This is a movie that I watched years ago on my phone while working. I didn't know anything about it and at the time, I believed at that time it was on Shudder. What struck me that first time around was the cast. It features Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard, Tim Roth, Ciarán Hinds, Roger Ashton-Griffiths and Alex Kingston. It came to the Gateway Film Center so I decided to catch this on the last day it was showing.
Where I want to start is by saying that this is a wild movie. It isn't an easy watch for the fact that it is uncomfortable. The setting for the most part is this restaurant, Le Hollandais. There is the back where the loading doors for supplies, the kitchen, the dining area and the bathroom. Each have their own distinct color scheme. The cook here is Richard Borst (Richard Bohringer). The owner is the thief, Albert (Michael Gambon). He's a gangster who causes a scene each night. His wife is Georgina (Helen Mirren). She starts having an affair with Michael (Alan Howard). These events take place over less than a week of time. It will change everyone involved forever.
What is great here is the interactions between the characters. Albert is brash and foul mouthed. This bothers everyone around him, but it is only Georgina who speaks up. She is shouted down though. Due to happenstance, she starts an affair with Michael due to a meeting in the hallway to the bathroom. They sneak out from there to places in the kitchen to make love, with the help of Richard. This can only go on for so long without being noticed. Albert is a gangster, who is selfish and needs to punish those from taking from him.
This is all about the performances and the filmmaking though. The story is quite simple. Seeing how great Bohringer, Gambon, Mirren and Howard are in the lead roles is great. No one talks nearly the amount Albert does. He doesn't think. The other three are calculated in what they say, partially to keep from getting a tantrum from Albert. It also could get them hurt if they don't. Then having the likes of Roth, Hinds, Ashton-Griffiths, amongst others, in minor roles is great. There isn't a bad performance here.
There are two big things with filmmaking I need to bring up. The first is one that I noticed with the color palette for the major sets we see. I had a feeling it was done on purpose. Since this revolves around eating and food, the other was the long tracking shots we got. I didn't realize it was there to simulate food moving through the digestive tract. That shocked me, but it makes sense. It also makes me wonder then if when they reverse it, does that signify being sick? I'd bet it did. There were no issues for me with how this was made, aside from I don't know if this needs to be over two hours. This is an arthouse film and it seems to run that length to make the viewer uncomfortable. It did succeed.
I don't think there is too much else to say. I did leave out that we have a younger Mirren here who is completely nude. As is Howard. So, if that sways your decision, just wanted to provide it. This won't be for everyone, but if you are into artsy films and want to see one that is uncomfortable, this is for you.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.
Where I want to start is by saying that this is a wild movie. It isn't an easy watch for the fact that it is uncomfortable. The setting for the most part is this restaurant, Le Hollandais. There is the back where the loading doors for supplies, the kitchen, the dining area and the bathroom. Each have their own distinct color scheme. The cook here is Richard Borst (Richard Bohringer). The owner is the thief, Albert (Michael Gambon). He's a gangster who causes a scene each night. His wife is Georgina (Helen Mirren). She starts having an affair with Michael (Alan Howard). These events take place over less than a week of time. It will change everyone involved forever.
What is great here is the interactions between the characters. Albert is brash and foul mouthed. This bothers everyone around him, but it is only Georgina who speaks up. She is shouted down though. Due to happenstance, she starts an affair with Michael due to a meeting in the hallway to the bathroom. They sneak out from there to places in the kitchen to make love, with the help of Richard. This can only go on for so long without being noticed. Albert is a gangster, who is selfish and needs to punish those from taking from him.
This is all about the performances and the filmmaking though. The story is quite simple. Seeing how great Bohringer, Gambon, Mirren and Howard are in the lead roles is great. No one talks nearly the amount Albert does. He doesn't think. The other three are calculated in what they say, partially to keep from getting a tantrum from Albert. It also could get them hurt if they don't. Then having the likes of Roth, Hinds, Ashton-Griffiths, amongst others, in minor roles is great. There isn't a bad performance here.
There are two big things with filmmaking I need to bring up. The first is one that I noticed with the color palette for the major sets we see. I had a feeling it was done on purpose. Since this revolves around eating and food, the other was the long tracking shots we got. I didn't realize it was there to simulate food moving through the digestive tract. That shocked me, but it makes sense. It also makes me wonder then if when they reverse it, does that signify being sick? I'd bet it did. There were no issues for me with how this was made, aside from I don't know if this needs to be over two hours. This is an arthouse film and it seems to run that length to make the viewer uncomfortable. It did succeed.
I don't think there is too much else to say. I did leave out that we have a younger Mirren here who is completely nude. As is Howard. So, if that sways your decision, just wanted to provide it. This won't be for everyone, but if you are into artsy films and want to see one that is uncomfortable, this is for you.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.