Gone Girl

David Fincher’s latest film is an adaptation of the best-selling novel from Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl. Hailed by many as an empowered woman’s revenge, Gone Girl can also be seen as a men’s ‘rights’ activists dream; an unrelenting amalgamation of every sexist stereotype, from man-trapping pregnancies to carefully fabricated rapes.

Gone Girl uses villainess Amy (Rosamund Pike) to unravel and oppose the ‘Cool Girl’ ideal Flynn depicts in her novel, but in doing so Amy becomes the same vapid, personality-less caricature on the other side of the spectrum; the ‘Psycho Bitch’. Throughout the film we learn nothing about Amy, other than that she has no friends and is categorised without explanation as ‘a bitch’ by her sister-in-law. When her husband Nick (Ben Affleck) is questioned about her hobbies or interests he reports that she doesn’t have any - other than carefully plotting his demise, obviously. Amy is not complex. Her only mission is to make Nick suffer, and as the film grows longer and more absurd even that objective fades away, as she effectively forgives him and returns to their marriage. Her psychosis is completely unfounded, and her actions have no end, at all. It seems she exists purely to terrorise the men in her life. 

The other women in the film don’t fare much better than crazy Amy. There’s Nick’s twin sister Margo, who’s only job is to passively reiterate her brothers emotions without any significant plot line of her own. Then we have the ‘Hot College Girl’, who is basically the Cool Girl we've been told about, played by Emily Ratajkowski of Blurred Lines notoriety. Amy’s overbearing mother is absolutely summed up in those three words. And finally, the quintessential ‘Strong Female Character’ cop we see pitted against the only other marginally powerful woman in the film, and whom nevertheless fails (read: gives up) in her mission to see this bizarre case solved. 

Meanwhile the men in the film aren’t doing so well either; they are being systematically preyed upon by the Psycho Bitch. The first innocent Amy meticulously frames for rape recalls how he ‘knew a girl like that would be hard work’, and how he backed away from their relationship when she became insufferable; she bought him ties. The idea that a woman would sodomise herself with a wine bottle because her boyfriend wouldn’t wear the crappy ties she bought him is a disturbing one, but once again Amy exists purely to exact this kind of disproportionate injustice on the men in her life. 

Desi, a man who has obsessively stalked Amy and in the end effectively imprisons her, is presented to the audience as a victim. Having found a degree of respite in his home she is given little choice but to ‘look like herself again’ and play house. Desi tells her what to do and she does it‏, yet he is portrayed as the cuckolded innocent. 

The film taken on face value is really very good in that it's surprising and exciting for the majority of two and a half hours, but it’s still about an hour too long. Had it ended with Amy’s 'big reveal' it would have left all blame ambiguous and made things so much more interesting. Questions would have centred on truth; when there are two narratives, who can you trust? Can you trust yourself, or are you always the victim in your own stories? 

Once Amy had fled, on the road presumed dead with a fistful of cash, she could have done anything. She could have lived out her days peacefully on a beach somewhere, but she can’t, because everything she does is for her husband, as she says ‘I killed a man for you’. 

Amy embodies every frightening sexist stereotype, from the man-trapping to the calculated fake sexual assaults, and the film portrays all male violence towards her as totally justified. Gone Girl tells the story of the exception as if it is the rule. Amy feigns rape not once but three times - despite overwhelming evidence that women do not lie about rape - and goes to extraordinary lengths to fake pregnancy. By the end of the film, Amy has become the epitome of the Psycho Bitch to such an extent that her being violently slammed into a wall moments after announcing her pregnancy is presented as deserved, and her captivity in the home of a man who stalked her is portrayed as her using him. In the end, her actions allow the film to rationalise every act of male violence against her.

20,000 Days On Earth at Somerset House

On Wednesday night my dinner was a much-too-small picnic set out on a thick red blanket in the grounds of Somerset House. I shovelled a Pret sandwich into my mouth and slurped tins of G&T whilst patiently waiting for the UK premier of 20,000 Days on Earth, the long awaited and characteristically unorthodox Nick Cave documentary.

