the prostitute that Gawain is in love with back home. It’s understandably confusing for Gawain. The same deal is struck between the Lord and Gawain, while the Lord is away on the hunt, he will give Gawain everything he catches, while Gawain promises to give the Lord anything he receives at the castle. Gawain does not end up keeping the agreement as he’s seduced by the Lady and gets the green sash back. He escapes the castle and goes to the Green Chapel to finish the Christmas game. The end was very interesting, would Gawain choose to be courageous and maintain his honor, accepting death? Or would he be a coward, running away to be knighted, then subsequently become King? The ending was scary good.
My first thought after the film ended was that we finally got a film that did an Arthurian legend justice. I happened to be really into Arthuriana, so this film was such a treat. Though, I am left with some questions. I’m not sure which sister Mother was supposed to be. Was Mother Morgaine or Morgause? I assume it was Morgause, but Mother was a little more witchy, so maybe Morgaine? I also don’t know if in the film, the Green Knight was the Lord. The characters were played by two different actors, but the Lord is definitely supposed to be the Green Knight.
Another thing I did like is that I don’t believe they ever called the King by his name, Arthur. This was a smart move, as the story was centralized on Sir Gawain, and not about Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
The one sore thumb for me was Alicia Vikander. Her accent when she was the prostitute, Essel, was horrid. I also think that character wasn’t really needed at all because she was just annoying. The whole brothel situation itself was kind of lame because Gawain was supposed to be pure and innocent. The innocence being lost at the Castle was a major part of the poem.
Dev Patel was excellent as Gawain; I was entranced by him, and he kept my attention the entire film. I know there were grumblings about his casting, but seriously, this is a fantasy story. It also is not impossible for people of a different race to be present all over Europe. There once was this empire called Rome, that encompassed a very large area, and enabled people to travel around and settle in areas.
I had been looking forward to this film since March of 2020, and it completely delivered. I hope we get more films like this, rather than the barrage of big dumb action and comic book films. I can’t wait to go see this film again!
Gawain agrees to the Christmas game proposed by the Green Knight, so he can be knighted himself. The game is the same as the poem, a knight gives a blow to the Green Knight, and a year from that date, the knight will visit the Green Chapel so he can return the favor.
The year passes, and Gawain sets out on his quest. Mother gives him the gift of a green sash, that will protect him as he faces the journey and the Green Knight. He sets off on his trippy journey, encountering a scavenger (Barry Keoghan) along the way and is quickly delayed in his quest and left for dead, losing his green sash. After freeing himself, he sets out on his allegory-filled quest again, encountering St. Winifred (Erin Kellyman), giants, and is led by a fox to a castle near the Green Chapel.
The castle is where the film gets back on track with the poem. The Lord (Joel Egerton) shows kindness and hospitality, while his wife (Alicia Vikander), takes the role as temptress. Alicia Vikander plays both the Lady, and the prostitute that Gawain is in love with back home. It’s understandably confusing for Gawain. The same deal is struck between the Lord and Gawain, while the Lord is away on the hunt, he will give Gawain everything he catches, while Gawain promises to give the Lord anything he receives at the castle. Gawain does not end up keeping the agreement as he’s seduced by the Lady and gets the green sash back. He escapes the castle and goes to the Green Chapel to finish the Christmas game. The end was very interesting, would Gawain choose to be courageous and maintain his honor, accepting death? Or would he be a coward, running away to be knighted, then subsequently become King? The ending was scary good.
My first thought after the film ended was that we finally got a film that did an Arthurian legend justice. I happened to be really into Arthuriana, so this film was such a treat. Though, I am left with some questions. I’m not sure which sister Mother was supposed to be. Was Mother Morgaine or Morgause? I assume it was Morgause, but Mother was a little more witchy, so maybe Morgaine? I also don’t know if in the film, the Green Knight was the Lord. The characters were played by two different actors, but the Lord is definitely supposed to be the Green Knight.
Another thing I did like is that I don’t believe they ever called the King by his name, Arthur. This was a smart move, as the story was centralized on Sir Gawain, and not about Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
The one sore thumb for me was Alicia Vikander. Her accent when she was the prostitute, Essel, was horrid. I also think that character wasn’t really needed at all because she was just annoying. The whole brothel situation itself was kind of lame because Gawain was supposed to be pure and innocent. The innocence being lost at the Castle was a major part of the poem.
