At its Gala premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Shane Danielsen, the festival's artistic director, commented how British television was very good when it came to satire but not the same could be said for British film and he felt that "Rag Tale" went some way to redress that imbalance. He certainly has a point. "Rag Tale", with the help of a very impressive cast, takes a very sharp look at the British tabloid press but with a somewhat different spin (literally!) on proceedings.
The main story, which is played out during the week of the 2004 US presidential elections, is that the Chairman/Chief (McDowell) of "The Rag" newspaper discovers that Eddy, his Editor (Graves), is having an affair with the Deputy Editor (Leigh) who also happens to be the Chairman's wife. The Chairman uses the affair to blackmail the Editor into shifting editorial policy and turning "The Rag", which has always maintained an anti-royal stance, into a pro-monarchy paper so as the Chairman can curry royal favour in his attempt to gain a knighthood. The problem, however, is that the Editor refuses to play ball and a power game comes into play pitching Eddy and his editorial staff against the all-powerful Chief.
The spin taken by the film is that firstly, although McGuckian, provided a very basic script with written "guide lines" as to who, where, & what as far as the plot was concerned, the script was completely improvised by the cast. Secondly, to reproduce the frenetic atmosphere of the newspaper room, McGuckian has opted for constantly spinning cameras capturing the characters in revealing close-up at every conceivable angle. Sometimes this method really works, i.e. when the Chief first confronts a stunned Eddy about the affair (this scene went down well with the audience) but it's fair to say that at other times the moving camera-work does become somewhat overwhelming and I found myself wishing that there were a few more "still" moments as a counterbalance.
Where the film does work, however, is in getting the story across. This could easily have been a case of style over content but thanks to the worthy cast and some very good editing, we get to see the daily machinations of a tabloid newsroom where spin is everything. It's obvious that a lot of research has been done, i.e. the scene showing the old Fleet Street tradition of "drumming out". There are also some very funny moments such as the proposal for Buckingham Palace to become the "people's palace" and the various uses it could be put to "Carphone Warehouse or multi-storey car park". There's also a brilliant soundtrack.
Prior to the gala screening, McGuckian asked the audience to bear with the first 15 minutes of the film. Despite this, several people did walk out (after 15 minutes), some looking slightly nauseated and perhaps this film should carry some sort of warning, in the same way that we are warned about strobe lighting in film. The people I spoke to afterwards said that once they had got used to the style, they did enjoy the film.
Many people walk into a cinema with preconceived ideas/certain expectations about the film they're about to see. To its credit, "Rag Tale" totally turns the tables on any such preconceptions and does not make for easy viewing. It's a very brave style to adopt and it's very doubtful that you will see another film like it this or any other year. It's a film that will provoke some sort of feeling in you - even if it's only one of nausea!
The main story, which is played out during the week of the 2004 US presidential elections, is that the Chairman/Chief (McDowell) of "The Rag" newspaper discovers that Eddy, his Editor (Graves), is having an affair with the Deputy Editor (Leigh) who also happens to be the Chairman's wife. The Chairman uses the affair to blackmail the Editor into shifting editorial policy and turning "The Rag", which has always maintained an anti-royal stance, into a pro-monarchy paper so as the Chairman can curry royal favour in his attempt to gain a knighthood. The problem, however, is that the Editor refuses to play ball and a power game comes into play pitching Eddy and his editorial staff against the all-powerful Chief.
The spin taken by the film is that firstly, although McGuckian, provided a very basic script with written "guide lines" as to who, where, & what as far as the plot was concerned, the script was completely improvised by the cast. Secondly, to reproduce the frenetic atmosphere of the newspaper room, McGuckian has opted for constantly spinning cameras capturing the characters in revealing close-up at every conceivable angle. Sometimes this method really works, i.e. when the Chief first confronts a stunned Eddy about the affair (this scene went down well with the audience) but it's fair to say that at other times the moving camera-work does become somewhat overwhelming and I found myself wishing that there were a few more "still" moments as a counterbalance.
Where the film does work, however, is in getting the story across. This could easily have been a case of style over content but thanks to the worthy cast and some very good editing, we get to see the daily machinations of a tabloid newsroom where spin is everything. It's obvious that a lot of research has been done, i.e. the scene showing the old Fleet Street tradition of "drumming out". There are also some very funny moments such as the proposal for Buckingham Palace to become the "people's palace" and the various uses it could be put to "Carphone Warehouse or multi-storey car park". There's also a brilliant soundtrack.
Prior to the gala screening, McGuckian asked the audience to bear with the first 15 minutes of the film. Despite this, several people did walk out (after 15 minutes), some looking slightly nauseated and perhaps this film should carry some sort of warning, in the same way that we are warned about strobe lighting in film. The people I spoke to afterwards said that once they had got used to the style, they did enjoy the film.
Many people walk into a cinema with preconceived ideas/certain expectations about the film they're about to see. To its credit, "Rag Tale" totally turns the tables on any such preconceptions and does not make for easy viewing. It's a very brave style to adopt and it's very doubtful that you will see another film like it this or any other year. It's a film that will provoke some sort of feeling in you - even if it's only one of nausea!