We were unprepared, with a picnic blanket, miserly measures of gin and a teeny selection of snacks. Others put us to shame with fur rugs, antipasti, plump cushions and takeaway pizzas. But despite our slim pickings, sitting down to a picnic tea with hundreds of strangers in the courtyard of Somerset house was pretty pleasant. The only thing that was missing was a bucket of popcorn; although there was popcorn flavoured ice cream on offer, which no one seemed too tempted by in the icy evening air. 

Now in its 10th year, the Film4 Summer Screen is celebrating cinema in the open-air with a special anniversary season of contemporary, classic, cult and brand new films at Somerset House. This year's titles range from a double bill of Hairspray and Springbreakers to Annie Hall and Mad Max 2, but we settled on the would-be rockumentary 20,000 Days on Earth. Once you get into the grounds you aren't allowed re-entry, so with a few hours to kill before the film kicked off we occupied ourselves with a walk around the Summer Screen Prints exhibition in the west wing. 

This is the second year of the Print Club London curated film poster exhibition, which showcases a diverse selection of contemporary posters from films at the Summer Screen. The 16 prints have been reimagined by an assortment of artists - including Kate Moross, Kate Gibb and Steve Wilson - whom bring a fresh look to each title. All of the limited edition posters can be bought in the west wing for £45, but I chose a £2 postcard instead. Time in the courtyard passed quickly and before long it was time to get comfortable as the film was announced. 

20,000 Days on Earth is a dramatized documentary, spanning a fictitious 24 hours in the life of the musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, composer and actor Nick Cave. Co-written and directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, whom gave a heartfelt introduction to the UK premier, the script was also co-written by Nick Cave. The film premiered at Sundance 2014 where it was awarded directing and editing awards, and will be released worldwide later this year. 

The film follows Cave through an imagined day during the recording of Push the Sky Away, cut with live performances and dinnertime chats with Warren Ellis. With frank, personal insights and a glimpse into Cave's artistic process, the film discusses what makes us who we are, and celebrates the transformative power of creativity and performance. Cave is serious while being silly, philosophical yet blunt and unpretentious. Unlikely but wonderful cameos are provided by Ray Winston and Kylie Minogue, whom reflect on Cave's presence as a performer and question his semblance as a rock icon. The film is intimate and insightful, leaving viewers feeling excited, chosen and a little more enamoured with Nick.

The Month in Netflix

July isn't over but having spent most of the month lying in bed eating Malteasers, I've already made my way through a huge chunk of Netflix flicks.

Orange is the New Black - Season 2 

Obviously. The first season was so good I watched all 13 episodes in one hungover weekend with no regrets. The second season took me a little longer, but I think I enjoyed it more because I paced myself this time. I don't want to say too much because spoilers are bad, but there are a lot of new characters that fit perfectly and actually enhance the show, rather than shove in awkwardly and make you wish they'd never turned up. You could watch the entire first and second series in one dedicated week, and you definitely should. It's funny and scary and the acting is fantastic. And there are lots of boobs too!

Best Worst Movie 

Amazing. Best Worst Movie is a documentary about Troll 2 a.k.a 'The Worst Film Ever Made'. To glean a little context I sat through Troll 2 before watching Best Worst Movie, and the critics were right. Boy, is it a stinker! Literally the worst plot/acting/staging/dialogue ever. The doc follows the original cast 20 years after the film's initial release as it gains a cult following of loveable weirdos who adore the film because it's just so hilariously terrible. I really love awful films, but Troll 2 was too much for me. There are many laugh out loud moments but the complete lack of sense gave me a headache, and I had to make a special effort to carry on to the end. However, being able to watch Best Worst Movie afterwards makes it completely worthwhile. The adorable original cast relish their new-found limelight as cult heroes and the arrogant Italian director loses the irony of the success in translation. It's heart-warming and damned funny.

Food Matters

I've been overdosing on documentaries in the last month and this was one of my favourites. Food Matters discusses the impact food has on our bodies, it's extremely interesting and at times jaw-dropping and I've been talking about it for weeks. Unlike a lot of preachy food documentaries this film doesn't just tell you why everything you're eating is going to kill you, it also shares how and why good, natural, raw and organic foods can help cure our bodies. It made me eat healthier and enjoy it, so that's something!

Belladonna of Sadness at the East End Film Festival

Founded in 2000, the East End Film Festival is now one of the UK’s largest film festivals. Showcasing a varied programme of international premiers, free pop-up screenings and interactive live events, EEFF works in partnership with organisations such as Amnesty International UK, World Pride and Film London. 