Dev Patel was excellent as Gawain; I was entranced by him, and he kept my attention the entire film. I know there were grumblings about his casting, but seriously, this is a fantasy story. It also is not impossible for people of a different race to be present all over Europe. There once was this empire called Rome, that encompassed a very large area, and enabled people to travel around and settle in areas.
I had been looking forward to this film since March of 2020, and it completely delivered. I hope we get more films like this, rather than the barrage of big dumb action and comic book films. I can’t wait to go see this film again!
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Mule (2018) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Eastwood is back, but is he hero or anti-hero?
It’s delightful to see Clint Eastwood back in front of the camera on the big screen. His last starring film was “Trouble with the Curve” in 2012 – a baseball-themed film that I don’t remember coming out in the UK, let alone remember seeing. Before that was 2008’s excellent “Gran Torino”.
Based on a true story.
“The Mule” is based on a true New York Times story about Leo Sharp, a veteren recruited by a cartel to ship drugs from the southern border to Chicago.
Eastwood couldn’t cast Sharp in the movie as himself because he died back in 2016, so had to personally take the role. (This is #satire…. Eastwood’s last film was the terrible “The 15:17 to Paris” where his ‘actors’ were the real-life participants themselves: you won’t find a review on this site as I only review films I’ve managed to sit through…. and with this one I failed!).
The plot.
Eastwood plays Earl Stone, a self-centred horticulturist of award-winning daylily’s (whatever they are) who is estranged from wife Mary (Dianne Wiest) and especially from his daughter Iris (Alison Eastwood, Clint’s own daughter), who now refuses to speak to him. This is because Earl has let his family down at every turn. The only person willing to give him a chance is his grand-daughter Ginny (Taissa Farmiga, younger sister of Vera). With his affairs in financial freefall, a chance meeting at a wedding leads Earl into a money-making driving job for the cartel operated by Laton (Andy Garcia). (Laton doesn’t seem to have a first name….. Fernando perhaps?).
With has beat-up truck and aged manner, he is invisible to the cops and so highly effective in the role. Even when – as the money keeps rolling in – he upgrades his truck to a souped-up monster!
Loose Morals.
It’s difficult to know whether Eastwood is playing a hero or an anti-hero. You feel tense when Earl is at risk of being caught, but then again the law officers would be preventing hundreds of kilos of cocaine from reaching the streets of Chicago and through their actions saving the lives of probably hundreds of people. I felt utterly conflicted: the blood of those people, and the destruction of the families that addiction causes, was on Earl’s hands as much as his employer’s. But you can’t quite equate that to the affable old-man that Eastwood portrays, who uses much of the money for charitable good-works in his community.
Family values.
In parallel with the drug-running main plot is a tale of Earl’s attempted redemption: “family should always come first”. When the two storylines come together around a critical event then it feels like a sufficient trigger for Earl to turn his back on his life of selfishness. This also gives room for some splendid acting scenes between Eastwood and Wiest. It’s also interesting that Earl tries to teach the younger DEA enforcement agent not to follow in the sins of his past. Bradley Cooper, back in pretty-boy mode, plays the agent, but seemed to me to be coasting; to me he wasn’t convincing in the role. Michael Peña is better as his unnamed DEA-buddy.
Final thoughts.
The showing at my cinema was surprisingly well-attended for a Wednesday night, showing that Eastwood is still a star-draw for box-office even in his old age. And it’s the reason to see the film for sure. His gristled driving turn to camera (most fully seen in the trailer rather than the final cut) is extraordinary.
He even manages to turn in an “eyes in rearview-mirror” shot that is surely a tribute to his Dirty Harry days!
If you can park your moral compass for a few hours then its an enjoyable film of drug-running and redemption. I’d like to suggest it also illustrates that crime really doesn’t pay, but from the end titles scene I’m not even sure at that age if that even applies!
Based on a true story.
“The Mule” is based on a true New York Times story about Leo Sharp, a veteren recruited by a cartel to ship drugs from the southern border to Chicago.
Eastwood couldn’t cast Sharp in the movie as himself because he died back in 2016, so had to personally take the role. (This is #satire…. Eastwood’s last film was the terrible “The 15:17 to Paris” where his ‘actors’ were the real-life participants themselves: you won’t find a review on this site as I only review films I’ve managed to sit through…. and with this one I failed!).
The plot.
