The new pick of the Scandi-noirs hasCallum Burroughs intrigued.
Image credit: BBC
At a depressing time where various high level security organisations are able to monitor your every move, where the weather appears to have been designed by mocking, sadistic children and where, for many the grey month of January is synonymous with grey days and exams, it is important to think of positives.
Evidently this scenario is perfect for the latest instalment of every young, liberal, euro-loving tv hipster’s favourite genre. Scandinavian drama.
Yes, since the arrival of The Killing and Borgen to our screens from our former Viking cousins, we have become accustomed to dark and often chilling scenes of Nordic crime and death live in our homes. It is not however all doom and gloom, as The Bridge returns for a second series on BBC 4.
The Bridge’s first series was met with interest, the next in the stellar line of Norse television and it didn’t disappoint. Despite the arguments that these excellent TV dramas should be scheduled at better times on BBC 1 or 2 to gain new audiences, the show continues on BBC 4.
The Danish/Swedish production was smooth and compelling, combining two different natural psyches in our two protagonists Martin Rhode (Kim Bodnia) and Saga Noren (Sofia Helin), the Danish and Swedish (respectively) police officers charged with investigating the confounding case of one body, with one person’s torso and another’s legs found on the Oresund bridge which connects Copenhagen and Malmo.
Striking attention to detail, inherent political symbolism and intent as well as various degrees of social commentary, The Bridge was seen as an adaptation of the apparently decided differences between Danes and Swedes. This has recently been replicated plot and all for British audiences with Sky’s The Tunnel, which features Britain and France as the key countries involved.
Troubled teens – Julia Ragnarsson as Laura. Image credit: BBC
This second series starts, rather surprisingly with a boat, or as Saga is at pains to point out a ship due to its size and length etc, thank you Saga. As many people’s hearts were palpitating, the director thought it wise to have the ship begin to sail toward the bridge, despite calls from the harbour master to avert its course. Why didn’t it change course?! Ah: there’s no crew, cue intense music and the beginnings of another series full of mystery.
This second offering was as expected full of the same intrigue as the first episode, though we feel much stronger interest in some of the new characters, whilst sympathising with the plight of the old.
The exposition of some of the key emotional issues in daily life, love and loss are keenly explored throughout the relationships on screen and as the plot remains as gripping as ever, while the idea of having what appears to be a cell of domestically based and driven murderers is chilling, and their cause is of course one of interest, knowingly or not to everyone on the planet.
The Bridge is at pains not to take strong sides over the environmental issue, especially as Scandinavia is one of the few places with a strong ecological record over the last few decades and are constantly moving to improve their emissions and pollution statistics.
Having said this, the view given of the environmental movement and especially of activists is relatively bleak and if anything a bit dismissive.
Evidently some of the more startling aspects will begin to take shape as part of an overarching investigation that crime dramas tend to specialise in. As the series begins to flower, we’ll no doubt be treated to some of the best that Scandinavia has to offer.
Callum Burroughs, Online Music Editor
Were you impressed by The Bridge? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter or by commenting below.
Every week we bring you our special selection of all things arty. From interesting websites to highly anticipated performances for your diary, there is something to spark all kinds of creative interest.
1. The Independent’s arts highlights of the year
Click here to see The Independent’s arts highlights of the year, including the opening of The Shed, the National Theatre’s temporary performance space on London’s South Bank.
2. National Geographic Photography Contest
“A polar bear peers up from beneath the melting sea ice on Hudson Bay as the setting midnight sun glows red from the smoke of distant fires during a record-breaking spell of hot weather. The Manitoba population of polar bears, the southernmost in the world, is particularly threatened by a warming climate and reduced sea ice.” Photo and caption by Paul Souders
The winners of the annual National Geographic Photo Contest were announced last week, and the photographs are breathtaking. Over 7000 people entered from over 150 countries, submitting work in three categories: nature, people and place. There is also a ‘Grand-Prize Winner’ which is the best photograph out of all three, shown above. Clickhere to see all of the winners.
3. Colossal’s top 15 posts of 2013
From sandwich bag illustrations to flexible paper sculptures, the art and visual ingenuity blog Colossal has shared some incredible things in the past year. Check out their top posts of 2013 here.
