Flushed Away is Splendidly Silly

Two years ago, I had the opportunity to savor Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. I loved it and was thrilled when I learned that Aardman Animations was working on another movie, this time about a refined mouse who is flushed down into London's sewer system by an uninvited houseguest. Today, I finally saw Flushed Away, and while it's not my favorite of Aardman's film projects - that distinction must go to the phenomenal Chicken Run - it certainly is deserving of accolades.

While I'm used to the somewhat choppy appearance of lovable inventor Wallace, Flushed Away is a work of computer animation rather than claymation, and as such it has a much smoother look to it. Moreover, though I adore Wallace, generally I prefer the non-human Aardman characters to the human ones. They just look better, so I really don't miss the people in this movie. The frogs and toads, with their long, spindly legs and squat bodies, are rather strange-looking, but the mice, of which there are many, look fantastic, and I think the singing, shrieking slugs (none of which, the credits promise, were "a-salted" during the making of this film) are pretty cute.

The main character is Roddy St. James (Hugh Jackman), a well-to-do mouse who lives alone in a golden cage in Kensington. When coarse sewer rat Sid (Shane Richie) shows up during his owners' absence, Roddy's attempt to get rid of him goes horribly awry and he winds up taking a wild ride into London's underbelly, where he soon meets up with feisty barge mouse Rita (Kate Winslet), who is being pursued by the Machiavellian Toad (Ian McKellan) and his two flunkies, wisecracking Spike (Andy Serkis) and gentle Whitey (Bill Nighy). All Roddy wants is to get back home, but meanwhile he gets wind of a plot that could destroy the vibrant rodent civilization that has sprung up along the banks of the green river. Can the vile Toad and his sneaky French cousin, Le Frog (Jean Reno), be stopped?

With such an A-list voice cast, the characters spring to fantastic life. McKellan is deliciously over-the-top, Winslet is almost unrecognizably low-class, Jackman is suave and Richie obnoxious. My favorite cast member is Nighy, with his slow, rumbling speech that conveys the henchman's contemplative but slightly dim-witted nature. And every time those slugs shrieked in unison, I squealed in delight.

The action in the hour-and-a-half-long movie is fast-paced, with plenty of humor to spare. I especially like the nods at other films, such as the fact that when Roddy is going through the dollhouse wardrobe, one of the outfits is Wallace's green sweater-vest, white shirt and red tie or that as he is making his rickety way to the sewer, a little orange fish inquires, "Have you seen my dad?"

This is a very silly movie, with more laughs than the marvelous but dry Curse of the Were-Rabbit. If madcap British comedy is your thing and you don't mind the unsanitary setting, Flushed Away is fantastically fun.

It's a Jolly Holiday With Cameron, Kate, Jude and Jack

A couple years ago, I read Tara Road, a book by Irish author Maeve Binchy about a pair of middle-aged women, one from Ireland and one from America, who find themselves in the midst of personal crises and spontaneously decide to swap houses for the month. The premise of last year's The Holiday, starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black, is similar enough that I immediately thought of the book when I saw the trailers, even wondering briefly if this was an adaptation of that novel. It's not - and actually that book has been made into a film of the same name, though it wasn't released in American theaters. But the basic idea is that two women in their late twenties or early thirties, one from America and one from England, switch homes for two weeks, during which they try to escape from the misery of two failed relationships, little knowing that far better romances await them in their new surroundings.

The American is fabulously rich but emotionally empty Amanda (Diaz). She makes her millions in L.A. producing movie trailers and is so wrapped up in her work that wherever she goes, she hears the distinct, rumbling tones of renowned movie trailer narrator Hal Douglas, offering cinematic commentary on the story of her life. After her latest break-up with a putz who cheats on her and blames it on her workaholism, Amanda, disturbed that she can't muster a single tear for her sad situation, decides she needs a vacation.

A Google search leads her to Iris (Winslet), a lowly journalist in Surrey who listed her charming cottage in the middle of nowhere on a home exchange site. The timing couldn't be better, since Iris has just learned that Jasper (Rufus Sewell), the rakish co-worker with whom she's been smitten for the past three years, has gotten engaged and never bothered to tell her; in fact, moments before the engagement was announced at the office Christmas party, he was busy flirting with her, inspiring hope that their on-again, off-again relationship might be headed in a positive direction. Now she just wants to get away from him.