Eastwood plays Earl Stone, a self-centred horticulturist of award-winning daylily’s (whatever they are) who is estranged from wife Mary (Dianne Wiest) and especially from his daughter Iris (Alison Eastwood, Clint’s own daughter), who now refuses to speak to him. This is because Earl has let his family down at every turn. The only person willing to give him a chance is his grand-daughter Ginny (Taissa Farmiga, younger sister of Vera). With his affairs in financial freefall, a chance meeting at a wedding leads Earl into a money-making driving job for the cartel operated by Laton (Andy Garcia). (Laton doesn’t seem to have a first name….. Fernando perhaps?).
With has beat-up truck and aged manner, he is invisible to the cops and so highly effective in the role. Even when – as the money keeps rolling in – he upgrades his truck to a souped-up monster!
Loose Morals.
It’s difficult to know whether Eastwood is playing a hero or an anti-hero. You feel tense when Earl is at risk of being caught, but then again the law officers would be preventing hundreds of kilos of cocaine from reaching the streets of Chicago and through their actions saving the lives of probably hundreds of people. I felt utterly conflicted: the blood of those people, and the destruction of the families that addiction causes, was on Earl’s hands as much as his employer’s. But you can’t quite equate that to the affable old-man that Eastwood portrays, who uses much of the money for charitable good-works in his community.
Family values.
In parallel with the drug-running main plot is a tale of Earl’s attempted redemption: “family should always come first”. When the two storylines come together around a critical event then it feels like a sufficient trigger for Earl to turn his back on his life of selfishness. This also gives room for some splendid acting scenes between Eastwood and Wiest. It’s also interesting that Earl tries to teach the younger DEA enforcement agent not to follow in the sins of his past. Bradley Cooper, back in pretty-boy mode, plays the agent, but seemed to me to be coasting; to me he wasn’t convincing in the role. Michael Peña is better as his unnamed DEA-buddy.
Final thoughts.
The showing at my cinema was surprisingly well-attended for a Wednesday night, showing that Eastwood is still a star-draw for box-office even in his old age. And it’s the reason to see the film for sure. His gristled driving turn to camera (most fully seen in the trailer rather than the final cut) is extraordinary.
He even manages to turn in an “eyes in rearview-mirror” shot that is surely a tribute to his Dirty Harry days!
If you can park your moral compass for a few hours then its an enjoyable film of drug-running and redemption. I’d like to suggest it also illustrates that crime really doesn’t pay, but from the end titles scene I’m not even sure at that age if that even applies!
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated On Chesil Beach (2018) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
Flawed but moving tale of a bygone sexual era.
As you might notice from my lack of recent posts, the day job is getting in a way a bit at the moment. But one film I wanted to catch was this adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel. What’s both an advantage and a disadvantage of catching a film late is that you can’t help avoid absorbing some of the reviews of others: Kevin Maher of the Times gave this a rather sniffy two stars; Amy from “Oh That Film Blog” was much more measured (an excellent review: man, that girl can write!). Last night, I actually ended up enjoying the film much more than I was expecting to.
Set against Dorset’s spectacular shingle bank of Chesil Beach (which is a bitch to walk along!) the story, set primarily in 1962, joins two newly-weds Florence (Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn“, “Lady Bird“) and Edward (Billy Howle, “Dunkirk“) about to embark on the sexual adventure of their consummation at a seaside hotel. The timing of the film is critical: 1962 really marked the watershed between the staid conservatism and goody-two-shoes-ness of the 50’s and the sexual liberation of the swinging sixties. Sex before marriage was frowned upon. The problem for Florence and Edward is that sex after marriage is looking pretty unlikely too! For the inexperienced couple have more hang-ups about sex than there are pebbles on the beach.
The lead-up to their union is squirm-inducing to watch: a silent silver-service meal in their room; incompetent fumbling with zippers; shoes that refuse to come off. To prolong the agony for the viewer, we work through flashbacks of their first meeting at Oxford University and their dysfunctional family lives: for Florence a bullying father and mother (Samuel West and Emily Watson) and for Edward a loving but stressed father (TV regular, Adrian Scarborough) due to a mentally impaired mother (Anne-Marie Duff, “Suffragette“, “Before I Go To Sleep“).
As Ian McEwan is known to do (as per the end of “Atonement” for example), there are a couple of clever “Oh My God” twists in the tale: one merely hinted at in flashback; another involving a record-buying child that is also unresolved but begs a massive question.