4. SELLOUT @ The Northcott
SELLOUT is new political play about the higher education system which tells the story of the “ever-distorting relationship between students’ discovery of new knowledge and institutions’ attainment of league-table profiles”. Written by a graduate and ex-visiting tutor of the Drama department, this play explores relevant and interesting issues for those in university. There is a script-in-hand reading at the Northcott Theatre on 24th January, and tickets can be purchased here.
5. If Only For a Second
This video ‘If Only For a Second’ speaks for itself, watch it below.
Giverny Masso and Bryony James
Follow @exeposearts on Twitter and like us on Facebook here.
Visit the University of Exeter Arts and Culture website here.
Another year is nearly over, and whether it’s been a good one for you or not such a good one, it has been undeniably eventful. To say our final goodbyes to 2013, Online Features Editor Imogen Watson refresh your memory of some of the year’s biggest and most interesting events, month by month.
January
The New Year never sees an end to the previous year’s events, and 2013 was no different, with ongoing conflicts in Syria, and the Central African Republic continuing to rage on.
Back here in the United Kingdom, the joint report between the Metropolitan Police and the NSPCC into the Jimmy Savile affair was released, announcing the recording of some 214 criminal offences of sexual abuse on Savile’s part over 54 years and across 28 different police regions in the country. Jim Davidson, another television presenter, was also arrested under Operation Yewtree – the investigation into the scandals – although no further action has been taken against him.
Internationally, Google Maps was able to expand its map coverage of North Korea, detailing labour camps and landmarks.
February
Pope Benedict XVI. Image credits: zoutedrop
Despite its reputation as being just a little bit dull, February was quite the interesting month. A meteor struck over Russia at nearly 60 times the speed of sound, exploding over Chelyabinsk nearly 14.5 miles above the ground, releasing between 20 and 30 times more kinetic energy than Hiroshima and injuring nearly 1500 people.
Four days previously, although it’s likely unconnected, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation from his position at the head of the Roman Catholic Church – the first to do so since 1415 – citing his strengths as “no longer suited to… the Petrine ministry”. Others have suspected intra-Vatican power struggles as more likely for the shock abdication.
And how could we leave February behind without mentioning the horsemeat scandal? Maybe you have got over it now we’ve made it into December or perhaps you’re still a tad cautious, but back in February 2013 there was outrage when it turned out everyone’s beef lasagnes were actually horse…
March
Demilitarised zone between North and South Korea. Image credits: kalleboo
March saw North Korea in the news again for making nuclear threats against the United States, having claimed to have tested nuclear weapons in mid-February. They withdrew from all non-aggression pacts with South Korea, stated they were closing their borders and cutting off its hotline to the Southern part of the peninsula – the last method of communication between the two countries. Later in the month, it launched a cyber-attack and then declared a state of war against South Korea, promising “stern physical actions” in response to “any provocative act”. The North Korean crisis, as termed by the media, continues…
April
It’s possible that April could not have been a busier month had it tried.
Here in Britain on 8 April it was announced that the only female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, had died at the age of 87 after a stroke. A controversial figure, Baroness Thatcher caused plenty of debates in death as in life, including the cost of her funeral (held on 17 April) and who should fund it (the coverage of which you can read here).
Baroness Thatcher’s coffin being put into the hearse. Image credits: Joshua Irwandi
On the 15 April 2013, two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon in Massachusetts, USA, killing three and injuring approximately 264 others. Later, a police officer was killed by gunshot wounds. A terrorist attack, the FBI began their hunt for the suspects, who were quickly identified after the release of photo and surveillance footage. In a very American style, a manhunt began for the two suspects Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, brothers of Russian nationality, who were later arrested and await trial.
In late April, an eight-storey building in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed killing over 1100 people and injuring 2515. One woman was pulled out alive after seventeen days within the wreckage. Although cracks had been noticed the previous day, workers had been ordered to return to work despite warnings against doing so. The commercial building contained factories for clothes shops such as Primark, Walmart and JC Penney; in subsequent meetings of the twenty-nine implicated companies, less than nine have been involved.
May
On 1 October 2012, five-year-old April Jones went missing from her home in Wales, having been seen getting into a car nearby. In May 2013, Mark Bridger was convicted of both her abduction and her murder as well as perverting the course of justice – he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation from the judge that he never be released. Her body has never been found, although Bridger claims to have disposed of it in a nearby river; the police suspect he in fact scattered her remains across local countryside.
