Cold War

Cold War, directed and co-written by Pawel Pawlikowski, has been the darling of the festival circuit and it's reviews have ranged from very good to glowing. But I'm afraid to say that it didn't quite do all that for me. It's clearly a masterful piece of work - nicely acted, beautiful to look at in its monochrome and 4:3 ratio and adeptly directed with a real restraint. It's loosely based on the lives of Pawlikowski's parents, who went through similar turbulence in cold war Europe. The film follows around 15 years in the lives of musicians, Witkor, played by Tomasz Kot, and Zula, played luminously by Joanna Kulig, who fall in love and spend the rest of their lives trying to be together.

Black and white? Academy aspect ratio? Europe in the post-war years? Bleak as all hell? Why didn't I like this more? It's a puzzler. I think part of the reason lies in the protagonists. I couldn't warm to them, as good as the performances were. I guess it's a time and place consideration but I thought they could have handled things a little less....melodramatically.

Oddly, this could have been longer than its 89 minutes. It's a bit of a small epic, with all the grandeur but none of the bombast. Most sequences played as highlights before events moved on, especially in the second and third acts, and I felt we could have seen more of the peripheral stuff, like the politics, for example, of which there are fleeting touches.

Pawlikowski follows a through line of great Polish directors - Kieslowski, Holland, Wadja, etc, and I'd say Cold War is a quality film. It's just that it wasn't really for me.

See also:

Pawlikowski's My Summer of Love (2004) and the best cold war film ever made, Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949).

SPOILERS IN POD!!

Listen to "Cold War" on Spreaker.

Glass

M. Night Shyamalan's latest is the third part of a trilogy that was supposedly dreamt up around 20 years ago. If you liked Split and don't remember Unbreakable, this is the film for you. The neat trick in Glass is bringing together the three heavy hitters of the previous films - James McAvoy's multiple personality 'Horde', Bruce Willis's unbreakable David Dunn and Samuel L. Jackson's fragile Elijah Price (or Mr. Glass) - and placing them in a slightly creepy, understaffed asylum. The majority of the film does its business here and that's where it feels most comfortable. In fact, I'd suggest that, due to the nonsense that is perpetrated in the final third, Shyamalan has problems finishing his movies. Not the most controversial statement, I know. The mooted showdown at the tallest building in Philadelphia was nicely shelved, though. It probably would've been too Die Hard meets King Kong, but it's a herring, none redder. Presumably, this Blumhouse production wouldn't have stretched to CGI shenanigans, seeing as they couldn't even fully staff a medical institute.

It may sound like I'm doing Glass down but I actually didn't mind it that much. There are lots of things wrong with it but it's fun to see the three leads squaring off and the first two thirds are well paced and handled, even a bit tense. But onto the other stuff. The three 'normal' off-siders to the three 'enhanced' folk are oddly positioned, especially Casey, victim of the beast from Split. They begin the film by being helpful furniture for the leads and the antagonist, Doctor Staple, to bounce things off and then become a kind of Greek Chorus with a conscience, expositioning within an inch of their lives.

There's a load of content throughout Glass that deals with comics culture and yet I can't decide if Shyamalan is taking the piss out of comic book nerds (and films) or not. Judging by his back catalogue, I'd say he's written the psychiatrist, anti-comic rotter, Dr. Staple, as the real villain, someone who won't let people be 'the best they can be', slaughter notwithstanding. Pesky scientist, at least she was properly dug out in the wash-up, unmasked as a lead figure in some bollocks three leaf clover gang (?!), who show their hand in the finale. Their task seems to be keeping the world safe from supervillains AND superheroes. As well as mercilessly hinting at a continuation of this 'story'.

Anyone expecting a neat 'Shyamalan twist' might feel a little deflated. Much like reading this may prepare you for a twist that isn't really there. Or is it? Mmmm, chicken twisties.... I hope there are some of those in the cupboard, at least.

See also:

Of all Shyamalan's disappointments following The Sixth Sense (1999), I'd say The Village (2004) was the least bad. So there you go. Those two.