The first half of the film is undoubtedly better than the last: while the screenplay is going for the “if only” twist of films like “Sliding Doors” and “La La Land“, the film over-stretches with some dodgy make-up where alternative actors would have been a far better choice. The ending still had the power to move me though.
Saoirse Ronan is magnificent: I don’t think I’ve seen the young Irish-American in a film I didn’t enjoy. Here she is back with a McEwan adaptation again and bleeds discomfort with every line of her face. Her desperate longing to talk to someone – such as the kindly probing vicar – is constantly counteracted by her shame and embarassment. Howle also holds his own well (no pun intended) but when up against the acting tour de force of Ronan he is always going to appear in second place.
A brave performance comes from Anne-Marie Duff who shines as the mentally wayward mother. The flashback where we see how she came to be that way is wholly predicatable but still manages to shock. And Duff is part of a strong ensemble cast who all do their bit.
Another star of the show for me is the photography by Sean Bobbitt (“12 Years a Slave“) which portrays the windswept Dorset beach beautifully but manages to get the frame close and claustrophobic when it needs to be. Wide panoramas with characters barely on the left and right of the frame will play havoc with DVD ratios on TV, but work superbly on the big screen.
Directed by stage-director Dominic Cooke, in his movie-directing debut, this is a brave story to try to move from page to screen and while it is not without faults it is a ball-achingly sad tale that moved me. Recommended if you enjoyed the similarly sad tale of “Atonement”.
Set against Dorset’s spectacular shingle bank of Chesil Beach (which is a bitch to walk along!) the story, set primarily in 1962, joins two newly-weds Florence (Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn“, “Lady Bird“) and Edward (Billy Howle, “Dunkirk“) about to embark on the sexual adventure of their consummation at a seaside hotel. The timing of the film is critical: 1962 really marked the watershed between the staid conservatism and goody-two-shoes-ness of the 50’s and the sexual liberation of the swinging sixties. Sex before marriage was frowned upon. The problem for Florence and Edward is that sex after marriage is looking pretty unlikely too! For the inexperienced couple have more hang-ups about sex than there are pebbles on the beach.
The lead-up to their union is squirm-inducing to watch: a silent silver-service meal in their room; incompetent fumbling with zippers; shoes that refuse to come off. To prolong the agony for the viewer, we work through flashbacks of their first meeting at Oxford University and their dysfunctional family lives: for Florence a bullying father and mother (Samuel West and Emily Watson) and for Edward a loving but stressed father (TV regular, Adrian Scarborough) due to a mentally impaired mother (Anne-Marie Duff, “Suffragette“, “Before I Go To Sleep“).
As Ian McEwan is known to do (as per the end of “Atonement” for example), there are a couple of clever “Oh My God” twists in the tale: one merely hinted at in flashback; another involving a record-buying child that is also unresolved but begs a massive question.
The first half of the film is undoubtedly better than the last: while the screenplay is going for the “if only” twist of films like “Sliding Doors” and “La La Land“, the film over-stretches with some dodgy make-up where alternative actors would have been a far better choice. The ending still had the power to move me though.
Saoirse Ronan is magnificent: I don’t think I’ve seen the young Irish-American in a film I didn’t enjoy. Here she is back with a McEwan adaptation again and bleeds discomfort with every line of her face. Her desperate longing to talk to someone – such as the kindly probing vicar – is constantly counteracted by her shame and embarassment. Howle also holds his own well (no pun intended) but when up against the acting tour de force of Ronan he is always going to appear in second place.
A brave performance comes from Anne-Marie Duff who shines as the mentally wayward mother. The flashback where we see how she came to be that way is wholly predicatable but still manages to shock. And Duff is part of a strong ensemble cast who all do their bit.
Another star of the show for me is the photography by Sean Bobbitt (“12 Years a Slave“) which portrays the windswept Dorset beach beautifully but manages to get the frame close and claustrophobic when it needs to be. Wide panoramas with characters barely on the left and right of the frame will play havoc with DVD ratios on TV, but work superbly on the big screen.
Directed by stage-director Dominic Cooke, in his movie-directing debut, this is a brave story to try to move from page to screen and while it is not without faults it is a ball-achingly sad tale that moved me. Recommended if you enjoyed the similarly sad tale of “Atonement”.