June
The end of June saw the Russian government adopting laws to ban any positive discussion of gay relationships, imposing 5000 ruble (£90) fines on its own citizens (and 50,000 – £900 – for any public official) and the potential arrest and deportation of foreigners caught in any way making a non-heterosexual relationship seem like normality. With the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi, Russia, these laws prompted strong reactions from around the world with many, including Stephen Fry, calling for a boycott.
July
Kate and William. image credits: UK_repsome
Whilst the UK finally experienced some sunshine after an extremely cold spring, Royal Baby fever finally descended. Bets were placed on the gender and name of the most highly anticipated baby of recent years before Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was born to William and Kate on the 22 July 2013. The world’s media went crazy, and so did many members of the general public, snapping up Royal paraphernalia and camping outside the hospital waiting for that all-important first glimpse of the future King.
Meanwhile, July was also a big month for LGBT rights, with the British government passing a law legalising gay marriage from March 2014 and marking a significant step forward in equality laws.
August
Although the enduring conflict in Syria continued throughout the year, it was on the 21 August when the world stopped as the Syrian government was accused of using chemical weapons on its own people. Thus began an international dance around Bashar al-Assad and his denial of using them, and whether the global community ought to act in response; it has since been confirmed that traces of sarin gas have been found at the alleged attack site. United Nations inspectors were sent into the country and eventually Syria agreed to have its weapons stocks destroyed.
September
Syrian flags painted on government walls. Image credits: Freedom House
After the uproar and outrage of December 2012 when a woman was brutally gang-raped and murdered on a bus in Delhi, India, the four men – Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Guptathe – who attacked her were sentenced to death by hanging in September of this year. India retains the death penalty for certain crimes, including a new amendment in 2013 for death or permanent vegetative state caused by rape, likely brought about by the violent protests in India after the incident occurred.
A little more than a week later, on
21 September and the International Day of Peace, masked gunmen began an attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, a raid that lasted for three days and killed a minimum of 72 people from across thirteen different countries (although a majority were Kenyan) in total, including six soldiers; the New York Police Department investigation concluded that it was likely the gunmen themselves escaped. The Islamist group al-Shabaab initially claimed responsibility as retribution for Kenyan involvement in military operations in Somalia.
October
This month we all witnessed the US political system turn into a crazy mess as the government shut down. The US Congress, responsible for raising the debt ceiling and controlled by the Republican Party, locked horns with the Democratic President Obama in the White House over the level of US debt and balancing the federal (central government’s) budget. Before the Democrats would be allowed their budget to govern for the next year, the Republicans were determined to attach amendments which would, in some way, remove funding for or dismantle entirely Obama’s healthcare reforms passed, subject to lots of debate and scrutiny, in 2012.
Capitol Hill, the home of the US Congress Image credits: Ron Cogswell
As a result, the deadline for sorting out the argument passed and the government had no choice but to shut down certain federal services, sending home around 800,000 workers indefinitely without pay and asking a further million to work without knowing when they would be paid. The world’s biggest economy unable to pay its debts would have meant another economic disaster, but thankfully a deal was finally passed on 16 October and signed into law just after midnight the next day.
November
November brought poor luck, to put it very lightly, for the Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan struck parts of Asia but significantly the Philippines, killing over 6000 people there alone and destroying large parts of the infrastructure. Several regions were placed under a state of national calamity, the devastation was so vast. As with so many natural disasters, the initial medical requirements of broken bones soon became more chronic conditions, and international appeals were launched to help the masses of the population displaced from their homes. Approximately $374.5 million was donated in money by governments across the world, and supplies were also sent by other nations. The situation, naturally, is still ongoing and dire for many people.
The aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in Taclobane. Image credits: UK Department for International Development
December
And now that December has come around, what can we reflect upon? As another towering political figure of the 20th century, clearly the death of Nelson Mandela reverberated around the world; despite his old age and long-running illness, no one can quite prepare for the death of such an icon. Any long-term impacts on South Africa and the rest of the world are waiting to be seen, but it cannot be denied his lifetime has seriously changed South Africa for the better.
To finish the year off, what else is happening? Well, the UK’s storm is currently disrupting the travel as people try to get home, Russia is releasing some political prisoners and a few more governments are being accused of spying on each other. As always, it’s fun and games in our globalised world, with not a little bit of argument and tragedy.
What will 2014 be like? Time will soon tell and in the meantime, all that’s left to do is to wish you all a Happy New Year.
Imogen Watson, Online Features Editor
Have we missed something? Which do you think is the biggest event of 2013? Let us know in the comments!
