Monday, April 30, 2007
I have decided that less is more. Quick reviews of "Straightheads" and "Hysteria".
"Straightheads".
Gillian Anderson is an arrogant, driven, career woman who picks up working class oik Danny Dyer for a night of fun. After a stupid accident in the countryside, they are brutally attacked. After recovering, and after a chance meeting with one of the attackers, their thoughts turn to that of revenge...
I thought "Straightheads" was terrible. Violent, brutal, misogynistic and unpleasant. If I didn't dislike the phrase a great deal I would call "Straightheads" a video nasty. Certainly it was the kind of film that would have had a no budget release straight to video during the dark days of the 1980's. Frankly I don't know how "Straightheads" got a cinema release.
I am not a prude. I don't mind sex and violence in the movies, but they have to be married to a movie with a) a good plot or b) good characterisation or c) preferably both. "Straightheads" had neither. No progression in the plot or the characters and too much left unexplained and unsaid. Luckily "Straightheads" went nowhere fast. It was only 80 minutes long.
It was a shame, because there was the germ of an interesting film here, with an especially interesting turn in the plot in the last third. How often do I say this, but it could have been good if it had been done properly. What a shame. I really like Gillian Anderson and Danny Dyer, but they were on a hiding to nothing with this film. She, especially, is very underrated (and is still particularly fit).
If you want to see a good British revenge movie, rent or buy Shane Meadows' "Dead Man's Shoes". It is a little masterpiece. Last weekend I should have seen his "This Is England" instead. Ce sera sera...
"Hysteria".
In 1938 the young Salvador Dali meets with the aged and dying Sigmund Freud. "Hysteria" is a play about what happens at that meeting. Or is it? Nothing is ever really that simple in a Terry Johnson play.
"Hysteria" has been billed as a farce and I suppose that some of it is. There is running in and out of rooms. A man loses his trousers. A semi clad lady hides in a cupboard. (There is a completely naked lady in Act 2! But that isn't really part of the farce.) A staid and serious gentleman walks in on two men in a completely innocent but compromising position. It is energised, exhausting to watch and very funny.
"Hysteria" is also challenging and profoundly intellectual, tackling themes as diverse as a Doctor's responsibility for his patients, Nazism, denial of Judaism, Atheism, Euthanasia and Surrealism.
I thought that "Hysteria" was spellbinding. Absolutely amazing and brilliant. I love Terry Johnson's work. "The Lorelei", "Hitchcock Blonde", "Insignificence". Lots of others. You can look them up. He is a fascinating writer.
There is an amazing sequence late in the play when Freud's study becomes a Dali fantasy. Or is it a Freudian nightmare? It is the most amazing technical transformation I have seen in a theatre since the collapsing house at the end of a production I saw of "An Inspector Calls" at the Birmingham Rep, a couple of years ago. Knocked my head off.
"Hysteria" at the Birmingham Rep is a great production. If you can see it, do so.
"Straightheads".
Gillian Anderson is an arrogant, driven, career woman who picks up working class oik Danny Dyer for a night of fun. After a stupid accident in the countryside, they are brutally attacked. After recovering, and after a chance meeting with one of the attackers, their thoughts turn to that of revenge...
I thought "Straightheads" was terrible. Violent, brutal, misogynistic and unpleasant. If I didn't dislike the phrase a great deal I would call "Straightheads" a video nasty. Certainly it was the kind of film that would have had a no budget release straight to video during the dark days of the 1980's. Frankly I don't know how "Straightheads" got a cinema release.
I am not a prude. I don't mind sex and violence in the movies, but they have to be married to a movie with a) a good plot or b) good characterisation or c) preferably both. "Straightheads" had neither. No progression in the plot or the characters and too much left unexplained and unsaid. Luckily "Straightheads" went nowhere fast. It was only 80 minutes long.
It was a shame, because there was the germ of an interesting film here, with an especially interesting turn in the plot in the last third. How often do I say this, but it could have been good if it had been done properly. What a shame. I really like Gillian Anderson and Danny Dyer, but they were on a hiding to nothing with this film. She, especially, is very underrated (and is still particularly fit).
If you want to see a good British revenge movie, rent or buy Shane Meadows' "Dead Man's Shoes". It is a little masterpiece. Last weekend I should have seen his "This Is England" instead. Ce sera sera...
"Hysteria".
In 1938 the young Salvador Dali meets with the aged and dying Sigmund Freud. "Hysteria" is a play about what happens at that meeting. Or is it? Nothing is ever really that simple in a Terry Johnson play.
"Hysteria" has been billed as a farce and I suppose that some of it is. There is running in and out of rooms. A man loses his trousers. A semi clad lady hides in a cupboard. (There is a completely naked lady in Act 2! But that isn't really part of the farce.) A staid and serious gentleman walks in on two men in a completely innocent but compromising position. It is energised, exhausting to watch and very funny.
"Hysteria" is also challenging and profoundly intellectual, tackling themes as diverse as a Doctor's responsibility for his patients, Nazism, denial of Judaism, Atheism, Euthanasia and Surrealism.
I thought that "Hysteria" was spellbinding. Absolutely amazing and brilliant. I love Terry Johnson's work. "The Lorelei", "Hitchcock Blonde", "Insignificence". Lots of others. You can look them up. He is a fascinating writer.
There is an amazing sequence late in the play when Freud's study becomes a Dali fantasy. Or is it a Freudian nightmare? It is the most amazing technical transformation I have seen in a theatre since the collapsing house at the end of a production I saw of "An Inspector Calls" at the Birmingham Rep, a couple of years ago. Knocked my head off.
"Hysteria" at the Birmingham Rep is a great production. If you can see it, do so.
# posted by Pynchon @ 9:54 pm 
Comments:
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"Frankly I don't know how "Straightheads" got a cinema release"
Probably because Gillian Anderson is quite fit and they figure enough people will go and see her to make it pay something.
The play sounds... Bonkers!
Probably because Gillian Anderson is quite fit and they figure enough people will go and see her to make it pay something.
The play sounds... Bonkers!
stef: Gillian Anderson certainly is a healthy young wench. She is very thin these days, though.
Yes, "Hysteria" is bonkers, but the bonkersness (is that a word) kind of makes sense by the end.
Mr. Planet: There have apparently been good reviews, but I've not read any. Your lady is quite correct. "Straightheads" is quite rubbish and not even in an so-bad-it's-good way.
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Yes, "Hysteria" is bonkers, but the bonkersness (is that a word) kind of makes sense by the end.
Mr. Planet: There have apparently been good reviews, but I've not read any. Your lady is quite correct. "Straightheads" is quite rubbish and not even in an so-bad-it's-good way.
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