Richard Jenkins (Harry Lawtey) is seventeen years old in 1942, lazy in school despite the attentions of schoolteacher Philip Burton (Toby Jones). Mr Burton starts off fairly flat, This part of Wales is not a pleasant place before the war. I felt at first that Toby Jones was far too familiar in this role, but gradually he began to inhabit the part. Philip Burton's history would make a fine film on it's own. His landlady is played to perfection by Lesley Manville.
But the essence of the story is the development of Richard Jenkins to the actor we know as Richard Burton. The encouragement of his teacher pays off in spades. Although without someone like Mr Burton, we may never have known. Harry Lawtey was fine as was his married big sister Cis played by Aimee-Ffion Edwards. We see little of Richard's father, a drunk who takes money for his son to live with his teacher.
There were other notable performances from Hannah New as agent Daphne Rye and Mali O'Donnell as Richard's first girlfriend. The screenplay was well written by Tom Bullough and Josh Hyams and director Mark Evans has made a memorable feature.
I thought Maria was all over the place. It seemed that the editing was a major distraction. There were scenes in black and white that were out of place. There was a kind of thread with Maria Callas being interviewed but that didn't work. I didn't agree with some others that the script was to blame. I thought that Steven Knight could not be held responsible for the mess. Just see the films he has written, but maybe the 36 episodes of Peaky Blinders have effected his style. I agreed with critic Mark Kermode that the film was in some way "ridiculous ....... pretty dull.......lumpen and ludicrous". All down to director Pablo Larrain. A shame as his Jackie was fine.
However we were there for the music, although Angelina Jolie mimed most of the songs. The upside was we did hear a lot of Callas singing. Screenrant.com has a good soundtrack guide. Vissi d'arte Maria and Puccini's Tosca were the stand out performances. The locations (all set in Paris} were excellent. The portrayal of Onassis was not. What a creep.
There were two reasons why I went to see Final Destination: Bloodlines. The first was that I had seen all the previous five films over the years from the first in 2000. The other reason was the mostly positive reviews. This new film is the first for fourteen years? I liked the long 1960's introduction that we know will not end well, although predicably it was only a dream. The staging in the tower, the colour, the clothes, THE SONGS and the set-up were all terrific. On to modern day and we actually have a decent story about one family. Kaitlin Santa Juana plays Stefani Lewis. Her grandmother is a recluse following the disaster, and her mother is also absent, trying to escape death.
The other family members either know or do not know about the history that will eventually find them. So there is the normal bickering between members of the family before the predicable carnage ensues. The deaths are as creative as they always were. I particularly liked the scene in the hospital that involved an MRI scanner. Anyone who has seen this film might want to avoid this particular apparatus.
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