This Summer EEFF screened the 1973 cult classic Belladonna of Sadness alongside a fresh, electric soundtrack courtesy of Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs at Red Gallery, just off Great Eastern Street in London's east end. The colourful graffiti adorning the outside of the building continues inside, crawling up the stairs and through to the main gallery. Once inside we were lead downstairs into a blue-lit room, where a large projector had been erected in front of a curtain which hid the band from sight. We took our seats and before long the score struck.

As soon as the film begins, it is clear that Belladonna of Sadness is a unique animation, mainly in the sense that so few scenes are actually animated. The majority of the film scans across still, elegantly drawn frames with little or no movement at all. The story is set in 14th century France, but the artwork is closer to 70s California, with bleeding watercolours and psychedelic imagery. Behind the screen, Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs electrify the soundboards with synth symphonies that fit the movie perfectly; having never seen the film before, I couldn't imagine it ever sounding any different or any better.

Belladonna is an adaptation of La Sorcière, an 1862 novel discussing Satanism and witchcraft in the middle ages. Both the book and the film tell the story of a witch who suffers horribly at the hands of the church, turning her from a chaste and pure woman to the bride of Satan, as she finds solace and safety in the practice of witchcraft. The powerful imagery of the film coupled with a perfect live soundtrack made Belladonna of Sadness an instant favourite; a resounding success for the East End Film Festival. 

Under The Skin

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Under the Skin is sexy yet grotesque. It is realistic, yet also science fiction. How has this happened?

Based on the novel by Michael Faber, Under the Skin chronicles the self-destruction of a boy-devouring alien lady (Scarlett Johansson) in the midst of a fatal identity crisis.

Set against the stark, contemporary background of a Scottish city centre, Under the Skin follows Johansson’s murderous mission as she stalks, seduces, ensnares and envelops countless unsuspecting men.

The premise in its simplest form transforms ideas of ‘male predator, female victim’, as a sultry Scarlett cold-heartedly captures and consumes her naive male victims. Cruising the highways for lone, trusting men to whisk away never to be seen again; the method of our lethal protagonist highlights an ease and simplicity in predatory actions - a trustworthy face, a friendly question, a suggestive smile. The politeness with which willing victims accept her advances, foolishly assuming safety in their gender. In this bizarre yet familiar world, sexuality is a bargaining tool, a prize, a risk worth taking.

A female predator raises unusual questions, expectations and apprehensions. At times, I found myself worrying for her safety, alone on the road at night; heightened by a yob attack and unrelenting in the knowledge of her motives. Her character is so confused, dazed, absent that she retains vulnerability even when murderously stalking her unsuspecting and bewildered prey. Many of the actors playing Johansson's victims were genuinely unaware, having volunteered to be shot as extras with little knowledge of the plot or their role

The soundtrack, the plot, the cinematography - each fragment of the film contradicts itself; crowded Glaswegian high streets teeming with drunken youths vomiting in bins are set against crisp highland landscapes and surrealist, sci-fi darkness.

Visual and audio expressions go much further than dialogue; Johansson silently and hypnotically lures victims into an ink black abyss to the sound of deep, palpitation-inducing thuds. The range of emotions portrayed through a severe lack of dialogue only adds to the mounting tension. Dialogue is employed only through necessity, while the rest is left unsaid; even at the climactic close. Actions speak much louder than words throughout this remarkably unusual film.

Go and see it for the horror, the tension, the snap in the dark.

Blue is the Warmest Colour

The Palme d'Or at 2013's Cannes film festival went to the passionate love story Blue Is the Warmest Colour. But this year, the award was not awarded to the director alone. Instead, Abdellatif Kechiche was to share the award with his two young stars, Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. Blue is the Warmest Colour, alternatively and perhaps more appropriate titled 'La Vie De Adele: Chapters 1 & 2', chronicles the life of young Adèle, following her transition from a shy high-schooler to young teacher, and her intense love affair with worldly art student Emma. At the beginning of the love affair Emma has bright blue hair, as the love between the two fade so does the blue. 

