Submarine — Film Review By Ray Bennett, September 15, 2010 03:19 ET “Submarine” Bottom Line: A smart and funny novel about a clever teenager gets the perfect film treatment. TORONTO — Joe Dunthorne’s delightfully idiosyncratic 2008 novel “Submarine,” in which a smart and eccentrically gifted 15-year-old muses about school, girls, movies, parents and life in general, is the kind of book that almost never is made into a film of matching quality. Richard Ayoade’s movie “Submarine” is a sublime exception. Given a central character who describes his own take on things while evidence to the contrary is there for all to see, the film could easily get a case of the insufferable cutes, but Ayoade succeeds with a light touch and a keen sense of the absurd. Fans of vaguely twisted humor rendered by skilled actors with straight faces will eat this up, and if it catches the right wave, “Submarine” could navigate toward wide appeal with acclaim and consequent box-office success. The Weinstein Co. picked it up Wednesday. Jaunty and sly with a great many laughs, the film also has on its soundtrack several typically witty and melodic songs written and performed by Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys. Craig Roberts as Oliver Tate and Yasmin Paige as his beloved Jordana are perfect, with each demonstrating a pleasing agility in vocal and facial expression that adds immeasurably to the drollery. Roberts plays Oliver as a young man in Wales whose grasp of imagined possibilities is greater than his grip on reality, and he manages it with great charm. Paige is a wonder as Jordana, who brings Oliver down to earth abruptly with her simple but at that age savage statements of honesty. Adept at glances that render speech unnecessary and, for a yearning boy, rid the world of hope, she also can grant the wickedest hint of a smile that soothes all ills. Roberts’ confident voice-over derives from Dunthorne’s writing, with observations about scenes that the director and cinematographer Erik Wilson play with mischievously. Noah Taylor and Sally Hawkins play Oliver’s parents with a smart duality that reflects both the boy’s impression of them and who they might actually be. Their reading of lines that touch on serious matters regarding education, teenagers and sexual activity are so dry they become hilarious. Paddy Considine contributes a vision of a mystic mentalist whose over-the-top brio is curiously tempered by self-doubt even as he attempts to seduce the compliant Mrs. Tate. Schoolyard bullying, classroom pranks and the pain in the teenaged heart caused by unrequited love are all detailed with a fine attention to nuance. It’s clever stuff and very funny. Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (The Weinstein Co.) Production: Warp Films Cast: Craig Roberts, Yasmin Page, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, Sally Hawkins Director-screenwriter: Richard Ayoade Based on the novel by: Joe Dunthorne Producers: Marj Herbert, Andy Stebbing, Mary Burke Executive producers: Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, Jeremy Kramer Director of photography: Erik Wilson Production designer: Gary Williamson Music: Alex Turner, Andrew Hewitt Costume designer: Charlotte Walter Editors: Nick Fenton, Chris Dickens No rating, 94 minutes Sales: Protagonist Pictures

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Made in Dagenham — Film Review By Ray Bennett, September 11, 2010 07:29 ET “Made in Dagenham” Bottom Line: Rousing true tale of a group of English women who fought for the right for equal pay. TORONTO — The real-life tale of a group of female machinists who took on the Ford Motor Co. in England and earned equal pay for women gets a rousing and entertaining telling in Nigel Cole’s crowd-pleasing “Made in Dagenham.” Sally Field won an Oscar in 1979 playing a reluctant union activist in Martin Ritt’s “Norma Rae,” and history might repeat itself with Sally Hawkins as Rita O’Grady, the leader of 187 women who went on strike against the auto giant during the late 1960s. Like Cole’s “Calendar Girls,” it’s a story about no-nonsense women doing their bit for the right cause, and, especially in these tough economic times, it should strike a rich seam of rewards from audiences everywhere. Period authenticity is nailed within the film’s sunny design and sharply drawn characters, with the U.K.’s class structure and male-oriented industries depicted without fuss. It was a simple fact that women were required to do the same work as men but for far less pay. When the machinists at Ford’s huge plant in Dagenham, near London, objected to being classified as nonskilled workers in order to keep their wages down, they not only objected but also took action with game-changing impact. Hawkins plays one of the “girls” whose husband, Eddie (Daniel Mays), also works at the plant. When shop steward Connie (Geraldine James) finds taking care of her war-wounded husband (Roger Lloyd-Pack) too much, she is glad to hand things over to Rita. Bob Hoskins plays a wise old union hand whose affection for the hard-working women in his family drives him to support the women’s struggle. Kenneth Cranham is the plant’s union chief, who usually is willing to get into bed with management so long as peace is maintained. Andrea Riseborough and Jaime Winstone are among the feistier women at the plant, and Rosamund Pike plays a posh, educated woman whose marriage to a Ford executive (Rupert Graves) has turned her into a reluctant housewife but not made her lose her drive. Miranda Richardson has a rare old time as the redheaded and fiercely political Barbara Castle, the Labour minister in charge of employment who rebelled against not only Ford but also her own Prime Minister Harold Wilson (John Sessions). Screenwriter William Ivory gives just enough backstory to provide heft for the characters, and Cole draws sprightly performances from the cast without making the women into caricatures. Hopkins plays in a minor key satisfyingly, and Hawkins is as upbeat as she was in “Happy-Go-Lucky” but with a wariness and steeliness that should win over those who were put off with the chatter of the teacher she played in that film. Andrew McAlpine’s production design and John de Borman’s cinematography combine to depict the era without resorting to cliche, and David Arnold provides an apt score that never tries to milk the situation. Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (Sony Pictures Classics) Production: Number 9 Films Cast: Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Andrea Riseborough, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Miranda Richardson Director: Nigel Cole Screenwriter: William Ivory Producer: Stephen Wooley, Elizabeth Karlsen Director of photography: John de Borman Production designer: Andrew McAlpine Music: David Arnold Costume designer: Louise Stjernsward Editor: Michael Parker No rating, running time 113 minutes