With 2013 coming to a close, Online Comment editors James Bennett and Dave Reynolds attempt to round up the major issues that have got us talking this year.We’ve even let you in on a secret about how we got our jobs in the first place.
SSB Cancelled.
Exeter was rocked by mass media attention surrounding the Safer Sex Ball and The Ram’s Not Safe For Work CCTV footage. This led to the cancellation of the iconic event for future years. The decision was met with a great deal of hostility, with people no longer having an acceptable excuse to dance around in their pants in public. After winning the Sunday Times University of the Year award for 2012, this was not the start to 2013 we were really looking for.
Photo Credit: Exeposé
Cocaine on Campus.
We were in further trouble after it was discovered that students and faculty alike had been dabbling in the only kind of snow that ever comes through Exeter. Everyone was shocked that some young people with lots of disposable income and spare time engage in recreational drug use. What was more exciting was the fact that some of the areas that tested positive for the substance were faculty only.
So we’re paying through the nose just for our faculty to snort it back up theirs? Photo Credit: Foxtongue via Compfightcc
Exeposé accidentally elects two simpletons.
On March 12th we wrote a manifesto for a role we possibly didn’t understand. A day later, we were giving a speech desperately trying to convince a room full of people we’d never met that we were a better option than re-opening nominations. Thankfully, we won. With as much jounalistic experience as the Chuckle Brothers (apologies to them if they have some!), we were unaware of quite how difficult and time-consuming the job would be. Regardless, we were thrown in at the deep end, with our first major job being to cover a national party conference.
Pictured: Less journalistic experience. Much better moustaches. Photo Credit: BBC via The Daily Hawk
UKIP’s Spring Conference.
In what was a very busy and succesful year for UKIP, their Spring Conference at the Great Hall was an opportunity for them to prove themselves as a serious force in British politics. What entailed was a day of old white people laughing themselves silly at xenophobic humour, Bulgarian extremists and Nigel Farage’ boundless wit. By the afternoon, most of the audience had nodded off, and we’d gone home.
With people trying to their best to put off revision, an almighty ‘debate’ took place on Facebook surrounding whether or not The Sun should be removed from guild outlets. It all got a bit heated, with the arguments tailing away from substance to more personal and unnecessary attacks. When it came to the vote, the turnout was very impressive for University election standards, pulling in well over 2000 votes.
“From now on, page 3 will consist entirely of stories about adorable rescued animals.” Photo Credit: AndyRobertsPhotos via Compfightcc
Blurred Lines.
No. No more. This ends now. Photo Credit: N3sta via Giphy
E-E-EDL
The run up to their national demonstration saw tensions rise in Exeter as counter demonstrations were organised and fears of a presence on campus drove many to exclaim, “Ooh-er!” and, “Blimey”. The day was largely made up of incoherent ranting and marching about the streets of Exeter with seemingly no real message or purpose. Quite frankly, we were all quite relieved when they all went back home. A shout out to the Exeter Together campaign, which celebrated all things good about Exeter throughout the morning.
We never met her, but apparently Sharon Lawes did something to piss these guys off. Image Credits: Niklas Rahmel
So it’s been quite an eventful year. Here’s to next year. We hope you’ve enjoyed our coverage throughout the term on all of the major events. Sorry if you haven’t. You’ve only got to put up with us until March and then there will be some new people! Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
James Bennett and Dave Reynolds, Online Comment Editors
David Lynch’s surreal 90’s hit Twin Peaks may be overlooked by a new generation hooked on blue meth and coming winters, but for a hard core of viewers the spirit of the show is still live and kicking. Jess O’Kane, Screen Online Editor, joined the superfans down in London this weekend.
Riverside Studios in Hammersmith became a hive of nostalgia and obligatory donuts this weekend as hundreds of “Peakies” descended on the capital for an annual trip down cult TV lane.
The Red Room Diner Image credit: Jess O’Kane
Now in its fourth sell-out year, Twin Peaks UK Festival is both eccentric and utterly charming – fitting, perhaps, for a festival about a show that features murder, dwarves, personified logs and a truly unsettling villain.
Revisiting the spirit of such a beloved and bizarre show would be a challenge for any festival, but TPUK managed it admirably.
Downstairs, one room had been christened the Red Room Diner, where fan artwork, jewellery, David Lynch coffee and Twin Peaks manicures were on offer (one girl I spoke to proudly showed me her nails, which had a tiny typed letter glued to it where the murdered Laura Palmer’s would have been).