Although most discussion of the film has centered around its controversial sex scenes, the best bits occur in the second half, which is sex-free. Adèle and Emma are now a fully formed couple, and Emma’s paintings are on the verge of attracting big money. Adele is a humble, but happy, nursery school teacher. Different worlds, different interests and different ideals lead to jealousy, jealousy drives Adele to cheat, and the relationship crumbles to dust. Both have immense trouble with letting go and there is plenty of heartbreak, fantastically delivered from both Seydoux and Exarchopoulos. 

At the end of the film, viewers are left with the stark reality that there is no guarantee that either Adèle or Emma will ever find anything as good ever again after their love is gone. This is not a story about young love or first love, it is about love. Powerful, unstoppable love that consumes and devours. This truly is an outstanding film and the performances from Exarchopoulos and Séydoux are incomparable and perfect. Blue is the Warmest Colour offers so much more than the much discussed sex scenes; there are class boundaries, pedagogical debates, a moving anti-austerity march. So, set aside three hours and experience a love story like no other.

American Graffiti Drive-In at Sensoria Festival

On the evening at the end of September countless cars, campervans and motorcycles swarmed into Sheffield’s Sylvester Street Car Park, serenaded by a Motown soundtrack and circled by girls on roller-skates offering pretzels and caramel popcorn.

Sensoria Festival, Sheffield’s independent festival of music and film, held its final screening as the last of the daylight faded, leaving an autumnal chill in the air all too fitting for a cinematic tribute to the last night of summer.

For the finale of Sensoria 2013, organisers indulged festival goers with a city centre Drive-In, showcasing George Lucas’ cult classic American Graffiti. Their aim is to fuse music, art and film to create a vivid and immersive experience for viewers, who were surrounded at the Drive-In by memorabilia vibrantly reflecting the action on screen.

American Graffiti is a nostalgic homage to teen life in the early 1960’s, told through a series of quirky vignettes that narrate a single night of unexpected adventure and mayhem for a young group of friends. Classic cars and rock and roll are integral to the plot and the film revolves around the ‘cruising culture’ of the early sixties.

The film encapsulates a wistful and rose-tinted ideal of the early sixties, packed full with stereotypical Americanisms such as Coca-Cola, classic cars, hamburgers and fries, and ‘rock and roll’. To complement the film, Sensoria surrounded viewers with beautiful vintage cars and a retro soundtrack courtesy of DJ Wolfman Jack, American Graffiti’s ever-present DJ.

Cinema wasn’t the only treat at the drive-in. Sensoria certainly succeeded in creating an all-encompassing drive-in atmosphere as the car park teamed with artisan coffee carts, popcorn vendors, a retro ice cream van and a throng of vintage cars. Girls in victory rolls and inline skates delivered salted pretzels as the giant, inflatable screen flashed purple and yellow, ‘Welcome to the Drive-In’.

As the sky grew darker, the colours on screen became more vibrant and spectators huddled closer together. The credits began to roll and the film appeared in glorious Technicolor projected onto a 25-foot-high inflatable screen. Rows of cars were instructed to tune their radios to transmit the soundtrack, while pedestrian ticket-holders were given front row seats just below the big screen.

American Graffiti is poignant yet funny, silly and serious, and partly exists simply to house artefacts of a lost era. This lovely film was an experiment in marketable nostalgia, which members of the audience bought into as they grazed on salted pretzels and sugar-sweet popcorn.

In our previous article on Sensoria Sheffield Unchained editor Marishka talks to the founder, Jo Wingate, about the birth of the festival and its celebration of the crossover between music, film and art. Sensoria, founded in 2008, is renowned for its pioneering spirit, use of unusual venues and innovative installations.

As well as working to recreate the on-screen experience off-screen, Sensoria also endeavour to breathe new life into overlooked Sheffield landmarks. The city centre Drive-In brought excitement and electricity to a typically unremarkable car park. The Sylvester Street Car Park is managed by Bank Park, a charitable parking organisation, and as such the proceeds from the Drive-In will include donations to the Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, which provides much needed support to terminally ill children and their parents.

Before the credits rolled every member of the audience was surely filled with the kind of nostalgia George Lucas had intended American Graffiti to inflict. Surrounded by vintage cars, full of salty snacks and moved by the sentimental sound of the early sixties.

The city centre Drive-In perfectly illustrated Sensoria’s unique ability to transform improbable locals into stunning venues, although only temporarily, leaving fans feeling the familiar pinch of nostalgia once more.