INDIE & ARTHOUSE |
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Indie & Arthouse is one hell of a vast category - so this was no easy task. The shortlisting process, but once we got through that all agreed that Sunshine Cleaning was what we'd all want for Christmas! THE WINNER:
Monkey Score: 88% What we loved about it: 1. Moving yet funny 2. Quirky 3. Alan Arkin is fabulous. Sunshine Cleaning (Cert. 15, out 16 November) Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn,Clifton Collins Jr., dir. Christine Jeffs, 2008, cert. 15 What it's about Single mom Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams) works as a maid. In order to send her son to a private school, she gets the idea from married boyfriend Steve Zahn to start a post-mortem / crime scene clean-up business. With the help of sister Norah (Emily Blunt) and scamming Dad (Alan Larkin), Rose gets her hands dirty. She does so with heart and compassion, seeing her unforgiving line of work as a service to surviving relatives. What MovieMonkeys thought Sunshine Cleaning is funny despite its subject matter, and very touching. Yep, Rose and Norah make a living from biohazard, cleaning up after suicides and such likes, and it can be quite amusing. The film manages some really quite funny moments, like when Rose overhears a competitors talking about the newcomer who dumped a blood soaked mattress in the regular bin. You can't help but root for the sisters, and it's nothing a crash course in blood-born pathogens can't cure. The story pours from the heart yet somehow avoids clichés. The result is a warm, moving film about a working-class single mom doing what it takes to keep her slightly dysfunctional family on track. The buzz started at the Sundance Festival last year, and after a short theatrical run it's now out on DVD and Blu-Ray. Sunshine Cleaning is one of our favourite films this year. We hope director Christine Jeffs, whose last film was 2003's Sylvia with Gwyneth Paltrow, has more gems like this up her sleeve and does not wait another 5 years to get behind the camera. |
THE RUNNERS-UP:
Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Juani Niemela, dir. Aki Kaurismäki, 2002, cert. 15 Monkey Score: 85% Kaurismäki's world is inhabited by a collection of atypical characters leading seemingly normal lives. His early works such as Leningrad Cowboys Go America introduced unsuspecting audiences to his wonderful brand of deadpan comedy. Yet somehow it always comes with a dash of melancholy which would in lesser hands be quite depressing. Meet M, played by Markku Peltola. He loses his memory after a severe mugging as he turns up in Helsinki. He's not a film star, he's not a hero. Just a bloke who doesn't know where he came from and what he did there. And of course it's going to catch up with him, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a story. And of course there's a girl in the picture. M has fallen in love with Irma (Kati Outinen), so obviously nothing is really that simple. If you liked Not Another Love Story, released earlier this year by Nightwatch writer-director Ole Bornedal, you will spot some obvious similarities. Do yourself a favour though, and check out the work of the master: The Man Without A Past claimed the prestigious Grand Prix du Jury at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, and never was an award so well deserved. This new edition of The Man Without A Past, the second instalment in Kaurismäki's Finland Trilogy, is a breath of fresh nordic air.
FIREFLIES IN THE GARDEN (Cert. 15, out 28 September) Julia
Roberts, Willem Dafoe, Ryan Reynolds, Hayden Panettiere, Emily Watson,
Carrie-Anne Moss, Ioan Gruffudd, dir. Dennis Lee, Cert. 15 Monkey Score: 85% Author Michael Taylor (Ryan Reynolds) returns to his hometown to attend a family celebration only to be faced with the sudden and tragic death of his mother (Julia Roberts). Since Michael was a child she had been the only thread between Michael and his father (Willem Dafoe.) Fireflies is a rewarding drama about family relationships and how parents affect their children: do not expect a bundle of laughs, but a well acted intelligent story that unfolds backwards from the death of mom Julia Roberts. Ryan Reynolds' Michael is suitably tormented by the love/hate relationship with his father, a rather dark Willem Dafoe. It's refreshing to see Reynolds and Roberts far from the safe shores of rom-coms, though the material falls short of greatness by quite a stretch. The story line won't get any prizes for originality but it is told well, and the direction is light enough that you engage with the characters without being man-handled into caring. Special mention to Julia Roberts for daring to play both the young and old version of her character beautifully. The handful of prints in circulation when the film received its theatrical release did not do it justice: it is an overall satisfying drama that deserves a new lease of life on DVD. Be warned that you may well experience an overwhelming need to hug your own kids and tell them you love them! A moving drama with and all-star cast.
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THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST 
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