Upstairs, in a blood-red and sweltering cinema, there were screenings of various episodes and a surprise message from absentee cast member Kimmy Robertson.
Miss Miranda as a sultry Shelly and her comatose boyfriend. Image credit: Jess O’Kane
The necessary dose of darkness came in the form of the Double R Club, a Lynch-themed cabaret act. A satirical take on the waitress Shelly Johnson (played by Madchen Amick, one of the festival guests) from fetish model Miss Miranda had a few pulses rising under their wristbands as she performed a strip tease for her comatose boyfriend Leo.
Best of all was comedy singer-songwriter Laurence Owen, whose witty ditties like “Bob’s Your Uncle” cleverly re-imagined the show’s characters with Tim Minchin-esque delivery.
As the evening progressed, the fans became the focus. A Q&A session lived up to every expectation, with stars Ian Buchanan, Charlotte Stewart and Madchen Amick proving to be both charming and full of anecdotes.
Whilst the focus was mainly on Amick, Buchanan and Stewart proved equally entertaining, and both seemed pleasantly surprised at how strong the Twin Peaks legacy has proved to be.
Niklas poses with his Red Room Scarf (in the Red Room) Image credit: Jess O’Kane
The crowd were surprisingly diverse – I spoke to Brummie students, kids from Slovakia, eager Londoners and people who’d only seen a few episodes. None of the furthest travelled seemed bothered that they’d be flying back the next day or the day after.
Niklas, a friendly 30-something from Sweden, had been to the US festival in Snoqualmie twice, had named his child after one of the characters, and had sought out the exact branch where the bird sits at the beginning of the titles. His love of Twin Peaks, he said, was pure “nostalgia” – growing up, Twin Peaks was one of the few adult shows he was allowed to watch, and it had never left him.
For many, though, the allure of Twin Peaks seemed to be a kind of exoticism. A beardy man proudly bore a “BRING BACK TWIN PEAKS TO TV” t-shirt, and further inspection revealed that the campaign has over 20,000 likes on Facebook – impressive, for a show that’s now 23 years old. The love of Lynchian styling was a frequent theme; Ben and Maria, two first-timers, were there because “there’s not much else like it”. Ain’t that the truth.
As the night came to an end with a screening of Lynch’s 1997 Lost Highway, and a few stragglers stayed for “Twingo” (Twin Peaks bingo) and cherry pie, I was happy just to wander. I may not have been the biggest Peakie in the room, but I could feel the love everywhere: from the packed out cinema right down to the donuts.
Emily Leahy rounds up the latest releases. This week: fangirling Jennifer Lawrence, gold-winning lesbians and Scarface in rural France.
1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
21 Nov
The second film adaptation of the bestselling novel series has been hotly anticipated. The trailer blasts out with all the exotic locations, special effects and emotional toil that will only achieve its full aesthetic potential on screen, preferably of the more expensive 3D variety. So, essentially, you are immediately drawn to the big budget. But that’s not what I’m looking forward to, (although the dress that turns into a mocking-jay looks pretty impressive), because Jennifer Lawrence is guaranteed to give a good performance. As she faces the far more challenging political game of the outside world Lawrence will enact the complicated bad-assness that is Katniss, and we’ll love it.
2. Blue is the Warmest Colour
22 Nov
The trailer is very minimalistic, reflecting the intense and poignant tone of this unconventional love story. Depicting the relationship between two women, one a lesbian, the other an inexperienced girl, the film has already won the hearts and votes of the critics. It’s the first film where both actresses and the director have won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the trailer flashes short quotes of praise, suggesting the film is more than a cliché of French ‘amore’. On further reading, the trailer perhaps focuses more on the innocence of their relationship, whilst the film apparently contains a fair amount of explicit lesbian sex. So, maybe not one to watch on a whim.
Read our verdict on Blue is the Warmest Colour at the London Film Festival here.
3. The Family
22 Nov
De Niro is creating a bridge between his two go-to characters: a Scorsese gritty vigilante and an aging father of questionable morality and wit. In this Scorsese-produced film, he’s a mob-father. Despite a stellar cast of Academy Award winners (Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones also star), the film looks like a plot of stereotypes on steroids. The family is made up of sociopaths, cheats and arsonists. They have to relocate to rural France, where they are tracked down by a merry bunch of gun-touting mafia men. Seriously, they might as well be armed with splurge guns and break into a rousing number of ‘Fat Sam’s Grand Slam’. It might prove to be the film of the year. But then again it might not.