It's perhaps a little too convenient how easily these women with sordid romantic pasts stumble upon the men of their dreams, but such is the stuff of Hollywood, and anyway, profound relationships can develop quickly when people are thrown into unfamiliar circumstances. Amanda meets Graham (Law), Iris's brother, when he comes pounding on her door in the middle of the night a scant six hours after her traumatic arrival, drunkenly demanding a bathroom and a place to crash for the night. Equally startled at the sight of each other, both are stricken with an immediate attraction that leads them to plunge recklessly into what both believe will be a one-night stand.

For Iris, the process is more gradual. Her first introduction to Miles (Black), a film composer and acquaintance of Amanda, is brief and awkward, and they don't meet again for a few days, by which point Iris has managed to establish a firm friendship with Amanda's 90-year-old neighbor, feisty screenwriting legend Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach). Her kinship with Miles develops as an outgrowth of that, and as he already has a girlfriend, they enjoy one another's company but don't outwardly acknowledge any romantic attraction; the kisses Miles plants on her cheek seem more indicative of an old-fashioned gentility than an attempt to woo her. But when Miles learns his darling Maggie (Shannyn Sassamon), supposedly out of state working on a movie, has been back in town for days and shacking up with another man, the game changes a bit...

Although I was rather put off by the way Amanda and Graham's relationship turns physical minutes after meeting each other, there's an undeniable sweetness to the way it progresses from there. In another actor's hands, our first impression could be that Graham is little better than a lecherous drunk. But the devilishly handsome Law is so irresistible in the role, his indiscretions are swiftly forgiven, particularly since it is technically Amanda who puts the moves on him. Though he professes to be a love-'em-and-leave-'em kind of guy, his actions speak louder than words; he shows himself to be gentlemanly, sincere and vulnerable in scene after scene, and even when we learn he has been keeping a major aspect of his life from Amanda, the motivation behind his secrecy only makes him more endearing. The high-maintenance Amanda is the least charming of the main foursome, but she's still quite likable, especially toward the end of the movie.

I'm used to seeing Black in schlub-finds-redemption roles; he always seems to turn out a decent guy, even if those tendencies are a bit buried. Here, he's surprisingly mellow, and his character is both accomplished and courteous, the perfect antidote to the roguish, manipulative Jasper. Black and Winslet don't get nearly as much screen time together as Diaz and Law do, since half of Iris's scenes are focused on the mutually mentorly relationship she develops with Arthur, who reluctantly agrees to appear at an event in his honor after considerable nudging by his new friend. I tend to find many of Winslet's characters a tad abrasive, but Iris is entirely sympathetic, her consideration and respect for Arthur and her easy camaraderie with Miles proving that she does indeed deserve to be the "leading lady" rather than the "best friend", as Arthur observes.

He makes other observations throughout the film as well that constitute a running commentary on the way Hollywood has changed over the years; there's quite a bit of sly self-reference as well, as when he refers to the moment when Iris offers him a lift home as a "meet-cute". With Arthur, Miles and Amanda all deeply involved in some aspect of the film-making process, these sorts of references slip out often, along with amusing cameos from Lindsay Lohan, James Franco and Dustin Hoffman. This is a movie that doesn't allow us to forget it's a movie.

There are a few somewhat shaky plots points to consider. The women switch houses with one day's notice, which seems an awfully short time in which to make arrangements for such a trip. I guess there really are no arrangements; they just pick up and leave with minimal luggage, notifying few people of their plans. Iris even leaves behind her dog, and it's not too clear whether she mentioned this to Amanda. When she first arrives, Amanda is forced to trudge through the snow in high heels because the cab driver refuses to chug down that narrow country road and risk getting stuck, but at the end, the same driver pulls up to the cottage and turns around without protest halfway down the road at Amanda's request. I'd like to think he felt badly about giving Amanda such a crummy first impression of England, but it does seem like slightly inconsistent characterization.

While this is more a stylistic issue than a plot point, I found it strange that the film begins with a voiceover by Iris, but she doesn't provide narration at any other point in the film. I might say it's a nod to her deciding to take the leading lady role, but the narration seems to be rooted in the moment of the Christmas party, at which point she is still feeling very much on the sidelines. Most problematically, while we're offered a blissful final scene that screams happy Hollywood ending, we're not given any solid solution to the problem that has plagued these romances from the beginning - that is, the fact that all four people have considerable commitments which happen to be rooted half a world away from their newfound loves.

But that's a problem for another movie. For this one, the ending is sufficient, leaving us feeling warm and fuzzy, happy it all worked out so nicely for these folks, if only until the credits roll.

