A place to think deeply about movies
Here you'll find pieces that look at how films have been influenced by the conventions of theatre and vice versa. We also look at adapting plays for the screen and films for the stage, including what is lost and gained from the change in medium.
Josie Rourke’s production plays up the novel’s feminist subtext while emphasizing the genuine bond between its two dissolute protagonists. The result is a surprisingly romantic take on this cynical novel.
[Read more…] about Les Liaisons Dangereuses shines at the Donmar
In this interview, Andrew Haigh discusses 45 Years, shooting long takes, keeping us in Kate’s head space, and editing the film before the editing room. You can read our review of 45 Years here. We have also published a book on Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete, which you can find out more about here, which features interviews with Haigh and his key collaborators, plus a look at how his films explore characters’ relationships with their homes. Get your copy of the ebook Lean on Pete: A Special Issue here.
[Read more…] about Director Andrew Haigh talks 45 YearsKurzel takes his cues from the text, but he expresses his ideas about the text through images and sounds — the whistling wind, the clashing swords, and the ghostly hooded figures — rather than through the dialogue. The verse, in Kurzel’s hands, is barely even identifiable as poetry. But what is Shakespeare without the unforgettable language?
[Read more…] about Kurzel’s Macbeth emphasizes tone over textThe RSC’s 2015 Henry V production feels more like Henry IV Part 3. Despite being well-acted and effectively staged, Henry still acts like a prince and not a king. The production was captured live for cinema broadcasts and is now available on DVD and Blu Ray.
[Read more…] about Henry V at the RSC is more Hal than Harry
How Sam Mendes borrowed from his King Lear production at the National Theatre when making his second James Bond film, Spectre.
[Read more…] about Spectre Review: Mendes pulls from Shakespeare
If the sub-genre Maori Hip Hop Musical isn’t enough of a hook to get you to see Born to Dance, let me add that it’s heaps of fun. Like a cross between Bring it On and Billy Elliot, there’s plenty of dance talent on display in this film.
You don’t go to musicals for the plot, so the fact that it’s flimsy and quickly resolved shouldn’t deter anyone’s enjoyment. Tu (Tia Maipi) is a Maori teen on the cusp of high school graduation with no plans for the future. His father, a military man, wants Tu to join the army. But Tu, whose lifeblood is dancing, has other plans. He hopes to get a place in the national hip hop competition, proving to his family and himself that doing what he loves is a viable career choice.
Tu spends some time flirting with the idea of joining the recent national champions team, which would require him to abandon his hometown team that he’s been practicing with for years. There, he meets his American love interest Sasha (Kherington Payne), who started in ballet but now hopes to make her way in hip hop.
Choreographer Parris Goebel is tasked with creating distinctive dance styles for the national team, for Tu, and for the cobbled-together team of Tu and his misfits — hardly a spoiler, this is how these movies go. Each group’s choreography needs to be distinguishable and indicative of the group’s character.
The final competition in Born to Dance is what the final scene in Magic Mike XXL aims to be: pure bliss, but with great dancing by all, not just the star. You can leave behind the inevitable plot cliches, because the last act is pretty much nothing but dancing, which is the reason you’re in the cinema anyway.
Though director Tammy Davis uses wide shots at times to allow us to see the dancers’ full bodies, he favors more quick cuts, to highlight details in the dance numbers, than I’d prefer — Fred Astaire would be outraged. But by cutting in time with the music, we get the same adrenaline rush as the characters do from the dance numbers. It keeps the film moving at a fast pace, and it draws attention to the intricacies of the choreography.
Born to Dance had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It does not yet have North American Distribution.
Read more: Hail, Caesar is a musical at heart >>