Emily Leahy
What will you be going to see this week? Let us know onFacebook, Twitter or by commenting below.
The latest offering from Paul Greengrass tackles the real-life events of the 2009 hijacking of US freighter Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates. With Captain Phillips (Hanks) taken hostage, it is only the loyalty and quick thinking of his crew and his own strength of resolve that ensures his survival.
In an industry saturated with action flicks, Captain Phillips is a real triumph.
Intelligent, unbearably tense, and filled with stellar performances from the entire ensemble, Greengrass has produced an intriguing and raw account that goes beyond a simplistic hero/villain dynamic, and invites the audience not only to empathise with impossible situations, but question the very nature of heroism.
Billy Ray’s screenplay, adapted from Phillips’ own personal account of the events, is fast-paced and drawn-out in all the right places, following men at the mercy of forces beyond their control.
The heightened tension and claustrophobia as the film seems to fall inevitably towards its climax, which is as palpable for the audience as it is for the characters. The slowly unravelling relationships between Phillips’ captors is translated superbly, and is riveting to watch.
Barkhad Abdi as Abduwali Muse. Image credit: Columbia
To share screen time with Hanks in arguably the best performance of his career and to not be overshadowed is quite some feat. Barkhad Abdi’s portrayal of pirate ringleader Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse is layered, nuanced and deliciously chilling.
Working as a chauffeur before shooting this film and with no prior acting experience, his performance is shockingly good, and provides insight into the oft-neglected Somali perspective of the piracy phenomenon.
One aspect that is somewhat neglected, however, is the perspective of Phillips’ family throughout the ordeal. Catherine Kenner as Phillips’ wife Andrea is snubbed of sufficient screen time, appearing only in the film’s opening.
Nevertheless our primary concern remains riveted to the unfolding action itself: the oft-unbearable tension and the sharp focus on the dynamic between captors and prisoner ensures this oversight is of little consequence to the movie’s overall quality.
There was a danger that a film that depends so completely on its central performance’s conviction could weaken as a result, but Hanks is nothing short of spectacular throughout. His depiction of Phillips’ fear, conviction and utter despair at times is astonishingly powerful, yet never ventures into over-acting.
The raw power of emotions and acting prowess Hanks displayed in the final sequence will undoubtedly have both you sobbing, and the Academy knocking.
Maddie Soper
Were you blown away by Captain Phillips? Let us know onFacebook, Twitter or by commenting below.
TV lost one of its all-time greats this year, but Screen Editor Rob Harris finds Enough Said a smart, witty tribute to James Gandolfini.
Billed as one as James Gandolfini’s last undertakings into film before his untimely death back in June, Nicole Holofcener’s latest endeavour immediately stands out as one of the best comedies of the year.
Image credit: BFI
By taking a refreshingly mature approach to the traditional rom-com formula, it stands as a prime example of how a film should handle the seriousness of a relationship without neglecting the all-important laughs. And boy, there are laughs.
After meeting at a ritzy middle-aged party, Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a divorced physical therapist, forms a relationship with Albert (Gandolfini), a slobbish but deeply kind and humorous giant of a man. As the two become closer, the relationship is gradually poisoned by Marianne (Catherine Keener), one of Eva’s clients and awkwardly for her, Albert’s ex-wife.
As the plot progresses and she is fed more and more stories about her boyfriend from the unknowing Marianne, Eva soon becomes locked in an internal struggle as she tries to balance Albert’s good and bad qualities without him or his former wife finding out about her connection between the old couple.
Usually, declaring the movie’s humour as ‘adult’ throws up connotations of nudity, swearing and cringe-inducing sex jokes, Enough Said brings it back to reality by tackling a multitude of very real issues.
From the stress of divorce to their kids leaving home and going to college, these genuine moments engage superbly with the sincerity displayed by the film’s two leads, generating witty but never tiresome dialogue as well as a relationship just as believable and warm as any you would find in the real world.
Whilst the usual rom-com tropes may prevent some from enjoying the flick as a full-fledged comedy, Enough Said does more than enough to keep you entertained from start to finish and definitely warrants more than just one viewing.
Rob Harris, Screen Editor
Are rom-coms smarter than ever? Tell us onFacebook, Twitter or by commenting below.
exeposedev 