When I was doing my A’level Communication Studies, we did a module on Ken Loach and one of the films we watched was Family Life starring Sandy Ratcliff (who went on to play Sue in Eastenders – she must be a glutton for punishment) about a young woman who is forced into an abortion by her parents and then descends into mental breakdown. It was at the time labelled as the most depressing film ever made. I’m not sure if it is still considered that, but I have to say Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank comes a close second if it is. My recollections of Andrea Arnold is of the bubbly haired children’s TV presenter on No.73 so it comes as a bit of shock to find her behind the lens of this misery-fest.
Fish Tank tells the story of fifteen year old Mia (Katie Jarvis), who has been kicked out of school and is living in a skanky council flat with an equally skanky mother and a little sister with a mouth so foul, she could give Bobb’e J Thompson in Role Models a run for his money. Mia is a loner whose only outlet in life is to do hip hop dancing in an abandoned flat on her estate. Into her life comes Connor (Michael Fassbender), her mother’s latest squeeze. A sexy, charming Irishman who is seducer, father figure and predatory ephebophiliac rolled into one. The sexual chemistry between him and Mia crackles along and you can never quite tell if he’s grooming her or it’s a genuine attraction he can’t fight. At the same time Mia becomes friends with Kyle (Harry Treadaway) a young Gypsy boy who saves her from being raped.
With these men in her life, Mia slowly transforms from sulky child-woman to a young girl having to deal with the pressures and heartaches that adult life brings and all without the support of a mother or friends. Katie Jarvis (an unknown plucked off the streets by Arnold) is a revelation, acting the socks off actresses twice her age with a lifetime of experience and a degree in dramatic arts. I predict great things for her.
The downside is that you get the feeling Arnold is just trying too hard. There are several shots of landscapes that last for what feels like thirty seconds, with nothing at all happening. There is very little humour in this film, in comparison to say Shane Meadows’ This is England, that while dealing with a depressing subject matter, still contains moments of hilarity, mainly coming from Thomas Turgoose playing the little big man. I get the feeling Arnold is trying to be taken seriously and so has gone over the top in piling on the misery. The film contains everything; underage sex, profanity, ten year olds smoking, underage drinking. Name a shock factor and Fish Tank has it in abundance.
The upside is that it is realistic; low budget but doesn’t show it; the improvised dialogue lends an air of authenticity and I would put money on the supporting artists being local, Barking residents which makes it seem real. Added to this, the use of Bobby Womack in the soundtrack has made me revisit his back catalogue – and you know what. It’s really good!
Thursday 17 September 2009
Saturday 12 September 2009
Muse - The Resistance
Muse are back after a three year hiatus with this album, influenced by George Orwell’s 1984. Their last album Black Holes and Revelations was a loud, bombastic affair that climaxed with the rather insane but brilliant Knights of Cydonia (in my opinion the greatest record ever made). Interestingly, the closing riff to KoC has similarities to the Doctor Who theme and the opening track of The Resistance, Uprising more than borrows from the Doctor Who theme. In fact it is Gary Glitter re-writing the Doctor Who theme (before he was exposed as a pervert of course). Vocally, Matt Bellamy sounds so different in the opening verse that I thought it was the wrong album I was listening to!
Track two, Resistance is an eighties tinged affair that reminds me of the soundtrack to something like Rocky or the Karate Kid, where the hero has to face a challenge of some sort and this would provide the soundtrack to slow motion shots of them training and gradually improving. Lyrically this track pertains the most to 1984 and the forbidden love between Winston and Julia.
Track Three, Undisclosed Desires is my least favourite of the album. The opening chords sounds more like Justin Timberlake ft Timbaland than Muse. The R&B beat remains throughout the entire song and to me is too commercial. Back in the old days, it would have been a B-Side.
Now for the United States of Eurasia. I thought Knights of Cydonia was the craziest record ever, but USoE makes KoC look like a Leona Lewis offering! This is the closest Muse have come to Queen, almost to the point of parody. I get the feeling it is being sung with Bellamy’s tongue placed firmly in his cheek. I could almost imagine him coming onto the stage dressed as Mozart and singing it at a piano with a candelabra placed on top. Without doubt the highlight of the album.
Track five, Guiding Light is a come down from United States of Eurasia. More eighties drum beats, stirring vocals and is closely related to Invincible from Black Holes. This is the one I would put money on being used as the backing track for trailers on BBC.