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Never Let Me Go — Film Review By Stephen Farber, September 06, 2010 08:34 ET “Never Let Me Go” Bottom Line: Lugubrious study of the perils of genetic engineering. TELLURIDE — Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go” is definitely an art object, but is it a work of art? Expertly acted, impeccably photographed, intelligently written, even intermittently touching, the film is also too parched and ponderous to connect with a large audience. Fox Searchlight is hoping for awards consideration for the adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel, but this will depend on the reviews, which are likely to be split between those who consider the film a bleak masterpiece and others who find it straining so mightily for aesthetic perfection that it fails to provide a gripping narrative. In any case, the downbeat nature of the material will prove a challenge at the box office. Ishiguro’s tale centers on the relationship of three young people — Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley). They have no last names because they are not ordinary people. Gradually, we learn that they are scientific specimens, created in the laboratory and raised in order to provide their organs to desperately ill patients. Ishiguro’s novel was praised for translating his typical moral and psychological concerns to a science fictional tale. “Never” is not set in the future but in a parallel universe where medical experimentation has been taking place without the knowledge of most ordinary people. The first problem with the movie is that it never completely lays out the logic of this parallel universe. The cloning process itself is shrouded in mystery. Screenwriter Alex Garland probably wanted us to share the limited knowledge of the characters, but this idea could have been maintained while providing just a touch more crucial clarity for the audience. Another problem is that the theme of the dangers of medical experimentation is a rather tired mainstay of speculative fiction, going back at least to “Frankenstein,” one of the first horror stories to underscore the risks of tampering with Mother Nature. This theme is less startling than the filmmakers may realize, which would be less of a problem if the message were not delivered in such a solemn, portentous manner. What does save the film intermittently is the poignancy of the love story, which is bolstered by the skill of the performances. The film opens at a boarding school, where three excellent child actors — Isobel Meikle-Small, Ella Purnell and Charlie Rowe – embody the three protagonists, and Charlotte Rampling and Sally Hawkins contribute vivid supporting turns as teachers. Even at this early stage, a romantic triangle is brewing. Kathy and Tommy are drawn to each other, but the manipulative Ruth interferes and tries to claim Tommy for herself. When the characters grow up, the three stars perform impressively. Mulligan is luminous as the leader of the pack, and Garfield plays his more simple-minded character with marvelous expressiveness. Knightley manages to create a three-dimensional villain. The most affecting theme of the film is the notion that even among these scientifically engineered creatures, love provides meaning to their shortened existence. Mulligan and Garfield play their parts with such conviction that we get caught up in their doomed romance. The design of this familiar but slightly surreal universe is well rendered, and some of the visual compositions are haunting. But the pacing is fearfully slow, and the elliptical storytelling works against audience involvement. The issues of medical ethics are undeniably timely, but dramatically, the film, rather like the beautiful Frankenstein monsters on display, only comes alive in fits and starts. Venue: Telluride Film Festival Opens: Friday, Sept. 17 (Fox Searchlight) Cast: Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins, Isobel Meikle-Small, Ella Purnell, Charlie Rowe Director: Mark Romanek Screenwriter: Alex Garland Based on the novel by: Kazuo Ishiguro Producers: Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich Executive producers: Alex Garland, Kazuo Ishiguro, Tessa Ross Director of photography: Adam Kimmel Production designer: Mark Digby Music: Rachel Portman Costume designers: Rachael Fleming, Steven Noble Editor: Barney Pilling Rated R, 103 minutes

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