Never Before Has Neverland Seemed So Within Our Grasp

Last year, I watched Two Brothers and fell in love with Freddie Highmore, the English answer to Haley Joel Osment. I soon learned he was set to star with Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a prospect that pleased me very much. But in the meantime, there was another film starring the two to watch out for: Finding Neverland. I already was convinced of the superiority of the cast, but glowing reviews from friends and critics and an NPR program in which an expert on accents applauded Depp’s work in the film made me even more eager to see it. As too often occurs, I missed it in the theater, but I was all too happy to finally watch it when it came out on video.

I’ve always been a fan of Peter Pan – the general story if not every version – but over the course of several years, particularly in college, my information led me to believe that author J. M. Barrie was at best deluded, at worst a pedophile, and probably both. When I first heard of this movie, I thought it might be rather gritty and cynical. As it turned out, it was just the opposite. I don’t know which account to believe, but I certainly like this one better, and the idealist in me embraces it.

Depp stars as Scotland native Barrie, and I must say that he was awfully easy on the ear. I don’t mask my prejudices. There are few things in this world more beautiful than a Scottish accent. It’s the reason I fell in love with Billy Boyd; it’s the reason I started watching Craig Ferguson after Letterman every night. So even though Depp naturally has just a plain old American accent, I forget that in an instant here. Flawless. But there’s more to this performance than admirable command of a dialect. Depp portrays Barrie as a man rather like Michael Jackson (ironic given the abundant comparisons his role as Willy Wonka produced) but with none of the creepy oddball associations. The people around him may make those accusations, but we see him simply as a gentle man intimately in touch with his inner child and unable to mold himself to the conventions of polite society. Like John Denver, his life’s work and his charitable causes are of greater concern to him than his personal life, which has deep ramifications for his relationship with his wife (Radha Mitchell).

In Barrie’s case, the “charitable cause” that consumes him and troubles his wife is the family of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet), a recently widowed woman with a brood of four boys, three of whom (Joe Prospero, Nick Roud, Luke Spill) are energetic and imaginative. The odd one out is Peter (Highmore), who is deeply scarred by his father’s death and has little use for the falderal Barrie happily trots out for the boys’ benefit. Nonetheless, the author perseveres, encouraging Peter to write his own stories. Meanwhile, he is so inspired by his afternoon romps with the children that he recovers from a writing slump, writing what is destined to be by far his most popular play, though his producer (Dustin Hoffman) is overcome with worry that this exceedingly strange piece of theater will be a colossal flop. Hoffman remains an understated comic presence, and I can only assume he was asked to assume the role as a nod to his performance as Hook in the film of the same name. At the same time, Sylvia’s stern mother (Julie Christie) shows increasing disapproval of the playwright’s involvement with her daughter and grandchildren, particularly once Sylvia begins to display signs of a serious illness.

The look of this film is magical, suffused with dappled sunlight that almost invariably overpowers the shadows that linger on the periphery. The visions of Neverland are especially bright, and for fans of the story it’s exhilarating to feel as though we are watching the genesis of these beloved characters and events. Perhaps my favorite such moment is when Barrie observes the Davies children jumping on the bed and imagines them continuing upwards instead of falling back upon the soft mattress, flying out of the open window into a land where they will never grow older and never change. As much as he tries to preserve their innocence, he cannot shield them from harsh reality, but he can give them a gift: the power of story, latent within each of them, to unlock the magic so many weary souls have left behind and never attempted to reclaim.

Top-notch acting, superior cinematography, a gentle story and tender score all come together to create a masterpiece of which all its participants can be proud. Peter flies high once again, and he’s never before looked so much like one of us.

Jane Austen Plus Emma Thompson Equals Moviemaking Brilliance

Generally, when I see a movie based on a book which I have read, I prepare myself for disappointment. It is pretty hard to pull off a film adaptation that does true justice to a great book. Sense and Sensibility does just that. I watched a portion of this film in my Canon and Its Critics class, headed by the venerable Dr. Morris. This was maybe a month and a half into the semester, my first with him as a professor, but he had quickly made his way onto my list of favorite educators. So his ecstasy over Emma Thompson and unbounded admiration for Alan Rickman’s Colonel Brandon may have influenced me. But I was impressed enough that I later rented the film and fell in love with it. Along with The Green Mile (in which case I saw the movie before reading the book), this is probably the best book-to-film adaptation I have seen.

