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Reviews
Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020)
didn't quite make the transition from tv to film successfully
In making the transition from tv to film, the creative team of 'Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears' changed the pacing and locations with a view to expanding the show's horizons, which is all well and good on paper but in practice I don't know that they achieved what they hoped in doing so. Which is a shame because I think they did so with noble intentions and it was a labour of love. The reason the show worked was because it so effectively recreated 1920's Australia and it went at a lively canter, whether it be dialogue or action. I always think if the formula works, don't change it too much and stick with it, there's no real reason to and they did and it didn't work. You don't necessarily need to make it more "cinematic", just do what you did on tv and add another half hour. The narrative style changed because a large part of the movie focused on the family drama of the Bedouin people on whom its plot was based. And so it was a lot more talky, slower paced and with less action for the first three quarters, which took the wind out of its sails to an extent and gave it a listless quality. Happily, it was never quite dull, and whenever it became a tad flat it briefly picked up pace and narrative strength before it returned to the timid lilt. Essie Davis and Nathan Page's minds seemed elsewhere also or neither actor was playing their character with as much aplomb as they did on the show, which was really weird. Seeing Essie Davis not being self-assured as a character she played so well over three series made for strange viewing, and felt a little sad. Likewise Nathan Page, and his character Detective Jack Robinson particularly really suffered from being taken out of the normal context of his police station, not really having a lot to do and Page didn't seem like he knew what to do with Jack.
Also they used a soft focus filter on the lens, the point of which I couldn't see, detracted from the film's presence and I found really annoying. I understand it was a genre thing and a nod to the comparable adventure films of the time, but for me it only served to frustrate the material. The plot and action picked up pace in the last quarter and what struck me was again, as with the tv show, this's a good story, they've done a very good job and once again 'Miss Fisher' was very well plotted by Deb Cox. However, unfortunately those qualities were spread too thinly due to the muting effect of the elements hitherto mentioned. Which was a real shame, because I'm such a big believer in 'Miss Fisher', and was one of those passionate fans of what all things considered, was a wonderful show, and I really wanted to believe in this film. I honestly expected I'd go in and be impressed by a very good movie. Which is frustrating, because the bones of it were there, the basic story was as good as ever and the film only just fell short of the mark I thought, with just a few too many of the elements going awry. There were a few good laughs, but spread a little thinly through the film. At least you can say 'Miss Fisher' didn't commit the cardinal sin of being dull, it was never boring, just underwhelming and a missed opportunity regrettably in my opinion.
Holding the Man (2015)
stock melodrama with recognisable mainstream tropes
I'll say from the outset as a gay male I wanted this to be great and elements of it were, so I'm not coming from a perspective of critical indifference. I read the book when it came out and so knew what I was in for, all in all I must say the film was pretty faithful to it and didn't shy away from its most confronting or gruelling contents. I wondered beforehand whether it would or not and was impressed that it dealt with all the heaviest stuff head on, and did so well. The movie also gave me insights that my imagining as I read the book didn't, which I found illuminating and very interesting. I am from Melbourne, Australia where most of this story happened, so am familiar with its locales and some of them are of personal significance to me, so there is some overlap. There were many very strong elements in this film and as with Woody Allen's 'Irrational Man', it should have been great. The historical, social and cultural details of the mise- en-scene, costume, dialogue and even inflection were incredibly accurate, having lived through them myself, and lovingly, painstakingly recreated. Strong performances abounded, with standouts being Craig Stott who gave an incredible performance as John Caleo on par with Meryl Streep only less gimmicky, and that of the actress who played his mother, who gave a beautiful, nuanced performance. The film was for the most part very watchable, with warmth, drama and humour. Its filmmaking basics were very strong. Unfortunately, director Neil Armfield and/or producers went for an overlay of somewhat cheesy, narrated-by-crowd- pleasers pop songs that spelt out the emotions episodically and in a too obvious, simplistic way sometimes. Some of these songs and moments worked and were very touching, but evidently they were aiming for the youth market and it didn't work for me. Second of all, the film is of a genre satirised on Shaun Micallef's Mad As Hell as 'Reflecting Your Comfortable Middle Class Life Back To You And Validating It', Micallef's alternate title for such Aussie schlock as 'Packed To The Rafters', from whence came Ryan Corr who played Tim Conigrave, perhaps tellingly. I would have loved that kind of thing in my twenties, not knowing any better, but now it makes me want to reach for a bucket. And it's not cynical, bitter old age, it makes for dramatically inferior melodrama in my opinion. These two in my view major flaws really marred 'Holding The Man' for me and while professional filmmaking abounded and there were many fine elements, sadly these two errors almost dragged it down into prime time soap opera fare at times, 'Home and Away'. The excellent TV series 'Puberty Blues' which covered the 70's in a similar fashion managed to avoid such pitfalls, was a serious drama and a lot of fun, and managed to achieve art in my opinion. I have a reverent amount of respect for the blood, sweat and tears that go into a movie production, especially when there are some fine elements and great performances, so I don't like to criticise, but due to these elements I could only give it this lower rating.