Unnatural Selection is a rollercoaster ride that starts on with a church organ reminiscent of Meglomania from Origin of Symmetry. It rocks up to sound like the soundtrack of a computer game that involves stealing cars. We then have a Radiohead-like come down section before it builds to a final Judas Priest style closing riff.
Track seven, MK Ultra (sounds like a brand of cigarettes), classical guitar riffs, doom ridden lyrics make this the track that sounds as though it belongs on BHAR. Great driving music.
Track eight You Belong To Me, is the most surprising track on the album. The opening piano riff reminds me of Maroon 5 (trust me that doesn’t last long) but there is a rather jaunty ‘whooh’ from Mr Bellamy. Probably the most radio friendly track on the album, well, that is until we descend into the rather mad French vocals before ending with a Queen style pomp stomp.
The album closes with a three part symphony – Exogenesis. Part 1, Overture sounds like a rather old fashioned film soundtrack. Part 2, Cross-Pollination begins as a soft ballad but builds to a crescendo of apocalyptic lyrics and eighties drum beats. Part 3, Redemption begins sounding a lot like Moonlight Sonata but once the vocals kick in, sounds like the closing credits of a Bruce Willis move, except in this one he hasn’t managed to save the planet from that approaching asteroid; the human race is doomed and we may as well accept it and just stand outside and watch as Armageddon arrives.
Whatever you pay for The Resistance you are going to get your money’s worth. The album has everything – strings, guitars, special effects, different genres of music. But I do feel this is Muse’s marmite album. People are either going to love it or hate it. The high drama and changes of tempo are not going to appeal to everyone but if you’re a fan or Radiohead or Queen, this album will sit happily alongside the very best both of them had to offer.
Track two, Resistance is an eighties tinged affair that reminds me of the soundtrack to something like Rocky or the Karate Kid, where the hero has to face a challenge of some sort and this would provide the soundtrack to slow motion shots of them training and gradually improving. Lyrically this track pertains the most to 1984 and the forbidden love between Winston and Julia.
Track Three, Undisclosed Desires is my least favourite of the album. The opening chords sounds more like Justin Timberlake ft Timbaland than Muse. The R&B beat remains throughout the entire song and to me is too commercial. Back in the old days, it would have been a B-Side.
Now for the United States of Eurasia. I thought Knights of Cydonia was the craziest record ever, but USoE makes KoC look like a Leona Lewis offering! This is the closest Muse have come to Queen, almost to the point of parody. I get the feeling it is being sung with Bellamy’s tongue placed firmly in his cheek. I could almost imagine him coming onto the stage dressed as Mozart and singing it at a piano with a candelabra placed on top. Without doubt the highlight of the album.
Track five, Guiding Light is a come down from United States of Eurasia. More eighties drum beats, stirring vocals and is closely related to Invincible from Black Holes. This is the one I would put money on being used as the backing track for trailers on BBC.
Unnatural Selection is a rollercoaster ride that starts on with a church organ reminiscent of Meglomania from Origin of Symmetry. It rocks up to sound like the soundtrack of a computer game that involves stealing cars. We then have a Radiohead-like come down section before it builds to a final Judas Priest style closing riff.
Track seven, MK Ultra (sounds like a brand of cigarettes), classical guitar riffs, doom ridden lyrics make this the track that sounds as though it belongs on BHAR. Great driving music.
Track eight You Belong To Me, is the most surprising track on the album. The opening piano riff reminds me of Maroon 5 (trust me that doesn’t last long) but there is a rather jaunty ‘whooh’ from Mr Bellamy. Probably the most radio friendly track on the album, well, that is until we descend into the rather mad French vocals before ending with a Queen style pomp stomp.
The album closes with a three part symphony – Exogenesis. Part 1, Overture sounds like a rather old fashioned film soundtrack. Part 2, Cross-Pollination begins as a soft ballad but builds to a crescendo of apocalyptic lyrics and eighties drum beats. Part 3, Redemption begins sounding a lot like Moonlight Sonata but once the vocals kick in, sounds like the closing credits of a Bruce Willis move, except in this one he hasn’t managed to save the planet from that approaching asteroid; the human race is doomed and we may as well accept it and just stand outside and watch as Armageddon arrives.
Whatever you pay for The Resistance you are going to get your money’s worth. The album has everything – strings, guitars, special effects, different genres of music. But I do feel this is Muse’s marmite album. People are either going to love it or hate it. The high drama and changes of tempo are not going to appeal to everyone but if you’re a fan or Radiohead or Queen, this album will sit happily alongside the very best both of them had to offer.
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