Sightseers

Ben Wheatley’s last film Kill List was a thoroughly disconcerting chiller with a dark, dark heart. He treads a little more lightly here, although there is a black streak running through this tale of an odd-couple caravanning and killing their way across northern England.

Tina and Chris (played by co-writers Alice Lowe and Steve Oram) are a pair of lonely nerds who have found solace in one another’s company. She lives at home with her unstable mother and the memory of her dead dog, he is a scruffily bearded anorak in a beige fleece, desperate to show his new girlfriend the glorious sights of Mother Shipton’s Cave and the Pencil Museum.

He’s not all he initially seems, however. An early encounter with a litter-lout reveals a seething resentment and a vicious self-righteousness which instigates a brutal murder-spree as he gradually insinuates Alice into his murderous rampage. They might be clad in homemade underwear and woollen bobble-hats, but the Midlands’ version of Bonny and Clyde are not to be crossed.

Of course, this all sounds a little bleak. But it’s not. Sightseers is a hilariously funny film which combines high-farce with jet-black humour to wicked effect. The murders are grotesque and gruesome, but never incongruous given the matter-of-fact way in which Tina and Chris deal with them – when Tina confesses that she’d never have considered killing innocent people, Chris crisply replies, “He’s not a person. He’s a Daily Mail reader.”

There’s something for everyone here: Reader’s Wives style home-made porn, a cute dog, snappy dialogue and two wonderfully watchable central performances. It doesn’t all work and the plot is full of holes you could drive a caravan through – but to complain about such things is to miss the point completely. Sightseers is a brilliant blend of light and dark, and deserves to win every award it has been nominated for.

Films of 2011

I don’t get paid to review films. I get free DVDs, free festival passes and other occasional bonuses, but generally if i want to go to the cinema i have to pay. For this reason i don’t get chance to see everything and occasionally just can’t afford to get to the flicks. For this reason, my top ten films of the year can be selected only from those i’ve seen – meaning the likes of Hugo and Drive miss out. I’ll catch up on them asap and i’m sure i’ll review them in full then. As it is, here’s my favourite films to have received a UK release in 2011 (click the film’s title for my full review)...

Tyrannosaur
A stunning directorial debut from Paddy Considine. Tyrannosaur tackles difficult subject matter (alcoholism, domestic violence, religion) sensitively and powerfully and features astounding acting performances from stalwarts of British cinema Peter Mullan and Eddie Marsan. The real star, however, is Olivia Colman. She’s absolutely heartbreaking in the lead and deserves to win award after award. My film of the year without doubt.

Benda Bilili
A wonderful feel-good documentary about paraplegic Congolese musicians making records and touring Europe. Their journey is both touching and hilarious - and the star of the show is a Jimi Hendrix wannabe who entrances everyone he meets with he virtuouso displays on a self-made one-stringed guitar/biscuit tin!

Meek's Cutoff
I’m a sucker for a Western, but Kelly Reinhardt’s movie is quiet, calm and poetic – not traditional Wild West fare. The pictures really tell the story - the cinematography is amazing and many scenes are allowed to play out quietly and contemplatively. The ending is controversial - but i couldn't think of a better way to leave things.

The King’s Speech
Is there anything left to say? At its heart The King’s Speech is a bromance between two disparate characters which really ought not to work. It does thanks to the generous performance of Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth’s steadfast refusal to go OTT in his portrayal of the stammering monarch-in-waiting.

127 Hours
Essentailly a one-man show where the audience already knows how it will end. Thankfully, Danny Boyle’s adrenaline pumped direction and James Franco’s mesmerising intensity ensure that 127 Hours flies by in what feels like 12.7 minutes.

La Quatro Volte
It’s virtually a silent movie about goat farming and making charcoal. I couldn’t care less. It’s amazing. One of the most beautiful films i’ve ever seen and a powerful reminder that the medium of cinema is not reliant on big budgets, clever scripts are star names. Stunning.

Kill List
A thoroughly uncomfortable film with echoes of The Wicker Man. It’s not without its flaws but it’s brave, uncompromising and brilliantly acted from all involved. A great character study studded with moments of graphic violence – and some moral dilemmas for the audience to puzzle over.

True Grit
It’s been a good year for the Western genre. Jeff Bridges is magnificent in the role initially played by John Wayne, the cinematography is wonderful and the supporting cast are uniformly excellent. The Coen brothers really are good at this kind of thing and anyone who enjoyed O Brother Where Art Thou? ought to enjoy this too.

The Guard
Like an 80s buddy/cop movie with the cheese removed and replaced with Brendan Gleeson’s politically incorrect, soft-hearted bastard of a policeman. No film made me laugh as loud or as often in 2011 and i refused to to write a full review as i’d rather just bask in its glory rather than try to analyse it. Brilliant, hilarious and strangely moving.

The Skin I Live In
Predictable and silly, but beautifully made and visually stunning. Antonio Banderas attempts to create the perfect woman to atone for his past failings – but things are not as they seem. Director Pedro Almodivar is in his element here and that sense of fun transmits itself easily to the audience.

Kill List

Bucking the trend for generic horror remakes or cringe-worthy 3D, Kill List presents audiences with something entirely new. Whilst clearly owing a large debt to The Wicker Man, it takes the horror genre in an uncomfortable new direction, drawing the audience into a kitchen sink drama with lashings of menace and scenes of almost unbearable tension.

Opening with an extremely long domestic scene, director Ben Wheatley begins to pile on the fraught sense of claustrophobia which characterises the movie from the very outset. Jay (Neil Maskell), an ex-squaddie on civvy street, is a tightly wound individual – constantly on the brink of volcanic eruptions. As he and wife Shell (Myanna Buring) host a dinner party for friend Gal (Michael Smiley) and his new partner, Fiona (Emma Fryer) grievances simmer just beneath the surface. It’s almost too real and clearly chock full of improvised dialogue. The camera lingers slightly too long on faces and reactions, the food is clearly being digested. When one barbed insult too many falls from Shell’s lips, Jay flips violently.

Becalmed by the laconic Gal, the two discuss returning to work – a priority for Jay whose lavish lifestyle has seen he, Shell and their son Sam fall into financial trouble. It quickly becomes clear the two mates are hitmen – and they are soon back in the saddle, accepting a ‘kill list’ from their mysterious employer. There will be three jobs before their employment finishes.

It seems like pretty standard stuff – two hitmen reuniting for one last job. It’s much more than that, however. From the extended opening it’s clear that Wheatley’s intention is not to create a paint-by-numbers thriller. Instead he devotes time to drawing the audience into Jay and Gal’s world. The handheld camera constantly keeps the viewer on top of the action and the occasional eruptions of violence keep them on the edge of their seat.

The acting is uniformly excellent. Maskell and Smiley quickly create an entirely believable friendship founded on shared experiences, punctuated with violence and love in equal measures. And there’s just enough evidence to suggest Gal has more than a platonic interest in Jay’s wife. It’s a multi-faceted relationship the likes of which is seldom seen in the genre – or any other.

As the film evolves it maintains the personal interest, exploring (but never judging) the two protagonists as they embark on their paid killing spree. At times their morals are questioned – as are the viewers’ – and Wheatley makes no attempt to provide answers as Jay goes spectacularly ‘off list’. The violence is realistic, brutal and visceral – but occasionally the motives behind it are more ambiguous.

The pace quickens as the film nears its denouement, moving in mysterious and creepy new directions until a thrilling and unsettling climax. But it’s the style of the piece which marks Kill List out: creepy, claustrophobic and unapologetic. Wheatley’s even brave enough to leave some questions defiantly unanswered. Thrilling stuff from a real British talent.