The cast is superb, with the afore-mentioned Thompson taking the role of Elinor, the patient, practical eldest Dashwood sister. Kate Winslet portrays Marianne, Elinor’s over-emotional, romantic younger sister. (As Dr. Morris filled us in on what we would be missing before he started the movie towards the end, he said, “And then there’s this great scene where Marianne and Willoughby are standing on the bow of this ship, and she throws out her arms, and… wasn’t in the book, though.”) The dynamic between these two sisters is the heart of the film. They are diametrically opposed, each exhibiting one end of the personality spectrum. Elinor is the heroine of the film, always a perfect model of poise and manners, selfless to the point of bursting (which she eventually does in one of the film’s best scenes). Marianne is likable enough, but she is rather flighty and self-centered and possesses some very impractical ideas about romance. In the end, both girls learn from one another, moving just a bit towards the middle of the spectrum.

Hugh Grant is utterly adorable as the bumbling Edward Ferrars, the honorable gentleman who earns Elinor’s affection at the beginning of the film. He doesn’t get much air time in the film, mainly the very beginning and end, but his appearances are both riotously comical and extraordinarily tender. I’ve seen Hugh Grant in many movies, but this performance is my hands-down favorite. I’ve already noted Dr. Morris’ opinion of Rickman’s performance, and I concur. But then Rickman has blown me away in everything I’ve seen him in. Could there possibly be a more perfect Severus Snape? His Colonel Brandon is formal, reserved, honor-bound. Shrouded in melancholy, he is a tender man bewitched by Marianne. Best line: Towards the end of the film, he paces in agitation as Marianne lies sick in bed upstairs. Upon Elinor’s entrance, he pleads, “Give me an occupation or I shall run mad!” Perfect. Greg Wise turns in a good performance as the tall, dark and handsome Willoughby, to whom Marianne’s affections belong for the bulk of the film.

More minor characters shine in their respective roles. This is a comedy, and the smaller roles tend to accentuate that. Harriet Walter is deliciously conniving as the Dashwoods’ unsympathetic sister-in-law, Fanny. Another of the film’s great scenes involves Fanny reacting to a secret told to her by Lucy Steele (Imogen Stubbs), a pseudo-friend to Elinor. Robert Hardy and Elizabeth Spriggs are amusing in their roles as the grandparently Sir John Middleton and Mrs. Jennings. In addition to being affectionate, they also have a nose for gossip, which Marianne particularly resents. Imelda Staunton and Hugh Laurie sparkle as the hilariously mismatched Mr. and Mrs. Palmer. Think Farmer Hoggett and his wife, Babe. She is a cheerful chatterbox, he a silent man with an air about him that telegraphs the fact that he finds his wife exceedingly silly. Much of the humor between these two is nonverbal, but chuckles should follow whenever these two appear. Mr. Palmer regards his wife’s frivolity with apparent indifference, and while one wonders how they ever got together, they seem pretty content with their life together. Mr. Palmer also shows himself to be gentlemanly and compassionate on several occasions.

Of all the roles here, the one that really stepped this movie up a notch for me was Margaret Dashwood (Emile Francois). In the book, this poor unfortunate third Dashwood sister is rendered practically a non-entity. She certainly doesn’t show up in the book much, and when she does she doesn’t contribute much or boast much of a personality. What’s there to say about Margaret in the book? Not much. But the film, which Thompson wrote, gives Margaret a distinct personality and an important place in the affairs of the main characters. She is a tomboy who is fascinated by geography and wants to travel the high seas as the captain of a pirate ship. This spunky gal brings Elinor and Edward together for the first time, as the visiting gentleman locates her hiding under a dresser, conceals her from Fanny and cleverly draws her out later. The two become fast friends, and Edward’s kindness to her sister wins Elinor over.

I am reminded of the book The Princess Bride with this film because the book claims to be the “good parts version” of a classic written long ago. Periodically, the author fills the reader in on all the boring stuff that he skipped. This movie does that masterfully. I loved Sense and Sensibility, but I think it was a lot wordier than it needed to be. This film takes the heart of the book, pruning and fleshing out to produce an adaptation that in some ways exceeds the novel.

In addition to Margaret, the movie filled another hole that the book left me. In this case, it was the ending. The main events of the film lead up to a certain point in the novel, but when that point is reached, it gets essentially skimmed over and we don’t get to see the glorious moment when everything comes together. In the film, this scene is accomplished with comical brilliance and heart. It’s a perfect moment worthy of the build-up of tension that precedes it.

Not everyone will love this movie. It’s set in the 1800s in England, and that means a lot of fancy talk in British accents. My grandma complained that everyone sounded the same, while my dad and brother just found the film boring. If you can get into the proper mode, however, the movie is both hilarious and touching. What’s more, its setting is so prim and proper that I can’t think of much of anything that would offend someone in this PG-rated film. It’s good clean literary fun, and it’s brilliant. Nicely done, Emma Thompson.